Nikon has released firmware updates for three of their Digital SLR cameras. This firmware update (version 2.0.0) adds WT-3 wireless transmitter support and optional image authentitication via the menu for the Nikon D200 and extensive improvements for the D2X and D2Hs models including auto-focus performance enhancements, new Trim function, additional ISO settings, new image processing features, and support for an upgraded number of maximum shots (60).

Nikon D200 Firmware Update 2.0.0

• Image authentication item has been added to the setup menu. The optional Image Authentication software is required to authenticate images.
• A Wireless transmitter item has been added to the setup menu. This item is available only when the optional Wireless Transmitter WT-3 is connected to the camera.

[MORE]

Aperture 1.5 delivers compelling new features, including flexible library management that lets you store images anywhere you’d like. The free update also introduces third-party export plug-ins that let you use Aperture as the front end to extended workflows. Aperture 1.5 offers RAW support for more than 50 camera models from a wide variety of manufacturers (including Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Sony, and others) and extends support to all Intel-based Macs — from the Mac mini and MacBook to the Mac Pro.

• Flexible Library Management. With Aperture 1.5, you decide how and where to store your images. Import them into a managed Aperture library and let Aperture take care of keeping track of your images. This option lets you keep all your images in one location and offers a simple backup mechanism via the Vault.
• Seamless Integration with iLife ’06 and iWork ’06. Now you can browse your entire Aperture Library — including both offline and online photographs — using the Media Browser in iLife ’06 and iWork ’06.
• Export Metadata Automatically. When you export RAW images, Aperture 1.5 automatically exports the associated IPTC data and ratings, storing them in an industry-standard XMP sidecar file. That means any application that supports XMP files — such as Photoshop — can access and use the exported metadata.
• Advanced Color Controls. The new Color adjustment controls in Aperture 1.5, let you fine-tune color with much greater precision than previously possible. Using them,you can adjust hue, saturation, and luminance on a color-by-color basis via separate Red, Green, Blue, Cyan, Magenta, and Yellow controls.
• Hone Images with Edge Sharpen. When it comes time to sharpen images, you can now reach for Edge Sharpen. With luminance-based sharpening applied in three passes, it delivers results of the highest quality.
• Speed Metadata Entry with Presets. A great time-saver, Aperture 1.5 lets you create pre-filled IPTC presets for copyright, captions, and other fields. Once you’ve created them, you can assign them instantly when you import images or perform batch changes.
• A Loupe…with Onscreen Controls. Using the Scroll Button in Mighty Mouse, you can easily control loupe size and smoothly increase magnification from 100% to 1600%.
• Create Adjustment Presets. You you can save individual exposure or white balance adjustments as presets in the Adjustments Inspector and Adjustments HUD. Once saved, they can be quickly applied whenever needed.

Website : What’s New in Aperture 1.5?

Website : A Brief History of Aperture, or “How Not To Do A Product Launch 101″

Download : Apple Aperture 1.5 Update (125MB, requires Mac OS X 10.4.8)

The new Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi digital single-lens reflex (DSLR) camera has an effective resolution of over ten million pixels and costs $799 (body only), or $899 with a high-quality 18-55mm zoom lens. Pictures can be snapped at three frames per second at full resolution, up to 27 shots in burst mode, and viewed on the camera’s exceptionally bright built-in 2.5-inch LCD display. Nikon’s new 10.2-megapixel D80, with an 18-135mm zoom lens, costs $1,300. Here’s the conclusion from Fortune:

“Designed for serious amateur photographers but also friendly to the casual point-and-shooter, the Canon Rebel XTi also features a built-in cleaning system that reduces the chance that dust inside the camera will spoil a shot, a bugaboo that plagues most other cameras in its class. No matter how careful one is when changing lenses, dust can enter the camera body to ruin subsequent shots. The XTi literally shakes any dust off the sensor when the camera is turned on or off, using ultrasonic vibrations. The motes are then immobilized on a sticky trap. Also, the camera can “map” stubborn dust particles on the sensor and then erase them from images via software.

