DMax and Dynamic Range.

A few weeks back I was asked some questions about particular scanners and their capabilities. One feature mentioned was Dynamic Range (DR) and the DMax specification. I'd promised I'd get back in short order with a post discussing DMax, DMin and the whole dynamic Range issue. This is a tough nut to crack mind you, therefore, I've decided, I would try to keep it simple.

DMax relates to the Maximum Readable Density or the maximum "opacity" achievable in a given medium.
DMin equates to the Minimum Density or a films maximum "transparency".

It has been suggested that the DMin value should reflect the density reading where the detail is still retained in the light areas of an image. Whereas DMax has been described as the darkest area of an image that a scanner can still discern detail from.

Back when I was pulling film for typesetting and printing, we would try to ensure our films were all checked by densitometer and that the darkest areas were kept around a DMax of 4.0.

The ideal range for scanners would be to be a DMin of 0 and a DMax of 4.0 giving a DR of 4. One thing to bear in mind, the capture of dynamic range varies greatly. Factors like sensor type, colour channel, sensor noise and bit conversion depth all play a part. View all manufacturer specifications, with a prove it to me mind set. Probably the best bit of advice I have to offer is, that you should look to third party reviews for information on how well a scanner performs.

One of the best descriptions of Dynamic Range, that I've come across, can be found at photo.net.

Sigma promises new DSLR for Photokina

With a rather basic and pedestrian presentation, featuring poor typographic treatment, Sigma launched their new teaser website for the SD14 DSLR. I for one am sick of these over produced and rather underwhelming websites which do nothing more than tease (and rather ineffectually at that). I can't wait however to see what they're up to with the new camera, and also to see the specs ... this interest isn't based upon any response to their promtional site but rather, more related to a seeing just how much they've improved on the foveon based technology used in their older DSLRs. No guessing on the specs mind you, I'll wait till the end of the month. Sigma-sd14.com

Bedouin Ventures, release MicroStock Watcher

In the space of one week I get two emails from Marc C. Johnson, the president of Bedouin Ventures LLC. With the release of MicroStock Watcher, Bedouin Ventures, addresses a need which suppliers of Stock images have to be able to track the usage and sales of their products. MicroStock Watcher is a Java-based widget (Yahoo! Konfabulator or OS X Dashboard) and it provides information on stock photography earnings, uploads and downloads for six of the largest microstock websites.

MicroStock Watcher currently supports the following agencies:

Dreamstime
Fotolia
iStockphoto
LuckyOliver
Shutterstock
StockXpert

For more information, visit the MicroStock Watcher product page.

Canon USA Produce a White Paper on their Full Frame CMOS Technology

Rob Galbraith reported that Canon USA has published a new white paper which promotes the benefits of their full frame CMOS sensors used in their EOS-1Ds, EOS-1Ds Mark II and EOS 5D digital SLRs. The Paper which is titled "Canon's Full-Frame CMOS Sensors: The Finest Tools for Digital Photography" is a 30-page document in which Canon takes a look at the advantages of 35mm film frame-size sensors. The White paper is definitely worth a look ... it can be downloaded from following page at Rob Galbraiths Digital Photography Insights:
Canon's Full-Frame CMOS Sensors: The Finest Tools for Digital Photography

DPReview Begin Their Coverage Of Photokina 2006

Ok, so it’s a month away, but things are shaping up for Photokina to be very busy show for folks that are lucky enough to visit. I'm of the mind that digital cameras are not going to be the big news at Photokina. I'm looking for new storage and output technologies, display systems and accessories. That having been said, this is going to definitely going to be the year of Image-stabilization. Visit the Photokina 2006/ page at DPReview to see their coverage. The official Photokina site can be found at http://www.photokina-cologne.com/.

Canon New Products Blitz

It's been quite the week for new product releases, Canon generally announce their products in batches and this week is no different. Canon announced a new consumer D-SLR, several new point and shoots and a couple of lenses in addition to several non photographic products. Their new D-SLR is EOS 400D which is set to replace their successful 350D. I'm personally excited by their new EF lenses, the 50mm F1.2L and the 70-200 mm F4L IS USM lens. For more information please visit DPReview, who have good coverage of many of these new products.

