GoPro Hero4 Black & Silver... & GoPro Hero Digital Video Cameras

GoPro Introduces HERO4 Black & Silver... & HERO

GoPro HERO4 Black

© GoPro, Inc.

GoPro HERO4 is the highest performance line of capture devices the company has ever made.  GoPro HERO4 is available in two editions, GoPro HERO4 Black at $499 (MSRP) and HERO4 Silver at MSRP $399. GoPro's Emmy Award-winning imaging technology combines with enhanced ease-of-use and powerful new features such as 4K30, 2.7K50 and 1080p120 video capture (Black) and built-in touch display convenience (Silver), to make it easier than ever for consumers to self capture and share stunning, professional quality content of their favorite experiences.

GoPro HERO4 Black delivers 2x the performance of its best-selling predecessor GoPro HERO3+ and now captures cinema-quality 4K video at 30 frames per second (fps), 2.7K video at 50fps and 1080p video at a blistering 120fps, virtually eliminating rolling shutter in most scenarios while allowing for time-bending slow motion effects. GoPro HERO4 Black also features an entirely redesigned audio system that captures high fidelity sound with 2x the dynamic range of previous models. Additional enhancements include improved image quality, low light performance, highlight moment tagging and an improved user interface that allows for easier discoverability and access to key features and controls. The HERO4 Black is simply the highest performance GoPro yet.

GoPro HERO4 Silver

© GoPro, Inc.

GoPro HERO4 Silver delivers the same professional image quality as HERO4 Black less some of the higher performance video capture modes including 4K30, 2.7K50 and 1080p120. HERO4 Silver includes a brilliant built-in touch display for those who value convenience and ease-of-use over the no-holds-barred performance of the HERO4 Black.

The new GoPro HERO4 line will be available October 5 on GoPro.com and at select retailers worldwide.

GoPro HERO4 Black - 2x the performance, yet again

The flagship GoPro HERO4 Black builds upon GoPro's Emmy® Award-winning technology to deliver the next level of GoPro image quality, versatility and performance:

- Incredible ultra high definition 4K video at 30fps allows for life-like video capture as well the ability to extract 8.3 megapixel video stills to use as photos

- Faster* high resolution frame rates of 2.7K at 50fps and 1080p at 120fps

- 12MP magazine cover-quality photos at burst speeds of 30 photos per second

- Updated user-interface with improved discoverability and access to key camera controls

- 50% faster Wi-Fi* combined with Bluetooth® delivers enhanced GoPro App performance and improved power management

GoPro HERO4 Silver - Professional quality capture. Touch-display convenience

The GoPro HERO4 Silver sets a new precedent for convenience and ease-of-use with GoPro's first built-in touch display:

- Brilliant built-in touch display allows for easy camera control, shot framing and playback

- Professional quality video capture at 2.7K30, 1080p60 and 720p120

- 12MP magazine cover-quality photos at burst speeds of 30 photos per second

- 50% faster Wi-Fi* combined with Bluetooth® delivers enhanced GoPro App performance and improved power management. 

GoPro HERO4 Black and Silver share powerful 

new features that expand what's possible with a GoPro

Protune, now for photo + video

For those who prefer to take manual control of their GoPro to maximize versatility and performance, we've expanded our professionally minded Protune mode to include Color, Sharpness, ISO Limit, and Exposure controls for both photo and video capture.

New settings for after dark

Whether you're shooting the Milky Way or a campfire hangout, Night Photo and Night Lapse allow you to capture stunning images of ultra low-light scenes with customizable exposure settings of up to 30 seconds.

Mark your best moments

HiLight Tag enables you to mark key moments with the push of an on-camera button while recording, making it easy to find, playback and share your favorite clips in GoPro Studio or with the GoPro App.  You can also HiLight Tag using the mobile GoPro App or the new Smart Remote accessory.

QuikCapture speed and convenience

QuikCapture makes it easy to power on and record with the press of a single button. When enabled, a single press starts video capture, while a press and hold engages Time Lapse photo capture.

