LATEST ADDITIONS

One of the main problem areas for many digital photographers is getting a print
that is reasonably close to what you see on screen. Assuming that you have a
calibrated display (and if you don't, stop reading this article and profile
your monitor!) the problem may lie in your printer settings. It's all
too common to find that someone having problems is actually managing the printer
settings twice - once in the print driver and once in their image editing software.

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The 8GB SanDisk Ultra II CompactFlash card satisfies the need of those using
high-megapixel digital SLRs, those producing large files with every shot. Ultra
II cards offer a minimum sustained write speed of 9MB/sec and a read speed of
10MB/sec. SanDisk also produces their Extreme III CompactFlash lineup, which
has about double the read/write speed, but because the Extreme III uses a different
type of NAND flash memory the maximum capacity of that lineup is 4GB. In tests
with a variety of digital SLRs the Ultra II performed flawlessly, and it sure
was handy having that amount of memory on trips where lots of images were made
during the day's shoot. For Raw images with an 8MP camera we could get
almost 600 images on a card. Retail price for the 8GB card is $999.99, about
what a 1GB CompactFlash card cost three years ago.

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The new KODAK EASYSHARE V550 and V530 zoom digital cameras blend video and still
photography. The V550 and V530 cameras are equipped with 5-megapixel (MP) resolution
sensors and the packages include the KODAK EASYSHARE Photo Frame Dock 2 -- which
provides one-touch picture transfer to a connected computer while keeping the
cameras' high-capacity battery charged and ready to go. Users can play video
and photo `slideshows' on the cameras' high-resolution LCD screens.
The V Model V550 has a SCHNEIDER-KREUZNACH C-VARIOGON 3X optical zoom lens and
nineteen scene modes such as beach, snow, sunset and party. The EASYSHARE V550
camera will be available worldwide beginning this June for US$399 (MSRP). The
EASYSHARE V530 camera will be available worldwide beginning in July 2005 for US$349
(MSRP).



V-series cameras include KODAK EASYSHARE software for WINDOWS and MACINTOSH systems,
providing effortless digital picture organization, editing, sharing and printing
-- and even CD and DVD burning. The exclusive One Touch to Better Pictures feature
takes advantage of proprietary color technologies developed by Kodak to help users
get prints from inkjet printers. Version 5.0 -- available as a free download from
www.kodak.com beginning this summer -- will feature new video editing tools that
allow users to quickly and simply trim, splice, rotate and add music to videos.

Photos © 2004, David Middleton, All Rights Reserved

"The intoxication of exotica is overrated," David Middleton says. So if you're thinking of traveling far and wide in search of great outdoor and nature photographs, save your money and your time--at least until you've explored the familiar: your own backyard.

"It's...