Shutterbug Staff

Sigma Corporation has announced the launch of the new 50-500 F4-6.3 EX DG/HSM lens. This high zoom ratio lens is optimized for digital SLR cameras and capable of covering a wide range of focal lengths from 50mm standard to 500mm ultra telephoto. This ultra-zoom lens employs a seven-group zoom system, which provides a high zoom magnification of 10x. Triple-cam Rear Focusing System ensures high precision throughout the whole focus range. The new lens coating reduces flare and ghost, which is a common problem of digital cameras and also creates an optimum color balance. This lens uses four pieces of SLD (the special low dispersion) glass for excellent correction of color aberration. A zoom lock switch eliminates 'zoom creep' during transportation, a convenient addition when traveling. The HSM Hyper Sonic Motor models provide quiet high-speed AF function, as well as full-time manual focus capability., The rear focus mechanism produces a non-rotating front lens element which accepts a bayonet "Petal-type Hood", which prevents extraneous light from degrading the image quality. By adding an APO teleconverter (sold separately), you can use this lens as a 140-700mm f/7.3-8.8 MF ultra-telephoto zoom lens with a 1.4X EX teleconverter, or as a 200-1000mm F10.4-12.6 MF ultra-telephoto zoom lens with a 2X teleconverter. Teleconverters can be used in 100mm – 500mm focal length range.

Digimarc Corporation (NASDAQ: DMRC) today announced the launch of Digimarc MyPictureMarc
2005, bringing photographers and creative professionals new layers of security
to protect their digital image collections.



Digimarc MyPictureMarc 2005 delivers new digital watermarking technology, enhanced
digital rights management tracking, online image backup and free visual watermarking.
The new MyPictureMarc 2005 plug-in is immediately available for download at www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc,
supporting all current Adobe Systems (NASDAQ: ADBE) Photoshop 7 and higher products,
as well as Photoshop Elements 1.0, 2.0 and 3.0.



Digital imaging has migrated from pre-press to a mainstay of the imaging workflow:
from capture, to the digital darkroom, distribution collaboration and publication.
To be effective in this paradigm creative professionals need professional-grade
protection throughout the process for their digital images. Building on a decade
of copyright protection experience, MyPictureMarc 2005 brings together new layers
of security technology to help protect digital image portfolios.



Concurrently, Digimarc has launched www.digimarc.com/mypicturemarc dedicated to
serve the MyPictureMarc user community. Through the site, users can learn about
MyPictureMarc's features, subscribe to the service and access Digimarc's
toolbox of image protection tips, tricks and utilities. The site also showcases
Digimarc customers who use MyPictureMarc to protect their images.

Sinar
Bron Imaging has announced the latest View Camera from the award winning Swiss
manufacturer, Sinar AG. The Limited Edition Sinar x3 view camera is designed to
help photographers work faster and more accurately. It features the best from
the Sinar View Camera line, including Sinar Gear Driven Movements, the smooth,
self-arresting precision drives and it's based on asymmetric tilts and swings.
The x3 features the unique Sinar focusing technique. The built-in scales permit
accurate determination of depth of field, tilt and swing angles, which systematically
lead to perfect focusing without the camera distracting from the creative task.
Like the Sinar p3 studio camera, it features integrated contacts and electrical
bellows, which makes it possible to control the electronic between-the-lens shutters
of Sinaron Digital CMV lenses without additional cables. When used with any Sinar
digitalback, the sharpness can be focused with pixel accuracy via "Live Video."
...

Adobe Systems Incorporated has announced Adobe Photoshop CS2. Available as a stand-alone
software application or as a key component of Adobe Creative Suite2, Photoshop
CS2 integrates a new set of intuitive tools, including an enhanced Spot Healing
Brush, for handling common photographic problems such as blemishes, red-eye, noise,
blurring and lens distortion. Smart Objects allow users to scale and transform
images and vector illustrations without losing image quality -- as well as
create linked duplicates of embedded graphics -- so that a single edit updates
across multiple iterations. Other new tools include Vanishing Point and Image
Warping. Vanishing Point cuts tedious graphic and photo retouching tasks by allowing
users to clone, paint and transform image objects while retaining visual perspective.
Reinventing workflows such as product packaging development, Image Warping makes
it easy to fold, stretch, pull, twist and wrap an image into shape by selecting
an on-demand preset or dragging custom control points.
...