High-performance audio

A totally re-designed internal audio system combines with a state of the art microphone to capture clean, high fidelity sound with 2x the dynamic range of previous models.

*Than previous comparable GoPro HERO3+ models

GoPro HERO

© GoPro, Inc.

GoPro HERO - The perfect entry-level GoPro 

GoPro also debuts HERO, the perfect entry-level GoPro. Designed with simplicity in mind and built directly into a rugged, waterproof housing, HERO captures high-quality 1080p video at 30fps and 720p video at 60fps. HERO captures the same immersive, eye-popping footage that's made GoPro one of the best-selling cameras in the world—all in a simplified package with an MSRP of $129.

For more information, visit www.gopro.com

Matrox at IBC 2013 — Products Preview

Graphics, Imaging, and Video technology 

Matrox at IBC 2013 — Products Preview

New additions and updates to all Matrox product lines will be highlighted including video streaming and recording appliances, 4K video monitoring cards, multiviewers, live production streaming systems, scan converters, OEM products, KVM extenders and video over IP encoders/decoders.

Matrox Monarch HD professional video streaming and recording appliance

Matrox Monarch HD is a small, easy-to-use video streaming and recording appliance that received four important industry awards at the 2013 NAB Show. It is designed for professional video producers who need to simultaneously stream a live event and record a mastering-quality version for post-event editing. Priced at just $995 US (€799, £750), it provides these two independent delivery channels in an integrated unit. From any HDMI input source such as a camera or switcher, Matrox Monarch HD generates an H.264-encoded stream compliant with RTSP or RTMP protocol. While encoding the video at bitrates suitable for live streaming, Matrox Monarch HD simultaneously records a high-quality MP4 or MOV file to an SD card, a USB drive, or a network-mapped drive. Matrox Monarch HD is remotely controlled using any computer or mobile device with a web browser.

Matrox Mojito 4K video monitoring card

Matrox Mojito 4K is a quad 3G-SDI, 4K video monitoring card for use with Adobe Creative Cloud professional video editing and content creation tools on Windows platforms. It enables realtime monitoring and output of video footage at resolutions up to 4096 x 2160 and at frame rates up to 60 fps (4Kp60) so post-production professionals see every pixel of every 4K frame in real time to craft breathtaking content.

Matrox MicroQuad four-channel SDI-to-HDMI multiviewer

Matrox MicroQuad is a four-channel SDI-to-HDMI multiviewer for 3G/HD/SD at a breakthrough price. It lets broadcasters and A/V professionals use an affordable HDMI display to view up to four SDI video signals and show or hide labels and VU meters. Its powerful 10-bit scaling engine and advanced filtering algorithms ensure a crisp, artifact-free monitoring experience. MicroQuad can be controlled using buttons on the unit itself or from a distance using a Windows-based app.

Matrox VS4 quad HD capture and ISO recording card

Matrox VS4 is a quad HD capture and ISO recording card for Telestream Wirecast for Windows live production streaming software. In a single PCIe slot, Matrox VS4 provides up to four independent HD inputs with up to 8 embedded audio channels per source. It not only sends video feeds to Wirecast for streaming, it simultaneously provides ISO recording of all the original video and audio feeds to disk — ready for post-event editing.

Matrox Convert DVI Plus scan converter

Matrox Convert DVI Plus is a cost-effective, genlockable HD-SDI scan converter that lets broadcasters easily and economically incorporate content from computers, iPads and iPhones into broadcast programs. It is ideal for creating broadcast-quality video from computer applications such as Skype, YouTube, Google Earth, FaceTime, ProPresenter, PowerPoint and web browsers. The region-of-interest feature lets the user define any region of any size from the computer display and output just that content at the required broadcast resolution. If the selected area doesn’t match the output resolution, Matrox Convert DVI Plus provides horizontal and vertical upscaling and downscaling. The unit can be genlocked to an SD analog black burst (bi-level) or HD tri-level genlock source. Proc amp controls on the output let the user adjust the hue, chroma, saturation, and brightness levels. In addition, Matrox Convert DVI Plus can be used to drive projectors and large displays at live events.

