Sharpener Pro 3.0 will be available this month directly from Nik, and starting in October from specialty camera dealers for $199.95. Previous owners of Sharpener Pro 1.0 or 2.0 can upgrade for $99.99. If you're undecided, you can also download a 15-day trial directly from Nik.

Nikon D700, 16mm f/2.8D Fisheye, MC-36 Multi-Function Remote.

The D90 will be available starting this September for $999.99 body only or $1299.99 with the new AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens. The AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 18-105mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR lens will also be available this September alone for $399.99.

Also announced was a lens that has been requested by many Canon shooters: the EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS. Giving a convenient 29-320mm 35mm equivalent focal range and 4-stop IS, this lens should be ideal for those vacations where multiple lenses might be a hassle. The EF-S 18-200mm f/3.5-5.6 IS will be available this October with an estimated selling price of $699.99.

Nikon D200, 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VR, 1/250 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 400

Nikon D200, 18-200 f/3.5-5.6 VR, 1/500 sec @ f/5.6, ISO 800

Major Software Upgrade Further Simplifies Photography Workflows

SAN JOSE, Calif. -- July 29, 2008 -- Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the immediate availability of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 2 software, the photographer's essential toolbox for managing, adjusting and presenting large volumes of digital photographs. With new enhancements such as dual-monitor support, radical advances in non-destructive localized image correction, and streamlined search capabilities, Lightroom 2 is a compelling upgrade that simplifies photography from shoot to finish. As Adobe's first application to support 64-bit for Mac OS X 10.5 Macintosh computers with Intel® processors and Microsoft® Windows® Vista® 64-bit operating systems, Lightroom 2 also provides improved memory performance for dealing with large scale images.

"A worldwide community of photographers provided valuable insight and feedback, as part of the Lightroom 2 public beta program, ultimately helping us deliver a better product," said Tom Hogarty, senior product manager for Lightroom and Camera Raw at Adobe. "We've considered their requests which helped us develop useful features that make it easier than ever for our customers to quickly refine, enhance and present brilliant photographs."

Photoshop Lightroom 2: Smarter, Faster and More Accurate

The enhanced Library module in Lightroom 2 helps streamline and accelerate photographers' workflows. With the ability to visually organize images across multiple hard drives, Lightroom 2 and its powerful Library Filter Bar makes it easy for users to quickly find the images they need. The Suggested Keywords feature helps photographers keyword their images by making intelligent suggestions based on their own previous efforts. New dual-monitor support allows users to expand their workspace, giving them flexibility to edit and organize images in a way that maximizes an additional display.

In the Develop module, the new Local Adjustment Brush lets photographers fine-tune specific areas of an image to precisely adjust color, exposure and tonal range without affecting other areas of the image. The new Graduated Filter expands the toolbox in Lightroom, allowing for edits to larger areas by applying gradually diminishing or increasing adjustment effects such as exposure, clarity, and saturation, alone, or in any combination. Lightroom 2 also helps photographers print more efficiently by quickly arranging photos of multiple sizes on one or many pages with flexible and customizable templates to maximize paper and ink. Intelligent algorithms automatically determine optimal sharpening for screen or print, producing crisper images faster. Developers can further extend the Lightroom workflow with Web, Export and Metadata Software Development Kits available at the Adobe Developer Connection, http://www.adobe.com/devnet/ .

Ground-Breaking Innovation in Raw Technology

New raw technology gives photographers access to flexible camera profiles. Camera profiles are the visual starting point for the raw processing workflow, but image preferences vary for every photographer. To minimize surprises, Adobe is supplying default camera profiles that closely emulate the visual looks that photographers are used to seeing from their favorite camera, while also providing the ability to create highly customized profiles to suit different tastes. Camera profiles are available for immediate download on Adobe Labs (http://labs.adobe.com) for use with Lightroom 2 and Camera Raw 4.5, along with the DNG Profile Editor for the community to test and create their own profiles.

The Adobe Camera Raw 4.5 plug-in and DNG Converter 4.5 are also now available on Adobe.com and support over 190 camera models including the Olympus E 420 and E 520 models.

"One of the big reasons why Lightroom has become such a phenomenon among serious photographers is that Adobe built it with the input of a very vocal user community," said Scott Kelby, president of the National Association of Photoshop Professionals (NAPP). "Adobe really listens to the issues and challenges today's photographers face and they've built a complete solution that not only meets the needs of photographers; it really feels like it was made just for us. The enhancements to Lightroom 2, combined with the power of Photoshop, give photographers the ultimate freedom to produce professional images quickly."

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2 is available now through the Adobe Store at www.adobe.com/store in English, French and German with the Japanese language version planned to be released at a future date. The estimated street price is USD$299 for new users with an upgrade price of USD$99 for registered users of qualifying Lightroom customers. Recommended system requirements are Macintosh OSX 10.4, 10.5 1 GHz PowerPC G4 or G5 or Intel® based processor, or Microsoft Windows® XP SP2 or Windows Vista Home Premium, Business, Ultimate, or Enterprise, Intel Pentium 4® processor, 1 GB RAM and a 1024x768 resolution screen. Additional information on product features, upgrade policies, pricing, and language versions is available on www.adobe.com/products/photoshoplightroom/.

About Adobe Systems Incorporated

Adobe revolutionizes how the world engages with ideas and information - anytime, anywhere and through any medium. For more information, visit www.adobe.com.

Editors Note: This is by no means an exhaustive review but merely my observations on the new camera. At this time, I don't have any plans to do an in-depth review.

According to their website, Portrait Professional 8 is "an intelligent portrait airbrushing software that has been 'trained' in human beauty." The software allows you to make enhancements such as skin smoothing/softening, face shaping, blemish reduction, and hair adjustments simply by dragging sliders.

How it Works

When you launch the software, you have the option to load one of your own photos or use one of the sample photos they provide. For a portion of the review, I've used one of the provided female photos. After selecting the photo and gender of the subject you want to re-touch, you start by locating the features of the subject (eyes, nose, mouth, lips, overall head shape). There is a guide to the left of the photo that walks you through where you need to place the markers. Once the software has a general idea of where the features are located, you are able to fine-tune the selections to make sure they accurately highlight your subject's features. I would have liked to have seen the ability to add more points to the fine-tune selections in the cases where your subject's features aren't exactly like the presets. Other than that, the selection process is very simple.

The Selection Process

The Ray Flash is an adapter that slides over the front of your flash and locks down to the top of the flash via a tightening knob. Your flash then shoots into a prism connected to a series of clear tube-looking rings that circle around the lens (the manufacturer calls these "light shapers").

Installing the Ray Flash
Image Courtesy of ExpoImaging.

The Fisheye-Hemi is a plug-in for Photoshop or Aperture. The version we used was for Photoshop CS3 on a Mac. The Plug-In comes with three different filters, one for each type of fisheye: Circular, Full Frame, and Cropped. Once the plug-in is installed, the filters are accessed through the Filter menu. According to Image Trends, the creator of the Fisheye-Hemi, the most important aspect of the plug-in is "to not distort people, no matter where they are in the image."

Also announced is the new 430EX II Speedlight, the replacement to the 430EX. New features include a 20 percent faster recycle time, quick lock attachment, and the ability to control flash function directly from the camera on the latest Canon DSLRs. The flash should be available around the same time as the Rebel XS and sell for about $329.99.