Digital SLR Blog

The PhotoPlus X3 Digital Studio is a new digital photo editing software by Serif. The software includes features such as High Dynamic Range (HDR) imaging, Raw Photo Studio and 48-bit dynamic color and the on board Black and White Studio offers control over the mood and style of grayscale images. PhotoPlus X3 will retail at $79.99.

Photo Iconic has launched a new range of photography courses keeping in mind the needs of photographers, journalists, writers and authors. The ‘Pro For a Day Assignment’ course entails professional photographers sharing their experiences with illustrating newspaper and magazine features, brochures, etc and offer guidance to the participants. The assignments are based around country and coastal life, colorful and interesting events and local food production.

For more information visit http://www.photoiconic.com.

Viewbook.com which is an online portfolio service have updated their service and unveiled a refreshed website. Designed for multimedia professionals like photographers, designers and graphic artists, her service lets one organize display and present their work stylishly. Viewbook’s features also extend to presentation creation and client delivery. For more information please visit http://www.viewbook.com

Memolio which is photo website has launched a range of photo albums that are not only compact but also crumple & tear resistant. One can upload up to 24 images at a time, choose the theme color, save the albums and the print them out for around 15 GBP which includes worldwide shipping.  You can check out the video demo here.

Aperture 2.1.3 is now available for download to Mac users. The new version “improves overall stability and provides fixes for issues related to database integrity and compatibility with specific file types."

Fixes include:

• Nikon images imported directly from a camera now display thumbnails correctly in the Import window.

• Fixed an issue that could cause unwanted duplicate image versions to be created after rebuilding a library or after importing projects. These duplicate versions appear in the Browser as gray boxes or square thumbnails and show a Pixel Size of "0 x 0" in the Metadata panel. The word "(null)" may appear in the name of these versions. If your Aperture Library contains these duplicate versions, you may be able to eliminate them by rebuilding your library after updating to Aperture 2.1.3. To rebuild an Aperture Library, hold down the Option and Command keys while opening Aperture, then click the Rebuild Now button. If rebuilding the Aperture Library does not remove these unwanted duplicate versions, you can manually delete them.

• Addressed a library issue that prevented the operation of the Relocate and Consolidate commands in some circumstances. This situation could occur if you renamed images using the Relocate Masters command, and then subsequently rebuilt your Aperture Library. If you are unable to Relocate or Consolidate Masters, you may be able to remedy the issue by rebuilding your Aperture Library using Aperture 2.1.3, as described above.
 

Tiny Pictures recently announced the Flickr integration for Radar (http://radar.net)-a service for real-time sharing of cameraphone pictures, videos and conversations between friends. The integration allows users to follow Flickr photos as they're shared and the service is available for all major cellphones including the iPhone. For more information, please visit: http://radar.net/flickr

Shapeways Photoshaper is a new service that lets one transform their images into 3D with just a few mouse clicks.  A depth-layered 3D object is created automatically based on  contrast of the picture, which can be printed by Shapeways with the latest in 3D printing technology (Rapid Prototyping). The 3D photo will be produced and delivered globally within 10 days and costs between $40-50 (USD), including shipping.

For more information head over here.

The newly released Capture One 4.6 comes in three versions: 4.6, 4.6 PRO and 4.6 DB and existing Capture One 4.x owners can upgrade for free. The latest version adds support for cameras like Nikon D3, Nikon D700, Nikon D300, Nikon D200, Nikon D80, Nikon D60, Nikon D40x, Nikon D40, Canon EOS 5D Mark II and EOS 50D.


You can learn more about the new release at: http://www.phaseone.com/4

In a press release, Geotate announced that they have upgraded their GPS Web-Service for adding location tags to digital images. The geotagging service works with technology on a camera or dedicated device (such as JOBO’s photoGPS) to enable the user to record and discover the location where they took their pictures and videos.

“This upgrade of our Internet-based web-service coincides with the first Geotate technology-enabled products using our technology, being used by photographers.  It represents another step in our ability to engineer innovative technology into market leading products,” said CTO Chris Marshall.

The Nikon Solutions Expo kickstarts on the 9th of December. Photographers can congregate at the two-day event and learn about workflow solutions, get tips and advice on getting the right shots, and also learn about software processing and printing.

The Solutions Expo runs on December 9-10 at Olympia’s Conference Centre, London. More information and photographer profiles within the expert showcase can be found at: http://www.solutions-expo.co.uk/expert_showcase_d3.htm

If you want to a 3rd party assessment of digital imaging systems then check out the Imatest line of products. In fact the newly launched Imatest Master 3.2 with SFRplus is capable of  performing a plethora of image quality tests like sharpness, lateral chromatic aberration, lens distortion, gamma
(contrast), and tonal response.

SFRplus operates in two modes.

    * Interactive/setup mode, which allows you to set up region selection and calculation parameters and interactively examine results in detail.
    * Auto mode, which runs automatically with no additional user input. ROIs are selected automatically based on settings saved from the interactive/setup mode. This allows images of different sizes and framing to be analyzed with no change of settings. Auto mode is especially useful for rapid automated testing, where framing varies from image to image

Yotta, a 3D mapping division of OMG plc unveiled what is no doubt the world’s first panoramic 60 megapixel street-level imaging vehicle. By using the 60 megapixel panoramic camera and  Applanix satellite positioning technology, the Y360 vehicle will help to enhance street-level mapping with accurate 3D images of buildings and other highway features.

The onboard camera is able to captures images every 2 metres, with the precise position (to less than 1 metre) of each image calculated by combining GPS, Inertial and Optical tracking systems with advanced algorithms.

 "Y360 is a leap forward in surveying technology and illustrates the evolution in the services Yotta offers to our customers. This new addition to our specialist survey vehicle fleet provides a major advancement in street-level mapping. This will allow our Local Authority clients and Highways Agencies to gain full benefit of higher levels of accurate asset information based on 3D images. This new technology also opens up a whole new area of applications and opportunities with a broader range of customers for Yotta," says David Lowe, Yotta CEO.

 [Via Gis User]

An update to the Capture One 4 application has been released by Phase One. Version 4.1.2 of Capture One, adds lens correction support for Phase One digital back owners who have the following systems; Hasselblad H, Hasselblad V and Contax mounts. For more information please visit: http://www.phaseone.com/Content/Downloads/CO4.aspx