Digital Imaging News for December 27th 2005

DP Review celebrates their 7th anniversary...
I would like to congratulate Phil Askey and DPReview for providing 7 great years of excellent quality coverage of Digital Photography News and Issues. I have followed DPReview since its earliest days and regularly use it as a point of reference. DPReview is in my mind an example of how a web based information site and portal should operate. Well done ... Visit DPReview here.

Bibble 4.5 Released
This new release has support for several new cameras and includes major improvements to how it handles Canon .CR2 Color based cameras. Support is now included for the Nikon D200 (tethered shooting supported), the Olympus Evolt E-500, SP310, SP350 & SP500UZ, the Pentax *ist DS2, and the Sony DSC-R1. Bibble 4.5 is available from here.

DxO Labs Offers DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition
DxO Labs, have announced the DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition. DxO Optics Pro Starter Edition incorporates the same image enhancement technologies found in the DxO Optics Pro Standard and DxO Optics Pro Elite editions. It is now available from DxO Labs visit for more information.

Apple releases Aperture v1.0.1 Update
Apple has released an update (v1.0.1) for Aperture. This update for Apples Pro workflow application fixes several bugs and adds performance improvements in certain operations. The update improves the quality of photos exported in 8-bits per colour, the usability of the eyedropper and the auto stack function has been improved. There have also been fixes made to Apertures Print and Book ordering capabilities. The update is available from here.

Sigma HSM lens conflict with Nikon D200
Sigma confirmed that there is a conflict between its HSM equipped lenses and the Nikon D200. The conflict occurs when the 'AF-ON' button is pressed on the rear of the camera. It doesn't affect auto-focusing when using the shutter release button. Sigma will provide a free firmware update for affected lenses.

Canon Firmware Update for EOS 5D and 1D MKII N
Canon has released firmware updates for the EOS 5D and 1D Mark II N. The Updates improve brightness on the LCD monitor and correct errors in the language menus. The update for the 1D Mark II N also fixes a file numbering error that occurs during bulb shooting. The 5D update fixes an issue which creates unusually large files and an operational error in AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) Mode.

Microsoft update their RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer
Microsoft have released an update to its free RAW Image Thumbnailer and Viewer for Windows XP. Support has been added for RAW files from the Canon EOS 1D Mark IIn and the EOS 5D. Support for the Nikons D50 and D70s, and the D2Hs. You can get the update here.

Nikon Capture software version 4.4.0 and 4.4.1
Nikon Capture versions 4.4.0 (Windows) and 4.4.1 (Mac) is now available for download. The Windows update has added support for the D200. Other improvements include a new black and white option in the Advanced RAW tool palette for Color Modes and improvements to the way tones are reproduced in highlight areas. The Mac update addresses an issue which caused the program to unexpectedly quit whilst trying to print. You can download the windows version here and the Mac version from here .

Digital Imaging News for December 10th 2005

*istDS Firmware Upgrade
Pentax have announced a firmware upgrade for the *istDS that adds a number of new features. Version 2.00 will add a Continuous AF mode to the AF settings in the Record Mode menu, Auto ISO has also been added to the sensitivity menu and the AE-L button on M has been added to the Custom Function menu. Dutch and Swedish users have also been catered to with the addition of menus in these two languages. Download the upgrade here.

Adobe and Macromedia Aquisition is Finalized
With the Aquisition of Macromedia, Adobe have firmly placed themselves in pole position in the digital imaging and design industry. With this aquisition Adobe has also announced three new product bundles for design, video and web solutions. The Adobe Design Bundle which includes Creative Suite 2 Premium with Flash Professional 8 software; the Adobe Web Bundle which contains CS 2 Premium and Studio 8; and the Adobe Video Bundle which will offer video solutions and also include Flash Professional 8. The Adobe Design Bundle and Web Bundle are available immediately and are priced £1381 and £1656 respectively. The Adobe Video Bundle should ship sometime in early 2006.

Scott Kelby's book receives top honours.
The Photoshop CS2 Book for Digital Photographers by Scott Kelby, receives top honours from consumers and industry alike. Professional Photographer magazine, Amazon editors and Amazon readers rated this excellent book one of the hottest computer books this year. It received a “Hot1 Award” by Professional Photographer magazine and was rated a “Top 10 Pick” by Amazon editors for computer books as well as the “#1 Photoshop” book in the Amazon Top 10 Pick category, and ranked as the #3 Amazon “Readers Choice” for all computer books based on sales. Congrats Scott...

