Los Angeles, CA (June 17, 2013) – Leica Camera, the legendary German camera and sport optics brand, announces the opening of the Leica Store and Gallery Los Angeles. Located at 8783 Beverly Boulevard in West Hollywood, the 8,000 square-foot space boasts a gorgeous art gallery and store.

Offering the entire range of Leica products and accessories, photography books, printing and renting services, and carefully selected (third party) accessories, the Leica store provides a full service to photography enthusiasts. Billed as a unique lifestyle destination, the gallery invites customers into a tranquil environment of artwork and books, and even has an outdoor lounge where people can relax and enjoy a conversation or photo book.

The Gallery space was designed to celebrate photography and display exhibitions by an interesting mix of established and up-and-coming photographers. It includes a library filled with collectable photography books curated by Martin Parr and will feature cultural highlights such as Yibai’s “Fake Leica,” a sculpture of enormous dimensions that is valued at $1 million. Opening exhibits will showcase the work of world-renowned photographer Mary Ellen Mark, Seal, the Grammy Award-winning singer and songwriter and self-proclaimed “photography geek,” and Yariv Milchan, a self-taught photographer educated in Paris and Los Angeles who was exposed early on to Hollywood photography.

“Our goal was to create a space that inspires our customers” says Roland Wolff, Vice President of Marketing and Corporate Retail. “Between events, gallery openings, and Leica product launches, the Leica Store and Gallery LA will become a major hub in the world of Leica and photography.” In addition to the interactive setting the gallery offers through cultural and educational events, customers can experience Leica's legendary products first-hand, such as the Leica M and S Systems and the newly introduced Leica X Vario.

The Leica Store and Gallery Los Angeles will be open seven days a week. For more information, feel free to visit leicastorela.com and leicagalleryla.com.

About Leica Camera:

Leica represents a union of craftsmanship, technology and experience. It is at once an extension of art, knowledge and philosophy, providing a state-of-the-art optical experience in a precision, hand-made photographic instrument. Leica Camera has a simple mission: to provide users with an incomparable experience, an instrument that defines an unsurpassed heritage and sets a standard of excellence for the industry to meet. www.leica-camera.com.

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COPENHAGEN and STOCKHOLM, June 17, 2013 — Phase One and Profoto today announced that their technical collaboration has produced an unprecedented integration of simultaneous image capture and light control.

Now photographers can link their Profoto studio light to the aperture or ISO settings of their DSLR or medium format camera system. While shooting tethered in Capture One Pro, any changes to the aperture on the camera will cause the light intensity of the studio light to automatically compensate an equivalent f-stop. For example, if the photographer switches from f/8 to f/5.6, the light will drop one f-stop, so that the image is not overexposed. The solution lets photographers easily define which groups of lights should be included in the linking, making it a powerful and flexible work tool.

“Capture One Pro was designed to satisfy the needs of professional photographers,” said Henrik O. Håkonsson, CEO & President, Phase One. “Our collaboration with Profoto and the success of our capture and lighting integrations offer unprecedented lighting control during capture. This solution is especially great for portrait photographers who want to vary their depth of field; they can just turn the aperture dial and the light intensity will follow to ensure the right exposure.”

Anders Hedebark, CEO, Profoto added: “Since our initial capture and lighting integration projects with Phase One, photographers have encouraged us to do more in this area. Capture One Pro is a great platform from which to empower our customers with better tools to manage their professional light gear.”

Two years ago, the companies announced their first image capture and light control integration solution available in Capture One Pro 6. It provided remote access for wireless control of Profoto lighting equipment from within the Capture One application.

Availability and Pricing

The new image capture and lighting integration solution is available now for Mac OS. It requires Capture One Pro 7.1.2 or Capture One DB (digital back) 7.1.2 or later and a Profoto Studio plugin for Capture One. The Capture One software is available from Phase One at http://www.phaseone.com/software or from one of its authorized dealers. The Profoto Studio plugin download is available at http://www.profoto.com/capture-one.

The solution works with all Profoto lights with built-in Air Remote Control.

