Wednesday, November 30, 2011

Adobe announces Photoshop Touch, plus five other tablet apps

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Summary: Adobe announces six new touchscreen optimized apps for tablets, including Adobe Photoshop Touch for Android.

Adobe Photoshop Express was one of the first apps I downloaded when I bought my iPad, but there it’s languished virtually unused after the first week of playing around with it. A cute little freebie, it was no Photoshop (or even Photoshop lite for that matter), giving you a just handful of preset effects and tools, and only minimal control over them. Well, tablet-wielding photo enthusiasts now have something to cheer about: Adobe has just announced Photoshop Touch, a new touchscreen app developed for tablets that works more like the real thing, allowing you to combine photos into layered images and use finger gestures to control familiar Photoshop tools and effects.

Adobe Photoshop Touch will be available for Android devices in November, but iPad users will have to wait until early 2012 for an iOS version. It will sell for just $10, so don’t expect a full-fledged version of Photoshop or anything (hey, it’s a tablet app). Still, it looks like Adobe has put together a great tool that takes good advantage of the touchscreen interface as well as the connected nature of tablets to allow easy sharing of photos on Facebook, for example, or via the new Adobe Creative Cloud hub that the company also announced today for viewing, sharing, and syncing images among your various computing devices.

The app comes with a number of built-in tutorials that explain everything you need to know to use it. You can select images to work on from your own photo albums on the tablet, download images from the Creative Cloud, get images from your camera, or download them directly from Google or Facebook. The Google option is particularly useful — you can search for images by keywords and/or by color, and even by copyright usage rights, allowing you to quickly and easily select images you can reuse commercially and/or reuse with modification (pretty slick).

Once you select your image, you can access a range of familiar tools with the touch of a finger or stylus, edit your images, and apply various adjustments and effects. There are also plenty of tablet-specific enhancements, such as the Scribble Selection Tool, which lets you extract objects from your image by scribbling on what to keep and what to remove.

In addition to Photoshop Touch, Adobe also announced five other touchscreen enabled apps for tablets — which it calls Adobe Touch Apps – including:

All six of the new Adobe Touch Apps will be available for Android devices in November for $9.99 (with iOS versions expected in early 2012).

Janice got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since.


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New Panasonic HDC-Z10000 3D camcorder sports a 3D LCD -- no glasses required

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Summary: Panasonic announces its latest consumer camcorder that shoots both 2D and 3D video.

One of the top reasons 3D devices haven’t become as popular as the electronics industry would hope is that people just don’t like those silly glasses. In fact, according to market research firm The NPD Group, aversion to 3D glasses was a bigger barrier to purchase of 3D products than high price.  Well, it looks like Panasonic is out to win the hearts and minds of 3D glasses haters everywhere: The Panasonic HDC-Z10000 consumer 3D camcorder announced today sports a 3.5-inch, 1,152,000-dot LCD that displays video in 3D without requiring special glasses.

According to Panasonic, the specialized LCD uses a parallax barrier to control the direction of the light coming from the LCD so that each of your eyes sees a separate image, creating a 3D effect (similar to the effect you get from one of those 3D postcards with lenticular printing). (It also sounds similar to the LCD on the Fujifilm FinePix Real 3D W3 3D camera.) Additionally, the camcorder sports a bright 1,227,000-dot, 0.45-inch electronic view finder.

The HDC-Z10000 is compatible with the recently announced AVCHD 3D/Progressive standard, co-developed by Panasonic and Sony, and shoots full HD video in both 2D and 3D (the LCD can be switched between 2D and 3D modes).  Unlike its lower-end predecessor, the Panasonic HDC-SDT750, the HDC-Z10000 has an integrated dual lens rather than a conversion lens and utilizes two of Panasonic’s high-sensitivity 6.57-megapixel 3MOS sensors, allowing the camcorder to record two separate images simultaneously for the right and left eyes.

Other specs and features include:

Two 32-320mm, f/1.5-f/2.7 10x optical zoom lenses (29.8-368.8mm, f/1.5-f/2.8 12x zoom when shooting 2D)Nano Surface Coating on lenses for reduced light reflection and ghostingAVCHD 3D (1080/60i, 1080/24p, and 1080/30p), AVCHD Progressive (1080/60p), and AVCHD (1080/
24p, 1080/30p and 1080/60i PH/HA/HE) modes3D video macro setting (17.8 inches)Optical image stabilization systems for both 2D and 3D shootingSeparate adjustment rings for zoom, focus, and iris controlBuilt-in microphones (Dolby Digital 5.1-channel surround sound/2-channel stereo)Two XLR audio inputs (with 48-V phantom power supply for external microphone)Dual SD memory card slots2.1-megapixel 2D and 3D still image recording (while recording video)

As per usual with Panasonic, pricing and availability will not be announced until 30 days before the product ships.