Matrox DSX Developer Products

Matrox DSX Developer Products combine a full range of multi-channel SD/HD/4K I/O hardware with the feature-rich SDK and unlimited engineering support that let OEMs create advanced channel-in-a-box, video server, broadcast graphics and live streaming equipment. In addition to hardware that provides 24/7 reliability in even the most demanding environments, the Matrox DSX platforms provide advanced ancillary data handling for VANC and HANC, a constantly expanding selection of codecs (DVCPRO HD, MPEG-2, XDCAM HD AVC-Intra, H.264, Apple ProRes, Avid DNxHD, PitchBlue, and more), extensive file format support (GXF, MXF, MOV, AVI, MPG, MP4, and more) and powerful tools for quick app development.

Matrox Avio F125 KVM Extenders

Matrox Avio F125 fiber-optic KVM extenders separate dual HD video, keyboard, mouse, stereo analog audio and USB 2.0 devices from a workstation. The transmitter/receiver pair extends two single-link DVI (2x1920x1200) or one dual-link DVI (2560x1600 or 4096x2160) video, and multiple high-speed USB 2.0 compliant devices from the host computer by up to 400 m (1312 ft) over multimode cable and 4 km (2.5 mi) over single-mode cable. Avio F125 stands out for its ability to transmit all signals with zero compression and zero latency on a single duplex LC-LC fiber-optic cable.

Matrox Maevex video distribution over IP solutions

Matrox Maevex 5100 Series delivers excellent streaming quality at a fraction of the price of traditional encode/decode systems. Maevex video over IP solutions enable the extension of full-HD-quality video over standard IP networks for digital signage, collaborative video walls, manufacturing and automation, process control, and many other applications. Maevex encoders and decoders capture, stream, and decode video from a variety of sources, and even allow for software-based decoding on non-Maevex devices. Maevex units come bundled with PowerStream software, allowing for easy remote management of Maevex devices and enabling a wide variety of user-defined stream-management features. These include adjustable low bit-rate encoding for minimal and cost-effective bandwidth consumption.

MATROX's website : www.matrox.com

Pentax Lenses HD Coating Technology for Pentax K-Mount cameras

Pentax recently introduced its newly developed HD Coating technology – a multi-layer lens coating process – for all new HD (High Definition)  Pentax lenses for Pentax K-Mount cameras.

Compared with conventional multi-layer coatings, the new multi-layer HD Coating,* exclusively developed by  Pentax, offers much improved light transmittance and a much lower refractive index. Because this advanced coating minimizes reflections, the lens delivers sharp, clear images free of flare and ghosting, even under demanding lighting conditions such as backlight. This coating assures optical performance almost equal to Aero Bright Coating, another  Pentax-exclusive lens coating process made possible by advanced nanotechnology and applied to higher-class lenses.

Also introduced last week by Pentax is the new K-Mount HD  Pentax DA 560mm F5.6 ED AW interchangeable super-telephoto lens and the new HD  Pentax D FA 645 Macro 90mm F2.8 ED AW SR interchangeable lens for the medium format 645D – the first lenses to feature this exclusive  Pentax HD Coating. All future interchangeable lenses for Pentax digital cameras that feature this new coating will bear the “HD PENTAX” name.

Pentax' HD Coating technology Features include:

- 50 percent reduction of reflections in visible spectrum

The coating reduces reflections by more than 50 percent over the entire visible spectrum, compared to conventional multi-layer coating. 

- High rigidity coating layer

Since the HD Coating has a stronger bond among its coating materials and a higher packing density, this coating layer ensures exceptional high rigidity for extra durability.

- Accurate reflection of design concept to actual coating layer

In conventional multi-layer processes, the coating layer is produced by the vacuum evaporation method, in which coating materials are dissolved and deposited in a vacuum. This method, however, sometimes causes coating unevenness great enough to affect image quality. 

The HD Coating* effectively solves this problem by employing a Pentax-exclusive manufacturing process, while optimizing the density of its coating layer and controlling the thickness with the accuracy of one nanometer (one millionth of a millimeter). As the result, the original design parameters for the lens coating are accurately applied to the coating layer to optimize anti-reflection performance of a lens.

