This frame of a woman toasting shows how video from newer digital SLRs lets people blur backgrounds to emphasize a particular subject, something that's harder with conventional video cameras.
(Credit: CC Joi Ito)The photography world is beginning to adapt to a new phase in the marriage of cameras and computing technology: the arrival of SLRs that can shoot not just still images, but video too.
The change began with the arrival of image sensors, the light-sensitive microchips that replaced film. Now, two new SLRs--Nikon's D90 and Canon's EOS 5D Mark II--are taking another step away from the film paradigm, following in the footsteps of point-and-shoot cameras by recording continuous video and not just still images. Doubtless video will gradually spread to other SLR models and makers.
"This camera is the ultimate 'equalizer'--you no longer need half-million dollars' worth of high-definition video cameras and lenses delivered by a truck with its own driver to shoot a high-definition film in low light--you just need a $2,700 camera and a few lenses," gushed professional photographer and Canon adviser Vincent Laforet in a blog post about a 5D Mark II prototype.
But not everything will be simple for Laforet wannabes excited by the new possibilities. Hardware, software, Web sites, and perhaps most of all, technique all must catch up to the new technology.
Though how-to book authors have yet to weigh in, there are signs the adaptation has begun. Take the case of video hosting.
... Read moreApple's photography software now can accommodate raw images from some newer digital cameras through the release of Digital Camera Raw Compatibility Update 2.3.
Specifically, the update to iPhoto '08 and Aperture 2 means that the photography software can deal with raw images from three prominent new digital SLR (single-lens reflex) cameras: Canon's midrange EOS 50D, Nikon's video-enabled midrange D90, and Sony's ambitious 24-megapixel full-frame Alpha DSLR-A900.
Also supported is Nikon's high-end compact camera, the Coolpix P6000.
Raw images are taken directly from higher-end cameras with no in-camera processing into a JPEG. That means photographers get more flexibility when it comes to exposure, white balance, sharpening, and other options, but also that photos require manual processing.
For software companies, supporting raw formats requires either that they have to figure out a host of proprietary raw formats, because each camera model has its own, or rely on the manufacturers themselves to support release codecs supporting the cameras. Adobe Systems and Apple take the former route; Microsoft takes the latter.
To check if your camera is supported, see Apple's list of raw-format camera support. Adobe's raw-support list is a little longer, including support for Pentax's newest entry-level model, the K2000, the esoteric Fujifilm FinePix IS Pro, and Olympus' latest ultrazoom, the SP-565 UZ.
Now supported by Adobe: Sony's new top-end Alpha A900 SLR.
(Credit: Sony)Adobe Systems has updated Photoshop's ability to deal with raw-format images from several of the latest SLR cameras with its new version 4.6 of the Camera Raw plug-in. Adobe's John Nack has the download links.
Less than a month after beginning beta testing, the final version is out with support for Canon's newer entry-level EOS Rebel XS, its brand-new midrange EOS 50D, Nikon's freshly released midrange D90 and full-frame D700, Pentax's newest entry-level model, the K2000, and Sony's ambitious 24-megapixel full-frame Alpha A900.
Also released is a new version of the DNG Converter software, which can help out people with older, more limited, or slower-moving software handle the newer file formats by converting them into Adobe Digital Negative (DNG) format. Raw files, which are taken directly from camera image sensors with no in-camera processing such as sharpening or color balance, preserve more detail than JPEG but require manual processing. And keeping up with the numerous proprietary raw formats is a lot of work for software companies.
In more rarefied realms, the new software supports several medium-format products from Leaf, the Aptus II 6 and 7 digital backs and AFi II 6 and 7 camera bodies. Also on the list is the more unusual Fujifilm FinePix IS Pro, an SLR that can be used to take infrared and ultraviolet light photos.
The software also supports some higher-end compact cameras that can produce raw images, including the Sigma DP1, the Olympus SP-565 UZ, and the Nikon Coolpix P6000.
The new cameras are also supported in Lightroom 2.1, currently in beta. And if the fleeting lag between the Camera Raw plug-in beta and the Lightroom 2.1 beta is anything to judge by, the final version of Lightroom 2.1 should arrive soon.
(Credit:
Nikon USA)
New beta software for Adobe Systems' Photoshop means those with Nikon's latest SLRs, the mid-range D90 and higher-end, full-frame D700, now can handle those cameras' raw files with the company's widely used image-editing software.
In addition, the software supports Nikon's Coolpix P6000, a high-end compact camera, and the Fuji Finepix IS Pro, said Adobe's Tom Hogarty in a blog post Wednesday.
The update includes unofficial, preliminary support for Canon's 50D, a mid-range SLR due to ship in October, Canon's new low-end Rebel XS, Sony's ambitious full-frame Alpha A900 SLR due in November, the Olympus SP-565 UZ ultrazoom compact, and Sigma's large-sensor DP1 compact, Hogarty said.
In addition, Adobe released an accompanying version of its DNG Converter software, which changes the proprietary raw file formats from higher-end cameras into Adobe's relatively open Digital Negative (DNG) format. That means people have a bridge to get the new cameras' raw files into Lightroom, which doesn't yet support the new cameras.
No word yet on other higher-end cameras such as Canon's G10 or EOS 5D Mark II.
The Camera Raw 4.6 update and DNG Converter is available from Adobe Labs' site.
(Via Lightroom-News.com)
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