News for the week ending November 18th

There have been some quite innovative and exciting products announced this week. many of them have surface from the rumour mill and some have been genuine surprises... Think Tank Photo Belt/Back Pack Santa Rosa based Think Tank Photo have announced the release of an innovative beltpack/backpack based camera bag. The Rotation360° consists of two components which come a belt pack which slots into a backpack to form a docked unit. The beauty of this configuration, is that this product, actively deals with a complaint many photographers have about back packs, which is, easy access. You can use the belt pack, to store the most commonly used camera components, and then simply swing the belt pack around to the front from its docked position, in order to quickly access the bits you want. Nice Eh? For more information visit Think Tank Photo or the product site at http://www.rotation360.com/. Tivity Announce Pixtivity Pixtivity is a software solution designed to allow users the ability to create beautiful looking slideshows with their photos. I havent had the chance to try it yet but will do so and get back to you with a more in depth report. The press release indicates that "Pixtivity includes hundreds of creative presentations and unique layouts." For more information, visit the Pixtivity Web site. LightZone 2.0 Released http://www.lightcrafts.com/ has finally announced the release of LightZone 2.0, which has been available as a beta for several months already. I'm looking forward to trying it out as it promises a unique approach to the whole game of image enhancement using techniques and principles from Ansel Adams' Zone System. It certainly looks like an interesting product. Apple Update Camera Raw Support Apple has posted updated versions of its installers for the Digital Camera RAW Support Update which they released earlier this month. The v1.0.1 update adds support to Aperture, iPhoto and Preview for RAW files from the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XTi/400D, Nikon D80 and Pentax *ist DS. DPReview posts New Review/Preview DPReview have posted an excellent review of the Canon PowerShot G7 and a hands-on preview of a production Nikon D40.