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This isn't the old joke about the golfers
watching a funeral drive by but...
When our Singapore-based daughter scheduled her wedding for
Bastille Day (July 14) in New York's Hudson Valley AND MacWorld
Expo was set for July 18 in the Big Apple, we decided to go (to
MWExpo). The wedding was glorious and I cried like a good father
of the bride. So with pride, I present the new Mr. & Mrs. Robert
Frank.
MacWorld Expo was enjoyable but sortof ho-hum
and I cried when Apple's stock went down after Steve Jobs'
keynote speech featured ONLY bigger, faster and cheaper
computers and OS-X and NO flat panel iMac with optional
four-wheel drive. I have a strong dislike for security analysts
who are soooo easily disappointed.
Luck of the media stampede seated me behind a
photo-video platform so Steve appeared sporadically between the
legs of a videographer. Becky Warren of NewMedia solved the
visibility problem by hooking into the live Webcast on her
PowerBook.
Digital photography on the Expo floor was scarce
with only Canon being represented among camera manufacturers. I
got to spend a lot of time watching a demo of Stitcher 3.0 from
RealViz and am excitedly awaiting arrival of the review copy.
Expo folks formed deep lines to get their
turns at Apple's new multi-processor G4's and the iBooks. Each
computer was hooked to an overhead digital videocam so users
could make their own instant iMovies. iDeclare!
In my comparison review of film scanners in
the July-August Photoshop User, the Pacific Image Prime Film
1800i ($199) ranked right up they're with scanners of higher
resolution and price. One thing I lamented about the 1800i was
the fact that it wasn't supported by SilverFast software. Since
that writing, PI's Wendy Trujillo has informed me that the 1800i
is now supported by SilverFast SE.
Well, at MacWorld, I got to see SilverFast
SE on the 1800i and it's a very impressive package, making this
economical scanner an even better buy.
Speaking of SilverFast, my admiration of this
software has always been tempered somewhat by the company's
(LaserSoft Imaging) policy of pricing according to the cost of
the scanner. Now the company has introduced SilverFast SE, a
limited edition priced at a flat $49 for a variety of scanners
and other devices. For more information, go to
http://www.silverfast.com.
Here's a wee tip for Nikon CP99x users who
are wide-angle fans. Setting your zoom lens to its widest and
then selecting Fisheye-1 from the Lens menu will extend the
cover from 38mm down to 35mm. Of course, doing so kills your
in-camera flash but that's a small price to pay for a precious
extra three millimeters of coverage.
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