Tuesday, July 29, 2008

Adobe Releases Lightroom 2.0

Today, Adobe released Lightroom 2.0. It has a number of major new features as compared to version 1.0. It is also Adobe's first 64-bit native application for Leopard as reported by AppleInsider. Once again, the Luminous Landscape has some very helpful information about this new software, foremost of which is a new video tutorial, The Luminous Landscape Guide to Lightroom 2.

UPDATE: I just started using Lightroom 2.0 and I really like working with it. It has some great features and its workflow works very well. I will be posting some more information on my findings soon.

Monday, July 28, 2008

Pentax Announces Optio E60

Today Pentax released the Optio E60 compact digital camera. The E60 has a 10 megapixel CCD sensor and continues the Optio E-series trend of using AA batteries. Otherwise, things seem to be somewhat similar to the previous generation Optio E50. The Optio E60 will be available in a black finish in October and the price is a very exciting "under US $140."

Apple Releases Aperture 2.1.1 Update

Today, Apple released the Aperture 2.1.1 update. The changes are listed in the Aperture 2.0 Late Breaking News document. Apple states that:

The Aperture 2.1.1 update provides compatibility with MobileMe and addresses issues related to performance and overall stability of Aperture 2.

The document says that "fixes" were made in "Auto-stacking, Preview generation, Adding keywords, Comparing images, Importing and exporting projects, Crop HUD, Histogram, Highlights & Shadows controls, Dodge & Burn plug-in, Lift & Stamp HUD, Exporting versions, Slideshows, Adjustments pane and Adjustments HUD, Printing, Book themes, Help menu.".

Sunday, July 27, 2008

Aperture K20D RAW Support Fixed

As I mentioned on June 30, Pentax updated the K20D firmware to version 1.01 which caused some problems with many RAW converters including Aperture but not including Adobe's products. With Apple's release of iLife Support 8.3 on July 22, this problem has been corrected. No information was released with the update to indicate what it fixed other than a generic statement.

This update improves overall stability and addresses a number of other minor issues. It is recommended for all users for iLife '08.

This update also restores K20D RAW support to any other applications that use the system support such as Preview and iPhoto. I am glad that Apple finally responded to this issue. I understand that other companies have also fixed K20D support as well.

If you would like more information as to what the exact problem was in the first place, read my post from June 30 for the full story and links to more information.

Wednesday, July 23, 2008

1001 Noisy Cameras: Photokina 2008 DSLR Speculation and Predictions

1001 Noisy Cameras has a new post detailing the rumors and their likelihood for Photokina 2008. The post is called Photokina 2008 DSLR Speculation and Predictions. It is a very interesting read and mentions Samsung working on a full frame sensor which likely would be used by both Pentax and Samsung. Time will tell but I am very much looking forward to what might be in the pipeline.

Pentax DA 17-70mm f/4 AL [IF] SDM Lens First Impressions

The Pentax DA 17-70/4 lens arrived today. My first impression is that I really like the size of this lens. It is just slightly smaller than the DA* 16-50/2.8 lens. It is also a little bit lighter. Even though it is lighter, the DA 17-70/4 lens feels very substantial and high quality. I like its feel even better than the DA* 16-50/2.8 lens. The DA 17-70/4 lens balances better on the K20D body. I am glad that Pentax has added this lens to its lineup. It fits in a very important space just below the top of the line DA* lenses. As I talked about in May, this is a great option for photographers. I am going to spend some time using this lens and I will post a full review and more thoughts soon. Check back for more information.

Luminous Landscape: Nikon D700 Review

Michael Reichmann of the Luminous Landscape has posted his review of the Nikon D700 camera. It is an interesting read and points out some things about Nikon's possible digital SLR strategy. As is mentioned, we can only wait and see how Canon's 5D replacement compares to the Nikon D700.

I am interested to see the next generation of Pentax products and how they compete in this increasingly more and more interesting digital SLR market.

Strobist: Nikon SB-900 Review

David Hobby has put up an excellent article about the Nikon SB-900 Speedlight on his Strobist blog. This flash is Nikon's new flagship flash and has some great new features. Most notably, it zooms to 200mm! Read the post for all the details.

Sunday, July 20, 2008

Strobist: One-Light Night Landscape

A post was just published at Strobist called One-Light Night Landscape that talks about how to make a very nicely done picture of a forest at night. This is a great shot and I am going to attempt something like this myself.

John Harrington: Surviving the Downsizing in Photography

John Harrington who publishes the excellent Photo Business News & Forum blog, just posted an entry entitled Surviving the Downsizing in Photography. It is excellent and brings up some very, very important issues in staff and freelance photography today. Anyone interested in professional photography should read this. As usual, John Harrington is candid and very reasonable in what he says.

As mentioned in John Harrington's post, two other of his posts are also an excellent read. The first is Where Does All Your Time Go? and the second is The Conundrum of Doing Nothing. Both are also excellent and worth your time.

Tuesday, July 08, 2008

Vincent Laforet: "The Cloud is Falling"

Vincent Laforet, a well-known photographer, published an article called The Cloud is Falling in which he discusses the future of photography, photojournalism, and media. He has some excellent points about what is changing in these fields and how those working in these areas can plan for the future. It is definitely worth a read if you are at all interested in the future of photography as a profession. Vincent Laforet has also been profiled on Apple's Pro site.

Friday, July 04, 2008

Happy 4th of July

Happy 4th of July to all of you in the United States.

Thursday, July 03, 2008

Canon G9 and ST-E2 with 580EX

I have been experimenting with my Canon Powershot G9 camera. Due to my desire for the best possible image quality, my tendency has been to shoot at ISO 80 only. This causes me to want to use a flash whenever possible. Using the Lensmate for the G9 causes the built-in flash to be significantly obscured and essentially useless. Today, I decided to work on that with one possible solution.

I decided to test out the Canon ST-E2 Speedlite Transmitter with my two Canon 580EX flashes. Susie, Tristin, and I headed over to a local pool to go swimming. It was a good opportunity for me to test out this setup. I was only able to use one 580EX this time but I did find the ability to maintain full E-TTL to be very nice. I always use the G9 in aperture priority mode and it takes care of the rest. It did a great job and I think this combination is an excellent one. There is one caveat however. You must have the infrared sensor on the flash in front of the ST-E2 so it can see the commands. This is very different from working with Pocket Wizards. It is nice to have E-TTL but the reliability is not as good. With that said, everything worked very nicely.

I am really enjoying using a very compact camera with RAW capability that is very, very good. It does have its limitations and you can forget shooting at ISO 800 or 1600 without major noise but otherwise it is great.

One possible kit out of this whole test is the Canon G9 w/Lensmate, ST-E2, and two 580EX flashes. This fits very nicely into the Domke J-803 bag along with miscellaneous cords and other stuff. I also used a Pentax 58mm circular polarizing filter and it worked very nicely. There is more to come. Stay tuned.

Tuesday, July 01, 2008

Luminous Landscape Thoughts on Nikon D700

Michael Reichmann has some very interesting thoughts on the release of the Nikon D700. There are many interesting factors at stake here the foremost of which is that Nikon is making a very serious effort to compete with Canon at all levels and then some.

New Look

As you can see, I have been working on a new look for The Digital Hub. It is not complete yet but some of the major changes have been made. The most obvious change is the addition of a left sidebar. I am working on making the site easier to use. Please leave any comments or suggestions. Thank you.