Photos make great Christmas gifts

It's been a while since I've posted something photography related. I did get the Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS Image Stabilizer USM lens, but the weather has been so bad/cold here that I haven't had a chance to get out and use it yet. Monday and Tuesday are supposed to be sunny and around 65 F, so I am taking those days off from work to get out and enjoy the warmer weather and make use of this monster.

For Christmas, I usually do something photography related for my family. I usually create a calendar for my parents and sister. Last year the calendar was all photos that I had taken over the course of the year.

This year, I decided to do something different with the calendar. I have been teaching myself photo restoration and have made a project of restoring several boxes of my mother's old photos. For this year's calendar, I chose my sister and I as the theme. I sifted through 38 years of photos and picked out about 24 of my favorites to restore for the calendar. It was quite a time intensive project, but it turned out very nice and my sister and parents loved it!

I also chose to restore a 37 year old portrait of my grandparents (who are no longer with us) to give to my mother, her sisters (my aunts), and each of the grandchildren (my sister and cousins). I think that this really moved them. They had this picture already, but it was old and faded. I was glad that I could bring them so much joy and memories. This was a tough project because of the state of the photo, but I think my hard work on it paid off.

I used an Epson Perfection V700 Photo scanner, VueScan scanning software, Adobe Lightroom, and Adobe Photoshop CS3 Extended for all photo restoration work.

Hopefully I will have some photos to share on Monday or Tuesday. I will probably hit the National Zoo and the Smithsonian area in Washington D.C.. I may even head out to Arlington National Cemetery. I haven't been out there in a few months.

My thoughts on the HD DVD vs. Blu-ray format war

I have been a relatively quiet supporter of HD DVD since the release of the Xbox 360 HD DVD player. Most of my favorite movies and TV shows were available on HD DVD. The fact that Battlestar Galactica was available exclusively on HD DVD sealed the deal for me.

Signs seemed good for HD DVD. Most movies/shows that were available on both formats were typically selling better in HD DVD according to Amazon.com's top 100 'Bestsellers in DVD' list. I usually use Panet Earth as the benchmark for HD format performance. If you haven't viewed this show in HD then you haven't experienced HD! For months, the HD DVD version was outselling the Blu-ray version. Within the past week or two, the Blu-ray version has jumped slightly ahead of the HD DVD version. I should also note that the regular DVD version has continuously outsold both.

But back to the 'Bestsellers in DVD' list. Just before Christmas, Amazon.com launched a 'Buy One, Get One Free' sale for HD DVD discs from a list. That put about 10-15 HD DVD discs in the top 100 DVDs list. It seemed like things were looking good for HD DVD because there were only about five Blu-ray discs in the list.

However, Amazon.com has now launched a 'Buy One, Get One Free' sale for Blu-ray. As of this posting, Blu-ray currently has 34 titles listed in the top 100 discs from all formats, whereas HD DVD only has three titles in the top 100. For the first time (that I am aware of), Blu-ray titles are even outselling regular DVD titles. The first four Harry Potter movies in Blu-ray format are the top four titles in the list.

Yesterday, Warner Bros. Entertainment announced that they were going to drop HD DVD support at the end of May 2008 and move exclusively to Blu-ray. Until that date, they will release HD DVD titles after the standard DVD and Blu-ray releases.

"Warner Home Video will continue to release its titles in standard DVD format and Blu-ray. After a short window following their standard DVD and Blu-ray releases, all new titles will continue to be released in HD DVD until the end of May 2008."

There was a follow-up announcement which stated that New Line Cinema was also switching to Blu-ray exclusively. At this time, it is unknown whether HBO will follow suit.

In response to this announcement, the HD DVD Promotions Group has decided to cancel Sunday's CES Press Conference.

Even though I have been an HD DVD supporter, I view these recent events as a welcome defeat. Sure, I hate to think about the money I spent on HD DVD discs. But I had only purchased a few 'must-have' titles because I was waiting to see how things turned out in the "format war". But I have really enjoyed watching HD DVD titles from Netflix over the past 1 1/2 years so I have no regrets.

