Microsoft Releases A Free Upgrade To iView MediaPro

Microsoft has released the first version of Expression Media, its cross-platform replacement for iView MediaPro, the digital asset management tool which is acquired in June of last year, according to the an entry on the Expression Team blog.

"That's right," the entry said, "we're very pleased to announce that version 1 of our team's suite of end-to-end tools for creative designers is done! The process is now underway to manufacture and distribute the product. For more details on the suite and how you will be able to purchase it, see the Expression Web Site.

"The Expression Studio suite consists of four products -- Expression Web, Expression Blend, Expression Design and Expression Media.

"Microsoft has promised to maintain Media "as both a Mac and Windows application with great feature parity and occasional differences in UI and features that require platform specific capabilities." The Windows version, for example, includes Expression Media Encoder, a standalone video encoding tool that makes calls to Windows functions and is thus not available in the Mac version.

The 19-MB Windows Vista/XP download requires Apple Quicktim 7.1.5. The Mac OS X download is 12.2-MB. Both downloads offer a 60-day free trial but require signing in to Windows Live ID, whose servers reported, "Windows Live ID is experiencing technical difficulties" throughout the day. Both versions as well as system requirements are available on the Media download page.

iView MediaPro owners do, according to the Media page FAQ, qualify for a free upgrade through Aug. 1, after which a $99 upgrade price applies.

onOne Software Releases Plug-In Suite 3 For Adobe Photoshop

Official company press release:

Portland, OR - May 14, 2007 - onOne Software, Inc., announces today the immediate availability of its Plug-in Suite 3 software for Adobe Photoshop. onOne Software's Plug-In Suite 3 combines full versions of four essential software tools - Genuine Fractals 5, PhotoFrame Pro 3.1, Mask Pro 4.1 and Intellihance Pro 4.2 - an affordable combination that includes everything a photographer needs to make their images the best they can be.

The onOne Software Plug-In Suite 3 is Photoshop CS2 and CS3 compatible and features Universal Binary support to offer fast native support for Photoshop CS3 and Intel-based Macintosh computers. Plug-In Suite 3 installs all four software tools on either a PC or Mac with one serial number and includes new startup tutorials for each, making installing and using each plug-in tool easy. In addition, new integrated "Show Me How" video tutorials and automatic update checking round out the new features so users have everything they need to be productive in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements.

"Improved workflow and better image quality are essential elements for today's digital photographers," said Craig Keudell, president of onOne Software. "Our customers appreciate the integrated approach that onOne Software's popular plug-in suite offers, thus satisfying the needs of even the most demanding jobs."

Plug-In Suite 3 includes full versions of the following products:
- Genuine Fractals can resize your images over 1,000% with no loss of detail or sharpness.
- Mask Pro can easily create high-quality masks and selections from tough subjects like hair and glass.
- PhotoFrame Pro to create stunning border and edge effects right out of the darkroom.
- Intellihance Pro makes optimizing your images a snap by combining eight image adjustments in one place.

The new Plug-In Suite 3 is available to new users for $399.95 or to existing users of a previous version of Genuine Fractals for $299.95. As an added bonus, all Plug-In Suite 3 customers will receive all upgrades to the individual products at no charge, until the release date of Plug-In Suite 4. For more information on the Plug-In Suite 3, please visit http://www.ononesoftware.com/ .

Target Announces New Deal With Online Kodak Photo Services

Target Corp. announced today that it would partner with Kodak to offer a new digital photo service in lieu of it's current Yahoo Photo service.

According to information provided in a press release, Minneapolis-based retailer Target said it would partner with Rochester, NY-based Eastman Kodak Co. to launch the Kodak Gallery for Target on May 30. Target’s current online photo provider is Yahoo Photo, which is having its own internal issues as it will be discontinued in favor of Flickr.

A new web site allows customers to order prints online and either pick-up at a Target store, or have them delivered. The new service also allows users to purchase personalized photo products such as greeting cards and other photo keepsakes.

Steve Eastman, vice president and general manager of Target, said in a statement, "We are thrilled to extend our strategic relationship with Kodak to include Kodak Gallery, one of the leading online photo services in the industry."
It's the second online-photo deal Target's made this month: Earlier it announced a partnership with Redwood City, Calif.-based Shutterfly.

Panasonic Announces New Robust Image Sensor

Below is the official company press release regaring Panasonic’s MOS type image sensor that is resistant to direct sunlight.

Osaka, Japan - Panasonic, the leading brand by which Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. is known, today announced the development of a robust and lightfast image sensor for the next generation. Panasonic's technological breakthrough allows a robust MOS image sensor for use under harsh sunlight for more than 20 years. Unlike traditional image sensors with polymer onchip microlenses and dyed color filters, the revolutionary MOS image sensor has digital-microlenses and photonic color filters, both made of inorganic materials that are inherently fade-resistant and quite robust.

"We can make a significant contribution to our customers by creating new applications with this new sensor. We can also propose various market solutions like automobile and outdoor usages by making the most of its outstanding robustness," said Taku Gobara, Director of Corporate Application Specific Standard Products Division, Semiconductor Company, Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd.