* HD stands for High Definition, and signifies the lens’s capacity to reproduce images that excel in transparency, definition, resolution and rendition.

Comparison between conventional multi-layer coatings and HD Coating:

The coating reduces reflections by more than 50% over the entire visible spectrum, compared to conventional multi-layer coating. The new coating allows an ideal control of color balance thanks to stable Reflection at Wavelength.

www.pentaximaging.com

New GoPro Protune with Technicolor CineStyle Color Profile

GoPro Partners with Technicolor to Incorporate CineStyle into GoPro’s new Protune Firmware for HD HERO2 at NAB 2012

GoPro and Technicolor announced yesterday at the NAB 2012 Show in Las Vegas they have worked to embed Technicolor’s CineStyle™ color profile for the debut of the new GoPro Protune (a free firmware upgrade available for the HD HERO2 camera, available this summer).

Certified by Technicolor, and developed by GoPro, the Protune mode firmware upgrade is a significant development for the professional production and post-production market, which incorporates Technicolor color science into GoPro’s latest product launch. These new features combine to allow professional filmmakers a vastly improved and flexible workflow for seamless integration with other source material and post-production platforms.

Key features of the GoPro Protune mode include:

- 24fps frame rate, enabling GoPro HERO2 content to be easily intercut with other sources without a frame rate conversion;

- 35Mbps data rate for the industry’s highest quality compressed image with virtually zero artifacts;

- Neutral color profile, allowing for greater flexibility in a color correction workflow;

- Log curve encoding, offering more detail in shadows and highlights;

- Reduced sharpening and noise reduction for improved flexibility in professional post- production and color design workflows.

“GoPro Protune mode is an extraordinary development for the entire professional production market – from filmmakers, cinematographers and DITs, to editors and colorists who are increasingly relying on the HERO2 for cinematic productions,” said David Newman, senior director of software engineering for GoPro. “Developing this with Technicolor has provided us with a level of technological expertise that optimizes Protune for the professional market. Filmmakers are making critical decisions every day on the tools they’ll invest in for their cinematic productions, and we are confident our collaboration with Technicolor makes their decision that much easier.”

“Technicolor is thrilled to make its color science available to GoPro throughout its Protune upgraded firmware,” stated Technicolor’s Alejandro Guerrero, senior vice president, Technicolor Digital Productions. “With more than 130,000 (and counting) cinematographers already using our CineStyle color profile, we are committed to expanding the CineStyle toolkit and are thrilled to support GoPro as it expands its market base.”

Seamless Integration with GoPro CineForm Studio

GoPro Protune mode makes integration with GoPro CineForm Studio simple, automatically detecting Protune settings and applying the default adjustments to create stunning images. The workflow is further enhanced by a variety of color tuning presets, or ‘looks’ that further enhance the filmmakers’ story.

Using Protune with GoPro CineForm Studio Premium and GoPro CineForm Studio Professional provides additional benefits, offering extensive color correction controls and customizable presets to create professional, cinematic looks from the GoPro HERO2 captured content. Non-destructive 3D LUTs provide even more flexibility, enabling users to further tweak their images, manipulate saturation and contrast and color correction controls to create highly stylized content.

GoPro Protune mode is available as a free firmware upgrade through the GoPro CineForm Studio software, which is also available as a free download at www.gopro.com

Carl Zeiss New CP.2 Super Speed lenses presented at NAB 2012

Three new Super Speed cine lenses are presented by Carl Zeiss at NAB 2012 : the Compact Prime CP.2 35/T1.5, Compact Prime CP.2 50/T1.5, Compact Prime CP.2 85/T1.5 Super Speed

Three new Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses with a T-stop of 1.5
Photo: Courtesy of Carl Zeiss

Available with a fast T1.5 aperture and in focal lengths of 35mm, 50mm and 85mm, the new Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses offer filmmakers new opportunities for shooting in low-light conditions. Like the other Compact Prime CP.2 lenses, the new Super Speed lenses cover a full-frame sensor format and are equipped with the interchangeable lens mount system for use with a variety of cameras ranging from HDSLR to professional cinema cameras.

