Large storage capacity and a big, beautiful display make Epson’s next-gen viewer a practical piece of equipment
By Ron Eggers

As image resolution increases with the release of new digital camera models and CompactFlash card capacity increases accordingly, portable storage solutions have become more functional and affordable. There's a variety of high-capacity portable devices on the market that cost a fraction of CompactFlash cards when it comes to price per megabyte.
Epson's new P-2000 Photo Viewer, a.k.a. Multimedia Storage Viewer, stands out as one of the sleekest I've seen, and I've seen a lot. It comes with a 40GB hard drive, accepts multiple media types, and multitasks as an image display device and video/MP3 player.

Epson took the popular Stylus Photo R800 and supersized its abilities with the Stylus Photo R1800. This new printer features the same great Epson UltraChrome Hi-Gloss eight-color pigment ink set, but can produce prints up to 13x44 inches and resolutions up to 5,760x1,440 optimized dpi. This ink set also features Epson's Gloss Optimizer, which eliminates gloss differential.

The Wilhelm Research numbers on this product are outstanding. On Epson Watercolor Paper (Radiant White), displayed prints framed under glass reached a permanence rating of 200 years. Epson Premium Glossy Photo Paper hit 104 years and Epson Matte Paper made it to over 150.

Speed increases with this model. 4x6 prints in less than 42 seconds and 11x14-inch photos in less than two minutes.

Looking for a case that's as tough as you are? Or at least as tough as you wish you were? Porter Cases are the Volvos of photo equipment cases. They may not be the prettiest, most styling cases, but they're rugged and they keep all your gear safe from damage.       

The new Stowaway 20-20 W is an ATA 300-style stackable, shippable case designed as part of a "total travel system." It mates with all Porter Case cart style carryons. Male channels on the bottom of the Stowaway lid allows other Stowaway cases to stack and nest on top.

If you're a wedding or portrait photographer looking for an inexpensive way to make a good impression, take a look at the new ArtZ Special Edition Bookmaker. Print your own images on 8.5x11-inch Moab Kayenta Fine Art paper, which is printable on both sides, and bind it into a lovely silky finish book cloth cover to make a hard-bound book with style that you can use as a portfolio to show clients, a leave-behind book for wedding vendor locations, or even as an add-on sale product. The $59 price tag includes 25 pages (the book can hold up to 20) and the silk cloth book cover. Assembly is easy. Visit ArtZ for details and ordering information.

Sekonic and X-Rite now offer the Sekonic X-Rite Digital Suite, a package that combines light metering technology from Sekonic with the monitor calibration of the MonacoOPTIX XR. The goal in offering this suite is to provide digital photographers with an avenue to perfect exposures and proper color, reducing (or eliminating) time spent in post-capture correction.       

The Sekonic X-Rite Digital Suite contains the new Sekonic L-558Rmulti-function, wireless radio triggering light meter, which provides accurate and sensitive light measurements for both incident and reflective light reading. To accurately evaluate the images on a monitor, the suite includes the award winning MonacoOPTIX XR, whichcolorimeter calibrates and profiles CRT and LCD displays.

If you purchase the Sekonic X-Rite Digital Suite before June 30, 2005 , you'll get a free copy of MonacoEZcolor (a $600 value), which provides scanner and printer profiling, direct from X-Rite Photo Marketing. The street price for the Suite is $699.

Epson Stylus Pro 4800, Epson Stylus Pro 7800, and Epson Stylus Pro 9800

New professional wide-format printers use color and unique three-level black ink system to create highest-quality archival black and white images

See additional information about the new Epson Stylus Photo R2400 featuring the new UltraChrome K3 inks

Long Beach, Calif.—May 10, 2005—Epson is once again advancing its printing technology into new territory for professional photographers and graphic artists with the launch of the Epson Stylus Pro 4800, Epson Stylus Pro 7800, Epson Stylus Pro 9800, and new Epson UltraChrome K3 ink technology.  The combination of these new printers and archival inks not only gives today's most demanding professionals the widest gamut of archival color ink jet printing to date, but an almost infinite degree of black and white image control that rivals all other forms of photographic printing.

