Photo&Cameras

With the advent of digital photography came the need for new tools. One staple is the image editing software Adobe Photoshop. As digital cameras became more sophisticated, and after the development of raw image capture, the need arose for a RAW converter such as Adobe Camera Raw.

As photographers made the permanent move to digital, there came a need for something to manage all the files they were generating. Simple image browsers such as Adobe Bridge did not have enough power. In 2005 Apple came out with Aperture as a solution. In 2006, Adobe’s product, which had been code named Shadowland, was released as Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

Managing Your Photographic Workflow With Photoshop Lightroom is based on the 1.2 version of Lightroom. It is a little over 200 pages and divided into nine chapters, along with two appendices and an index.

Chapter 1, “The Photographic Workflow,” first looks at a typical photographic workflow, describing the tasks and the steps that are regularly performed during the processing of images. The authors describe their own personal workflow and how you can adjust it to fit your own needs. Chapter 2, “Understanding Lightroom,” explains how Lightroom is a new type of application with which you can perform RAW conversion, Digital Asset Management, and image presentation in various output forms, all in one program.

Chapter 3, “Image Management in the Library Module,” describes Lightroom’s default module and how you use it to select the images that you will work with in the other modules. Here you will learn how to import, rate, and select the images. Chapter 4, “Editing Images in the Develop Module,” shows you that the next big step after selecting your images is to get the best out of them. To do this you will use Lightroom’s core image and editing engine, the same one that powers Adobe Camera Raw 4.x.

The subject of Chapter 5, “The Slideshow Module,” is one of the presentation possibilities for your images. There are two types of slide shows: the ad-hoc, and the standard presentation. Chapter 6, “Print,” goes into that more traditional method of presentation, and while it is beyond the scope of the book to go into detail about how to create the perfect print, it does present a good overview of what is needed to produce a good print.

Chapter 7, “Web Galleries,” is for photographers who want to present their images on the web. There are four basic steps to creating a web presentation in Lightroom: collecting the images, converting them, building the gallery, and uploading it. Chapter 8, “External Editors and Exporting Images,” describes how Lightroom edits your images in a non-destructive manner by using an XMP sidecar file, and what you will need to know to work with external image editors.

Chapter 9, “More Useful Lightroom Features,” describes some features that did not fit into any of the other chapters. These include backing up, exporting catalogs, importing catalogs, and working with templates and presets. Appendix A, “Keyboard Shortcuts,” provides a list of all the available shortcuts used in Lightroom. Appendix B, “Resources,” contains a list of books, e-books, and web resources to further your knowledge.

Uwe SteinmГјller has been a photographer since 1973 and has been exhibiting his work worldwide since 1978. In 1999, he launched the web magazine “Digital Outback Photo,” which attracts about 4 million visitors per year, and currently focuses on digital workflow, RAW file processing, and the printing process.

JГјrgen Gulbins is a prolific author who has written and translated books on topics such as CAD, Unix, DTP, typography, Internet, document management, Linux, and various aspects of digital photography.

What is interesting about Managing Your Photographic Workflow With Photoshop Lightroom is that it is not aimed at the beginning user, but targets the more experienced Lightroom user; by this I mean, you are not taken step-by-step like other current books on the subject. The book covers Lightroom 1.2 and so includes some of the newer developments, such as the improved sharpening feature.

Managing Your Photographic Workflow With Photoshop Lightroom is a book for photographers who have some experience with Lightroom and want to take their processing to the next level. The authors reveal some hidden gems within Lightroom and offer several different approaches to individual tasks. If you want to take your use of Lightroom to the next level, Managing Your Photographic Workflow With Photoshop Lightroom should find its way to your bookshelf.

From: feeds.blogcritics.org

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A brand new 40 second TV spot in the UK highlights just how hard-wearing the Olympus Mju 790SW camera is. Mark Thackara , General Manager Consumer Marketing, comments “What is the point in having a camera if you are afraid to take it out in many classic photo situations in case it gets damaged? The Tough is a product that looks great, can take excellent photographs but can also take life’s knocks.” London agency, The Red Brick Road, spent two freezing autumn days in glamorous Epping Forest shooting the ad, which you can watch at http://tinyurl.com/35q4gv

Olympus UK Press Release

There are around 400 different digital cameras on sale in this country so how do you make yours stand out from the crowd? Olympus have come up with some memorable and effective campaigns over the years and 2007 looks set to continue the trend with a brand new 40 second TV spot from top London agency, The Red Brick Road, on screen in the run up to Christmas starting on December 3rd.

