In celebration of its 40^th anniversary, Wacom has added two new professional-level pen displays to its Cintiq Pro line. The Wacom Cintiq Pro 17 and the Pro 22 join the existing Cintiq Pro 27 providing photographers and retouchers several options from which to choose. 

The two new models match the Pro 27’s excellent specifications delivering color accuracy and the ability to reproduce 1.07 billion (yes, you read that right) colors. The displays are also Pantone Skin Tone validated and the UHD displays support HDR Gamma with HLG and PQ gamma curves.  

With a refresh rate of 120Hz, pen latency is reduced to, according to Wacom, “near zero,” for a smoother, more accurate experience. The next generation Pro Pen 3 is the perfect complement with its custom options to adjust the weight, size and center of gravity. And those are only a few of the 36 user-controlled adjustments. With 8,192 levels of pressure sensitivity, working with the pen promises precision as well as a natural feel. Combined with 8 Express Keys and multi-touch control, photographers and retouchers can create an efficient workflow that works best for them. 

The 17.3-inch (diagonal) Wacom Cintiq Pro 17 is available now for $2,500. The Cintiq Pro 22, with its 21.5-inch screen, will be available in December 2023 for $4,050. 

For more information, please visit Wacom.com. 

Retouching Efficiency

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Pratik’s Mini Course Bundle

The post Wacom Announces Two New Cintiq Pro Pen Displays  appeared first on Rangefinder.

This year’s CES show might be a little smaller than the gargantuan assembly of technology from years past, but exciting announcements still abound. One of those came from ASUS when the company unveiled its Zenbook 17 Fold OLED, a foldable laptop that seems to be a major improvement on previous attempts at this fascinating technology.

The display is not limited to single or dual screens; thanks to ScreenXpert, you can section the display into multiple screens to conveniently access various applications without having to move between windows.

[Read: 8 Tools to Help Up Your Game with In-Person Sales]

We haven’t had a first-hand look yet, so we have to wonder about how the hinge that allows for the fold affects the display. ASUS has tested their hinges by folding and unfolding it about 30,000 times, which should mean a relatively long lifespan for the Zenbook 17.

How Compact is the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED?

There are several features that may be appealing to photographers, not least of all its size and portability. When open, the foldable laptop features a 4:3, 17.3-inch 2.5K touchscreen; folded in half, you’ll get dual 3:2, 12.5-inch displays with a resolution of 1920 x 1280. There’s an on-screen keyboard as well as a full-size, freestanding Bluetooth® keyboard with a touchpad that can be stored in the center of the device when folded. Altogether, the system measures 14.9 x 11.32 x 0.34-0.46 inches.

[Read: New in Lightroom—Supercharged Masking and More]

It weighs 3.64 pounds, which is a little heavier than we anticipated, and since the keyboard is lightweight, the display is responsible for most of the weight. Still, to have a 17-inch touchscreen at your fingertips, the size and weight is quite manageable. One of the specs is “military grade,” although we’re not sure what that means or what part of the device it refers to.

How Can You Use This Foldable Laptop?

Given its design, this ASUS foldable laptop offers flexibility when put to use:

1. Need a large display, perhaps during in-person sales sessions with wedding or portrait photography clients? Just use the kickstand to prop up the screen.

2. Perhaps you want a large tablet; lay the screen flat and tap away on the touchscreen or built-in keyboard. Place the hard keyboard on top of the lower part of the folded screen and you’ll feel like you’re working on a laptop.

3. If you want a giant reader (and have decently strong forearms), you can even use it as a book reader.

[Read: What a Profitable In-Person Sales Photography Session Looks Like—Free Webinar]

What’s Inside the Zenbook 17 Fold OLED?

Equipped with Windows 11 Pro, the ASUS Zenbook 17 foldable laptop utilizes the latest 12^th Generation Intel Core i7 U-Series processors and Intel Iris X^e Graphics. There are two USB-C Thunderbolt 4 ports, a built-in array microphone, and it supports Cortana and Alexa voice-recognition. With Dolby Vision HDR, Dolby Atmos and a Harman Kardon-certified quad speaker system, this Zenbook should be capable of excellent performance, display quality and top-notch sound for everyday and multimedia projects.

According to the current specs, the Zenbook 17 is maxed out with 16GB of on-board memory and comes with 1TB of SSD storage. There’s also a 1 x 3.5 combo audio jack and a year’s subscription to Microsoft 365 Personal.

A 5MP webcam should prove useful for remote communication (we all know Zoom calls are not going away anytime soon). And with ASUS 3D Noise Reduction technology, the company promises clearer video calls, too.

What Are the Most ‘State-of-the-Art’ Features?