Janice got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since.


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Tuesday, November 29, 2011

Panasonic announces entry-level Lumix DMC-LS5 camera with wide, bright lens

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Summary: Panasonic introduces a new low-end compact camera that sports a 26mm wide-angle f/2.8 lens.

Panasonic is brightening up its compact camera lineup with a brand new entry-level model: Announced today, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LS5 looks to be a well-featured but basic everyman’s shooter, but it stands out from the crowd with a wider and brighter than average 5x optical zoom lens. The 26-130mm equivalent f/2.8-6.5 lens will allow the average point-and-shoot photographer greater framing flexibility and should deliver better image quality in low light.

Like some entry-level models from Canon and Nikon among others, the LS5 utilizes AA batteries — a departure for Panasonic, which uses rechargeable Lithium Ion batteries in the rest of its lineup. If you don’t want to be replacing your batteries every 160 shots (i.e., the rated battery life using two AA alkaline batteries), you can opt for a NiMH battery, which will give you closer to 320 snaps between charges. But for this camera’s target audience (casual, entry-level snapshooters), the option of being able to easily grab batteries on the go is nice.

The rest of the LS5’s feature set is solid, if unremarkable, including:720p HD video recording at 30fpsOptical image stabilizationFace DetectionIntelligent scene selection15 scene modes including Panorama AssistIn-camera red-eye removal2.7-inch, 260,000-dot LCD

Pricing has not yet been set, but the camera (available in black only) is set to begin shipping in November.

For more information, read the press release »

Janice got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since.


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Lytro Light Field Camera lets you focus after taking your shot

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Summary: A revolutionary new camera based on decades of research promises to turn digital imaging as we know it on its ear.

Just four months after Lytro created a ton of buzz by promising to revolutionize digital imaging, the Silicon Valley-based startup has announced its first product, the Lytro Light Field Camera. The new camera, which is based on Lytro CEO and Founder Dr. Ren Ng’s doctoral dissertation in computer science at Stanford, allows consumers to adjust the focus on their photos after they’ve already taken the shot. The basic concept is this: Rather than focusing on a single plane or object, the camera captures the entire light field of the scene, recording the color, luminosity (intensity), and vector direction of every ray of light. Armed with this multidimensional data, the camera can use computational algorithms to calculate what the image would look like if it had been focused at different distances. The result is what Lytro calls “living pictures” that can be refocused on the fly, after the fact. (The best way to grasp the concept is to take a look at Lytro’s Living Picture Gallery and start clicking on the images in different spots to refocus them.)

The initial press release from back in June, though buzz-worthy, was met with plenty of skepticism (including a bit of my own), but now that there’s a real product that’s accessible to consumers (though steeply priced), they’ve got my attention. First there’s the design: Rather than modeling the device on the expectations of a traditional camera (or any existing camera, for that matter), the designers at Lytro built the light field camera with simplicity and ease of use in mind. The camera uses a bright f/2.0, 8x optical zoom lens, and at just 1.61×1.61×4.41 inches in dimension and 8 ounces in weight, it looks more like a kaleidoscope or portable slide viewer than a camera. There are no mode dials to speak of — in fact, controls consist of just two buttons (power and shutter), a touch-activated zoom slider, plus the 1.46-inch touchscreen LCD viewfinder. Second, because the camera depends on computational processing to achieve focus at different points on the image, rather than a complex set of lenses, it doesn’t have the auto-focus mechanisms that slow down most digital cameras. This means no shutter lag (or, more accurately, auto-focus lag) to speak of and of course, less weight and complexity to the construction of the camera. Third, by capturing all available light in a scene with its f/2.0 lens, the Lytro camera inherently performs well in low light without a flash.

A few downsides: The internal Lithium Ion battery is not user replaceable, nor is memory expandable (the camera comes in 8GB and 16GB versions that hold 350 and 750 images respectively). And at $399 and $499 respectively, they’re competing with some serious contenders for your digital camera dollars (think Canon PowerShot S95 and S100, entry-level dSLRs, or even some of the interchangeable lens compact cameras). But the biggest potential drawback (or the most exciting part, depending on how you look at it) is that the Lytro camera will require consumers to reimagine what they do with images. Sure it’s cool that you can interact with images, focusing, and refocusing them. But at the end of the day, many consumers just want to snap their images and have them be in focus — they don’t want to have to fiddle with them. Most folks don’t even want to bother with printing them, which is a bonus for Lytro since the two-dimensional resolution and image quality is limited. Lytro reps do a lot of dodging when asked what the 2D resolution of resulting images is, repeating some version of the following:

The Lytro is built for online sharing and interaction with pictures, not for large format printing. The living pictures you see in the Lytro Picture Gallery are representative of the image quality you can expect (but dependent on the screen resolution of your viewing device.) Asking about the pixel resolution of a light field camera system is not really relevant because pixels are very well defined. A pixel is color value and luminosity, and a light field camera’s unit of capture is much more than that because each unit contains directional light ray data in addition to color and luminosity. Light field cameras capture megarays, not megapixels. The first Lytro captures 11 megarays. Our target resolution is HD at 1080p, but the full answer isn’t completely straightforward. 2D projections in light field are rooted in computational photography, and 2D resolution can vary based on all sorts of factors including focal depth (refocus).

