Adobe Lightfield Camera/lens

A light field camera effectively takes alot of photos of the same scene all at once using different aperture settings. The result is a single photo which contains many versions of the same scene shot at different aperture settings.

Using software and brainiac mathematical algorhythms which converts the information gathered into a single shot with corresponding depth map and blur maps, the photographer can effectively shoot a scene with aperture settings from the minimum aperture (eg; f/2.8) up to the maximum (eg; f/22) all captured in the same shot and then in post editing can select which point in the image they wish to be in focus and at what aperture they wish the depth of field and corresponding blur to represent. So you could have maximum depth of field as if the scene was shot at f/22 or you can select a subject and apply the blur and minimal depth of field as if shot at f/2.8 all after having taken the shot.

Nifty.

The folks at Adobe have been investigating this technology and have created a prototype 100 megapixel camera and lightfield lens which combined with software allows you to do the above. The downside of this technology is that because so many versions of the same image are captured on the same frame in order to gather the required information, the final image from the 100 megapixel camera becomes a mere 5 megapixels!

Andy

Wacom Korea to launch new tablet "intuos4"

Wacom korea has released a new tablet, with new features and better performance for photographers. Inspired by those who use it, Intuos4's new pen performance,is capable of capturing the slightest nuance of pen pressure against the tablet surface, as well as offering 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity.

It also offers a more accurate and intelligent design , providing better look, comfort and importantly control.It also has specific workflow and productivity tools. Including the customizable shortcut and modifier keys with accompanying OLED displays, which allow users to see, via the displays, what the keys are currently set to.

The Intuos4 is available in four sizes, small, medium, large and extra large,which are all wide format, the Intuos4's new asymmetrical design puts all of the customizable ExpressKeys and Touch Ring on one side of the tablet, "making them all available to the user's non-dominant hand" according to aving.net's review on the product.

The application-specific ExpressKeys are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boost productivity by placing commonly used commands right at the fingertips.

SpyderCUBE White Balance Solution

The Datacolor company who brought us the affordable(?) monitor calibration device Spyder3Elite and Spyder3Pro (and I presume Spyder1 and 2!) have developed a new product for obtaining correct white balance - the SpyderCUBE.

SpyderCUBE is unique amongst white balance tools in that it not only has a grey reference for setting white balance but also has pure white and black faces as well as a 'black trap' which is a hole in the device into which light cannot go and thus gives the photographer a 'pure black' reference.

To use the device, you place it in the scene you are photographing and take a reference shot (preferably as a RAW capture). Later, in Camera RAW, you can synchronise all shots taken under the same lighting to this reference shot and click the grey face of the cube to set the white balance, then; using the exposure and brightness sliders, you can set the optimal white point by observing the white face on the device. The optimal black point can then be set using the 'black' slider in Camera RAW to ensure you can visibly distinguish between the 'black face' of the cube and the 'black trap' hole within the black face of the cube.

Instructions on exactly how to set the white and black points are vague on the website - even after watching the instructional video - but I can see how having a pure white and pure black reference can help you to set the correct density for your lighting setup.

Andy

USB cell batteries

OK, this maybe out of the realm of professional photography but i can see a use for it and it is pretty cool.


Moixa has created a type of battery (aa) with a USB charger built in, so you can charge on the go, useful for the back up compact in the handbag... or man bag... :)

Features
Portability - Easy Energy on the Go: No need for a separate charger or cables when travelling. Built in intelligent USB charger.
Recharged Anywhere: Charge anywhere from any accessible powered USB.
Swap and Play: Easily charge cells in your game station and just swap over to continue play.
Top-Up: Charging for just a few minutes provides extra hours of instant use for most input devices.

Emily

Firmware up to date?

Having problems with your digital camera? Just not working the way you want it to or has a bug that is annoying or just want better performance? Before you spit the dummy or decide on buying a new camera you may just need to upgrade your firmware to improve your camera.
So what the hell is firmware? It is a little program in the camera that controls aspects of your cameras like noise reduction, ISO, LCD brightness, battery life, focusing and menus to name a few. Camera manufacturers update firmware to fix minor bugs that were not realised until after a model release or they may just upgrade other things as above, but best of all it is free.
Firmware updates can be located on manufacturers sites in the support or downloads pages. Here are Nikon and Canon Firmware updates.
Now that you have checked and found a new firmware update for you camera your next question is how do I put it on my camera. This is my answer... updating firmware is a different process for each camera. Check the manufacturers site where the update was downloaded and follow the instructions. I'm not going to tell you how to do it because if it is not right and it stuffs the camera I am not taking responsibility for it.
IMPORTANT DISCLAIMER: I take no responsibility if you incorrectly replace the firmware and disable your own camera while trying to update the firmware. Do this at your own risk, read the manufacturer’s instructions VERY CAREFULLY.
When the new firmware is installed successfully check the menu as there may be new areas to explore from the update. Reset the settings as these will most likely be changed in the update process.
Enjoy the new high performance of your camera.

