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With Boujou Bullet, 2d3 is attempting to take matchmoving to new markets. Its price is friendlier to smaller studios, and it’s automation has been improved – providing a subset of Boujou 3’s toolset as well as a step-by-step wizard that guides the user through what is a complex process.
Rostrum camera work can be quite fiddly using most standard timeline editing tools. Imaginate is a single-purpose program specifically designed to make animating still images quicker, easier, and more effective.
Anyone who’s recently used green-screen hardware professionally will be aware of Reflecmedia’s Chromatte products. Given the company’s track record, creating its own optimized keying plug-in was a natural development – though the actual coding was done by The Pixel Farm.
Commercial design or 3D modelling work often throws up a need for product shots, with near-shadowless lighting and invisible backgrounds. Using a professional photographic studio is expensive. Cubelite offers an in-house alternative, described as a small portable studio.
For the creation of 3D vector animation and 3D Flash movies, Swift 3D, is one of the most successful tools on the market. This is largely thanks to its ease-of-use. It allows 2D designers to draw shapes using bézier curves, and then using the extrusion tool to add both depth and bevels, or the Lathe Editor to convert paths into radial 3D surfaces.
SketchUp stands out among 3D graphics programs thanks to its innovative and simple ‘push/pull’ approach, which makes it easy to sketch 2D shapes and then quickly manipulate them in three dimensions with the mouse.
The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10S includes an amazingly powerful 12x Leica zoom lens that has built-in image stabilization and a fairly good selection of advanced creative controls ...
These devices have been available for years for CAD users, but only recently has 3Dconnexion released drivers and plug-ins that allow them to work with entertainment-focused applications such as 3DS Max, Maya, Softimage|XSI, and Photoshop.
EIAS is the new name for the 3D animation and modelling package ElectricImage Universe. Due to licensing issues, EIAS no longer comes with the ACIS-based EI Modeller, which is a shame, but that doesn’t mean a total return to the modeller-less old days.
Like many recent releases of 3D applications in the mid- to high-end range, version 8 of LightWave 3D has concentrated mainly on enhancements to character animation and dynamics.
XL1 owners have been asking for the XL2 for some years. 2001’s XL1s was a comparatively minor upgrade. In the lifetime of the XL1 and XL1s we’ve seen the arrival of camcorders styled after broadcast rigs, and a multiplicity of features aimed at low-budget filmmakers.
DVDit 5 is the latest mid-range DVD authoring tool from the only remaining member of the old guard of DVD developers – Apple, Pinnacle, or Sonic itself has bought everyone else. While competitors have meshed technologies together to create single applications, Sonic has a mess of different product lines aimed at tasks from home movies (MyDVD) to Hollywood blockbusters (Scenarist and DVD Producer).
After years of using more or less the same body style for its digital cameras, Olympus now seems to be introducing a completely different look every six months. So, following the new body for the Camedia 5060 WZ last November, the C-8080 WZ debuts with yet another style.
Designed to resemble a scaled-down SLR camera, the Canon PowerShot S1 IS brings together a lot of advanced features considering its reasonable price tag. You could argue that 3.2 megapixels is not enough for a camera with full manual settings, a fold-out LCD, and the ability to accept accessory telephoto and wide-angle lenses. However, the modest resolution is a necessary compromise required by ...
3D Layer 1.0 is a plug-in for adding 3D layers to After Effects and other compatible applications. A big bonus for video editors is that it can work from within Final Cut Pro or Combustion 3.0, negating the need to purchase After Effects before taking a stab at 3D work.
The Pixel Farm is a relatively new company aiming their products at high-end effects facilities as well as those on a more restricted budget. Their products are not cheap, but compared to similar programs in the market they offer decent value. Their current product roster consists of three programs - PFMatch, PFTrack, and PFBarn ...
HumanEyes 3D is an interesting new technology that creates stereoscopic images for print or on-screen viewing. It was originally invented to allow a single digital camera to capture 360-degree panoramas for stereoscopic viewing – this hasn’t previously been possible with one camera. Technically it’s not true 3D, but ‘2.5D’ as the subjects only rotate slightly, but your eyes see a realistic continuous-depth impression.
For users of SLR cameras, going digital can have a major impact on the wallet. SLR prices jump from hundreds of pounds for a film camera to thousands for a digital model, which is why most digital SLR manufacturers have concentrated on the professional market – until recently. Nikon’s 6.1-megapixel D70 is the company’s first model designed for photographers of all stripes.
Arriving too late for our compact camera round up (see Digit 75), the DX7630 looks like nothing more than another point-&-shoot digital compact, but glance beneath the bonnet and you’ll find features designed to please those demanding more control. The question is: can Kodak’s top-of-the range compact camera compete with others in this sportier class?
Canon’s latest, greatest A3 photo inkjet printer is overall the best traditional model that we’ve ever seen. However, if you’re willing to pay a little more, this printer can be topped. The Bubble Jet i9950 is the sequel to last year’s top-rated i9100 – reviewed and given a Best Buy as part of our group test in Digit 69. The i9950 adds two more inks ...
