dslr.ws

OnOne Software has released a batch of free Adobe Camera Raw presets. From their web page:

Designed to work the way you work, the PhotoPresets with One-Click WOW! tackle only one development parameter at a time allowing you to optimize your image at each step to create the look you really want without sacrificing any one quality. You start with adjusting your images color and tone and then add effects like black and white conversions, tinting, split-toning and vignetting. With 85 presets in 6 categories the number of combinations is astounding.

I haven’t had a chance to play with them yet myself, so I can’t speak for how useful they are, but since they’re free it can’t hurt to try that out and see if they’re useful. Feel free to leave comments here letting me and the other readers know if you think they’re worthwhile or not.

Adobe’s John Nack posted a blog entry pointing people to a Photoshop and Bridge performance survey that Adobe is doing. They want to know what areas are the most important to Photoshop users so that they know where to put most of their efforts. You should all run over there and put in your thoughts — no, I haven’t done it yet, stop calling me hypocritical — so that when the next version of Photoshop comes out you can at least shout, “Dammit, why didn’t they listen to me!!” instead of “Dammit, why isn’t this any faster!!”

This isn’t strictly DSLR-related, but I have to assume that 99% of you use Photoshop, so I figure it’s my duty — yes, duty! — to let you know that Adobe has posted updates for Photoshop CS2 and CS3 that address a “critical” vulnerability in some of the file import filters:

Critical vulnerabilities have been identified in Photoshop CS2 and CS3 that could allow an attacker who successfully exploits these potential vulnerabilities to take control of the affected system. A malicious BMP, DIB, RLE, or PNG must be opened in Photoshop by the user for an attacker to exploit these potential vulnerabilities. Users are recommended to update their installations with the patches provided below, and Adobe encourages all customers to be cautious before opening any unknown file, regardless of which application they may be using.

I know “OMG THAT JPG HAS VIRUS!!!11″ was an old joke on the Internet, way back in the good old days — although I guess you wouldn’t have had lolcat grammar back then, so just ignore my anachronism. It’s so surreal to see it actually come true and have it be possible to let someone take control of your computer just by opening a picture. Not that this is the first time it’s happened, either, Microsoft has had their fair share of image format vulnerabilities. I just still can’t get over how weird it is.