The Zenbook 17 foldable laptop has a couple of tricks up its sleeve that may be useful (or possibly annoying, so hopefully they can also be disabled):

1. With the laptop’s Intel Visual Sensing Controller chip and HD infrared camera (supporting Windows Hello biometric technology), the laptop can sense when you’re in front of the computer and when you move away. It will power down and start up again when you return.

2. There’s a chip to automatically adjust the screen’s brightness and color temperature to match the ambient conditions.

The ASUS Zenbook 17 foldable laptop is due out mid-2022, and its price is to be announced. Check out ASUS’s video announcing the device:

www.asus.com

The post ASUS Unveils Zenbook 17, Foldable Laptop with Cool Tricks appeared first on Rangefinder.

Event photographers and others who need high speed, high volume print production have a new option with Epson’s new SureLab printers—the SureLab D1070 and D1070DE. The latest models have evolved over the past decade and are smaller, faster, much less expensive and more sophisticated than their predecessors. I previewed Epson’s initial offering—the SureLab D3000—at a trade show about ten years ago. It was a beast (I don’t know how they were able to transport it to the meeting room) and it cost $20,000.

Since then, Epson has streamlined the price and size of its SureLab printers with the release of successive generations of printers. The latest models in this line are affordable at $2,595 (D1070) and $2,995 (D1070DE). And interested photographers can literally pick up and transport them to an event. Although final specs are not yet set, the D1070 should weigh in approximately 37 pounds with a footprint of about 18.1 x 13.13 inches. Initial estimates for the D1070DE, which comes with built-in duplex capabilities (perfect for photo books, postcards, etc.), are about 47.6 pounds with a footprint of 18.1 x 16.6 inches. Both printers have handles on the side for easier lifting.

[Read: Epson’s EcoTank Cartridge-Free Photo Printers]

Print sizes range from 4 x 6 inches to 8 x 10 inches with a wide range of media options including high-capacity rolls as well as double- or single-sided stock. Glossy, luster, matte and thick card surfaces are available to meet a variety of output needs—from photos to promo cards and more. The printers use 250 mL UltraChrome D6r-S high capacity ink packs, which cuts down the waste of discarding ink cartridges.

Epson has redesigned and simplified the printer drivers for Windows and Mac. With improved connectivity, you can control the printers via Wi-Fi, Ethernet and USB and use the Epson Cloud Solution PORT to monitor the live status of the printer remotely. (A mobile app is in development, which we assume will be ready when the printers launch.) There’s a new 1.44-inch LCD panel on the front provide easy access to operational functions.

[Read: Printers, Papers and Custom Art Options for Photographers]

Other notable attributes include an integrated output tray and high-speed rotary cutter as well as new nozzle detection and alignment technology.

The Epson SureLab D1070 is slated to ship this fall for an estimated MSRP of $2,595. The duplex model, the SureLab D1070DE will be available for $2,995 in 2022. Meanwhile, a duplex feeder can be purchased separately for approximately $599 to add automatic double-sided printing to the D1070.

epson.com

The post Epson’s New SureLab Printers: Great for Event Photography appeared first on Rangefinder.

Epson just announced its first EcoTank photo printers, the standard sized EcoTank Photo ET-8500 and the wide-format EcoTank Photo ET-8550. Epson’s cartridge-free printers are designed to cut printing costs and will appeal to event photographers and others who need to economically produce large quantities of prints and other creative and business material.

Epson’s EcoTank photo printers have cost-saving estimates that are pretty impressive: up to 80 percent lower cost by using 70ml bottles for filling the tank instead of running the printer off of individual cartridges. This can cut the cost of a 4 x 6 print to 4 cents versus 40 cents when using cartridges. Of course, the actual savings will vary a little, depending on print resolution and other factors. Each printer comes with a full set of 70ml bottles of ink and although print yields will vary depending on specific output, the initial set of inks should produce about 6,200 color pages. A three-pack of color replacement ink (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow) costs a little over $52 for a trio of 70ml bottles; figure about $20 for a black ink 70ml bottle.

[Read: DNP’s DP-QW 410 Printer: An Even Photographer’s Review]

The EcoTank Photo ET-8500 and 8550 utilize a new 6-color Claria ET Premium dye inkset with Cyan, Magenta, Yellow as well as Gray, Black and Photo Black inks, so you’ll be covered for black-and-white prints, too. As a reference, a similar Claria-based ink has a permanence rating, according to Wilhelm Imaging Research, of almost 100 years when framed and displayed under glass and approximately 200 when kept in albums or dark storage.

Both printers offer versatile paper handling via a print tray and a straight-through feed and can accommodate a wide range of media. In addition to plain paper and standard photo papers, the EcoTank Photo printers are compatible Epson’s Signature Worthy media such as Metallic Photo Paper Luster and Metallic Photo Paper Glossy, as well as Velvet Fine Art. The printers can also handle heavier weight paper such as card stock and media up to 1.3mm thick for posters, invitations and other marketing materials.