ExpressDigital's Darkroom Professional is Enhanced
ExpressDigital, a leading provider of digital workflow software, internet storefronts, and lab solutions, have released an enhanced version of their Darkroom Professional Edition. Enhancements include a retro color tool, professional red eye removal and new hardware support for the Nikon D2X, D2Hs, D70s, D50, Canon Rebel XT and Fuji S3 digital cameras. It also features direct support for printers like the Mitsubishi CP-3020DU, CP-9550DW, Kodak 9810, Shinko S9045, S1245 and the Fujimoto SHP5080 digital mini-lab.
Version 8.5 is available immediately at the ExpressDigital website.

News for the week of November 26

Lord Lichfiled Dies
Photographer and Royal Cousin Dies at the age of 66 from a stroke. Lord Lichfield was the Queen's first cousin, once removed and was official photographer at the wedding of the Prince of Wales to Diana. His Illustrious career includes working for Vogue and photographing many stars and personalities, including Michael Caine, Colin Farrell, model Jerry Hall, the late Indian prime minister Rajiv Gandhi and the Royal Family.

Plenoptic Imaging
This was one of the most interesting pieces in the last while. DP Review featured an article covering the development of a new type of digital image recording. Ren Ng, who is a graduate student at Stanford University has developed a hand-held plenoptic camera. The camera works by taking the shot first and then allows you to make the decision about the focus point in software afterwards. According to the article "The prototype camera is actually a Contax 645 with a modified Megavision FB4040 back (sixteen megapixel). The back has had an array of 90,000 microlenses mounted in front of the sensor (with a gap between the array and the sensor). These microlenses create a unique image on the sensor surface which includes not only the amount of light deposited at that location, but how much light arrives along each ray. The image is then reconstructed in software and a focus point can be chosen. Note that the final resolution is the same as the number of microlenses." for more info visit dpreview which has plenty of links to more info.

Sigma Lenses and EOS 5D Review
Other news includes new lenses from Sigma, a 135 - 400mm F4.5-5.6 DG lens, a 170-500mm F5-6.3 APO DG Lens. A full Review of the Canon EOS 5D at dpreview which makes interesting reading and makes me even more interested in get my hands on one.

Solar Bags from Eclipse
Eclipse Solar Gear are a Manufacturer who have released a line of bags aimed at gadgeteers. innovative solar charging carrying cases for all your mobile personal electronics. The bags are in eclipses own words: "a patented line of backpacks, messenger bags, soft coolers, and other quality cases designed to charge the batteries of common handheld electronics including: cell phones, PDA’s, iPods, and GPS units in a convenient and effortless manner."

Forgent JPEG Compression Patent under Challenge

I was perusing Slashdot, one of my favourite tech information and news sites when this bit of news posted by CowboyNeal caught my eye: "ChocLinux writes "The Public Patent Foundation has filed a request at the US Patent Office to revoke Compression Labs' data compression patent, which it is reportedly using to harrass anyone that implements the JPEG format. 'CLI's aggressive assertion of the '672 patent is causing substantial public harm by threatening this international standard on which the public relies,' says Pubpat in its filing." I'm pleased by this development as I see Forgent and their ilk as prime examples of this kind of practice at its worst... Roll on the public's interest... View the article and associated comments here.

Imaging News for the Week of November 8

Canon Eos 20D/Da Firmware Update
Canon Have Updated their firmware for the Canon Eos 20D/Da. The update fixes a colour temperature information problem when using Speedlite 430EX and it also improves communication when using CF cards. Visit Canon's BeBit for the Updates.

Nikon Announce Remote Speedlight Commander
Nikon announced their new remote Speedlight SB-R200 and Command Unit SU-800. This wireless flash system is intended for close-up and macro photography. The SU-800 commander unit is also compatible with other speedlights and can be used in up to three groups. Nikon is selling these components separately but also a Macro kit which includes a command unit and two SB-R200 Speedlights. As always DPReview have excellent coverage.

Nikon Announce D200 Prosumer DSLR
DPreview have yet again produced another great preview of a new DSLR from Nikon. The Nikon D200, is a 10.2 MP digital SLR with professional features and build quality. Features include a magnesium-alloy body, an 11-area AF sensor, 3D Color Matrix Metering II, 5 frames per second continuous shooting at up to 37 JPEG (Fine-Large) images or up to 22 NEF (RAW) images when using a SanDisk SDCFH (Ultra II) or SDCFX (Extreme III) 1GB CF card. It also features shutter speeds ranging from 1/8,000 of a second to 30 seconds, a 2.5" LCD monitor, USB 2.0, 1/250 sec X-sync plus WiFi and GPS support. The D200 should retail for $1,849 in the US. Click here for DPReviews coverage.

