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PCPhoto Magazine - Editor's Choice Awards

At the end of each year, PCPhoto Magazine publishes its Editor's Choice Awards. I thought that it might be useful, this year, to add this list to my website as a complement to my own list of camera and digital darkroom gear. All of the items are linked to Amazon.com and, where appropriate, to Adorama as well. Please note that the thumbnail sketches of some of these items are as written by the editors.

Editor's Choice - 2004

Canon i9900 Photo Printer
One of the coolest printers to come out this year is Canon's i9900 which creates amazing 13x19 inch color prints. The addition of two new color inks, red and green, to the traditional six-ink system extends the color range to new levels of brilliance and accuracy and makes this printer an editors' choice.
Adobe Premiere Elements Video Editing
When I first saw this software as a beta program, I knew it was a winner. It offers both simplicity and a high level of control not often found in inexpensive video software. The layout of the program makes it easy to quickly get started editing your video plus it interacts with Photoshop Elements for most controls.
Wacom Intuos3 4X5 USB Tablet
I was a fan of Wacom's pen tablets the first time I used one, and even more so since Photoshop added enhanced functionality when using Wacom's pens and tablets to apply effects to photos. The new Intuos3 tablet includes multiple Expresskeys to which you can assign the commands you use most often. These soft keys even can be set to perform different functions as you switch between applications. Comes in two additional sizes for more control:
6x8 inches and 9x12 inches
Micro Solutions RoadStor All-in-One Photo to CD Burner and Digital Photo Viewer
When a device performs as many functions as the RoadStor from MicroSolutions, there's no way I could pass on the chance to highlight it. The battery powered RoadStor can be used as a CD burner to empty your memory cards on the road, as a digital photo viewer to play slideshows on a TV or as a portable DVD and MP3 player.

Ulead VideoStudio 8 - Home Movies
This movie-making software is among our editors' picks because of its ability to create a complete video with ease. After selecting your footage and a template, the software's Movie Wizard does the job tin three simple steps. it offers a wealth of tools for more hands-on editing, including producing your own soundtrack.
ACDSee 7.0 Photo Management
An image browser as fast and versatile as ACDSee 7.0 is a welcome addition to my list of favorites. The popular browser allows you to manage and organize your images while providing tools for enhancing photographs, sending e-mails, creating slideshows and outputting to recordable discs and prints.
Epson Stylus Photo R800 Inkjet Printer
What I find especially useful in the R800 is its ability to create archival prints and to print directly on CDs. Delivering eight-pigment inks in droplets as small as 1.5 picoliters, the printer includes red and blue inks for an increased color gamut. It creates borderless 8x10s and prints directly onto printable CD-R/RW discs.
Nik Color Efex Pro 2.0 Select Edition
I can't imagine being without this handy plug-in. It offers a set of very photographic adjustments that make it easier and faster to do high-level work on images. The latest version offers advanced controls and some new adjustments (including a great set of black-and-white adjustments.)
Mirra Personal Server M-80 Version 2
Take it from someone who lost more than a gigabyte of images when his new computer's hard drive crashed: Backing up photos and other docs stored on your PC is important. I like the Mirra Personal Server's solution because it makes the process automatic. You specify the folders you want to backup and Mirra automatically "mirrors" those files on its hard drive. It even will save up to eight versions of a file so that you can go back in time, if necessary. you also can access the files stored on your Mirra via the Web. Comes in versions with 80 GB, 120 GB, and 250 GB of disk space.
Konica Minolta DiMAGE Scan Dual IV Film Scanner
I gave this scanner a nod because its beautiful 3200-dpi scans are a great value for the money. The Scan Dual IV's wide 4.8 dynamic range and 16-bit A/D conversion capture the depth of tonality in my images, and its 21-second scan time helps me get my scans done quickly.
Other Selections Not Available via Amazon.com
  • DX0 Optics Pro 2.0
  • Gepe Card Safe
  • Applied Science Fiction Digital GEM
  • Rocket Life
  • ProOptic Super Fish Eye Lens

If you like this list, you might want to check out the Editor's Choice lists from Popular Photography and Imaging and PC Magazine.

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