News

DxO Labs has announced that DxO Optics Pro v3.0 Digital SLR and lens
automatic image quality enhancement software is available on the company's
e-store (http://store.dxo.com)
and via selected resellers. DxO Optics Pro v3.0 incorporates optics, noise and
exposure corrections in an all-new, easy-to-use, feature-rich application for
both Mac and PC users.



DxO Optics Pro v3.0 now also includes support for two additional Nikon digital
SLR camera bodies: the Nikon D70s and Nikon D2X. DxO Optics Pro v3.0 provides
support for the Nikon D70s and the same range of lenses as currently supported
for the Nikon D70. And new to DxO Optics Pro v3.0 is support for the Nikon D2X
and an initial selection of compatible lenses with more to come over the coming
weeks and months.



DxO Optics Pro v3.0 was subjected to rigorous, in-the-field testing by tens
of thousands of professional and advanced amateur photographers during worldwide
public beta testing."The photography community got incredibly involved
in the beta test. Their feedback was invaluable and we would like to publicly
thank all of them," explained Luc Marin, Vice President of the Photography
Business unit at DxO Labs. "Several thousand photographers also answered
a follow-up questionnaire and confirmed, once again, the value that DxO Optics
Pro delivers."



At the core of DxO Optics Pro v3.0 is the award-winning DxO Optics Engine which,
together with the associated DxO Lens modules, automatically removes lens distortion,
vignetting, lens softness and lateral chromatic aberration. The DxO Raw Engine
in DxO Optics Pro v3.0 has also been completely redesigned to offer photographers
full control of the RAW conversion process.



DxO Noise Engine is based on a set of unique algorithms developed by DxO Labs
and on precise camera sensor modelization. The all-new DxO Noise Engine automatically
achieves a reduction of up to two f-stops in image noise while preserving maximum
detail. DxO Lighting Engine is a brand new DxO technology included in DxO Optics
Pro v3.0. A unique local exposure and dynamic range optimizer, DxO Lighting
Engine brings out the shadow detail of digital image files while preserving
highlights, textures, colors and a natural look. DxO Optics Pro v3.0 offers
a choice of three operating modes to meet every demanding photographer's
needs. All modes are fully batch-oriented for the greatest productivity. Users
can switch between modes at any time.



DxO Optics Pro v3.0 is offered in two versions with the same functionality but
different levels of camera support: DxO Optics Pro v3.0 (US$159) for prosumer
and expert amateur Digital SLRs and DxO Optics Pro v3.0 Elite (US$ 249) for
all supported cameras, including professional Digital SLRs.



DxO Optics Pro v3.0 is available in six languages: English, French, German,
Italian, Japanese and Spanish, for both Macintosh and Windows (full system requirements
on www.dxo.com).



All purchasers of DxO Optics Pro 2.2 on or after April 20th, 2005 are eligible
for a free upgrade to DxO Optics Pro v3.0. For all other users, upgrade to DxO
Optics Pro v3.0 is offered at US$ 49).



For more information, visit DxO Labs online at www.dxo.com
...

Shutterbug contributor Jon Canfield's latest book has just been released.
"RAW 101: Better Images With Photoshop Elements and Photoshop",
published by Sybex is the first introductory book on using Adobe Camera Raw.
RAW 101 covers all practical aspects of RAW in Photoshop Elements 3 and Photoshop
CS2. Just follow the heavily illustrated, step-by-step examples and you'll
quickly figure out how to attain the greatest accuracy from your RAW files,
whether it's correcting shadow and highlight detail, fixing white balance,
or eliminating noise. Once you see the startling results, you'll no longer
want to rely on your camera to make critical decisions for you. The 160 page
full color book retails for $24.99. For more information, visit the Sybex website
at http://www.sybex.com/sybexbooks.nsf/booklist/4432

...

Microsoft Corp. has launched Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006, a package of
easy-to-use tools designed to help consumers organize, enhance and share their
rising number of digital memories. The new digital imaging software helps consumers,
from the novice to the sophisticated photographer, easily find their favorite
snapshots and video clips and do more with them in just a few clicks. Digital
Image Suite 2006 includes intuitive tools such as the Hierarchical Keywords and
Hover Thumbnail, offering a more personalized, easy way to manage photos and video.
In addition, the software includes filters and a tone adjuster in the Black &
White Effects feature.



Microsoft Digital Image Suite 2006 makes it easy to find, view and organize photos
and videos with the following new tools:

Hierarchical Keywords and Labels provide stacked tags that consumers can use to
organize, sort through and find their images in the way that best suits them.


Hover Thumbnail enlarges thumbnail images whenever a mouse hovers above them,
making it easy to view the image, along with details such as date taken, file
type and size, resolution, and assigned Labels.



Video support offers consumers the option to view and organize their videos in
the same place as their photos. They can easily assign a 5-Star Rating, add Keywords
and captions, or mark videos with customizable Flags representing a variety of
actions such as For Review or To Share.



RAW Support for Canon and Nikon cameras allows consumers to view and organize
images shot in RAW category of formats, a high-quality photo format captured by
many models of digital cameras. In addition, consumers can save the RAW format
as a JPEG or TIF file for easy editing of the image.



To help consumers explore their creative side and visually express themselves,
Microsoft Digital Image Suite offers new and enhanced tools, including:

Black & White Effects makes it easy to transform color photos into contrast-rich
black-and-white images by using a variety of preset filters, altering color tone
or manipulating each of the color channels.



Intuitive Crop intelligently analyzes the composition of a photo, such as faces
in portraits or family photos, when a consumer clicks on the Crop task and suggests
a way to crop the photo that will properly frame the subject(s) and create the
best possible image.


