Adobe Lightroom 3 Now Available for Purchase

LR3 is finally out of beta and ready to go into full-time studio production use.  Purchase an upgrade or full version direct from Adobe: http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/ I think I can speak for everyone when I say it feels like an eternity has passed while waiting for LR3 to go public, but it looks like today is finally the day!  For the last month or so, I've been using the beta 2 version almost daily and can honestly say that the two biggest benefits (for me, at least) are the improved noise reduction and the overall speed/perfomance boost. There are other...

Lightroom 3 ‘beta 2′ now available for download

Well, there it is. The new "beta 2" version of Lightroom 3 is now available for public consumption @ the Adobe Labs website.  New in Lightroom 3 Beta 2 Improved performance throughout the application for faster importing and loading of images Native tethered shooting support for select Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras Luminance noise reduction has been added to the previous color noise reduction improvements available in the first public beta for outstanding overall high ISO quality Support for importing and managing video files from DSLR cameras for better overall photographic...

Lightroom 3 Beta 2 imminent?

With eager anticipation, I've been checking every day for any news about the Lightroom 3 release date. Today, while browsing some RSS feeds, a story at CNET referenced a story at the Digital Photography Now Blog about a new "update" to the Lightroom 3 beta… notable new features include: New video capabilities  Tethered shooting New and improved importing Enhanced luminance noise reduction Unknown if this was posted early or what the story is, but felt it was noteworthy enough to share. IIRC, the LR3 Beta that's out right now expires on April...

Audio Issues Fixed In Canon 5D Mark II Firmware 2.0.4

Canon has released a new firmware version that fixes an obscure audio bug found while setting a manual audio recording level.  Unless you're a hardcore SLR video user, this would probably never affect you, but you may want to update just to be on the safe side… In the Version 2.0.4 firmware, the following phenomena that occurred with the Version 2.0.3 firmware (which was to enhance the movie functions) have been corrected. There was a phenomenon in which the manual recording settings made in C1/C2/C3 were changed and sound could not be recorded if manual sound recording was...

Canon Releases 5D Mark II Firmware 2.0.3, Updates Video Capabilities

The long awaited "spring firmware update" for the 5D Mark II is finally here! Can't wait to try out 24fps. From Canon's Firmware Update Page: Firmware Version 2.0.3 incorporates five enhancements to the movie function and a fix to the manual sensor cleaning function of the EOS 5D Mark II camera. Adds or changes the following movie frame rates.   NTSC: 1920×1080 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps) 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps) 640×480 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps)   PAL: 1920×1080 : 25 fps...

Weather Tools for Photography

As nature and wildlife photographers, we have to accept the fact that mother nature runs the show. She's in total control of the lights, temperature and moisture in our studios, so it behooves us to study her ways and try to figure out what she's going to be up to next. But how? Where? What's the best way to figure out what kind of weather is coming? I'd like to share a few tools, programs and webpages that I use to gather the information I need to make an informed decision about the weather conditions for a given day of photography.   Weather...

Business cards from MOO

Two words: Absolutely stunning. The folks over at moo.com deserve a round of applause for several reasons… A) Ordering process – doesn't get much easier than the interface they've created. Bing, bang boom – you're done. Hardest part will be picking the 50 images you want on your cards. B) Clearly stated instructions regarding sizes, resolutions, bleeds, etc… I didn't have to hunt around one iota to find any information about what kind of files they accepted. C) Unique ability to have 50 different images, one on each card. Like having a portfolio in your...

Viveza 2 from Nik Software

Heads up to any and all fellow NAPP members: You can pick up an early bird copy of Viveza 2 with a nice discount right now. UPDATE: I've taken advantage of this special offer and have been unable to activate my new copy of Viveza 2. Called their tech support line to activate over the phone on Friday the 11th, and apparently there are a few other people having the same problem I am. Unable to activate online, receiving error code (-11). When I try to activate over the phone, the software will not generate an installation ID, and instead populates the field with "Name". (Running...

DNG and Raw Thumbnail Codecs

About a month ago I decided to pick up an Xbox 360, joining the millions of other fools who decided to get sucked into the ultimate time-waster of the year, Modern Warfare 2. I've been unable to put down the sticks for more than 48 hours at a time, but when I do manage to step away from the multiplayer madness, my Xbox 360 also has the added bonus of doubling as an "extender" for Windows Media Center.  What's that got to do with the price of tea in china you ask? Well, if you're running a PC with a newer version of Windows (I just migrated to Windows 7 Professional...

Quick news roundup

Helluva week for photo news. Each night there’s been some major announcements made, usually around 1am – just after I’ve sacked out. I’m late to the game on all of these, but figure I’ll make the post anyway for those who might be living under rocks: Canon announces the EOS 1D Mark IV Although this feels much more like a "1DMkIIIn" release to me, it’s still impressive. If you were to throw the 5DMKII and the 1DMKIII in a blender, add in a dash of improved AF and light sensitivity, the Mark IV is what you’d get. For the record,...