Breeze Systems released DSLR Remote Pro v1.3. Photographers can now use Breeze Systems software to control the new Canon EOS 400D/Digital Rebel XTi as well as the 30D, 5D, 350D/Digital Rebel XT, 1D series cameras and most other EOS Digital SLR cameras. DSLR Remote Pro v1.3 adds support for tethered shooting with the new Canon EOS 400D/Digital Rebel XTi, enhances automatic exposure bracketing and allows multiple cameras to be controlled from a single PC.

Automatic exposure bracketing has been enhanced to run a command at the end of the sequence to process the images. DSLR Remote Pro makes it possible to shoot a sequence of up to 15 auto bracketed shots with a spacing of 1/3 to 2 EV stops and then automatically call another application such as Photomatix Pro to create high dynamic range (HDR) images or blended exposures for computer graphics, movie special effects, product shots etc.

Multiple Canon EOS 30D or Canon EOS 400D/Digital Rebel XTi cameras can be controlled from a single PC using DSLR Remote Pro on Windows XP. This has applications including movie special effects where many cameras are fired simultaneously to freeze action and then view it from different angles, product and catalog photography requiring items to be photographed from different viewpoints, remote monitoring where several cameras need to be controlled from a single PC and panorama photography.

Website : Breeze Systems DSLR Remote website

Download : Breeze Systems DSLR Remote 1.3 15-Days Trial (3,494,215 bytes)

Canon is offering their usual “multiple rebate” scheme again this fall for purchases between October 15, 2006 and January 13, 2007. For those unfamiliar with this scheme, this year it will work like this:

• If you buy one item from the list, you get a “one item” rebate. In the case of an EOS 5D for example, $300, or in the case of a 75-300/4-5.6 III, $10.
• If you buy two items from the list, the rebate on each item is doubled. So if you buy both an EOS 5D and a 75-300/4-5.6 III, you get a $600 rebate on the EOS 5D and a $20 rebate on the 75-300/4-5.6 III.

It’s obvious if you actually only want an EOS 5D and nothing else, you’re actually better off buying both the 5D and the 75-300 since, because the 75-300 will cost you under $150, you’ll end up paying less for the two than for the 5D alone - plus you can always sell the lens.

Though there is a zero rebate on the 1Ds MkII and 1D MkII N, they do count as eligable items for the double rebate scheme if you buy another item. So if you buy a 1D MkII N and a lens or 5D for example, you get the double rebate amount on the lens or 5D. Also if you buy an EOS 30D with an EF-S 17-85 as a kit, you get the double rebate on both items. If you buy more than two different items, you get the double rebate on all the items.

Download : Cash-In with Canon Rebate Form

Website :  Canon $600 rebate on 5D starting October 15, 2006

UK software maker Anthropics Technology developed Portrait Professional for manipulating digital portraits. The new software applies cosmetic changes to portrait photographs automatically, while the user clicks on a few key points on the face. Anthropics image processing capability to achieve pro quality touchup in just 2-3 minutes that would otherwise only be possible in 1-2 hours for a skilled artist using Photoshop.

The software works in two ways, which can be altered individually by the user. Skin tone and lighting correction removes wrinkles, spots, glare and skin imperfections without removing the underlying texture of skin. Facial sculpting changes the proportions of the face to improve the overall attractiveness of the subject. Unique features available include automated correction of lighting, blemishes and the signs of aging, and special “sculpting” options to subtly enhance facial shape and features.

The software, priced at £39.99 ($55.60 US), currently only works on women, but a male version will be available soon. The technology behind this new product is a unique image processing system that has been “trained” in the psychological and physiognomical characteristics of male and female beauty, such that it can rapidly transform unflattering or poorly shot pictures into highly attractive, “caught on your best day” results in just a couple of minutes.

Website : Anthropics Software applies cosmetic changes to portrait photos

Download : Portrait Professional Software Free Trial (2.8MB)

Michael Tapes has posted a sequence of video tutorials about Adobe Lightroom Beta 4, totalling an hour in length, which are available for free viewing at rawworkflow.com.

The movie is split up into manageable sections and covers various topics about the new beta such as: the user interface, importing files and the Develop module, including how to use the Basic and Tone Curve panels, plus the crop tool. Here’s are the sections:

• Introduction and Greetings 1:30
• User Interface - Overview 18:34
• Importing Files (Quick Tour) 5:27
• Develop Magic: Quick Tour 3:50
• Develop Module: Basic & Tone Curve Panels 12:31
• Develop Module: Copy/Paste and (the Kitchen) Sync 5:40
• Develop Module: A Bunch of Crop 7:08

Website : Adobe Lightroom Beta 4 Video tutorial at RawWorkflow

Google Picasa now offers you the ability to match your photos to a specific location using Google Earth. The “Geotag” feature allows you to embed location information within your photo file as well as display your photo on a satellite map rendered by Google Earth. To Geotag a photo, please follow these steps:

• Select your photo in Picasa
• Select “Geotag with Google Earth” from the “Tools”> “Geotag” menu to launch Google Earth. A small Picasa window will appear in Earth’s lower-right corner displaying thumbnails of the pictures you selected.
• Use the arrows to advance through multiple pictures. If “place taken” information has already been entered in Picasa’s folder description, Earth will automatically go to the specified locale. Otherwise, you can navigate to the location using the yellow cross-hairs which appear in Earth.
• Find the location you want, and press the “Geotag” button.
• When all of your pictures are tagged, press the “Done” button to add the information to Earth’s “My Picasa Pictures” collection. You can also use the “Geotag All” button to tag all of the selected pictures with the same location information.

