Tamron Revamps Educational Purchase Program

Tamron has revamped its Educational Purchase Program to make it easier for students and instructors to purchase lenses through the program, and to allow its educational rebates to be combined with regular Tamron rebates. The program provides rebates ranging from $10 to $100 on a selection of Tamron lenses. The rebates are available to students and instructors who are employed by or enrolled in eligible institutions, and who teach or major in photography, photojournalism, visual media, fine art, design, film, video, or communications.

To participate in the Educational Purchase Program, eligible purchasers must buy a Tamron lens that is included in the program from an authorized Tamron dealer, and then submit proof of eligibility, proof of purchase, and a rebate form to the company in order to receive a rebate. Submitting paperwork and ordering a lens in advance is no longer necessary, as it was under previous program rules.

Complete details on the revamped program are available on Tamron's Web site.

Photo Illustrator Hugh Kretschmer

Hugh Kretschmer, the in-demand photo illustrator, explains how his creations for Esquire, Men's Health and others are done without the aid of Photoshop. Here is an excerpt from the American Photo online article.

At first glance, professional photographer and photo illustrator Hugh Kretschmer's work looks like the result of Photoshop wizardry. His surreal photographs reveal other worlds, born of Kretschmer's imagination, where a man's body can be firmly set in the ground while his head is, literally, in the clouds; where a giant alien woman attempts to eat all of New York; where tightrope walkers perch gracefully over tiny beds; and where the walls of sound rooms are, of course, covered in ears. Beyond the potency of Kretschmer's content, though, what's really amazing is that the bulk of his work is done manually, through a detailed process of collage and assemblage, with minimal digital finessing. Here, we consider the unusual process behind three of Kretschmer's photographs: Reformed Liar, All Ears and Return of the Thin Man.

Read the entire article on popphoto.com.

Hitachi announces 500GB laptop drive

Hitachi Global Storage Technologies has announced what it says is the world's highest-capacity 2.5-inch mobile hard drive: Its Travelstar 5K500, with 500GB of storage capacity. The new drive is expected to be available beginning in February, 2008. Pricing was not announced.

The Travelstar 5K500 will be available in both 400GB and 500GB capacities, as well as an "Enhanced Availability" (EA) version designed to work in server environments. The drive employs a Serial ATA (SATA) interface.

The new Travelstar 5K500 also features Hitachi technology including Rotational Vibration Safeguard (RVS), which stabilizes the drive -- particularly in installations where it may be perturbed by premium speakers that cause the chassis to vibrate. It features Bulk Data Encryption (BDE) security in a special 1.5Gbps SATA interface. Data is written to three separate platters within the chassis; the drive features a 1.9 watt read/write power draw and a 0.7 watt low power idle.

The Travelstar 5K500 measures 12.5 mm tall and spins at 5400 RPM.

Ridata Announces New Compact Flash Media

Company press release:

Advanced Media, Inc., is a manufacturer and marketer of the popular RIDATA brand of recordable CD and DVD media, electronic storage products, and digital media accessories. The company is introducing the first Smart Compact Flash™ Cards at CES 2008. Featuring high-speed access to reading and writing and up to 16GB of storage capacity, the self-monitoring CF card is ideal for virtually any flash media storage application.

“We are pleased to introduce the RIDATA SMART CompactFlash Card, which is the first of its kind in the industry,” stated Harvey Liu, Advanced Media president. “The flash memory market is growing quickly due to the number of new applications that use flash media for storage. As capacity continues to increase, RIDATA saw the need for an internal data monitoring system to ensure the safety of your data.”

The new rugged, reliable, RIDATA memory cards are available in two series of "Supreme 150X (up to 8GB capacity-SLC format)" and "Lightning (up to 16GB MLC format)". It features innovative functionalities such as Self-Monitoring Analysis and Reporting Technology so users can easily monitor the CF card’s status. The card is capable of providing notification to users in real time to protect vital information and data.

