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I’ve just created a new page listing useful eBooks I’ve found on various photographic topics: Photography eBooks.

Technorati Tags: photography, ebooks, photography ebooks

Filed under: Books,Business,Software,Technique
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Adobe has announced updates for Photoshop CS2 and the Camera Raw plugin.

Adobe Photoshop CS2 Update version 9.0.1:

• Photoshop no longer hangs for several seconds when using painting tools with quick strokes.
• A runtime error that could appear when mousing over a high-res document with the Brush tool has been fixed.
• Documents containing a large number of text layers now open more quickly.
• Problems related to palettes (slow redraw, palettes go white, possible crash) have been addressed.
• TIFF files from certain scanners can now be opened correctly.
• After editing an image in Photoshop CS2 via the TouchUp tool in Adobe Acrobat software, the image no longer gets repositioned.
• XMP metadata from AI and PDF files is now retained in Photoshop.
• Slow performance when toggling layer visibility has been fixed.
• Info palette numbers are now displayed and updated when moving a curve point in Curves via the cursor keys.
• Problems opening certain TIFF and PSB files greater than 2GB have been resolved.
• The Merge to HDR command now functions properly when using high-ASCII characters in user login.

Adobe Camera Raw 3.4 Update adds support for the following cameras:

• Canon EOS 30D
• Leaf Aptus 65
• Leaf Aptus 75
• Olympus EVOLT 330
• Olympus SP-320
• Pentax *ist DL2
• Samsung GX-1S

Download the updates for Windows or Macintosh.

Filed under: RAW Files,Software
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ACD Systems has released updates to ACDSee Pro Photo Manager, their professional digital photography workflow software, and ACDSee 8.1 Photo Manager, their personal photo management software.

The ACDSee Pro Photo Manager update includes improved speed and performance in RAW processing.

ACDSee 8.1 Photo Manager includes more than 50 feature improvements to increase performance and productivity and RAW support for several camera models including the popular Nikon D50 and Canon EOS Digital Rebel XT.

Both updates are free for registered users, and can be accessed at the ACDSee Support Center.

Filed under: Asset Management,RAW Files,Software,Workflow
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Back in January I posted a link to a survey the OpenRAW organization was running. They were trying to get some solid data on how photographers are using their cameras’ RAW file formats, what developments they’d like to see in this area, and how they feel about issues like closed/proprietary file formats.

The OpenRAW 2006 RAW Survey results are now online. It’s a very comprehensive write-up containing a lot of detailed information about how all types of photographers, from Sunday snappers to professionals, use RAW file formats. The survey had over 19,000 respondents.

If you’d like to discuss the survey results with others, OpenRAW has set up a dedicated forum.

Technorati Tags: RAW files, photography, digital photography, cameras, digital cameras, survey, RAW, file formats

Filed under: Asset Management,Business,RAW Files,Software,Workflow
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digLloyd has discovered a great way to speed up batch processing in Canon Digital Photo Professional on computers (Mac or Windows) with more than one CPU: DPP Batch Processing Performance Tip.

Looking at the CPU utilization graph when batch converting RAW files with DPP, digLloyd could see that not all of his available processing power was being used. They then figured out that starting more than one batch process at a time would make better use of the CPUs, processing the same total number of RAW files in less time.

This is a great trick for getting more done in less time, but it’s disappointing that Canon’s software doesn’t automatically make better use of multiple CPUs and/or cores. A little bit of software engineering would go a long way!

Filed under: Canon,RAW Files,Software
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Several photography software packages have been updated recently:

• Extensis Portfolio 8
• Qimage 2006.250
• BreezeBrowser Pro v1.4.2
• Bibble 4.7

Filed under: Asset Management,RAW Files,Software,Workflow
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Phase One has recently updated its Capture One RAW workflow software to version 3.7.4: see Capture One for Mac OS X and/or Capture One for Windows.

Features of this update include:

• support for additional cameras, including the Phase One P45, P30 and P21, Canon EOS 30D, Pentax *ist series DSLRs, and Sony DSC-R1
• Universal Binary on Mac OS X, running natively on both Intel and PowerPC processors
• 15% faster RAW processing on OS X
• 10% faster RAW processing on Windows
• up to 200% faster capture rate

Technorati Tags: Phase One, Capture One, digital photography software, digital photography, RAW processing, RAW conversion, photography, Canon 30D

Filed under: Canon,Pentax,Phase One,RAW Files,Software,Sony,Workflow
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Apple has recently released Aperture 1.1, the first Universal Binary version of Aperture. If you already have Aperture 1.0, visit the Aperture 1.1 Update page to get the latest version.

This update includes:

• Universal Binary (i.e. support for Intel Macs)
• improved RAW image quality
• RAW fine tuning (contrast boost, sharpening, chroma blur, etc)
• auto noise compensation
• new color meter
• enhanced export controls
• now handles layered Photoshop files
• generally improved reliability and performance

In addition, Apple has lowered the price of Aperture from $499 to $299. Apple is offering a $200 e-coupon good on the online Apple Store to licensed users of Aperture 1.0. Licensed users of Aperture 1.0 Academic will receive a $100 e-coupon.

This is a wonderful move by Apple, showing that they are serious about the professional photography market and are willing to listen to feedback on pricing issues.

Download the e-Coupon here: Aperture 1.0 e-Coupon.

Technorati Tags: digital photography, apple, mac, os x, photography software, RAW processing, RAW conversion, aperture, photography workflow, photography, RAW files

Filed under: Asset Management,RAW Files,Software,Workflow
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Digital Outback Photo has published a review note by Charles Cramer, comparing RAW conversions on his Phase One P45 (39 megapixel) RAW files using both PhaseOne Capture One and Iridient Digital’s RAW Developer: Capture One vs. Raw Developer.

While Phase One’s Capture One gives lovely low-noise images, RAW Developer gives more fine detail, especially in low-contrast areas of the image. So Capture One would probably be better for use in portrait and product photography where smooth noise-free results are favored, while RAW Developer would be very well suited to use in landscape photography where fine detail matters most.

As Charles concludes – the winner in this contest is the Phase One P45!

Other RAW Developer articles:

• Alain Briot’s RAW Developer Review
• Digital Outback Photo’s RAW Developer 1.4 Review
• PDNOnline Forum discussion on RAW conversion applications
• MacUpdate user reviews
• MacGuardians.de RAW Developer Review (in German only)

Technorati Tags: RAW conversion, RAW processing, phase one, p45, digital photography, medium format digital, capture one, raw developer

Filed under: Phase One,RAW Files,Software
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Bibble Labs have released Bibble 4.6, integrating Picture Code LLC’s Noise Ninja noise reduction software. For detailed information see Bibble Labs’ Bibble 4.6 press release.

New features and improvements include:

• Advanced noise reduction with Noise Ninja technology
• Bibble 4.6 now runs natively on Intel Macintoshes, which is great news for those with shiny new toys.
• Revised and simpler user interface.
• Speed improvements when converting Canon RAW files.

Bibble 4.6 is a free update for all existing licensees of previous versions of Bibble 4.

For more information, see the Bibble Labs web site.

Filed under: RAW Files,Software,Workflow
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