dSLR Dad

Adobe has upgraded Photoshop Lightroom to version 2.2.  You can download the free updates for both Windows and Macintosh versions from Adobe.com.  Support for the following cameras has been added from Lightroom 2.1 to 2.2:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Canon Powershot G10
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1**
• Panasonic DMC FX-150K
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28K
• Panasonic DMC-LX3S
• Leica D-LUX 4

Further Windows and Macintosh software enhancements in Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.2 include:

• Camera profiles are now available in the Calibration panel in the Develop module. These profiles are designed to provide different interpretations of raw capture.

Please download the Lightroom 2.2 ReadMe file (pdf link) for additional details on the 14 listed bug fixes.  You can also learn more at the dSLR Dad Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Resource Guide.

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Popularity: 3% [?]

Amazon.com says Merry Christmas with a $139.99 Lightroom 2 Deal

Full disclosure, I’m placing my order as I write this post.  Amazon.com is selling the full version of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 for just $139.99! I’m not sure how long this deal will last, but a little twitter birdie told me that it may be all weekend. As a dSLR Dad who shoots lots of RAW image files, Lightroom 2 is the perfect tool at managing vast amounts of images, both RAW and JPEG, and intuitively edit single photos or batches of images. It also makes it incredibly easy to create an html or flash slideshow for email or the web. Finally, if you subscribe to Ansel Adam’s view that it’s not a photograph until it is a print, Adobe’s Lightroom 2 has the best print engine in the business (well, at least under $1,000).

You can find Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 on sale this weekend at Amazon.com.  If you have never used Lightroom 2 before, may I recommend you pick up Scott Kelby’s The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Book for Digital Photographers and/or Mikkel Aaland’s Photoshop Lightroom 2 Adventure: Mastering Adobe’s Next-Generation Tool for Digital Photographers.  Two of my favorite authors that will help you develop a solid workflow with good techniques.

As always, you can learn more at the dSLR Dad Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Resource Guide.

Popularity: 6% [?]

I’ve already compared both Best Buy and Circuit City’s Black Friday deals with B&H Photo Video.  So you already know about their various  Canon, Nikon, and Sony camera specials.  B&H Photo, however has some other deals that a dSLR Dad may be interested in:

• Canon EOS 40D SLR Digital Camera with Canon 28-135mm Lens for $1,006.95.
• Epson Stylus Photo R280 Inkjet Printer for $29.95.  This is a great value on an Epson printer that uses their long-lasting Claria Hi-Definition Inks.  Heck, a full set of ink would cost you $56.  Add some of the excellent Epson Ultra Premium Luster, Exhibition Fiber, or Ilford Galerie Gold Fibre Silk papers and you will produce some fantastic prints.
• Sony Alpha DSLR-A700 Digital Camera Body for $999.99
• Olympus E-520 dSLR Camera with 14-42mm Lens and E510 Gadget Bag for $497.95.
• Free shipping on all Nikon Cameras.
• Up to $125 instant savings on various Canon Lenses and Flashes.
• Four Day Black Friday Special on 4GB and 8GB Sandisk Extreme III Class 6 SDHC Flash Memory.  These are the previous 15MB/s Extreme III cards, but they are still very fast and a great value.
• Samsung SyncMaster 245T 24-inch Widescreen LCD Computer Display for $619.95.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Adobe has released downloads of Camera RAW version 5.2 (Mac, Windows) and DNG Converter 5.2.  Support for the following cameras has been added from Camera Raw 5.1 to 5.2:

• Canon EOS 5D Mark II
• Canon Powershot G10
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-G1
• Panasonic DMC FX-150K
• Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ28K
• Panasonic DMC-LX3S
• Leica D-LUX 4

As always, you can visit the Adobe Camera RAW file support page for a complete list of supported cameras.  Please note that Adobe Photoshop Lightroom has not been updated with the new camera support listed below. Lightroom will be updated in December to Lightroom 2.2 with new camera support.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Apple has released version 2.0 of the Digital Camera RAW Compatibility (download here).  This update extends RAW file compatibility for Aperture 2.0 and iPhoto ’08 for the following cameras:

• Canon EOS 50D
• Nikon D90
• Sony Alpha DSLR-A900
• Nikon Coolpix P6000

It also addresses issues related to specific cameras and overall stability according to Apple, whatever that means.  You can download the Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 2.3 here.

Popularity: 4% [?]

Adobe has released downloads of Photoshop Lightroom 2.1 (Mac, Win), Camera Raw 5.1 (Mac, Win) and DNG Converter 5.1.  Newly Supported RAW File formats includes:

• Canon Rebel XS / 1000D
• Canon EOS 50D
• Fuji FinePix IS Pro
• Kodak EasyShare Z1015 IS
• Nikon D700
• Nikon D90
• Nikon Coolpix P6000
• Pentax K2000D
• Sigma DP1
• Sony Alpha DSLR-A900

The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.1 update includes many other performance and bug fixes.  Those details can be found listed in the Read Me (pdf link) associated with the download page.  You can also learn more at the dSLR Dad Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 Resource Guide.

