Upgrading to Capture One 4 Pro

August 31, 2009 | Tech

Some of our users are still using Capture One 3.7.x.

This note is a “kick in the butt” for those users. Capture One 4 had a rocky start early in it’s release. However, Capture One 4 Pro is now very fast, very stable, and has lots of great features improved from C1 3.

All users of Capture One 3 Pro are entitled to a free upgrade to Capture One 4 Pro. Simply download the new version and install. The program should find and use your existing license. However, if it does not, or if you already have used your two activations of Capture One then use My Account at PhaseOne.com to reset your license.

Because the new version is very different than version 3.7.X, Capture Integration offers training online on the new version.

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Snow Leopard Compatibility List

August 31, 2009 | Tech, Tech Features

Recently we posted about Capture One’s (lack of) compatibility with OSX Snow Leopard and reiterated our standard advice that upgrading to a new OS immediately is very inadvisable.

For completeness: here is a resource which lists various applications’ compatibility (or lack thereof) with this new operating system.

http://snowleopard.wikidot.com/

Without a doubt most mac programs which are still being developed will be made compatible with Snow Leopard quickly (weeks or months). In fact the future is very bright in that Snow Leopard introduces some fantastic tools which developers can harness to greatly speed up their programs. However, for now, those of you who use your computer for day-to-day production work should be weary of upgrading.

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Capture One and 10.6

August 28, 2009 | Tech, Tech Features

Apple today released OSX 10.6 nicknamed Snow Leopard.

Preface: A Brand New OS Has No Place in a Production Environment

Capture Integration’s general guidance is to avoid using Operating Systems immediately upon their release on any production computer. As with any update large-or-small to a production computer we recommend you proceed only when 1) it is clear that there are no major bugs 2) you have a backup of a known-good state and 3) you have several hours to thoroughly test the new system. While Snow Leopard seems on-the-surface to be a minor OS update there are ALWAYS issues with new OS. We will be doing our own hands-on testing of Snow Leopard in the coming weeks and will report on this blog our findings. However, we know that some of you will want to try out this operating system. So here is an initial report on Capture One 4.8.2 and Snow Leopard.

Compatibility Summary

Capture One 4.8.2 is NOT compatible with Mac OS 10.6 Snow Leopard. However, the next release beyond 4.8.2 will be. In the meanwhile we can provide the following workaround.

Workaround for Experimenters

When starting Capture One for the first time on Snow Leopard (if software has not been activated and no session file exists on the computer),
If you try to go into either Standard or Pro trial mode as the first action it will crash. It will continue crashing every time you try to start the application, after the License window is dismissed.

To get around this you must first go to DB mode so that the Session file can be initialized, and then back into Trial mode. So, to break it down into easy steps:

• Install Snow Leopard.
• Start CO. In the License dialog choose “Use Capture One DB”, and click the “Use” button.
• Capture One will crash. This is unavoidable. Restart it – you will start in DB mode, without seeing the License dialog.
• Go to the Capture One->License… menu item. Choose “Try Capture One Pro” (or whichever trial mode is desired), and click “Try”.
• Capture One will relaunch, and start in Trial mode.
• There will be an error message about being unable to verify the license code, every time you start in Trial mode. Ignore this.

Notes:

• Switching from Standard trial to Pro trial does not relaunch, and always starts in the original mode, always requiring another prelaunch.
• You must switch to DB and then to the other trial mode to change.
• You can activate the software with your product key, this works without any issues.
• This method does not require a Phase One back. The DB software option can be started on any computer regardless of whether the owner has a Phase One back. As stated above you only need to launch the software into DB mode as a workaround to get the software to launch. After that you can run in whichever mode (Normal or Pro) you desire.

Other known issues

• Non-image (or unsupported image) files appear in the browser. To see this in action, simply browse to the Preferences folder – all the plists are visible.
• Process progress bar in the Process Summary tool has corrupted graphics.

