TORONTO (djc) – Apex Public Relations held its Snowflake Sampler yesterday, a brief but informative event amalgamating its diverse clients in a Christmas-in-July-themed product presentation for the upcoming holiday season. At Morton’s Steakhouse in Yorkville, attendees were encouraged to browse displays by Adobe, Fuji, and Grand & Toy, as well as less tech-related booths courtesy of Absolut Vodka, Levi’s, and stationary manufacturer Sanford.
Fuji’s new digital cameras are expected to be highly sought after come December, and the company offers their FinePix F410 and FinePix A210 as two candidates to suit anyone’s needs, whether amateur or pro. The F410 (which I happen to have currently, on loan) is extremely compact, while capable of generating 3.1 million effective pixels. It produces rich, clear images that mimic the feel of film photography, thanks to Fuji’s proprietary Super CCD HR technology.
Instead of using the conventional grid-mapping that tends to give digital images a pixelated appearance, Super CCD uses an octagonal, “honeycomb” sensor arrangement whereby two photodiodes capture information from the same part of the picture, at different sensitivities. This allows the camera to pick up additional detail in bright areas, while giving a more accurate impression of medium and darker tones. The result is a much softer, more true-to-life image, which is especially striking in outdoor environments. It is currently available at about $649 (CDN).
The A210, attainable for purchase in September, offers 3.2 million effective pixels, low power consumption, and a 3x optical zoom, for an estimated $399 (CDN). However, it uses conventional CCD technology. Fuji is marketing the A210 as a fun, user-friendly digicam for people who may not have previously owned one, and are willing to experiment. Combined with a Black’s pre-paid (rechargeable) digital printing card as a stocking stuffer, it could make a highly cherished gift when Christmas rolls around.
Adobe, designers of the highly popular Photoshop, was there to represent as well. Their new Photoshop Album software (which we will soon feature in a full review) was on display; it organizes all the pictures on your hard drive, and lets you tag them with keywords for cross-referencing and easy sorting. You can also crop, adjust, and resize your pictures for faster uploading or e-mailing. It includes a variety of creation wizards to quickly compose slideshows, calendars, greeting cards, books and albums, which can incorporate background music, voice memo, and even video clips.
The company was showcasing Photoshop Elements 2.0, its flagship program with an easy-to-use interface for digital imaging and corrections. Photoshop Elements 2.0 is priced at approximately $150 (CDN). Key features include real-time lighting and colour correction, a simplified built-in help system, efficient cataloguing and browsing functions, a Paint Brush tool that simulates oils, watercolours, charcoal, pastels, and various canvas textures, and the ability to grab frames from video files.
