Here's where we mix it up, and where you'll find all the new photo products that didn't fit into our standard Editor's Choice categories – plus a few late-breaking cameras. Among the items you'll find here are the Epson Perfection V-750-M Pro flatbed scanner; Colorvision's PrintFIX Pro color calibration suite; and even some film, including Kodak's new, improved Professional Porta and Fuji's old-is-new Velvia 50 revival. You'll even find a sidebar on some of the most interesting new inkjet papers.
Colorvision PrintFIX PRO Suite
|
|
| Click photo to see images of all the Editor's Choice 2007 products. |
This powerful color-management package incorporates the Spyder2PRO monitor calibration system with its spider-like reader that attaches to your computer screen (a 2006 Editor's Choice selection), and its companion RGB-based print-matching system. In addition to software, the system includes a handheld Datacolor 1005 spectrocolorimeter and patch-reading hardware. Unlike monitor-only calibration, this pairing gives you monitor-to-print consistency out of one box, and at a price way lower than what you'd pay for lab-level systems. Yet the PrintFIX PRO Suite is designed so that you can follow every step if you're a color novice (teaching you in the process), or skip ahead to profiling if you're experienced. Its sophisticated patch reader saves data from calibration targets in LAB format, allowing you to get consistent results with a wide variety of printer, ink, and paper combinations -- not always possible with downloaded ICC profiles. About $600.
Fujichrome Velvia 50
The transparency film that redefined color photography is back after a short but painful absence. And to our eyes it looks pretty much the way it always did, with intense color saturation, practically invisible grain, and an eye-popping, hyper-real sharpness. But Fuji couldn't just resort to the film's original formula: Its engineers had to match the old nature photographer's standby with a different mix of chemicals, one more environmentally friendly. What can you say about a film that died? That it has an RMS granularity of 9? That's it's available in sizes up to 4x5 sheets? How about, we're glad it's back? Compare prices.
Kodak Professional Portra films
The Portra family was already one of the best-ever lines of color negative film in our view. With this latest generation Kodak has re-engineered the grain to make it visibly finer. That makes a good thing a little better with Portra 160 and Portra 400, both still available in Natural (NC) and Vivid (VC) color versions. But it makes us love Portra 800, the fastest member of the family, all the more. There's really no better choice in the color-negative world for high-quality available-light photography, whether you're doing portraiture or not. Compare prices.
American PHOTO Editor's Choice 2007
|
 |
|
Thanks to all the staffers and contributors who worked on this extensive product roundup, including Russell Hart, Marvin Good, Jonathan Barkey, Steve Pollock, Pete Kolonia, Jack Howard, and Theano Nikitas.
|