If you notice other specific Snow Leopard issues you can email them to doug@captureintegration.com and I will place them here once verified. However, bare in mind that Phase One KNOWS 4.8.2 is not compatible with 10.6 and the next version of Capture One will be.

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Not all Ports are Equal

August 26, 2009 | Tech, Tech Features

Apple Mac Pros have firewire ports on both the front and back of the machine. While convenient the firewire port in the front of the tower is not well suited for high-performance tasks. Whereas the back port has a direct connection to motherboard the front port is connected to the motherboard through poorly shielded cable. This is not a problem for most uses of firewire, but high performance digital backs use the absolute maximum capabilities of firewire devices. For instance a Phase One P65+ is able to push a 60.5 megapixel true-16-bit raw file across the firewire channel at one frame per second. With that level of performance any weakness in the firewire channel can cause issues. That is why we recommend only using the rear port of a Mac Pro tower.

For more suggestions on tethered shooting see our Ideal Tethered Setup article.

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Type(1-7)Camera but Don’t Touch

August 26, 2009 | Tech

If you follow this blog then you know the Type8Camera issue for tethering dSLRs in Leopard. If not, read our Type8Camera article.

In the same folder as the Type8Camera are 7 other similar files.

If/when you remove Type8Camera you should NOT remove or modify any of these other files. Doing so will cause Capture One to crash immediately upon launch.

As a general rule of thumb it’s a bad idea to modify or delete any document

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CS4 with Snow Leopard

August 26, 2009 | Tech

http://www.macrumors.com/2009/08/26/adobe-creative-suite-3-unsupported-on-os-x-snow-leopard/

From Adobe Principal Product Manager for Photoshop John Nack as quoted by MacRumors.com

Apple and Adobe have worked closely together (as always with new OS releases) to test compatibility. As for CS4, everything is good with the exception of auto-updates to Flash panels (which I guarantee you’re not using*) and Adobe Drive/Version Cue (which doesn’t work at the moment on 10.6). CS3 & earlier haven’t been tested.

Although I have not personally tested this, and the article does not indicate it, it’s safe to assume that this statement applies only if the user has applied all updates using Adobe Updater.

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Extreme Macro Techniques / Gear

August 25, 2009 | Tech, Tech Features

Reposted from my personal blog www.doug-peterson.com.

Are you a Hard-Core Photo Nerd?

This article is a followup to the Extreme Macro Results post I made. It is only meant for those readers who are very technically oriented.

Nerd Out With All the Technical Details

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Extreme Macro Results

August 24, 2009 | Tech, Tech Features

This post is the culmination of six months worth of research, experimentation, and refinement into high-magnification macro photography. Taking pictures of extremely small objects with extremely high resolution systems is an incredibly technical endeavor with great challenges and even greater rewards.

I’ll be posting an article for my readers interested in the nitty-gritty of the techniques and equipment used for this work.

More Ultramacro Shots

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Leica S2 – Will We Sell It?

August 20, 2009 | News

The Leica S2 has created a huge buzz since it was announced at Photokina. We’ve had many customers call since it’s announcement to ask if we would be selling the Leica S2.

Capture Integration only carries products we have complete confidence in. We do not sell based on marketing materials and technical specifications; we sell based on proven results and exceptional quality. When there is a final S2 production unit is ready with tethering capabilities and working output, we will jump at the chance to put it through it’s paces at our testing lab. If the testing shows the S2 is a product that we can be fully confident in and will live up to the high quality that we expect out of a product at this price point, then we will begin recommending and selling it. You can be sure that regardless of what we decide it will be based on our honest and considered opinion.

- Dave Gallagher, Owner and CEO, Capture Integration

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End of the Year Clearance

August 20, 2009 | Promotion

Its a very exciting time to be in our industry.   Capture Integration needs to clear some room off the shelf for some new lines of camera equipment that should be shipping very soon!

Please give us a call immediately if you see anything to your liking.   It is a first come/first served scenario and we expect a few of these items to fly off the shelf at these prices.

