Test Reports
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Solve Technical Problems With Affordable Photoshop Plug-Ins
Fred Miranda’s Suite Of Solutions
Software & Computers, Test Reports
Peter K. Burian • Apr 01, 2005 • 0 comments

All Photos © 2004, Peter K. Burian, All Rights Reserved

The Adobe Photoshop series is the most popular among image-editing programs, and this software includes a vast range of image-enhancing features. While some of the available tools are quite easy to use, advanced image-correction techniques require sophisticated and time-consuming multi-step processes. These are...
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The Original Lensbaby
Having Fun With Distortion And Soft Focus
Accessories, Test Reports
Joe Farace • Apr 01, 2005 • Published: Mar 22, 2005 • 0 comments

Photos © 2004, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

The Original Lensbaby is a flexible camera lens that creates an image that has an area of sharp--or not--focus that's surrounded by a graduated blur. This mostly plastic lens is available in different camera mounts and brings the "Holga look" (see What's a Holga Anyway? sidebar) to single...
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Konica Minolta Maxxum 7D
First D-SLR Camera With Built-In Anti-Shake System
Amateur Digital SLRs, Test Reports
Peter K. Burian • Mar 01, 2005 • 0 comments

Photos © 2004, Peter K. Burian, All Rights Reserved

Although Konica Minolta was the last major manufacturer to enter the digital SLR market, the Maxxum 7D was well worth the wait. This is an incredibly versatile camera with advanced technology, including a significant bonus. The Maxxum 7D is the first SLR camera in the world to boast a built-in Anti-Shake mechanism to...
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ACDSee 7
A Step By Step Guide To Digital Workflow
Software & Computers, Test Reports
Joe Farace • Mar 01, 2005 • 0 comments

All Photos © 2004, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

One of the few problems with digital image capture is you tend to shoot more photographs than if you had to pay for processing them. (You really have to pay for all these extra images--there is no free digital lunch--but that's a topic for another story.) If you're gonna shoot lots of pictures...
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ColorVision’s Spyder2PRO Studio
Calibration For CRT And LCD Display
Software & Computers, Test Reports
Jon Canfield • Mar 01, 2005 • 0 comments

What happens when you go back to the drawing board and redesign a successful product? If you were to base your answer on some of the movie sequels that have come out, the results would not be good. Thankfully, Pantone ColorVision has avoided the Hollywood syndrome and come out with a real winner. The recently introduced new version of the popular Spyder hardware calibration system...
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Kaiser’s Studio Out Of The Box
A Handy Tool For Photographing Small Objects
Software & Computers, Test Reports
Roger W. Hicks ... • Mar 01, 2005 • 0 comments

The name may not be catchy, but it is a fine piece of truth in advertising. Kaiser's Studio Out of the Box comes in a box and it's a sort of mini-studio for making small product shots for catalogs, insurance purposes, documenting collections, posting on websites, and many other applications. It's usable even by non-photographers: all you need is a light or two...
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Using Adobe’s Photoshop Elements 3.0
Software & Computers, Test Reports
David B. Brooks • Mar 01, 2005 • 0 comments

If anything over the years characterizes doing photography digitally, it is Adobe's Photoshop--now the standard mainstay application at the heart of a digital darkroom. I can't remember now just how many years ago I was introduced to Adobe's yet-to-be-released PhotoDeluxe 1.0 at a Comdex computer show. I was impressed with PhotoDeluxe at its beginning...
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Portraits To Go With JTL’s Mobilight 300
Wireless Triggering For The Location Photographer
Lighting Equipment, Test Reports
Joe Farace • Mar 01, 2005 • 0 comments

Riddle me this: What's the hardest thing to find on any location shoot? If you said, "clients who were on time," that would be partially true, but the correct answer is--an AC power outlet. They're even more difficult to find if you're at the beach, in a park, or as I often find myself, on a racetrack somewhere. One of the niftiest solutions...
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Extensis´ Portfolio 7
An Image Organizing Superpower
Software & Computers, Test Reports
Howard Millard • Feb 01, 2005 • 0 comments

Does it seem that your hard drive is filling up with digital image files faster than the speed of light? Where in the world is that shot you took last summer of Steve water-skiing, and whatever happened to those great photos from the trip to Death Valley that you want to e-mail to a friend? Whether your digital pictures are from a digital camera, scans from prints, negatives, or...
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Canon EOS 20D
The Canon Digital SLR Continues To Evolve
Amateur Digital SLRs, Test Reports
George Schaub • Feb 01, 2005 • 0 comments

All Photos © 2004, George Schaub, All Rights Reserved

One of the main benefits of SLR photography is that it allows you to make quick decisions and respond to what's happening in front of you with your heart, mind, and guts without fumbling around. It allows you to apply what you've learned about making pictures immediately, and is an instinctive response to...
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Noise Ninja 2.0
Can Software Cure High ISO Digital Files?
Software & Computers, Test Reports
Peter K. Burian • Feb 01, 2005 • 0 comments

All Photos © 2004, Peter K. Burian, All Rights Reserved

Although most digital cameras produce clean images at low ISO settings, digital noise often degrades images made at higher ISO levels. Resembling colored specks that are visible especially in shadow areas, noise can be prominent in ISO 800 and higher images made with a digital SLR. It's even more problematic...
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The Microtek ScanMaker i900
Professional Flat-Bed Scanner Features At A Consumer Price
Scanners & Printers, Test Reports
David B. Brooks • Dec 01, 2004 • 0 comments

All Photos © 2004, David B. Brooks, All Rights Reserved

Microtek may not be the most familiar name in digital photography, but the company offers the widest selection of scanner models available. Microtek has also been in the business of making scanners for about as long as they have been available in the consumer market. The one reason you may not be as aware...
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Quantum's Leap
The Qflash T4d Digital
Accessories, Lighting Equipment, Test Reports
Joe Farace • Dec 01, 2004 • 0 comments

All Photos © 2004, Joe Farace, All Rights Reserved

The Quantum Qflash T4d Digital is a serious flash unit that combines the form factor and user interface of the kind of high-end flash units that camera manufacturers charge big bucks for with the kind of power normally found in small monobloc studio strobes. Then there's that removable reflector that...
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The Leica MP
And Now, "Leica A La Carte"
35mm Cameras, Test Reports
Roger W. Hicks • Dec 01, 2004 • 0 comments

All Photos © 2004, Roger W. Hicks, All Rights Reserved

The Leica MP is the greatest Leica for years--maybe decades. If you want a classic all-mechanical Leica, and you can afford a new one, this is the one to buy. That's all there is to it.

So much for the short review: how about a longer one? Well, it is best summed up in three words:...
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Zuiko Digital 300mm f/2.8 ED And 11-22mm f/2.8-3.5 Lenses
The Long And The Short Of It For The Olympus D-SLR System
Lenses, Test Reports
Peter K. Burian • Dec 01, 2004 • 0 comments

All Photos © 2004, Peter K. Burian, All Rights Reserved

The first interchangeable-lens autofocus SLR produced by Olympus, the E-1 was also the first digital camera to employ a "Four Thirds" CCD sensor. The smallest imager in any digital SLR camera, this one is roughly half the size of the 35mm film frame standard. Consequently, the effective focal...
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