For a list of compatible cameras please refer to: http://www.phaseone.com/camerasupport

About Profoto

Profoto is a Swedish company manufacturing flash equipment for the professional photo market. Established in 1968, Profoto is one of the leading flash manufacturers in the world, and counts among its customers a great many of the leading photographers and rental houses. Profoto is headquartered in Sundbyberg, north of Stockholm. For more information visit: http://www.profoto.com; or contact the team at:

Twitter at https://twitter.com/Profoto

Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/profoto

Blog at: http://www.profoto.com/blog

About Phase One

Phase One is the world’s leader in open-platform, high-end camera systems and solutions. Phase One cameras, digital backs and lenses are designed to deliver superior quality image capture and investment value. Phase One’s Capture One and Media Pro software help streamline capture and post-production processes for both medium format and DSLR cameras. Phase One products are known for their quality, flexibility and speed enabling pro photographers shooting in a wide range of formats to achieve their creative visions without compromise.

Phase One is an employee-owned company based in Copenhagen with offices in New York, London, Tokyo, Cologne, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Sydney, and Tel Aviv.

Phase One and Capture One are registered trademarks of Phase One A/S. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

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Austin based Mother Tucker, LLC has announced BlueCam PRO 6.0, an update to its popular camera app for iOS. BlueCam PRO offers remote control ability, auto and manual uploading, timers, live filters and many other features. Designed originally for iPhones with built-in Bluetooth support, version 6.0 adds a new photo browser, new sharing service, new live filters and many other improvements.

Austin, Texas – Mother Tucker, LLC today is proud to announce the release of BlueCam PRO 6.0, an update to its popular camera app for iOS. Designed originally for iPhones with built-in Bluetooth support, BlueCam PRO gives users an alternative to the built-in Camera app which has remote control ability, photo & video timers, photo & video filters, auto and manual photo & video uploading, and many other features. The most significant features are allowing a remote control user to: view a live camera preview; voice chat; and view a Google map with a video map pin.

Camera Features:

* Gesture-based interface for (Taking Stills, Recording Video, Starting Timers, Setting Focus, Setting Exposure)

* Resolution/Flash/Torch/Focus/Exposure/WhiteBalance Controls

* Pinch zoom while recording videos and taking pictures

* 9X to 153X zoom depending on your selected Preset

* 31 Live Video Filters for recording video and capturing still images

* EXIF in unfiltered photos

* Burst Mode – Take 2-4 burst shots with a tap

* Photo & Video Timers

* Burst Photo Timers – Take unlimited burst shots by creating a Timer with a “Delay” of 0 seconds

* Anti-Shake – Use your Accelerometer to take photos only when there is no shaking detected

* Auto Upload Videos&Photos to Flickr, Facebook or Twitter in the background

* Auto Save photos in the background

* Geotag Flickr Videos&Photos

* Reticles (Scope, Rectangle, Rule Of Thirds) with color choice of (Black, White, Red and Green)

* Button Colors (Black, White, Red and Green)

* JPEG Quality Control for faster photo transfer over Bluetooth

* Sharing via, In-App Mail

App Camera Roll Features (Remote and Camera):

* Browse and edit all of the photos & videos in your device's Camera roll

* Aviary 3.0 photo editing library

* Share with Twitter, Facebook, Flickr, Instagram, YouTube, Tumblr, Vkontakte, Dropbox, Evernote, Sina Weibo

* Disable the sharing services you don't use with the built-in Settings app

* Create Phone cases, shirts, mugs, etc… with your photos

* Browser full screen photos with gestures (pinch zoom, swipe, double & single tap, etc…)

Remote-to-Camera Features:

* View a Camera's Live Camera Preview shooting stills and recording videos

* Control the camera with gestures (Take Photo, Start/Stop Recording, Start Timer, Set Focus, Set Exposure, Set Focus & Exposure)

* Control the camera's Resolution/Flash/Torch

* View a Map with a Video Pin of the Camera user

* Adjust a Cameras's zoom level

* Create&Cancel Timers on a Camera

* Voice Chat

Remote-to-Remote Features:

* Tap the “Remote” preview to transfer videos&photos

* View a Map of other users location

* Voice Chat

Credits:

* Includes “MGTwitterEngine” code by Matt Gemmell

** Ratings, Reviews and Feedback emails are appreciated! **

Device Requirements:

* iOS 6.0 or higher

* iPhone (3GS or later model), iPad, iPod touch (2nd Generation or later model)

* 25.3 MB Hard Drive space

Pricing and Availability:

BlueCam PRO 6.0 is free for a limited time and available worldwide exclusively through the App Store in the Photo & Video category. For questions or help with any problems, please email us.

