Rangefinder Magazine
November 2004

New Products

Specifications in these listings are condensed from information provided by manufacturers and suppliers. For more information about these new products or processes, see our new feature, “Where To Find It,” on pages 96 and 97. When contacting the companies direct, please mention Rangefinder.

Fuji Photo Film Co., Ltd. has announced the long-awaited FinePix S3 Pro, which incorporates the newly developed 4th Generation Super CCD SR II, with 12.34 million effective pixels (6.17 million S- and 6.17 million R-type pixels). Maximum image size is an ultra-high resolution of 12.1 million recording pixels, resulting in noticeable improvements in picture quality. The Super CCD SR II sensor’s unique dual size pixel design produces expanded dynamic range. This dramatically broadens tonal capability, and guarantees exceptional rendition from bright highlights to deep shadows. It delivers greater sensitivity, improved signal-to-noise ratio and consistent natural color reproduction.

Jasc® Software, Inc. has announced the general availability of Paint Shop™ Pro® Studio and Paint Shop™ Pro® 9.
Paint Shop Pro Studio is a new Jasc photo editor for consumers who want to do more than novice editing without a steep learning curve. Paint Shop Pro Studio leverages Paint Shop Pro’s power and flexibility to provide photo editing and graphic design functionality that is comprehensive yet easy-to-use, making editing photos and creating graphics fun for novice and intermediate users. An Idea Book is included to guide users through some of the most common photo projects such as photo restoration and crafting.

Paint Shop Pro 9 is the latest version of the award-winning photo and graphics editor. Paint Shop Pro 9 integrates digital camera noise removal, a chromatic aberration removal filter, fill flash, RAW image support, and other high-end functionality often sold individually for hundreds of dollars.

A solid marketing and self-promotion system is a cure for many obstacles to success in today’s competitive marketplace. It makes cold-calling unnecessary. It gives one’s work drive and takes away the stress of running the business. For designers and illustrators lacking the guidance to jumpstart their self-promotion engine, a new book by marketing champ Maria Piscopo provides energetic support. In The Graphic Designer’s and Illustrator’s Guide to Marketing and Self-Promotion, the long-time creative services consultant tells designers and illustrators how to move from cold calls and “word of mouth” jobs to building a crisis-safe client base.

SCOTTeVEST INC. (SeV) maker of Technology Enabled Clothing®, and Global Solar Energy, developer and manu-facturer of flexible solar cells, announced that the first solar-powered jacket designed to carry, connect and charge portable devices will be available in time for the holidays.

The solar panels are attached to SeV’s signature jacket, Version Three.0 Finetex, an all-weather jacket with remov-able sleeves and over 30 hidden pockets. The jacket features SeV’s patent-pending Personal Area Network (PAN), which conceals wires associated with power sources and earbuds.

Global Solar’s PowerFLEX™ solar panels consist of unique flexible thin-film photovoltaic material made from copper indium gallium diselenide (CIGS) sun-absorbing material placed onto a thin stainless steel substrate. The panels convert sunlight into electricity that charges a hidden battery pack about the size of a deck of cards. The battery pack in turn can charge any device compatible with Universal Serial Bus (USB) chargers, including cell phones, PDAs, Game Boys, MP3 players and other mobile devices.