Category: Software Reviews

Could Sony get 'DxO Inside'?

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I don’t have an Alpha 500 or 550 here yet, even though Photoclubalpha has been second in the Google search results for ‘Sony Alpha 550’ for some time and remains so as I write (the New York Times is first). That’s not bad for a WordPress blog website which does NOT employ the services of the dozen or so ‘search engine optimisation’ experts who contact us each week! Hopefully we’ll have a review camera very soon, preferably the 550.
In the meantime, a few samples have been posted on various sites which show the raw conversion engine of the camera/s (not necessarily the JPEG compression stage, as always seems to be assumed) has been radically revised. Sony call this ‘enhanced BIONZ’ and I think there’s a clue to how it has been enhanced in the relationship of Sony Europe and DxO Labs, the French company which specialises in in-camera process analysis and development.
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Cameras (DSLR), DK's ramblings, Software Reviews

Support for A230, A330, A380 in latest Adobe release

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Adobe has added the latest Alpha model support to Lightroom and ACR before the cameras have become fully available worldwide – as they did with the original Alpha 100. Lightroom 2.4 and Adobe Camera Raw 5.4 final releases include raw conversion for the Alpha 230, 300 and 380.
To download the latest utilities (including DNG Converter, which converts the raw files to a form which earlier versions of Photoshop CS can process) visit:
http://www.adobe.com/downloads/
The updates are free but you must have recent versions of authorised software installed to benefit from them. The ACR Plug-In will also update Adobe Elements 7 (PC) or 6 (Macintosh) to work with the full range of Sony Alpha DSLRs.
We have run comparison ACR conversions on Alpha 900 files using 5.4 and the earlier Release Candidate (beta) version – there is no difference, output is bit for bit identical.

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Cameras (DSLR), News, Software Reviews

Free PhotoTools software for Photoclubalpha readers

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OnOne Software has made available an entire free download including Lite versions of 14 of their PhotoTools plug-ins for Photoshop. All you have to do to obtain the download is visit their website using the link below and provide a valid email address for verification. We have tested the entire OnOne software range – including the full PhotoTools 2 package – with excellent performance on CS4/MacOSX 10.5+.
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News, Software Reviews

New skins versus old wine – A350 or A380?

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As the generation of Alpha 200, 300 and 350 reaches early retirement age it may be the time to grab bargains. The new Alpha 230, 330 and 380 have plenty of bonus points to win over new users despite the critical lack of video capture. But the older generation has some very tangible benefits.
The most obvious changes in the ‘Plus-30’ range are the use of a new smaller battery (NP-F50AM) shared with Cyber Shot consumer models, a dual MS ProHG Duo and SD card interface, substantial reduction in weight and size, improved rear LCD screen with auto brightness adjustment (only on the A330 and A380), and a radical overhaul of the graphical user interface to include sample picture tips (pioneered by Nikon).
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Accessories - Minolta/Sony, Cameras (DSLR), DK's ramblings, Flash units, Lenses - Alpha Mount, News, Photo Techniques, Software Reviews

Alpha 330 – future model?

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Latest update May 7th:
Sony Style pages are starting to show this header picture, which shows three new models all sharing an unusual handgrip design and using the new lenses:
lifestyle_dslr_byseries
Note – the new models have handgrip sensors or appear to – maybe the nickel problem has been conquered. Also note the radical shift in position of the front control wheel and shutter release. The A380 is next to the A900, followed by the A330, and then the A230 at the end. All are smaller than the current A200-300 series. The A330 and A380 have what look like Live-View switches next to the prism, the A230 does not. This indicates that the viewing method has not changed, and we will almost certainly not get off-sensor live view or video. This does not rule out some kind of improved 720p LV of the focus screen, combined with electronically switched markings that could be turned off for recording video ‘off the groundglass’.
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Cameras (DSLR), DK's ramblings, Lenses - Alpha Mount, News, Photo Techniques, Software Reviews

Lightrom 2.3 and ACR 5.3 final release

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Adobe has released Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3, available immediately for download at www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/. The Lightroom 2.3 and Camera Raw 5.3 updates, originally posted as release candidates for community testing on Jan. 23, provide raw file support for the newly-released Nikon D3X and Olympus E-30 cameras.
The Lightroom 2.3 update also provides support for eight additional languages including Dutch, Italian, Portuguese (Brazilian), Spanish, Swedish, Korean, Chinese (simplified) and Chinese (traditional). Additionally, it addresses several issues including a solution to a memory leak that affected some customers of the Lightroom 2.2 release.
Lightroom has received tremendous support from the photography community, and companies have released plug-ins that further extend Lightroom 2’s capabilities. Today, Nik software announced that its Viveza plug-in for colour refinement and light control is now compatible with Lightroom 2, and Photomatix recently updated its Lightroom HDR plug-in to work smoothly with Lightroom 2. To discover more plug-ins compatible with Lightroom 2 visit the Lightroom Exchange home page: http://www.adobe.com.
Pricing and Availability
The Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 update is available as a free download for existing Lightroom 2 customers and the Photoshop Camera Raw 5.3 plug-in is available as a free download for existing customers of Photoshop CS4, Photoshop Elements 7, Premiere Elements 7 and Photoshop Elements 6 for Mac. Both updates can be downloaded at www.adobe.com/downloads/updates/.

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Cameras (DSLR), News, Software Reviews

ACR 5.3 and Lightroom 2.3 pre-release

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Support for the Nikon D3X is finally added in release-candidate (better than beta) versions of the two main Adobe raw file conversion utilities. There may also be improvements in A900 and other Sony raw file handling – it is worth acquiring the pre-release version to check this out. The downloads will be available on the Adobe Labs site from 20.00hrs GMT on Friday, January 23rd, 2009.
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Cameras (DSLR), News, Software Reviews

Adobe ACR 5.2 – for CS4 only

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As expected, Adobe has again ‘broken’ the continuity of support for users of earlier versions of their Photoshop CS and Elements programs; the new ACR release to handle the forthcoming EOS 5D Mark II (which Canon tell us is not likely to be on sale in the UK before January) will require an upgrade to CS4 (minimum £300 in the UK) or Elements (no upgrade path offered, just buy a new copy every time they do this). Lightroom users, as has happened before, must wait for their own update.

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News, Software Reviews
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