Mark Thackara , General Manager Consumer Marketing, provides the background: “We have a new concept in compact camera design – the Mju 790SW “Tough”. It is an extension to the classic best selling Mju range. What is the point in having a camera if you are afraid to take it out in many classic photo situations in case it gets damaged? The Tough is a product that looks great (high up on most purchasers lists), can take excellent photographs but can also take life’s knocks. The idea is that you will even feel confident enough to trust it to your children. Going back to the original Trip concept – this should be the camera of choice for everyone. The challenge then was to put this across in a way that would really stand out in this very crowded market”

Rather than only position this as niche product for extreme sports enthusiasts as might have seemed obvious, Olympus took the decision to target families – if a small child could use it then anyone could. An extensive brief included much background history about previous work as Olympus has been particularly successful in the UK market in the 30 plus years since original press advertising started with CDP. After considering various directions the company settled on an initial idea from The Red Brick Road.

Graeme Chapman, Managing Director of Olympus UK: “We have worked with some of the founders on and off for many years and knew they would produce something that felt right for Olympus. The brand has a unique feel in the UK and while we wanted to refresh our approach it needed handling sensitively. If we had any doubt about creative inspiration it evaporated when we had Paul Weinberger drop the camera in front of creative partner, Justin Tindall. The look on his face said it all – here was a product crying out for a classic demonstration and one they could have some fun with.”

“Toddler” is the result visualised and shot brilliantly by director Dougal Wilson on two glorious but freezing autumn days in glamorous Epping Forest. Thanks to Producer Matthew Fone and production company Blink for realising what seemed simply on paper and you should rethink what they say about working with children and animals. Tough but worth it.

Please see the new ad on: http://downloads.olympus-europa.com/consumer/viral/Toddler_40sec.mpg

Via: feeds.feedburner.com

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Canon A550 review at DigiCam Review : Our friend Joshua Waller from DigiCamReview has published his Canon PowerShot A550 digital compact camera review. The 7 Megapixel compact Canon A550 features a Movie mode for VGA quality clips with audio of up to 60 minutes in length or 1GB file size. Movies and photos can be viewed on a TV via the AV out connection. A selectable Grid Line Display on the LCDs helps with shot composition, while the 2.0-inch screen size makes it easy for family members to view photos together without connecting to a PC. Conveniently powered by AA batteries, the Canon PowerShot A550 offers impressive battery life with up to 11 hours playback on a single charge (with Canon NB-3AH batteries).
Canon PowerShot A550 Digital Camera
According to Joshua Waller: “The camera switches on and can take its first photo in about 1.7 seconds. The camera shutter response at .5 seconds is good – and shot to shot time was quick, at less than 2 seconds (this is going to vary dependant on exposure conditions). Continuous shooting is moderately quick, at roughly 1.5fps at the highest resolution though when using flash can slow to between 5 and 10 seconds between shots (dependant on battery condition). The cameras menus and zooming in seemed responsive.”

Canon A550 Review – Noise and Detail
Joshua continues: “The Canon PowerShot A550 has relatively low noise up to ISO200. ISO400 produces acceptable results, and ISO800 is probably best left unused unless absolutely necessary. Compared with the other two cameras, noise does appear much more noticeable, however, when compared to the Panasonic FX30, you can see that the A550 retains more detail even when the ISO setting is increased. However neither the Canon or the Panasonic perform as well as the Fujifilm, which manages to produce low noise images right up to ISO800 with very good detail.”

Canon PowerShot Exposure compensation
“The sensor, electronics and optics used by Canon can produce good images. However, best results are achieved by tweaking the exposure compensation and white balance in manual mode. Exposure compensation is also available in the scene modes, but not in auto mode (which tends to produce overexposed images). Colours are rich and in a very wide range of situations the camera will take sharp, detailed pictures.” You want to learn more about the Canon PowerShot digital camera? Continue to read the Canon A550 review at DigiCamReview!

