If you use a Mac, then you probably use iPhoto for basic image editing and iMovie for basic video editing. But what if you use a PC? The tools included there are not nearly as capable, friendly or integrated. And what if you want to go further than the basic editing capabilities of the iTools? That is where Adobe Premiere Elements 10 & Photoshop Elements 10 come in – offering integrated photo and video editing and production tools for both OS X and Windows 7.

The folks at Adobe sent me a review copy, so let’s take a look!… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

A few years ago, Sarah and I had lunch with my grandma, and she started pulling out photo albums to show us family pictures. Among her pictures were photos from her life before she came to America, everything from photos of her and her brothers to her life in the displaced persons camp where she met my grandfather after the war. We realized she was sitting on an incredible amount of history, and while it has taken a long time to get around to coordinating it, we finally got together with my aunt and started documenting her photos today. What we discovered went beyond just my family into a piece of much bigger history.

First, a bit… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom provides a powerful set of tools with a singular focus: making our photos look amazing. In the past Adobe has opened up their ‘lab’ and allowed early access to in-development tools to a limited audience. Now Adobe is opening up their Lightroom 4 beta to EVERYONE! It is a great opportunity to get a peek at the upcoming version of one of the most powerful photo editors available.

Here are some of the new features:

Lightroom 4 beta is a major software update adding a broad range of new capabilities based on feedback provided by the photography community. All new basic tonal adjustment controls extract the entire dynamic

Think the shopping is done? Not so fast. If you need a new computer and you like taking pictures today’s Gear Deal is worth a look. Our Gear Sponsor has found a deal on a powerful 17.3″ Dell XPS 17 Core i7-2670M 2.2GHz Quad-core Laptop. It has 6GB RAM, a 500GB 7200RPM, 2 Hard Drives for a total of 1TB storage, NVIDIA GeForce GT 550M 1GB graphics and much more. Want more details? The XPS 17 features JBL 2.1 Designed and Certified Speakers totaling 22W, Waves MaxxAudio 3, a 2-megapixel HD webcam, 802.11n WiFi, Gigabit Ethernet, HDMI v1.4, miniDisplayPort, a 9-in-1 card reader, two USB 3.0 ports and the list goes on. AND, it comes bundled… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

You know the drill with “special interest” magazines, right?  Big, slick, glossy paper, cool photographs, interesting stories . . . and enough ads to choke a horse.  Not to mention that a bunch of the “articles” are really advertisements for various gear makers.  It can drive you bats.  (I know it drives me bats!)

Well, some folks have decided that, for photography fans, they want to have something different with their new iPad magazine:

International photography publisher Ilex and 2.5-million selling author Michael Freeman have joined forces to produce a new digital magazine unlike any other, where pros really talk about inspiration and creativity and no advertisers clutter up the pages. Free sample now available online via photographersi.com

From the Editorial Staff of Gear Diary: Is there a lover of leather in your life? If so, here are five gifts with which you can’t go wrong.

The Orbino Padova 2 Crocodile iPad 2 Case: Yeah, at $689.00 this iPad 2 case is a splurge but it is handcrafted from Crocodile and is a stunner. Judie has one and loves it. Here’s a video of the case. Gorgeous isn’t it? If that is too rich for you, then you can go with a Padova for iPad 2 made from standard leather. It costs $209.00 and is also a gorgeous case you or a loved one will use proudly… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

If you are looking for something that offers a bit more than iPhoto or iMovie but without breaking the bank, Adobe’s Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements have always provided a great choice. Of course, as there is no real alternative to iLife on the PC, those apps are an excellent choice for anyone wanting to manipulate photos and video on that platform.

Over the last few weeks I have been testing out Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements and will have a review soon, but today Adobe announces the availability of Photoshop Elements and Premiere Elements on the Mac App Store, bringing with it the ease of installation and updating Mac users enjoy with… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

I was reading through my feeds today and a story on Droid Life cropped up about some pictures appearing on Picasa that were tagged as being taken by a Droid RAZR and the Galaxy Nexus. Both phones are all but confirmed, with tons of evidence throughout the web, but these pics are being labeled as evidence as the phone being out real soon now. They may actually be out, but posting pictures that purportedly came from the devices is hardly evidence.

Why do I say that? I will show you.

The above picture was taken with my Droid 2.  Yeah it’s a little fuzzy, but bear with me.  Since it was taken with my… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Holy cow … we have been hearing about them eventually being available for some time, and now they are here! SanDisk has just sent notice that they have 64GB microSDXC and 64GB SDXC cards available for purchase now. Yes, you are going to pay an arm and a leg for them, but their prices don’t come anywhere near some of the ridiculous sums many of us have paid in the past! [Like the 5GB PCMCIA drive that I paid over $500 for back in 2002! Oy.]

If you are a photographer, then you’ll want to take a look at the 64GB SDXC; this card… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

It has been a while since an iOS photo app caught my attention but SigNote did just that! It is a relatively simple app that lets you add personalization to your photos in just a few simple steps. It takes seconds to learn and can be tons of fun. Let’s take a quick look via a walk-through of editing a picture and then tell you how you can enter to win a free promo code.

Here’s what it says about the app in the iTunes Apps Store:

Ever thought about turning your photos into a piece of art?

Well, July is over. The heat keeps coming, kids are getting read to go back to school and there’s no shortage of gear news and reviews. Here are a few posts you may have missed but are worth a look…

Gear Diary’s Back to School Gift Guide and an ARCHOS 70 Android Internet Tablet for You to Win!

It’s time to start thinking about the supplies you are going to send your kids back to school with, and we are here to help! We’ve gathered together a collection of goodies that any student would like, and while there are plenty of practical items, we didn’t forget the gear that

I’m the farthest thing from a professional or even amateur photographer, but I have a developing (analog pun intended!) obsession with apps that augment my phone’s camera.  My latest find is Paper Camera, which I happily purchased for my iPhone and iPad.  At the time of this writing, it’s on sale for $.99, which is 66% off of the regular price.

 JFDP‘s (the developer) blurb:

Seeing the world through the stylish and artistic lens of Paper Camera transforms your ordinary world into a magical experience. No boring post-process needed!!

What if you could see your everyday life, your house, your street, your school, your family as a sketch up, a cartoon, a comic

Sometimes it is the little features in a program that can make the biggest differences. iPhoto’s facial recognition is one example of this. I knew the feature was there in the ’11 version of the software but never used it.

Last week Elana’s grandma Pearl died. It was and is sad, but at 87 she had led a long, good life and is remembered fondly by many. We should all be lucky enough to have the same said about us when we are gone. I wanted to put together a montage of pictures to share with Elana and her family, but my iPhoto library was an absolute chaotic mess. That’s when iPhoto Faces came to… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

Okay, we all know and recognize that the cameras built into our phones are not the best around. Could we do better with a dedicated point-and-shoot? Sure. How about a full-blown SLR? Yeah, of course, stupid question.

But the reality is that we use the cameras that are included with our phones because they are convenient. We don’t have to carry extra crap with us; they’re just there, a constant, comforting presence. The best camera you have is the one you have with you. There, I said it.

But, that doesn’t mean that they can’t be made better than they are just stock out of the box. Hence, iShuttr, a new start-up that has… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...

The world of photography with the iPhone, or iPhoneography, is a growing phenomenon and photography related apps are emerging faster than most can keep up. Most of these apps do little for enhancing the initial photography experience in that none allow for optical manipulation of the scene, merely digital.

Enter USBFever.com and their Wide Angle + (Macro) + Fish Eye + 2X + 8X + 12X Telephoto Lens Combo for iPhone 4G.… Continue reading on Gear Diary ...