All three printers introduce several new and advanced features and technologies, most notably Epson UltraChrome K3 inks - a new archival technology that uses eight individual colors to create even better exhibit-quality output on a wide selection of media.  The Epson Stylus Pro 4800 replaces the award-winning Epson Stylus Pro 4000 for printing images as wide as 17 inches, while the Epson Stylus Pro 7800 and Epson Stylus Pro 9800 replace the Epson Stylus Pro 7600 and 9600 for printing up to 24 inches and 44 inches in width, respectively.

For decades, artists have used photographs as reference sources for their paintings. Some artists attach a photo to their easel as they paint. Others have gone so far as to project a photo against a wall and to draw on paper or canvas, following the projection as a template.

So it isn't that surprising that one of the most popular uses of Corel Painter today is using photos as the basis of paintings. This includes everything from adding painterly touches to a photo to completely transforming the photo into a painting in Painter.

The practice spans many creative fields, too, from traditional artists who use the photo as a springboard for their art to professional photographers who sell painted portraits of their photographs to their clients. And today, with the popularity of digital cameras and archival inkjet prints, more people than ever are getting into turning photographs into paintings.

It's in this atmosphere of excitement that Karen Sperling is happy to announce that she has completed updating her Artistry Painting for Photographers tutorials for Painter IX.

"I've been getting emails begging me for the update," says Karen. "I'd like to think it's because I'm so much in demand, but the truth is, it's the subject that gets people excited. After all, there are lots of Painter tutorials and books out there nowadays, in addition to Painter classes. But there's that much interest in the subject that people can't get enough information about it."

The Artistry Painting for Photographers tutorials are available in Acrobat format, downloadable from the Artistry web site at http://www.artistrymag.com and also on CD. Discounts are being offered for ordering the CD along with the other Artistry tutorials that are available for Painter IX, including a CD with the first six months of the Artistry Tips and Tricks newsletter and an Artistry Beginners CD.

Vancouver, BC, Canada (May 31, 2005)—Creo Inc. is pleased to announce the immediate availability of the new Leaf Aptus digital camera back system. This next-generation digital camera back is being introduced in two models: the Leaf Aptus 22 and the Leaf Aptus 17, with resolutions of 22 million and 17 million pixels respectively.

The Leaf Aptus was designed to accommodate the needs of professional photographers. A user-friendly and intuitive 6x7cm touch screen display allows photographers to shoot up to 1000 frames without interruption. Images are shot at a speed as fast as 1.2 seconds per frame, and can be evaluated and edited on the spot. A unique user button is customizable and enables the photographer to quickly access vital image information and perform tasks without removing his or her hands from the camera.

By Joan T. Sherwood

Years ago, when nik multimedia first released nik Sharpener Pro, it quickly became the highly recommended third-party sharpener of choice for digital imagers who wanted to bring more to the table than just what was possible in Photoshop with Unsharp Mask. Users of nik Sharpener Pro found a great way to sharpen an image for the right output device and the proper viewing distance, without having to do all the math.

Other software companies got into the sharpening game, like PixelGenius with its PhotoKit Sharpener, now in version 1.2.3 (released 05/2005) and compatible with Adobe Photoshop CS2.

Now welcome nik Sharpener Pro 2.0, which goes on sale June 13.

New to Sharpener Pro:
• Works with 16-bit images
• Sharpen with selective brush strokes
• Advanced panel allows you to select a color range (or several) in your image to sharpen more or less. Or, you can change each slider in the advanced panel equally to increase or decrease the sharpening overall. A simple right-click or control-click lets you move all sliders simultaneously.
• Raw Presharpening — not to be confused with sharpening for print. Use this when you shoot in RAW format instead of using in-camera sharpening—here you'll have more control.
• Larger preview window in the interface, which helps you see how much sharpening you're asking for before you apply it.
• Analysis modes give you a chance to see a graphic representation of how much sharpening will be applied to a particular area of your image.

