Rangefinder Magazine
July 2002

DIGITAL PHOTOGRAPHY: by John Rettie
More OS X Software & After Burner CD Label Applicator

IT’S BEEN A COUPLE of months since I loaded OS X on my Mac G4 computer. Like so many users I waited until the release of Photoshop 7 to make the big switch. At first I set up my computer so that OS X and System 9.2 would both boot up when the computer was first turned on. I found myself still having to use the Classic operating system for several programs, including Outlook Express for my e-mail. While switching between the two operating systems is fairly seamless I found it confusing at times because of all the subtle differences in the way the two operating systems work.

Now I have switched entirely to Mac OS X as I upgraded to Microsoft Office X so that I could use the OS X version of Word for writing articles and Entourage, which is the replacement for Outlook Express e-mail program. Although there is an e-mail program included with OS X I found it was not as powerful or as convenient to use as the Microsoft program.

I have stopped loading the Classic operating system automatically now so it only fires up when I click on a program that’s not been written for OS X. It’s my goal to only try programs and hardware that run under OS X from now on. I just hope I can keep to this goal without creating problems in my workflow or worse yet running out of things to write about in this column!

What’s most encouraging is how many programs are finally being upgraded to run under OS X. The best place to find what’s available is on Apple’s own web site. There is a special section promoting the Mac OS X operating system (www.apple.com./macosx/) that includes many pages with links to the actual software or at least demo versions.

The most encouraging thing to note is how many new shareware programs are being written for OS X, many of which are not even available for Windows. I guess it’s because the underlying core of OS X is Unix and there are lots of computer programmers out there who are familiar with writing code for Unix systems and can easily turn their skills to writing programs for the Mac. Although these may not be mainstream programs yet, just remember that most commercial programs started life as shareware programs developed by individuals. Because of the Mac’s heavy presence in the graphics business many of these small programs could prove useful for photographers, as well.

Microsoft Office X
Of course, having talked about shareware I immediately turn to the Granddaddy of commercial software, Microsoft’s Office suite of programs. Microsoft was one of the first companies to upgrade its programs to run under OS X and it appears to have done a good job. I loaded Office and was immediately able to open all the files created by the previous versions of Word and Excel without any problems. Even better, when one double-clicks on the icon of a document created by the old version it loads the new version of the program even though the previous Classic version is still resident (if not open) on the computer. I would have expected it to link to the old program and load OS 9.2.

Entourage, the e-mail portion of Microsoft Office X for the Mac OS X, offers increased functionality and better integration with the rest of the suite than its predecessor.

Entourage is Microsoft’s upgraded version of Outlook Express that is included in the Office X suite. The e-mail portion of the program is very similar in functionality to Outlook Express so that after it had automatically transferred all the files, addresses and settings from the old program I was up and running without any hitches.
Entourage though goes much further and includes a full address book and calendar that can be linked with users of Office for Windows.

When a person’s name is typed, Word is intelligent enough to immediately look up a name and address for insertion in a document,. In fact it’s so fast that if you type a word, such as long that might match a real name, a popup box linking to that name appears within a millisecond. If you hit the return key without thinking you can easily find the name and address have been automatically entered, even if you didn’t want that to happen.

Nikon Scanner Driver
One of the biggest problems associated with switching to OS X is the availability of drivers for various peripherals. I use a Nikon Coolscan 4000 quite often and I was pleased that Nikon recently issued a driver for its operation with OS X. At the time of writing though the plug-in for Photoshop was not available but at least one does not have to resort to firing up OS 9.2 to use the scanner. On the other hand Canon’s Canoscan D2400U flatbed scanner which I am planning to review soon does not yet have an OS X driver available. Hopefully now that development of OS 9 has finally been halted most Mac users will switch over and momentum will build sufficiently that all companies will produce updated drivers and software before too long.

Olympus’ Camedia Master Pro’s main menu graphically displays all the options available in this digital camera editing program.

Olympus Camedia Master Pro
Like all digital camera manufacturers, Olympus includes fairly good basic software with its cameras for downloading and manipulating images. Olympus has now gone one step further with its Camedia Master program by introducing a more robust product that is sold separately and can be used with any digital camera on the market. Despite its relatively low price ($39.95 for the Camedia Master Pro version) it includes some tools that could prove useful for professionals. The user interface is convenient as the opening menu has links to all the different components laid out in an intuitive fashion.

The printing options are potentially some of the most useful tools. The program opens a folder containing hundreds of images much quicker than the browse feature in Photoshop. It’s then possible to select individual images for printing on a custom contact sheet that can include optional information about each image obtained from the EXIF file. Other modules include album, calendar and postcard printing. It’s even possible to attach a 60-second WAV sound file to individual images to make a slide show with sound and/or commentary. Web ready HTML pages can be created though they are not as pleasing or as flexible in design as those produced by Photoshop or one of the many other web page builders. Camedia Pro includes a panoramic stitching program that can take any images and create decent panoramas.

