“Professional and serious creatives are drawn to the intuitive nature and overall experience offered by the Intuos4,” says Don Varga, senior product manager for Wacom’s line of professional branded products. “By combining the successful Intuos4 pen tablet design with Bluetooth wireless technology we are able to provide users with the flexibility and freedom to work in the most comfortable way for drawing, editing, painting, retouching or general computer work.“

The Intuos4 and Bluetooth
Bluetooth wireless technology is a global communications standard found in millions of computers and mobile devices that allows these devices to communicate reliably over distances of up to 33 feet. Ideal for home, office, classroom or remote-meeting use, the Intuos4 Wireless provides mobility and freedom when working with Bluetooth-enabled desktop or laptop computers. The Intuos4 Wireless features convenient USB charging directly from the computer.

The Intuos4 Grip Pen
The Grip Pen that comes with the Intuos4 Wireless features Wacom’s proprietary Tip Sensor technology, offering users near-zero (one gram) starting pressure for the most sensitive Intuos pen tablet performance to-date. “Now, pressure-sensitive support can start with an incredibly light touch, about one gram, emulating the same feel, response and result derived from working with traditional creative tools such as brushes, markers and pens,” said Don Varga. Additionally, the Intuos4 Wireless pen has 2048 levels of pressure, doubling the resolution of the pen’s pressure curve to further enhance feedback and expand creative control within software applications that support pressure sensitivity. The Grip Pen also features a pressure-sensitive eraser and two customizable side switches that can be set for commands such as double-click and right-click. The Intuos4 Wireless ships with a handy clip-on pen holder for securing the pen to the tablet when not being used.

Breakthrough Design Improves Workflow, Boosts Productivity
Whether on the road, at home or at work, the slim and ergonomic design of the Intuos4 Wireless pen tablet makes it the ideal creative instrument for working with digital content in comfort. Available in a single size (medium) only, the Intuos4 Wireless has an asymmetrical design that puts the Touch Ring and the customizable ExpressKeys™ on one side of the tablet, making them all available to the user’s non-dominant hand. The application-specific ExpressKeys are instrumental in helping improve workflow and boosting productivity by placing commonly-used commands right at the user’s fingertips. Illuminated (OLED) displays provide helpful reminders as to the function of each ExpressKey. These settings are application-specific, and the displays will immediately update as the user changes between applications. To switch the tablet from right-handed to left-handed use, the user simply rotates the tablet 180 degrees and changes the orientation of the illuminated icons within the Wacom Tablet driver software.
The Touch Ring on the Intuos4 Wireless is capable of controlling up to four different functions in any application. A button located in the center of the ring “toggles” the ring between application-specific functions such as zoom, scroll, brush size adjustment or canvas rotation. The position of the illuminated LED located along the perimeter of the Touch Ring indicates the current function. “The Intuos4 Wireless design carries form and function to new heights,” says Varga. “Never before has a Wacom pen tablet so elegantly provided such tangible workflow, productivity and wireless freedom.”

Intuos4 Wireless Pen Stand

A weighted desktop pen stand not only provides a convenient pen holder, but also functions as a handy twist-off storage compartment for pen nibs and a handy nib removal tool. Standard, felt, stroke and flex nibs ship with the Intuos4 Wireless, allowing users to simulate the feel of working with a variety of traditional art and design materials.

Available Software
Purchasers of an Intuos4 Wireless pen tablet are entitled to a choice of two applications from a selection of three creative applications offered by leading software manufacturers Adobe®, Autodesk® and Corel®. Users select their applications via broadband download. Intuos4 Wireless users will also benefit from Wacom’s powerful driver software, including radial menus for quick “penpoint” access to additional customized shortcuts.

