Bibble 5 Pro has been released and is now available for purchase ($199.95). Bibble 4 customers can upgrade to the new version – either for free if they purchased after September 1, 2006, or for $99 if their Bibble 4 purchase was made prior to that date. Bibble 5 Lite isn’t expected to ship until the first quarter of 2010, so in the meantime, owners of Bibble 4 Lite are being allowed to use Bibble 5 Pro with their Lite license*. Upgrade instructions can be found on Bibble Labs’ new support forums. Also, see the FAQ’s.

Bibble 5 Pro supports Windows XP, Vista and 7, Mac OS X 10.4 or greater, as well as both Linux Fedora Core 6 or later, and Ubuntu 6.06 or later. The program can accept Raw files from a wide variety of manufacturers, including Canon (except sRaw), Kodak, Leica, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony, as well as RGB JPEG or TIFF files at resolutions of 30MP or below, with a maximum dimension of 10,240 pixels on the longer side. The full list of supported file types can be found on the Bibble 5 specs page.

Bibble 5 Pro includes a totally new, completely multi-threaded image processing engine, allowing it to process images faster than anything else. Efficient enough to be perfectly usable on netbooks and older computers, yet powerful enough to take full advantage of 4, 8, 16 or even more CPU’s, Bibble 5 Pro is designed to fully utilize all the computing power available to it. On high-end computers, Bibble 5 Pro is up to 88 times faster in processing and exporting images that other leading applications, while on single CPU computers and more modest machines, Bibble 5 Pro can still be 2 to 8 times faster.

“With dual core processors now being replaced with four-core processors, and with 6- an 8- and higher core count processors on the horizon,” says Eric Hyman, founder and owner of Bibble Labs, “it’s clear that utilizing the full power of those additional CPU’s is the key to true workflow performance.”

More information can be found in the Bibble 5 Pro Press Release.

*Once Bibble 5 Lite ships, the Lite keys will stop working on Bibble 5 Pro.

Bibble Labs Inc. has just announced the release of Bibble Pro Version 4.9.8. The new version adds a number of new features and cameras including full support for the Canon EOS 1D Mark III, Fuji S5 Pro, Nikon D40x, Olympus E-510, E-410, and SP500 UZ and the Panasonic FZ8. It includes broader tethered shooting support and processing of Fujifilm’s Wide Dynamic Range and Canon’s new sRAW format. The update is free for all registered Bibble 4 users.

Bibble Pro is the most comprehensive cross-platform RAW Workflow application available today, including robust support for the latest cameras and offering Best-in-Class image quality with features such as tethered shooting, Noise Ninja technology, Perfectly Clear automated image optimization and the industry’s only RAW-Level plug-in interface. The Bibble Pro plug-in for Adobe Photoshop supports CS2, CS, and version 7 – providing native access to the latest camera formats otherwise inaccessible in these older versions of Photoshop. Bibble Pro also remains the fastest RAW converter in existence, and this release further increases conversion speed on all platforms.

Price and Availability

Bibble is available in both “Pro” ($129.95) and “Lite” ($69.95) versions for Windows, Macintosh (PPC/Intel as a Universal Binary) and Linux. Visit Bibble Labs (link below) for further details and to download a fully functional 14 day trial version. New licensees of Bibble software will also receive a free upgrade to Bibble 5, once available¹.

Registered users can upgrade here.

onOne Software Inc. has just announced the release of PhotoFrame Pro 3.1; an update available via free download to all registered users of PhotoFrame Pro 3.0 software. The software update is available for both Macintosh and Windows platforms¹.

onOne Software’s PhotoFrame Pro Photoshop plug-in provides photographers with thousands of frame and matte selections that add a professional finishing touch to any digital image. PhotoFrame Pro allows users to quickly and easily create gorgeous edge effects to complement any picture. For additional customization, the choices are endless with PhotoFrame Pro selection of border and edge effects such as drop shadows, bevel, glow, border and texture.

What’s new?

• Support for 16-bit images
• New auto-rotate feature with auto-detect
• Macintosh version in Universal Binary
• Compatible with Adobe Photoshop® CS3²

The updates can be downloaded at www.onOnesoftware.com.

Price and Availability

PhotoFrame Pro 3.1 can be purchased directly from onOnesoftware for $159.95 or from retailers for less.

The much anticipated new version of Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop CS3, is now available for pre-order ordering. Adobe has released two editions, the Adobe Photoshop CS3 standard version and new Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended version. The standard version is a major upgrade, offering new innovations in editing power and productivity for designers and photographers.¹

The addition of an entirely new version, Photoshop CS3 Extended, means creative professionals can now use everything in Photoshop CS3 plus groundbreaking tools for 3-D, motion graphics, image measurement and analysis. Adobe says Photoshop CS3 Extended “expands the boundaries of digital imaging, simplifying the workflows for professionals in architecture, engineering, medicine, and science.”