BabelPix™ Keyword Translator

I received an intriguing email from Marc C. Johnson of Bedouin Ventures, LLC. His company has just announced called BabelPix™ a great tool which translates keywords which embedded in images, into foreign languages. It does so, by allowing you to select the image(s) to be translated, and then allow you to specify a target directory into which your translated image(s) will be placed. The product is aimed at photographers and designers who create images for sale through stock agencies and facilitates the easy access to their images in other language markets. It currently supports English to Spanish and back, other languages will follow. BabelPix™ is available in Mac, Windows and Linux versions. For more info on this product, visit the Babelpix homepage.

The theatre of reportage...

One of the most damning bits of disinformation has been the medias handling of events in the middle east ... don't get me wrong, I think that both sides of this war are wrong, with innocents stuck in the middle and paying the price. Thats as far as I'm going on the subject of this war and its reality ... What is a concern is how reporters have allowed themselves to be pawns in a propaganda war and not only obviously, but also in such a callous and underhanded way that the dead bodies of children are being handled with utter disrespect and also to elicit an emotional response that is tainted by the cold blooded calculation with which the events have been managed. From staged photo-ops to extremely badly retouched photography the perversion of the truth is causing a firestorm of consensus from many online bloggers.

I think that reportage should be just that ... any retouching should be kept to a minimum, clean up of dust and removal of corporate logos only. If more is done then a logo should be added which clearly states that the image concerned has been photomanipulated (even better would be to disqualify such imagery from usage in the news media). The press should also endeavour to indicate where the shot has been managed through media handlers, who limit the press representatives access through corralling or by staging a scene, though in reality this is nearly impossible an expectation.

Reportage should be about truth and not about theatre ... if you want theatre watch entertainment ... with the news I want truth. What happens in all cases like this, is a disrespect of the worse kind ... in this case it appears that it is an abuse of the dead, someones children!!!

If your interest has been piqued then visit the Times Online for an intro to a story which upset me almost as much as the war itself.

Nikon Announce 10MP D80 DSLR

Nikon announced their new ten megapixel D80 digital SLR. This new model is the successor to the D70/D70s and has a new look and feel, with improvements to the user interface and a range of new features. New improvements include; a 10.2 mp CCD, a new image processing engine, 3D Color Matrix Metering II, 11-area AF system, configurable Auto ISO and high ISO NR, a larger and brighter viewfinder, in-camera retouching (including red eye reduction and D-Lighting), a multiple exposure feature, a built-in wireless flash commander, SD card storage (with SD-HC support) and it also supports the D200's higher capacity battery. The D80 will go on sale in September with a body only price of $999 in the US/£699 in the UK or as a kit with the new 18-135 mm DX lens for $1299 in the US/£949 in the UK. DPReview have produced an eleven page preview of this camera.

Fujifilm USA announce S3 PRo UVIR for Criminal Investigation

Fujifilm announced a specialized version of their S3 Pro digital SLR. The new S3 PRo UVIR model has been modified to facilitate the taking of photographs which are sensitive in the Ultra Violet and InfraRed parts of the light spectrum. This capability is clearly aimed at users in law enforcement, science, medical and fine art. The S3 Pro UVIR is capable of recording otherwise invisible evidence such as gun shot residue, blood stains and burned writing. This new model which also features a live preview capability will be available from selected dealers as will be priced at $1,799 I'm not certain if the model will be available outside of the US as it is only featured on the Fujifilm USA site. For more info visit the product page at fujifilmusa.com

Espon V750-M Pro Vs Microtek i900

After posting a notice back in february on some new scanners by Epson, I was asked recently if I had any comments on the Espon V750-M Pro and how it compares to the Microtek i900, unfortunately having not seen either scanner in action and having no reference files to compare between the two I really cannot accurately comment.

