CameraBits released version 4.6 of its popular PhotoMechanic software from beta at PMA today. The long list of changes since 4.5.x include a slick folder-watching Live Ingest function, a full-resolution loupe in the Contact Sheet view, additional upload templates for Amazon S3, Flickr, SmugMug and others, expanded GPS support, an option to export all program preferences for import into Photo Mechanic on another computer and much, much more. It is still very good at fast imports of images from your camera to a PC or a Mac. In addition, it allows for quick sorting, tagging and the creation of contact sheets in a color managed environment. The new version also adds support for the latest DSLRs.

Price: $150

Tiffen released version 2 of its Dfx software, which allows you to reproduce many of the most popular filters you used to use in the field. Overall, the new version includes more than 2,000 standard and special-effects filters, which can be used as-is or even customized and saved for future use. Some of these filters have been part of our workflow and have consistently produced superior results without going through a steep learning curve. While not inexpensive, these filters can save you endless hours trying to re-create a special look or effect in Photoshop.

Some filter examples: Ambient Light, Close-up Lens, Hazem High Contrast, Warm and Cool Polarizers or Wide Angle Lens.

Highly recommended!

Standalone price: $99.95, Amazon: $99.95
Photoshop plugin: $299.95, Amazon: $299.95
Aperture plugin: $299.95, Amazon: $274.85

Maximum Output Software released version 4.1 of its FileBack PC backup software which is one of our favorites for backing up on a Windows PC. The main new feature is support for multiple users on the same Windows PC. In addition, support for file and folder names with more than 256 characters has been added, while performance improvements have been made and bug fixes were applied. The Enterprise edition also allows for simultaneous compression and encryption of backups.

The upgrade is free for all registered users of version 4.x

Price: $55.00

Recently CameraBits released version 4.5.3.1 of its popular PhotoMechanic software, which is optimized for very fast downloads of images from your camera to a PC or a Mac. Various metadata speed improvements were implemented in addition to speed improvements in the Navigator. As always, a number of bug fixes were implemented as well. The new version adds RAW support for the Canon Powershot G9, Nikon’s D3 and D300 as well as the Sony DSLR A-700.

This is another development of image transferring software from CameraBits. Various changes have been implemented such as improved file reading speed and a re-acceleration of image transplantation from your camera to computer.

From previous tests of this new software, this new and highly developed gadget is able to download images from O2 mobile phones as well, most specially the latest units.

Price: $150

Lemkesoft updated its GraphicConverter, an excellent program to convert graphics and images between different graphics formats on Macs, to version 6.1.2. The free update (41.4 MB) features improved EXIF handling and bug fixes.

List price: $34.95

Breeze System’s Downloader Pro does only one thing, but it does it extremely well: Downloading your images to your PC. Whether running multiple download sessions in parallel, converting RAW images to DNG (Digital Negative Format), renaming all images, adding metadata or creating backups during downloads, Downloader Pro delivers — fast and prodictably! Initial setup takes a bit, but once done, importing images is a snap. We have been using it for years and miss it dearly ever since we converted to our Mac, since all of Breeze’s software is Windows only.

Highly recommended!

Price: $29.95

CameraBits released version 4.5.2 of its popular PhotoMechanic software, which is optimized for very fast downloads of images from your camera to a PC or a Mac. In addition, it allows for fast sorting, tagging and the creation of contact sheets in a color managed environment. The new version adds support for the Canon 1D Mark III and also contains minor bug fixes.

Price: $150