“With the new Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses with a fast T-stop of T1.5, we expand our family of CP.2 lenses with an even more powerful choice of lenses”, says Michael Schiehlen, Sales Director of the Carl Zeiss Camera Lens Division. “This opens up new creative possibilities in low-light situations, especially with the new high ISO HDSLR’s and HD video cameras. The Super Speed name has a long history at Carl Zeiss and these new lenses are a fitting tribute to their legacy”.

The faster T1.5 aperture is one of the key advantages to the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses, especially for night-time shots or under low-light conditions. This helps to limit the need for artificial light, delivering more natural looking scenes with less effort and expense.

The cinematographer Sebastian Wiegärtner has tested the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses and was very enthusiastic about the faster aperture while shooting a short film: “We filmed for three days in outdoor locations, with about eighty percent of the shots being taken at night. During the medieval-looking filming of two actors, the faster aperture was particularly effective by using lighting accents in the form of torchlight. The resulting images achieved the desired look and were appropriately stylish and soft.”

As with the rest of the CP.2 family, the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses feature a 14-blade aperture, which creates a round iris opening and a natural, out of focus rendition. The standard cine-style housing with gearing allows the attachment of any standard follow-focus system. A long, 300 degree focus rotation and smooth action provides fine control, which is especially important given the shallow depth-of-field when using these lenses at wide open aperture. By using the interchangeable mounts for PL, EF, F, MFT and E, the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses can be easily adapted to numerous camera systems and ensures compatibility with future cameras as technology changes. Carl Zeiss T* anti-reflection coating ensures the maximum contrast and color rendition by minimizing stray light and ghosting within the lens.

The Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses can be purchased individually, or combined as set with other Compact Prime CP.2 lenses in the product line.

The lenses will be shipped in August 2012. The recommended retail price for the Compact Prime CP.2 35/T1.5 Super Speed is €3,700 or US$4,900 (excluding VAT)*. The recommended retail price for the Compact Prime CP.2 50/T1.5 Super Speed and Compact Prime CP.2 85/T1.5 Super Speed is €3,300 or US$4,500 (excluding VAT)*.  * Status: 16 April, 2012

3-D movies via Internet and Satellite

Imaging Technology News - The experts from the HHI show how the MVC-Codec functions transmitting television via DVB-S2 satellite.

Blockbusters like Avatar, UP or Toy Story 3 will bring the 3-D into home living rooms, televisions and computers. There are already displays available and the new Blu-Ray players can already play 3-dimensional movies based on Multiview Video Coding (MVC), the new standard for 3-D movie compression. The first soccer games were recorded stereoscopically at the Football World Championships in South Africa. What is missing is an efficient form of transmission.

With MVC, the two images needed for the 3D effect are packed together 

to reduce the movie's bit rate. (c) Fraunhofer HHI, Berlin.

The problem is the data rate required by the movies – in spite of fast Internet and satellite links. 3D movies have higher data rate requirements than 2-dimensional movies since at least two images are needed for the spatial representation. This means that a 3D screen has to show two images – one for the left and one for the right eye.

Researchers at the Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications, Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, HHI in Berlin, Germany have already come up with a compression technique for movies in particularly HD quality that squeezes movies while maintaining the quality: the H.264/AVC video format. What H.264/AVC is for HD movies, Multiview Video Coding (MVC) is for 3-D movies. While reducing the data significantly, MVC allows at the same time providing full high-resolution quality. At the International Broadcasting Convention (IBC) in Amsterdam - September 10-14, 2010 - researchers showcase how 3-D movies can be transmitted via Internet and digital television channels such as via satellite. The benefit is reducing the data rate used on the transmission channel while maintaining the same high-definition quality.

Videos on the Internet have to load quickly so that the viewer can watch the movies without interruptions. Thomas Schierl is a scientist at the HHI in Berlin and he explains that « MVC packs the two images needed for the stereoscopic 3-D effect so that the bit rate of the movies is significantly reduced ». These 3-D movies are up to 40 percent smaller. Thomas Schierl and his colleagues are working to establish the MVC codec for television transmission over satellites or the Internet. « New TV sets will start off by only playing 3-D movies from the Blu-Ray disc that is now coming into the third dimension. The next step to bring 3-D into living rooms will be made possible via broadcast or IPTV channels running via DSL or cable.»