Read the full product preview.

Infrastructure to enable custom, personalized, one-of-a-kind trading card created online

DigiProofs, Inc. (www.digiproofs.com), a leading provider of online proofing services, has launched Custom Online Trading Cards. The trading cards are professionally designed to create an elegant and unique look that will be great for one’s own collectibles or memorabilia for friends and family. It is ideally suited for sports and other theme events. Visitors to the online events view proofs online, select the card design, position the photo by pan and zoom, enter the personalized text, proof the final and order the cards, all by themselves. All that the photographer members have to do is set the retail prices to enable the feature.

Extensis posts free updates to Photoshop Tools products (Mask Pro, PhotoFrame, Intellihance Pro, and pxlSmartScale) for registered users, providing compatibility for Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Mac OSX 10.4 Tiger.

New digital camera models combine record pixel strength with Fujifilm's breakthrough Real Photo Technology for sharper high-resolution pictures with less noise

VALHALLA, NY, July 28, 2005—Harnessing the technology excellence of Fujifilm's superior Real Photo Technology and answering the advanced needs of today's skilled digital camera user, Fujifilm today introduced three new models to its digital camera portfolio. Fujifilm unveiled the FinePix S9000 and FinePix E900 digital cameras—the world's first consumer level cameras with 9-megapixel sensors. In addition, Fujifilm's popular S-series line now features the new FinePix S5200, offering 5 megapixels of shooting power, with a fully automatic point-and-shoot feature set.

A day's work condensed to 60 seconds

Commercial photographer Jack Reznicki uses his Canon EOS 1Ds Mark II, a PocketWizard MultiMAX Transceiver and a SanDisk 8GB CompactFlash card to record a photo shoot. Reznicki records two shots per minute, and uses iPhoto and iMovie to convert the images into a QuickTime movie. (2MB file)

Download the article from Professional Photographer magazine.

By Stan Sholik

In the September issue of Professional Photographer, Stan Sholik took a look at portable flash power systems available from Balcar, Broncolor, Calumet, Elinchrom, Hensel and Profoto. Here he looks at alternative, economical options for photographers.

Technological advances have given photographers an increasingly wide selection of portable battery-powered high-output flash units. Those same advances have given us another option for location assignments--power systems designed to allow the use of AC-powered studio flash systems on location. Photographers have done this for years by bringing generators on location. But now there are battery-based power systems that are small, affordable, and produce the pure sine wave output that modern power packs need. Two of the most popular are the new Dyna-Lite XP 1100 and the Paul C. Buff Vagabond Portable Power System.

The Dynalite XP1100 (right) delivers 1100 watts
of AC power in a compact package.

A look at the Hasselblad H2, H2D cameras and Ixpress CF and CFH digital backs

By Stan Sholik

While other camera manufacturers may be searching for direction as the medium-format world makes the transition from film to digital, Hasselblad’s direction is clear. This was the message from Christian Poulsen, founder of Imacon and new CEO of Hasselblad, at the West Coast launch of Hasselblad’s next generation of products. That direction is embodied in the newly released Hasselblad H2 cross-platform (film and digital) camera and H2D fully integrated digital camera, and two new digital backs, the Ixpress CF and Ixpress CFH.

In the November issue of Professional Photographer, Susan Powers, M.Photog.Cr., commented on the state of the photo album, its future as an archival medium, the forms it takes, and the styles available. Here we provide a list of Album and Frame companies for your research  convenience.

10.2-megapixel D200 digital SLR delivers outstanding image quality with blazing speed, rugged construction and intelligent features

Melville, NY— Nikon today introduced the highly anticipated new D200 – a precision-engineered, high performance digital SLR camera designed to satisfy the requirements of passionate and demanding photographers. Combining brand new technologies with advanced features inherited from Nikon’s venerable D2X professional digital SLR camera, the D200 incorporates more must-have features than any other camera in its class, enabling photographers to capture images in a way once reserved only for professionals.

