September 5, 2007

For you Nikon users out there – here’s some news on the D300.

Everytime I turn around, Nikon seems to unveil a semi-pro camera body that has me wanting to tap into my children’s college fund.

The latest is Nikon’s D300, a 12.3-megapixel monster that is very similar to the D3, but with some new features.

One of the most talked about features is the new monitor – bigger, crisper and more life-like. Ken Rockwell has a nice review here.

While the monitor is nice, I am most interested in getting behind the lens and checking out the new 51-point auto focus system. It’s coupled with Nikon’s new 3D Focus Tracking Feature and, as long rumored, a live preview of the image on the LCD screen.

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September 1, 2007

Many of us know what the histogram is, and many of us simply know what it looks like but have no idea how to use it, or what it can do for us. We won’t delve into the deep dark depths of the histogram today, but rather talk about it’s basics and how you can use a cool feature in Lightroom to make quick corrections to images. You can also watch the video for an actual walkthrough.

One guy lost 27 pounds by using the histogram…

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Above we see the Lightroom RGB histogram, and as you see in the bright red letter left is darker, and right is lighter. Starting with that basic idea you can learn a lot about an image. Using LR however you can go a step further.

Video

 

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August 31, 2007

Popular Photography has named Lightroom as SOFTWARE OF THE YEAR!

From Popular Photography:

If you’ve ever wondered why so much in Photoshop has so little to do with actual photography, it may all have been in anticipation of Adobe’s powerful new workflow program. Like Apple’s Aperture, last year’s most impressive software, Lightroom organizes, processes, fixes, prints, and shares your images — handling RAW-format shots just like any other kind of file. It does all its fixing non-destructively, allowing you to go back and rework your pictures again and again. Its refinement and smooth operation clearly reflect the wisdom gained from Lightroom’s year of free public beta testing. So will it make you hang up your Photoshop for good? If you rarely dodge, burn in, or make composites — in other words, if you don’t work locally on different areas of your image — you may never need Photoshop again. On the other hand, serious retouchers should consider Lightroom for its organizational, printing, and Web prowess alone.

Read the entire story here

Lightroom retails for $300

More information on Adobe Lightroom and a free 30-day trial here.

Until next time,

Jarrod Michael

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August 29, 2007

DPReview has a nice gallery of beta shots from the 40D taken with a pre production camera. From what can be seen here it looks like the 40D has a lot of potential, especially in the noise department.

The sample below was taken at iso3200, and sure we can see noise, but that much noise when cranked all the way up to 3200 is our kind of animal. Heres the full DP review gallery.

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August 25, 2007

Click Button To Listen, PPS #36, Pro Photography Roundtable #3 Audiocast
To download mp3 podcast, right click above link, and “Save As”
Podcast subscription feed is http://feeds.feedburner.com/prophotoshow

we’re experiencing a problem with the built in player. If it’s too fast just click the direct link to listen. 

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Pro Photo Roundtable #2 Panel Members
Gavin Seim ~ Seim Photography, Washington
Dennis Zerwas JR ~ DZ Photography, Minnesota

Show Notes…

We talked about the Microsoft HD Photo format, and the Jpeg committee.
Pixelmator could compete with Photoshop in the future.
Gavin uses collages.net to put his work online for clients.
I’ll be reviewing a together book soon.
Visit the PPS forums and get all your questions answered.

 

Picks…

DZ. Armed America, a cool book with guns and families.
Gavin. Small Image2, a great resizing program for the mac.

 

[tags]photography, professional, roundtable, news, adobe, canon, mac, pc, photoshop[/tags]

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