Adobe Lightroom vs Photoshop CS4 Part II

Photoshop CS4
Having used CS2 and CS3 I thought that CS4 would be just a rebadging of CS3 with a little candy to make me feel good about the upgrade but, whoa CS4 is pretty damn impressive.
I have only just got my version but I like it. The appearance is smoother, sleeker and has some nice features.
Now I know that this a comparison between Lightroom and CS4 but it is totally unfare to compare Lightroom to the complete Photoshop package so lets just look at the Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) and Bridge components to keep things fair.
Bridge is excellent for browsing files and creating workflows which I found particularly hard to do with Lightroom and because I would like Lightroom to have a bridge equivelant, lets not dwell on this part of the review. ACR is where it is at. New tools comparitive to Lightroom obviously made by the same company, designed by the same design crew or at least shared, it is hard to tell them apart. I particularly like the healing tool they have added. It is intuitive and does a great job of blending into the surrounding area. The adjustments tool also has the auto mask which is great. The program layout is not as appealing as Lightroom but it isn't Lightroom it is Photoshop. Just as a side issue, while we are on photoshop (which is a whole new article in itself) there are some great modification to the tools. I like that they added the exposure adjustment tool to the package in the masks.
So if I had the cash which one would I buy. I suppose it depends on a few factors. Either one is great for working in a RAW environment. The tools are very similar and it would be difficult to say one is better than the other. I prefer the look and feel of Lightroom, I like the features to view and compare images, the flagging sytem and the automatic changing of file to DNG.
Photoshop CS4 still has Bridge which is great for file management, ACR has the same tools as Lightroom so it is almost a dead heat. Lightroom still needs photoshop to do editing that isn't in RAW. Lightroom is cheaper about $170 student edition, compared to CS4 which is about $299, BUT you have to buy photoshop something (Elements 7 $199) to complete your photoediting package.
So I personally chose Photoshop CS4 for the complete package, but I have heard a wisper that very soon the Lightroom package will be Lightroom and Photoshop combined. This will then be the premier package to have. Lets just wait and see...

Adobe Lightroom v's Photoshop CS4 Part I

If you are looking for an application for your photo management and development what do you choose, the tested and true Photoshop CS4 or the new kid on the block (comparitively speaking) Lightroom. I have used both and I am going to give my humble review on both programs in two parts. Part 1 will look at Lightroom and Part II will look at Photoshop CS4 with an overall comment on both. Here we go...

Lightroom.
Trying not to be bias but first off I love it! This program is like velvet, very smooth and visually appealing but is has a couple of little niggles that just need to be tweaked to make it the ducks nuts of photo management systems.
On the surface the sleek black and grey appearance is professional and excellent for viewing photo's especially the functions which allow all the program to disappear into the background and display only the large photo image on a black background. The tab button hides the side panels (like Photoshop), the top and bottom bars can be hidden by clicking on the pop up or down arrows and then the program drops back to 50% black transparency by hitting the 'L' key once and then completely black with a second tap on the 'L' key. Perfect for viewing single photos that are under development.
While we are on key shortcuts the flaging system I find especially useful. After uploading photos use the 'P' to flag (or pick) your favorites and for the really bad stuff use the 'x' for a black flag. I usually delete all the 'x' photos at the end of my browsing session. The star rating and colour rating are also available to really define the work flow. Ooo, Oooh there is also a great comparison tool where two similar photos can be compared side by side. There is the selected one and a candidate. If the candidate is better it can be selected and the next candidate can be entered.
The tools that have been bought into Lightroom all work in the raw environment so it is a non destructive environmenr for your photos. The greatest update to the tools is the Adjustments brush which allows the classic dodge and burn process but with a little more class. The auto mask tool is very intuitive and this process easy. I really like that the developers have embraced photography terminology by allowing the user to move adjustments in stops of light rather than the old unrelated numerical system Adobe used to cling to. Besides this tool the rest of the development tools are easy to use and powerful.
The photo management side of things starts from the initial upload. The program is again intuitive an appears to look for new photos that it has not uploaded previously and recognises ones that have already been added. A thumbnail display of photos to be uploaded is used to help with the selection process. Lightroom allows file renaming up to 3 parameters, automatic change to DNG files, copyright metadata embedded, keywords and even completes a backup of the new files onto a specified external hard drive. Little gripe here is that unlike Bridge from Photoshop there is no real browsing at this level. Sure the thumbnails are a good indication but they are just not as good as having Bridge. Second little gripe is that when Lightroom is installed on C: drive (for instance) this becomes the primary drive where files are stored on the database. I like to use 2 external hard drives for all my photos (primary and backup) and not store files on the harddisk of my laptop. So as it stands only one external HD is recognised by the program and there appears to be no way to select a primary drive and the secondary drive. Just a small, very specific, but valid gripe never the less. Oh, by the by a cool feature is that Lightroom recognises when files are missing or the backup portable hard drive is not connected. It displays a '?' or green light where necessary.
Look, I could go on for days about Lightroom. It is a great program that has brought in a heap of features from Photoshop into the raw editing environment. It is also completely compatible with Photoshop as well. So I recommend two things if anyone is serious about getting a copy of this program.
First get a free 30 trial version (this is fully functional it just stops working after 30 days without a key) from Adobe and give it a test run. Get the version from http://www.adobe.com/downloads/
Second check out Matt Kloskowski tutorials. He is a guru and the tutorials give anyone a great jumping off point to start using the program and some of the powerful features it has.
Don't forget to check out Part II where I will look at Photoshop CS4 and compare it with Lightroom. Let us know what you think of Lightroom.