The D200 promises an extremely satisfying shooting experience, with a winning combination of quality, performance, construction and advanced system features.  Employing a newly developed 10.2 effective megapixel Nikon DX Format CCD image sensor, the D200 captures images with remarkable resolution and clarity.  Its sophisticated 1,005-pixel 3D Color Matrix Metering II system ensures ideal exposures while an advanced Nikon image processing engine renders images with superb clarity and smooth color gradations.  The D200 reacts with lighting speed, powering-up in a mere 0.15 seconds, and firing in an imperceptible 50 millisecond shutter release lag time.  It can shoot five frames per second with a drastically shortened viewfinder blackout time of just 105 milliseconds between shots.  Its large, bright viewfinder offers 0.94X magnification for comfortable and precise composition while a new 2.5-inch LCD screen provides ultra-wide 170-degree viewing angle from all directions.  With an all new 11-area Autofocus system, robust control of Nikon’s  i-TTL Creative Lighting System and advanced Wi-Fi image-transmission options*, the D200 is a perfect fit for discriminating photographers and a natural choice for wedding, event and action photographers.

Sneak Preview: Canon EOS 5D, digital nirvana for $3K?

By Joe Farace

The new EOS 5D fits into the same “good, better, best” strategy that Canon uses with their film-based SLRs. It’s plopped down right in the middle of their product line between the EOS 20D and Canon’s 1D alphabet soup models. Unlike the EOS 3 that looks and feels more like an EOS 1, the 5D’s magnesium-alloy body reminds me more of a chunky20D, but where else are you gonna find an SLR with a “full-size” chip for $3,299.95?

While the original EOS 1Ds had a full-sized chip that was the equivalent of a mounted 35mm slide’s opening, the 5D’s imager is slightly less (23.9x35.8mm) than the revered 24x36mm standard but it's close enough. I asked Canon, "Is this the same chip used in the original 1Ds?" The answer, from a source I trust, was, “nope, it’s not.” But I still wonder...

Stabilized Telezoom Shootoff: Nikon and Sigma 80-400mm Stabilized Lenses

By John M. McBride

Nikon users looked on jealously in 1998 as Canon launched a new era of handheld photography with their 100-400mm optically stabilized telezoom lens.  Suddenly photographers could capture handheld telephoto shots that previously demanded a tripod.  Two years later Nikon countered with the 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 ED VR AF Zoom-Nikkor stabilized lens.  Not to be left behind, Sigma introduced its own stabilized 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6 EX OS lens in 2002, matching Nikon’s specs while offering versions for Sigma, Nikon and Canon users.

All images ©2005 John M. McBride

Filling the niche between the 20D and the Mark II, the new Canon DSLR combines speed and performance in a compact camera.

By Ron Eggers

Canon’s new EOS 5D full-frame digital single lens reflex camera is in a class by itself. Positioned in the market between the 20D and the least expensive Mark II—what Canon calls the “premium DLSR market”—it’s suitable for a broad range of professional applications.

Priced just over $3,000, the 5D is less expensive than the lowest-priced Mark II, and holds its own against those models in speed and performance. The 5D is designed around a 13.3-megapixel effectively), with maximum resolution of 4,368x2,912 pixels. With 8.2-micron pixels, the 5D’s second-generation Canon CMOS chip is a significant redesign of the original, engineered for lower power consumption and less noise distortion, particularly in shadow detail.

Here you'll find three additional photos taken with the Canon EOS 5D, and links to download the full-size images to take a closer look.

Is It Really Photoshop for Photographers?

