Adobe Releases Camera Raw 3.1 Plug-in

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) has announced the availability of an updated Adobe Camera Raw plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS2 and Adobe Photoshop Elements 3.0, as well as an updated Adobe DNG Converter that adds compatibility for four new camera models. The Adobe Camera Raw 3.1 plug-in and DNG Converter now support over 75 camera models, including the newly added Canon EOS Rebel XT, Nikon D2X, Olympus EVOLT E-300 and Olympus C-7070 Wide Zoom.

In response to requests from the photography community, Adobe Camera Raw 3.1 now allows for automatic updating of embedded JPEG previews to raw files through a special preference setting within the application. This optional preference (requires additional processing time) is available for all supported camera models from 14 top manufacturers including Canon, Contax, Kodak, Konica Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Sigma and Sony. The raw file allows photographers to manipulate the original data captured by the camera sensor before a final JPEG or TIFF has been generated. Photographers choose to work with raw files because they provide greater control when applying corrections and adjustments to images, without compromising image quality.

The .DNG file format was developed by Adobe to give photographers a single unified file format for archiving their raw files. Adobe wanted to quickly address the challenge of archiving and accessing images for the future by offering the Adobe DNG Converter as a free download from its Web site. In addition, the company made the Digital Negative specification publicly available for software and hardware manufacturers to rapidly adopt and integrate into their applications.

The Adobe Camera Raw 3.1 plug-in and the Adobe DNG Converter require Mac OS X 10.2.4 or higher, Microsoft Windows 2000 with Service Pack 3, or Windows XP.

The Adobe Camera Raw 3.1 plug-in also requires Adobe Photoshop CS2 or Photoshop Elements 3.0 and can be downloaded for free by going to the Adobe Web site at www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html. The Adobe DNG Converter is available today as a free download at http://www.adobe.com.

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