I can make some assuptions though, and those are, that manufacturers claims on DMax are usually generous. So the difference between the Epson and the Microtek will most probably be small. There is an excellent review of the i900 at The Photography Blog and there is also the factor of resolution the V750-M Pro has a higher optical resolution 6400 vs 3200 and the fluid mount technology which I eagerly await seeing results from reviewers lucky enough to get hold of this unit.

You can also read some interesting comments from Ovidiu Predescu someone who has had experience with the V750-M Pro. One other thing to consider is investing in some third party film holders which allow you to optimize the distance between the scanning head and the film. Better Scanning creates custom film holders for a variety of devices including the V series of scanners.

I was going to post this as a response to one of my earlier posts but I needed to post some links and some information which would have been lost. If you are lucky enough to have a friendly digital technology vendor who carries these models you can perhaps arrange to take or send some samples for scanning. Given the difference in the age of the technologies and the differences in optical resolution I'd take a good look at the Epson, also feel free to contact me directly if you have a more specific question relating to the type of media you are using.

Although these types of flatbeds are quite competent as all round units they are not a replacement for dedicated transparency scanners, some of which like the Minolta Dimage Scan Multi PRO claim a DMax of 4.2. In all cases, it is only when you can accurately compare scanned images side by side, when the true capabilities of a scanner come into play. The Wet scan capability of the Epson looks to be a good capability but I'm wondering how much difference it would actually make in comparison to Microteks E.D.I.T.™ and glassless SnapTrans™ solution.

All manufacturers are notorious for making all sorts of claims about their equipments capabilities and it is best to try the scanners you are interested in, if you've been looking at the Epson and the Microtek also look at the Canon flatbeds and Nikons Transparency Scanners. I'm going to follow this up with an article on DMax and just what it means.

Alien Skin releases Blow Up

Alien Skin Software have released yet another useful tool for photographers and imageers. Blow Up, which is designed to create high quality digital enlargements of your images at up to 1600% (3600% in some cases) without perceivable artifacts. In most cases many of these types of software packages and tools create images which have a liquidy type of look where detail is lost and averaged. Blow Up has a rather nice feature which introduces "grain" or noise to reorganify images so they look more natural. Some of the results I saw in their examples where quite effective. I look forward to trying it out and getting back to you on how it compares to other tools with a similar purpose. For more info please visit the Blow Up page at Alien Skin Software.

Canon Announce New Scanners

Canon have followed Epsons recent scanner announcement with 4 new releases of their own. The new models include the CanoScan 8600F, the LiDE 600F , the CanoScan 4400F and the LiDE 70. The new scanners offer new features and ease of use. The CanoScan 8600F and CanoScan 4400F feature built-in Film Adapter Unit and 3 of the scanner are pdf creation friendly.

Adobe updates digital photography documents

Adobe has updated several of its publicly available white papers and primers relating to digital photography. CS2 centric primers include: Digital Image Integrity, Black and White Conversion Tutorial, About Metadata, A Color Managed Raw Workflow, Making the Transition from Film to Digital, and Highlight Recovery in Adobe Camera Raw. Visit the following pages on Adobe Digital Imaging Solutions and Adobe digital photography white papers and primers to access the downloadable PDFs.

DPReview post Sony Alpha A100 Review

DPReview have just posted their 30 page review of Sony's New Alpha DSLR. As usual they've provided comprehensive coverage of what looks to be an excellent new entry to the DSLR world from Sony. Read the full review starting here.

Extensis Release Universal Binaries for Portfolio.

Extensis have released Universal Binaries of Portfolio, Portfolio Server , Portfolio Server and SQL Connect and Portfolio NetPublish that will run natively on both Intel- and PowerPC-based Macs. Version 8.1 of each Portfolio variant is available for download as a free update to v8.0. For those of you who aren't familiar with portfolio visit http://www.extensis.com/ to familiarise yourself with this excellent asset management solution.

