Digital SLR Blog

The Frame 1.0 software by Kate Labs predominantly tests out digital cameras and lenses. Available for both Mac and Windows platforms, the software offers a graphical user interface and command line prompt.

Supported Test Charts

- ColorChecker
- ColorChecker SG
- ColorChecker Gray Scale
- ColorChecker White Balance
- ISO 12233
- Kodak Q-13 and Q-14 Gray Scale
- Kodak Q-13 and Q-14 Color Separation
- Kodak Q-60 Gray Scale
- Kodak Q-60 Color Separation





 

The newly announced OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro claims to be the “largest capacity, fastest bus powered portable storage solution on the market”. The 500GB 7200RPM pocket-sized portable storage solution is perfect for multimedia professionals as it features g FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and/or USB 2.0 interfaces for data transfer speeds up to 100MB/s. It can old up to 500,000 JPEG photos, 250 DVD movies, 38 hours of digital video, or 175,000 MP3 songs.

For more information on the Mercury On-The-Go Pro, visit:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go

ACD Systems International has started beta testing for its new ACDSee™ Pro Photo Manager for Mac. Beta downloads of ACDSee Pro for Mac are available at http://www.acdsee.com/proformac and the first release will focus on  fundamentals of browsing, viewing, organizing and printing images. ACDSee Pro for Mac will be available for a free 30-day trial and for purchase at $169.99 (USD).

Version 3.9.5 of the Raw Photo Processor is now available for download. The Raw Photo Processor is a Mac OS X raw file converter and now includes support for three new digital cameras and also fixes a number of known bugs.

An updated version of the Noise Ninja standalone application is now available courtesy PictureCode. Noise Ninja v2.2.0 is available for both Mac and Windows OS and features a new batch processing function called Sidekick Mode. The Sidekick Mode programs other applications, like Photo Mechanic to send in images for noise removal processing. You can download it from here.


[Via Rob Galbraith]

Apple has released a number of updates for the Mac OS that fixes a number of issues related to imaging. The Life updates include:

• iLife Support 9.0.2 -- This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues. It is recommended for all users of Aperture, iLife 09, and iWork 09."

• iPhoto 8.0.2 Update -- "This update improves overall stability and addresses minor issues in a number of areas, including Faces, Places, photo sharing, and slideshows."

• iMovie 8.0.1 -- "This update improves overall application stability as well as addressing minor issues related to usability."

Version 1.4.0 of Nikon Transfer is now available to both Mac and Windows users. Mac users need to go here to download and PC users here.



Modifications enabled with Ver. 1.4.0

- When the ‘Transfer new photos only’ checkbox in the Preferences panel of the Options dialog is checked and all image files displayed in the transfer queue have been transferred, the ‘Disconnect Automatically after transfer’, ‘Shut down computer automatically after transfer’ and ‘Quit Nikon transfer automatically after transfer’ operations are no longer performed, even if these options have been enabled.
- When ‘Date Transferred’ is selected with the Index pull down menu (between prefix and suffix) in the Folder Naming dialog, a checkbox called ‘Do not add trailing number’ is now displayed.  If the checkbox is not checked, a trailing number of the form of “YYYYMMDD_001” will be added as with previous versions.
- ‘Original name+New name’ and ‘New name+Original name’ options have been added to the prefix and suffix portions in the File Naming dialog.
- An ‘Add XMP/IPTC rating as my Picturetown favourites option has been added to the my Picturetown panel in the Options dialog.
- When ‘Verify my Picturetown account’ in the my Picturetown panel of the Options dialog is clicked, the total amount of storage used is now displayed as a percentage of the total capacity available.
 

FotoInsight recently announced the version 4.5 of FotoInsight Designer for Mac and Linux systems. The photo book application integrates with Flickr, Facebook, Picasa and geotagging site “locr” and they become an online interface for photo book building with family and friends. The new version also features new photo book formats and features like fading frames and festive templates.

Nik Software’s Viveza plug-in filter is now available for Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 and higher. The update is free to current owners of Viveza. Viveza installs as a plug-in filter for Lightroom 2 and is accessible via the Lightroom Photo>Edit In…menu. Current owners of Viveza may download a free update at www.niksoftware.com/lightroom .

Adobe has released a plug-in that disables the multitouch gesture for canvas rotation, as well as the gestures for zooming and flick panning on the MacBook Air and recent MacBook Pro systems. Sometimes the canvas gets rotated accidentally through inadvertent use of the gesture on the trackpad and hence Adobe has attempted to correct it.  You can download the plug-in from here.

Hasselblad has released updates for the Phocus and H-series camera systems. Phocus 1.1.3 for Mac & 1.0.2 for Windows offers full digital APO Correction for the HTS1.5 and the Capture Info tool in Phocus has been extended with fields for HTS parameters, extension rings and converters.

