New Technology to Fuel Diversification in Digital Photography

Print Action, Aug 2004

Imacon's New Back

Imacon's new 528C camera back is said to deliver four times the resolution in still captures from the 22-megapixel sensor. The new back, capable of shooting raw uninterpolated images of up to 528MB using what the company has labeled as its micro-step 4*Res capture process. The s 528C offers three capture modes (one-, four- and 16-shot), and portability. It is able to shoot a full 16-bit colour 132MB image in single-shot mode, and 132 and 528MB images in four- and 16-shot modes respectively, straight to disc, including preview, every two seconds in sequence up to 850 images and has a maximum exposure time of 32 seconds. The new camera back incorporates a Kodak 22million, nine-micron pixel sensor and Imacon's new sensor control called Double Duration Circuit (DDC). The company stated that the launch of the new 528C is the next step in its concept of'Unlimited Photography." The 528C offers full functionality across Mac OSX, and PC Windows platforms and connects to the Ixpress Image Bank via a 90-centimetre cable for computer-free operation and a 10-metre cable for studio operation. Connection from the Ixpress Image Bank to laptop or computer is via Firewire. With 4-Res, a user combines multiple exposures to allow the entire CCD area to capture each colour without interpolation. Imacon's imaging software, FlexColor, helps a user fine-tune and process images for a perfect final result in RGB or CMYK (print-ready) colour.

QuarkVista

Still in its testing mode, Quark has previewed its new XTensions module to provide image manipulation capability in QuarkX-Press. In addition to standard image adjustments like colour balance, levels, brightness, and contrast, QuarkVista will allow users to apply a variety of common filters to images used in a layout. QuarkVista filters are said to be non-destructive, so users can change filter parameters at any time without worrying about losing image data. QuarkVista can also optimize images for output by applying transformations such as scale, crop, angle, and skew to the images collected for output. The software can also perform graphic file format conversions at this time, and includes support for popular image file formats like EPS, JPEG, and TIFF.

Making Better Toast

Roxio Inc., a software company with ever-growing influence, recently received rave reviews for its Easy Media Creator 7, which is an integrated digital media suite for the PC built around next-generation photo, video, music, burning and authoring applications - somewhat comparable to what Adobe did with its Creative Suite. Creator 7 combines an improved burning suite of Easy CD & DVD Creator with PhotoSuite 7 Platinum , VideoWave 7 Professional and online music service Napster. Roxio Easy Media Creator 7 enables consumers to take complete control of their digital lives. The company has also upgraded its Toast 6 Titanium application, which is CD/DVD burning software for Mac OS X. Toast 6 allows users to drag-and-drop any QuickTime image file or iPhoto picture to create screen slide shows. It also allows users to share CD or DVD burners across a network or the internet. Files and folders can be burned directly from the desktop with a singleclick, pop-up menu. Data can be secured with 128-bit encryption and password-protection.