FTP SERVICE - SENDING PRINTS TO LAB

Hi everyone,

I just thought Id write a bit on sending prints to the lab via FTP. I realised the other day that not everyone knows about this service and I think that all photographers should be at least made aware of it. I myself think its extremley useful for effective time management and in my experience have had to troubles as yet.

FTP (File Transfer Protocol) allows you to transfer files from one computer to another. The files may be plain text, compressed text or in this case photos. As photographers we often use FTP to upload our photos to the printing lab. Once setup this service is great for time management. The host computer, where you get the data from, might be in the office next door or on the other side of the planet. You will need FTP software which can be purchased or downloaded from the internet. E.g. Core FTP. Once you have the appropriate software you will need to enter in the recipients host address, username and password (supplied by the recipient). This then put simply connects you to the recipients computer ready for file transfers.

As a general rule before uploading any images most labs require images to be saved as JPEG files, cropped at exact size for printing and saved at a set dpi/resolution E.g. 300dpi and placed in clearly labeled folders.

E.g. ATaylor_001 (Main folder)
250dpi A3 (sub folder)
250dpi 8x10

Always read each lab preferences as they will all be slighting different. Keep in mind that if you try to send PSD/Tiff files you could incur a surcharge and generally all measurements are done in Inches, cropping can occur if metric is used.

Always check with your lab for its preferences prior to trying to upload any images.
Once you have done so, you are ready to start uploading.

Depending on the setout of your FTP software uploading is as simple as dragging complete folders from your computer to the labs computer. Some labs have a step by step procedure as to how to upload your images so check your lab for more details. Streets Imaging have detailed instructions should you need to have a look. Their website is www.streetsimaging.com.au. The time it takes to upload your images is dependant on a lot of factors – including how many files you have and the image sizes etc. You can quite often drag and drop all the images and leave them upload themselves.

Once files have completed uploading the lab witll generally require you to send an confirmation email advising of your order and/or for you to use a checkout system that requires you to pay via credit card. That’s it! Easy.

Pickup time will also vary from lab to lab. Again check all the preferences that your specific lab requires. If used correctly FTP can be a useful time saver and some labs will even offer a night box for pickup after hours. If this option is available they will give you a pin number to enter the box. The only downfall is that it’s a on trust basis, as other photographers have access to the box also. Nine times out of ten the lab isn’t liable for any lost or damage prints if you do decide to use this option.

I myself often use FTP when sending files to the lab and get them couriered out to me for a small fee. It’s much cheaper and easier, rather than having to travel myself. I would much prefer to use my time photographing than driving.

Hope I have made sense, please let me know if I have left anything out.

If anyone has anything to add please do.

Amanda

Nik Software's Viveza Plug-in for Photoshop, Lightroom and Aperture

Nik Software's 'Viveza' Plug-in allows Photographers to selectively modify colour, light and tonality in their photographs.

Using Nik Software's patented 'U Point technology' powered control points, the user can isolate objects or regions within a photograph that they wish to modify both quickly and easily. Viveza then offers sliders to modify the brightness, contrast, hue, saturation, separate red, green and blue values and the clarity of the area selected.

