Sigma Corporation Acquires Three-layer Image Sensor Developer Foveon, Inc.

Kawasaki, Japan, November 11th, 2008 - Sigma Corporation (Location: Kawasaki, Japan) has acquired 100% of the stock of the company that developed the original three-layer image sensor, Foveon Inc. Foveon will continue its sensor development operations in San Jose, CA, USA.

Foveon made history when it developed and patented the world's first three-layer image capture technology, placing a stack of RGB pixels in each pixel location. As a result, Foveon sensors detect all three primary colors in every pixel location, producing images that are sharper and have significantly reduced image artifacts compared to competing image sensor technologies.

Since Sigma first worked with Foveon in 2000, both companies have enjoyed a cooperative working relationship directed toward developing highly-efficient DSLR (Digital Single Lens Reflex) cameras and compact digital cameras which take the best advantage of the X3 sensor technology. Sigma Corporation has employed Foveon's technology in its entire digital camera line, producing images which are acclaimed by both amateur and professional photographers all over the world for their high resolution and for their three-dimensional look. Both the latest DLSR, the SD14, and the compact DP1 camera - which packs the full spec of a DSLR into a compact camera - have met with similar acclaim. Two additional Sigma camera products based on Foveon's image sensor technology have been announced for 2009.

The acquisition of Foveon will not only enhance the development of new types of image sensors for high quality digital cameras, but will also create a synergistic effect with Sigma's camera and lens business by improving the integration between the camera and sensor. This will result in camera products which will uniquely meet the widely ranging functional and image quality needs of demanding photographers.

As the digital camera market continues to expand, Foveon and Sigma will continuously evolve and improve the X3 sensor technology, thus expanding the company's photography-related business. In addition, Sigma remains firmly committed to preserving and nurturing the culture of photography.

More information
More information about Foveon, Inc. can be found at www.foveon.com.

Source: SIGMA

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Taylor Swift Got Milk Photo Shoot

Not even 18, country star Taylor Swift has already accomplished most of her dreams. Now she can cross off another one from her list: appearing in a Got Milk? Hollywood 411 tagged along for the photoshoot earning her white mustache.

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DAZZ.com New Online Photo Restyling Service Launches

Homburg, Saarland, Germany, 11/11/2008 - DAZZ.com, the German, web-based photo restyling service, eliminates the existing background of portrait photography and restyles the image into a collection of digital artwork, DAZZ calls 'Photostyles', to improve the look of photo gifts.

DAZZ.com has launched its online photo restyling service to improve the look of photo gifts for internet users around the world. The service takes the work out of photo editing and is aimed to effortlessly improve the overall look of photo gifts. Customers view their 'Photostyles' on photo gifts in 3D video clips, free of charge, before deciding to buy the digital image.

"Photo gifts are a hot selling product for birthdays and special occasions but a lot of the photos we see of family, friends and pets are spoiled by bad backgrounds“ said Ulf Unbehaun, founder of DAZZ.com. "Our designers eliminate the background and restyle your photo into a collection of 'Photostyles' so you have a photo you're proud of. We show you exactly how your 'Photostyle' will look on various photo gifts. If you like what you see you can download the 'Photostyle' for a minimal fee, and then have it printed on a mug or the gift of your choice. This way your photo gifts get more of a designer look.“

Since Unbehaun incorporated the service into his German photo gift company, Personello in 2007, over 35 000 'Photostyles' - have been downloaded and put onto mugs, canvases and mousepads. The 'Photostyles' are presented on photo gifts in 3D product videos and include styles such as pop art, sepia wash, comic strip and retro. Further styles set the photo into backgrounds ranging from trendy to fun and make unique greetings cards.

"Photos are a key element in social expression,“ said Unbehaun. "With digital photography and online sharing the memory making market is booming like never before. Our goal is to help you make the most of your photos before you give them a new lease of life as a photo gift.“

Source: Newswire

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Image of the Day: Keyboard

Image by Henrik Lehnerer
Title: Keyboard
You may buy this image under license at Cutcaster.