Mother Tucker: http://www.mothertuckerllc.com

BlueCam PRO 6.0: http://www.mothertuckerllc.com/bluecamipad/bluecamipad.html

Download from iTunes: http://itunes.apple.com/app/bluecam-pro/id335423589

YouTube Video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=adGPCnex4jQ

Screenshot: http://www.mothertuckerllc.com/bluecam/0.PNG

Located in Austin, TX, Mother Tucker, LLC was founded in 2009 by Raymond Perez and Nicole Tucker Perez. Mother Tucker, LLC develops software for iOS devices including many that were featured by Apple. Copyright (C) 2013 Mother Tucker, LLC. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the U.S. and/or other countries.

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The Skulpturhalle Basel museum holds a collection of approximately 2,000 high-quality plaster casts of ancient Greek and Roman sculptures, including the Venus de Milo, Winged Victory, the Medusa Rondanini, and Athena Parthenos. Wenman has obtained the Skulpturhalle’s permission to take hundreds of photographs of each work, then process the images into 3D-printable files that will be uploaded to Makerbot’s Thingiverse, the premier online repository for 3D files. From there, artists and 3D printing enthusiasts can use the files to 3D print copies of their own, or create new derivative works. Teachers will be able to print copies for the classroom, giving students direct, hands-on access to the world's sculptural masterworks.

The original ancient Greek and Roman works are scattered across museums around the world, but by 3D scanning the Skulpturhalle’s extensive collection of high-fidelity 18th and 19th century plaster reproductions, Wenman will be able to 3D capture the same ancient designs while side-stepping the need for extensive travel and negotiations with multiple museums, and in many cases will have superior access to what would be possible with the originals.

The project, seeking popular funding through a Kickstarter campaign which launched on June 6, is unusual as it will create a pure public good—rather than a commercial product—and the final products will be freely available online. The project also allows sponsors who contribute $1,850 or more to have a life-size 3D-printed bust of one of the scans donated to a school of their choice.

By making the scans available to anyone, Wenman hopes to further the goal of digitizing the world’s cultural heritage. “There are millennia of beautiful physical forms that can be digitized, propagated, and remixed over and over again in perpetuity, starting now,” he says. “They can become the foundation of an unlimited combinatorial explosion of adaptation and creation, and for untold new artwork and art forms in the coming years. Will the world’s back catalog of 3D art show up lit in pixels on our screens, 3D printed in our homes and classrooms, or embedded in our architecture or clothing? Or in something new? Mass 3D scanning and publishing projects like this are the first steps towards finding out.”

Supporters of the project will be enabling a revolution in the way we interact with art, says Wenman. “The children growing up today and tomorrow with 3D printers in their homes and classrooms are on the verge of becoming the very first generation to have an aesthetic sensibility informed by direct, hands-on access to the world's sculptural masterworks,” he says. “Their cultural landscape and visual vocabulary will be richer, more complex, and more varied than ours. Sculpture and artifacts will be able to speak to them in ways that have never before been possible.”

Calling the project “a tremendous opportunity to bring great art into people's lives,” Wenman invites supporters to take part in “a new, experimental form of art patronage, integrating yourself with art and art history and helping to close the distance between great art and the people who love it.” He continues, “Eventually, 3D printable designs of the entire world's cultural heritage of sculptural masterworks will be available to everyone, and this project is my attempt to make that happen sooner rather than later.”

Paleontologist Louise Leakey, who has worked with Wenman on reproducing ancient hominid fossils using 3D printing, endorsed the project, saying, “Cosmo has a compelling vision of how these technologies can liberate the world’s three-dimensional heritage. The potential educational applications are limitless. Ambitious projects like this are a start of something new and exciting; please lend your support.”

Wenman’s life-size 3D-printed reproductions of sculpture have gained him a reputation as a pioneer in the 3D printing world. Bre Pettis, co-founder and CEO of MakerBot Industries, said, “Cosmo’s work truly brings 3D printing into another realm. [He] shows that the technology is much more malleable than previously envisioned and has created some of the most impressive examples of 3D replication we have ever seen.” BoingBoing.net editor Cory Doctorow called Wenman’s work, “…extraordinary achievements, which have really pushed the limits on 3D printing using low-cost, home-model printers.”

Wenman’s 3D scanned and 3D printed adaptations of works from the British Museum, the Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery, Tate Britain, the Getty Villa, the Louvre, and the Norton Simon museum have been displayed at the 2012 London 3D Print Show and the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show. His life-size, solid bronze adaptation of the Getty Villa's bust of Caligula was recently displayed as an example of digitization and 3D printed reproduction at a conference of museum curators at the Smithsonian.