Picasa will write the longitude, and latitude to the photo’s EXIF GPS metadata. For example, if you look at the “Image Properties” in Picasa you will see something like: GPS Latitude 34 1’13.04”N. Picasa will display a small cross-hair icon on the thumbnail of a photo that has been Geotagged. To remove a Geotag select “Clear Geo-tag info” from the “Tools”> “Geotag” menu. Please note that this action will remove the longitude and latitude information from the photo’s EXIF GPS metadata. This will also remove the photo from Google Earth.

Website :  Geotagging photos using Google Picasa Web Albums

Download : Free Download of Google Picasa 2.5 Web Albums

Written by Peter iNova with contributions from Uwe Steinmueller, the eBook reveals the deep secrets of Nikon D200 DSLR photography. Camera and darkroom functions are explained and there are some incredible digital secrets in the Nikon D200 eBook, including 77 folders full of what are called iNovaFX Photoshop Actions. Photographer and author Peter iNova has given the broader community of digital photographers access to his private store of specialized darkroom techniques, including more than 600 unique Photoshop actions, plus a complete “how-to” manual on digital photography. Some examples:

• How to achieve those stunning full circle Nikon fisheye images with the D200.
• How to master the SB-800/600 Nikon flash system.
• How to get the most out of every button, switch and menu item.
• 19 pages detailing which Nikkor lenses to buy and which to pass up.
• How to dial in 4200 different settings of digital “film” and how they compare.
• Which techniques take practice and how you can become a D200 virtuoso.
• How to shoot remotely triggered repeating flashes.
• How to shoot images with tonal dynamics exceeding film or RAW format shots.
• How to make pixel-perfect D200 images over 5000 pixels wide.
• How to make those killer time-lapse movies.

DSLR: Nikon D200. 632 pages. 18 chapters. Two volumes. Includes 624 iNovaFX custom, original Photoshop Actions. $49.95 plus postage. Other titles in the DSLR series include - DSLR: Nikon D70, DSLR: Canon Digital Rebel, DSLR: Canon Rebel XT, DSLR: Canon EOS 20D.

Website : DSLR eBook on Nikon D200 Secrets by Peter iNova

A fast aperture lens always garners attention and the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Lens is no exception. Photographers wasted little time in making this lens one of their favorites. Adding a relatively low price point, fast HSM autofocusing, small size and good build quality to the fast aperture puts the 30 f/1.4 in its own class. The closest comparable lens Canon makes is the full-frame-DSLR-compatible Canon EF 28mm f/1.8 USM Lens. These two lenses are more similar than they are different. The Canon is lighter and slightly less expensive. Image quality is very similar. Here’s the summary of the lens review from TheDigitalPicture:

“The Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Lens is somewhat soft wide open and steadily improves to quite sharp at f/2.8. Corner sharpness trails center sharpness by a stop or two. Bokeh from the 8-blade aperture is nice. Colors are decent. CA (Chromatic Aberration), though not absent, is well controlled.

Contrast is good unless you get lens flare in your frame. Flare is one of the Sigma 30mm f/1.4 EX DC HSM Lens’ weaker points. You will want to keep the sun and bright lights away from the objective lens. Barrel distortion is noticeable. Digital camera-only lenses often show more vignetting than their full-frame counterparts, but the Sigma 30 competes reasonably well with these lenses. Some vignetting is visible on the corners wide open.”

Website :  Sigma 30mm f/1.4 Lens Review from TheDigitalPicture

Almalence Incorporated announces PhotoAcute Studio 2.0 a new software product that is said to dramatically enhance digital photos quality. PhotoAcute Studio processes sets of images taken in continuous mode. It utilizes superresolution algorithms to convert a sequence of photos into a single high-resolution and low-noise picture that could only be taken with much better camera.

PhotoAcute Studio operates for various camera and image types - from mobile cameras to DSLR cameras supporting RAW format and 16-bit color. The greatest leap in quality is achieved on RAW photos taken with DSLR cameras that gives the professional photographers an essential use.

The spatial resolution is one of the most important factors of digital image quality. It is limited by camera’s matrix and lens, but this limit can be exceeded by means of superresolution - the method of enhancing the resolution of an image or of an optical system. This can be done by either acquiring more graphic information (e.g. taking and merging several images of the same object) or by reconstructing the details lost due to the faultiness of the optical system (applying the knowledge of the optical system properties). PhotoAcute Studio uses both ways to achieve the maximum image quality.

The noise is the most undesirable factor that degrades image quality. The main problem of the noise reduction is the loss of image details. This becomes mostly apparent in the low light areas of the image, where the noise reduction removes both the noise and the details. PhotoAcute Studio combines several photos of the same scene, separating the useful signal and the noise, thus providing strong noise reduction without losing the image details.Besides resolution enhancement and noise reduction, PhotoAcute Studio corrects common image artifacts: geometry distortions, chromatic aberrations and vignetting. By merging several images taken at different exposures, PhotoAcute Studio expands the dynamic range of the resultant image, revealing the details usually clipped in the highlights and the shadows.

PhotoAcute Studio 2.0 is available for free in trial mode. The price of the full version varies depending on supported camera types: from $19 for mobile phone cameras to $119 for DSLR cameras with the support of RAW format and 16-bit color. Users can get free licenses by contributing to PhotoAcute Studio development.

Website :  PhotoAcute processes photos to produce high-res low-noise pictures

Download : PhotoAcute Studio version 2.00 installation package. Free Trial (2.4MB)