Home 
Gear Accessories 2006 Editors' Choice Awards
Gear Accessories 2006 Editors' Choice Awards
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
2006 Editors' Choice Awards
30 of our favorite new products & technologies for 2006
Labels: Buyers Guide
nik Sharpener Pro 2.0
We like any product that helps photographers get pro results in less time, so nik Sharpener Pro 2.0 is a natural. This Photoshop plug-in offers automatic, high-quality sharpening to optimize your images for printing. It lets you restrict sharpening to portions of your image based on color selection and sharpens RAW files, too. List Price: from $170. Contact: nik Multimedia, (888) 284-4085, www.nikmultimedia.com.
Sigma 30mm ƒ/1.4 EX DC HSM
We're praising the Sigma 30mm ƒ/1.4 EX DC HSM lens for its fast aperture. Built for small-frame D-SLRs, it features low dispersion glass and aspherical elements to ensure color fidelity and minimize image aberrations. The lens accepts 62mm filters, measures 2.97x2.3 inches and weighs 15.2 ounces. List Price: $640. Contact: Sigma, (800) 896-6858, www.sigma-photo.com.
ACDSee 8.0
We want to find images fast when browsing our collections, so the speedy ACDSee 8.0 Quick Search bar caught our attention. After typing in a keyword or multiple keywords, it searches through file names, keywords, categories and functions assigned to your photos and returns matches in mere seconds. Version 8.0 has complete support for IPTC metadata and keeps thumbnails of images archived to CD to help you find them quickly. List Price: $50 (full version); $40 (update). Contact: ACD Systems, (866) 244-2237, www.acdsystems.com.
iView MediaPro 3.0
We're all about fast browsing and editing, and so is iView MediaPro 3.0. This media-management software allows you to perform batch file conversions and view up to four images side by side in full screen mode. Version 3.0 has support for IPTC/XMP Core and UNICODE annotations, and includes image editing and enhancement tools, advanced slideshow creation and ICC color profiles. List Price: $199. Contact: iView Multimedia (Ingram Micro), www.iview-multimedia.com.
Samsung SC-D6550 Compact DuoCam
We liked Samsung's idea to include dedicated lenses for video and photography in the SC-D6550 Compact DuoCam. With a 6.8-megapixel sensor for photos and a 5.25-megapixel sensor for MiniDV video, this camera has all its bases covered. It has a 2.5-inch LCD screen, and fits all of these features neatly into a 2.5x3x5-inch frame that weighs slightly less than a pound. List Price: $800. Contact: Samsung Electronics, (800) SAMSUNG, www.samsungusa.com.
Page 5 of 7
0 Comments