Adobe announces Photoshop CS3 release

Since they released CS3 in beta version, it comes as no supprise that the new version is now being released.

For microstock photographers, CS3 (basic version) will be the ultimate photo editing software. Is it overkill for what is needed. probably depending on how much post processing you do. I currently use Photoshop Elements 2 so it is by no means necessary. However, I am considering it, to reduce my workflow (all of what I do I will be able to do in one program) and for some of the additional features (layer mask, Raw, HDR). Just have to pay the price now which at £485 for the basic version, is not cheap.

Full press release below:

Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended Push the Boundaries of Digital Imaging
London — March 27, 2007 —
Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Photoshop® CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended, two new editions of the professional industry standard for digital imaging. Photoshop CS3 software is a major upgrade, offering new innovations in editing power and productivity for designers and photographers. The addition of an entirely new version of Photoshop, Photoshop CS3 Extended, means creative professionals can now discover new dimensions in digital imaging, harnessing everything in Photoshop CS3 plus groundbreaking tools for 3-D, motion graphics, image measurement and analysis. Photoshop CS3 Extended expands the boundaries of digital imaging, simplifying the workflows for professionals in architecture, engineering, medicine, and science.
Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended will be available as stand-alone applications or key components of Adobe’s expanded Creative Suite® 3 family, also announced today (see separate press releases). The software will be available as a Universal application for both PowerPC and Intel-based Macs and will support both Microsoft® Windows® XP and Windows Vista. Customers will experience increased levels of performance and speed running Photoshop CS3 on Intel-based Macintosh systems and the latest Windows hardware.
“This is the year in which Photoshop reinvents itself," said Deborah Whitman, vice president of product management for Digital Imaging at Adobe. “In this landmark release, we took the professional industry standard and greatly expanded the possibilities for designers and photographers, while challenging it to shine across a whole new set of tasks. We’re delivering Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended to a new breed of cross-media creative professional and stretching the limits of what can be done by architects, scientists and doctors.”
Advanced Tools for Designers and Digital Photographers in Photoshop CS3
Photoshop CS3 beta testers have confirmed the release as a must-have for designers and photographers. With new features for advanced compositing, designers can automatically align multiple Photoshop layers or images based on similar content. The Auto-align Layers command quickly analyzes details and moves, rotates or warps layers to align them perfectly, and the Auto-blend Layers command blends the color and the shading to create a smooth, editable result.
With the latest version of Camera Raw, photographers can process raw images with increased speed and superior conversion quality, with its support for over 150 raw formats, JPEG and TIFF files, compatibility with Adobe Photoshop Lightroom™, and new tools such as Fill Light and Dust Busting.
Image Analysis, 3-D and Motion Support in Photoshop CS3 Extended
Photoshop CS3 Extended software includes everything in Photoshop CS3 plus additional specialised features such as support for 3-D and video workflows, animation and in-depth image analysis. With support for popular 3-D formats, creatives can render and incorporate rich 3-D content into their 2-D compositions, including texture editing on 3-D models. Using the Enhanced Vanishing Point, designers can measure in perspective and also export from Enhanced Vanishing Point to a 3-D model. For video post-production, Photoshop CS3 Extended now includes video-format and layer support to edit video files frame by frame. The resulting video can then be exported to a variety of formats including Flash®. Pioneering new uses in areas such as manufacturing and medicine, the Measurement Log palette calculates a range of values within an image, the Scale Marker easily adds a scale graphic to any image, and the new Count tool tallies features in an image simply by clicking on them.
“We estimate that 98 percent of all video games on the shelf were created with Photoshop,” said Michael Casalino, senior environment artist for Electronic Arts Sports. “The enhancements in Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended will make the software even more indispensable to us, with functionality like the new 3D editing tools allowing users to seamlessly incorporate 3D content into the image-editing workflow.”
New to Photoshop CS3 and the Adobe Creative Suite 3 family, Adobe Device Central (see separate release) radically boosts the productivity of creative professionals who develop content for mobile handsets.
Adobe Photoshop Family
Adobe offers the right Photoshop for all types of users. Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended are at the heart of the Photoshop family. The portfolio also includes Adobe Photoshop Lightroom™, which provides a complete digital darkroom for professional and serious amateur photographers; Adobe Photoshop Elements with editing and sharing options for photography enthusiasts; and the free Adobe Photoshop Album Starter Edition, which meets the needs of the casual photographer.
Pricing and Availability
Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Photoshop CS3 Extended will begin shipping in April 2007 to customers in the United States and Canada, and will be available through Adobe Authorised Resellers and the Adobe Store at www.adobe.co.uk/store. Estimated street price for Adobe Photoshop CS3 is £485 and £755 for Photoshop CS3 Extended. Upgrade pricing is available.

Getty acquires Scoopt

Getty continues on the buying spree (though the proposed purchase of Jupiter has been called off) by buying Scoopt.

While note a microstock agency, this could come in very useful to microstockers who happen to have their camera around when some news worthy event happens. having an outlet to get those photos to the news agency quickly is important to getting good money from it. YOu never know when you will get a news worthy picture so why not join up (link below) and dont forget to carry your camera (or atleast a picture phone) everywhere you go.