The Nikon D80, in turn, borrows several features from Nikon’s professional-level DSLR cameras, including the image processor from the $4,000 Nikon D2X and the automatic focusing system and 2.5-inch LCD of the upscale D200. One thing the D80 inherits from smaller and cheaper Nikons, however, is an SD (secure digital) memory-card system. Most DSLR cameras today use the larger CF (compact flash) cards, and a ten-megapixel camera demands a high-capacity storage system. (I tested the Canon with Kingston’s new eight-gigabyte 133X-speed Ultimate CF card, an excellent performer at $449.) SD cards have smaller capacities than CF (no 8GB SD cards are available today), but the D80 is also compatible with next-generation SDHC cards, which promise to raise capacity to 32 gigabytes someday.

Although both the Canon Rebel XTi (usa.canon.com) and the Nikon D80 (nikonusa.com) are superb cameras, I did have two quibbles. The Canon has a plastic body that feels less than rugged. While the D80 has Nikon’s typically solid fit and finish, the SD card system is, for now, constraining for a high-quality camera. Even so, both are excellent performers that will fill your photo albums with mountains of happy memories. “

Website : Comparing Canon Rebel XTi and the Nikon D80 from Fortune

I published an article recently that talks about Flying With Your Photo Gears - Carry-on luggage restrictions. Being able to travel through airports with the least amount of hassle is of utmost importance to photographers. These are some airport travel camera bags from Think Tank that’s specially designed for photogrphers, these new bags provide photographers with a complete menu of options for complying with airline requirements for bag size and weight, as well as the maximum number of bags allowed they can carry onto the plane:

• The Airport Check In is a briefcase that holds all the accessories, cords and cables a photographer must carry, and it will hold up to a 17” laptop. It can be attached to a roller handle by sliding the briefcase slot over the handle or worn as a backpack with the shoulder harness that is supplied.
• The Airport Antidote backpack fits all international carry on size requirements. With the laptop case removed, it will fit in the small overhead bins of “commuter flights.” It is designed to hold pro-size SLR cameras and up to a 400mm f4 lens (without the body attached).
• The Airport Acceleration backpack fits all international carry on size requirements when the laptop case is removed. It is designed to hold pro-size SLR cameras and up to a 500mm f4 lens (without the body attached). In addition it has “tuck away” shoulder straps and a removable waistbelt, as well as a seam-sealed raincover and a tripod/ monopod attachment system.

• The Glass Taxi is a convertible shoulder bag/backpack that holds up to a 500mm f4 lens, 300mm f2.8 lens with SLR attached, or SLR with 70-200 attached with hood in position. It is a very compact and lightweight method of transporting such large lenses. Since it “looks” small, it is ideal for traveling through airports with large lenses to facilitate getting on the plane.

Website : Think Tank’s Airport Travel Camera Bags for Photographers

Tamron Co., Ltd., announces at Photokina 2006 that they have developed the AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro (Model A18), a lightweight, compact and ultra high power zoom lens designed exclusively for DSLRs with APS-C sized imager sensors. The AF18-250mm F/3.5-6.3 Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro is said by the company to be the ultimate high power zoom lens boasting the world’s greatest zoom ratio of 13.9X, a milestone that Tamron, the pioneer of high power zoom lenses, has achieved by commanding its technologies to further expand the capabilities of high power zoom lenses.

To prevent the lens from becoming bulky, the design concept of the AF18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 XI Di-II LD Aspherical (IF) Macro (Model A14), a popular lens among the world’s digital SLR users since it is the ideal high power zoom lens, was the basis for this new lens that features an expanded focal length to 250mm at its tele-end. With the new AF18-250mm zoom lens that provides enhanced image quality, Tamron has achieved an astounding 13.9X zoom power, the world’s greatest in the class of zoom lenses; yet the increase in size is confined to a mere 0.2mm more in its maximum diameter and just 0.6mm in overall length, in a lens that offers a 388mm ultra telephoto focal length (diagonal angle of view of 6° 23′) when converted to the 35mm film format.

The new zoom lens covers up to a 250mm telephoto focal length, the longest focal length among zoom lenses that start with an 18mm wideangle focal length available on the market for exclusive use with digital SLR cameras. Thus, it provides an overwhelmingly impressive telephoto effect that is entirely different from the effect obtainable at 200mm on conventional high power zoom lenses. The new zoom lens will satisfy the expectations of photographers that are used to the 300mm tele-end of Tamron’s AF28-300mm Di (Model A061) when used on a digital SLR camera.

[MORE]