[Read: Sure Shot: Epson Updates Speedy Event Printer]

The ET-8500 is capable of producing borderless prints up to 8 ½ x 11 while the ET-8550 can output borderless prints up to 13 x 19. Estimated print speed for a 4 x 6 inch print in draft mode is about 15 seconds. Figure about 16ppm with black ink for text. Automatic two-sized printing is available as well.

Variable size droplet technology (VSDT) produces a minimum droplet size of 1.5 picoliters but instead of the usual three droplet sizes, the new printers utilize up to 5 sizes, promising smoother gradations. Scanning and copying is available via the integrated flatbed scanner and you can print directly onto CDs/DVDs.

Both printers come with the latest bells and whistles for easy operation and convenience. In addition to hi-speed USB, Wired Ethernet and SD card slots, the printers feature a 4.3-inch touch LCD. Broad wireless capabilities include remote print, scan to Cloud, Apple AirPrint, Android printing and voice activation. The Epson Smart Panel app—available for iOS and Android—provides remote printer operation and monitoring. Compatibility with creative apps, such as those from Adobe, doesn’t require any special software to print remotely so you can easily go directly to print from your iPad—whether you’re retouching an image or have sketched out some storyboards that you need to print and distribute.

The ET-8500 and ET-8550 aren’t designed to take the place of your high-end, dedicated pigment photo printer. But they offer enough versatility to provide a combination of high volume/lost cost photo production (and other creative output) as well as standard business printing. One of these models may bring you enough cost savings that it’s worth adding it to your studio or office.

The EcoTank Photo ET-8500 ($600) is available now through major computer, office and electronic retailers, and on the Epson store (www.epsonstore.com).

The EcoTank Photo ET-8550 ($700) is currently available at Office Depot and Amazon, and will be available online on the Epson store and other major retailers in early August. Both printers feature a two-year limited warranty with registration. For more information go to epson.com.

The post Epson’s EcoTank Cartridge-Free Photo Printers appeared first on Rangefinder.

Event photographer Patrick Williams, who runs PWP Studio out of Atlanta, was happy to get his hands on the 4.5-inch, DP-QW410 Pro dye-sublimation photo printer from DNP and test it out. Here’s what he thought.

One thing that has remained constant over the 20-year span of my event photography career (using over 40 printers from Kodak, Sony, DNP and Olympus) is that I’ve been used to the heavy weight of a pro dye-sub printer—they are hefty machines. When I picked up the box DNP recently shipped to my studio, though, it was so light that I instantly thought, “This must be just the media; I wonder when the printer is arriving?”

When I opened the box, staring up at me were two boxes of media and a printer, the DP-QW410 Pro, and the whole set weighed less than one of my DNP DS40’s without media. In addition, this is the first DNP printer that prints 4 x 6-inch sizes but does not print at a standard 5 x 7 inches, has internal print cutting, lower power usage, a print roller that “flattens” prints internally, and a 16:9 print ratio. In other words, lots of new features here.  

What I Liked

At less than 13 pounds and a compact size of only 8 inches wide x 7.75 inches high x 9.5 inches deep, the size and weight are the big wins here. Lower power consumption is no big upgrade for those shooting in indoor spaces with outlets readily available, but it’s huge if you need an alternate battery option off the grid. Lower power consumption allows for these printers to be run on portable batteries for hours at a time.

The Lay Flat print option is also a decision maker, in my opinion, if you are frequently making keepsake albums onsite where you might be taping/pasting prints onto an album page.

I also liked the that I was able to run a complete roll of media (150 4 x 6 prints, below) in one continuous print job to test whether it would slow down or overheat during non-stop printing like we see at events, and it ran like a champ through the entire run.

Other cool features: an internal print cutter offers additional print size options, there’s Wireless capability (requires an adapter) that allows the printer to be utilized with iPads/devices and without being tethered to the capture station, there’s the ability to print 4.5 x 8-inch mini-panorama prints, and the system is compatible with Windows and iOS drivers.

What I Didn’t Like

While there are so many things I really love about this printer, there are some I don’t, like print speed (19 seconds for 4 x 6 inches), printing capabilities up to 4.5 inches but no 5 x 7-inch capability, 4 x 6-inch media comes in 150 print sets but 4.5-inch media comes in 110 print sets, which is limiting for larger events and settings confusion for the cutter function. Also, the cost per 4 x 6 print is $.10 per print higher than most others. Other things to make note of include:

The paper tray (clear plastic print catcher on the front of the printer, above) only works with 4 x 6 media, and has a max capacity of 20 sheets before you risk paper jams.