Nik Software's 'U Point' technology eliminates the need for complex masking/selections by analyzing the position of the control point's colour, tonality, detail and location so the object you wish to modify is selected and surrounding areas are not.

Viveza works with 8 or 16 Bit images and is also compatible with Photoshop's 'Smart Filter' option making your 'Viveza' adjustments non-destructive and re-editable.

For more information about Viveza and Nik Software's other awesome Plug-ins featuring U Point technology, visit
http://www.niksoftware.com

Andy

New Bionic Eye Camera Technology

Have you ever looked at a scene and it just isn't captured the way you can see it, in your camera?

This new technology is based on the human eye and could lead to sharpers photography and possibly led to the creation of a bionic eye.

The eye captures images on the curved surface at the back of the eye, but cameras capture the image on a flat surface, causing some distortion of the image.

US researchers have come up with a new imaging device which captures on a curved surface mimicking the eyes curvature.

The "eye" is made of flexible mesh of wires, has been incorporated into a working camera the size and shape of a human eye. Images produced are sharper than those taken on conventional two-dimensional surfaces.

The researchers believe this could be the first steps to creating a working bionic eye for humans.

"It foreshadows artificial retinas for bionic eyes similar to those in the movie Terminator and other popular science fiction," said a statement issued by the University of Illinois.

Monash University vision scientist Dr Adrian Dyer described the results, published overnight in the journal Nature, as very exciting. "To capture the light or the image in this type of form is one really key part of how to create quite a good bionic eye system."

Once again Photography is helping people :)

Emily

Lecias New lens

Lecia is making a grab at the "high speed lens" crown, Lecia has said they have created a new version of its Noctilux lens with an aperture number of 0.95, which in the inverted maths of optics means it gathers 11 per cent more light than the old version, which had an aperture of 1.

As we all know, lens that gather more light perform better in darker areas, but this change is hardly noticeable, so all you are really able to do is brag about it :P

Mind you Lecia Noctilux lenses are substantially faster then the average lens that gets sold with digi cameras. but to gather more light, a lens needs to have a bigger glass surface, and super-speed lenses like the Noctilux are at the limit of practicality. The lens weighs 0.6kg, and dwarfs the Leica cameras it mounts on. It's focused manually and doesn't zoom, but has a fixed focal length of 50mm.

The new lens can be snapped up for about $10,000.

Emily

Polaroids are back!

Being that one of my first ventures in to the photographic world was with my Polaroid, this is all excitement to me :P

Polaroid stopped making film packs last year, but just when you think this piece of the industry is fading away, here is its digital replacement.
Polaroid has announced the introducing of the digital Polaroid which produces "Instant" pics, ( you have to wait about the same amount of time for it to develop as you would the old version).

The $200US "PoGo" camera contains a built in colour printer, producing 2in x 3in photos by selectively heating spots on specially treated paper.It has nothing like the old chemical Polaroid process, but the final result will still keep its old pop art charm, remaining grainy and and coloured slightly off!!

This camera due to be realised in late march or early April in the US so it might be a bit till we see it here.

Although it is not a "serious" SLR, it is aimed at people lamenting the loss of the traditional Polaroid and seeks to give them some solace!. the prints can be peeled apart to reveal a sticky side for easy application to ...well....anything.

The PoGo has one great advantage over the old style Polaroids, you can see what your shooting on the back before you shoot, potentially wasting film, and you can also do multiple pics on one print or print something you shot awhile ago.

The paper used is still expensive compared to anklet paper but is about 30% cheaper then traditional Polaroid film.

The PoGo is a great new toy, but as a camera it is very basic. There is no auto focus, you have a choice between infinity and close up, via a switch. The resolution is 5mp, although thanks to the size your printing it wont make a huge amount of difference. It have a substantial shutter lag and the prints are narrower then what you shoot, cropping a decent amount off the top and bottom of the prints and the camera doesn't warn you about this prior to printing, how ever you can crop and zoom in on parts of images but you still can make the original shrink so it all prints.

The battery life, is OK considering the amount of heat needed to run the printer to produce the images but does only last an average of 20 prints.

(The old Polaroid cameras didn't have battery problems, because most of them had batteries built into the film packs - a brilliant design. But enough nostalgia.) - AP SMH

The Pogo uses a SD card , so if you don't like the way the actual camera shoots you can shoot on another camera and move the SD to print on the PoGo.How ever its advised if that's why you are buying the camera you are better off buying the PoGo instant mobile printer which is smaller and connects to your camera via a ASP cable.

Who knows how long this technology will last as polaroid declared bankruptcy in December, but its fun while it lasts.

i would be interested to see if anyone has seen these camera at any expos, and see what they think??