You will be able to experience 3-dimensional movies in your living room in future without any 3-D glasses because the MVC format has the technical features to code and compress several views. After all, everybody enjoying the movie with you on the sofa has a different viewing angle. That is why they need a separate view – their « own »  3-D movie – for his or her individual seat. MVC compresses all of these views into one compact file or stream and one receiver, one set-top box decodes this information and passes it on to the television.

It will also be possible to play the MVC-coded movies on older televisions and set-top boxes and Thomas Schierl tells how: « The first view corresponds to the signal that the existing television can receive and we would hide the second view in the same stream so that only the new receivers can use it. They are invisible to older televisions.» That is especially interesting to movie lenders and television stations because they do not have to worry about compatibility. And even mobile radio and mobile phone manufacturers can join the trend towards 3-D with the MVC standard. In the meantime, there are even displays the size of a mobile phone that allow a good 3-D impression.

Fraunhofer Institute for Telecommunications - Heinrich-Hertz-Institut, HHI, Berlin - www.hhi.fraunhofer.de

New multi-string LED backlight drivers, the AAT 1409-7-5, introduced by Analogic Tech

LED Technology > AnalogicTech - Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc.

AnalogicTech (Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc.) introduces powerful, multi-string backlight LED drivers optimized for notebooks, netbooks, monitors and portable TVs 

AAT 1409 Photo © 2010 Advanced Analogic Technologies, Inc. Courtesy ATTI

Offering integrated boost converters and precision current sinks that can support up to 88 LEDs at 360mA total LED current, the AAT1409/7/5 drivers are among the most powerful in the marketplace. These new drivers bring to market a fully featured solution that reduces the number of backlight PCBs, reducing costs, yet is capable of driving high brightness LEDs and ensuring uniformity across the display by precisely controlling the backlight intensity.

"As LCD displays continue to gain traction in the computing, consumer and industrial markets, features like power, efficiency, accuracy and flexibility of the backlight drivers are all critical differentiators," said Ray Chan, technical marketing manager at AnalogicTech. "By offering a product family designed for a specific range of LCD panels – 10-inch to 22-inch in this case – we are able to offer a very powerful and effective approach to LCD power management."

The AAT1409/7/5 drivers operate from DC inputs, cigarette lighter adapters or multi-cell Li-ion batteries over the 4.5V to 26V range. The family is available in 8, 6 and 4 channels making them ideal for driving white LED (WLED) edge backlighting for LCD panels ranging from 10 to 22 inches in size. The drivers also support up to 100 kHz PWM dimming frequency to ensure silent operation. 

An additional consideration is that many portable LCD devices are battery-powered and operate under low ambient lighting conditions or in power saving modes, so require low level backlight dimming to extend battery run time. The AAT1409/7/5 addresses this with a design that maintains high efficiency during low PWM duty cycles to reduce wasted energy during light load conditions. The driver's high resolution 1000:1 PWM dimming range delivers precise control of backlight brightness, equivalent to a 10-bit resolution.

Key Features and benefits

• High-efficiency light load mode achieves up to 88 percent conversion efficiency at a 5 percent dimming duty cycle
• Step-up converter can deliver up to 360mA total LED current at a 45V operating voltage
• 100kHz PWM dimming frequency and optionally synchronized switching frequency to system clock reduces audible noise
• +/- 2 percent LED current accuracy and matching between strings
• Selectable switching frequency accommodates various inductor and capacitor sizes
• Up to 92 percent efficiency over wide input voltage  (VIN) range of 4.5V to 26.0V
• LX rated to 50V
• Up to eight LED current sinks at 45mA each
• Flexible configurations with disable or parallel channels
• Open/shorted LEDs enable fault tolerance
• Current limit protection, over-voltage protection and over-temperature protection
• Soft-start to minimize inrush current
• TQFN34-24 low profile package
• -40 C to +85C operating temperature range