Description:
Black and white piano keyboard from an angle.

Keywords:
acoustic, classical piano, piano, piano keys, black and white, closeup, instrument, piano key, piano keyboard, melody, music, piano, play piano, shiny piano, tune up, white background

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Exposed: High-End Photo Retouching Firm Launches New Site to Showcase Perfect Pixels

Master magicians at manipulating images and sought out by top photographers, Barking Pixel showcases highly sophisticated retouching gallery

GEORGETOWN, Texas, Nov. 7 -- Barking Pixel and Justine Boyer announce a new web site, http://www.barkingpixel.com, with one of the largest post production photo retouching image galleries available from a digital retoucher. The Austin area-based commercial retouching firm has uploaded the best images from years of experience to better exhibit the company's capabilities.

"This is a very comprehensive group of before-and-after images showcasing the range of photo manipulation and color correction available at our studio," says Justine Boyer, owner. "We've showcased an extensive collection of digitally retouched images from fashion and model photography, auto photography, architectural photography, landscape photography, furnishings photography, jewelry photography and food photography."

Justine Boyer has been called "The Best Retoucher in Town" and she has been in the digital retouching and color correction business for over 17 years. The new site is intended to showcase the company's maturity, extensive experience and creativity.

"We have received a lot of positive feedback from customers, as well as from those who appreciate the post production skills needed for professionally enhanced and color corrected images," continued Boyer. "We suggest people visit the site if they want to see the latest in professional digital photoshop retouching and color mastery."

"This site shows our capabilities well," says Boyer. "It gives the potential customer an effective and convenient method of reviewing a complete portfolio before choosing a digital image retoucher and color corrector."

Source: PRNewswire

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Zymmetrical News: Tutorial writers wanted

Zymmetrical offers the Tutorials area in their message forum as mind-share between the the talented designers, photographers and other creatives that use this website.

$ Get paid to submit tutorials $ - Read below on this page for more details..

On a regular basis we will present member-submitted tutorials that will help you advance your skills on the following topics:

- Photography
- Adobe Photoshop
- Adobe Illustrator
- Adobe Indesign
- Adobe Lightroom
- Quark
- Typography
- VJ Software
- Photography
- Design
- Self-Promotion and Marketing for Creatives
- ..have your own idea? Let us know

Submission & Payment
We accept tutorials from anyone. The basic rules: - We offer no guarantee any submitted tutorial will be accepted and reserve 100% editorial discretion on which tutorials make it in - if you aren't sure, ASK! - Tutorial must be 100% original, written by you - We retain exclusive rights on the tutorial once it is paid for, meaning you may not submit it to other websites, unless otherwise agreed to - You can include 1 description of yourself and 1 link at the bottom of each tutorial.

TUTORIAL COMMISSIONS - Negotiable - $10 to $300, dependent on quality. Submit and we will give you a fair shake! Payouts via Paypal or Payoneer.

To submit a tutorial, please email it to us at info@zymmetrical.com If you are a first-time submitter, it is HIGHLY recommended that you send us a message via our Help Center describing your tutorial idea, BEFORE you spend a lot of time on it. Remember, we will be ruthless with low-quality, low-content, or generally boring tutorials, so please check yourself before you wreck yourself.

Tutorial Creation Guidelines
Create your tutorial using the message input system in this message forum. You may upload images via the included uploading tool, or if that is giving you grief, email them to us directly. We don't really recommend using HTML tables, but if you absolutely must (for a complex layout), ensure that the overall table width is no more than 650 pixels wide. Otherwise it will break the layout of this website and that makes us upset (and causes deductions off your payment for the work of cleaning stuff up).