The trash box (print clippings tray) pops off the front. In my first time opening it up, the box popped off the front of the printer straight on to the floor! I could see that happening at an event, but even worse, hitting a concrete floor and breaking.

Settings for the cutter (for smaller prints) can be found in three different places on Windows but figuring it out required a call to DNP tech support for me to identify which settings would make it cut prints correctly.

User Friendliness

DNP printers are rather simple machines to use and this one is no different—ten minutes to set up the hardware and download drivers from the DNP site and you are printing! If you are familiar with changing out media (paper rolls and ink ribbons) on DNP printers, you will feel right at home with the DP-QW410. I did have a hard time with removing the spacers to change from 4-inch media to 4.5-inch media (made me feel like a monkey learning algebra) and the ribbons were a little difficult to add/remove with large hands, but those are minor annoyances versus deal breakers.

Image Sizes

Without additional cutting outside of the printer, it will print a 4.5 x 8-inch print, one 4.5 x 4.5-inch print or four 2 x 4.5-inch prints on 4.5-inch wide media. We haven’t seen some of these sizes in the past without specialized perforated media. (Glossy or Matte finishes are available.)

How It Compares

The DP-QW410 is a highly specialized printer aimed at the entry- or mid-level segment in the DNP product line: think of it like a Nikon D780 or a Canon 90D in their respective full-frame camera lines. DNP printers are known for great print quality and their rock-solid reliability, plus the QW410 is (literally) half the weight of any other professional grade 4 x 6-inch dye sub printer out there right now. Printing a 4 x 6-inch image does take it more than twice as long as most current dye-sub models from other manufacturers and the per print cost is a little higher, but the quality, feature set and footprint combination are hard to beat. 

The Bottom Line

In the world of printers, the DP-QW410 is not a solid choice for larger print volume events and studios, mostly due to the limited print quantity in the media packs, higher per-print cost, and lack of printing 5 x 7’s.

The weight, size and power consumption are a perfect combination for portability, and the multiple new print sizes made possible by the internal cutter are also a plus for those who need to constantly evolve their smaller sized print offerings. In conclusion, although it has its limitations for larger volume applications, it is a really well thought out feature set for photo booth operators, small- to mid-size event/wedding photographers, and portrait photographers who need 4-inch or 4.5-inch prints and proofs. In other words, a great option for those seeking the quality and reliability of a DNP dye sub printer in a smaller, lighter and more portable set.

The post DNP’s DP-QW410 Printer: An Event Photographer’s Review appeared first on Rangefinder.

Although new camera announcements have been few and far between these days, Sony has grabbed some headlines with their latest camera, the 20- megapixel ZV-1. Geared towards video content creators and vlogging, the camera is meant to meet the needs of long-time and, perhaps more importantly, new vloggers with easy-to-use features that solve some of the problems encountered when creating videos.

Like some of our favorite RX-100 series Sony compact cameras, the ZV-1 is tiny, measuring 4 ¼ x 2 3/8 x 1 ¾ inches and weighs about 10.4 ounces. But, unlike other Sony compact cameras, the new model features a fully-articulated LCD that can face forward during filming.

Equipped with a 24-70mm f/1.8-f/2.8 lens this 20-megapixel camera is capable of shooting both still images and videos up to 4K. Real time eye AF and face priority auto exposure that keeps your face illuminated properly under changing conditions, are only a couple of features that will help vloggers.

The ZV-1 also has image stabilization, a function button to automatically provide background bokeh and “product showcase” option that switches focus between you and a product that you may be featuring. The camera is equipped with a built-in directional microphone, a microphone jack and a multi-interface shoe for a microphone or flash. Picture profiles including S-Log2 and S-Log3, among others, are available. And the ZV-1 can be used as a webcam.

The camera comes with a mini-deadcat windscreen and a micro-USB cable for charging. An optional Vlogger kit, which includes a shooting grip with wireless remote commander and a 64GB SD card.

Available this June, the camera will sell for a special introductory price (until June 28) for $749; after June 28, the price is expected to be $799. The ACCVCI Vlogger Kit will also be available in June for approximately $149.

sony.com

The post The Sony ZV-1: V is for Vlogging appeared first on Rangefinder.

Computer Gear

Editor’s Choice: Apple Mac Pro Tower 

Apple has trashed the trash can design for a new Mac Pro tower that better dissipates heat and is also more modular and easier to customize than the prior design. It features a removable aluminum enclosure that lifts up to reveal the innards. You can pack the Pro with Xeon processors up to 28 cores and 1.5TB of memory. There are eight PCIe expansion slots and a new graphics architecture and new accelerator card that enables playback of three streams of 8K ProRes video simultaneously. The Mac Pro tower will feature an Apple MPX Module graphics card with Thunderbolt integration and over 500W of power, both firsts for any graphics card, according to Apple.

