Here’s the review of PTLens by amelo14:

There are two version to this very useful, inexpensive and constantly updated program: a stand-alone version, and a plugin for photoshop. I have the stand-alone version, and it has allowed me to correct multiple distortions from different lenses given that it provides you with a HUGE data base of cameras and lenses from different companies. For example, the high barrel distorions of my Canon 17-85 IS USM —-specially at 17mm— were easily corrected in a matter of seconds. But the program not only allows for corrections such as barrel distorion, it likewise allows for correction of Chromatic Aberrations in lenses such as the Canon 85 1.8 which —though a true gem— suffers from high chromatic abberation at 1.8.

Perhaps the only drawback of the stand-alone version is that you cannot correct raw files. The plugin does allow for this type of correction in RAW. However, thanks to Tom Niemann’s generosity this program is extremely inexpensive (now $15) and for many years it was absolutely free! If you compare it to the cost of DxO, then there is really no competition. Niemann even compares his program to DxO on this site! He writes:

Question. How does PTLens compare with DxO Optics Pro?

Answer. For distortion correction of distant objects (10 feet to infinity) results obtained from PTLens are similar to results from DxO. Both PTLens and DxO can process fisheye images, correct perspective distortion, and complex lens distortion such as moustache distortion. DxO has automatic corrections for vignetting and chromatic aberration (CA). PTLens has manual adjustments for vignetting and CA. DxO offers additional features including raw conversion, adjustments for distance, exposure compensation, noise reduction, and volume anamorphosis. DxO costs $79 (prosumer), $149 (SLR), and $299 (full frame SLR). PTLens costs $15.

Website : PTLens Official Website

Website : PTLens Review at Outback Photo

Download : PTLens Plugin download

In 2006, Microsoft began promoting its own image standard, formerly called Windows Media Photo but renamed HD Photo in November. The company makes no bones about its ambitions: “Our ultimate goal is that it does become the de facto standard people are using for digital photos,” said Josh Weisberg, Microsoft’s director of digital imaging evangelism.

First, Microsoft built HD Photo support into Windows Vista, that means camera manufacturers increasingly will be able to count on HD Photo support when customers upload their images to a computer, and software such as Web browsers will be able to display and save HD Photo images.

Second, Adobe Systems, the most influential image-editing software maker by virtue of its Photoshop products, is helping support HD Photo, said Kevin Connor, Adobe’s senior director of product management. Though the “timing didn’t work out” to build HD Photo support into Adobe’s upcoming CS3 version of Photoshop, Adobe is working with Microsoft on a plug-in with the goal that both Windows and Mac OS X Photoshop users will be able to open and save HD Photo files.

The HD Photo Feature Specification provides detailed information about the file container format and includes information about the overall structure, the wide range of supported image pixel formats, and the metadata. The specification also contains information about the application program interfaces (APIs) that are available in Windows Vista, such as Windows Image Components (WIC) and .NET Framework 3.0 for earlier versions of Microsoft Windows. The HD Photo Feature Specification and the corresponding Windows development documentation provide developers the information they need to implement HD Photo support in Windows applications, services, and device drivers.

The HD Photo Specification does not document the compressed bit stream format. That information is provided in the Device Porting Kit (DPK). Note that the DPK includes the HD Photo Feature Specification. If you are interested in both you can just download the DPK.

Website : Microsoft beats JPEG with Windows Media Photo Specification 1.0

Website :  Download Windows Media Photo Specification 1.0

After a year-long beta period, Adobe has released the final version of Photoshop Lightroom 1.0, a program designed to enable professional photographers to process and manage large volumes of image files. PopPhoto.com got an advance copy of the software, and our Hands On report can be found here.

In addition to providing workflow and file-management tools, Lightroom offers advanced raw file processing functions. The software currently supports 150 camera RAW formats, in addition to JPEG, TIFF, and the DNG archival raw format. Lightroom 1.0 includes new features that were added after the last beta version, 4.1, including advanced keyword tools, improved importing and file-management capabilities, enhanced versioning tools, and a Key Metadata Browser.

Lightroom is available in both Mac and Windows versions, and is a Universal Binary application that can run natively on PowerPC and Intel-based Macintosh systems. The program can be pre-ordered at www.adobe.com/store for an introductory price of $199 through April 30, 2007. It will become available to purchasers in mid-February 2007. When the introductory price expires, Lightroom will be available for an estimated street price of $299. Current users of the Lightroom beta will have access to the program until February 28, 2007.

Website : Adobe Photoshop Lightroom product information

Website : Adobe Photoshop Lightroom general discussion forum

Website : Adobe Lightroom Beta 4 Video tutorial at RawWorkflow

DxO Labs has added support for the Nikon D40 digital SLR to its DxO Optics Pro 4.1 software. The company has also created 11 new lens modules for the program, bringing the total number of lens correction modules available to DxO Optics Pro 4.1 users to more than 450.

DxO Optics Pro software corrects optical flaws, noise, and exposure problems in images captured by supported cameras and lenses, and is available for both Mac and Windows systems.