	Production of custom contact sheets is one of the strengths of Camedia Master Pro.

All in all I was quite impressed with the variety of modules included in the program though some functions seemed not to be functioning correctly. Hopefully just some bugs in the pre-production version I tried, as the shipping version will have only just been introduced by the time you read this column. If you purchase an Olympus camera the basic version of Camedia Master is included. The Pro version with the additional functions can be purchased as an upgrade for $19.95.

AfterBurner and Click ‘N Design 3D
More and more photographers are burning CD-Rs or even DVDs for clients. Hand writing a list of the contents on the disc’s surface is fine for proofs or for internal use but a printed label has a much more professional look to it. Printing directly on the surface requires a special printer, which tends to be costly. There are some less expensive inkjet models available in Japan but none of them have made it to the U.S. as yet.

The easiest way is to print onto special inkjet labels that can then be stuck on the surface of the CD-R. On the whole this system works well although there are some indications that over time the labels may peel off and remove the underlying surface that physically contains the data pitted into the CD by the laser during the recording session. Over the years I have received many CD-ROMs with labels on them and have never encountered a problem, so it’s probably not something to worry about too much, especially for CD-Rs that only need a relatively short shelf life, such as portfolios or wedding proofs.

AfterBurner is a simple but effective applicator for attaching labels to CDs and DVDs.

An important part of avoiding any problems with these labels is to make sure they are accurately centered on the CD-R and that there are no air bubbles. Centering is easily done with any number of simple spindle alignment tools that often are included with packages of special CD-R/DVD labels. They rely on the operator’s skill at carefully and evenly placing the CD-R on the sticky side of the label while avoiding air bubbles.

Avery Dennison, the well-known maker of office products has come up with an ingenious but simple labeling system called After Burner. It helps minimizes the likelihood of wrinkles and air bubbles occurring when one applies a label. The special labels are accurately held in place by removable tabs on a curved base on the applicator. The CD-R or DVD is then placed over the label and the whole spring-loaded unit is pushed downward so that the label is pressed onto the CD evenly from the center out.

An added advantage to these special Avery labels is that they cover more of the CD-R surface than most labels giving a larger space for graphics. The labels are available in different surfaces including white matte, photo glossy, clear and different foil finishes.

The retail system, one can find in a store, includes Click ‘N Design 3D software for Windows. The packaging and the web site (at the time of writing this column) say that the software is not available for a Mac. This is untrue as there is a Mac OS X version of Click ‘N Design 3D available in a retail package or it’s downloadable for the Click ‘N Design 3D web site for $19.99.

Click ‘N Design 3D offers a quick way to design labels for CDs and DVDs.

The software has a wide selection of templates included that can be fully customized with text, graphics or photographs. The interface is a little simplistic but fairly intuitive. I was able to produce a respectable looking label with a background photograph within a few minutes. It printed out accurately on an Epson Stylus Photo 1280 printer and was ready for applying to a CD-R containing proof images for a model.

Obviously it’s also possible to create a template in Photoshop or other programs that can be used for these labels but it’s certainly quicker and easier to use the Click ‘N Design 3D software, as one does not have to worry about the correct positioning of the graphics on the sheet of labels. If the software is purchased as a separate program from Stomp (the program publisher) it includes a large range of templates are included to work with different CD label sheets from other suppliers. Indeed Stomp is a well-known maker of CD label applicators itself, which makes it somewhat surprising that its software is included with a competing product.

Quick Book Review: Digital Imaging for Photographers
Most books on digital imaging aimed at photographers are either too basic for professionals or concentrate on producing a wide variety of images using techniques in editing programs. Digital Imaging for Photographers, written by Adrian Davies and Phil Fennessy (Focal Press, $39.95, 224 pages), takes a different tack as it explains in layman terms how image capture devices (CCD and CMOS) work as well as cameras, printers, scanners, etc. It is in its fourth edition, which means it has been kept pretty much up to date.

	Digital Imaging for Photographers, published by Focal Press, explains how hardware and software are used in digital imaging functions.

Software is covered lightly but a discussion of different compression formats is fairly comprehensive. There is also one of the best descriptions I have read on how the ever-popular Unsharp Mask filter works to sharpen images. Color management gets a chapter all to itself with some good color diagrams that help explain different color spaces.

Because the book is published in Britain you’ll have to get used to color being spelt “colour” and to prices being discussed in Pounds instead of Dollars, but at least English English is comprehensible. The book includes a CD-ROM with some animations showing how a CCD works as well as sample photos and descriptions of subjects covered.

John Rettie is a photojournalist who resides in Santa Barbara, CA. He has been using a camera as a professional for 32 years, a computer for 22 years, and has combined his knowledge of both for the past nine years. Readers can contact him by e-mail at john@johnrettie.com or by snail-mail c/o Rangefinder.