Price: TBD
apple.com

[How the Right Studio Management Software Can Save Your Sanity]

BenQ SW270C

The 27-inch SW270C incorporates BenQ’s new Color Uniformity Technology, which promises precise color across the entire display. The monitor is calibrated in the factory and covers 99 percent of the Adobe RGB color space, 100 percent of the sRGB/Rec. 709 space and 97 percent of the DCI-P3 color space. The SW270C supports 16-bit Look Up Tables, hardware calibration and includes Palette Master Element calibration software for keeping color in check. If you’re a filmmaker, the monitor also supports HDR10 content and plays back both 24p and 25p content at its native cadence. Beyond the calibration software, you’ll get a shade hood to reduce glare. 

Price: $800
benq.com

[A Complete Guide to Color-Effect Gels in Portrait Photography]

Dell Precision 7920

Dell’s workhorse workstation now includes second generation Intel Xeon Scalable processors up to 28 cores and NVIDIA Quadro RTX graphic cards. The tower features an externally accessible, tool-less power supply and FlexBays for lockable, hot-swappable drives. You can pack it with up to a 2TB hard drive or a 256GB SSD and up to 1TB of expandable memory (depending on CPU configuration). The 7920 includes Precision Optimizer software to analyze performance and run apps at the fastest speed possible.

Price: $2,009+
dell.com

[16 Software Editing Programs for Every Skill Level]

Microsoft Surface Studio 2

Packed inside this 28-inch touch display is a powerful PC with Intel Core i7 processors, up to 2TB of SSD storage and 32GB of RAM. Its unique Zero Gravity hinge design lets you position the Surface like a traditional desktop display or as a (huge) tablet device. The Studio 2 is packed with pixels, delivering a 4500 x 3000 resolution in its color-calibrated display. You can use the Surface Pen stylus, your fingers, the Surface Dial or traditional keyboards and mice to interact with the Studio.

Price: $3,499+
microsoft.com

[8 Easy Ways Photographers Can Create Engaging Video Content]

HP Z6 G4

Like its other PC peers, HP has added an option for Intel’s Xeon Scalable processors to its Z6 workstation, giving it enough computational punch to crunch through intense photo and video editing. It can run up to 48 processor cores and NVIDIA or AMD graphics cards with up to 384GB of memory via six PCIe slots. The Z6 can accommodate up to 36TB of storage via four drive bays.

Price: $1,829+
hp.com

[How to Edit Your Wedding Films Like a Pro]

Software

Editor’s Choice: Phase One Capture One 12 

With version 12, Phase One’s Capture One compatible with third-party plugins for the first time. It’s also significantly upgrading its masking tools. There’s now luminosity masking for creating masks based on the brightness of pixels in an image. These masks can be applied from one image to another. A Linear Gradient mask lets you adjust the size, shape and symmetry of masks for more precise mask adjustments. Finally, there’s a new Radial Gradient mask tool that creates a fall-off effect and can be adjusted and moved just like the Linear Gradient mask.

Price: $299
captureone.com

Fundy Designer

Among the slew of updates in the new Fundy Designer Suite are Studio Magazines and Marketing Cards. The former lets you create sleek magazines from included templates that even include the text. You’re also free to build your own magazine to show off your work or promote your brand. If you want to keep it more succinct, Fundy lets you build custom marketing cards with the same drag-and-drop ease that’s found throughout the Suite. Both Studio Magazines and Marketing Cards are available in the Album and Pro Suite packages.

Price: $249 (Lite Suite), $349 (Album Suite), $449 (Pro Suite)
fundydesigner.com

[Six-Figure Wedding Photography: The Undeniable Power of Email Marketing]

Alien Skin Exposure X4

If you love LUTs, Alien Skin’s 4.5 update is for you. The new update brings support for LUT effects alongside the ability to import third-party LUTs. Other new features include moveable light leak overlays with lens flare and haze, redesigned copy photo tools, photo sizing on export and configurable keyboard shortcuts. There are also transform tools, for correcting perspective, and a monitored folders function if you’d like to shoot tethered.

Price: $119
alienskin.com

[What’s the Difference Between a Preset and an LUT?]

Skylum Luminar 3

While the company has teased version 4, the latest Luminar, as of this writing, continues the company’s quest to plow AI-powered photo fixes into its all-purpose editor. The latest tool is AI Sky Replacement, which easily lets you isolate skies and make a range of changes, including a wholesale replacement with just a few clicks. There’s also a new “Lost Edits Album” that collects all the edits you’ve done to your images in the event you accidentally delete them, rename them or otherwise lose track of them.