Make	Model	Retail	Now
Cambo	Wide DS Body with adapter plate	$2,200	$1090
Cambo	RS leveling Head	$599	$299
Mamiya	AF 55-110mm f/4.5	$2,399	$999
Mamiya	645AF Auto Extention Tube #3 NEW	$269	$149
Mamiya	Angle Finder FA401 NEW	$499	$249
Mamiya	SD402 Type A4 Focusing Screen NEW	$199	$99
Mamiya	RS402 Remote Control for AF/DF NEW	$399	$149
Mamiya	300mm f/4.5 IF Lens NEW	$3990	$1,799
Tenba	ShootOut Rolling Backpack M	$226	$139
Leica	SF 24D Flash	$315	$225
Profoto	D4 Air 2400 w/s Generator	$7,587	$4,990
Profoto	Softlight Reflector for Ringflash	$384	$250
Profoto	Closeup Reflector for Ringflash	$384	$250
Profoto	D1 250 Air Monolight NEW	$1,105	$849
Profoto	2x2' Softbox	$330	$220
Profoto	2x3' Softbox	$375	$275
Profoto	3x4' Softbox	$399	$299
Profoto	4x6' Softbox	$720	$520
Profoto	1x6' Softbox	$480	$380
Profoto	Softgrid for 4x6' Softbox	$934	$350
Profoto	Softgrid for 2x3' Softbox	$703	$275
Profoto	Barndoors for Zoom Reflector	$221	$150
Profoto	20 Degree Honeycomb Grid	$111	$89
Profoto	Head Extension Cable for D4/Acute	$249	$175

Spring Cleaning: New / Overstock Inventory

Make	Model	Retail	Now
Lexar	Pro UDMA 400/800 Firwire CF Cardreader (Stack)	$79.95	$54.95
Tenba	Roadwired 15" Laptop Sleeve	$34.95	$15.00
Tenba	Skooba Skin for 17" Laptop	$34.95	$15.50

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Arca Cube Sale [IN STOCK]

August 18, 2009 | News, Promotion

UPDATE: Check out this article about Cube-Squared.

UPDATE x 2: Check out our article on fixing the Arca Swiss quick release if it pops off.

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The Arca Swiss cube is the best of the best when it comes to precision tripod heads.

Minimal Re-Framing

Since all movements are along arcs (rather than a pivot point as with most tripod heads) many adjustments will not effect the framing of the image. For instance if your horizon is off by a few degrees you can dial the tilt until the horizon is level while the center of the image does not change.

Perfect for Panning

Since the pan-rotation is on the top of the cube it is perfect for panning. Simply level the cube and then rotate the camera on the level-surface. For wide-angle pan-and-stitch photography this is essential in mataintaing accurate final-image-framing.

Built in Quick Release

The integrated “Arca Swiss” quick release on the top of the cube allows easy mounting of camera bodies. An example is the Phase One body with the Phase One L-Bracket which allows both horizontal and vertical mounting (fast and secure) to any Arca-Swiss quick release.

Incredible Precision

All movements are geared, self-arresting, and have metrics to indicate exact position. The construction quality and precision of movement are hard to do justice except by saying they are top tier.

85th Anniversary Special Price

The incredible quality of the Arca Swiss cube has kept the kept the price of the Arca Swiss Cube steady or rising for many years. In celebration of their 85th anniversary Arca Swiss is offering an unheard of discount on the cube. Normally selling for $2409 the special price is $1699.

Hold One for Me!

We only accept holds with a paid deposit. Fill out the following form and we will call you to collect your deposit.

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Artic Butterfly

August 13, 2009 | News

The Artic Butterfly is our favorite dSLR sensor cleaning kit.

You can buy the SD800 kit from us for only US$89. The professionals’ kit includes Arctic Butterfly® (no LED), accessory long handled sensor cleaning brushes with adapter for sensor sizes 1.3 and 1.0, and angled mirror brush.

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