Adobe Lightroom 3.0 Beta 2 is Out

The Second Beta version of Adobe Lightoom 3.0 is out now and with a lot of enhancements and improvements.

This is a much better version and a more refined one.

New in Lightroom 3 Beta 2

* Improved performance throughout the application for faster importing and loading of images
* Native tethered shooting support for select Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras
* Luminance noise reduction has been added to the previous color noise reduction improvements available in the first public beta for outstanding overall high ISO quality
* Support for importing and managing video files from DSLR cameras for better overall photographic workflow control
* Improvements to the import experience in the first beta to reflect public feedback
* Improved watermarking functionality from the first beta to reflect public feedback

Lightroom 3 beta 2 builds on the enhancements introduced in the first Lightroom 3 beta release:

* Brand new performance architecture, building for the future of growing image libraries
* State-of-the-art noise reduction to help you perfect your high ISO shots
* Watermarking tool that helps you customize and protect your images with ease
* Portable sharable slideshows with audio—designed to give you more flexibility and impact on how you choose to share your images, you can now save and export your slideshows as videos and include audio
* Flexible customizable print package creation so your print package layouts are all your own
* Film grain simulation tool for enhancing your images to look as gritty as you want
* New import handling designed to make importing streamlined and easy
* More flexible online publishing options so you can post your images online to certain online photo sharing sites directly from inside Lightroom 3 beta (may require third-party plug-ins)*

If you want to download the beta just click here. Photographer, Terry White, also did a video, go take a look here.

Read the release notes (PDF) for detailed information.

You can also watch a video of the new features, hosted by Julieanne Kost, here.

A more in depth blog post by Ian Lyons here.

Enjoy

14" Beauty Dish for your Speedlights

Have you ever wish to have a Beauty Dish to your Portable flash but never had the time to make one yourself?

Whine no more...

I present you the new Lumodi 14'' Beauty Dish and it's available now.

Find out more...



Features:
- Easy to use, securely mounts directly to flash gun
- Specially designed reflector for maximum efficiency
- Large 14" dish creates soft wrap around lighting

Each Beauty Dish is handmade in California and custom fit to your model of flash.

This unit weighs less tan 10oz.(284g) and is the largest Beauty Dishes that can mount directly to your flash. No extra hardware or brackets are need. Just attach it and it's ready to go!

Specially designed convex center reflector and specular metal coating has been optimized to work with speedlights. The Lumodi dish is 1-2 stops more efficient than other beauty dishes with white coatings and center reflectors designed for studio heads.



Included in the Package:

1- 14" Beauty Dish to fit your Flash
1- Rubber Grip Band and Velcro Straps

(You can also ask to print your Logo on them as this is an option that is available for an extra nominal charge)

Available for:

CANON:
220EX, 430EX I&II and 580EX I&II
NIKON:
SB400, SB600, SB800, SB900, SB26 and SB 28
SONY:
HLV-F36AM, HLV-F42AM, HLV-F56AM and HLV-F58AM
MINOLTA:
3600HS and 5600HS
PENTAX:
AF540FGZ, AF360FGZ and AF200FG
OLYMPUS:
FL-36R and FL-50R
Vivitar:
285 HV and 286 HV

You can order them on Ebay with worldwide shipping.

Watch some sample images at Lumodi Flickr page.

Lumodi web page

Canon EOS 5D Mark II Firmware Update 2.0.4 to Correct 2.0.3

Canon delivers firmware 2.0.4 to replace old one released a couple of days ago and to fix several issues users were complaining about audio not working on C1,C2 and C3 modes.

Firmware changes

In the Version 2.0.4 firmware, the following phenomena that occurred with the Version 2.0.3 firmware (which was to enhance the movie functions) have been corrected.

* There was a phenomenon in which the manual recording settings made in C1/C2/C3 were changed and sound could not be recorded if manual sound recording was used in the C1/C2/C3 settings and the camera was subsequently turned off (or if Auto Power Off was activated). This does not occur in modes other than C1/C2/C3.

The Version 2.0.4 firmware includes the movie function enhancements listed in items 1 through 5 below, and also incorporates the correction listed in item 6.

1. Adds or changes the following movie frame rates.

NTSC:
* 1920×1080 : 30 fps (changed - actual 29.97 fps)
* 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added - actual 23.976 fps)
* 640×480 : 30 fps (changed - actual 29.97 fps)
PAL:
* 1920×1080 : 25 fps (added - actual 25.0 fps)
* 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added - actual 23.976 fps)
* 640×480 : 25 fps (added - actual 25.0 fps)

2. Adds a function for manually adjusting the sound recording level (64 levels).
3. Adds a histogram display (brightness or RGB) for shooting movies in manual exposure.
4. Adds shutter-priority AE mode (Tv) and aperture-priority AE (Av) mode to the exposure modes for shooting movies.
5. Changes the audio sampling frequency from 44.1 KHz to 48 KHz.
6. Fixes a phenomenon where communication between the camera and the attached lens is sometimes interrupted after manual sensor cleaning. (This phenomenon only affects units with Firmware Version 1.2.4.)

You can download the firmware 2.0.4 here.