Wacom Announce Wide-Format Tablet.
Wacom have announced the Intuos3 6x11 tablet. It is the world's first wide-format pen tablet designed for use with widescreen displays and dual monitors. The tablet features Wacoms programmable ExpressKeys and Touch Strips, and the cordless battery-free Grip Pen offers 1024 levels of pressure sensitivity. The Tablets will ship in the US with Adobe Photoshop Elements 3, Corel Painter Essentials 2, nik Color Efex Pro 2 IE and Wacom Brushes 2. It is expected to retail for US $369.95 Visit Wacom for more info.

Nikon Release D2X and D2Hs Firmware Update
Nikon have updated their firmware for the has today released new firmware for the D2X and D2Hs digital SLRs. Firmware version 1.01 improves autofocus performance and preset white balance and resolves issues with the AF-assist illuminator on certain Speedlights and a flash sync issue with the SB-800 Speedlight. The Update also corrects errors in menus when Dutch language is selected. Visit Nikon Asia's website for the updates.

Digital Film Tools announce 55mm Version 6
Digital Film Tools have announced the release of 55mm Version 6. This update film filter effect set includes updated and improved filters and several new and useful addition to the already extensive filter kit. New filters include; Relight, Strip Grad, Vari-Star, Rack Focus and Color Spot. DFT are very good at what they do and they continue to impress me with their Plug-in work. Visit the 55mm product site for more info.

Imaging News for week of October 20

Breeze Systems Releases DSLR Remote Pro v1.1
Breeze Systems have released DSLR Remote Pro v1.1. Remote Pro is used to control Canon EOS 5D, 350D/Rebel XT, 20D, EOS-1D Mark II and EOS-1Ds Mark II cameras in addition to the EOS 10D, 300D/Rebel, 1D and 1Ds. It features improved exposure control in tricky lighting conditions by auto bracketing up to 15 images by varying either the shutter speed or the aperture. Great for using the HDR (High Dynamic Range) features in Photoshop. Read more at Breeze Systems.

Photo Mechanic 4.4 will appear as Public Beta.
Camera Bits have been open about their release of v4.4 of Photo Mechanic as a Public Beta. Version 4.4 is workflow-focused and will be available for Mac and Windows. Read more here.

Bibble 4.4 released
Bibble Labs have updated their RAW workflow solution, Bibble, to v4.4. New features include a shadow recovery function called "Fill Light" and also support for the Canon's EOS 5D and EOS-1D Mark II N, the Konica Minolta 5D, and the Pentax *ist DL. Bibble 4.4 is available in Pro and Lite versions for Windows, Macintosh, and Linux. Visit Bibble Labs today.

ACDSee Pro Photo Manager announced
ACDSee Systems have announced ACDSee Pro Photo Manager for Windows, an upgraded version of the popular photo browser aimed at professional photographers. Its professional focused features include support for RAW file display and conversion, batch IPTC captioning, and more extensive color management capabilities. Visit ACDSee.

Kodak launches high resolution CCDs
Kodak announced the world's highest resolution sensors for medium format cameras with the 36x48mm, KAF-39000, 39 megapixels, and the 33x44mm, KAF-31600, which offers 31.6 megapixels. The CCD sensors will be featured in Phase One's upcoming P45 and P30 digital backs. Read more here.

Kodak in troubled waters...
Eastman Kodak Co., are having financial troubles and after reporting $1.03 billion loss for the third quarter analysts are wondering how the long term will look for this photography giant. Although they have posted a massive loss their sales of digital products now exceed revenue from film-based photography. They also report that they are No. 1 in sales of digital cameras and digital X-ray systems in the US and of photo kiosks, thermal home printers and online photo services worldwide. Should be interesting times ahead with the expected loss of 25,000 jobs.

Canon announce the Wireless PowerShot SD430
Canon announced a new compact PowerShot model, the SD430 (Digital IXUS Wireless), which features built-in WiFi (802.11b). This 5 mp, 3x optical zoom camera is practically identical to the SD450 but with WiFi added. The camera kit also includes the 'WA-1N Wireless Print Adapter' which provides WiFi printing to PictBridge compatible printers.