Emily

Hi team,

Was just browsing through some new technology n stumbled across a new 32GB CF card thats been produced by 'Kingstone'. The new card offers larger capactiy and fast data transfer rates to allow professional photographers to maximize the performance of their high-end digital cameras. The card is designed to keep pace with and not limit the productivity of the most advanced digital camera equipment on the market.

Speed: 25MB/sec. read, 20MB/sec. write

Kingston’s CompactFlash Elite Pro cards have a suggested price of $154.00

Microsoft making Outlook photographer friendly

Microsoft has come up with a new plug in to help photographers remember what equipment they need for their shoots.

The free plug in called Pro Photo Shoot.It allows photographers to attach and create a list of equipment needed to their scheduled appointments.

This comes from Microsofts gradual attempts to draw in the photography enthusiast.

In this same vein, they have also standardised HD photo as JPEG XR, which allows storage of higher quality images,as well as window vistas support for viewing , tagging, printing and other wise dealing with RAW images.

Being of vacant mind on occasion , i know having a list of what i need for each shoot would definetly come in handy for me...

Canon G10 vs Nikon Coolpix P6000

In the last couple of months I have been in the market for a good quality point and shoot to accompany me in those times where a girls got to have something that can fit into her handbag! There are some obvious forerunners, however I think the two most outstanding to compare are the Canon G10 and the Nikon Coolpix P6000.
First up an advantage of both is that they shoot in RAW, this excites me!
Both the G10 and the P6000 have revolutionised the world of compact cameras and each have some amazing qualities.

Main Features:

Canon G10

• 14.7 megapixel (effective), 1/1.7" CCD
• 5x (28-140mm) zoom, f/2.8-4.5
• 3.0", 461K-dot TFT LCD; optical viewfinder
• ISO 80-1600 (3200 at reduced resolution)
• Shutter Speed - 15-1/1400 seconds
  

Nikon Coolpix P6000

• 13.5 megapixel (effective), 1/1.7" CCD
• 4x (28-112mm) NIKKOR zoom, f/2.7-5.9
• 2.7", 230K dot TFT LCD
• ISO 64-2000 at full resolution (ISO 3200-6400 at 3 megapixels)
• Shutter Speed - 30-1/2000 seconds
  
  

Sample Images:

Nikon Coolpix P6000 Canon G10

Canon G10

Nikon Coolpix P6000

Pros

Generally solid auto focus
Customizable interface couldn't be much better
Pro-grade build quality
Rich, detailed images at lower ISOs

Cons

Luminance noise shows up in regular-sized prints
GPS, network connectivity could have both been better
Screen and viewfinder not a great combo
Flash recycle times measurable with a calendar
Underwhelming battery life

Canon G10

Pros

Richly detailed high-resolution images
Superb wide-angle lens
Excellent LCD is large and crisp
Lots of dedicated controls should appeal to serious shooters
Snappy performance in most areas

Cons

Images are objectively noisy
Continuous shooting speed a drag
Weak video options
Large, heavy, intimidating, and expensive for casual shutterbugs

Price Range:

Canon G10 Prices start from $592.70
Nikon Coolpix P6000 Prices start from $580.00

In terms of performance I think the Canon G10 is in the lead with its shutter lag of 0.03 of a second and shooting 1.3 frames per second as opposed to the slower P6000’s 0.06 of a second and 0.9 frames per second, but I’ll let you guys make up your own mind. For more information and specifics check out the reviews at http://www.digitalcamerareview.com/.

Anthropics Technology - New Retouching Software

Anthropics Technology has recently released a program which is claiming to be able to automatically retouch large volumes of images saving hours for professional Photographers.

"Portrait Professional"the previous software had allowed photographers to easily retouch individual photos in minutes , the new version on lab software claims to automatically retouch the faces from entire photo shoots, without having to perform artistic work on each photograph.

This potentially means a wedding photographers retouching work could go from a few days worth of work down to ten minutes. The Photographer only needing to select the pictures to be processed, configure the retouching settings and approve the final work.

"This is a major time-saver for photographers, allowing them to be more productive and have happier customers," says Andrew Berend, CEO of Anthropics Technology

the process has facial recognition software, the program scans for facila features and then maps and applies enhancements to the features.

Portrait Professional software has been trained using 1000s of portraits to perform skin tone improvement, facial sculpting and lighting correction, remove wrinkles, spots, glare and skin imperfections without removing the underlying texture of skin.