Source: Analogic Tech

Art Institute of Chicago on ArtBabble

The Famous Art Museum Joined Groundbreaking Online Art Video Site ArtBabble ArtBabble, an online “channel” for showcasing art-based video content, was created by the Indianapolis Museum of Art and launched in April 2009 with participation from a number of different institutions and organizations, including Art21, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, The Museum of Modern Art, The New York Public Library, the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum. ArtBabble allows visitors to explore works of art online as never before, through a collection of interviews with artists and curators, original documentaries, and art installation videos. Incorporating cutting-edge technology, ArtBabble features high-definition video, full text transcription of all the videos on site, and interactive features including viewer feedback and video sharing. Visitors will now be able to access video content from the Art Institute of Chicago via ArtBabble. “ We are thrilled to be joining ArtBabble,” said Sam Quigley, Vice President of Collections Management, Imaging and Information Technology at the Art Institute of Chicago. “ ArtBabble is really a great leap forward both for museums and for web users looking for information related specifically to the visual arts. It offers content of extremely high quality, technological innovation, and the opportunity for us to dynamically and directly engage those who share our interests. It also allows us to think about new ways of documenting our collection and showing our visitors the work we do here. ” The 13 videos launched by the Art Institute of Chicago on ArtBabble.org include behind-the-scenes installation footage of such landmark works in the museum’s new Modern Wing as Ellsworth Kelly’s White Curve, Charles Ray’s Hinoki, a wall drawing by Sol LeWitt, and Henri Matisse’s Bathers by a River. The first round of videos by the museum also includes featured lectures and readings by visiting artists, scholars, and poets connected to the museum’s year-long exploration of globalism last year as well as an introduction to the Modern Wing by Art Institute director James Cuno. The partnership with ArtBabble joins other initiatives designed to bring the collection and the efforts of the museum to the widest possible public, both online and in the galleries. The Art Institute now offers more of its collections online than ever before, the audio magazine “Musecast,” and podcasts of lectures and readings available on the Art Institute’s website http://www.artinstituteofchicago.org/ as well as through iTunes. Last week, the Art Institute announced Pathfinder, the first online interactive floor plan and virtual gallery tour of any museum in the world. ArtBabble Website : http://www.artbabble.org/

Phase One Updates Capture One 4.1

Capture One 4.1 is being previewed at Photo Imaging Expo in Tokyo this week at the launch of the companies’ new open medium format digital camera platform. The update to Phase One’s raw workflow software includes support for the high quality 22 mega pixels Mamiya ZD camera and digital back. This support is a commitment to the strategic alliance between Phase One and Mamiya Digital Imaging. Capture One 4.1 will also include two new technologies initially available for Phase One digital backs, built on Phase One’s expertise in digital backs and testing with a selection of Mamiya lenses. Lens+ technology is designed to provide photographers with a superior out-of-the-box solution for removing lens artifacts in images. Not only will lens artifacts like chromatic aberration and fringing be heavily reduced, but at the same time image texture and color fidelity are expected to achieve a previously unseen level – resulting in amazing sharp and vibrant images. A new standard of image sharpness will be introduced through use of Focus+ technology engineered to enhance performance of the full Mamiya 645AFD lens range, enabling a new level of sharpness and resolution. Perfect pixel definition will optimize the basis for high quality image rendering and extreme scaling. These technologies will be expanded to cover a broader range of lenses in the near future. Fashion photographers who demand high resolution, high capture rates and instant high quality previews for evaluation of image composition, exposure, and focus will enjoy the fastest ever tethered shooting functionality in Capture One 4.1. Image transfer and preview generation will be virtually instantaneous with Phase One backs, even with resolutions up to 39 mega pixels. “We are committed to offering professional photographers the choice that best suits them in achieving ultimate image quality,” said Jan H. Christiansen, Marketing Director. “Capture One is engineered to support the most rigorous imaging demands for the widest range of operating conditions and equipment.” Capture One 4.1, is a free update to all Capture One customers, will be available for download beginning with volume production shipments of the new Phase One 645 Camera platform, expected Q2, 2008.