Reliability and Endurance
The new Smart Card offers long-term reliability and endurance with a Mean Time Between Failure (MTBF) of 5,000,000 powered-on hours. It also offers maximum endurance of 100,000 times of program/erase cycles. Its embedded Error Correction Code (ECC) supports two random bits of a sector on-the-fly ECC corrections.

Compatibilities
Ridata’s Smart Card conforms to the CompactFlash Association Standard, the PC Card standard and is PC Card ATA and true IDE Mode compatible. It is also host ATA disk I/O BIOS DOS/Windows file system, utilities and application software compatible. The controller supports Ultra DMA Mode to Mode 4. Also supported is CIS implemented with 256 bytes of attributed memory. Lastly it supports 8 or 16 bit host transfers with any host speed using Input/Output channel ReaDY (IORDY).

Power Savings
Another feature of the RIDATA Smart CompactFlash™ Card is its low power consumption. In standby mode with an automatic power management function, users acquire longer battery life from a digital camera or other device. The non-volatile card requires no power to store data, but requires a 3.3V/5V single power supply to read and write data.

File Systems
Regarding the 4GB, 8GB and 16GB CF cards, users should use the cards on devices that support a FAT32 file system. Some older devices only support FAT16 file system and these systems have a maximum capacity of a 2GB CF card. Please refer to the owner’s manual for the device’s file system compatibility.

Liquid Image Underwater Camera

If underwater photography is your thing but you don't like awkward waterproof cases for digital cameras, Liquid Image is building a 5 megapixel camera into a diving mask.

There are some folks who, when presented with a camera of any sort, immediately think to themselves (or say out loud), "Hey, that's great, but can I use it underwater?"

(No, we don't understand these people either.)

Underwater photography aficionados do have some options, however, with a growing number of mainstream camera manufacturers offering underwater-capable cameras, or underwater cases that can be fitted to standard camera models. Although these solutions are (we suppose) better than not being able to take underwater pictures at all, they suffer from a few drawbacks. For instance, users are always trying to compose shots through a viewfinder or LCD, and that's a pain when wearing underwater goggles. And users still have to hold on to the darn things and swim at the same time.

Liquid Image—formerly Zocker Toys—aims to solve some of these problems with its Digital Underwater Camera Mask, which it will be showing at the 2008 CES show in Las Vegas. Put simply, Liquid Image has built a digital camera into a standard diving mask, so users don't have to hold on to a separate camera while swimming, and they can compose their shots just by moving their heads: the camera lens is mounted above and between the eyes, so it automatically shoots what the wearer is looking at.

The Digital Underwater Camera Mask will be available in two resolutions—3.1 megapixels and 5 megapixels—and features 16 MB of built-in memory, plus additional storage to microSD cards. The cameras offer a USB interface for offloading photos, and run off two AAA batteries loaded along the outside edges of the mask. The cameras also shoot VGA-resolution video, and are optimized for a photographic distance of 1.2 meters (about 5 feet). Users won't be able to take them deep-sea diving—they're only good to about 15 feet—but they should be more than good enough for play in the shallows or the back yard pool.

The Digital Underwater Camera Masks should be available in "spring" 2008 (we're assuming they're referring to the northern hemisphere with a suggested starting price of $99.

By Geoff Duncan, Digitaltrends.com

Sandisk Announces 4GB Cruzer Titanium

Sandisk has announced a new addition to its Cruzer line of USB flash drives. The 4GB Cruzer Titanium Plus offers an extra measure of archiving security to photographers who use a flash drive to carry and transfer image files. Software included on the drive automatically creates an online backup copy of any file moved onto the device from a computer running Windows 2000, XP, or Vista.

Sandisk has partnered with BeInSync to provide the online storage component. BeInSync uses Amazon Web Services to store files in a password-protected online account. Files are retained online for 30 days when they're deleted from the drive, as long as backups do not exceed its 4GB capacity. The storage service is free to Cruzer purchasers for six months, after which time it costs $29.99 per year. The drive has a crush-resistant metal case and comes with security options for encrypting and password-protecting the files stored on it.

