Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Nik Silver Efex Pro Review at PhotographyBLOG

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PhotographyBLOG has posted a review of Nik Silver Efex Pro, which is a black and white plug-in designed for use with Adobe Photoshop or Apple Aperture 2.1. It uses Nik’s patented U-Point technology to assist you in making local changes to your images.

PhotographyBLOG dealt Silver Efex Pro a favorable review, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars, and stating that it “is the most powerful and intuitive plug-in I’ve ever worked with for black and white imaging. The Grain Engine does an excellent job of providing a natural look to the image, and the selection of film types is good.”

 

Tin Eye: A Search Engine For Images

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TinEye is a solution for photographers wondering where their work has shown up. Whether you’re searching for copyright infringement or just curious on how far that Creative Commons photo has made it, TinEye is a handy tool.

The site is still in beta, but I put my name into their invite request form this morning and received an invite this afternoon — not a long wait at all. The search function is very simple: you can select a photo as if you were uploading it to a site. You can also paste in an image URL or use TinEye’s browser plugin.

TinEye then finds matching images. I searched for the photo I’ve used as my profile picture on hundreds of sites. TinEye didn’t find all of them, but those images it found were exact matches.

KoffeeWare Offers Photo Backups

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KoffeePhotoKoffeeWare, the makers of free photo sharing software KoffeePhoto, have created an extension to their software that will back up photos online. The backup service is a premium option — it’s priced at $59.99 per year. KoffeePhoto handles the whole process, from recognizing a digital camera when you connect it to your computer to uploading your backups to your online account.

KoffeePhoto’s backup service is for photos only. It may seem counterintuitive to have a backup plan dedicated only to photos, but KoffeePhoto thinks it’s the right way to go. From their press release:

Numerous online storage and backup solutions exist, some are dedicated to photo storage, others provide general purpose storage. At KoffeeWare, we think that online storage benefits from being application specific. In fact, storage is only part of the story.

KoffeePhoto handles the whole photo process, from the connection to the digital camera to sharing including organizing and backuping. More, using KoffeePhoto, you may add pictures to your account without even running your own computer. Storing and backuping being completely embedded into the system, KoffeePhoto combines great ease of use and peace of mind.

It’s hard to dislike automatic backup options — there isn’t a photographer in existence who backs up work often enough when forced to do it manually.

13 iPhone Photography Apps

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Along with the introduction of the iPhone 3G, Apple released iPhone 2.0 software, which is available for the first gen iPhone and iPod Touch as well.  At launch, tons of new applications from third party developers were available for download.  Many of these new applications are free – most are under $10.  Below are 13 photography-related iPhone apps available at launch.  Several more are actually avaiable; however, the following apps seem to be the most worthwhile considerations for people interested in photography as opposed to simply doodling on images.

1. SmugShot – FREE – Share your images instantly on SmugMug with geo-tagging.  More Photography Bay coverage here.

2. NearPics – FREE – NearPics is a simple, fun app for the iPhone & iPod Touch that lets you easily see some photographs taken near to where you are right now.

3. Exposure – FREE – For thorough integration with Flickr, Exposure brings many of the features of Flickr to the iPhone for fast access without the need to open Safari.  You can pony up $10 to remove ads from Exposure.

4. SnapMyLife – FREE – A location-aware photo sharing application for the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch, enabling users to easily see what’s going on around them right now.

5. Kyte Producer – FREE – Use your iPhone to share photos on Myspace, Facebook, or any website, blog or mobile phone. Instantly broadcast pictures as you take them, or create slideshows from your iPhone’s picture gallery.

6. SodaSnap Instant Postcards – FREE – Using SodaSnap you can create and share electronic postcards right from your iPhone. SodaSnap gives you the ability to snap a quick picture, or browse from your photo library and instantly send it to any email address along with a quick note. Using iPhone’s location services, SodaSnap tags your geo location to your postcards anywhere in the world.

7. AirMe – FREE – AirMe will upload your photos to Flickr and add some really cool smart tags. AirMe tags your photos with your city and country – and puts them on your Flickr map. AirMe can even include the current weather.

8. Big Canvas PhotoShare – FREE – PhotoShare is a social networking application that allows iPhone users to share photos with friends and family directly from their iPhone.

9. Clowdy Photo Blogger – FREE – Clowdy is a simple way to blog your photos directly from your iPhone. It lets you share your photos easily using the Camera or your Photo Library. Clowdy is location based, so you can see what photos people have taken around you. Just take a photo, click “Post”, and it’s published on your blog at cIowdy.com.

10. Phanfare – FREE – Phanfare automatically uploads photos from your iPhone to your Phanfare account in the background while you continue to snap away or otherwise use your iPhone.  You get 1GB of store in the free Phanfare account.

11. Comic Touch – $4.99 – Add various speech balloons and captions to your photos. Choose a fun special effect to warp and bend your family and friends, then email the results to them.

