MacWorld is reporting that Aperture 1.1 will be available as a free upgrade in March to Apple’s first foray into professional photography tools, and none too soon if you ask me. I preordered this, hoping for a saving grace to my 30k+ image library I currently keep in iPhoto. Well, on my Dual 2.5 G5 machine, Aperture 1.0 is continuously plagued by the spinning beachball of death. It’s frankly unusable. 1.1 reportedly improves on speed, adds some new RAW controls, among what are called ‘dozens’ of improvements – including Intel native support. I look forward to trying this one out. But for now, iLife ’06’s improvements to iPhoto are rocking my world – things will need to get much better to justify a switch over to Aperture.

technorati tags: mac, apple, aperture, photography, intel

Canon has announced the upgrade to the EOS 20D – the 30D, of course. Comprehensive coverage available here at DPReview.com. After several years of life, the Canon EOS 20D will soon be replaced by this new model, the most notable new feature being a larger(2.5"), wider viewing angle LCD display. Most other aspects appear similar, although the new version does feature a more robust estimated shutter life (100k exposures). It also adds spot metering (a godsend for those Zone officiant’s). It uses the same 5fps, 8.2 megapixel sensor of it’s predecessor. While it’s no 5D (what I really want), it does sound like it’s a nice step up from my current version, the 10D.  And the list price of $1399 certainly is easier to swallow than the $3k for the big-bad-full-frame-5D.  There’s some other good info here and here.

technorati tags: canon, EOS 30D, photography