Noteworthy Accessories
In order to provide the best pen tablet experience possible, Wacom has created a line of accessories that includes several different types of pens. For example, the newly designed Art Pen supports the barrel rotation feature within such applications as Adobe Photoshop®, Illustrator® and Corel® Painter® 11, allowing users to create natural brush effects by rotating the pen, much like a calligraphy pen. The Intuos4 Airbrush has a similar form and wheel-based control as a traditional airbrush, providing creative, fun effects when combined with select applications. All Intuos4 accessories are can be purchased at www.wacomdirect.com.

Availability
The Intuos4 Wireless ($399 USD) is intended to begin shipping in the United States and Canada in late February or early March. The tablet is scheduled for launch in Mexico and other Latin America countries in subsequent months. Consult your local electronics retailer or visit www.wacom.com for the most current information.

About Wacom
Founded in 1983, Wacom’s vision to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies has made it the world’s leading manufacturer of pen tablets, interactive pen displays and digital interface solutions. The advanced technology of Wacom’s intuitive input devices has been used to create some of the most exciting digital art, films, special effects, fashions and designs around the world and provides business and home users with the ability to explore digital content creation in a comfortable, natural way. Today, millions of customers use Wacom’s cordless, battery-free, pressure-sensitive pen technology to express their creativity.
http://www.wacom.com

If you’re like me and have used the Canon 5D mk 2 for video, you will have noticed a few things. The first thing is the outstanding quality of the video. You are able to shoot at full-frame 1080p. (1920 x 1080 – non interlaced). This is the holy grail of HD video. The fact that you can use the DSLR lenses ads a film-like quality to your video. With the nice shallow depth of field you are now able to capture something that resembles a cinema camera, or at least a high-end video camera worth $100,000 or so.

You will also have noticed some drawbacks. The audio sucks really bad because of Canon’s AGC Auto Gain Control in the audio. The footage is H.264 so it does show some minor artifacting and the lack of decent focusing controls. I have found a great workarouns by using the free Magic Lantern firmware hack. Let’s examine how it works and a plain english installation walk through.

Magic Lantern doesn’t replace the firmware on your camera. You install it onto a CF card and then run it when you need to shoot video. Bottom line, it doesn’t overwrite your cameras firmware. When you restart the camera, it goes back to normal.

Why the bad audio? AGC sets the volume of the input based on the sound the microphone hears. It samples the audio level and automatically adjusts for it. This results in a very noisy signal with distortion. When you first start, you will hear the sound go really loud and distort, then settle in. This can be avoided by doing an audio count-in for each recording. Using  ML you can avoid this by setting manual levels.

In a nutshell Magic Lantern:

1. It disables AGC and provides manual gain controls for your microphone.
2. I shows an audio level meter so you can see how loud your input it
3. It provides headphone monitoring
4. Adds zebra stripes so you can visually see clipping
5. Adds the ability to use rack focus. You set the beginning and end focus point and let it ramp the focus, allowing a smooth focusing effect. It can also shoot a series of photos in varying focus points. You can then put them together using Photoshop CS4’s Exposure blend.
6. Lets you set multiple exposures that I plan on using for bracketing with HDR, it allows up to 9 different exposures vs the 3 in Canons AEB.

Best audio: I got the juicedlink CX211 for $189. This is a pre-amp that connects to the tripod and to the camera through the tripod mount. It’s light weight and uses a 9vt battery. By turning down the gain on the 5D with magic lantern and using jucedlink to boost the sound, you get a very clean signal. Audio problem solved!

Installing Magic Lantern

First up you need to know that this is installed at your own risk. It could damage your camera and there is no warranty. In it’s current release 0.1.6 it doesn’t support Canon 1.2.4 firmware. YOu need to upgrade from 1.10. I have to tell you, I had a heck of a time finding  1.10 on the web but, I eventually found it. If this link gets broken, you will have to google it.

First update the canon firmware if you need to. (This also has some nice fixes for the exposure during video recording).