Nikon's PictureProject updated to v1.6.1
Nikon has announced an update for its image management, editing and design program, PictureProject. Version 1.6.1 is two different upgrades for the Mac and Windows platforms. All update up to v1.6.0 must have been installed before updating to this version.

Extensis Portfolio 8
Extensis have announce Portfolio 8 which allows you to instantly view, sort and manage all your photos, including RAW files, access your files directly from Photoshop, and also to publish images to the web. Portfolio 8 will be available for download and purchase in December priced $199.95. Read the press release here.

Adobe Updates DNG and RAW Plug-in
Adobe Systems Inc., has added 14 New Cameras to their Camera RAW Plug-in and announced its Digital Negative Specification (DNG) -- an industry-wide initiative to create one unified format for archiving RAW digital images -- is continuing to win support from camera manufacturers and software makers. Adobe have introduced the Camera RAW 3.2 plug-in which now supports over 80 cameras. Using the new plug-in, users can preserve more metadata when saving files in the DNG format. other features include support for GPS metadata, an updated interface for Photoshop Elements 4.0 users and "As Shot" white balance support for Nikon D2X, D2Hs and D50 camera users. The RAW Plug-in can be downloaded from Adobes Site.

Apple announce Aperture

Apple Announced many new things at Photo Plus Expo 2005, one of which is their foray into the world of Professional Digital Imaging Software. It looks interesting but I reserve judgement until I see it action. In apples own words Aperture is; "Designed from the ground up for professional photographers, Aperture provides everything you need for after the shoot, delivering the first all-in-one post-production tool for photographers. ... Aperture’s color-managed workflow and flexible design tools will help you easily create stunning prints, customized contact sheets, elegant books, and web pages as beautiful as the images you capture"

Apeture is certainly aimed at the pro and with features like RAW workflow support, editing, media management, retouching, output and non-destructive editing they look as though they are trying to get into an already busy workspace. Read more at the official website.

This week in Digital Imaging

All told, this past week in the world of digital imaging and photography has been a slow one. This weeks' announcements centre around a number of service advisories from the likes of Olympus, Ricoh, Minolta, Canon, Fuji, Nikon and Sony. It seems like there have been some common problems with CCD's supplied by Sony between 2002 and 2004. For more info; visit DPReview, as they have done their usual excellent job of tracking these issues.

On another front Fujifilm have announced a new camera. The FinePix Z2 which uses a large LCD instead of a viewfinder, offers a wider aperture range of up to F8, longer shutter speeds of 4 seconds and 256-zone metering. Fujifilm have also reduced the price of their FinePix S3 Pro, Digital SLR.

Canon has updated its professional editing and RAW conversion software; Digital Photo Professional. Version 2.0.3 fixes a couple of issues such as missing color tones in images taken with the EOS-1D or the EOS-5D and also changes a setting name in Picture Styles from B&W to Monochrome.

Canon have also released firmware version 1.2.4 for their EOS-1D Mark II and version 1.1.4 for the EOS-1Ds Mark II. The new firmware includes a fix for file numbering errors during bulb exposure shooting and improves the reliability of operation with a few CompactFlash cards. A problem that could lead to horizontal line noise in the EOS-1Ds Mark II has also been addressed.
Breeze Systems have released v1.3 of BreezeBrowser Pro. New features include automatic lens distortion correction and support for RAW files from Canon's EOS 5D and EOS-1D Mark II N cameras.

DPReview have also released the latest iteration of their excellent dpreview resolution chart for testing your digital cameras.

Sony announce the 8MP Cybershot DSC N-1

On Monday Sony announced the compact and clean looking DSC-N1. This new model features a wide viewing angle 3" LCD touch screen designed to act as both camera control and display. The DSC-N1 also records a VGA (640x480) copy of every image you take and stores it internally. Up to 500 of these images can be stored even after the full resolution images have been transferred providing a long term 'pocket album' feature which can be browsed in a variety of ways. The Camera/Album features Sonys' eight megapixel 1/1.8" CCD sensor and supports up to ISO 800. The camera also records video and audio at 640x480 and up to 30 fps on the memory stick pro. visit Sony for more info.

MINOXannounces the DMP-1 Media Device

This great little pocket storage device and media viewer/player is a cool little device from all appearances. "The Minox DMP-1 weighs in at just 62 grams and fits into almost any pocket thanks to its compact dimensions of 75x52x15mm. Incorporating a digital photo album, MP3 player and recorder, FM radio, digital sound equalizer, E-book facility for storing and viewing text files and a selection of pre-installed games to play." For more info, visit Minox...

