Satechi Camera Holder and Mount

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Kevin L. Kitchens

Satechi sends word that their new Camera Holder and Mount is now available. Retailing for $28, the unit allows for mounting cameras and video devices all the way up to full DSLR size. Now you can attach your camera to your car hood, dashboard, or windshield or anywhere else a suction cup will adhere.

San Diego, CA – March 13, 2012 – Satechi, a leading mobile accessories manufacturer, is excited to announce the availability of the new Camera Holder and Mount for DSLR, point-and-shoot, pocket camcorders and video cameras. The user-friendly and compact Camera Mount and Holder is the ideal solution for on-the-go photography. The Satechi Camera Holder and Mount caters to the mobile photography trend and allows users to easily record, share and capture personal everyday moments.

The small and durable Satechi Camera Mount and Holder is the perfect alternative to traveling with a huge tripod. Featuring an adhesive SmartPad attached to the rubber suction, the Camera Mount and Holder allows for stronger mounting on flat surfaces including car windshields and dashboards. Additionally, the mount can be adjusted to accommodate the angle and height of the DSLR or point-and-shoot camera. The 360 degree rotating connector gives photographers the freedom to place the camera into any desired position allowing users to create the perfect shot. To remove the mount, users simply loosen the twistable screw knob.

The Satechi Camera Holder & Mount for DSLR and point-and-shoot cameras is available now for $27.99 at Satechi.net and Amazon.com.

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Books: Rocky Nook updates Nikon Creative Lighting System

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Kevin L. Kitchens

The Nikon Creative Lighting System, 2nd Edition is now available from Rocky Nook (an imprint of O’Reilly). It covers using “the SB-600, SB-700, SB-800, SB-900, SB-910, and R1C1 Flashes”.

Mike Hagen opens up a whole new world to those photographers who are already well versed in photography but may not have a clue about flash photography.

With the new and rapidly evolving technology, flash photography (especially advanced light modeling with modern iTTL flash systems) has become an art in itself and should be mastered by all aspiring photographers—amateurs as well as professionals—who are often helpless when it comes to using the full potential of these systems.

Using a simple, step-by-step method for setting up and using the newest Nikon iTTL flash units, The Nikon Creative Lighting System 2nd Edition (Rocky Nook, $39.95 USD) teaches all the steps required to achieve consistent and amazing flash photos. Mike solves the common frustrations associated with flash, and specifically teaches how to use the SB-600, SB-700, SB-800, SB-900, SB-910, and R1C1 strobes. Also included is a chapter showing system configuration so readers can duplicate the desired results on their own.

Beginning at a basic level and progressing to more advanced techniques, Mike teaches you everything you need to know about mastering Nikon’s iTTL flash system.

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Kelby Training’s New Lightroom 4 Courses

Posted on March 13, 2012 by Kevin L. Kitchens

Kelby Training sends word that they have released four new training courses for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4. Whether you’re new to Lightroom or upgrading from a previous version, there is bound to be a course for you. They are taught by renowned Lightroom dude Matt Kloskowski.

The courses offered are:

  1. Importing, Organizing, and Exporting Your Photos – Matt concentrates specifically on the importing and organizing process in Lightroom. You’ll start from scratch with the goal of always knowing exactly where your photos are and keeping your favorite ones so they’re just one click away
  2. Developing and Editing Your Photos – Matt dives into the entire Develop module. What you do here makes all the difference in the world. You’re going to learn about all of the brand new sliders in Lightroom 4, which will, hands down without a doubt, make your photos look better than any other version of Lightroom.
  3. Printing and Photo Books – Printing and Photo Books focuses on the print features we have in Lightroom. From the industry-leading Print module and Custom Layout tools to the brand new Photo Book module that’s included right inside Lightroom. If you want to make your books and prints stand head and shoulders apart from everyone else’s, this is the class you’ll need.
  4. Slideshows and Web Galleries – Master the Lightroom 4 output modules that are essential for presenting your work on screen. First you’ll learn the step-by-step process for setting up and customizing a professional slideshow presentation that highlights your creativity and the quality of your work

Full details can be found at Kelby Training’s Lightroom 4 Section.

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onOne Releases Preset Packs for Lightroom 4.0

Posted on March 8, 2012 by Kevin L. Kitchens

Hot on the heels of the release of Adobe’s Photoshop Lightroom 4.0, onOne Software has released three bundles of presets that allow you to quickly adjust the look of your photos and make them “extraordinary”. The first three of several planned bundles are available now via the onOne Marketplace. They retail each for $9.95 USD.

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Lightroom 4 Released

Posted on March 6, 2012 by Kevin L. Kitchens

Adobe announced today the release of the fourth version of their non-destructive photo editing tool Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.  Looking forward to trying this one out as Lightroom has been my RAW Processing editor of choice since version one.

Before and After

“Feedback from our customers is invaluable in developing Lightroom and the real trick to a great release is to combine these insights with Adobe’s unrivalled image processing innovation,” said Winston Hendrickson, vice president of Digital Imaging Products, Adobe. “Lightroom 4 is a stunning new release that will enhance photography workflows and help photographs stand out from the crowd.”

New Features in Lightroom 4

Lightroom 4 is a major release, adding significant new capabilities and innovations. New adjustment controls maximize dynamic range from cameras, recovering exceptional shadow details and highlights. The software features new and improved auto adjustments to dynamically set values for exposure and contrast, and additional local adjustment controls including Noise Reduction, Moire and White Balance.

Lightroom 4 provides photographers the tools to create beautiful photo books with text controls and a variety of easy-to-use templates, as well as a direct link for photo book creation from within the new Book module. A new intuitive Map module displays images already assigned a location, provides location tagging and reverse geo-tagging controls and saved locations for easy assignment of a photographer’s common locations.

Now, native video support gives photographers the capability to play, trim and extract frames from video clips shot on DSLRs, point-and-shoot cameras and smartphones. Video-specific presets and many standard Lightroom image adjustment controls can be applied to video clips, and adjusted videos can be exported as a H.264 file or published directly to Facebook or Flickr.

In the Develop module, presets fully utilize new processing technology and the addition of soft proofing helps photographers tune images in a destination color space to ensure content looks its best. In addition, customers can now email images directly from Lightroom using an email account of their choice.

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Review: Portrait Professional 10 by Anthropics

Posted on October 1, 2011 by Kevin L. Kitchens

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Review: Tough Tech Duo by WiebeTech

Posted on August 18, 2011 by Kevin L. Kitchens


ToughTech Duo QR
WiebeTech

Introduction

The ToughTech Duo QR external RAID hard drive from WiebeTech is versatility in a box. It offers the choice between RAID 0 and RAID 1 formats as well as four different connection options. In addition, you can use the device with one of four different power plug adapters depending on your country’s requirements. It is compatible with Windows (7/XP/Vista/2000), Mac OS X, and Linus operating systems.||

Features front LED panel for drive status and hot-removable drives.

The box includes the ToughTech Duo unit made of sleek aluminum (very little plastic here), cables, installation guide, power adapters, and a stand for vertical positioning.

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