Shutterbug Staff

Photo sharing and printing options are becoming more interesting every day.
HP has announced that customers of its Snapfish online photo service can now
order prints online and have them ready for pickup in as little as one hour
at their local Walgreens. The in-store service applies to sizes 4x6 through
8x10 inches. The service is first rolling out for Walgreens locations in Boston,
New York and San Francisco. By late September HP anticipates that the service
will expand to over 4000 Walgreens locations.

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To better meet event photographers' on-demand printing needs, KODAK PROFESSIONAL
will be introducing an upgrade kit and media to enable 5x7- inch borderless
prints on the new KODAK 6850 Photo Printer. The KODAK Photo Printer 6850 5R
Borderless Upgrade Kit includes two plastic flanges for the media roll endcaps,
a metal guide for 5-inch paper and a CD with drivers and easy instructions for
self installation. The 5- inch borderless upgrade kit is to be used with the
new KODAK PROFESSIONAL EKTATHERM 6850 5R Print Kit which provides enough media
and donor to make 375 5x7 inch (13x18 cm) prints. Available worldwide in September,
2005, the KODAK Photo Printer 6850 5R Borderless Upgrade Kit and the KODAK PROFESSIONAL
EKTATHERM 6850 5R Print Kit will retail for US$35 (MSRP) and US$280 (MSRP),
respectively.

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Our Picture This! assignment for this month was Background Blur, creating a sense of dimension in the photograph by playing a sharp foreground subject off against a blurry, or unsharp background. Readers sent in a wide variety of subjects, from flowers to statues to birds and carnival rides, all using this time-honored technique. Many used telephoto lenses to enhance the shallow...

Nikon Inc. has announced version 4.3.1 updater of their Capture RAW (NEF) image
processing software. A complimentary copy of the update is available for current
users of version 4.2.x; if using version 4 that is earlier than 4.2, customers
must first upgrade to Version 4.2 and then install the new updater. All Version
4.x updaters are complimentary for owners of the full Version 4.0 and higher.
Upon installing the Capture 4.3.1 update, the D2X, D2HS, D70S, and D50 digital
SLR cameras, as well as earlier Nikon D-Series digital SLR cameras and their
NEF files will be supported. A highlight for the new updater is its significantly
faster performance for NEF operation. Depending upon the platform (Mac or PC),
CPU, and processes in use, this latest updater for Capture software delivers
increased processing speeds ranging from 11% up to 40%, compared to previous
versions.



A key component of Nikon's Total Imaging System, Capture software enables
photographers to perform comprehensive image processing and editing on NEF (RAW)
files produced by their Nikon digital SLR cameras as well as NEF files generated
from Nikon scanners or converted NEF files that have been generated from JPEG
or TIFF file formats. The NEF file structure has been idealized for operation
within the Nikon Total Imaging System. Key imaging data from the Nikon camera
is embedded within the NEF, and is available to strengthen the image processing
capabilities of Nikon Capture software. This nexus of Camera to NEF to Capture
embodies a key element of the Nikon Total Imaging System's ability to
optimize image quality.



www.nikonusa.com

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