BreezeBrowser Pro 1.5.1 for Windows Released

Breeze Systems has released an updated version of BreezeBrowser Pro for Windows. According to Breeze Systems, new features include:
Adobe XMP metadata support for JPEG, TIFF, PSD, DNG, PNG, JPEG 2000 and RAW files. The program creates a Photoshop-compatible XMP sidecar file to store the XMP information.
New IPTC scene and subject code editors which use the NewsCode XML topicsets.
A new keyword editor.
Improved colour in Nikon D200 RAW conversions.
An option to output either 8 bit or 16 bit Photoshop (PSD) format files when creating proofs or converting RAW files.
Updated lens distortion correction.
The ability to display a frame around a picture in proofs and slideshows. The frame and matte can be chosen from a selection of included ones, or you can create your own.
For more information, pricing and to download the update, visit Breeze Systems.

Epson Announce 2 New Slimline Scanners

Epson have announced the new Perfection V350 Photo and Epson Perfection V100 Photo scanners, both of which are aimed at consumers and feature a new slimline design suited for either portrait or landscape orientation. The lid on these models can be opened up to 180 degrees and is well suited to facilitating the scanning of three-dimensional objects, as well as oversized objects, photos and documents. These scanners offer hardware resolutions up to 4800 x 9600 dpi on the Perfection V350 Photo and up to 3200x 9600 dpi on the Perfection V100 Photo. Both units support 48-bit color scanning and feature a 3.2 dynamic range for high quality scans. The bundled Epson Easy Photo Fix software allows for automatic color restoration and dust removal, providing a complete solution for the consumer. I look forward to reading the reviews. For more information, please visit Epson.

Adobe Release Lightroom Public Beta 3 for Windows

I, like many of you no doubt, have just received a notification from Adobe, indicating that they have released a public Beta of Lightroom for Windows. Visit the Adobe® Lightroom™ beta* Site to download the beta today.

Nikon Release Trial Version of Capture NX

Nikon announced the immediate availability of a trial version of its new image workflow, editing and conversion application, Capture NX. Capture NX is the result of a collaboration between Nik software and Nikon, and should be welcome news for many Nikon owners who have wanted better Nikon raw, NEF, conversion software. Capture NX will available for $149.95 for the full package or $89.95 as an upgrade to registered owners of Nikon capture 4. There is a 30-day trial available for download at http://www.nikonusa.com. An online demo of how Capture NX works is available at http://www.capturenx.com/ or http://www.nikondigital.com/.

Fujifilm unveil new cameras and Logo.

Fujifilm debuts its Face Detection technology in the FinePix S6500fd. The Camera should be available here in the Uk from October onwards and will feature a 10.7x optical zoom lens, TV-quality VGA movie recording at 30 frames per second with sound, Jpeg and RAW file formats, Super CCD HR VI sensor delivering 6 megapixel images and PictBridge™ support.

The second camera which Fujifilm annnounced is the FinePix F20 which shares many of the features the FinePix F30. Its compact design features a 6.3 MegaPixel Super CCD HR sensor and a 2.5-inch LCD display. Another excellent feature a Picture Stabilization feature in the form of a button that boosts ISO sensitivity to as high as 2000 at full resolution. For more info on these cameras visit these FinePix S6500fd, and FinePix F20 pages on the Fujifilm website.


They also unveiled a new Logo which can be seen just above, and which should come into use sometime in October.

Catherine Leroy Dies

French Born Catherine Leroy, has passed away from Cancer at the age of 60. As a photojournalist she is famous for her work during the Vietnam War. Her work often appearing in the pages of Life magazine and other publications.

At the age of 21 she bought a one-way ticket to Saigon and began to record the life of American troops in Vietnam, becoming the only accredited journalist to actually participate in a combat parachute jump when she joined the 173rd Airborne in Operation Junction City.

Leroy was even captured by the NVA during the Tet Offensive, after talking her way out, she left with images of the NVA in action that were used for a Life magazine cover. Jonathan Randal, a longtime Washington Post correspondent who met Leroy in late 1965 said "She was tiny and totally fearless," To see examples of Catherine Leroys work visit Piece Unique Gallery.

