Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Firmware Friday: Nikon Compacts, Pentax K-5, Panasonic G2 & Zoom H4n

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Camera Firmware Update

Below you will find this week’s firmware updates.  Hit the manufacturer website links for more details and download instructions for the firmware.

Nikon Coolpix S6000 version 1.1 – “When the self-timer, flash mode or macro mode setting was accessed but then closed without adjusting the setting after applying exposure compensation, the exposure compensation setting was reset to 0.0. This issue has been resolved.” [Nikon Website]

Nikon Coolpix S8000 version 1.1 – “When the self-timer, flash mode or macro mode setting was accessed but then closed without adjusting the setting after applying exposure compensation, the exposure compensation setting was reset to 0.0. This issue has been resolved.” [Nikon Website]

Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2 version 1.1 – “added a function for recording 3D pictures. added a function for playing back 3D pictures. Improved operability of AE lock by maintaining the setting even when touch shutter function is used.” [Panasonic Website]

Pentax K-5 version 1.01 – “Increases the number of continuous shot at RAW format and High sensitivity shooting. # Improved stability for general performance such as exposure range on HyP mode.” [Pentax Website]

Zoom H4n Handy Recorder version 1.70 – “Added the function that recording level of INPUT1 and 2 can be set individually.” [Zoom Website]

 

The Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Book for Digital Photographers – New Book

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The Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Book for Digital Photographers is a new book from Scott Kelby and Matt Kloskowski that takes a photographer’s approach to Photoshop Elements 9.

Kelby’s book for Photoshop CS was the first book that I ever bought for Photoshop, and it really helped me get off the ground with the rather intimidating software.  If you are a photographer struggling with Photoshop Elements (or any version for that matter), you could do a lot worse than picking up a book penned by Kelby.

The Adobe Photoshop Elements 9 Book for Digital Photographers carries a retail price tag of $39.99; however, you can pre-order it now on Amazon.com for $31.49.

Olympus E-PL1s Announced, But Only for Japan

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Olympus Japan has announced a new E-PL1s Micro Four Thirds camera as a slight tweak to the popular E-PL1.  The E-PL1s adds an ISO 6400 sensitivity setting and now comes in a red body.

Along with the E-PL1s, Olympus announced a new 14-42mm II f/3.5-5.6 kit lens with improved internal focusing for faster and quieter AF.

[Olympus Japan via Photo Rumors]

Think Tank Photo Urban Disguise 40 V2.0 Review

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Think Tank Photo’s new Urban Disguise series camera bags are a versatile line of shoulder-carry bags that make it possible to carry a lot of gear in a compact and inconspicuous manner.

Think Tank Photo offers several different versions of the Urban Disguise bags, which lets find a bag that serves your own needs. At the bottom end, you’ve got the Urban Disguise 10, which holds a DSLR with lens attached (along with some extra space in the front pocket), to the Urban Disguise 70, which holds 2 pro-sized DSLRs with up to 70-200 f/2.8 lenses attached, plus several lenses and a couple of additional bodies.  Additionally, the Urban Disguise series features bags like the Urban Disguise 60, which holds pro-sized DSLRs, lenses and offers a 17″ widescreen laptop compartment.

The Urban Disguise 40 V2.0 has been on my shoulder for the past few weeks with a number of different gear arrangements inside.  For a lot of folks, the Urban Disguise 40 V2.0 will serve as the perfect single-shoot bag.  It’s also a fantastic photo walk or day trip bag.

The Urban Disguise 40 V2.0 looks and feels like a professional briefcase.  It doesn’t stick out in a crowd and draw attention to you like “Hey, I’m carrying a few grand in camera gear.”  This is a camera bag that just lets you blend into the crowd, but still functions like a sexy camera bag. [Read more…]

Firmware Friday: Nikon P100 & S8100

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Camera Firmware Update

Below you will find this week’s firmware updates.  Hit the manufacturer website links for more details and download instructions for the firmware.

Nikon P100 version 1.1 – Numerous bug fixes [Nikon Website]

Nikon S8100 version 1.1 – “When Sequence display options was selected from the playback menu and Individual pictures then selected, pictures previously shot continuously were displayed one at a time, but only the key picture for a series shot after the setting was displayed. This issue has been resolved.” [Nikon Website]

Photo Mechanic Review

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Photo Mechanic is solid piece of photo organization software.  It is not an image editor, but it’s just as critical to your workflow if you shoot a lot of photos.  Camera Bits (the maker of Photo Mechanic) says, “Photo Mechanic sets out to be the most useful Photo Workflow Software on the market today.  It does this by being logical in operation, intuitive in use and, most importantly of all, performing its functions as quickly as possible.”

All those things are true, but that last part “. . . as quickly as possible” is what makes Photo Mechanic such a hit for me.

Ever shoot a few hundred or a few thousand images in a day?  Do you shoot in RAW format and hate waiting for the those 100% previews to load in Lightroom?  Do you need to view your photos faster?  If you said “yes” to any of these, then you will see an immediate benefit to putting Photo Mechanic in your workflow. [Read more…]

Apple Adds Additional RAW Support in Mac OS X 10.6.5

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Apple Aperture 3

Apple’s Mac OS X 10.6.5 update has added system-wide support (including Aperture and iPhoto) for a number of new RAW formats captured by the following cameras:

  • Canon EOS 60D
  • Canon PowerShot S95
  • Hasselblad H4D-40
  • Nikon D3100
  • Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5
  • Sony DSLR-A290
  • Sony DSLR-A560
  • Sony DSLR-A580
  • Sony SLT-A33
  • Sony SLT-A55

The update is available via systems updates in Mac OS X 10.6.