Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Is the Apple Store Blackballing Competitive Adobe Software?

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I was in the Apple Store a few days ago and wanted to try out After Effects on the new Core i7 MacBook Pro; however, it was nowhere to be found.  I was almost certain that I’ve used After Effects on Macs in the Apple store before – but it wasn’t on a single computer there.

It turns out though, that there are a number of professional Adobe software applications that are entirely absent from the Apple Store – either as demos on the display Macs or as boxed software available for purchase. [Read more…]

 

Nikon Image Authentication Software Cracked, Rendered Useless

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Image authentication doesn’t quite mean what it used to.  It was just back in November 2010 that Russian forensic software firm, ElcomSoft, cracked Canon’s image authentication software.  Now, it’s done the same to Nikon’s $500 Image Authentication Software.

Nikon states that its Image Authentication Software allows users to “Verify JPEG, TIFF and NEF (RAW) data taken using a compatible Nikon digital SLR. This secure software checks if an image has been processed or edited after taken.”

The authenticity of a photograph is of the utmost importance in court cases and other commercial and industrial applications.  The discovery of vulnerabilities in Nikon’s software adds yet another hurdle to a previously proven method of image authentication.

ElcomSoft claims that it has notified Nikon of this vulnerability; however, ElcomSoft noted that “Nikon has provided no response nor expressed any interest in the existence of the issue.”

Note that Canon Europe posted a request of users of its software to contact the company to discuss the issue.

More details on this development in Elcomsoft’s statement below. [Read more…]

Nikon D5100 Availability Update

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It seems that Nikon D5100 is quite hot item.  Amazon is pretty thin on stock right now and appears to only have availability through third-party vendors at the moment.

B&H Photo has updated its stock status to show the D5100 as “Available for Pre-Order” which generally means that B&H has stock on the way and will be shipping it out in a matter of days.  Here’s the link to the D5100 product page at B&H Photo.

Olympus PEN Your Short 48 Hour Film Contest

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Olympus has been rolling out the results of its 48 hour short film contest, which was part of the 2011 Vail Film Festival.  “During the contest, 19 teams of filmmakers from around the country were challenged to create a film, from start to finish, in a 48-hour timeframe with the powerfully simple Olympus PEN camera and a variety of lenses and accessories.”  Olympus is using this opportunity to pimp its HD-shooting PEN cameras, like the new Olympus E-PL2.

This week, Olympus revealed the runner-up short film, Der Bürgermeister.  You can check it out, along with some commentary from the filmmakers, below. [Read more…]