Conventional MOS image sensors require polymer onchip microlenses and dyed RGB color filters, which are fragile and extremely susceptible to sunlight exposure and a change in temperature. As a result, color images captured by a camera used under direct sunlight, including the ultra-violet (UV) portion, and higher temperature conditions will fade faster.

The cutting-edge semiconductor process technology can realize the pattering of an array of digital-microlenses made of an inorganic material in subwavelength dimensions. A digital-microlens can be formed by patterning digitally the inorganic material in concentric rings, which works out as a conventional onchip microlens to gather more light onto the photo diode area. The light path of each digital-microlens can therefore readily be designed according to its relative position on the image area. As a result, a uniform sensitivity can be achieved across the image area in any camera module in use.

Furthermore, photonic color filters made of inorganic materials have been implemented for the first time by the photonic crystal technology, which allows the photonic color filters to select any colors form UV to infrared spectral regions. The photonic color filters can also provide a variety of camera modules with lightfastness that is essential for an increasing number of tough end uses such as security cameras and automotive cameras.

Don't Let A Rainy Day Ruin A Planned Photo Shoot

I live in Arizona so rain is a front-page story when it occurs, and that is rarely. However for many other parts of the US or internationally rain can be a deterrent to one’s photo shooting plans. Peter Kolonia of popphoto.com has posted a recent online article regarding how to save a rainy day photo shoot. Here is a brief excerpt.

…Ricocheting rain drops, roiling clouds, stabs of lightning, and billowing wisps of mist are the ingredients of highly evocative photography, and can give your images a "you-are-there" atmospheric punch. Gray, rainy day pictures often have their own sweet romance. And photos of neon-lit street scenes after dark are as boldly chromatic as any colors captured on a bright summer's day…

Read the entire online article on popphoto.com.
Image provided by Angela Georges and popphoto.com

EfotoLoader From Efotolab Provides Fast Photo Uploading

Efotolab has released EfotoLoader, photo uploading software designed for event photographers who have an Efotolab account and want to let customers order prints of their images on-site or immediately after an event. Efotolab is an independent photo lab, and its Web service provides online photo display, management, and print sales tools for professional photographers.

The new EfotoLoader software automatically resizes, watermarks, and uploads JPEGs to an online album where customers can view the photos and order prints. Efotoloader uploads images at display sizes only, in order to expedite the process. Photographers send full-size image files to the service on disc for printing purposes.

EfotoLoader is available as a free download from Efotolab.

New Filter Forge Photoshop Plug-ins Available

Filter Forge has announced three new editions of its filter plug-in software for Adobe Photoshop.

The new $99 Basic edition provides unlimited access to the Filter Library, an online repository that currently contains more than 2000 user-created filters. According to Filter Forge, it offers the lowest per-filter price on the market, at less than 5 cents.

The $199 Standard edition provides tools that let photographers and graphic artists create their own filters, including effects, textures, distortions, patterns, backgrounds, and frames.

Filter Forge’s $299 Professional edition is designed to meet the needs of 3D-content and game creators, as well as providing features useful in architectural visualization. Its advanced feature set includes support for bitmaps as large as 65000x65000 pixels, 16- and 32-bit images, and high-precision file formats such as OpenEXR and PFM.

All three new editions are available on Filter Forge’s Web site. Trial versions are available, and users who contribute high-quality filters to Filter Forge’s Filter Library can earn a free copy of the Professional edition.

Hitachi Announces 200GB 7200RPM Notebook Hard Drive

Not necessarily a photography topic but if you utilize a laptop as much as I do, storage is always a concern. Aside from my digital camera, my laptop is the next most important tool within my digital workflow, and I never want to worry about limited hard drive space for images.

Luckily, Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has now introduced what it claims is the industry's largest, highest-performing notebook hard drive in the form of its 200 GB, 7,200 RPM TravelStar 7K200 2.5-inch hard drive for notebook computers. Offering twice the capacity and a 22 percent performance improvement over its predecessor, the 7K200 is available immediately as an option in selected Dell and Alienware—meaning customers looking at notebooks which support dual hard drive configurations can now opt for up to 400 GB of onboard storage.

Hitachi is also offering the E7K200 model, which offers Hitachi's hard disk-level Bulk Data Encryption technology, a key-based system which Hitachi claims offers better security and performance than software-based encryption. Ironically, the Bulk Data Encryption technology may make the drives easier to throw away, since they won't have to be erased first: just delete the encryption key, and the drive becomes inaccessible to anyone.

"The 7200 RPM Travelstar is the rock star of our mobile hard drive family both for its technical merits and its desirability," said Hitachi Global Storage Technologies' Shinjiro Iwata in a statement. "The enthusiastic response to date confirms that consumers are ever more sophisticated in their notebook requirements and that the Travelstar has become a status symbol among notebook aficionados."
The SATA drives can tolerate 350 Gs of operating shock (1000 Gs of non-operating shock), offer a 4.2 ms average latency, 10ms/11ms read and write times, and the non-encrypted versions sport a 1 Watt active idle mode. The 7K200 should be available directly to consumers in coming months at a suggested price of $249.