Wenman considers himself a lifelong (informal) art student. He has a background in economics and architecture-related project management and design review. He lives in Southern California.

Project website: www.ThroughAScanner.com

To learn more about the use of 3D scanning and 3D printing to reproduce sculptures, visit:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-06-14/3-d-copying-makes-michelangelos-of-the-masses.html

For more information on the technical aspects of Wenman’s work, see this article from Tested.com:

http://www.tested.com/art/makers/454188-maker-profile-cosmo-wenmans-3d-printed-art/

For background on the use of plaster casts in the art world, see:

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The Plugin Site (www.ThePluginSite.com) is pleased to announce MetaRaw, which extends the functionality of the Adobe Camera Raw plugin in Photoshop and Photoshop Elements. It lets you open camera raw files with Adobe Camera Raw, which are normally not supported by it, and allows applying Adobe Camera Raw as a filter to image layers. In Photoshop Elements MetaRaw provides automatic lens correction and chromatic aberration removal features for Adobe Camera Raw. Additionally MetaRaw includes its own raw converter, which has several advantages over Adobe Camera Raw.

Product Mission

With MetaRaw you do not have to upgrade to the latest version of Photoshop or Photoshop Elements if you only need support for a new camera raw file type or want to apply Adobe Camera Raw as a filter to image layers.

Harald Heim, head of The Plugin Site, explains: “Before MetaRaw became available, Photoshop users had to upgrade to the latest version of Photoshop if they wanted to open a new kind of raw file. For users of Photoshop Elements 9, 10 and 11 the situation was even worse. There are no Adobe Camera Raw updates available for them, so they basically had to wait up to 12 months for the next major release of Elements. Some may argue that these users could use an external raw converter instead. If you investigate such workarounds, you will notice that they cost time, break your workflow, require additional image processing steps and may result in decreased image quality.”

Harald Heim continues: “MetaRaw solves this dilemma by empowering users to open the latest variety of raw files with Adobe Camera Raw, even if they use such old applications as Photoshop CS1 and Photoshop Elements 3. Furthermore, MetaRaw applies the Camera Raw effects to image layers. This provides users of older Photoshop versions and Photoshop Elements with a similar functionality as the new Camera Raw filter in Photoshop CC.”

Three Raw Converters in One

MetaRaw seamlessly runs three different raw converters directly within Photoshop and Photoshop Elements: Adobe Camera Raw, Adobe DNG Converter and MetaRaw's built-in raw converter. If one of them does not support a certain raw file, one of the others is automatically used. No matter which raw converter you choose, its output can be processed with Adobe Camera Raw.

The built-in MetaRaw Converter produces images that are up to 0.3 megapixel larger than those of Adobe Camera Raw. It is able to open camera raw files from unknown future cameras and supports 50 more camera models and 13 more raw file extensions than the latest version of Adobe Camera Raw. The output of the MetaRaw Converter looks quite similar to Adobe Camera Raw and can be further processed with Adobe Camera Raw. MetaRaw Converter preserves more shadow and highlight details at default settings than Adobe Camera Raw and produces a more natural look for certain raw files.

Other Features

In Photoshop Elements the Adobe Camera Raw window offers a limited number of controls. MetaRaw provides two additional features in Photoshop Elements 10 and 11: automatic lens correction and chromatic aberration removal. This avoid two additional image processing steps, which otherwise have to be done manually.

MetaRaw lets you open raw images without displaying the Camera Raw dialog, which can be handy at times. You can also choose to open a raw file as smart object for readjusting the Camera Raw settings without reopening the raw file again. For archival purposes MetaRaw is able to automatically save a DNG or TIFF file while opening a raw file.

Availability & System Requirements

MetaRaw requires Adobe Photoshop or Adobe Photoshop Elements for Windows. A version for MacOS X is planned. The MetaRaw UI is available in English and German language. MetaRaw costs USD 39.95 (Academic/educational license: USD 24.95). A 14-day-trial version can be downloaded at http://thepluginsite.com/products/metaraw/

Company Info

The Plugin Site is located in Nuremberg, Germany, and mainly develops image processing software. We created the FilterHub, ElementsXXL, ColorWasher, FocalBlade, LightMachine, B/W Styler, ContrastMaster, NoiseControl, ColorStyler, PhotoFreebies, Plugin Galaxy, Plugin Commander and HyperTyle products. In the past we co-produced Alpha Magic with Pinnacle Systems and co-developed FilterMeister with AFH Systems.

