News

Software Cinema has announced The Best of Dean Collins Finelight Video DVD set,
featuring the late Dean Collins, one of the most celebrated educators of lighting
and camera techniques in the industry. To honor Dean Collins, a portion of all
proceeds will be donated to CureSearch, the world's largest pediatric cancer
research organization working towards the cure and prevention of childhood and
adolescent cancer through scientific discovery.



Transferred from video to the high-quality DVD format, this six-hour tutorial
created for photo enthusiasts and professional photographers covers fundamental
and advanced lighting techniques that can be applied to standard or digital photography.
Lessons range from lighting techniques in portrait, product and fashion photography
on both small and large sets. Dean Collins teaches in-studio and on-location about
set up and reasons for lighting when creating the image. Included in the re-release
are commentary and overview by Skip Cohen, Rangefinder Magazine's publisher
and author; Tony Corbell, noted photographer and author; and Julieanne Kost, Adobe's
official Photoshop Evangelist.



Since the loss of Dean Collins to cancer, Software Cinema has become proactive
in the support of cancer research. In Dean's honor, the company now partners
with CureSearch, the largest pediatric cancer research organization. CureSearch
unites the Children's Oncology Group (COG) and the National Childhood Cancer
Foundation (NCCF) through a shared mission to cure and prevent childhood and adolescent
cancer through scientific discovery and compassionate care. For every Dean Collins
DVD purchased, Software Cinema will donate $5 to CureSearch.



Pricing and Availability

Software Cinema's The Best of Dean Collins will be available in June 2006
and can be purchased by going to www.software-cinema.com.
Regular price is $179.00, but reserve a copy before June 2006 to save over $50.00.

Sony has established a new brand name for its digital single lens reflex (D-SLR)
cameras that will be launched worldwide this summer. Meaning "beginning"
and "essential," the symbol ? (pronounced alpha) will be used. Under
this sub-brand, Sony will produce a complete camera system of accessories and
lenses.



The Sony Alpha system of cameras, lenses and accessories are said to integrate
advanced electromechanical technologies that are key to D-SLR performance, the
versatility of the well-established Maxxum lens mount system, and Sony's
renown in imaging devices and technologies. These include CCD and CMOS imaging
sensors, as well as other image processing technologies, in addition to overall
product miniaturization. People who have already made investments in many of
Konica-Minolta's lenses and accessories will be able to take full advantage
of Sony's new D-SLR cameras.



Sony is already handling support and repair service for existing Konica-Minolta
digital and film cameras, as well as related lenses and accessories in the U.S.
A dedicated call center and strong levels of web support have been established
for these customers.

There is more information available about the new sub-brand at www.sony.com/dslr.
Sony camera and related product support for Konica Minolta customers is also
being offered at www.support.sony.com/EN/KM/service.html.

...

PhotoKit Color 2.0 replaces PhotoKit Color 1.0, an Adobe Photoshop Automate Plug-in
that applies precise color corrections, automatic color balancing and creative
coloring effects. With a retail price of $99.95, PhotoKit Color 2.0 offers a comprehensive
set of coloring tools for Photoshop CS and Photoshop CS2 for both Macintosh and
Windows. PhotoKit Color 1.0 users can upgrade for $29.98. The upgrade will be
free to users who purchased PhotoKit Color 1.x after the public announcement date
of October 20th, 2005.



PhotoKit Color 2.0 features a preview display, so you can quickly preview the
effects before you apply them and combine effects in a single batch operation.
Included in the new effects are the Dodge and the Burn filter sets, which were
in the original PhotoKit plug-in. The Special Effects series contains many new
filters including color infrared, sunshine filters, color transfer effects and
more. The Film Effects series offers accurate simulation filters of several generic
chrome film emulsions, simulating both color and contrast. Like its predecessor,
PhotoKit Color 2.0 provides a comprehensive suite of effects that let you recreate
creative effects like black and white split toning and cross processing. All these
effects are applied as separate layers so you can make further variations, adapting
each effect to suit your own taste. With PhotoKit Color 2.0, you can enhance specific
colors in your photographs. You can make skin tones less red or lighter. With
the Blue Enhance effect you can darken a blue sky and enhance the cloud contrast.
And with the RSA Gray Balance set, you can automatically remove color casts from
almost any type of image.
...