While valid, all that is probably said in an effort to redirect the question away from the answer which is that if you want to export to JPEG and print, you’ll be able to choose a focus point and export at 1080×1080 pixels — yep, a paltry 1.2 megapixels.

Still, as Lytro points out, the format is optimized for online sharing (which is what most people do with most images), not printing. But there’s the rub. Unlike traditional cameras that perform in-camera processing to convert raw image files to compressed JPEG files that are ready to share and view straight from the camera, the Lytro requires a desktop application for for importing, processing, and interacting with the images from the camera, though the camera does process images internally to display on the LCD. (Note that the desktop app is currently Mac-only, but a Windows version is in development.) Furthermore, if you want to share the images with others online, you must first upload them to Lytro.com and then share them from there (via Facebook, Twitter, email links, etc.).

The biggest obstacle to widespread adoption, though, is price.  At $200 and under, where the competition is tricked out point-and-shooters with tiny sensors, you might be able to win a lot of hearts and minds with the truly compelling (and fun) technology and promise that Lytro holds (although its lack of video capability might be a deal-breaker). But the folks who are ready to plunk down $400 to $500 on a camera are looking at higher-end cameras with vastly better image quality that shoot HD video, and they might not be as easily won over by the ability to click around an image changing up focus.  Nevertheless, as the folks at Lytro keep pointing out, this is just the beginning.  There’s a lot more potential in light-field technology — think immersive 3D: the data for it is already captured in the light field; you just need to perform the appropriate calculations and processing. If Lytro can pull through the first generation with at least some success, it just might be poised at the leading edge of the next digital imaging revolution.

Read more:

Janice got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since.


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Sunday, November 27, 2011

Panasonic updates megazoom lineup with Lumix DMC-FZ47

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Summary: Panasonic’s latest megazoom offering speeds up performance while lowering resolution.

Along with the Lumix LS5 budget shooter, Panasonic has also announced an update to its FZ line of megazoom cameras. As with the rest of the FZ megazooms, the Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ47 sports a 25-600mm 24x zoom lens and uses a traditional SLR-style body design. Though the body hasn’t changed much from its predecessor, the DMC-FZ40 (nor has overall functionality changed dramatically), the improvements that have been made are welcome, starting first with the unusual (for Panasonic) move of dropping resolution from 14.1 megapixels in the FZ40 to 12.1 megapixels in the FZ47. According to Panasonic, the move was made so the FZ47 could benefit from the performance boost of its 12.1 megapixel high-speed CCD.  And indeed, the FZ47’s rated continuous shooting speed at full resolution is a significantly peppier 3.7fps (up from 1.8fps in the FZ40). The reduction of resolution is also likely to improve image quality, especially in low light, as the sensor doesn’t have to cram as many pixels into a same-size chip. Autofocus speed has also been improved and the camera’s startup time is 35 percent faster than the FZ40’s, according to Panasonic.

The FZ47’s LCD remains at 3 inches in size, though its resolution has been bumped up to 420,000 dots. Video recording capabilities have also been improved, with the FZ47 delivering full 1080i HD recording at 30fps. Panasonic also promises that the 24x optical zoom has been optimized for video (i.e., to minimize the sound of the autofocus and zooming mechanisms). The addition of a Creative Video mode allows you to control aperture and shutter speed manually.

Other features include:

3D photo shootingOptical Image StabilizerMotion DeblurFace detection and recognitionIntelligent scene selection18 scene modes, including Panorama Assist, High-speed Burst, and 3D PhotoEight creative special effects filters, including Pinhole, Film Grain, and Miniature Effect

The camera will ship in August for $399.99 and will be available in black only.

For more information, read the press release »

Janice got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since.


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Ricoh announces Leica M-mount for its modular GXR system cameras

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Summary: Ricoh officially announces the GXR Mount A12 to allow modular GXR system cameras to use Leica M-mount lenses.

Ricoh originally announced development of an “expansion unit” to allow its GXR interchangeable unit camera system to accept Leica M-mount lenses back in February, and the camera maker is now out with the official product announcement and plans to ship the GXR Mount A12 next month.