The general conceise on this product seems to be that it is surprisingly effective, however you will still have to go to photoshop for your darkening, sharpening and filters etc. One part to the programs that seems to annoy is the fact that it is a stand alone program and there isnt a feature to access photoshop.

Although i dont believe this program will be over taking photoshop in the retouching stakes anytime soon, it could definately help out all the poor wedding retouchers out there!.

feel free to addyour thoughts on this program and your own reviews! :P

Emily

Software - Proselect - Portrait Studio Software

Time Exposure is a Perth based company who designs, sells and supports professional photography software.

Time Exposure has created software called Proselct & Proselect Pro suitable for portrait studios to assist in selling and managing clients orders. You can use it in the studio or at the clients home when presenting images.

It helps to streamline your ordering process and present your images, make notes, take orders, record client details all within the same program and have them stored in one Album file for that job. No more problems with lost or scribbled pieces of paper. So you don't have to switch programs to get the job done it also includes a browser, slideshow, ordering system, proofing tool, montage designer, production system and much more.

After the session, either print out the Order Report or simply pass the album file to your production people to complete the job.

It helps to dramatically reduce prodction time, as you can simply work through the check list of ordered images or commposites, finalize croppings, open imags in Photoshop to do any neccessary retouching then, easily click the Make High-Res Images button and sit back while Proselct automates photoshop to produce final, sized, ready - to - print images.

Specifications:

Features

Built in sildeshow with music
Different music for each album
Instant B&W effect
Instant Sepia effect
Apply up to 5 Photoshop actions
Easily compare multiple images
Drag & drop multi-images layouts
Scalable template library
Design your own templates
Design and add layout styles
Project prints at actual size
Save room view imags in a library
Upsize/downsize prints - one click
Project layouts at actual size
Upsize/downsize layouts - one click
Traditional matted or composite layouts
Add notes to images, layouts & orders
Master/Slave Monitor Support
Automatic Vignetting
Add generic frames to prints & layouts
Add 5 custom frame images (50 in Pro)
Drag multiple zoomed images together

Order Features

Supports ten price lists
Record orders for an unlimited order groups
Add Extras to orders
Supports tax (single & dual) on orders
Print order report with thumbnails
Add own message to order report
Order frame sizes by area
Can change prices while ordering
Can hide prices/totals while ordering
Can order "custom" layouts
Record Payments
Apply discounts as a percentage
Export Orders to other Applications

Workflow Features

Imports .jpg, .tif or .psd** files
Auto-rotate from camera orientation
Sort images by capture time
All information saved in compact album file
Fast opening of saved albums
Use album file as job/order archive
Export low res images and layouts
Add copyright stamps to exported images
Create Quicktime Slideshow movies
Albums work on Mac and Windows
Print proof sheets
Print image filename list
Print layout proofs
Acrobat manuals open from Help
Link to Raw files

Also available in proselect pro....
Efficiently manage production workflow
Open Raw files in Photoshop/Lightroom*
Generate final high-res print files*
Generate final high-res composite files*
Design & produce books*
Produce composites w/overlay images*
Produce composites w/background images*
Export Collections (templates,styles etc)*

Prices start from $520 depending on the edition needed.

Proselect $520

Proselect Pro $850

Proselct Pro and Composite Album Collection $1030

They do have a 30 Day trial available on their website so you can try before you buy. You can but it online using credit card and the key is sent to your right away!

Time exposure also claim using this software will boost your sales by up to 50% as mentioned on their testimonials page.


Minimum System Requirements

Macintosh Minimum:1GHz G4/G5/Intel with 1GB RAM running Mac OSX 10.3 or later. Recommended:2GHz with 2GB RAM.

Windows PC Minimum:2Ghz PC with 1GB RAM for XP32, 2Ghz PC with 2GB RAM for Vista32. Recommended:2.5+GHz with 2GB RAM.

Hope this is of some help to you all..

Let me know your thoughts and if you know of any other similar software.

If you want to check out their website for more information it is

www.timeexposure.com/portraitstudiosoftware.php

Amanda

50 Vs. 50

I headed to sydney on wednesday to get a new camera and see the moran prize exhibition. I happened to run into a good friend of mine who was a finalist in the moran prize photographic open portraiture section. Some amazing photos in there by the likes of stephen Dupont among others. Anyway, we headed to paxtons in the city to check out some gear and stumbled upon the Sigma 50mm 1.4 HSM AF lens.

Now, i no its kind of hard to compare a 50mm vs. 50mm when we compared it to the nikon 50mm 1.4 and not getting the canon 50mm 1.4 a run in. So its a round 1 event of the Sigma 50mm 1.4 Vs. the Nikon 50mm 1.4 AF-S D lenses. We compared these lenses on a Nikon D700 full frame camera body.