Souce: www.letsgodigital.org

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“The Giant Swing (Sao Ching Cha in Thai) is a religious structure in Bangkok, Thailand, Phra Nakhon district, located in front of Wat Suthat temple. It was formerly used an old Brahmin ceremony, and is one of Bangkok’s tourist attractions”. Taken by Bloggerthai

Source: planetearthdailyphoto.blogspot.com

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Ricoh Caplio GX100 digital camera review : Many photographers dream of a compact digital camera with a fine zoom range, including a true wide-angle, one that gives a high resolution and can also store images in RAW. Until recently this remained just a dream. But fortunately there is the opinionated Ricoh, who seems to make the dream come true. With the DIWA Gold Award rewarded GR Digital, Ricoh already has an exceptional camera with a fine wide-angle and RAW support. The Ricoh Caplio GX100 takes it a step further: more wide-angle, more pixels and an optical zoom including image stabilization. What more can a photographer ask for, you would think.

Ricoh GX100 – Wide-angle zoom
The most striking specification of the Ricoh GX100 is the zoom range. It starts at 24mm (35mm equivalent). This is a true wide-angle! Although there are a few other cameras with this kind of wide-angle, the Ricoh Caplio GX100 is rather unique. The tele-range goes up to 72mm, which is reasonable. The focal length is long enough for a head-shoulder portrait, but you will not be able to record the uncommon bird in your yard. If 24mm is not sufficient as wide-angle, you can screw an optional converter lens via an adapter on the camera. This way you will have a wide-angle equivalent to 19mm, amazing! To compensate jitter, the Ricoh Caplio GX100 has been equipped with an optical image stabilizer. With that, Ricoh follows the current trend.

Ricoh Caplio GX100 – 10 Megapixels
The Ricoh GX100 is Ricoh’s first digital compact camera that has been equipped with a 10 Megapixel CCD image sensor. With this, the producer now also matches the competition. With ten million pixels you will have more than enough information to print a large picture. Imagine a scenery photographed with the 24mm and printed on A2. Something like that is possible with the Ricoh Caplio GX100.

Ricoh GX100 digital camera – RAW format
While the largest part of camera manufacturers ignores the RAW format in compact cameras, Ricoh upholds this feature. With that, the Ricoh Caplio GX100 becomes an interesting camera for the photographer who wants to have ultimate control over the image. Wisely, Ricoh has chosen not to develop their own RAW format but uses DNG, Adobe’s open standard. In theory, it should be possible to open it with most RAW converters. In practice this is a bit more wayward, but with Photoshop and the latest Camera RAW plug-in you will have no problems whatsoever to work with the photos of the Ricoh GX100.

Ricoh Caplio GX100 – Metal casing
The casing of the 10 Megapixel Ricoh Caplio GX100 is compact, even though the wide-angle was tough to design. Ricoh has chosen to use a metal frame, which definitely insures stability. It is one of the few compact cameras that has not been made completely out of synthetics. The accessories also make the Ricoh GX100 unique. Not only the optional wide-angle converter, but also the optional viewfinder is one of a kind. Because there is no space for an optical viewfinder, you have the possibility to purchase a stick-on viewfinder with the Ricoh GX100. You will get an electronic viewfinder image, which is exceptional. In addition, you can turn the viewfinder so you can view the image in an angle.

Ricoh GX100 digital wide-angle camera review
Just like with the GR Digital camera, Ricoh has managed to place another unique digital compact camera on the market with the Caplio GX100. We received the Ricoh Caplio GX100 in our test lab, to explore if the camera truly lives up to the expectations. Our findings can be read in the following Ricoh Caplio GX100 review.

Source: www.letsgodigital.org

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Aimed at studio photographers on a ‘tight budget’ comes the Ringlite Converter from UK-based lighting group Bowens.

Priced at around £294, the attachment is claimed to be compatible with all digital SLRs and is designed to allow photographers to convert a standard Bowens flashhead to produce ‘ringflash-style light’.

A Bowens spokesman added: ‘Using this new converter photographers can simply put the camera lens through the centre of the light source.

‘This creates a softer, wholesome surrounding light around the lens which reduces shadows. It can also create shadowing around the outline of the subject so users can work with a specific photographic effect.’

Bowen points out that applications for ringflash include portraits and product shots.

The kit uses an S-type adapter, allowing it to be backwards-compatible with older Bowens lighting, adds the firm.

