also, is optical zoom more important than digital zoom?
advice appreciated

xxx

Oak Park, CA (PRWEB) November 13, 2006 55mm is the definitive set of digital optical filters meant to simulate popular glass camera filters, specialized lenses, optical lab processes, film grain, exacting color correction as well as natural light and photographic effects — all in a controlled digital environment. The set of plug-ins includes: Black and White, Black Mist, Bleach Bypass, Blur, Center Spot, Chromatic Aberration, Color Compensating, Color Conversion, Color Correct, Color Grad, Color Infrared, Color Spot, Cool Mist, Cross Processing, Day for Night, Defog, Defringe, Depth of Field, Diffusion, Double Fog, Dual Grad, Edge Glow, Enhancing, Faux Film, Flashing, Fluorescent, Fog, F-Stop, GamColor Gels, Gels, Glow, Gold Reflector, Grain, Halo, Infrared, Kelvin, Lens Distortion, Light, Light Balancing, Low Contrast, Mist, Mono Tint, ND Grad, Night Vision, Old Photo, Overexpose, Ozone, Pencil, Photographic Filters, Polarizer, Printer Points, Rack Focus, Radial Exposure, ReLight, Rosco Gels, Selective Color Correct, Selective Saturation, Silver Reflector, Skin Smoother, Soft Effects, Split Field, Split Tone, Star, Streaks, Strip Grad, Sunset/Twilight, Telecine, Temperature, Three Strip, Tint, Two Strip, Ultra Contrast, Vari-Star, Vignette, Warm/Cool, Warm Black Mist, Warm Mist, Warm Soft Effects and X-Ray. 55mm 7.0 adds 12 new filters as well as tuning existing filter algorithms. Chromatic Aberration, Color Infrared, Cool Mist, Defringe, Double Fog, Edge Glow, Old Photo, Pencil, Split Tone, X-Ray, and the new Two Strip and Three Strip filters are just some of the highlights of 55mm 7.0. The Three Strip and Two Strip plug-ins were created under the direction of Academy Award Winning Visual Effects Supervisor Rob Legato, who used the process to great effect in The Aviator. The Technicolor Two Strip process was the first stab at producing color motion pictures and consisted of simultaneously photographing two black and white images using red and green filters. This look creates an odd but pleasing hand-painted look where faces appear normal and green takes on a blue-green quality, while the sky and all things blue appear cyan. Digital Film Tools is an offshoot of a Los Angeles based full-service visual effects facility specializing in feature film and television special effects. 55mm is available for download or purchase at: http://www.digitalfilmtools.com at the following prices: Adobe Photoshop – $245; Avid Editing Systems, Adobe After Effects, Apple Final Cut Pro and Motion, Autodesk Combustion, Eyeon Digital Fusion – $495; Upgrade pricing is available for existing customers. Share and Enjoy:

Hauppauge, NY (PRWEB) September 16, 2011 The Tiffen Company, a leading manufacturer and distributor of award-winning accessories for the still imaging, motion picture, and broadcast markets, is pleased to announce the release of the highly anticipated version three of the popular Tiffen Dfx digital filter suite (http://www.tiffensoftware.com). A powerful and robust video and still image editing effects suite, Tiffen Dfx 3.0 boasts enhanced multi-processor acceleration for faster interaction and rendering of images, 10+ brand new filters for optical effects, updated host support, interface improvements, and more, taking still and moving image editing to the next level of visual brilliance. Simulating 2,000+ popular award-winning Tiffen glass filters, specialized lenses, optical lab processes, film grain, exacting color correction, plus natural light and photographic effects, the Tiffen Dfx digital filter suite is the definitive set of digital optical filters for professional photographers, top motion picture filmmakers, video editors, and visual effects artists around the world. Whenever I shoot in HD, I always look for new, more efficient ways to take the edge off of the sharp, inorganic nature of the format, comments Saro Varjabedian, Director of Photography and Cinematographer, Eliot Loves. With Tiffens Dfx v3 software I can easily apply filters such as film grain, bleach bypass, black diffusion, or glimmer glass to help texturize and soften the inorganic nature of HD recordings. The new Tiffen Dfx software makes for a wonderful companion to Tiffens trusted line of optical filters. Watch the new Tiffen Dfx v3 Promo Video here (http://bit.ly/ndZqgw). Increasing the technologys versatility and range of use in various project workflows, Tiffen has made it possible for one Tiffen Dfx v3 photo plug-in license to run in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom, and Apple Aperture if installed on the same machine. Similarly, one Tiffen Dfx v3 video/film plug-in license will allow it to run in Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro 6/7, and Avid Editing Systems if installed on the same machine. The versatility and compatibility of the Tiffen Dfx filter suite in so many different workflows, formats and editing systems is simply outstanding from my work in print, to music videos and commercials, Tiffen Dfx is the first if not only set of filters that I turn to when needing to adjust lighting, color, texture, you name it, comments Michael Bernard, Director and Cinematographer. Simply put, I think Tiffen Dfx is truly a digital dark room essential for any photographer, cinematographer, or retoucher. It opens up so many doors to creativity. From acting as a bridge between my film work and print, to heightening that raw emotion that I strive to capture in all of my work theres really no comparison. NEW Tiffen DFX v3 Image Editing Effects Suite Features and Capabilities Version 3.0 ups the ante on creative control and visual effects possibilities with brand new additions to the already staggering amount of 2,000+ optical filters. Brand new features include: Color Shadow: Creates a high contrast image overlayed with a gradient, simulating the look and feel of those colorful iPod commercials. DeBand: Removes banding artifacts from an image by smoothing pixels in banded areas while retaining detail. Banding frequently occurs, in blue skies for instance, with DSLRs as well as digital cameras. DeBand effectively smoothes out this unwanted banding. DeBlock: Removes blocking artifacts created as a result of high compression factors, such as overly compressed JPG images which often cause square blocking artifacts. DeNoise: Grain and noise from digital cameras, whether still or video, is a common problem. DeNoise removes the grain and noise while still retaining detail. Film Stocks: Simulates 113 different color and black & white photographic film stocks. For those desiring the look of either old or current film stocks, there are simulations of many of the popular brands from Kodak, Fuji, Agfa, Polaroid, and Ilford. Glow Darks: Glows and grows the dark areas of an image, creating a stylized, dreamy dark glow. Key Light: Relights images with a directional or point light. Changing the lighting after an image has been photographed gives the photographer/editor control to fix or enhance their images, as well as create interesting lighting effects. Rays: Creates stunning and realistic light ray effects quickly and easily. Rays can add shafts of light streaming through clouds, rays filtering through a forest canopy, beams of light on a foggy night, or rays shooting through an interior window. Rays adds a striking and dramatic quality to any image. Texture: Applies textures to an image for a stylized look. Adding texture to an image is a great way to create a unique and customized look. Match: Matches the color, detail, grain, and tone of one image and applies it to another. The ability to match one image to another is an incredibly useful tool, comments Wayne Herrschaft, Photographer and Videographer, Headlamp Digital. Photographers frequently have to match photos shot under varying lighting conditions and color temperatures to achieve consistency, while editors are constantly tasked with having to combine images from different locations and fit them together smoothly, and visual effects artists need to combine multiple elements into one seamless composition. With the new Match filter in Tiffen Dfx v3, these problems are solved. Feature Enhancements In addition to the above new features and capabilities, v3 is updated with multiple bug fixes, feature enhancements, and key changes to make the visual effects workflow smooth and efficient for all types of users. Among the most noteworthy feature enhancement is the implementation of multiprocessor acceleration to dramatically speed up the majority of filters. The more processors a machine has, the faster the interaction and rendering. Further feature enhancements include, the availability of the Tiffen Dfx custom user interface in Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro 6/7 and Avid Editing Systems, the addition of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom as a supported host, the acceleration of EZ Mask on multiprocessor machines, and new brushes in the Paint filter such as Black/White, Repair, Mosaic, Blur, and Scatter. With each update to our Tiffen Dfx digital filter suite, we strive to push the boundaries of visual effects technology, enhancing our users creative experience, and simplifying the interoperability between platforms and creative workflows says Steve Tiffen, president and CEO, The Tiffen Company. Many of our customers work in multiple mediums from print, to video, and film and with more than one tool. We designed Tiffen Dfx v3 to work in all types of formats, so that users can easily transition from one workspace to another, carrying over all settings from one system to another. The effortless compatibility and cross over capabilities of our software allows for the artists focus to be on the creative aspects of a project, rather than technical nuances. Tiffen Dfx v3 continues our strong commitment to imaging enhancement software. Pricing and Availability The Tiffen Dfx v3 Video/Film plug-in is available today for $599.95 USD. One Tiffen Dfx video/film plug-in license will allow it to run in Adobe After Effects, Adobe Premiere Pro, Apple Final Cut Pro 6/7 and Avid Editing Systems if installed on the same machine. The Tiffen Dfx v3 Photo plug-in is available today at an introductory price of $199.95 USD. One Tiffen Dfx photo plug-in license will allow it to run in Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Photoshop Elements, Adobe Photoshop Lightroom and Apple Aperture if installed on the same machine. The Standalone version of Tiffen Dfx v3 is available today for $169.95 USD. To download please visit: http://tiffensoftware.com/products. Upgrades for current Tiffen Dfx v2 users to Tiffen Dfx v3 are as follows:Standalone: $29.95 Photoshop/Aperture: $49.95After Effects/Avid/Final Cut Pro/Premiere Pro: $99.95 Upgrades for current Tiffen Dfx v1 users to Tiffen Dfx v3 are as follows:Standalone: $59.95 Photoshop/Aperture: $99.95After Effects/Avid/Final Cut Pro/Premiere Pro: $199.95 For more information on pricing or to download Tiffen Dfx v3 please visit: http://www.tiffensoftware.com/products/dfxv3-free-trial-download Tiffen is currently investigating Tiffen Dfx compatibility with FCP X for a future release. About Tiffen Tiffen has been a leading manufacturer and supplier of photographic filters and lens accessories for the consumer/professional imaging and the motion picture and broadcast television industries for over 70 years. The company has a rich history of innovative product design, superior optical consistency and unparalleled quality. Tiffen has been recognized for its product and engineering excellence earning two Technical Achievement Awards and a Scientific and Engineering Award from the Academy of Motion Picture Arts & Sciences, as well as an Emmy Award from the Academy of Television Arts and Sciences. Today, the company offers a wide range of products from its divisions, which include: Consumer, Motion Picture and Television, Digital, Tripods and Support Systems. Tiffen continues to enhance its reputation as a leading accessory manufacturer through aggressive growth in the image making accessory industry. For more information on Tiffen, please visit: http://www.tiffen.com. Tiffen is a registered trademark of The Tiffen Company. All other trademarks and products mentioned herein belong to their respective owners. Share and Enjoy:

can you get digital cameras with batteries that you can recharge in the unit (like a cell phone) instead of having to remove the battery & charge it in a separate charger?