Price and Availability

Both editions are available as stand-alone programs or as part of the Adobe Creative Suite 3 family of products. Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended will start shipping in April 2007 for prices of $649.00 and $999.00, respectively (US MSRP). Upgrades from earlier versions are available at reduced prices. You can also upgrade from the the standard version to the extended version.

The Windows version is shipped on DVD-ROM and works on the following operating systems: Windows Vista Home Premium, Vista Business, Vista Enterprise, Vista Ultimate, and Windows XP. The Mac version is shipped on DVD-ROM for the following platforms: Mac OS X and Mac OS X Intel.

NOW SHIPPING!

Corel® Painterâ„¢ X software, announced in early February, is now available for shipment. The English version of Corel Painter X is offered in a full version, upgrade version, education edition and Limited Edition Painter Can. According to Corel, “the latest version of Corel Painter continues its focus on giving professional artists, designers and photographers a natural painting and illustration experience that is unmatched by any other software”. It blurs the line between traditional and digital art with the introduction of unparalleled performance, new composition tools and the revolutionary RealBristle Painting System. PainterX is a Universal Binary application, so it runs natively on both PowerPC and Intel Macs.

Updated Compatibility

• Windows XP / 2000
• New! Windows Vistaâ„¢ support
• Enhanced! Mac OS® X support*
• Enhanced! Adobe® Photoshop® support
• Enhanced! Wacom support

*Requires Mac OS X 4.0 or higher.

The RealBristle Painting System now heightens the responsiveness of the brush for the artist, according to Rick Champagne, product manager for Corel Painter. RealBristle brushes faithfully replicate traditional art media with individual bristles that blend and splay, as in the traditional world.

Painter X also adds new Composition Tools to the tool box. The new Divine Proportion composition tool provides guidelines that follow the Divine Proportion (also known as the Golden Ratio) to enable artists to compose their images “like the Masters." The new Layout Grid composition tool provides guidelines that follow photography's Rule of Thirds, but can be customized to other desired grid patterns.

PainterX has an enhanced photo-painting system, a new Match Palette effect that lets you match the color and intensity between two image and a Universal Mixer palette, which offers better control over color selection when using any bristle brush. A new WorksSpace Manager is designed to simplify backing up, sharing or switching between customized workspaces. PainterX also has new dodge and burn tools and beefed-up color management.

The pricing for Corel Painter X in the US and Canada is US$429 for the full version, $229 for upgrades and $99 for the education edition (US MSRP). The Limited Edition Painter Can is available for $499.

Order

All versions are available from www.corel.com/painterx.

Along with the Lightroom 1.0 announcement a few weeks ago, Adobe unveiled details for the update to their Photoshop plugin, Adobe Camera Raw (ACR). Version 3.7 is now available for download on their website.

Adobe Camera Raw 3.7, available for both Mac and Windows systems, introduces cross-application compatibility between Photoshop CS2 and the new Lightroom software. For example, Camera Raw will now be able to recognize RAW data from Lightroom options that Camera Raw does not offer, such as the dust spotting tool. The new compatibility will allow users to convert RAW data between the two programs.

Version 3.7 also adds RAW support for new cameras including the Nikon D40 and Pentax K10D.

Adobe Camera Raw versions 3.0 and greater are not compatible with Photoshop CS.

Download links can be found on the Adobe Camera Raw page.

See the Adobe Store at Amazon.com.

Nikon Inc. today released an upgrade to its highly acclaimed Capture NX software. Capture NX version 1.1 boasts several new improvements including increased performance, full support for Intel-based Mac OS X computers, and optimization for Microsoft's Windows Vista operating system.

In addition to these advancements Nikon has made several usability updates based on software testing and customer feedback. Capture NX 1.1 now sports a simpler user interface that has added improvements such as resizable palettes for histograms and curves and levels adjustments.

Capture NX image editing utilizes Nik Software’s patented U Point technology. This new innovation in photo image processing and editing can be applied to Nikon’s NEF files, as well as any camera’s JPEG and TIFF files (some Capture NX functions apply to NEF files only). Capture NX features powerful tools that enhance images without complicated processes. Simply select a control point and adjust it’s slider until you see the image as you like it. It’s a highly visual, intuitive technique.

Current users of Capture NX will be also able to download an update to version 1.1 at no additional cost. A special limited-time upgrade price of $89.95 is offered to current owners of Nikon Capture 4 software in the U.S. market. This upgrade is only available online at:
http://www.nikonmall.com/captureupgrade/
for registered Nikon Capture 4 owners and will be limited to one upgrade per Nikon Capture 4 product key.

Read the Press Release.