By Joe Farace

"Waddaya mean," my friend Ralph, asks, "what else is Photoshop for?" I hated to be the one to break it to Ralphie but Adobe Photoshop has changed a lot in its journey from that cute little FotoMat desktop icon, to the all-seeing-eye, to the oh-so-Forrest Gump feather. It's evolved from just being a photographer's tool to one embraced by artists and Web designers too, so there are lots of tools that photographers seldom use. (Other than Save for Web, how often do you use Image Ready?)

Along the way, stuff--as they say--happened. When handed a tool that has the capacity to capture images unhindered by film processing costs, some of us have unleashed our internal creative demons and shoot, shoot, shoot. Where once a wedding photographer may have had a hundred, maybe two hundred, 5x5 proofs to edit, they are now faced with four hundred or more images. And while Photoshop CS2 Bridge, bless its pea-pickin' heart, is a good way to edit lots of images, it ain't the fastest way. Enter Adobe Adobe Lightroom, a.k.a. Photoshop for Photographers.

Finally, the successor to the Nikon D100 makes the scene
with lots of impressive features and performance passed down from the D2X

By Joan T. Sherwood

I have been shooting with the Nikon D200 for a month now, and really I have mostly great things to say about it. Before the full review appears in the March issue of Professional Photographer, here are notes on the results of my initial experience with the camera using a Nikkor 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 G IF-ED AF-S DX VR lens, which is an 11.1x zoom lens designed for everyday photography. It's NOT a pro-level zoom lens. In the action shots, I believe focus results would be much better with a fast, 2- to 3X zoom.

Read the full article.

The next generation of Nikon software, Capture NX, incorporates U Point technology from Nik Software Inc., which lets you place a control point on the color you want to edit and use simple sliders, all visible at once in a configuration that looks like fork tines, and make adjustments to elements like hue, saturation, brightness, contrast. The user can customize most aspects of the tool, such as the area of influence. You can also place multiple points on a single image and have two points work relatively to each other. In demos here, Nik representatives showed the tool in use to just point at the blue portion of sky in a photograph, set the white of the clouds to be unaffected, and upping the saturation of the blue to create a bolder image.

Capture NX will feature improvements to batch processing and image browsing. A new Edit List entry will track any effects or edits made to an image. The entry can then be removed, altered or duplicated on the list without any destructive effects to the original file. Users will be able to save or undo the effects of the U Point technology Control Points in NEF files at any time. Nikon will also introduce selection tools and color management control to Capture NX.

The software should be release in spring of 2006. Prices and upgrade information are currently unavailable.

What are you doing with your non-mouse hand? Want to make it more productive?

Logitech and Adobe Systems Incorporated are showing the results of a collaboration to provide creative professionals and new levels of control with AdobeCS2 and standalone CS2 applications: the NuLOOQ Professional Series. The new Logitech product line comprises the NuLOOQ navigator, an innovative device used in conjunction with a mouse and a keyboard to manipulate images and documents, and the NuLOOQ tooldial, customizable on-demand interface software that provides quick access to design tools. Both are designed for use with the Mac versions of Adobe CS2, Adobe Illustrator CS2, Adobe InDesign CS2, and Adobe Photoshop CS2.

The NuLOOQ Professional Series places the frequently used tools and options in the Adobe Creative Suite right at your fingertips, letting you do toolbar and option bar selections and functions without having to go to keyboard shortcuts or the mouse.

My Life Designs is showing the best looking photo jewelry we've seen yet. Why? It's real sterling silver jewelry, not something you assemble yourself with a tiny print cutout. It's heavy. The photo is permanently sealed to the silver with  a clear coating that doesn't yellow or peel. Owner and designer Kimbra Orr offers many pieces, like charms, pendants, bracelets, rings, pet tags and zipper pulls. Stop by the Web site or call 877-501-LIFE to ask about wholesale purchase for professional photographers.

Lowepro has introduced a new line of Stealth Reporter bags with a new water-resistant top zipper design replacing the previous velcro-down rain hood. The zipper is sealed for water resistance and the zipper pull fits into a little hood to keep water from entering at that point. The underside of the zipper has a padded flap to protect the gear inside from any scratching.

