Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

 

Apple iPhoto 8.1.1 Update

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iPhoto Screenshot

Apple has updated iPhoto to the latest version 8.1.1.  Update notes from Apple:

The iPhoto 8.1.1 update addresses issues affecting face recognition performance and accuracy. It also resolves minor issues with book ordering and iPod touch support. This update is recommended for all users of iPhoto ’09.

More details and download the update on Apple’s website.

Shape Collage – Free Automatic Photo Collage Maker

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Shape Collage is one of those programs that makes you go: “Cool!”  I can’t believe I hadn’t heard of this program before I received an email today from the Shape Collage creator.

You can watch the above video or read Vincent’s explanation of the program below. [Read more…]

Adobe Camera Raw 5.6 and Lightroom 2.6 Release Candidates Available

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Adobe has made release candidates of Lightroom 2.6 and Camera Raw 5.6 available for download in Adobe Labs.  These versions add raw file support for the following cameras:

Canon EOS 7D
Canon PowerShot G11
Canon PowerShot S90
Leaf Aptus II 5
Mamiya DM22, DM28, DM33, DM56, M18, M22, M31
Nikon D3s
Olympus E-P2
Pentax K-x
Panasonic FZ38
Sigma DP1s
Sony A500
Sony A550
Sony A850

Remember, these are release candidates, which means they’ve been pretty well tested and Adobe thinks they are ready for full release; however, it’s recommended that you keep production work to prior versions until the official releases drop.  Expect those to come soon though.  Release candidates mean that the final versions are just around the corner.

Lightroom 2.6 release candidate can be downloaded here.

Camera Raw 5.6 release candidate can be downloaded here.

Lightroom 3 Beta has not been updated yet.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta Now Available – for Free!

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Lightroom 3 Beta

All you Lightroom users out there, get ready.  Adobe just dropped the beta version of Lightroom 3 out onto the Interweb, and it’s packed with all sorts of new bells and whistles.

Improved efficiency, Flickr integration, overhauled developing engine and more are served up in this revised processing powerhouse.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go download the Lightroom 3 Beta now.  The beta is schedule to expire in April 2010, so you should continue to use your current version of Lightroom for serious work until this is for real.

There’s more details in the press release below for you over-analytical types. [Read more…]

Adobe Photoshop App for iPhone – First Look

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Adobe has released a Photoshop app for the iPhone.  It’s a available for free from the iTunes App Store.

In the new Photoshop app, you get adjustment features like cropping, exposure, saturation and tint, along with a number of presets and stylized effects.  The overall user interface is pretty slick, which you would expect from Adobe.  You slide your fingertip across the image in several of the settings to add or reduce their intensity.  The crop tool is so smooth too – it just works the way cropping should.  Overall, the app feels very intuitive.

One thing I really like about the app is that it leaves your photos on your camera roll untouched and creates a copy for you to edit.  As a result, you get a second version of your image to process and you’ve always got your clean original if you want to do something else.  The new, edited photo is saved as the last image in your iPhone’s camera roll when you are done with it in the Photoshop app.  I’m not sure if or which other apps do this, but I appreciate this feature. [Read more…]

onOne Photo Essentials 3 for Adobe Photoshop Elements 8

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onOne Photo Essentials 3

onOne has announced Photo Essentials 3 for Photoshop Elements, which includes support for the new Elements 8.

The Photo Essentials software tools are designed to help you unleash the power of Photoshop Elements more easily by minimizing the work that goes into common image editing tasks.  For example, the new Make It Cool module in Photo Essentials 3 gives you a library of effects that you can easily apply to your images with the click of a mouse.  The Make It Cool module includes over 40 effects that simulate classic film, filter and darkroom techniques like sepia toning and cross processing.  Other tools inside Photo Essentials 3 let you apply automatic enhancement settings, remove backgrounds and add frame and border effects, among others.

Photo Essentials 3 will be available October 2009 at an initial retail price of $69.99.  Check availability on Amazon.com.

More details below. [Read more…]

Picasa 3.5

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Picasa 3.5

Google has released Picasa 3.5.  This new version of the popular, free photo photo editing software adds a number of features for organizing and sharing online.

In Picasa 3.5, you can now import to Picasa’s desktop client and upload to your Picasa Web Albums account in one step.  Additionally, Picasa 3.5 has added face detection technology and will help you tag faces of individuals in your photo library (see above screen capture).  You also get geotagging integration with Google Maps for easy drag and drop to the location you got the shot.  Google also improved the tagging system for better bulk tagging, quick tags and tag counts.

To read more about the updates and download Picasa 3.5, see picasa.google.com.