Durst Lambda 76 - Medium Format Digital Laser Imager

Durst Lambda 76 

Medium Format Digital Laser Imager 

DURST LAMBDA 76

© Durst Phototechnik AG

Durst Phototechnik AG, manufacturer of the first and most popular Large Format Digital Photo Printer with no size limitations, the Durst Lambda 130, is announcing deliveries of the 32" Lambda 76 to start by the end of 1997.

The Medium Format Digital Laser Imager Durst Lambda 76 exposes digital image and text data via laser directly onto photographic silver halide materials (color negative papers, color reversal papers and blacklit materials, etc.).It features a patented continuous roll to roll exposure with an automatic paper take-up device. The prints generated with the Durst Lambda 76 feature unsurpassed photographic quality.

The Lambda 76 is the perfect device for portrait and people as well as commercial photo labs for doing high volume of small and medium print sizes. The 81.2 cm/32" paper width makes the Lambda 76 ideal for printing pop-up displays with no print length limitations.

Durst Lambda 76: Key Features 

Direct to photographic media

- Straight from a digital file, the Durst Lambda can print any creation directly onto photographic media (reflective -> paper / backlit -> transparent or opaque film)

- It combines the advantages of classical silver halide photography with the potential of the latest laser and digital technology, without an intermediate film stage - and without the compromises of CMYK output.

- Because the receiving media is photgraphic paper, the color space is RGB, the same as any designer`s monitor.

- The photographic media is still the best when it comes to reproduce images combined with text and logos. It can reproduce the finest details, as it does not require any form of screening / dittering.

Total flexibility

No size limitations thanks to the unique, patented flatbed continuous roll to roll laser exposing system (for paper widths from 20.3 cm/8" to 81.2 cm /32"), from "icons" to large murals. (with auto- and custom paneling functions). One seamless print can be as long as one entire 81.2 cm/32" roll (50 m / 160ft))

High Image and Text Quality

Dual resolution of 200 and 400 ppi for superior image sharpness of small print sizes. The Lambda 76 features high color saturation and color fidelty, better image quality, more details and sharper type than other alternatives.

High Output Speed

Exposes all medias at a linear speed of 12"/min. Compared with other digital systems the Lambda is "remarkably faster" and can produce up to 270 prints 20x25 cm / 8x10" an hour.

High Productivity 

- Same as the Lambda 130 and unlike other large format digital photo printers, the Lambda 76 features a simultaneous exposure and paper transport, exposing a print size of 80 x 260 cm / 32 x 100" ready to process in less than 10 minutes.

- DEC-Alpha workstation with 64-Bit Digital UNIX Operating System for on-the-fly image processing and short ripping times (Cheetah-RIP by DICE America: 100 MB in approx. 1 Minute).

- Small prints are automatically printed side by side for fast multiple printing and optimal use of large paper widhts.

Open System: Exposes image and text files from major systems and application programs (PC,Mac and Workstations).

Supported File Formats:

     - RGB and Grayscale - TIFF /TIFF/LZW

     - RGB and Grayscale - JPEG

   - PostScript Level 2 (PS, inculding images in CMYK, RGB, EPS, JPEG, Grayscale etc.). with automatic conversion of CMYK to RGB during the ripping process.

The marketplace expects the highest in quality and short turn-around times. The Lambda 76 is the ultimate production machine and "work horse" providing high quality prints with neutral grays matching exactly from edge to edge, with text and edge sharpness far surpassing the ability of any enlarger, even if the original is from a high resolution film recorder. Panel color and consistency is unmatched.

Becasue of the high image quality and productivity and the total size flexibility, the Durst Lambda 76 will allow the commercial and portrait/people labs to increase their productivity with shorter turn-around times and less paper waste.

The Durst Lambda 76 is sold as a complete working system, including the imager, DEC- Alpha workstation with Lambda software, integrated Cheetah-RIP by Dice America, X-Rite densitometer, etc.

DURST PHOTOTECHNIK AG

www.durst-online.com

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