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In photography, the idea of depth of field, or the portion of a photograph that is in focus, isn't an easy one to grasp. Like almost everything else in the photographic world, it is possible to figure out what the depth of field of a given (or even hypothetical) photograph based on the size of the film or imaging sensor, focal length, aperture, and the distance to your subject. Given the number of factors involved though, the math gets a little complicated. Thankfully, the folks at ExpoImaging have created the ExpoAperture2 Depth of Field Guide to figure it all … Read more

Having struggled on many occasions to explain the difference between cameras sensors the size of a full frame of 35mm film and the vastly more common smaller sensors, I thought I'd point readers toward this lucid explanation of one aspect by Canon tech guru Chuck Westfall in his October column with the Digital Journalist. One reason you might want to pay attention: the vast majority of digital SLRs use smaller sensors than film SLRs, though Canon and Nikon have some high-end exceptions.

Westfall details in his article how depth of field changes in relation to sensor size. I'm … Read more

Hasselblad, a manufacturer of high-end medium-format cameras, is dropping its H2 product line, a move that spotlights the company's transition from film camera roots to its digital future.

The H2 can record images on either film or a digital sensor, but there wasn't sufficient demand for the product, so the company is devoting more resources to its more popular digital-only H3D family, Hasselblad Chief Executive Christian Poulsen said in an announcement to customers Monday.

"We have made a decision to discontinue the H2 camera line," Poulsen said. "Demand simply no longer justifies the dedicated manufacturing … Read more

Recently, Power Downloader received an e-mail at the Powerlair from his niece, Kitty Kilobyte. Kitty explained she was stressed out about a project for school. Her assignment was to make a Web site about a specific subject which would include writing out a lot of information along with pictures to illustrate the content. Though she had all the writing done, Kitty was having problems choosing from her high-res photographs and couldn't get them to fit in with the content. She was particularly frustrated that her folder full of images all had unrecognizable file names and she didn't want … Read more

IrfanView arguably has the worst name in all of freewaredom, but that doesn't stop it from being a top-notch lightweight image editor. Oh, and it just got better.

… Read more

Having experienced podiatric problems ranging from fractured toes to the gout, we feel particularly well qualified to address this next piece of athletic technology (apologies for too much information). The item in question comes from a company called eSoles, which says it has developed a technology that can digitally analyze a foot in less than 5 minutes to help create the perfect-fitting shoe.

Its "Foot Imaging Kiosk System" is a one-stop diagnostic center that includes a touch-screen computer, digital scanner, pressure mat and even a printer. The company says a customer need only step on the mat and … Read more

Note: I've updated this posting to note that the Adobe didn't sponsor the study.

Apple Aperture beat Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to market as a tool for processing raw images from higher-end cameras, but Lightroom has taken a solid lead in adoption among professional photographers, according to a survey touted by the image-editing powerhouse.

Market researcher InfoTrends surveyed 1,026 pro photographers in North America, and of them, 23.6 percent use Lightroom and 5.5 percent use Aperture, according to the blog of Photoshop senior product manager John Nack Tuesday.

Photoshop's raw-image converter beats both out, though, … Read more

SLR leader Canon announced Monday it's developing two high-end image-stabilized telephoto lenses, the EF 200mm f/2L IS USM and the EF 800mm f/5.6L IS USM.

The company is showing prototypes of the lenses at the PhotoPlus Expo in New York, but didn't release any price and availability information. Both are "L"-grade lenses, higher-priced models designed with better optics, weatherproofing and durability.

The 800mm lens surpasses the focal length of Canon's current biggest lens, the EF 600mm F/4 IS USM. It was developed in response to requests by sports and news … Read more

Though Epson's U.S. division has been mum on the subject, its U.K. division has announced the new Stylus Photo R1900 printer. I wouldn't be surprised if there are some minor differences between the U.K. and U.S. versions of the printer, but for you big Epson fans in America, here's what we know about the printer announced across the pond: Like the R1800, the R1900 can print images up to 13-inches wide, can lay down ink drops as small as 1.5 picoliters, and uses an 8-ink-tank system. However, the R1900 uses an updated … Read more