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This is the priciest film scanner in Nikon’s range, but it’s easily the most versatile. It can handle practically every roll film format you’re ever likely to encounter, from 6-x-7cm film down to old 16mm/110 strips, plus electron microscope and medical slides. The only popular format it can’t handle is APS film.
With the E-300, Olympus has lowered the entry price into the digital SLR market even further, creating a hi-tech, high resolution and very compact camera with a list price that undercuts many of the less well-specified compact cameras.
Shade 7 is pitched as a beginner-level 3D tool (or a tool for 2D designers and illustrators with minimal 3D needs) which may be true when considering the price, but nevertheless it’s a sophisticated modelling tool with a steep learning curve.
Piranesi is primarily used by architects. It’s a painting tool that imports 3D scenes or 2D plans, and allows you to apply textures and add elements as you would in Photoshop. Piranesi’s interface is basic compared to Adobe’s ubiquitous image editor, but Piranesi does boast some unique elements.
There are plenty of differences between the current crop of 3D tools, but there are similarities, too – after 10 to 15 years of development, 3D software developers have learned what works and what doesn’t. Despite all this, Strata is one of those applications that goes against the grain of traditional 3D conventions.
ImageModeler extracts 3D data from a series of photographs using technology similar to that used in matchmoving software. By placing markers on corresponding locations in different images it can plot the points in 3D space
Over the past three years, more film and even flatbed scanners have appeared with Digital ICE, based on proprietary hardware and software developed by Applied Science Fiction. Kodak has taken over the company and renamed it Kodak ADC.
This Precision 670 is, quite simply, the most powerful workstation we’ve ever seen. If it were a Sci-Fi robot, it would be called Maximillian and would have already turned the Digit staff into cyborgs – and we’d be writing Digit 81 from the other side of a black hole.
Digital Anarchy’s Backdrop Designer is a resolution-independent pattern tool that simulates the texture and shading of backdrops used by portrait and product photographers. It’s a Photoshop plug-in, and the idea is ...
That Canon produced a PowerShot G6 at all comes as something of a surprise. The introduction of the 8mp Pro1 model earlier this year appeared to be the next step up from 2003’s 5mp G5 model, and seemed to spell the end of the well-regarded G-series of semi-professional digital compact cameras.
Motion is Apple’s much anticipated motion-graphics product, providing real-time manipulation and rendering of motion graphics on the Power Mac G5. It has much in common with DVD Studio Pro and Final Cut Pro HD in terms of interface design.
When Painter 8 appeared, it was hailed as the breakthrough version that finally transformed Painter’s ghastly interface into something usable. The changes in Painter IX are less dramatic, but it’s still a good upgrade. Corel has put a great deal of effort into the documentation, help, and tutorials.
Both Adobe and Apple have been pushing the integration of their video, audio and DVD authoring tools with their respective Video Collection and Production Suite. Avid has hit back with Xpress Studio, a series of tools that provide an end-to-end creative studio
Over the years, Armari has made a name for itself as one of the most dependable independent UK workstation vendors. Always at the forefront of technology, the company is regularly one of the first to showcase new developments.
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.
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.
According to Extensis, a lot of designers and photographers are in denial about the fact that they actually need a product like Portfolio.
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.
The previous version of Encore DVD was great in terms of its integration with Adobe’s other video applications, but it suffered from narrow file support and a fiddly approach. However, on firing up version 1.5, the interface improvements are immediately evident, and QuickTime is now supported as an asset. This brings Encore up to speed with DVD Studio Pro.