‘Traditional ringflash generally comprises flash tubes, cable and a powerpack, so the full kit required is quite unwieldy and expensive,’ explained Bowens technical director Mark Aherne.

Souce: www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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PhotographyBLOG reviews the Pentax Optio Z10 and writes, “The Pentax Optio Z10’s image quality is below average. The camera’s main drawback is noisy images, with the relatively slow speed of ISO 200 showing some noise and blurring of detail. The noise gets progressively worse as you go from ISO 400 to ISO 800 and finally to the completely unusable 1600 and 3200 settings. The Pentax Optio Z10 handled chromatic aberrations quite well with limited purple fringing effects appearing only in high contrast situations.”

Source: www.livingroom.org.au

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The inaugural “Photographers of Tomorrow” student photo contest from Olympus USA has a top prize of a $5,000 scholarship plus Olympus E-3 Digital SLR Camera with lenses and accessories. Starting January 14th 2008, students will submit their best work captured with the Olympus E-3 digital SLR. The winning images will be announced in April 2008. “The Olympus competition is our way of helping the next generation of professional photographers and photojournalists to showcase their work nationally, as the winning submissions will be visible on the Olympus Web site,” said John Knaur, senior marketing manager, Digital SLR at Olympus Imaging America Inc.

Olympus USA Press Release

Olympus Announces ‘Photographers Of Tomorrow’ Contest For Top Photography Students

Three Winning Students and Respective Professors to Receive $5,000 Scholarship, Recognition, and Olympus E-3 Digital SLR Camera, ZUIKO Digital Lenses and Accessories

CENTER VALLEY, Pa., December 4, 2007 – Olympus today announced its inaugural “Photographers of Tomorrow” photo contest, which is specifically designed for aspiring professional photographers or photojournalists, and will enrich the resumes and portfolios of the participating students.

Starting January 14, 2008, students will submit their best work captured with the Olympus E-3 digital SLR (single lens reflex) camera in three categories: Speed, Travel and Environmental Issues. Student entries will be judged by a panel of award-winning photographers, comprised of Olympus Visionaries. The winning images will be announced in April 2008. Complete rules and regulations can be viewed at http://www.olympusamerica.com/e3photocontest.

Participating schools include Texas A&M University at Commerce, The University of the Arts Philadelphia, Art Institute of Colorado, Brooks Institute, Rochester Institute of Technology, Hallmark Institute of Photography, University of Texas – Austin, Rockport College, and Academy of Art University San Francisco, among others.

“The Olympus competition is our way of helping the next generation of professional photographers and photojournalists to showcase their work nationally, as the winning submissions will be visible on the Olympus Web site,” said John Knaur, senior marketing manager, Digital SLR at Olympus Imaging America Inc. “The students will connect with the three distinct categories of speed, travel and environmental issues.”

Photo Submission Categories
Olympus has selected the following categories for contest submissions to inspire the budding photographers and to best represent the capabilities of the new Olympus E-3 digital SLR camera.
# Speed: Images capturing the essence of speed and movement of life;
# Travel: Images depicting exotic, exciting, or extreme journeys or adventures, showing the color and temperament of the local culture; and
# Environment Issues: Images showing the impact of man and global warming, or natural settings of landscapes, flora, and fauna.

The Prizes
The students who submit the three winning images (one for each of the three categories) will be awarded the following prizes. The three students’ respective professors will also be awarded the camera, lenses and accessories.
# $5,000 Scholarship
# Olympus E-3 Digital SLR Camera
# Two New ZUIKO Digital Lenses – the ED 12-60mm (24-120mm equivalent) f2.8-4.0 SWD and ED 50-200mm (100-400mm equivalent) f2.8-3.5 SWD
# Olympus Travel Bag and Lens Cloth

Contest Camera and Lenses
The Olympus E-3 provides the high-precision performance demanded by professional and enthusiastic photographers to capture exceptional images every time. When coupled with the ZUIKO digital 12-60mm SWD (Supersonic Wave Drive) lens, the E-3 offers the fastest autofocus system in the world.1 Body-Integrated Mechanical Image Stabilization to stabilize every lens, a 10-megapixel Live MOS image sensor, and the reliability of a high-endurance, dust-proof and splash-resistant magnesium alloy body join the impressive innovations developed for the E-3. Olympus pioneered Full-Time Live View and Dust Reduction Technologies for digital SLR cameras, leading where others have followed.