Nikon Capture v.4.3.2 posted for download

Nikon have posted an update to Nikon Capture. Version 4.3.2 addresses an issue which caused the Capture Editor to quit unexpectedly on some computer systems when images were adjusted using the Color Boost slider displayed by selecting Better Quality (HQ) in the D-Lighting palette. The update is available for Windows and Mac platforms and can be downloaded by clicking on the previous links.

Leaf and Mamiya Introduce ProDigital II 22-Megapixel Digital SLR

Leaf America and Mamiya America Corp., have introduced the Leaf Mamiya ProDigital II 22-megapixel digital SLR. Comprising the new Mamiya 645AFDII camera and the Leaf Aptus back, the new ProDigital II offers medium format quality in an SLR based form factor. the Camera sports A 3.5-inch touch screen, a 1.2 fps capture rate and a completely new auto-focusing system. Captured images can be stored on Leaf Digital Magazines or Compact flash cards. Check out the Leaf America website for more information.

Adobe Introduces Photoshop Elements 4.0 and Adobe Premiere Elements 2.0

Adobe have announced Photoshop Elements 4.0 and Premiere Elements 2.0 software for Windows. These Packages bring some great capabilities to the consumer level Photo and Video Enthusiast. Pop by Adobe for a look and download a demo today.

Ulead Announces PhotoImpact 11

Ulead has announced the availability of PhotoImpact 11. This new version supports a scalable interface which Ulead have labelled 'My Workspace'. This interface has a basic mode for beginners and moves up to an advanced mode for high end users. Workspaces can be customized to meet your needs and preferences. Features include: 16-bit editing, RAW/DNG support, editable alpha-channel masks for objects and non-destructive Layer Masks, a per Photoshop. PhotoImpact 11 available from October will be priced at around £49.99, with upgrades available from £29.99 via the Ulead website.

Canon EOS 5D Shipping in Europe and Canada

Canon EOS 5D is beginning to ship in Europe and Canada, photographers in the UK, France and Germany and in Canada are getting their hands on this eagerly awaited full frame DSLR (I can't wait to get mine). The forums on several of the online Photosites are buzzing with reports, check them out.

Adobe releases Camera Raw 3.2 for Photoshop CS2

Adobe has released v3.2 of its Camera Raw plug-in for Photoshop CS2. This version adds official support for the following cameras: the Hasselblad H2D, Leica's Digital-Modul-R back, the Nikon D2Hs, D70s and D50. Camera Raw V3.2 also supports the "As Shot" white balance in RAW files from the D2X, thanks to the inclusion of code from Nikon.

Corel Releases Paint Shop Pro X

Corel announced a new version of Paint Shop Pro. Paint Shop Pro X was launched simultaneously with Corel's image management program Photo Album 6. PSP X has had a facelift with work carried out on its user interface and also features a new integrated Learning Center and Browser palette. Corel Photo Album facilitates the downloading, organization, editing, sharing, and protection of photos and allows your images to be automatically downloaded, rotated and saved once your preferences have been set. Visit Corel for more information.

Ricoh announce Caplio R3

The Ricoh Caplio R3 was announced earlier this month. The R3 is a wide angle slimline 5.1 megapixel camera which features a 7.1x optical zoom. The Caplio R3 also features a 28 - 200 mm 'double retracting' lens, other features include a vibration reduction function which deals with camera shake, a 1cm macro mode and skew correction function which automatically detects trapezoids in images and corrects them.

Sony Announce the Cyber-shot DSC-R1

Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-R1, features an APS-C size 10.8 million pixel CMOS sensor with non-removable 24-120 mm equivelant lens. The R1's APS-C size sensor is also unique in that it provides a full-time live view for the camera's electronic viewfinder and LCD monitor. This means that the R1 has a more compact integrated lens and body design than other SLR based Digicams. Read more at DPReview, who have written a decent preview of this nice piece of kit.

Nikon Release New Models and Firmware Updates

Over the last couple of weeks, Nikon have announced and released many new models and also posted firmware updates on their website. New models include the 6 megapixel S3, The smart and compact 6.2 megapixel L1, The swivel lens based 6 megapixel Coolpix S4 which also features a large 2.5 inch LCD Display. They have also announced the 5 megapixel, Coolpix P1 and 8 megapixel P2 which both feature built in 802.11b/g WiFi modules which allow for the cameras to live link with PictureProject. Firmware updates for the coolpix 7900 and 5900 have been posted on Nikons site which corrects a slow file write error under certain conditions.