Price: $85
skylum.com

[Automatic AI Skin Enhancer with Luminar 4]

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

The “Classic” version of Lightroom CC has been given a speed boost thanks to a GPU Accelerated Editing feature that taps your computer’s graphic card to offload some processing from the CPU. Other new goodies include the ability to batch-merge images to create HDR stills, panoramas and (you guessed it) HDR panoramas. The cloud edition of Lightroom has added a recovery feature that lets you retrieve images you’ve deleted for up to 60 days. Other enhancements include interactive tutorials, an improved Auto mode and a texture slider for editing fine details.

Price: $10/month
adobe.com

[4 Reasons to Shoot Tethered]

ON1 Photo RAW 2019

Photo RAW 2019 (.6 edition) delivers a slew of new features to improve photo editing and organizing. Of particular note is a new portrait retouch feature that automatically identifies faces and applies corrections. The UI has been redesigned to make all of the software’s modules accessible as tabs, and you can now selectively sync edits so you have more control over what’s saved. If you’re considering migrating from Lightroom, ON1 offers an AI-powered tool that helps you migrate your collections while preserving edits and other non-destructive settings.

Price: $80
on1.com

[10 Great Portrait Retouching Tips]

Pixellu Smart Albums

This year, Pixellu rolled out the most significant update to its Smart Albums platform in years. The software will now support single page design, allowing users to work on one page of a spread. If you like the spread, you can take advantage of a new spread mirroring function to quickly replicate it. You can also make edits to color tones and perform black-and-white conversions in Smart Albums. The text tool has been enhanced to support multi-line text. Beyond the new features, the software has been tweaked to improve performance and has a new interface.

Price: $17+/month
pixellu.com

[Upselling Albums to Wedding Clients and Playing the Long Game]

Anthropics PortraitPro Body 3

Anthropic’s body retoucher has been updated with faster body selections powered by deep learning and image recognition. There’s also a Warp Fixer that lets you adjust bodies without distorting the background image. PortraitPro Body is sold as a standalone app or as a plugin and can be used to alter a subject’s build and height, contour their body, correct their posture, smooth skin and remove blemishes, and even facial expressions and facial lighting.

Price: $60
portraitprobody.com

[Posing and Body Language for Beauty Photographers]

Nik Collection 2 by DxO

Now that DxO has ownership over the Nik plugins, they’ve introduced the first major update to the seven titles in years. The new presets include 10 new recipes for Color Efex Pro, 12 new presets for HDR Efex Pro, 10 presets for Silver Efex Pro and 10 new tool combinations for Analog Efex Pro. The number of programs that can host the plugins has also grown to include DxO’s own PhotoLab and Skylum’s Luminar.

Price: $149
nikcollection.dxo.com

[Nik Collection 2 by DxO Review]

Corel PaintShop Pro Ultimate

This latest update offers a SmartClone tool that can merge multiple images into a single composition. A new Refine Brush tool improves the accuracy of selections. There are three workspaces, including a touch-ready Photography workspace with all your editing tools together. The software includes extra apps like PhotoMirage photo-animation software and AfterShot RAW editing.

Price: $100
corel.com

[How to Create Killer Photo Composites]

The post A Photographer’s Guide to Computers and Software in 2019 appeared first on Rangefinder.

This article was updated on January 16, 2019.

If there’s one thing we know for certain about digital photography it’s that it’s freed us to take a lot of photos. Trillions, in fact.

But if digital photography has liberated us to be carefree with the shutter, it’s also shackled us with a significant challenge–how to back up your digital photos so that your work and digital memories are available for future generations.

Fortunately, there are a few steps you can take to ensure your digital images last for the long haul.

Step One: Secure Your Files with 3-2-1

The ideal solution, says stock photographer and image preservation expert David Riecks, is known as the “3-2-1 approach.” That’s three copies of a file, stored in two different places with one of those locations off-site.

There are several ways to approach the 3-2-1 standard: you can place one copy of your digital archive in a hard drive stored in a safe, one copy stored in a hard drive that’s connected to a computer and upload a third copy to a cloud service like Google Drive or Dropbox (fulfilling the off-site requirement).

Don’t Miss: Great Hard Drive and Storage Options for Your Digital Photos

The life of any given hard drive is variable, but a study from the cloud provider BackBlaze based on a comprehensive examination of drives used in their servers, found the average to be six to seven years. Migrating data to new drives on a five-year basis may provide extra insurance.

Moving large amounts of data back-and-forth introduces plenty of opportunities for file corruption. Fortunately you can run the equivalent of a “DNA test” on files that are being transferred from one media to another to ensure they arrive intact. Riecks uses a hashing program that creates a checksum file that examines the bit structure of all his archived files. If there were any errors introduced during the transfer process, the checksum file will flag them. AV Preserve offers a variety of file-checking tools, some of them free, to verify the integrity of image collections across storage platforms. If you’re constantly synchronizing files between different hard drives, it makes sense to run one of these checksum programs on occasion to ensure your photo data is being properly preserved.