12. Jade – $4.99 – One of the few applications with editing capabilities. Pick up a picture, choose the intensity of the filter, compare the original and the enhanced version by tapping the screen and then save the result.

13. Photobucket for iPhone – $4.99 – Add photos to your free Photobucket account from your iPhone.

GoodSync: A Good Option

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GoodSyncI work on photographs on two different computers. I find myself constantly wishing that I had a file that’s on the other machine, having to hunt down a thumb drive and move it over. Network folders have helped, but what I’ve really been looking for is a solution that requires no help from me. I’m lazy — I want my files to always be in the right place, but I shouldn’t have to move them myself.

That’s where GoodSync comes in. It takes a few clicks to select folders that you want the software to keep synchronized, and then you’re done. GoodSync does all that hard work I’ve been complaining about: if you drop a file in a synced folder, it’s available on that other machine.

Installation and set up was pretty simple. GoodSync runs on Windows 2000 through Vista. I downloaded the executable file, agreed to the terms and had GoodSync up and running in under a minute (mileage may vary, depending on the speed of your internet connection). The interface is easy to use, especially considering some of the file management systems floating around out there. I especially like the automated features. You can set synchronization for any number of times, such as before you log off. It’s flexible enough to fit into anyone’s work schedule.

Furthermore, you don’t have to limit your synchronization to your photos. Anything, up to and including those many gigs of MP3s you’ve downloaded, can be synced between your computers. It’s pretty much an automatic backup made better by the fact that GoodSync protects against data loss without filling up your hard drive with duplicate files.

My only question for GoodSync is when they’re going to release a version that will let me sync with files on my Mac. It may be wishful thinking, but it would be nice.

You can download a free trial version on the GoodSync website, or purchase a license for $29.95.

SmugMug Announces SmugShot for Apple App Store

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The wireless transfer of snapshot just got a whole lot easier.  With SmugShot, you can use your iPhone to seemlessly sync your photos with your SmugMug account as you take them.  We’ve seen similar offerings from the likes of Eye-Fi and even a Panasonic camera that uploads to Picasa via T-Mobile’s network.  This is just the beginning folks.  And, SmugMug just made another big step toward an integrated feature that I expect will become widespread across other devices and networks in the not-to-distant future.

As for the iPhone, I would expect SmugMug won’t be the last photo sharing site to offer this kind of integrated sharing application.  If they haven’t already, I would expect the likes of Flickr, Photobucket and Picasa to follow suit soon.  For more on the SmugShot news, see the press release below.  Additionally, if you’re not a SmugMug user, you can use the following referral code in the “Referred by” field for a $5 discount  ( 7jCtURK05RxCQ ) – there’s also a free trial period available.

Press Release

MOUNTAIN VIEW, Calif. – SmugMug today announces availability of SmugShot, a free application that lets you post your adventures online as they happen. SmugShot adds your location to iPhone photos, and sends them to SmugMug’s gorgeous online galleries, where they can be displayed on Google Maps.

“It’s your dream trip to Hollywood and you’re dying to show your friends what you just saw,” said Chris MacAskill, SmugMug’s co-founder. “One click and a few seconds later, your friends see a photo of your gleaming smile online—and a map that shows them you’re on Hollywood Boulevard.”

SmugShot brings instant gratification to digital photography. No more storing photos on memory cards and waiting until your vacation ends to share them. No more wondering where the photos were taken. One click and your adoring fans can see the fun you’re having now, not a week from now when the moment passes. And they can follow the action by knowing where the photos are taken, making them feel a part of it all.

Memeo Share Integrates with Facebook

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Memeo Share Integrates with Facebook; Opens Registration for ‘Public Preview’

First 1,000 to sign-up for media sharing offering receive free lifetime use

Aliso Viejo, CA – June 24, 2008 – Memeo Inc., a leader in digital media management services for the home and small business, today introduced the Public Preview of Memeo Share, its media sharing solution. The latest version includes several new features, such as the ability to automatically post photos to Facebook. Memeo also opened enrollment for the general public to test the product, offering the first 1,000 registered individuals free lifetime use. Consumers can visit www.memeo.com/memeoshare.php to sign up. [Read more…]

Nik Software Viveza Review at PhotographyBLOG

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PhotograhyBLOG has posted a review of the Nik Viveza image editing software.

Viveza only does one thing, but it does it better than any tool I’ve ever used. If you spend a lot of time in Photoshop or Aperture editing your images, you’ll find Viveza will quickly become an integral part of your workflow, and it will repay the cost of purchase in no time at all.

Capture NX2 Hands-on Preview at Luminescent Photo

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Capture NX2 was just announced and Luminescent Photo has put together a hands-on preview of the new software.  Detailing a number of the improvements in NX2, Jason Odell appears quite pleased with the updated software, noting:

The ease by which photographers can create incredibly complex mask effects takes the “work” out of the image editing process and allows creativity to come to the forefront. Users who enjoyed Capture NX 1.3 will definitely appreciate the enhancements in NX2.

Head on over to Luminescent Photo for the full scoop.