1. Study other tutorial sites. How original is the idea behind your tutorial? Has the topic been done a thousand times before? It’s easy to find out – Google is your friend. There’s no point writing what a numerous people have covered already. Look at the tutorials that seem to have had a lot of traffic – what is it about their tutorial that is so good? Conversely, look at the unpopular ones – why might they be receiving less attention?

2. Use correct spelling and grammar. This is an obvious point but important one. Poor grammar and punctuation gives off an unprofessional image; a well-written, articulate article on the other hand is much easier to work through. Some visitors may not speak the language the tutorial is written in as their first language so they may be confused by slang and abbreviations. If you struggle with spelling and grammar ask a friend to proofread your tutorial or run a spell check in some Word Processing software. If we have to 'clean up' your tutorial a lot to make it read in the 'King's English' then we will devalue the price paid on it according to the amount of work we have to perform.

3. Let them know what they're in for. Give the user as much information about the tutorial as possible. Clearly explain any prerequisites to the tutorial such as any third party files the user may need, platform versions the tutorial is compatible with and software versions it is will work with. Additionally, try to attach a difficulty rating to the tutorial and give them an estimated time as to how long the tutorial will take.

4. Write step-by-step. Step-by-step doesn't mean you have to detail every mouse click, it means the process must be thoroughly documented. If you are targeting beginners then hold their hand and walk them through it. On the other hand, if you are targeting experienced designers/photographers take them through the fundamentals.

5. Include plenty of non-text elements. A page full of text can be boring and very difficult to get through. Include anything you can to make the page more pleasing to the eye and easier to follow: code excerpts, diagrams, screen shots. The types of elements you include depend largely on the subject matter of your tutorial.

6. Describe your tutorial properly. Be as specific as you can when naming your tutorial. For example “Nice Effect in Photoshop” doesn’t tell the user anything about your tutorial. Remember the words in the title of your tutorial are the ones that the search engines and tutorial directories will use to identify it when people search for it. Ask yourself this question: if I were searching for a tutorial like this what would I enter into the search engine?

Source: Zymmetrical

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Ancient Rome: 310 AD in 3-D

A new high-tech theatre is about to open to give tourists a deeper look at life in the Italian capital in the ancient past. The 30-minute 3D show uses 60, 000 virtual characters, or avatars, to help tourists get a taste of what Roman life was probably like in 310 AD.

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Image of the Day: Golf Feet

Image by Henrik Lehnerer
Title: Golf Feet
You may buy this image under license at Cutcaster.

Description:
Golfer on green grass aiming for the ball.

Keywords:
sport, sports, activity, aiming golf, golf ball, golf iron, golf shot, challenging, closeup, golf club, golf course, golf wedge, wedge shot, fairway, feet, golf game, golf, golfball, golfer, golfing, green grass, hit golf ball, leisure, match play, outdoor, play golf, golf player, golfer, golf stick, golf swing, preparation

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Wedding Memories Finally Returned To NJ Newlyweds

(New York, NY) The nightmare is finally over for thousands of couples fighting to get their wedding memories back from a photography company that went out of business. CBS 2's Christine Sloan has more on the newlyweds' newfound happiness.

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LCN.com & Fotolia Form Strategic Partnership

Fotolia Offers Three Free Stock Photograph Credits to LCN Hosting Customers

LONDON, Nov 06, 2008 -- LCN.com, one of the largest UK domain registration and Web site hosting companies, have today announced a partnership with Fotolia ( http://www.fotolia.com), the world's largest provider of micro-priced stock imagery, offering nearly 4.5 million high-quality images.

There will be a two-fold benefit to LCN customers through this alliance -- Customers will be able get three royalty free stock photograph credits at no cost from the world's largest and fastest growing databases of nearly 4.5 million micro-priced, royalty-free images. Not only that, once signed up with Fotolia, customers of LCN, will be entitled to a 10% bonus on every order placed with Fotolia from then on.

