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Rangefinder
Magazine Digital Photography: by John Rettie As I suspected, there were no last minute surprises at the annual PMA show in Las Vegas. Kodak managed to keep the lid on information about the DCS Pro SLR/n that has replaced the 14n camera until opening day. The camera was everywhere—showing up on other company’s booths as well as at Kodak’s own monster booth. From a consumer point of view, most of the buzz was about the 8-megapixel prosumer cameras launched by just about every camera manufacturer. Ironically, they all use the same CCD chip from Sony, but all obtain different levels of quality. This difference indicates how in-camera image processing and lens quality are as important as the size and quality of the image capture chip. I’m looking forward to trying these cameras, since eight may be the practical limit to the number of pixels on a small chip. Aside from new cameras and accessories, there was an abundance of new software. One program that caught the eye of many was DxO Optics Pro from a French company, DO labs. The program automatically corrects for distortion, chromatic aberrations, vignetting and blur (lack of perceived sharpness) by using profiles generated for specific cameras and lenses. The company describes the program as a “software corrective lens.” If the software proves to be everything its inventors suggest, it could go a long way to correcting some inherent flaws in the current state of digital imaging. In fact, in the future, cameras could incorporate the software so it automatically applies corrections as images are captured. Pricing and availability for DxO Optics Pro have not been announced. A week after PMA several thousand photographers descended on Vegas for Rangefinder Publishing’s annual WPPI convention at BALLY’s Las Vegas. I returned to find many of the same exhibitors from PMA. What struck me most about the two events is digital photography is now an integral part of photography in general. It does not seem to generate the “us vs. them” mentality of the past. In fact, at WPPI, a convention more for the wedding photographer than the retailer, the seminars and classes on digital imaging solutions seemed the most popular. Adobe, for example, all but filled the Jubilee Theater each morning with fascinating two-hour presentations of work by famous photographers, such as Jay Maisel, followed by practical demonstrations of Photoshop techniques by Adobe’s own Julieanne Kost—whose sense of humor made the events fun as well as informative.
Minolta Magicolor Laser Printer With regular copy paper, the Minolta actually produces a better-looking photo print than an inkjet. With high-quality paper, the image quality difference is only noticeable when viewed side by side. When I showed some comparison prints, people could not easily determine which was the laser print. Unfortunately, the Minolta does not produce prints on thick glossy photo paper. But for prints that are going to be mounted or for proofs on lightweight paper, the 2350 EN is perfectly acceptable.
The 2350 EN comes ready to use with the four toner cartridges already installed. It includes a built-in network print server, so it easily plugs into the network. Connecting the printer and getting it running was slightly easier on my Mac than on a PC—just as I experienced with the Lexmark. Once connected, there’s no difference in operation between the two platforms. You can set up the printer through a series of menus on a small LCD screen on the printer, but it may be easier to access the information through a web browser on a computer. You can change the parameters and update firmware this way as well. The printer tends to be rather noisy while printing as the paper threads its way through the machine. It also uses plenty of electricity as it warms up. Fortunately, you can leave it on continuously in stand-by mode—which uses only a small amount of electricity—and it is ready for action within a minute or so. The biggest benefit of a laser printer is the higher printing speed than an inkjet and the lower cost of consumables. According to Minolta, some wedding photographers are using the 2350 EN as a proof printer. I am impressed enough that I decided to buy the review unit—I couldn’t bear to return it.
APC UPS
If you use the Smart-UPS with a PC, there is useful software included that automatically shuts down the computer after a period of time running on the battery and then restarts the computer once power is restored. Unfortunately, this software is not available for the Mac. Instead the Mac version comes with a basic system extension that turns off the computer after a set period of time without properly shutting down and without restarting. I found this feature more annoying than just turning the computer off myself. The alternative is to let it turn off when the battery dies if there’s nobody available to intervene. A good UPS is a necessity if you work on your computer for a living—there’s nothing worse than losing work during a power outage or a drop in voltage. It also works as a very effective power surge suppressor, which helps extend the computer’s life.
EZDigiMagic Portable Backup Now I have had the chance to try a similar model from EZ PnP that can be battery powered. It proved a godsend. On a recent photo trip in Central Africa, I was camping out for two nights with no electricity available. I made sure all my batteries were fully charged before leaving, and I was confident I’d have no problems. But, and I hate to admit this, I stupidly left all my extra CompactFlash cards behind in the base hotel—where we would return after three days. I filled the one card I had in my Canon EOS 10D before realizing my stupid mistake. Fortunately the EZDigiMagic was handy, and I had three blank CDs. All I had to do was insert four AA batteries in the battery pack on the CD recorder, insert the CompactFlash card and a blank CD, and push the record button. It beeped, and a few minutes later the images had been copied onto the CD. I made sure they were okay by checking the CD in friend’s laptop. Then I reformatted the CompactFlash card and was ready for more shooting. I had to do this two more times, once when driving on a bumpy road. It’s no different backing up onto a CD than onto a hard drive in one of the many external storage units on the market; however, a burned CD is generally more reliable than a hard drive. With a portable CD burner it is also easy to make duplicates for additional safety or for clients or friends.
Quick Book Review If you’ve already got previous editions, you’ll probably still find enough in this new version to warrant a refreshing read. If you haven’t seen the book before, you should check it out since it is aimed directly at photographers as opposed to graphic artists. Kelby has a humorous touch in his writing, which makes it fun to learn how to use Photoshop for retouching and improving images. Each technique, such as lightening eyes or whitening teeth, is covered step by step with pictures showing the results of the changes as well as a screen shot of the settings in Photoshop. John Rettie is a photojournalist who resides in Santa Barbara, CA. He has been using a camera as a professional for 34 years, a computer for 24 years, and has combined his knowledge of both for the past 11 years. Readers can contact him by e-mail at john@johnrettie.com or by snail-mail c/o Rangefinder.
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