Released back in November 2009, Ricoh’s unconventional GXR camera system uses a modular design that combines interchangeable lens units (called camera units) that contain a lens, a dedicated image sensor, and an image processing engine, and plugs into a main camera body unit that contains the camera controls, LCD, flash, battery, memory card, and everything else (including its own processor). Benefits to this unusual design include a more optically efficient lens design in a very compact unit, the ability to use different sizes and types of sensors with each lens, and an air-tight (read dust-free) lens/sensor module. The downside is that each time you buy a new lens you have to pay for practically a whole new camera.

The new Leica lens mount incorporates an APS-C size CMOS sensor as well as a new focal plane shutter, and allows GXR cameras to use Leica M lenses (and other lenses with the use of a conversion adapter). There’s a “checking device” included to confirm physical lens compatibility. Other features include:

Independent color correction at cornersPeripheral illumination correctionDistortion correction (strong, medium, or weak selections for both barrel and pincushion distortion)Focus-assist functionFocal plane shutter (1/4000 sec to 180 sec) and electronic shutter (1/800 sec to 1 sec)Information on the lens used can be put in the EXIF informationNew scene mode options include soft focus, cross process, toy camera, miniaturize, and high contrast B&WAn electronic level utilizing an acceleration sensor

Janice got her hands on a Nikon Coolpix 900 back in 1998 and has been a digital camera enthusiast ever since.


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Saturday, November 26, 2011

Hands-on review: Shutterfly's Custom Path photo book making process

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Summary: There are a number of photo sharing and printing sites that offer photo book making tools. Considering how many there are, it can get a bit confusing and hard to pick just one. Here’s a hands-on look at Shutterfly’s new book making process to help narrow down the field.

There are a number of photo sharing and printing sites that offer photo book making tools. Considering how many there are, it can get a bit confusing and hard to pick just one. Here’s a hands-on look at Shutterfly’s new book making process to help narrow down the field.

Now when developing a photo book via Shutterfly, customers have two options: a simple path that just lays out all of your photos chronologically, and an all-new Custom Path, which allows users to fully customize each page of the album.

Some of the improvements seen in this updated program include:Ability to use a photo as backgroundAdd, move and resize photos and text (rather than just standard templates)Allows users to add embellishments anywhere in the bookSupports up to 1,000 pictures per book and 25 images per page

Even with customization, users can get these books done quickly if needed using the Smart Autofill and Storyboard features that populate the pages with images and caption spots using some of the many templates outlined on a single web page.

To start the photo book making process, one just needs to sign up for a Shutterfly account and then upload photos. I found that the higher resolution the better, which seems a bit obvious but it will take longer to upload these to Shutterfly’s server.

Once the photos are ready, it comes time for picking what kind of book one wants. That goes for both layout size, amount of pages and the theme. Shutterfly offers both too many and too few options when it comes to this area. There are only a few preset themes to choose from, including the usual ideas: weddings, birthdays, baby showers and traveling. Of course, there is a standard yet sophisticated black and white option for portfolios. Furthermore, Shutterfly provides way too many options for page layouts depending on how many prints one wants on the page. While it is nice to have choices, sometimes it can be an overload.

However, there are only five choices for cover types (i.e. basic hard covers along with leather and faux lizard exteriors), as well as only five choices for book size ranging between 5×7 and 12×12. Obviously the more pages one adds and the size of the book will determine the price point. But as an example, my 12×12-sized colorized book with 47 pages and a standard hard cover rang up for $76.39 - not including shipping and taxes.

For photographers who truly want to get into the thick of customizing their books, Shutterfly provides plenty of tools, including sample backgrounds, fonts and fun embellishments. The latter might remind some of clip art, but I actually wish I had played with these more in the making of my own book. Some of the details (especially those for the travel theme) were rather attractive. For those who can’t make up their minds or are in need of help when it comes to layout ideas, there is also a useful and aptly-named feature called “Idea Pages” that provides examples using your uploaded photos and different photo layouts.

Overall, I found Shutterfly’s Custom Path tools to be easy for the average consumer with enough extra stuff for customers who like to dabble more in page designs.

I was more than pleased when I received my finished product. Even though the price tag was a bit high for a photo album, it felt justified nonetheless. The quality of the hard cover and the interior pages felt professional, and the resolution on the pages (even when the Custom Path editor told me the pixel counts weren’t high enough) didn’t look grainy but rather almost as clear as on the HD display of my computer. I would certainly recommend Shutterfly’s services for personal photo book making in the future - so long as one has the time to make full use of the book editing tools and enough of a budget for such a project.

Related coverage on ZDNet:

Rachel King is a staff writer for ZDNet based in San Francisco.


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