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Filecrate Remote File Backup

The backup system you have working — in this case automatic, off-site file backup — is the system which will save your business some day. This one is very good.

Read Mark Goldstein's full review!

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 & Premiere Elements 8

A common organizer, auto-analyze, powerful JPG and RAW processing and wonderful video production make it a tough act to beat.

Read Howard Carson's full review!

Digital Photography Books to Kick Off 2010

Camera makers should dump their dense, boring user manuals in favor of Busch's guides. There's more including WordPress, photo tools, blogging.

Read Howard Carson's reviews!

Rolling, Medium Size, Carry-On Camera Cases

Carrying too many bodies and lenses? Probably. Something sturdy, secure and carry-on compatible is needed.

Read Howard Carson's full review!

Uniblue DriverScanner 2009

When the latest Windows update mangles a video card or network card driver, think about how nice it would be to have a really good driver updater.

Read Mark Goldstein's full review!

Think Tank Urban Disguise 35

Think Tank Photo seems bent on making itself the gold standard in pro camera bags. Is this shoulder bag one of the most versatile ever?

Read Howard Carson's full review!

Handy Folders v3.5

Productivity and organization fall flat when they run into the rather limited Windows file explorer. Fast access to regularly used folders is easier than you think.

Read Mark Goldstein's full review!

Think Tank Shape Shifter Photography Backpack

Medium size photo/laptop backpacks come and go. The best stay with us for years. This is one of the best we've seen.

Read Mark Goldstein's full review!

Think Tank Airport AirStream Rolling Camera Bag

If you travel with more than a shoulder bag full of gear, you need something that will protect the load and make it easy to go places.

Read Howard Carson's full review!

Think Tank Skin Set Modular Component Camera Gear Carry System

Pros know that if you don't get the shot, you're out of business. Tough, crowded, fast moving situations require special solutions.

Read Jack Reikel's full review!

Crumpler Six Million Dollar Home Camera Shoulder Bag

Crumpler is a bag maker which insists on being different. Care and attention to detail help create wonderful photography products.

Read Howard Carson's full review!

Think Tank Urban Disguise 40 Camera Bag

The mid-size entry in the Urban Disguise series provided us with enough incentive to physically beat it up and overstress it. The bag took it all.

Read Howard Carson's full review!

Think Tank Urban Disguise 30 Camera Bag

There are camera bags and then there are Think Tank camera bags. Lots of competition means better products. Think Tank is at the top of its game.

Read Howard Carson's full review!

Nik Color Efex Pro 3

The best Photoshop plug-ins get better because the developers listen to end users. Nik Software listens. Digital photographers are demanding sophisticated processing effects.

Read Mario Georgiou's full review!

ION Slide2PC Scanner

If you've got boxes full of old 35mm slides and negatives, it's probably time to start scanning before everything falls apart, gets lost, or gets soaked in a flood.

Read Mario Georgiou's full review!

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TetherBerry v1.0.7

Connect a laptop to the Internet, anywhere you've got cell phone service, through your BlackBerry's data connection and avoid some really crazy per-megabyte carrier charges

HTC Touch Diamond Smartphone

HTC has steadily grabbed more market share by regularly turning out superb smartphones offering slick designs wrapped around great features

The Ultimate HTML Reference

A concise desktop reference guide for all standard, W3C-compliant HTML, which uniquely also includes browser compatibility charts for each element

UpStrap Shoulder Strap for SLR & Prosumer Cameras

Superb quality, purpose-built SLR and prosumer camera shoulder strap that's made in the U.S. and made to last

Sunday, December 20, 2009

Adobe Photoshop and Premiere Elements 8 - All You Need?

Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and Adobe Premiere Elements 8 represent the next significant step for the photo and video editing one-two punch that the company has been flogging for the past eight years or so. Mind you, only three years ago did Adobe decide to combine the two Elements products into a discount bundle.

Is this bundle the best deal for the money on the market today? We think so. In fact, as far as photo editing and organizing goes, Photoshop Elements 8 is close enough to the grossly expensive Adobe Photoshop Creative Suite 4 that only serious pros should choose CS4 over Elements 8. It's also true that Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements 8 provide even seasoned pros with an easier-to-use set of powerful tools to do almost everything. That means you and me should be able to fly with Elements 8.

Look for our full review soon. In the meantime, you absolutely can't go wrong for $149. Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 8 bundled, will get your creative juices flowing. More important, both products in the bundle are genuinely easy to use, come with a huge set of tutorials, and with just a bit of practice will help you produce superb results.

Get Adobe Photoshop Elements 8 and Premiere Elements 8 at Amazon.

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posted by Howard Carson, Managing Editor at 9:28 PM

Thursday, April 17, 2008

Xara Release Version 4 of Xara Xtreme and Xara Xtreme Pro

Xara Xtreme and Xtreme Pro have been updated to Version 4. Xara is one of the fastest and easiest creative tools to use. The flexibility of Xara Xtreme with its raster and vector capabilities is something worth trying. It is capable of drawing faster than pretty much any other package out ther. You can create 3D text, edit photos non destructively, create wysiwyg websites and even export flash animations. It also supports Photoshop plug-ins. Pop on over to the Xara Website to find out more and download a demo.

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posted by Mario Georgiou at 4:40 PM

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Spotlight On . . . Nikon CaptureNX

CaptureNX is a non-destructive RAW photo processor developed specifically for Nikon by Nik Software. CaptureNX runs on Windows XP, Vista and Mac OS X Tiger. Experienced digital photographers use a consistent process after every photo shoot. Copy photos from camera to computer; cull and delete the junk; tag, rank and sort; adjust white balance, brightness, color, etc., as needed; convert to TIFF or JPEG and file everything away; back up all the files; crop, adjust, alter and otherwise process selected shots. Using a consistent digital photo workflow often requires a couple of different programs to get everything done. For many serious Nikon photographers, CaptureNX is the software of choice for getting RAW photos through the crucially important initial workflow processes. I found that CaptureNX actually does a better job of handling dynamic lighting, sharpening and noise reduction than Photoshop CS2. A few problems have crept into NX which did not exist in the previous version (4.x). The Windows version is a slowpoke unless you've got a real fast dual core system with 4GB of RAM. The Mac OS X version is noticeably faster at thumbnail rendering, screen draws and editor updates among other things. I did some base measurements and found that LAB values don't seem to be converted properly to Adobe RGB. CaptureNX offers something called U Point Color Control Points which let you select image areas to enhance without having to use of masks, selections or layers. The software handles all Nikon digital SLR files (including D80 NEFs). CaptureNX has the potential to be a very good product, but the Windows version is marred by some glaring bugs and a lack of horsepower. 3 out of 5 stars

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posted by Howard Carson, Managing Editor at 10:35 PM



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