Mark Boost, Managing Director of LCN.com commented, "Both LCN and Fotolia are dedicated to providing their customers with the best products within our respective industries. With high quality imagery being such a top level need for quality web design, it was a natural decision for us to partner with Fotolia as our imagery provider.

"With Fotolia, we have gained a trusted partner that offers the largest image bank of free and affordable royalty free images. This announcement is something new and existing web design customers will be delighted to hear." Boost noted further.

"This partnership allows LCN customers deeply integrated access to Fotolia's database of nearly 4.5 million high-quality, micro-priced images, using Fotolia's Partner API. It also gives users a platform to generate their own revenue through the intuitive Fotolia system whereby commission is earned on images they submit to the Fotolia Web site," said Oleg Tscheltzoff, co-founder and president of Fotolia.
Find out more about the Fotolia offer and LCN Web Hosting packages below:

www.lcn.com/fotolia_offer
www.lcn.com/web_hosting

Source: Fotolia

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ZF-I: Modified Lenses for Industrial Applications

Carl Zeiss has significantly expanded its industrial lens portfolio.

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 06.11.2008. The line of SLR lenses for industrial applications has now grown to seven models. Thus, a complete line of lenses is now available, which offers the right solution for most standard requirements in industrial applications.

The modern optical design of these lenses with fixed focal lengths ensures maximum image quality.

Professional industrial applications require reliable, constant settings. Therefore, the ZF lenses are available in a special industrial version. The f-stop and focus settings of the ZF-I lenses can be fixed. For this purpose, the lenses are supplied with five locking screws which enable reliable locking of the adjustments once they have been set. Measuring inaccuracies and errors are thus reduced, and there is no need to waste time checking the settings.

A special coating which guarantees a high transmission value for wavelengths up to 1,100 nanometers can be applied to enable photos in the near infrared range. The ZF-IR lenses from Carl Zeiss are suitable for use with special cameras (IR cameras without appropriate barrier filters). Fields of application for technical IR photography include forensic science.

All ZF lenses provide the proverbial performance, i.e. sharp image definition, color fidelity in accordance with ZEISS standards, stray light absorption, well-corrected distortion and no reflections. With their F-bayonet, they comply with the globally accepted standard for high-resolution industrial cameras featuring large-format image sensors. All lenses with focal lengths 18, 21, 25, 28, 35, 50 and 85 mm and the two macro lenses with 50 and 100 mm focal lengths are available as ZF-I or ZF-IR version on request.

Source: Carl Zeiss

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Super Wide Angle Lens for Industrial Imaging Applications

Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZF: the new eye of quality assurance.

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 06.11.2008. Carl Zeiss has now introduced the Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZF for industrial applications and technical automation – a compact wide angle system covering an extremely wide image angle.

Many industrial imaging applications demand more than excellent imaging performance. Only an extreme image angle can ensure that large objects are captured reliably and completely in a small space.

With the new Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZF, industrial robots for quality assurance tasks achieve an impressive diagonal image angle of up to 99°. This means maximum acquisition of ambient and object information, even at short distances, making the lens ideal for near-range photogrammetry and optical measurements of components, e.g. in the automotive industry.

The Distagon T* 3,5/18 ZF offers low-distortion, sharp images from infinity up to the near range – even in difficult light conditions. Thanks to the ZEISS color matching technology, the lens features the same, uniform color rendition as all other lenses in the ZF product line.

Like all lenses in the ZEISS portfolio for industrial applications, the Distagon T* 3,5/18 features the Carl Zeiss T* anti-reflective coating and a sturdy all-metal mount which makes the lens extremely robust.The sales price of the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 3,5/18 is 1.115 euros (excluding VAT). For more information about this lens, please go to:
www.zeiss.com/photo.

