News

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
...

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

...

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
...

The following release was received from Ilford. While a bit breathless, it
shows the enthusiasm and effort involved in keeping the company afloat. I did
edit somewhat for length. --gs



After some four months of highly geared activity following the announcements
in February this year that ILFORD had been saved from total annihilation, the
newly emerged organization is now able to draw breath and assess its current
situation.



It was due to the swift and timely action of six of ILFORD Imaging's management
team - at some considerable personal financial risk to themselves - that the
UK-based company which headed the international group avoided being split up,
asset stripped, or otherwise totally lost. Via a cleverly constructed operation,
the liquidators were able to sell off the considerable areas of land at the
company's plant in Mobberly, Cheshire, to an investment company on the basis
that the plant would remain, thereby enabling the rest of the business to fall
within the capabilities of the team.



What amounted to something of a coup in the face of determined interest expressed
by 21 potential suitors which pursued the company through its most vulnerable
stages saw the team able to provide a more attractive solution to the liquidator.
This included not only satisfying the demands of the liquidation, but also ensuring
the continuation of a business which, over its 125-year history, had established
itself as the leading monochrome specialist.



Having had the deal and the buyout accepted to much acclaim, the team then had
to get the company fully on track: manufacturing processes operating, stocks
up to appropriate levels, sales, marketing and distribution fully functioning,
staffing organized and relations with both the company's overseas distributors
and its worldwide customers being re-established on a progressive basis. "It
has been a pretty hectic four months," states chairman and managing director
Phil Harris, "but we now have the company on a strong basis and ready
to take on the world in our endeavors to revitalize the ILFORD name."




ILFORD Photo is the trading name of HARMAN technology Ltd, the company under
which the new enterprise trades, and is the brand which will be used for all
monochrome products - film, paper and photochemistry. The HARMAN brand (drawn
from the name of ILFORD's founder in 1879, Alfred Harman) will be applied to
other aspects of the company's business, such as thin-layer film and paper coating
for the medical sector, as it becomes further organized.



The distributors in USA, France, Benelux, Switzerland and Australia are no longer
subsidiaries of ILFORD UK, but since their former parent company's crash, they
have re-organized themselves, mostly as independent companies, and will continue
handling the supply of ILFORD Photo products to their respective markets, as
do the many other companies which make up the global network of suppliers. The
ILFORD digital products manufacturing base in Switzerland is still involved
in discussions concerning its future.



HARMAN technology/ILFORD Photo now stands totally independent of any corporate
ties to the erstwhile group, and is concentrating on what it knows best, and
to which it is totally committed - black-and-white photography.



"Black-and-white analogue photography is the platform to which we are
all dedicated," explains Howard Hopwood, HARMAN/ILFORD Photo's marketing
and business development director. "Quite frankly, the rebirth of ILFORD
as a brand concentrating on this genre could not have been better timed.



"The world imaging market has been jumping through all kinds of hoops
over the last few years as it has come to terms with digital processes, just
as much as it has with the progress of color photography. Having done that,
and turned full circle back to its roots, those who really care about expressive
photography, and about preserving images in all their beauty, still acknowledge
that black-and-white is the one true medium.



It is this dedication to black-and-white, shared by Harris and Hopwood with
their fellow HARMAN technology directors: Andy Taylor (Finance Director), Steven
Brierley (Sales Director UK, USA and Australia), Simon Galley (Sales Director
European and Export Markets), and Peter Elton (Operations Director), which provides
the catalyst for the company's determined and carefully formulated assault on
the global market.



Nearly 400 people are now employed at Mobberly, with technology and production
capability up to full capacity. Eighty-five per cent of output is being exported,
and global distribution channels are all open. The management is in place and
fully functioning, as are all sales departments and personnel.



In view of the uncertainty that has existed in the worldwide monochrome consumables
field recently, especially regarding availability of black-and-white paper,
ILFORD Photo's relaunch of its comprehensive range of top quality products,
which includes a variety of black-and-white paper types, and the company's assurances
of continued future manufacture, are especially timely for the many enthusiasts
and professional photographers concerned about future supplies.



"In spite of being so busy over these months," comments Harris,
"the process has been cathartic, and great fun. Having structured the
company into a fully operational organization, we now look forward to facing
the challenge in all our marketplaces. If the extremely positive reaction we
have received so far is anything by which to judge, we can expect to be in a
very solid position very quickly."



www.ilfordphoto.com

...

dr5 CHROME LAB, profiled in a recent Shutterbug issue, will make its permanent
home in Denver Colorado as of August 5, 2005. After many successful years as
an independent facility in both New York City and Los Angeles proprietor David
Wood has decided to make the mid-west the final location for his unique photo
lab. "We're relocating for our customers' sake, said Wood, inventor of
the dr5 black and white reversal process which produces transparencies from
over thirty black and white film types. "We want to continue providing
outstanding services without having to raise prices. The economy in Denver will
allow us to do that."

...

Is Fido ready for his close-up? Lexar Media, Inc. (Nasdaq: LEXR), a leader
in advanced digital media and accessories, today announced the start of its
online Picture Perfect Pets amateur digital photography contest, in conjunction
with its sponsorship of the upcoming publication of "DOGS 24/7"
and "CATS 24/7," by Rick Smolan and David Elliot Cohen, follow-on
books to the hugely popular "America 24/7" book series. Entry details
for contestants are at www.lexar.com/pets.

...