Highlights Include:
  * Support for ISO 800 on H3DII-39 & ISO1600 on H3DII-31
  * Add full integration with your H-series camera and the HTS1.5 by updating your firmware.

Download Phocus:
http://www.hasselblad.com/service—support/technical-support/software-downloads.aspx

Download camera body firmware for the H-series:
http://www.hasselblad.com/media/1623890/081222.zip
Download capture unit firmware for the H3Dx, H2D, CFx, 503CWDx series:
http://www.hasselblad.com/media/1623929/r248.zip

The 1clickactions Action Station seeks to offer swift browsing and powerful search functions to users of Photoshop actions. The Action Station is compatible with Photoshop CS2, CS3 and CS4 on both Mac and Windows platforms and cab be purchased for $47.95. A UserGuide can be downloaded from http://www.1clickactions.com/pdfs/ActionStationGuide.pdf “The most popular request from our customer feedback monitoring has been for some way to organize all the actions we provided”, says 1click’s David Gill. “Until now our customers have had to navigate the Photoshop action palette and as our range of actions increased so did the size of the action palette.”

JOBO AG’s photoGPS is now compatible with the Mac OS. For the uninitiated, JOBO photoGPS is a small lightweight GPS receiver that fits directly on any digital camera’s hot shoe for automatic geo-tagging by capturing raw GPS data and time. Suggested retail price for the JOBO photoGPS is $159.

The Apple  iLife 09 suite is now shipping and offers major upgrades to iPhoto, iMovie and GarageBand. Retailing for $79.00 (Single User), iLife 09 requires Mac OS X version 10.5.6 or later, a Macintosh® computer with an Intel processor, a PowerPC G5 or 867 MHz or faster PowerPC G4, 512MB of RAM (1GB recommended) and QuickTime® 7.5.5 or later.

You can see step-by-step demonstrations of iLife ’09 features by browsing more than 70 video tutorials here.

Hydra 2.0 by Creaceed is a HDR photography application for Mac users and can be purchased as a stand-alone application or as a plug-in for Aperture. The upgrade not only adds a new default tone mapper for improved and more natural results but also includes  a new default alignment technique which is very useful for small distortions.


Hydra 2.0 can be purchased on Creaceed's Web site for USD 79.95.

• The upgrade price for Hydra 1.x registered users is USD 19.95.

For upgrade information for registered users, visit http://www.creaceed.com/weblog/hydra_2.html.

ContrastMaster is now available for Mac users. The plug-in offers effective contrast enhancement and is capable of  dramatic contrast looks, photorealistic paintings and HDR-like effects. ContrastMaster works with 8bit and 16bit RGB images and offers three local and four global contrast adjustment methods as well as various masking, saturation and brightness options.

ContrastMaster sells at $69.95 (Regular License) or $39.95 (Academic/Educational License). It can be purchased at http://www.thepluginsite.com/products/photowiz/contrastmaster/

The Funtastic Photos 1.0.3  Photo Editor for the Mac OS X is now available for download. The minor update (free to existing customer) improves printing by doubling the printing resolution, fixing some minor bugs and making  the printing of portrait greeting cards easier. The application is available for   $27.99 USD before taxes and a  free unlimited trial can be downloaded from Ohanaware's web site.

Its great to love in a world of iPods, BlackBerrys however when it comes to keeping track of all the chargers it’s a whole different story. Hence I loved this Charger Box, which  is a centralized charging solution without burning your pocket.

Excerpt from post:

# 10 1/2"x8"x6" cardboard Memory Dock box, purchased at Roberts

# Power Sentry Home Office Computer Surge Protector, bought at Target

# #1 X-Acto knife from Michael's

# 2 packages of Jo-Ann ScrapEssentials brushed silver oval bookplates

# 1 package of Jo-Ann ScrapEssentials silver mini-brads

RAW Developer 1.8.2 for the Mac OS is now available courtesy Iridient Digital. The update has support for all the latest new camera models, improves deep shadow rendering, improves default camera profiles for many models and also fixes several bugs.

RAW Developer 1.8.2 is a free update for all currently registered users and one can also purchase a new license for $125.00 US. The RAW Developer 1.8.2 demo and update can be downloaded now from:

http://www.iridientdigital.com/products/rawdeveloper_download.html

Nervian will soon start shipping their CardReader Pro soon. Designed exclusively for the Apple Power Mac G5 or Mac Pro desktop, the memory card reader features four memory card slots and includes support for CompactFlash and SD/SDHC formats. For a limited time the company is offering a 15% rebate towards the purchase of a CardReader Pro from their online store to those who sign-up before September 12, 2008.

 [Via Rob Galbraith]

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