Background and a status check before we ring the bell. Sigma is solely a third party lens manufacture from japan. in the past most have been a little turned away from the fact that it isnt a "canon" or "nikon" made lens. But in recent times they have lifted their game and come out with some amazing lenses. Nikon have been around for years, lets face it, in 35mm format its really only canon and nikon at the moment, with a few other brands trying trying to pop up and become noticed but its taken a while for them. Nikon have just re-released a new 50mm. in the past the 1.4 wasnt AF-S, which is equivalent to canon's USM motor drives in the lenses.(although they are powered and fully controlled by the camera bodies them selves). It was the AF 50mm 14.D. now its the AF-S Nikkor 50mm 1.4G.

So the Sigma. How did it perform? Well, lets start with fact that its a 50mm. fast? yes, its a 1.4 wide open amazingly it is super sharp right through to about f/11. And what grabbed me straight away was how bright it was looking through the view finder. stunning. Now i will say something about the fact that when the guy behind the counter pulled the lens out of the box, the front element was HUGE. and i mean HUGE. The glass is right up to the front of the lens barrel. it takes a 77mm filter for that matter, same as most 70-200mm 2.8's or 24-70's. Having an element this big can only mean one thing, weight. Yes it is heavy, half a kilo. But it is very well weighted and combinded with any camera with a grip it makes it feel perfect. design of it is solid, Metal body. You cant say no to that. Very quiet focusing too. Performace wise it is super fast. Perfect if you shoot action or anything fast moving. It tracks very well and responds immediately. It seems that it is dictated by your eye movements. A very smooth bokeh too might i add.

Now introducing in the red corner Nikon. Again, 50mm. But it is a remake of the older version of the 50mm 1.4. Wide open it isnt that sharp and seems to become sharp from f/2 to f8 or so. I was rather disappointed about that. It didn't seem to have the burst of life in colour that the sigma kicks out. Weight wise it is half the weight of the sigma and the front element is 58mm. Unlike the sigma, the front element in tucked back into the barrel. This i think is what lets it down. The AF isnt as fast as what i was hoping for. It tracks just as good as the sigma but it is slower when you go to focus on something. for an AF-S quality lens it should be fast as hell. The body of it is part metal part plastic which i dont like. one or the other. i prefer metal.
The bokeh is very smooth in this lens and alot smaller than the sigma.

The conclusion: Personally i think the sigma has won this round. solid build, huge elements, pin sharp corner to corner. Sigma have really put alot of work into this lens and come through with the goods. But, if you dont like heavy lenses and would rather have a lens that you wouldnt be shooting fast moving objects with, the nikon is for you. Realistically, go into your local camera store and compare your canon 1.4 or nikon 1.4 to the sigma and see how you go.

ben.

Digimarc Watermark

Although this isn't a new plug-in/feature available in photoshop lots of you may not realise it is available..it's called Digimark Watermark. It's located under the filter menu in Photoshop. Digimarc Watermark is a form of protection which supplies information about ownership, copyright and image details within the image itself - replacing traditional watermarks.

Some benefits Digimarc provides to us as professional photographers include:

Communicate your copyright info
Carry information wihtout effecting the visual integrity of your photographs
Viewers are able to link back to you for your licencing or questions
and it also lets you track your collection across the public internet.

The watermark itself is embedded into each file/photo and is created by subtracting the original image from the watermarked image. Unlike using a lowered opacity business name is embedds itself into the lightness channel of each file/photo, making it impossible to remove.

A digimarc watermark can be placed in RGB, CMYK, LAB or greyscale images and are able to convert from one to another. Digimarc watermark only suppourts 8 bit files.

Obviously adding the watermark is the last step in the post process, placed after editing and before publishing.

The cost would be considered fair (especially to protect what we consider our profession/talent) starting at $79 - $499.

I myself think this would be a highly beneficially piece of software to use as a professional photographer for all the above reasons.

Digimarcs website goes into more detail for anything I may of missed, definatley worth a read.

Amanda :)

Camera - Review

If you are in the market for a new camera www.dpreviews.com has all the latest reviews and views on digital cameras.

We have found the latest reviews on the Canon D5 Mark II, Nikon D3X and Olympus 620 for you.

Enjoy :)

Camera - Live View

It seems like most of the leading brands of cameras are taking up live view. For example - Canon 5D MarkII and Nikon D3/D3X and Olympus.

What is live view?
Live view is essentially the tricked up version of the point and shoot cameras for the digital SLR, where the image is displayed on the back display screen.
This has been made possible by moving the mirror so that the image on the back of the camera is as the image sensor sees it.