Eastman Kodak Company has introduced the KODAK EASYSHARE V610 dual lens digital
camera, the world's smallest 10X (38 -- 380 mm equiv.) optical zoom
camera at less than an inch thick. Using KODAK RETINA Dual Lens technology,
the pocket-size V610 camera combines two SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH C-VARIOGON all-glass,
non-protruding prism lenses to deliver a long zoom range -- a first for
a camera so small (just 4.4 x 2.2 x 0.9 inches).

...

GretagMacbeth has announced an all-new, high-end professional version of its
award-winning Eye-One Display 2 monitor calibration solution. Eye-One Display
2 is said to set a new standard, delivering unparalleled functionality for high-end
professional results. At the same time, GretagMacbeth is pleased to announce
the new Eye-One Display LT for budget conscious professionals just getting started
with color management.



Both of the new Eye-One Display solutions feature the professional Eye-One Display
measurement device. The new functionality in the Eye-One solutions is a result
of the new Eye-One Match 3.6 software that is included with the devices, making
it ideal for both new users as well as existing Eye-One Display 2 and Eye-One
Pro users who want to gain more from their investment.



Eye-One Display 2 provides enhanced Workgroup Match capabilities for anyone
who needs to match multiple monitors - either within their own studio or in
a collaborative production environment including their customers and suppliers
- to ensure consistent on-screen color viewing throughout the production workflow.
Calibration parameters can be extracted from an existing GretagMacbeth monitor
profile and used as a baseline for all of the monitors in a workgroup - thus
ensuring the highest level of consistency from monitor to monitor. Users can
also define custom gamma, white point and luminance settings for their profiles
to meet their exact requirements.



With Eye-One Display 2, users can utilize the Ambient Check and Match functions
to take precise measurements of the ambient light in their environment to ensure
that their standard viewing conditions remain consistent - ideal for professional
designers and photographers who want an accurate match between their light box
and their monitor. And now users can incorporate ambient light data into their
profiles for a better correlation between their monitor and studio or any other
viewing conditions, such as a gallery where their images will be displayed.




Eye-One Display 2 also provides a number of new tools to help speed the profiling
process and help users evaluate the quality of their profiles and monitor, including
Push-Button Calibration, a fully automatic calibration for popular monitors,
a before and after image for assessing profile quality, as well as Validation
- monitor trend data which helps users track the overall performance of their
monitors. Current Eye-One Display 2 owners can benefit from all the new Eye-One
Display 2 enhancements by simply downloading the new Eye-One Match 3.6 software.



The new Eye-One Display LT solution provides the perfect entry point for professionals
who are investing in monitor calibration for the first time. It enables a basic
set of functionality within the new version of Eye-One Match 3.6 that provides
users with the possibility to calibrate their monitors and adjust the color
on-screen with a few simple clicks. Features include push-button monitor calibration,
profile creation using predefined gamma and white point settings, the ability
to check ambient light conditions and a before and after image for assessing
profile quality. If a user wants to upgrade their Eye-One Display LT to an Eye-One
Display 2, they can do so at any time simply by purchasing a license code to
enable the full Eye-One Match 3.6 functionality.



Pricing, Availability, Compatibility and Upgrades

The new Eye-One Display 2 will continue to have a list price of $249. Eye-One
Display LT is list priced at $169. Both products are compatible with Mac OS
X (10.3 or higher) and Windows 2000, XP and x64. Current owners of Eye-One Display
2 and Eye-One Pro solutions (including Eye-One Design, Eye-One Photo, etc.)
can download the new Eye-One Match 3.6 software for FREE from gretagmacbeth.com.

...

Pictage has unveiled their Album Designer 2.0, the latest version of its online
album designer tool. The Pictage Album Designer 2.0 will be available to all professional
photographers partnered with Pictage. A.D. 2.0 is an online application requiring
absolutely no downloading; and, since it was created using the latest AJAX technology,
it's compatible across multiple platforms.
...

The Plugin Site (www.thepluginsite.com)
has released the MacOS X version of LightMachine, a plugin for performing all
kinds of light adjustments in photos.
...