digital-imaging

Microsoft is discontinuing one of its products, and I'm bummed.

Having one less piece of software to write about is no big deal, but this particular program happens to be one I actually used--a lot. Microsoft's Digital Image Suite served as my introduction to photo editing and photo manipulation. I've since taken to using both Photoshop and Photoshop Elements, but just this week I installed Digital Image Suite on the Windows portion of my iMac so I could keep using it as well.

Microsoft noted the change with a terse statement on its Web site.

"Microsoft … Read more

Time Inc. announced yesterday that it will stop printing its Life magazine newspaper supplement after the April 20, 2007 issue. The brand will live on through its various other ventures, such as its well-known hardcover and soft cover books, and a new Web site.

Describing the Web site as a "major portal," Time Inc. plans to offer Life's entire collection of photos, approximately 10 million images, on the Web site for free personal use. It is still unclear how Time will make the images available for commercial use, and the company will not disclose the URL for … Read more

Pentax has been really busy this last year. First they celebrated the legacy of their K-series cameras with the K100 and K110 dSLRs, then they unleashed the powerful K10D, now they have unveiled a new line of high performance lenses called the smc Pentax-DA* series. The line debuts with two lenses: the DA* 16-50mm f/2.8 ED AL[IF]SDM and the DA* 50-135mm f/2.8 ED[IF]SDM. Pentax won't say what the SDM stands for, but the press release does say that the lenses include a supersonic motor. The samples we saw at the PMA … Read more

Photoshelter has announced that it will now offer its standard- ($29.99 per month) and professional-level ($49.99 per month) members one terabyte of redundant storage for $1,000 per year. If that's too much storage for you, you can also opt for 500GB for $600 per year. Obviously this won't appeal to snapshooters, but it is among the most affordable Web-based bulk storage options for professional photographers at the moment. Photoshelter's standard members already get 35GB of storage with their monthly membership, while professional members get 100GB. The site also offers a basic membership with 10GB … Read more

Just in case the D40's 6-megapixel sensor was keeping you from making the plunge into the world of digital SLRs, Nikon has just announced the D40x, which sports a 10.2-megapixel sensor. Despite the larger pixel count, Nikon still manages to bump the new camera's continuous shooting speed up to three frames per second for up to 100 shots, compared to the D40's 2.5fps. If you often shoot in very bright conditions, you'll appreciate the D40x's wider range of ISOs, which stretches from ISO 100 to ISO 3200 (Nikon calls it H-1). The D40 … Read more

Sony's latest pair of superzooms, called the DSC-H7 and DSC-H9, add longer zoom lenses, higher resolutions, face detection, and a handful of other nifty features, including high-definition output. This last feature has found its way into all the company's new Cyber-shots, as was mentioned in our post about the new W- and T-series cameras.

Both of the new models include 8-megapixel CCD sensors and 15x optical, 31mm to 465mm-eqivalent, zoom lenses with optical image stabilization. Just in case that stabilization isn't enough for you, Sony also upped the top sensitivity rating on this year's models to … Read more

Lexar this morning announced its first Secure Digital High Capacity (SDHC) memory card. Part of the company's Professional line, the 4GB card carries a 133x speed rating, which Lexar translates into a minimum sustained write speed of 20MB per second. For those unfamiliar with the new SDHC standard, it was developed to let SD memory cards reach capacities larger than 2GB.

Of course, a new standard also means that SDHC cards aren't compatible with older readers or cameras that aren't SDHC compatible. Because of that fact, Lexar includes a small USB 2.0 SDHC reader with the … Read more

Polaroid popped up on our radar again, this time introducing a handy photo backup device.

Plugging the portable storage device into a computer's USB port automatically prompts it to find and copy any images stored on the computer. The Media Backup Photo Edition, which comes in black or white, does not require installing software or clicking a sync button to activate but works automatically through its "ClickFree" technology.

The 2.5-inch 40GB hard drive can hold up to about 40,000 photos and can be used with Internet services for sharing and printing.

Polaroid launched the new media backup device … Read more

It seems like decades ago that Epson released its last dye-based, 13-inch printer, the Stylus Photo 1280. Well, it's only been six years, but in this biz it feels like decades--and the printer is still pretty popular for a model so old. But even the most well-preserved stars eventually need a face-lift, so this week the company announced the Stylus Photo 1400, a 13x19-inch-capable model that uses Epson's Claria dye inks and 1.5-picoliter-droplet printhead. Dubbed "Ultra Hi-Def" printing--after all, if it works for TV, why not printers?--the 6-color Claria ink set has been rated … Read more