Finally out of beta testing! New Adobe Photoshop Lightroom software provides one easy application for managing, adjusting, and presenting large volumes of digital photographs so you can spend less time in front of the computer and more time behind the lens. Lightroom leverages Adobe Camera Raw (ACR) technology and supports over 150 native raw file formats, in addition to JPEG and TIFF.

Lightroom is designed to work with Adobe Photoshop, the industry standard in photo-editing software. Changes made in one application are reflected in the other.

Lightroom's workflow'what Adobe calls its “garden path of tasks” is organized into four modules: Library, Develop, Slideshow, and Print. Each module provides a work area with a set of tools. For a complete the description of the modules, see the NAPP website.

System Requirements – Mac

• Macintosh OS 10.4 or higher
• G4, G5, or Intel Processor
• 768 MB RAM (1GB Recommended)
• 1 GB free HD space

System Requirements – Windows

• Pentium 4 Processor
• 768 MB RAM (1 GB Recommended)
• 1 GB free HD space

See also the Adobe Lightroom website.

NEW Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2: A Digital Photographer

US $43.90 End Date: Saturday Jul-31-2010 20:24:40 PDT Buy It Now for only: US $43.90 Buy it now | Add to watch list

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Microsoft has introduced a new software add-in called “Photo Info” for Microsoft Windows that allows photographers to add, change and delete common “metadata” properties for digital photographs from inside Windows Explorer. It also provides enhanced “hover tips” and additional sort properties for digital photographs in Explorer (in the Details View).

The initial release of Photo Info supports the following common image file types: JPEG, TIFF, WDP, HDP (HD Photo), NEF, CR2, and CRW1. According to Microsoft – support for additional file formats is under consideration for a future release.

Features:

• View or edit photo metadata from inside Windows Explorer. Now, advanced image properties are at your fingertips from within Windows.
• Edit images individually, or as a collection. Photo Info has two edit modes: individual and collection, making it easy to update many images at the same time.
• Quick recall of recent entries. For some properties, Photo Info remembers the most recent entries you have typed. To recall a recent entry, click on the drop down arrow and select it from the list.
• Generate copyright notice automatically. Photo Info can generate a standard copyright notice automatically from the Author and date Created information, if present.
• Quick recall of location details. To help save time when entering location information, Photo Info can save location details under a name you provide. Recall these details by selecting the location name from the drop-down menu.
• Correct [tag]EXIF[/tag] capture date / time information. Photo Info can optionally update the EXIF date/time information as recorded in the image file by your camera. You can use this feature to correct the file capture date if your camera’s clock was set incorrectly (for example, to the wrong time zone).
• View EXIF properties. Click on the Details tab to view common EXIF properties. Click on More properties for additional details.
• Preview the image. To see a larger preview of the image, double-click on the thumbnail.
• Enhanced hover tips. Hover tips have been enhanced for JPEG, TIFF and other supported file types in Windows Explorer.
• Custom column properties. In Windows Explorer when viewing a folder in Details view, additional sort properties are available for supported image types.

Support for CRW files requires that an associated THM file is present in the same folder as the selected CRW image. (THM files are thumbnail “sidecar” files generated by certain [tag]Canon[/tag] cameras.)

Microsoft Photo Info runs on 32-bit versions of Windows XP (with Service Pack 2 or later) and the Windows Vista operating systems.

Reference Links:
Download Microsoft Photo Info
Microsoft Photo Info Page

Bibble Labs Inc. just announced the first RAW Workflow update of 2007, adding support for the latest RAW enabled camera formats, and including – for the first time – several of the most popular 3rd party plugins for Bibble. Both Bibble Pro and Bibble Lite software now support the Nikon D40, Pentax K10D, Olympus E-400, Leica M8, Mamiya ZD and 97 other digital cameras.

What is unique about this release is the inclusion of 6 free plugins developed by Sean M. Puckett of nexi.com.

According to Bibble, “Among the free plugins included in this update are Andy, a Black & White Film Simulation tool that instantly creates stunning black and white conversions by simulating the look of many traditional film and paper combinations, Gina for Skin Tone Correction that can quickly and beautifully reveal more natural skin tones, and Roy for Color Adjustment to deepen the blue in skies or to make other color-based adjustments. Other plugins included can be be used for selective saturation enhancement, multi-zone exposure adjustment and novel image toning. With the inclusion of these free plug-ins, Bibble customers have the broadest selection of image adjustment tools at their disposal. “Pro" versions of these plugins – as well as several others – add additional control and power, and are available for purchase at http://nexi.com/bibplugs.

Like all version 4 upgrades, v4.9.5 is free for all existing Bibble 4 customers. Is this the last upgrade before the much anticipated Bibble 5? Only time will tell.

We recommend getting the Pro version rather than the Lite version. The difference in price isn't that much considering that you get multithreading, advanced copy and paste, work queues, IPTC caption support, etc.

Registered users upgrade here.