Don’t Miss: How Pro Photographer Michael Grecco Organizes His Digital Images

One shouldn’t overlook the value of printing as an archival method either, says Henry Wilhelm of Wilhelm Imaging Research. Properly produced and cared for, printed images can last for hundreds of years—far longer than any contemporary digital storage media. The key to ensuring a long-lived print is to use an inkjet printer and store your prints away from the sun. With the right paper and ink combination, you can create inkjet prints that last in excess of 200 years! While it’s not cost-effective to print every photo you take, you should identify the real keepers and make inkjet prints of those and store them in a cool, dry place away from the sun.

Making prints is actually doubly important for those who sell images. A signed and dated print is the currency of the fine art photographic market, Wilhelm says. If you want to sell photographic art, a print is the best vehicle to do it. “You don’t see people spending $5.6 million for a file,” Wilhelm says.

Don’t Miss: How Long Will Photo Prints Last? We Asked the Experts

Step Two: Make Your Files Readable

The second, and more challenging, step is choosing an image file format that has the best chance of being machine-readable in the future. Think of it this way, 30 years ago, no one outside of a few pioneering researchers knew what a “JPEG” was, let alone how to open and view one. When storing your digital photos for the long haul, you need to think carefully about how future generations will access this information. Will the file format you’re using be around and viewable in a generation? It’s not an easy question to answer.

“A primary characteristic for an archival format is that the structure and nature of the format be openly documented and understandable by any reasonable software engineer in the imaging field,” says Tom Hogarty, Director of Product Management at Adobe.

JPEGs and the Adobe-championed DNG format fall under this umbrella. Saving images in either format gives posterity a decent chance at viewing your photos.

“Support for JPEG codecs will remain part of photographic software years from now,” says Peter Schelkens, PR chair for the JPEG Committee. “I do not see main photo software vendors discontinuing support in the near and not so near future. Moreover, the fact that JPEG is an official ISO/IEC and ITU-T standard guarantees that it is well documented and generally accepted. Such standard specifications are well archived and should in principle allow you to decode these images even thousands of years from now, assuming of course we did not move out of the digital era.”

A “plain vanilla TIFF” file, while proprietary, is also very well documented and is Riecks’ archival format of choice. For Riecks, “plain vanilla” means an 8-bit TIFF file in the AdobeRGB color space.

The Library of Congress uses bitmaps in a TIFF wrapper to preserve their digital photo files, says Carl Fleischhauer, project manager in the Office of Strategic Initiatives at the Library of Congress. This approach prioritizes long-term readability over the ability to make future edits to a file, but photographers may want the emphasis on the latter. In that case, formats like DNG make sense, Fleischhauer says.

What our experts were less confident in was the ability of proprietary, camera-specific RAW files to offer as high a degree of longevity and readability. While it makes sense to keep a copy of your RAW file to make future edits on, making DNG or JPEG copies for longer-term storage will give you a best-of-both-worlds approach. (Another great argument for printing your photos: unlike digital files, which will require software and computers to view, prints are always “human readable.”)

Step Three: Preserve the Metadata

Ensuring a photo has accurate and thorough metadata is critical to digital photo preservation, argues Riecks, because it enables future programs to find and organize a photographic collection. It also ensures critical copyright data travels with the images as they migrate from old storage solutions (like hard drives) to new ones that haven’t even been conceived of yet. It also protects images that are discovered online from being deemed “orphaned” works.

A first step to preserving metadata is to make sure it’s input early in your workflow, otherwise you’re “throwing images into a black hole,” Riecks says. Given the sheer number of images you’re likely managing, it makes sense to discriminate. Riecks will batch process all photos with a minimum amount of metadata to ensure basics like location, copyright, time and date, and captioning details are represented. For images he cares more about, he’ll input even more information such as tags, ratings and keywords. Riecks offers a series of detailed keywording guidelines on his site, Controlled Vocabulary.

Like image files, metadata files come in a variety of flavors and not all will be viable as a long-term preserve of valuable image information. Adobe, for instance, backs the open-source XMP (for Extensible Metadata Platform) format. News and photo agencies use the IPTC Photo Metadata Standard, which is built off of Adobe’s XMP and an older IPTC standard to ensure long-term interoperability (it also comes with its own manifesto). Another virtue of using widely available image file formats as opposed to proprietary RAW files is that they support embedding metadata into the image file.

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Editor’s Choice! BenQ SW240

This 24-inch monitor covers 99 percent of the Adobe RGB color space, 100 percent of the sRGB color space and 95 percent of the DCI-P3 color space, ensuring you’re working in a color-accurate environment. The 1920 x 1200-resolution, 10-bit display supports hardware calibration and 14-bit 3D Look Up Tables to improve RGB color-blending accuracy. There are three preset color modes with dedicated buttons on the front of the monitor and three black-and-white presets for viewing and processing monochrome images.