Adobe Project and Tardy Posting

I have a bit of an apology to write, I have been a bit Tardy in posting here on this Blog. I have been working for the last 6 weeks with Adobe on an interesting project, which will keep me away from home for most weeks. As a result, I've not had internet access, except whilst at Adobes facility in Norwich. No excuses, I should have tried harder, but in this day and age I would have thought that WIFI Hotspots would have been more prevalent. I've been trying to find a decent and reasonable hotel with WIFI but to no avail, nuff said. Now, on to my posts...

Adobe and Macromedia Merger Gets Vote Go Ahead

Stockholders of Adobe and Macromedia have voted overwhelmingly in favour of the proposed merger betweeen the two creative software giants. The move should reshape much of the landscape for the creative industries and also create some areas of contention. GoLive and Dreamweaver being 2 of them. I'll be watching this closely...

Hasselblad Launches Four New Products

Hasselblad have announced two new Medium format cameras and two digital backs based on a new digital platform that builds on the success of the H1. The new cameras are the cross-platform H2 and the digital H2D, both of which look to be the perfect solution for Studio and field photographers craving for medium format support. The digital backs are the Ixpress CF and Ixpress CFH which offer 22 megapixel capabilities and optimal storage and handling features. Visit Hasselblad for more info.

Canon Announces New Products...

Last week Canon made announcements regarding a range of new products. Amongst these were the New Canon Eos-1D MKII N, two new EF lenses, Canon Speedlite 430EX flash, Canon PowerShot S80, Canon PowerShot SD450 & SD550, Canon PowerShot SD30 / IXUS i Zoom, Canon PowerShot A610 & A620 and the Canon PowerShot A410. It seems that every year Canon do this and the news continues to be well received. The best news by far was the announcement of the new EOS 5D DSLR.

Canon Announce EOS 5D

Early last week Canon announced several new cameras, amongst them were the EOS 5D, a full frame 12 Megapixel camera aimed at Pros and Semi-Pros. This is one development, for which I have waited a long time ... a full frame based D-SLR which is priced at a level which makes it a reasonable purchase for someone like myself. Whilst I don't make my living with photography, it is a big part of my toolkit and also one of my passions.

AS per usual DPReview have produced an excellent hands-on Preview of the Camera and its features. The preview features a side by side comparison with the EOS 20D and also covers the cameras features, specifications, design and operation. I hope to get one for review when they are available.

Focal Press publishes Photoshop CS2 A-Z Book

Focal Press, an imprint of Elsevier Books has published the Photoshop CS2 A-Z, a book which comprehensively covers key features and tools found in Adobes' flagship product. Whilst I havent seen the book yet, knowing the quality of other productions from Focal Press, I expect it to be very good.

Colour Gremlins Tutorial

The Luminous Landscape has published an excellent tutorial on removing digital colour artifacts from images which have been shot using a High ISO setting. The article, written by Christopher Smith, describes a simple technique which makes use of Photoshop’s filters and layer blend mode. The technique is simple to use but very effective and also a good example of why I visit Luminous Landscape often.

Dixons To Stop Selling Film Cameras

UK high street retailer has announced that it plans to stop selling film based cameras at its high street stores. Dixons reported that its' sales of digital cameras have surpassed the sales of 35mm cameras by a factor 15 to 1. The company sees film as a 'niche market' in the words of one of their directors "digital cameras are now the rule, rather than the exception".

PTLens v6.2.1 Released

Version 6.2.1 of ePaperPress' PTLens software for correcting optical abnormalities in digital camera images, was released earlier this month. PTLens, is based on Panorama Tools and is available for Windows-only (2000/XP) as both a standalone application and Photoshop plug-in. It is free, although the software's author, Thomas Niemann does accept donations to support its' ongoing development. Version 6.2.1 of the plug-in now correctly processes 16-bit per plane photos, while the standalone version now preserves ICC profiles, EXIF data and IPTC text information when saving a new version of a picture file.

Bibble 4.3 Adds Lens Correction, New Camera Support and a whole lot more...

Bibble 4.3 for Windows, Mac and Linux has added lens correction (based on the excellent PTLens), support for RAW files from Nikon's D50 and D70s as well as Epson's R-D1, faster processing in the Windows version, a straightening tool and a number of other minor tweaks and bug fixes. Visit the Bibble Labs Website for a complete list of changes and downloads for all supported platforms.