Why do we need Live View?
Well we probably don't but in a competetive market where one of the leading brands offers it the others follow. So you can still use the view finder to take the shot and if you don't like the live view fuction don't use it or get a camera without it.

Benefits!
As I see it live view can be best utilised for difficult angles where it would be impossible to put eye to view finder. So artsy stuff, low angles, above head. Just look at the display and shoot away!


Negatives!
Probably paying for the privilage of having this function on the camera.

Your Opinion?
Would you get a camera with live view just because it had it?

Alien Bees, Lighting Review

If your in the market for a new portable strobe kit and you don't want to break the bank, especially during these times with the financial burden. Well this might just be the answer you have been looking for. Say hello to Alien Bees. Alien bees are the creation from photographer Paul C. Buff. His aim was to create a cheaper alternate source of lighting, with out the expense of say a profoto kit or an elinchrome kit. Now, i have never owned any Alien Bees, however, i got the chance to use some last Aus snow season for a week so heres my take on it.


First Impressions: Big. Big battery pack, big lights. Big kits for that matter. The space they take up in you bag is crazy. Its lucky they come with their own travel case. Very easy to use. the sliders on the back are all marked out with power settings and what not. The auto dumb is also an added bonus, especially when changing your power setting from full power(over powering daylight situations)to 1/4 power when you need to shoot a portrait. I had read quite a bit on them prior to using them so i knew that the durations get longer as you power them down, contrary to any normal strobe out on the market. I used the 800’s and they are usable depending on the situation for action, but great for portraits.


Anyways, here we go.


Build Quality:
These are straight up cheap. Built fairly cheap and are not that tough, especially in a snow environment. That being said, their repair people are pretty good from reviews and things that I've read and are willing to work with you and help you out if things are urgent. I guess thats a bonus considering they only sell in USA, bought direct from them and no one else

Cables/Accessories:
The cables are targeted to be easily replaceable and cheap. Power cable are a standard computer power supply cable. If you need to replace it, chances are you can find one in any town you are in. Same goes with the sync cable, it’s a standard 1/4″ miniphone (headphone) mono cable. Can find it at any jaycar or dick smiths or electronics store. Reflectors are cheap, but they do their job. Using a soft box is easy, just use the Alien Bee speed rings on any soft box. Chimera, Photoflex and Impact. The attachment system for the reflectors, soft boxes and umbrella's are simple and easy to use.

Flash Durations:
Always look for flash durations using the t.1 method. The t.5 method which only measures the duration at ONLY 50% discharge. What does this mean? It means that there is still 50% of the light to still come out of your strobe head. This also means that you need to basically multiply the duration times 1.8x in order to see what the usable duration is beceause, the head is still putting another 50% of it’s light. The method that is useful to us and that matters is the t.1, that measures 90% of the output.

Taken from the Alien Bees website:
http://www.alienbees.com/flash.html

Model Full Power 1/32 power (minimum)
B1600: 1/600 1/300
B800: 1/1100 1/550
B400: 1/2000 1/1000


Portable Power Pack:
This is an interesting thing. It’s one of the only systems where you could actually build your own power pack. You can plug any monolight that plugs into a regular wall socket. however these are the only ones on the market that are small enough to even consider putting in a backpack and using them at the locations we all tend to go to. The Vagabond and Vagabond II systems are simply put a sealed lead-acid 12v battery and an true sine wave inverter in a modified esky. The difference between the 2 models is the Vagabond II provides a faster recycle time and more pops of the strobe. They are simple and they work and another nice thing about them, is it’s a portable power system for anything you own that plugs into a wall sockets when your power goes out! The Vagabond weighs approximately 10kgs. The Vagabond II is a bit lighter at 8.5kgs. One nice thing about the simple power pack is you can save a few bucks and build your own. The important thing for someone building this type of system is that a true sine wave inverter is used.

Usability in the outdoors:
There is an internal fan in the Alien Bee strobe units. Because of this there are vents on the housing of the Alien Bee heads. Water, snow, etc can get into these. If you shoot in bad weather, this could be an issue. try to keep them somewhat sheltered from the elements by covering them with plastic, leaving the bottom open to allow for ventilation. If you shoot in dry conditions all the time, this should not be an issue.

Light Quality:
The light quality of these are good but not great. It’s not a Profoto or an Elinchrom, the light isn’t as great as those systems, but it’s still good.

Bottom Line:
They are the best bang for your buck.

To learn more on these lights and all other Alien Bee products, head to

http://www.alienbees.com


ben.