Tabblo - Photos, Stories and Printing

I came across a new photo sharing community today - Tabblo, which is no doubt derived from Tableau, which means; "A vivid or graphic description". It looks pretty cool and is definitely aimed at the consumer who wants to tell a story with their pictures. In their own words "What is Tabblo? Your photos. Your words. Put them together with Tabblo and tell your story." It is based a round a template driven interface which allows you to upload your photos, add your own text and then select a tempate for your personal portal, which by the way you can share and even customize. There is even a facility for creating prints and posters of your photos. Visit Tabblo and take a tour.

Nikon Exceeds dSLR Sales Estimates

Nikon's digital SLR sales have exceeded what they projected for April and May 2006. Nikon has said that production is running at full capacity to meet demand for the D50, D70s and D200. With new models expected from Sony and Pentax it should be interesting to see how the dSLR market progresses.

Nikon post trial version of Camera Control Pro

Nikon Europe and USA have posted 30-day trial versions of Camera Control Pro for Windows and Mac OS. Camera Control Pro is Nikon's new standalone application for both tethered and wireless remote operation of Nikon cameras. Visit the Nikon USA site for the Windows and Mac versions and these pages on the European site for the Windows and Mac versions.

Nikon posts notice of lack of D2Xs NEF support

The Nikon Europe tech support website has posted a notice which explains that NEF (RAW) files from the D2Xs, which has just hit the market, are not supported by any Nikon software except PictureProject. Even Nikon Capture 4.4 does not support NEF files from the D2Xs and it appears from the statement that it will not be updated to do so. Capture NX, will support D2Xs NEF files, but the release of NX is delayed. It begs to wonder, how the hell do Nikon think they can appease current users of the D2Xs ... get it together guys.

Canon Firmware updates for 5D and 1D MKII N

Canon have released two firmware upgrades for their EOS digital SLR cameras. The updates are the EOS 1D Mk II N firmware 1.1.0 which enhances the direct printing function in combination with the PIXMA Pro 9000 or PIXMA Pro 9500 professional photo printers.
The EOS 5D firmware 1.1.0 includes the enhancement of direct printing with specific printers and corrects communication errors which occurred when shooting with EOS 5D and EOS Capture software after shooting about 138 shots. It also corrects an error in which the flash mode settings are changed from E-TTL to Manual when the EOS 5D is used in combination with the Speedlite Transmitter ST-E2 and the Speedlite 580EX.

Samsung announce NV10 and NV7 Digital Cameras

Both the NV10 and NV7 offer slimline styling with advanced features. The NV10 offers a 10-megapixel sensor with anti shake technology and features an innovative touch pad GUI. It has a sleek, brushed black aluminum body and compact design. Measuring under an inch in thickness, it includes a Schneider 3x optical zoom lens (35-105mm equivalent), a 5x digital zoom and a large, 2.5-inch color LCD display. It is also video capable and can record in VGA (640x480) at 30fps.

The NV7 is a seven-megapixel slimline model which uses Optical Picture Stabilisation "which physically adjusts the CCD to combat handshake and Samsung's Advanced Shake Reduction (ASR)" and it also features a 7x Optical zoom. It too, can record in VGA (640x480) at 30fps. Both cameras will be available to the consumer market in the autumn of 2006.

Canto Releases Cumulus 7

Canto have announced the release of Cumulus 7, an upgrade to their powerful Digital Asset Management solution. Canto has promised that the new features offer "increased asset control, faster production, and more efficient collaboration, improving the business of organizations that have made asset management an integral part of their marketing and communication processes."

Updates also include improvements to the database engine and include server enhancements such as the introduction of mirroring and permanent cacheing. Cumulus 7 Server and Client software are also available as Universal Binary applications on Mactel computers. Having worked with Cumulus Solutions in the past I look forward to seeing how they've improved it's performance and functionality. For more information on Cumulus 7 please visit Canto.