1. Format a CF card,
2. copy the firmware to the root of the card
3. put it into the camera.
4. turn on camera
5. hit menu
6. move across to the 3rd yellow wrench and navigate to Firmware Ver. (If it’s already at 1.1.0 you don’t need to do anything. If it’s a higher number you need to figure out how to downgrade, or wait for the upcoming ML update.)
7. Press the Set button. Click ok and whatever you do, don’t turn off your camera or touch any buttons while it’s upgrading or you could toast your camera.

Now you have the firmware all up to date, what about Magic Lantern?

1. Download it here
2. Unzip it on your desktop
3. format a CF card
4. copy the magiclantern.fir and cropmarks.bmp to the root of your CF card.
5. Follow the above steps for the firmware update.
6. You can now use ML for this session. You will need to enable it each time you turn on your camera and want to work with video. I marked a CF card with the letters ML, so I know which one to grab.

You will need to enable Magic Lantern each time you turn on your camera and want to work with video. I marked a CF card with the letters ML, so I know which one to grab.

You need to be in Live View mode for ML to work

The buttom right under the menu button will become the Magic Lantern menu button (1). The menu is in yellow and is navigated with the the same buttom you use for normal menu navigation (2). Enable choices with button (3).

For more info and explainations on using Magic Lantern

Happy Mark free shooting!

Colin

REE IMAGING EXPO PASS! You’re invited to join us—VIP-style—at Imaging USA’s Imaging EXPO, the largest photographic tradeshow in North America with 600+ booths. Part of Imaging USA, the first major industry event of the year, Imaging EXPO gives you a first look at our special tradeshow deals and all the latest inspiration (including admission to theInternational Print Exhibit, the world’s largest display of award-winning images from around the world).

Use your FREE Imaging EXPO Pass to join us at the Gaylord Opryland Resort & Convention Center in Nashville, Tennessee (January 10-12, 2010).

Does it really matter? I wonder if Michelangelo and  Botticelli argued over who’s brushes they used.

I’m curious. After all, isn’t a camera just a tool, and it’s worth in the hands of the artist weilding it? Is it because of photographer’s allusions of grandure? (AKA Who’s shirts are you wearing). Is one really better than the other?

Or more realistically, we are so defensive of our brand because of the thousands of dollars of glass, metal and plastic that we have invested in. Must make sure the brand stays alive so our investment  isn’t wasted.

I’m curious. Are you Nikon, or Canon (Or some other brand). And why?

I shoot Canon because my father shot Canon and I’m now locked onto the brand with my investment in Lenses.

PhotoshopCAFE Design Challenge 10

Confirmed Prizes from Adobe, Wacom, NVIDIA, AutoDesk, X-Rite, lensbaby and more

The Challenge is…

Photoshop the movie on DVD

Make a DVD Cover with a Photoshop themed movie!. The twist? You have to use a tool from Photoshop as the title of the movie. (Think of a DVD cover that has a Photoshop Themed name. Such as “Attack of the Clone Stamps” etc…) Props for wit and cunning! Use any original artwork you desire. You may use any tools or platform you choose, but you must use Photoshop for at least 50% of the Image editing/design. Photos are acceptable, credit the photographer if your not the photographer.

ENTRIES CLOSE Jan 31th 2010 : MIDNIGHT PST

VIEW ALL ENTRIES

The Judging…
1. Overall impact 40% of score
2. Concept 30% of score
3. Graphics skill 30% of score

The Rules:

The Specs…
500 pixels high x 400 pixels wide.

The Rules…
2 entries allowed per contestant
Anyone may enter (except judges)
All entries to be posted on server at cafe (link) no later than midnight PST Jan 31st, 2010.
Good luck!

Discuss contest and entries here

No pirated or ripped images are to be used. If you are caught ripping for the contest, you will be banned from all future contests at the CAFÉ.
No pornography or profane language will be accepted.
No political or racial imagery allowed.
Judges decision will be final and no argument allowed.

Total prize pool so far: Prizes Still coming!

Confirmed Prizes from Adobe, Wacom, NVIDIA, AutoDesk, X-Rite, lensbaby, Graphic Authority and more

The winner will be featured on the PhotoshopCAFE homepage.

