Photography: 10 essentials I can't do without

The inner-photo-geek needs to blog about photography. Gotta blog about some essential software and other stuff that made work easier in the last few years. Note: I re-edited this post coz there was another item I wanted to include.

1. GretagMacbeth EyeOne Photo

I was struggling to get rid of a reddish-magenta cast for 3 years on my printer when I finally succumbed and bought a GretageMacbeth color calibration device for my monitor AND printer. This thing saved the day. When the 99.9% accurate color print rolled out of the printer, I was close to shedding tears.

2. CaptureOne Pro

Back in the good old days of 2002 with *only* Canon DPP released for RAW conversion. Using it was a big pain, even the local Canon rep was apologetic for the software. So when CaptureOne was released, we had no choice but to jump right into the software. It worked like a charm though the learning curve was a little steep. The generic 1Ds profile that came with it worked well too. Best other thing was that C1 Pro was geared towards portrait skin texture and it was speedy on a PC.

3. NoiseNinja

This cheap noise reduction software basically extended the life of the 1Ds camera with > iso200 images.

4. Renamer

Best renaming software I have tried, and it's totally FREE! I have tried to get something like this for the Mac Powerbook but they were either kludgy or not free.

5. WinACD

I am using an Apple 20inch Cinema Display with Windows XP (Yes, I use a PC) and it's only equipped with a brightness control. That's it, no other functions except for built in hub with 2x USB2.0 and 2x Firewire ports. Also, Windows XP does not recognize the hub nor the monitor. It's also easy to accidently touch the brightness button. With this nifty control panel software, I can control brightness via keyboard (like a Mac! :-) and correct the ! icon in the hardware device window.

That said, the Apple Display rocks, not only coz of color BUT the sharpening algorithm makes everything looks more natural. Not all LCDs are the same, no kidding, I have seen some with bad hardware sharpening.

6. Wacom Intuos Graphic Tablet

I got one 4 to 5 years back it's still working, tactile feel for the latest version is even better. Photoshop control with clone, healing brush is a breeze with the pen. This 4x5 pad uses absolute positioning, meaning that I'm not pushing the cursor around. Great with RTS like Warcraft and there's no carpal tunnel syndrome damage with super long usage.

7. Nero

Bestest CD-R and DVD recording software in the world. Back when I was on Toast on the Mac OS, it was coaster heaven whenever the burning process was slightly interrupted. This baby can still burn a perfect CD-R when I have CaptureOne processing, CS2 batching and Firefox browsing. I got a legit copy of Nero Express when I bought a Plextor DVD writer from Storage Studio in Sim Lim. Btw, Verbatim DVD-Rs and CD-Rs are teh r0xx0rs.

8. Photoshop - Liquify

One of the most powerful thing Adobe ever invented for Photoshop. Puffy cheeks begone!

9. Jodie Koh

Xacto sharp critiques of my images that I've been producing. Painful. Now, I still prep to cringe when she comments on my stuff. But bitter truth is better a sweet compliment.

10. Plantronics Headset with Mic

Honestly, this is not related to photography. I forgot to mention this coz it's totally comfortable for hours and I have taken it for granted. On some other more expensive headsets, I could feel the weight/discomfort after an hour or 2 but with this, I don't remember wearing it. The headset is rugged, the mic boom is rugged and clear, and it's built to last. I've had it for a year and it's still sturdy, no signs to wear and tear and the speaker-leather-sponge isn't melting unlike the Sennheiser HD457 that I used.

That's about it.

Wes