Intuos3 A5 Wide / 6x11 Graphics Tablet

Reviewed by: Mario Georgiou, July 2006
Manufactured by: Wacom Europe, Wacom USA
Requires: For PC—Windows 98SE/ME/2000 and XP; for Apple—MacOS X 10.2.6 or later; all platforms require a CD-ROM drive and available active USB port
MSRP: US$369.95, UK £297.00, EUR429,00

(Ed. Note: Digital Imaging & Graphics Products Editor Mario Georgiou is based in London, England, so from time to time we review the UK/European versions of some products. This Wacom tablet is marketed in North America as the Intuos3 6x11 model).
For many designers and artists, the advent of the graphics tablet provided an almost natural way for them to work with computers. Tablets were wonderful until recently, when wide aspect/wide screen monitors came along. Using a wide screen monitors with any of the standard tablets has proven to be a real pain and seeing that more and more designers are using wide aspect monitors or even multiple monitors for work, it seems that it would be only natural for someone to address the problem.

Along comes Wacom, who have been in the graphics tablet business for a long time, and who are wonderfully innovative in their product design. The announcement of the Intuos A5 Wide met with a lot of interest amongst my creative colleagues. I heard "Wow", "Cool" and "It's about time" repeated quite often. Before I tell you about my experiences, let me first state that I've never really been comfortable with graphics tablets. I'm still not entirely convinced that they're as intuitive as drawing on paper. The basic idea of looking at a vertically oriented monitor and drawing on a separate horizontally oriented graphics tablet surface annoys me (although not as much as trying to do the same thing with a mouse).

So how does the Intuos3 A5 Wide stack up? First, it is big—about twice the size I expected—so having one of those wide aspect monitors with space under it is going to be a necessity. Next, it's really well designed and put together. I love the new stylus design too. Last but not least, it’s really easy to set up and use. My installation took less than a couple of minutes as all the drivers were provided on CD and the USB interface made it a painless exercise.

The Intuos3 A5 Wide is bundled with Corel Painter Essentials, which is a super-light version of Painter. I didn't bother installing it as I have Photoshop CS2 and Painter IX.5 which both work extremely well with the unit.

It took a few sessions to get to grips with the tablet and familiar with its usage and learning how to work with the Custom ExpressKeys and Touch Strip. I decided that using the tablet would have been even better had I also received the excellent Intuos3 Mouse for review. The mouse is in fact included with the standard A5 model and I strongly suggest to Wacom that future A5 Wide packages should also include a mouse.

The working area of the tablet is approximately 6" x 11" (15cm x 28cm), which makes it the perfect size for drawing and mousing around. The whole experience of using this tablet and the pen is something that any creative will appreciate. It is as close as you can get to a natural interface without spending thousands on one of its bigger brothers such as a Cintiq. Support for this excellent product is also good, with updated drivers, FAQs and help available via phone, email and online forums.

The Use It section on the Wacom web site features some great online demos, tips, techniques (which are well worth investigating) and downloads which cover usage and ergonomics. Apropos of nothing at all, I wonder if Wacom is going to partner its technology with one of the Tablet PC makers?

In the UK and the rest of Europe, Wacom has doubled the product support period via the commercial Intuos3 CarePack. This means you can obtain a total of four years of support and warranty coverage if you purchase the Intuos3 CarePack. The additional two years of coverage costs a total of UK£64.99/€499,99 and it's well worth the investment if you are a professional user. Unfortunately, the CarePack does not appear to be available in North America.

Cons: Still not as natural as using a sketchbook. No mouse provided.

Pros: Easy to set up and use. Excellent Custom ExpressKeys feature. Support for multiple operating systems. Superb design and finish. As any good creative will tell you, the tool is only as good as the talent. This tablet more than fills a hole in the market which needed to be addressed. The attention to detail which Wacom has put into this product is evident in every part and in the smooth and effortless functionality. I really enjoyed using the A5 Wide. Experiencing the Intuos3 A5 Wide has been exciting and now I can't wait to get my hands on a Wacom Cintiq interactive pen display for review. I highly recommend the Wacom Intuos3 6x11/A5 Wide for any creative who prefers a pen to a mouse.

This review has been reproduced in its entirety from Kickstartnews.com