If the HD DVD Promotions Group really wants to do what is right for the consumers, they should take this opportunity to end the format war. They should release the final two major studios (NBC/Universal and Paramount) from their exclusivity contracts, or let those studios buy their way out of the contract. I wouldn't be surprised if those studios had a clause in the contract for scenarios such as this.

I had high hopes for HD DVD, but in the end I really just wanted one format to be decided upon so I didn't waste a lot of money on dead technology. I just ordered my first four Blu-ray discs from Amazon.com's 'Buy One, Get One Free' sale. Guess which ones.

OpenID enabled for site comments

I have enabled the ability to use an OpenID identification to leave comments on this blog.

OpenID is a digital identity which allows you to log into many different websites without having to create a new login & password for each website. It's kind of like having a drivers license that can be used to identify yourself at various locations.

OpenID is not proprietary and is completely free. Additional information about what OpenID is and its benefits can be found here.

You can obtain an OpenID from several providers. I got mine from myOpenID. You might already have an OpenID and not even know it. Each of the following services automatically include an OpenID: AOL, LiveDoor, LiveJournal, Orange (France Telecom), SmugMug, Technorati, Vox, and WordPress.com.

Get DivX Pro FREE for a limited time

DivX is offering DivX Pro for free for a limited time. No promotion expiration date is mentioned, but they have a note stating that "DivX Pro holiday download available for a limited time."

Get it while it lasts! Mac / Windows

Lightroom 1.3.1 and Camera RAW 4.3.1 updates

Tom Hogarty at Lightroom Journal brings word that Adobe has released two new updates today: Lightroom 1.3.1 (Mac, Win) and Camera RAW 4.3.1 (Mac, Win).

The update includes additional camera support for the Canon 1Ds Mark III, Nikon D3, Nikon D300, Olympus E-3, and more. It also provides updated Mac OS X 10.5.1 Leopard support.

There are still issues with running Lightroom and Time Machine simultaneously.

Lightroom 1.3.1 update

Lightroom 1.3.1 includes additional corrections for the following issues:
(These issues are specific to the 1.3.1 update. Lightroom 1.3.1 also includes all of the previous updates listed for Lightroom 1.3 below)

• The Lightroom 1.3 Print Module could previously cause the application to crash on either OS X 10.5 or 10.5.1 during template usage.
• On Mac OS X 10.5 or 10.5.1, the import process from a card reader or other device into Lightroom could fail to import all or a portion of the selected images.
• A decrease in Develop slider responsiveness introduced in Lightroom 1.3 has been corrected.
• The Lightroom 1.3 Develop module could cause the application to crash if adjustments were made in quick succession.
• Compressed raw files from the Nikon D100 were read incorrectly in Lightroom 1.3.
• A possible artifact in raw file support for the Olympus E-3 has been corrected.
• The Lightroom FTP Plug-in provided as sample code with the Export SDK did not function properly if the password was not saved with the selected FTP preset.
• Editing or creating a new FTP preset immediately prior to using the FTP plug-in provided as sample code with the Export SDK would cause the FTP process to fail.
• Using the Export as Previous option did not work with the FTP plug-in provided as sample code with the Export SDK.

Camera RAW and DNG Converter 4.3.1 update

• Compressed raw files from the Nikon D100 were read incorrectly in Camera Raw 4.3
• A possible artifact in Camera 4.3 raw file support for the Olympus E-3 has been corrected

Ordered a new lens today... arrives Monday!

After waiting for a good deal on the coveted Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS Image Stabilizer USM lens, I finally ordered it today from B&H! There was a $125 instant rebate by Canon, and I got an additional $100 off from a recent NAPP Photoshop CS3 seminar that I attended recently which B&H was a sponsor. I also got FREE shipping as a benefit of being a NAPP member.

The lens arrives on Monday! Since it gets dark early around here, I'll need to find something indoors to tide me over. Maybe I'll pick up some flowers.

"The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2" available for pre-order

Scott Kelby announced on his blog today the pre-order availability of The Digital Photography Book, Volume 2. This is the sequel to his The Digital Photography Book, which I always recommend to my friends.

If you pre-order it from Amazon.com, currently you also get an additional 5% pre-order discount bringing the final price to $15.67.