Technical data:
Focal length: 18 mm
Aperture range: f/3.5-f/22 (half increments)
Focusing range: 0.3 m-infinity
Number of elements/groups: 13/11
Angular field, diag./horiz./vert.: 99/90/67°
Object field at smallest near setting: 44x29 cm
Image ratio (close range): 1:12
Filter thread: M 82x0.75
Dimensions (with caps): 87 mm diameter, length 84 mm
Weight: 470 g
Camera adapter: F-bayonet (ZF)

Source: Carl Zeiss

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Photographer Editta Sherman - Does she have to move?

I was listening to the story "Duchess' Demands $10M To Leave Carnegie Hall" on NPR today. And I was shocked the hear that Carnegie Hall is trying to move out the 97 years old famous photographer Editta Sherman.

• Article on NPR - Duchess' Demands $10M To Leave Carnegie Hall
• Listen to NPR - Duchess' Demands $10M To Leave Carnegie Hall
• Editta Sherman at MySpace

Good luck Editta Sherman!

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Techbytes 11/7/08

Syracuse, NY - Top Stories of the day - Techbytes 11/7/08

AT&T - iPhone G3
Soon you can use it as a modem for your laptop.

NeatDesk
NeatDesk is a high-speed desktop scanner and digital filing system that scans receipts, business cards and documents in one batch. Includes NeatWorks software to identify, extract and organize key information.

StealthSwitch
…for your eyes only - The World’s First Desktop Cloaking Device - Protect your Privacy – Save your Job – Use the StealthSwitch™

• Protect Sensitive Information
• Get Confidential Materials off your screen … FAST!
• Instant Computer Privacy
• Works with any application
• Intuitive, Discreet and Fast
• Easy to Install

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Update - Digital Railroad Shutdown

5th NOVEMBER 2008 - SAA continues our commitment to intervene on behalf of photographers who had Digital Railroad archives and post updates to the community. We are in ongoing communications with Diablo Management, the crisis management company handling the matter.

On Oct. 28, Digital Railroad operations shut down. On Oct. 31, Diablo issued a memo announcing that a Letter to Intent was received to purchase some of Digital Railroad's assets. Diablo is now issuing an email in response to inquiries, which provides some answers about the fate of archive fees paid
and license fees due.

Following is our latest information on the issues facing photographers with DRR archives.


1. Access to image files and licensing records

As of today, DRR's servers are still online, but they could be turned off at any time. Diablo's Oct. 31 memo stated that image files will be preserved and "after the completion of an asset purchase agreement, the acquiring company will contact owners of the images to determine their disposition."

SAA still urges photographers to back up image files and download licensing records. Download licensing records, including details about pending sales, and a list of all registered users who accessed your Archive.


2. Status of DRR archive fees and Marketplace licensing fees already paid

Diablo's Nov. 3 email confirms that "all monies that have been received are the property of the senior secured creditor. The cash received will not be adequate to satisfy the claim of this creditor. Therefore DRR lacks the cash necessary to pay any additional claim related to hosting services, payments
to photographers, or other payables."

SAA suggests that photographers who pre-paid archive fees by credit card for a full year of service should consider disputing this charge. For those who paid monthly by credit card, be sure to check your statements to confirm that these fees are no longer being charged.


3. Status of payments due for pending Marketplace licenses

Diablo has confirmed to SAA and stated in their Nov. 3 email the intention to pay photographers for licensing fees still outstanding: "With regard to images in Marketplace that have been downloaded
and /or used, and for which the publisher has not already made payment, we will work, with the assistance of photographer associations, to get the photographers paid."

In addition, the memo states that a status report on financial matters will be sent to all creditors in approximately thirty days, and requests that photographers "submit a statement for unpaid amounts that may be due to you from DRR by December 1, 2008 to: Digital Railroad, Inc, c/o Diablo Management
Group, 1452 N. Vasco Road, #301, Livermore, CA 94551."

SAA will continue to stay engaged in this issue, seeking clarification and pressing for a fair resolution. We will be posting updates to the SAA web site at http://www.stockartistsalliance.org/drr

Betsy Reid
SAA executive director

Source: CEPIC

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