The Judges
An esteemed panel of judges, comprised of Olympus Visionaries, will evaluate the student submissions and vote for the top winner in each category. The Olympus Visionary program celebrates the work of some of the most talented still photographers of the day, who use E-System equipment for travel, news, documentary, fashion, food, people, nature and landscape, commercial and fine art photography.

ABOUT THE OLYMPUS VISIONARY PROGRAM
Established by Olympus Imaging America Inc. in partnership with some of today’s most talented photographers, the Olympus Visionary program is dedicated to creating superb digital images with the help of Olympus’ digital cameras and lenses. Olympus Visionaries span all fields of photography and work in a diversity of styles and subject matter, but they are united in realizing their creative vision through digital photography. The Visionaries use Olympus digital cameras in their daily assignments and personal work, participate in speaking engagements and appearances, and provide Olympus with input into equipment development. The Visionaries include several Pulitzer Prize-winning and Magnum photographers, as well as internationally-renowned photographers from the United States, Bermuda, Canada, Italy and Japan.

For more information about the “Photographers of Tomorrow” contest, Olympus Visionaries or Olympus products, contact Michael Bourne, Mullen Public Relations, 978-468-8953 or , or Jennifer Lyons, public relations manager, Olympus Imaging America Inc., 3500 Corporate Parkway, Center Valley, PA 18034, ph: (484) 896-5350 / (800) 622-6372 or the Olympus Web site: http://www.olympusamerica.com.

ABOUT OLYMPUS IMAGING AMERICA INC.
Olympus Imaging America Inc. is a precision technology leader, designing and delivering award-winning products for consumer and professional markets.

Olympus Imaging America Inc. works collaboratively with its customers and its ultimate parent company, Olympus Corporation, to develop breakthrough technologies with revolutionary product design and functionality that enhances peoples’ lives every day. These include:
# Digital and Film Cameras as well as related Underwater Products and Accessories
# Professional Digital SLR Imaging Systems as well as related Underwater Products and Accessories
# Digital and Microcassette Recorders
# Digital Media
# Binoculars

Olympus Imaging America Inc. is responsible for sales in the United States, Canada, Mexico, the Caribbean, and Central and South America. For more information, visit: http://www.olympusamerica.com.

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With the trend of miniaturization in digital cameras, one of the first features to suffer is usually zoom capability. Canon attempted to remedy this on Monday with the announcement of the first camera in its new SX line, the SX100 IS, which boasts 10x optical zoom in a fairly compact and inexpensive package.

Besides giving amateur photographers the capability to get up close to their subjects from far away, the SX100 IS also includes an 8-megapixel image sensor, optical image stabilizer, DIGIC III image processor, and face detection technology. It’s powered by commonly available AA batteries, and sports a 2.5-inch LCD screen. An SLR-style dial on top of the camera gives photographers access to 19 different shooting modes.

Canon also pushes the camera’s movie-making capabilities, which go well beyond what many point-and-shoot cameras are capable of. The SX100 IS captures video in full VGA (640×480) resolution, with clips that can run up to 4GB or one hour long, whichever comes first.

“We developed the PowerShot SX100 IS digital camera with all the zooming power and creative control a traditional photo-taker could ever want in a compact and value-priced package,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, senior vice president and general manager of Canon’s  Consumer Imaging Group, in a statement. “This camera is just as appropriate for beginners as it is for more seasoned enthusiasts with a need to capture quality images from a distance.”

The SX100 IS with camera kit will go on sale in October for $299. The package includes batteries, a 16MB flash card, USB cable, AV cable, neck strap, and Canon software.

By: news.digitaltrends.com

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Ricoh has launched a 7.1-million-pixel compact with a 3in LCD screen called the Caplio RR770.

Billed as the successor to the RR750, the new model features a zoom lens designed to deliver the 35mm viewing angle equivalent of a 34-102mm lens.

In macro mode users can focus as close as 5cm, according to Ricoh.

The Caplio RR770 is compatible with SD memory cards and comes with 32MB of on-board memory.

It is powered by AA batteries.

A UK price was not available at the time of writing.

Souce: www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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