Price:  $399
benq.com

HP Z2 Mini

Boasting twice the graphics power as its predecessor, the Z2 Mini workstation has a space-saving design with a wide range of Intel processors to choose from (including a six core option). The Mini supports a maximum of 32GB of RAM and up to 1TB of internal storage (including 256GB of SSD memory). There are multiple USB-C ports and you can drive up to four monitors natively and two additional monitors via daisy-chaining.

Price:  $799+
hp.com

Eizo ColorEdge CG319X

If you’re ready to produce HDR content, the CG319X monitor supports a wide color gamut and 4K resolution (4096 x 2160). The 31-inch display delivers 98 percent of the DCI-P3 color space with optimized gamma curves to render more true-to-life images. There are a number of video-friendly preset modes to automatically put the monitor into the proper color space and a built-in sensor you can use to calibrate the monitor automatically at set times, saving you from needing a third-party monitor calibration device.

Price:  $5,989
eizo.com

NEC MultiSync PA271Q

The 27-inch PA271Q is a 10-bit display capable of reproducing 98.5 percent of the AdobeRGB color space and 81.1 percent of the Rec 2020 color space. It supports 14-bit 3D Look Up Tables and includes MultiProfiler software for color calibrating. It has a power-saving sensor and a native resolution of 2560 x 1440 (109 pixels per inch). It boasts a DisplayPort, mini DisplayPort, a pair of HDMI inputs and a 3-port USB hub.

Price:  $1,299
necdisplay.com

Blackmagic Design eGPU

Wish your laptop had just a bit more oomph? Blackmagic’s eGPU provides just that. Connect it to your Thunderbolt 3 connection and your applications can tap the device’s Radeon Pro 580 GPU to power through editing and other computationally onerous processes. The eGPU offers 8GB of GDDR5 RAM, 256-bit memory bandwidth and delivers 5.5 teraflops of processing power. Beyond accelerating your edits, the eGPU has an extra Thunderbolt 3 port for daisy-chaining peripherals, a four-port USB hub and an HDMI port.

Price:  $699
blackmagicdesign.com

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The post Great New Computers and Monitors for Photographers appeared first on Rangefinder.

Editor’s Choice! DJI Phantom 4 Pro 2.0

The Phantom 4 Pro 2.0 features DJI’s new OcuSync transmission system for sending higher-resolution video (1080/30p) to ground-based controllers. Version 2.0 is also up to 60 percent quieter than the original, thanks to a new powertrain and propellers. The new propellers (model 9455S) can be used on existing Phantom 4 Pro drones as well to cut down on the high-pitched buzz. The Pro 2.0 boasts improved object avoidance due to its longer-range anti-collision sensors. The front and rear facing sensors have had their detection range increased from 30 feet on the original Phantom 4 Pro to 90 feet on version 2.0.

Price: $1,499
dji.com

Typhoon H Plus

The six-rotor Typhoon H Plus is up to 40 percent quieter than its predecessor, and the camera has been upgraded to provide a 1-inch, 20-megapixel sensor capable of recording 4K video at 60p. It’s fronted by a fixed 23mm-equivalent lens with a 91-degree angle of view. The camera sits on a gimbal that can rotate a full 360 degrees, and the landing gear retracts so it’s not captured by the rotating camera. Low-light performance has also been improved.

Price: $1,900
yuneec.com

Parrot Anafi

The Anafi boasts foldable propeller arms so it can be packed down into most traditional photo bags. It has a 4K camera capable of capturing 21-megapixel still images. The camera rests on a three-axis gimbal that can tilt 180 degrees. Video is captured at a high bit rate (100Mbps) in a cinematic 17:9 aspect ratio. The Anafi is one of the few drones to offer an optical zoom lens with a 35mm equivalent of 23-69mm (in photo) and a slightly tighter 26-78mm when shooting video. You’ll enjoy flight times of up to 25 minutes.

Price: $700
parrot.com

DJI Mavic Air

The Mavic Air is a compact, foldable drone featuring a 12-megapixel camera placed on a three-axis gimbal. The camera uses a 1/2.3-inch CMOS sensor with an ISO range of 100 to 3200 for both stills and video. Where the larger Mavic Pro records at DCI 4K (4096 x 2160), the Air delivers a slightly lower resolution 4K capture (3840 x 2160). However, DJI has bumped up the bit rate on the Air to 100Mbps from the 60Mbps found on the Mavic Pro. 2.7K recording is available at up to 60p and full HD recording can be captured at up to 120p. The camera is fronted by a 24mm-equivalent lens with a fixed f/2.8 aperture.

Price: $799
dji.com

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