Shutterbug Staff

Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRCE) today announced the public beta of Digimarc
Image Search, an innovative desktop search tool designed for the rapidly growing
digital photography market.



The free tool, downloadable from Digimarc's website at www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc/imagesearch,
works in conjunction with popular desktop search tools such as Google Desktop
Search, MSN Desktop Search, and Yahoo! Desktop Search, enhancing the image search
capabilities of these tools. Current desktop search tools have limited image search
capabilities, typically looking for the file name in the header of an image, which
can be easily changed or forgotten. Most professional and many consumer photographs
are distributed today in digital form with an extensive array of associated information
or "metadata" carried within the image files.



Digimarc Image Search works with and extends existing desktop search tools by
enabling users to more quickly and effectively find images stored on a computer
based on such information or "metadata" embedded into digital images,
including keywords, copyright information and digital rights data; and identify
image copyright holders and facilitate image licensing by accessing Internet services,
where available, that connect to an image owner's website or Digimarc's
image registry, which is available to users of Digimarc MyPictureMarc and ImageBridge
digital watermarking software.



This beta release supports web updates for images from the Corbis stock photography
library and for all other images that use Digimarc digital watermarking products.




Digital photography is often digitally watermarked by its owners using Digimarc
software for a variety of purposes, including copyright protection, facilitation
of licensing, and the monitoring of Internet marketing programs. The Digimarc
software enables users to embed an imperceptible digital watermark that identifies
the image's owner and registers that image in the Digimarc online registry.
For images with embedded digital watermarks, Digimarc Image Search can retrieve
current and dynamic information about the pictures from Internet resources; for
example, identification of the owner of rights to facilitate licensing or additional
keywords to improve search results. More information on Digimarc digital imaging
products can be found at: www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc.



Availability

Digimarc Image Search Beta is available now as a free download at www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc/imagesearch. ...

The
new Sigma 10-20mm F4-5.6 EX DC HSM lens allows enjoyment of super wide-angle
photography and it is a very powerful tool for indoor shooting and landscape
photography with APS-C size image sensors of digital SLR cameras. It offers
a wide angle of view (102.4 degrees at 10mm and 63.8 degrees at 20mm) and features
three SLD glass elements for effective compensation of color aberration, which
is a common problem with super-wide angle lenses. One piece of glass mold and
two hybrid aspherical lenses offer excellent correction for distortion, as well
as all types of aberration.



This lens is equipped with an inner focusing system, and the models are equipped
with an HSM system to provide quiet, high speed autofocus shooting and also
offer full time manual focusing. It has a minimum focusing distance of 24cm
(9.4") at all focal lengths. The non-rotating lens barrel perfectly suits
the petal shaped lens hood. A circular polarizing filter can also be used conveniently.


www.sigmaphoto.com.

...

Swift's Ultra Lite collection are said to be the first and only binoculars
to incorporate two different types of rubber to improve durability, shock-absorption
and comfort. These new binoculars combine harder rubber on their outer edges
for better protection against bangs and bumps. Softer rubber is used in the
area where you grip the binoculars, thereby reducing user fatigue. The softer
rubber also provides a superior grip in any weather condition, wet or dry. This
same technology is also used to create a non-slip focusing knob on these binoculars.
The dual density covering also aids the nature photographer by keeping these
binoculars quiet when rubbing against their clothes.

...