The top flap now has one big clip instead of two. The shoulder strap has new dense padding and can be configured to carry on one shoulder, cross-shoulder, with a small stabilizing belt strap, or as a sling bag. The padded segment slides along the shoulder strap so that you can move it to where you need it.

D650 AW and D550 AW models have a well padded laptop compartment and a fully adjustable divider system. All models come with the All Weather Cover to protect the bag in harsh elements.

Corel today announces the release of Painter IX.5, a free uprade for registered Corel IX users. The  update includes three new painting palettes that help the user get a faster start in the photo painting process. Underpainting gets the image ready for the painting process; Auto-Painting uses adjustable randomized automated brush strokes to give the user a base to start with; and Restoration allows the user to bring back photographic detail where you want it.

The update also includes new tools: an eraser, a rubber stamp, and a cloner brush. Video from Lynda.com will come free with the purchase of Painter IX.5, which will be available in April. The Painter IX.5 patch for registered Painter IX users should be available on the Corel Web site for download today.

Recreate the look of the films you loved

By Wendell Benedetti

Alien Skin Software advertises its latest Photoshop plug-in, Exposure, as bringing the look and feel of film to digital photography. As "the closest thing to film since film," it's supposed to make digital images look like they were shot on film. That impressive claim piqued my curiosity. I had to have a look.

Installation on a Windows XP configured imaging workstation went without a hitch and the 48-page instruction manual more than adequately covered the program's features with colorful illustrations. Everything worked as advertised, but it didn't take long to discover that Exposure offers a lot more than film simulation.

Exposure actually does three different things. Using pre-configured tools it simulates black-and-white and color film stock as well as an assortment of darkroom/studio effects. It also offers an array of powerful image optimization tools. First and foremost, though, Exposure simulates specific film stocks. That's its primary, unique purpose. Its secondary features are simply a bonus.

Is It Really 6X Better?

By Joe Farace

Any tripod can be a three-legged friend that has the simple job of holding your camera steady. How it accomplishes that task is a matter of personal preference, design, and price. A good tripod has basic requirements: It must be sturdy enough to support your camera yet light enough for you to be willing to take it along and use it! The Gitzo Mountaineer Reporter is part of a new family of Carbon 6X tripods that reduces overall weight by up to 17%.

All Carbon 6X tripods and monopods use a six-crossed multilayer tube that’s 30 percent lighter without sacrificing strength and stability. Part of the weight reduction of Gitzo’s 6X tripod legs comes from making the standard 1.5mm carbon fiber tube thinner. Using a six-layer construction, Gitzo proclaims the tubes now are 1mm thick but are equally as strong and as stable as their 1.5mm three-layer carbon fiber tubes. Mountaineer 6X tripods are constructed using a screw thread and adhesive dual jointing technology called Hybrid Interconnecting System (HIS) for increased ruggedness and durability. In real world use, the Mountaineer Reporter held up as well as, if not better than, metal or other carbon fiber tripods I’ve used, and having to schlep less weight around is a plus.

The rookie: Can Apple's innovative approach to workflow software overcome its flaws?

By Andrew Rodney

(Editor's note: This is a more extensive version of the review that ran in the March 2006 issue of Professional Photographer magazine.)

For years, photographers have had excellent software tools for manipulating and retouching their images, yet few products that fully addressed the agonizingly slow process of editing and processing RAW files from a typical photo shoot. With nothing more than a loupe and a light table, the task of editing and sorting thousands of 35mm slides is relatively fast process. Unfortunately, this hasn’t been the case when editing thousands of RAW digital camera files. Recognizing this, Apple Computer announced, with great fanfare, its first software product designed for professional photographers; Aperture. Apple’s Web site declares, "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."

