Wednesday, February 19, 2003

Nikon confirms the introduction of the DX 12-24mm lens (from Digital Photography Review). If you use a Nikon D1x, or D100, this lens looks like a great way to shoot VRs since it provides the equivalent of 18-36mm coverage. Since previously you had to use a 14mm lens to get 21mm coverage, this lens means theoretically fewer problems associated with ultra-wide angle lens usage (have you seen the great sphere of glass on some 14mm lenses? It's hard to protect from dust, waterdrops, etc). 7:00:00 AM

Adobe has made available the Photoshop Camera Raw plugin (from Steve's Digicams). The plugin enables easy access from within Photoshop to the RAW images produced by digital cameras from Canon, Fuji, Minolta, Nikon, and Olympus. Using this plugin, you can preview RAW files, import them, and make some adjustments. The plugin requires Photoshop 7.01 on Mac OS X or Windows and is available from the Adobe store for US$99. Included with the CR plugin is the JPEG2000 plugin. If the camera supports 16 bit per {RGB} color images, then when you bring a RAW file into Photoshop with this plugin, it will be in 16 bit mode. That's a whole lot more dynamic range potential than 8 bits/color. Uwe Steinmuller has written an essay on the plugin which shows the features and explains why the white balance options are very well done. If you use a digital camera to shoot VRs, this is an interesting development. Since most photographers use Photoshop, the plugin should make it easier to process RAW images, since you won't have to have a separate application to convert them to usable image files. And now there is a less expensive (and fewer featured) alternative to Nikon Capture, Bibble, and Capture One DSLR. 6:50:15 AM

From DCresource.com: Fuji has announced two new digicams that use the new SuperCCD SR sensor: the Finepix F700 and F410. Both have 3 megapixel sensors with 3x optical zoom but Fuji claims they produce 6 megapixel images. The SuperCCD HR sensors are supposed to approach film in the ability to capture dynamic range. Forbes has posted an article on the FinePix F700: http://www.forbes.com/2003/02/28/cx_ah_0228tentech.html 6:39:05 AM

Pentax has announced three digital cameras: the Optio 450, 550 and 33L(from Digital Photography Review). The 550 is a 5 megapixel compact design with 5x optical zoom. The 450 uses the same design but has a 4 megapixel sensor. The 33L is a 3megapixel design with a swiveling LCD panel. 6:24:40 AM

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