Prize to be announced soon!

Posting instructions…

Don’t forget the entryis 500 pixels high x 400 pixels wide.at 72ppi. Optimized and saved as a jpg. No exceptions. Failure to abide by these guidelines will result in instant disqualification.

One more thing… no sigs on the entries please – You may comment on the Creation process this time. Ie 100% Photoshop, or if you are the photographers, photo credit etc.

PS If you want to change your entry, you will need to delete it first and then post a new one
Good luck all!
Colin

Previous winners Previous Contests: 1 \\ 2 \\ 3 \\ 4 \\ 5 \\ 6 \\ 7\\ 8 \\ 9

The fineprint …
Any taxes and duties are the responsibility of winners.
No substitutions or cash value

What get’s better than battling it out in Photoshop for a $30,000 prize pool? Free to enter? That’s unheard of these days when publishers have made a money making venture out of contests. All the PhotoshopCAFE annual design challenges are free to enter. They attract the hottest talent on the globe, and most of all, everyone has a heck of a lot of fun along the way. Check out what was done last year! And start warming up your chops because it’s coming again soon. Get ready for DC 10 and your chance to be king of the crop!

The challenge was…

Make a poster for a concert with a Photoshop themed band!. The twist? You have to use a tool from Photoshop as the title of theband. (Think of a concert poster with a band that has a Photoshop Themed name. Such as the “healing brushes” etc…) Props for wit and cunning! Use any original artwork you desire. You may use any tools or platform you choose, but you must use Photoshop for at least 50% of the Image editing/design. Photos are acceptable, credit the photographer if your not the photographer.

Design Challenge 10 coming soon! PhotoshopCAFE .com

Finalists and winners page

This first photography contest was launched on a smaller scale and I can see this becoming a bigger event in the future. Prizes were provided by xrite (colorMunki photo) and PhotoshopCAFE (DVD). The challenge was: Capture the Caption. The caption is the PhotoshopCAFE motto: “Create Don’t Steal.”

I’m really happy with the quality of the entries. Enjoy the finalists and winners!

winner >> hokeson

I just loved this entry, it’s very clever and well shot and processed. A worthy winner.

runner up>> lasomem

This paper bag at the lineup is too funny! I love what they have done with it. Very strong concept!

Honorable Mention >> Politik

The image of the 2 eggs is so clean. It really tells creation, as for stealing, I see it more of a loss than a theft. But I just love the photo, very well executed and a good concept.

dogtrombone

I love the idea of creating a butterfly here. So often a butterfly is seen as the symbol of creation. Creating it, is a really nice twist.

elemento

This gives the sense of looking down a gun barrel and tells the stealing part very well.

fotodog

I love the gallows as a consequence of stealing (in harsher times). Love the lighting and treatment of this photo.

hokeson

This is a clever metaphor and adds a little humor.

2bcreative

Definitely follows the theme well. I really like the shadows on this one. Perhaps putting the underarm in more shadow or vignette would have strengthened the piece by reducing the attention to the unflattering part of the body.

MikeP

Classic butterfly, with an interesting treatment in Photoshop.

sharecat

The cat’s in jail for stealing. Cats are notorious for being cheeky rule-breakers and this character is no exception.

twist-of-lime

This one was just too funny! “Don’t steal my tail”.

Thanks to all who entered. Congrats to the winners and finalists.

See the contest page and all entries

Currently working at Lucasfilm on George Lucas’ innovative television series Star Wars: The Clone Wars, he has also worked at DreamWorks Animation, Walt Disney Studios and Industrial Light and Magic, where he trained in computer animation.  
He was layout supervisor on the feature film Rugrats Go Wild by Klasky Csupo.