See the press release below:

Getty Images Acquires Scoopt With Vision of Making Citizen Photojournalism More Accessible to the Mainstream Media

Monday March 12, 9:00 am ET

Amateur Photographers Who Find Themselves in the Right Place at the Right Time Will Soon Have Exposure to a Worldwide Audience
SEATTLE, March 12 -- Getty Images, Inc. today announced its acquisition of Scoopt, an emerging source for user- generated editorial content. Scoopt is an aggregator and distributor of photographs and videos captured by eyewitnesses who have an accidental front row seat to headline-making moments.
In the coming months, news, sport and entertainment imagery from Scoopt that meets Getty Images' stringent editorial quality standards will be released exclusively at www.gettyimages.com/editorial, where it will benefit from worldwide visibility and promotional support. Additionally, Getty Images will invest in technology upgrades and other enhancements to Scoopt in order to make the site more accessible to customers, and to better position it for future growth.
"New technology has made it easier to capture and distribute imagery, leading to citizen photojournalism that is increasingly relevant to the news cycle," said Jonathan Klein, co-founder and CEO of Getty Images. "While this genre will never replace the award-winning photojournalism for which we're known, it's a highly complementary offering that enables us to meet the evolving imagery needs of a broad customer base."
Since the founding of Scoopt in 2005, the site has supplied the media with arresting imagery from major world events, including:
· The tragic Manhattan plane crash that killed New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle and his flight instructor in October 2006; digital images captured by a bystander were emailed to Scoopt and appeared on the front page of The Times of London
· Fierce January 2006 storms in the U.K., which brought devastation and disruption to large parts of the country
"User-generated content is serving a valuable role in today's communication landscape; safeguards to validate its authenticity are critical," said Hugh Pinney, director of Editorial Photography at Getty Images. "By implementing rigorous quality standards, we can deliver powerful imagery captured from a unique perspective while ensuring journalistic integrity."
Citizen photographers who submit imagery to Scoopt retain copyright while granting the agency a 12-month exclusive license that authorizes re-license to one or more publishers. Contributors will benefit from increased visibility and an extensive network of media contacts, earning a significant percentage of the value for each license issued. Both Getty Images and Scoopt encourage contributors to be respectful and follow a code of ethics for image capture. Submission guidelines and additional details about Scoopt's growing photographer community can be found at Scoopt .
Getty Images plans to fully integrate Scoopt into its organization, harnessing the team's knowledge of user-generated editorial content. "We're very much looking forward to taking our business to the next level by collaborating with the world's leading imagery provider," said Kyle MacRae, founder of Scoopt. "This acquisition will exponentially expand our customer base and establish a strong foundation for long-term growth."
The Scoopt team will continue to operate out of the site's base in Glasgow, Scotland, servicing customers under the leadership of Getty Images' Hugh Pinney. Existing relationships with Scoopt partners and affiliates will remain in place until further notice.

Click here if you want to sign up to Scoopt .

Corbis to enter Microstock

Corbis, one of the main macrostock agencies, has announced that they plan to enter microstock in the next few months. This will add to the other major macrostock agencies who already have microstock agencies:

Getty : istockphoto (bought last year for $50m)
Jupiter : StockXpert
Inmagine : 123RF

What hasn't been said is whether they intent to buy one of the existing stock sites or whether they are going to start from scratch.

Extract from article:

Title: Micro-stock momentum
Date: 21 March 2007
In an exclusive interview, Steve Davis, CEO of Corbis, reveals the company's new ambitions in the micro-stock market and why he isn't concerned about Getty's recent spending spree. Katie Scott reports
Corbis says it intends to enter the micro-stock market, competing with archrival Getty Images for a slice of one of the fastest growth areas in royalty-free picture licensing.
In an exclusive interview with BJP, Corbis CEO Steve Davis said the company is aiming for a leadership position in the market for low-cost micro-stock imagery, where images are typically supplied by amateur photographers and sold for as little as $1. He promised that Corbis will make a splash with the launch of a new service in 'the next few months'.

http://www.bjp-online.com/public/showPage.html?page=439022

Feb microstock photo statistics

Well ... February went off like a frog in a sock. Not quite a best ever month but well up on last month and definately recovered from the christmas slowdown.

Below are percentages for the month to show how I have been going:

33% shutterstock (BEST EVER MONTH - BEM)
14% dreamtime
7% Fotolia
19% istockphoto (BEM)
6% bigstockphoto
7% 123RF
7% StockXpert
3% Featurepics
0% Canstock
0% Galastock
3% LuckyOliver (BEM)

shutterstock out did itself again with another best ever month. New uploads certainlyl helped it along but I was consistantly getting DL from my old photos too so it is not just the "new photo effect" which is evident at shutterstock .

istockphoto is starting to come into its own after a recent push to get more of my photos on their. There upload system is the worst and is restricted to 15 per week which isn't good when you are trying to play catch up.

dreamtime did well and they have just introduced new prices this month. It will be interesting to see if income improves.

The next four were pretty even, though a late come back by StockXpert saved the day for it. Apparently they changed the search criteria.