The Cruzer Titanium Plus will be available in March 2008 for a $59.99 retail price.

New 'Photoshop CS3 Raw' Book

O'Reilly Media press release:

"Raw data is the holy grail of digital photography," said award-winning photographer and best-selling author Mikkel Aaland, when his book Photoshop CS2 Raw was published two years ago. The same is still true today.

"Anyone who is serious about digital photography and wants to produce the best possible picture needs to shoot and process Raw," notes Aaland in the introduction of his new book, Photoshop CS3 Raw (O'Reilly, $34.99 U.S.).

Aaland's up-to-the-minute edition focuses on the important features of Adobe Photoshop CS3, including Camera Raw's new retouching tools, expanded controls and ramped up sharpening features. Aaland also explains how to use Camera Raw in conjunction with Photoshop CS3 and Adobe Bridge 2.0 to capture organize and optimize Raw images so you can produce the best possible digital photographs.

With a personal teaching style that illuminates and inspires, Aaland offers easy-to-follow visual instructions to demonstrate how Raw data gives you greater flexibility and control during the editing process. You learn which tools to use for each phase of your workflow, from managing shoots to perfecting photos. Once you apply these techniques to your own work, you'll understand why so many professionals turn to the Camera Raw plug-in -- and to Photoshop CS3 Raw as their guide.

Easy-to-follow instructions and beautiful illustrative graphics help you gain quick understanding of Photoshop CS3's three distinct working environments for Raw files: Camera Raw, Bridge and Photoshop itself.

With this book, you'll learn how to:

• Decide when (and when not) to shoot Raw

• Organize and manage your Raw images in Adobe Bridge

• Automate Raw capture and processing with scripts and actions

• Achieve optimal tonal control and accurate color with Adobe Camera Raw

• Sharpen Raw images smartly

• Create stunning black-and-white images from your Raw files

• Save and archive DNG files

Between the gorgeous examples that Aaland lays out and his clear writing style, you'll not only learn how to best utilize Photoshop CS3's Camera Raw, but you'll also enjoy the journey of learning these skills under Aaland's tutelage.

US Department Of Transport Announces Restrictions For Li-Ion Batteries

Passengers will no longer be able to pack loose lithium batteries in checked luggage beginning January 1, 2008 once new federal safety rules take effect. The new regulation, designed to reduce the risk of lithium battery fires, will continue to allow lithium batteries in checked baggage if they are installed in electronic devices, or in carry-on baggage if stored in plastic bags.

Common consumer electronics such as travel cameras, cell phones, and most laptop computers are still allowed in carry-on and checked luggage. However, the rule limits individuals to bringing only two extended-life spare rechargeable lithium batteries*, such as laptop and professional audio/video/camera equipment lithium batteries in carry-on baggage.

"Doing something as simple as keeping a spare battery in its original retail packaging or a plastic zip-lock bag will prevent unintentional short-circuiting and fires," said Krista Edwards, Deputy Administrator of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Lithium batteries are considered hazardous materials because they can overheat and ignite in certain conditions. Safety testing conducted by the FAA found that current aircraft cargo fire suppression system would not be capable of suppressing a fire if a shipment of non-rechargeable lithium batteries were ignited in flight.

"This rule protects the passenger," said Lynne Osmus, Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) assistant administrator for security and hazardous materials. "It's one more step for safety. It's the right thing to do and the right time to do it."

In addition to the new rule, PHMSA is working with the FAA, the National Transportation Safety Board, the Consumer Product Safety Commission, the battery and airline industries, airline employee organizations, testing laboratories, and the emergency response communities to increase public awareness about battery-related risks and developments. These useful safety tips are highlighted at the public website: http://safetravel.dot.gov.