By design, Aperture attempts to wear many hats, showing its greatest promise handling a process that, for lack of a better term has been called “image ingestion.” Ingestion is the process of moving digital images from camera to computer, examining and organizing them (sorting and ranking) with the ultimate goal of producing an edited set of hero photographs. At this point, adding metadata, such as copyright information and keywords would be applied.

Apple has announced an upcoming upgrade to Aperture that the company says will resolve many of the issues revealed in reviews of the first release. Aperture 1.1—the first Universal version of Aperture—offers increased computer and camera compatibility. The upgrade allows photographers to run Aperture on both PowerPC-based and Intel-based Macintosh computers, including MacBook Pro. Developed in consultation with pro photographers, Aperture 1.1 is scheduled for release in March. Current owners of Aperture 1.0 can upgrade via Software Update. Aperture 1.1 will be available for $499.

Performance and feature enhancements to the new version include improved RAW image quality, RAW fine tuning controls, noise compensation for high ISO or long exposures, a built-in color meter to sample the pixel values anywhere in an image and display them in RGB, LAB, or CMYK, and the Export Versions command will now include a “Fit Within (Inches)” option and allow you to specify a resolution in dots-per-inch.

Visit Apple's Aperture 1.1 Update page for more information.

In response to the growing demand for a superior fiber-based digital fine art media with the look and feel of a traditional darkroom photo paper, the Hahnemuhle Mill has introduced the newest member of its digital FineArt media collection.

As with all Hahnemuhle papers, FineArt Pearl has been developed to the highest standards using only the finest raw materials and manufacturing techniques. FineArt Pearl 285gsm is a triple coated, lignin free, 100% alpha-cellulose paper. The result is a surface that is remarkably similar to a traditional silver gelatin double-weight photo paper. In a side-by side comparison to similar papers from competitors, Hahnemuhle FineArt Pearl proved to be significantly superior in D-Max, white point and surface structure.

LightZone blazes new trails in RAW processing

By Andrew Rodney

Correction layers, selections and blending now a part of the RAW-to-rendered process

In the last 6 months, a slew of new software products designed for photographers who shoot primarily in RAW format have come onto the scene. Apple Aperture and Adobe LightRoom are just two examples. Light Crafts LightZone enters the fray as yet another new image processing product that provides some unique and interesting tools.

LightZone has two basic modes: a simple image browser for quickly finding files and an editing mode, which is the more advanced. While the browser can preview existing rendered images (TIFF, JPEG, PNG) as well as RAW data from a number of camera manufacturers, it's limited to viewing images and embedded metadata (Figure 1). In this first released version, LightZone is all about the editing mode and rendering images.

By Tom Peterson, Product Line Manager for Rimage Corporation

Professional photographers need clear answers to their questions about using CDs and DVDs as archival media.  What causes data loss in CDs and DVDs? How do you avoid that? What is an archival CD/DVD? How do I find archival quality CDs/DVDs? How long should my data last on archival quality CDs/DVDs? What is Blu-ray technology? Do I need it?

Tom Peterson is the Product Line Manager for Rimage Corporation, providers of CD-R and DVD-R publishing, duplication and printing solutions. He is responsible for the purchase of more than two million CD-Rs and DVD-Rs each month for the company and meets monthly with representatives of all major media manufacturers to keep abreast of changes in technology. Peterson led the initiative within Rimage of working with vendors to establish the Rimage 100-year media warranty.

We asked Peterson to provide the answers you wanted.

by Wendell Benedetti

The value of actions and plug-ins to professional photographers is indisputable, but finding the right ones can be daunting.

Plug-ins and actions dramatically expand the capabilities of Photoshop. Some provide new and time-saving ways to apply the application's tools, while others provide distinct capabilities. Both streamline the workflow from image capture to final output. No professional photographer should be without them.

But there are literally thousands of these tools available. Instead of Googling through pages of worthless links to find ones for your particular workflow, check out the examples from the Web sites below. All of them offer downloadable plug-ins and actions, and many include reviews, tutorials, instructional DVDs and lively forums.