Download :  Download a free and 100% operational demo of DxO Optics Pro! (21 Days Free Trial)

Pentax K10D Pros:

• Compatible with an extensive list of Pentax K lenses
• Responsive with a good shutter lag time, very good shot-to-shot speed
• Good color accuracy
• Easy white balance adjustment
• Bright, powerful built-in flash
• Good quality in kit lens
• Fairly quick Continuous Shooting mode
• RAW button for quickly entering RAW mode
• Two RAW modes for greater compatibility
• Green button for bringing settings back to average
• Body sealed against moisture
• Digital depth-of-field preview mode
• Extended bracket mode for bracketing White balance, Saturation, Sharpness, and Contrast
• Use of SDHC cards for greater capacity
• Special setting locks out bad aperture settings for certain lenses
• In-camera Shake Reduction among the best we’ve seen
• Very good low-light shooting capabilities
• Image noise is impressively low all the way up 1,600
• Printed results are very impressive, producing decent 11×14 inch images up to ISO 1,600!
• Enjoyable to use

Pentax K10D Cons:

• Very warm color balance in low-lighting and warm outdoors
• Auto white balance had a hard time with household incandescent lighting
• Shadow detail lacking in JPEG images
• Slightly high contrast, especially outdoors in full sun
• Phantom pixels with contrasty horizontal lines
• Slow AF indoors

Website : Pentax K10D Pros and Cons from Imaging Resource

Announced on the 22nd of May 2006, the Pentax K100D is a 6.1 megapixel digital SLR camera with a 2.5″ screen and built in Shake Reduction sensor - it will accept any Pentax K-Series mount lens and is named after the popular Pentax K1000 film SLR released in the 70s. DigiCamReview tested the camera with the SMC Pentax DA 18-55mm lens which is equivalent to 27-82mm on a 35mm camera. Here’s the conclusion from the article:

“Image Quality: Image quality is excellent, the images have very good colour, with good contrast and detail, with low noise except at the highest ISO settings (ISO1600 and ISO3200). Images were slightly smoothed but this is adjustable within the camera, and detail was very good. Purple fringing was very low with the kit lens, and red-eye was not a problem. The camera was very competent at focusing (except on very plain or dark surfaces). Vignetting in photos was very mild and I did not notice barrel or pincushion distortion. There is a good range of image sizes, and the compression options include a RAW mode. Auto white balance, metering, and exposure seemed to be good to very good, although auto-white balance did struggle in doors (as with most DSLRs). The camera gives very good control over image quality - pressing the menu button lets you change saturation, sharpness, contrast, gamma curve etc. Shake Reduction adds image stabilisation to every lens attached to the camera, and helps acheive blure free photos in low light meaning that the camera has a very good photo success rate. (9/10)

Summary: The Pentax K100D Digital SLR is a great digital camera.  It feels very comfortable in hand, and produces very natural pictures with little noise and rich pleasing colours. This camera is very easy to use (in auto mode), and would definitely suit a beginner. The camera offers good battery life, with very good controls and good build quality. The addition of Shake Reduction through an anti-shake CCD sensor means more photos are likely to come out blur free - image stabilisation is an excellent feature to have and is especially useful indoors in low light. Professional photographers might want to compare the camera with other DSLR cameras before purchase, as some may find the camera’s features and options slightly limiting. The K100D with kit lens is available for around £369 making this camera excellent value for money and definitely one of the best budget Digital SLRs available today!” 

Website : Pentax K100D Reviewed by DigiCamReview

Here’s the MacWorld Buying Advice on Canon Digital Rebel XTi (or 400D): “You need to get your hands on the Digital Rebel XTi before you can make an evaluation as to whether it’s right for you. If you like its size and feel, then you’ll find it to be a full-featured camera that yields excellent image quality at a very reasonable price.

The vibrating cleaning cycle occurs both when you power on and off, but Canon has wisely made the power-on cleaning cycle interruptible. A half-press of the shutter stops the cleaning cycle so you can shoot immediately. Dust is a problem for any SLR, so these changes are valuable.

…The XTi yields excellent image quality, with very little noise up through ISO 400, and minimal noise at ISO 800 through 1,600, the maximum speed available. An increase in resolution can sometimes result in noisy photos, but Canon has managed to increase the resolution on the XTi’s sensor without increasing the noise. As such, the extra two megapixels are welcome, and provide much more output and cropping flexibility.“

BCN has published findings that show strong growth from Nikon in the Japanese DSLR camera market toppling Canon from its long-time position at the top of this market sector.

Canon’s EOS Kiss Digital X, better known in the US as the EOS-350D or EOS Digital Rebel XTi, remains the run-away single model leader, but Nikon has three strong sellers in the top ten in the form of the D80, D40 and D200 models. The out-going Nikon D50 is also in the top ten, helping Nikon to claim number one spot, overall, in the Japanese DSLR market. Canon’s EOS-30D model is clearly being out-gunned by the comparable Nikon D200 and must surely be in line for an upgrade soon. Here are the BCN DSLR sales rankings (1 week only), for December 4th-10th, 2006:
1. Canon EOS Kiss Digital X — 27.3% (400D/Digital Rebel XTi
2. Nikon D80 —————— 16.3%
3. Nikon D40 —————— 15.5% (new model)
4. Nikon D200 —————– 9.1%
5. Sony A100 —————— 6.3%
6. Pentax K10D —————- 5.3%
7. Nikon D50 —————— 4.8%
8. Canon Kiss Digital New —– 3.3% (350D/Digital Rebel XT)
9. Pentax K100D ————— 2.9%
10. Canon EOS 30D ————- 2.5%

Pentax might have shown a better ranking if scarcity of supply of the K10D hadn’t been a problem, while Sony’s sales of the Alpha A100 have proven to be solid rather than spectacular.