A friend of mine sent me this interesting article. It's about a new company called Refocus Imaging -- and the ability to change the focal point in a digital imagine during post processing. Check out the article:

http://www.news.com/8301-13580_3-9876296-39.html

Looks pretty cool, eh?

Today I'm sad to report that I had a 160 GB hard drive crash. 99% of the files were backed up...the 1% that was were PSD files from a project I just completed. Shame on me for not immediately backing them up. Just because the drive was less than 3 months old doesn't mean it wasn't safe (fortunately it's under warranty). It's just a bummer that I have to re-do about 4 hours worth of work to recreate the PSD files I lost. I'm going to attempt some file recovery software...he-he-he..."when I have time"...so I'll keep you posted.

We here at Daily Photo Tips first told you about Photosynth -- the revolutionary imaging software being developed by LiveLabs at Microsoft -- almost one year ago (see this post).

Here is an updated presentation on Photosynth featured on Ted.com -- a cool technology sharing web-site. So, while our good friends David Jay and Gary Fong are just now mentioning Photosynth on their blogs, remember that we talked about it LAST AUGUST! :)

(But, we still love you Gary and DJ...)

While in Orlando this week I had the opportunity to see a demo of ShootQ -- a new software product from the amazing team at LaCour Photo in Atlanta. ShootQ looks like an extremely powerful prospect and customer management system that will integrate smoothly with photographer web-sites. The application is web-based -- meaning remote access to all of your customer information for photography jobs can be accessed anywhere you have Internet access.

Andrew Neisen and the ShootQ team just kicked off their launch tour -- click here to learn more about the power of ShootQ and how it can help you better manage your photography business. Be sure to sign up to attend one of the launch parties where you will get first-hand access to the team of ShootQ developers who will help you configure the software to integrate with your studio and web-page.

Gary Fong has recently announced the latest version of his popular BullZeye software -- version 4.0. To obtain a free trial download of Bullzeye 4.0, go to Gary's web-site, www.garyfongestore.com or click here to go directly to the BullZeye trial offer page.

BullZeye 4.0 looks to be a very useful tool, especially for jpeg shooters, as it offers color correction utilities, exposure correction along with batch processing capabilities. If you like BullZeye, for a limited time you can order the full version for $149 (regular price $199).

Kudos to Gary along with other image processing software vendors who offer these wonderful "try before you buy" opportunities!

EDIT:
I just read an excellent review of BullZeye 4.0 on the awesome blog of West Palm Beach, Florida photographer George Quiroga -- check it out by clicking here. Great review George!

Adobe Photoshop CS3 is now available and shipping from Adobe. You can buy an upgrade (for Photoshop versions 7 or higher) for $199 and the full product for $649 on the Adobe web-site.

And, keep in mind, you have until April 30th to purchase Photoshop Lightroom for $100 off the expected retail price of $299.

Matt Kloskowski, of Photoshop TV fame, maintains an awesome web-site called Lightroom Killer Tips -- click here to check it out. Matt was nice enough to give us a plug yesterday on the site so we happily do the same. Be sure to sign up for the Adobe Lightroom Killer Tips weekly podcast -- a great way to learn some of the many features Lightroom has to offer photographers.

After a very long period in Beta testing with a huge sample size, :), Adobe Lightroom 1.0 has now been released! For a limited time you buy Lightroom direct from Adobe for just $199. Click here for more details. Be sure to check out the virtual tour and the video tutorials.

Race you to the check out line!

If you are on a tight budget and can not afford expensive image editing software but you want to shoot RAW files, consider Bibble 4.9 Lite. Estimated retail price is just $69 and this latest version contains a number of effective tools for noise reduction, clone/spot manipulation as well as a neat feature called "Perfectly Clear." The Perfectly Clear option is a quick-fix that tweaks a number of image quality parameters at the same time. Click here to find out more information.

iView MediaPro - FREE 21-Day Trial!

Pro photographers as well as advanced amateurs are learning the importance of digital asset management for file access and organization. One of the leading asset management software programs is iView MediaPro, a Microsoft product. I have yet to jump on the DAM (digital asset management, that is!) bandwagon...but I plan to in the very near future. :)

For your free 21-Day trial, click here to go to the iView web-site. Be sure to sign up for the free MediaPro podcast!

Internationally recognized Santa Barbara photographer David Jay has released a set of Adobe Bridge presets that he calls "Brilliant." For a limited time you can purchase David's Brilliant Adobe Bridge presets for just $39!!! Click here for more information and to order!

I've used them. I love them!! :)