Read whole interview

A few years ago, on a particularly hot spring day, Dave Guertin and Greg Baldwin pondered the possibility of joining forces. Sharing a fascination with monsters, spacemen, and everything in between, CreatureBox crawled to life. Over the last three years, the venture has provided a manic peek at the collaborative development of characters for video games, comics, television and film. At CreatureBox.com, Dave and Greg continue to debut their weekly trials and tribulations while in search of innovative design. The site continues to be a hub for critiques, discussions and the occasional mindless rant on the various aspects of character design.

http://www.photoshopcafe.com/interviews/creaturebox.htm

What’s new in Lightroom 3 beta?

Import
The import module has been completely re-written. This is clearly obvious when you go to import photos from a card or a hard drive. This is a welcome change, I always thought that Lightroom was a little weak in this area. When you choose Import, you will be faced with an interface that simplifies the process. The “mini” import dialog box offers most of the features you need in a simple dashboard. Clicking the arrow at the bottom (5) will expand to offer more options than you can shake a stick at. The addition of an import preset will save a ton of time and clicking.

1. Choose the source
2. Choose what happens to the images (Convert to DNG, copy, move or add).
3. Where does it go?
4. Apply a metadata preset (Copyright info etc). Also fintune the destination, subfolder etc.
5. Click this button to expand the view to see thumbnails and other information

The expanded view offers more information and features than the Lightroom 2 importer.

For those who value their time. You can create an import preset that remembers all the settimgs so you don’t have to re enter them every time.

Social Network Collections.
This is perhaps the most exciting new feature for me. Adobe has realized that we don’t live in a bubble and that cloud computing is the way of the future (For some of us, it’s the way of now). You can now integrate Lightroom with Flickr. All you need to do is drag your photos into the Photostream. From there you can automatically upload to Flickr by clicking Publish. You can also add captions and photonames which will also appear on Flickr. But wait… it’s a 2 way communication. You can also view favs and comments right within lightroom from Flickr. Can I say “Brilliant!!!”

There’s more though. If you decide you want to edit the appearance of your photos, you can and update them to Flickr. Each time you press upload, evertything will sync with Lightroom’s Photostream and Flickr. Other services could possibly be added on the final release. Also 3rd party services should be able to write their own modules just like in Lightroom 2.

Drag the thumbnail to add to the Photostream

Click publish to upload or update your photostream with Flickr

Forgot to edit your photos? No problem. Do it while the photos are in the photostream or already on Flickr. It doesn’t matter. Everything will sync anyway.

They will appear right there in Flickr. (You will need a pro account for many of the features)

Oops, forgot to change the filenames. These aren’t pics of Hippos! Either change the names in Flickr or in the metadata panel in Lightroom. Hit publish and all is well on both ends!

Oh, I can read the comments from Flickr in Lightroom? WOW! Ok, busted, the zoo isn’t the best place to shoot animals.

Watermark
A highly requested feature is watermarking. Good news is it’s here. You can also automatically add watermarks to your photos that you share on Flickr. Add them to prints, to slideshows, wherever you like.

Choose the settimngs from publish manager to apply watermarks to photos destined for Flickr.

You can add text or image watermarks from the new Watermark editor.

Slideshow
Slideshows have always been a favoriate for Photographers. There are 2 big features in Lightroom 3 beta. The first one is that mac users can now add music without being tied to iTunes. You can actually choose a song now, and not a playlist. The second, which you will love, is the ability to export a slideshow as video! You can create an H.264 video with music. This is the same format for iTunes and iPods. Photographers can now offer slideshow videos to their clients as an extra service. You can also time the slideshowto the song.

Print package
Biggest addition? The ability to create custom packaged. Simply drag images onto th page. Resize how you like. Tip: Press the Ctrl/Cmd key to move a photo within a frame. You can drag and drop a photointo a frame to replace the existing photo.

Other stuff?
Lightroom 3is loaded with other new goodies including all new vigeting and grain effects. You can simul;ate film grain or just add a little for effect while softening photos. The noise reduction has been rewritten. The RAW conversion engine is all new. The demosaaic is much better, resulting in better conversions from RAW. Speed is also better.

Visit the Lightroom Learning Site