Photo Story 3.1 allows anyone to create a photo show with voice narration, customizable
pans and zooms, and music. This year Microsoft has added the ability to make quick
edits (red-eye removal, apply black-and-white filter), create an original soundtrack,
and burn a CD with high-resolution VCD files, perfect for playing back on a TV.




Sharing Disc allows consumers to easily burn photo CDs to share with friends and
family, without disrupting detailed photo archive settings.



Device Sync Support makes it easy to share photos and videos with mobile devices
such as the Portable Media Center, Pocket PCs and Smartphones through synching
with Windows Media Player. Consumers can simply flag the desired images, and the
next time the mobile device syncs with the PC, the photos will automatically transmit.



Microsoft's 2006 line of digital imaging products, including Digital Image
Suite 2006 and Digital Image Standard 2006, is available today. Microsoft Digital
Image Suite 2006 offers more robust organization and editing features for an estimated
retail price of $99.95 with a $30 mail-in rebate open to all consumers and an
additional $10 digital camera mail-in rebate (if consumers purchase any digital
camera within 30 days of acquiring the software). In addition, Digital Image Standard
2006, designed for first-time digital photographers, is available for an estimated
retail price of $49.95.



www.microsoft.com
...

Alien Skin Software has announced the release of Eye Candy 5: Impact, a set
of 10 plug-in filters for Adobe Photoshop and other compatible host programs.
Impact creates chrome, bevels, glass buttons, perspective shadows, and more.
The third of three upgrades to Eye Candy 4000, Impact features three new filters--Backlight,
Brushed Metal and Extrude--and seven reincarnated Eye Candy classics. Graphic
designers, digital photographers, and Web content creators will appreciate Impact's
versatile and beautifully rendered effects.

...

Panasonic has announced the expansion of its SD Memory Card line with the addition
of three new memory cards. The flagship of the company's expanded line is
the "PRO HIGH SPEED" Series 2GB SD Memory Card that features up to
20MB/s data transfer rate. It is joined by the 1GB "HIGH SPEED" card
with up to 5MB/s data transfer rate and a 512MB miniSD Card with a data transfer
rate of up to 2MB/s. All three cards are expected to be available in the United
States in August.



Panasonic's new 2GB "PRO HIGH SPEED Series" SD Memory Card is
expected to be launched in the United States in August 2005, with a manufacturer's
suggested retail price of $319.99. With an outstanding data transfer rate of up
to 20MB/s and its 2GB storage capacity, the new Panasonic card is designed to
meet tough requirements including high speed consecutive shooting by high-end
digital still cameras and MPEG2 video recording by camcorders.



Panasonic also adds the 1GB SD Memory Card to its existing "HIGH SPEED Series"
of cards. With a data transfer rate of up to 5MB/s, the new model is expected
to be available in August 2005 in the United States, at a manufacturer's
suggested retail price of $129.99.



www.panasonic.com...

Mitsubishi's Photo Imaging Division and X-Rite (NASDAQ: XRIT) today reaffirmed
their agreement to license ICC profiles created by X-Rite's MonacoPROFILER
software into Mitsubishi's family of digital photo printers. This agreement
provides professional photographers with higher levels of consistency and integration
between photographic printers and original images.


Mitsubishi Photo Imaging uses MonacoPROFILER software to build ICC profiles
for their key digital photo printers, all of which offer high speed, high resolution
photo quality prints. The ICC profiles greatly reduce the design-to-production
cycle, saving time and money. These ICC profiles can be downloaded from Mitsubishi's
website.



Mitsubishi digital photo printers provide high tech, valuable solutions to digital
photographers across the spectrum. From its economical CP-3020DU, a high speed,
high resolution printer that provides full 8 x 10 and 8 x 12 color prints, to
the high-end CP-9550DW, an ultra fast, large volume digital printer, Mitsubishi
Digital Electronics America offers a comprehensive line of digital printers
to fit any photographer's business.



www.mitsubishi-imaging.com/photo

...

Editor's Note: We received the following from the Ilford team and report
their release verbatim:

The news that the remaining aspect of the Ilford Imaging Group, the UK arm of
which went into administration in 2004, has been settled with the takeover of
Ilford Imaging Switzerland by Oji Paper of Tokyo, a leading paper manufacturer
in Japan for over 130 years, has been welcomed by ILFORD Photo and HARMAN technology.




Although HARMAN technology, the parent of ILFORD Photo, is a totally independent
company with no corporate ties to the old group, as a gesture of goodwill given
the history of the group, the UK company's directors have been assisting the
Swiss company and the administrators, Grant Thornton, to keep its operation
in a viable state.



The result is that the takeover has been successfully completed for an undisclosed
sum, and that Ilford Imaging Switzerland GmbH will operate as a wholly owned
subsidiary of Oji Paper Company under the continued direction of managing director
David Jones.



Other Ilford Group member companies around the world which also went down have
already been individually sold or replaced, resulting in a global network of
independent companies now distributing ILFORD Photo products.

"Judging by some calls we have received, some confusion has arisen due
to the similarity of company names," says ILFORD Photo's marketing director
Howard Hopwood.



"However, the situation is quite clear: it was the old group headed by
Ilford Imaging UK Limited which went into administration in August 2004. Following
this, the UK operation was bought out by the former management team which established
HARMAN technology Ltd as the holding company trading as ILFORD Photo.



"The Swiss company, which was the old group's inkjet paper manufacturing
arm, remained under the control of Grant Thornton until this acquisition by
Oji Paper. It can therefore be seen that this activity has no connection with,
or impact on, ourselves."


For full detail of ILFORD Photo products and services, visit www.ilfordphoto.com.

...