Popularity: 6% [?]

Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom version 2.  This latest iteration packs numerous feature and usability improvements to help any dSLR Dad quickly import, manage, process, and display your work.

Top new features

• Local adjustment brush — What Photoshop Guru Scott Kelby calls “painting with light”.  One of the most powerful new features I have used.
• Graduated Filter — Allows you to recreate the effect of a graduated neutral density filter.
• Enhanced organizational tools
• Volume management - Freely manage and organize your images across multiple drives, and continue to work with the high-resolution previews — even when your originals are offline.
• Extensible architecture — Allows you to take advantage of the wide range of plug-ins to help you quickly and easily transfer images to your favorite sharing sites and photo labs.
• Multiple monitor support
• Flexible print package functionality — You can now print multiple sizes on one or many pages.  Exporting your print as a JPEG to toss to an outside print service is also an option.
• Streamlined Photoshop CS3 integration — Enjoy tight integration with Adobe Photoshop software for streamlined use of Smart Objects, panorama stitching, high dynamic range (HDR) functionality, multiple layer workflow, and more.
• Enhanced output sharpening (meaning that it’s more than the on/off switch of Version 1)
• 64-bit support for Windows® and Mac OS — This is a great trend, allowing you to take advantage of more system memory (>3 GB) when working with larger files.  Photoshop CS4 will follow the same path (for Windows users at least).
• Adobe Camera RAW 4.5 is built in

You can buy new copies for $299 or upgrade for just $99 from Adobe. You can also save up to $150 when you buy Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software together with Photoshop CS3.

You can also purchase the Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 at Amazon.com, sometimes at a discount.

For those of you dSLR Dads who never used Lightroom before, you can still download a 30-day trial and try it out .  I highly recommend this route, just be sure to give yourself a project to complete from import to print/post.  Read on to find out more information.

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Popularity: 9% [?]

Baryta: The New ‘It’ in Fine Art Printing

Michael Reichmann of The Luminous Landscape has a three-way comparison of the latest Baryta inkjet papers. These are new fiber-based, non-matte, high dMax papers for fine art pigment printing.

The newest buzz word in inkjet printing paper is Baryta. While it may be new to the 21st Century digital printing world it actually has its roots in high quality B&W printing papers from our past.

Baryta is barium-sulphite or barium-hydroxide, a clay-like material that is applied to a fiber paper substrate. On traditional papers with light sensitive emulsions it acts to whiten the paper, produces a high degree of reflectivity, and as well provides a ground for the emulsion. Some of the finest photographic papers that we used to use, such as Multigrade IV FB and Ilfobrom Galerie FB, were Baryta based.

Now, on a new breed of papers designed for inkjet printing with pigment-based inks (all current professional printers and inks from Epson, HP and Canon) Baryta is being used not to hold a chemical emulsion but to provide a smooth reflective coating. (more…)

Popularity: 14% [?]

Tags: Baryta, Digital Darkroom, Fine Art Paper, Fine Art Printing, Hahnemuhle, Ilford

Was it Apple’s Own Hubris that Prevented this Announcement Last Week at PMA?

Today, Apple has announced that Version 2.0 of Aperture has been released. The following are some of the 100+ new features:

• Optimized database and a streamlined, more responsive user interface
• New RAW image processing in Mac OS X Leopard
• Tethered shooting support
• New Camera RAW support for Canon G9, Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III, Nikon D300, Nikon D3, Hasselblad CF-22, Hasselblad CF-39, Leaf Aptus 75s, and the Sony Alpha DSLR-A700
• Recovery and Vibrancy control (thanks Adobe)
• Repair brush lets you copy texture from a source area and maintain the color and shading in the destination area you want to repair.
• Clone brush (also part of the Retouch tool) to eliminate imperfections in one area of your photograph by copying pixels from an area with similar visual elements and cloning them into the area you want to retouch.
• Supports 16-bit print drivers for Epson and Canon printers
• Apply sharpening in the Print dialog, using both the Amount and Radius controls. These settings (which can be saved as a preset) do not affect sharpening adjustments you make in the Adjustments pane.
• Sync your Aperture library to an iPhone or iPod. Or enjoy your photos on an HDTV using Apple TV

Rob Galbraith has notes posted here from his interview with both Apple’s Kirk Paulsen, Senior Director of Applications Product Marketing, and Joe Schorr, Senior Product Line Manager for Photo Application.

Inside Aperture has an article on Getting Started with Aperture 2.0.

You can purchase Aperture 2 now for US$199 at the Apple Store or for US$189 at Amazon. Yes, that is US$100 less than the previous version (and also Adobe Photoshop Lightroom). The upgrade from version 1 is only US$99 (US$89 from Amazon). If you purchased Aperture 1.5 between January 1, 2008, and March 14, 2008, you are apparently eligible to upgrade to Aperture 2 for US$9.95 to cover shipping and handling.

The dSLR Dad just has one question: Why wasn’t this announced last week? It’s not like Apple is dominating the photo management software space and can afford to miss the buzz generated by PMA. Any thoughts?

Popularity: 12% [?]