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MELVILLE, NY. (June 13, 2013) – Today, Nikon Corporation celebrates the achievement of reaching eighty million for the total production of NIKKOR and 1 NIKKOR lenses for Nikon SLR cameras and Nikon 1 advanced cameras with interchangeable lenses, respectively. From professional photographers to casual snap shooters, enthusiasts to film makers, NIKKOR lenses have been trusted for 80 years due to their sharpness, reliability and unrivaled image quality.

In January, Nikon announced two new additions to the NIKKOR lineup, including the AF-S NIKKOR 800mm f/5.6E FL ED VR, a very powerful super-telephoto lens compatible with Nikon’s FX-format D-SLRs that offers the longest focal length in the history of NIKKOR autofocus (AF) lenses. The second was the compact and lightweight AF-S NIKKOR 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED wide-angle zoom lens. In March, the 5x telephoto-zoom AF-S NIKKOR 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR was announced, offering an amazing focal range and one of the fastest AF speeds in its class.

Nikon also released two new lenses for the Nikon 1 advanced cameras with interchangeable lenses in January, the versatile 1 NIKKOR VR 10-100mm f/4-5.6 10x zoom lens and the ultra wide-angle zoom 1 NIKKOR VR 6.7-13mm f/3.5-5.6. In May, Nikon introduced the fastest lens in the 1 NIKKOR lineup, the 1 NIKKOR 32mm f/1.2, a medium telephoto fixed focal length lens with a wide maximum aperture of f/1.2. The current lineup of interchangeable lenses for Nikon 1 cameras consists of nine lenses. Furthermore, Nikon remains dedicated to expanding and enriching the product line.

With this year marking the 80th anniversary of the launch of the NIKKOR brand of photographic lenses, Nikon produced a video that highlights the creation of NIKKOR lenses from fabrication to the refining and polishing of the glass elements, to lens construction and quality control. To watch the full video, please visit http://www.vimeo.com/59997617.

For more information about the NIKKOR brand as well as the latest NIKKOR and 1 NIKKOR lenses, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

About NIKKOR

The brand name for Nikon lenses, NIKKOR has become synonymous with high-performance and high-quality. This year, NIKKOR celebrates its 80th anniversary since the first lens was introduced in 1933. The NIKKOR name comes from adding “R”—a common practice in the naming of photographic lenses at the time the name was established—to “Nikko”, the Romanized abbreviation for Nippon Kogaku K.K.

Nikon's own high-quality standards are applied to all stages of development, from initial design to the final product release with strict inspections, to ensure user satisfaction and superior quality of NIKKOR lenses.

Nikon's lineup of lenses for interchangeable lens cameras currently consists of more than 80 types of lenses, including ultra wide-angle to super-telephoto lenses, fisheye lenses, zoom lenses, micro lenses, and PC-E lenses that support a wide variety of applications, as well as 1 NIKKOR lenses for advanced cameras with interchangeable lenses. Nikon will continue to develop and release high-quality products that appeal to users the world over.

About Nikon

Nikon, At the Heart of the Image™. Nikon Inc. is the world leader in digital imaging, precision optics and photo imaging technology and is globally recognized for setting new standards in product design and performance for its award-winning consumer and professional photographic equipment. Nikon Inc. distributes consumer and professional digital SLR cameras, NIKKOR optics, Speedlights and system accessories; Nikon COOLPIX® compact digital cameras; 35mm film SLR cameras; Nikon software products and Nikon sports and recreational optics as well as the Nikon 1 advanced camera with interchangeable lens system. Nikon Corporation, the parent company of Nikon Inc., recently celebrated its 80th anniversary of NIKKOR optics, and announced the production of over 80 million NIKKOR lenses in 2013, creating a new milestone in Nikon’s heritage of superior optics. For more information, dial (800) NIKON-US or visit http://www.nikonusa.com, which links all levels of photographers to the Web's most comprehensive photo learning and sharing communities.

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Solms, Germany (June 12, 2013) - Leica Camera announces the expansion of the X product line with the new Leica X Vario, a product that once again epitomizes the brand’s trademark Made-in-Germany excellence. A compact digital camera featuring a zoom lens, this latest addition to Leica’s diverse product portfolio offers even greater versatility and creative freedom as well as brilliant image quality.