Type of Article: MacTech Reviews

Sanho Corp.’s HyperShield (http://www.hypershield.com) Back Cover for the iPad 2 makes a great companion for the iPad 2 and the popular Smart Cover — if you’re not looking for a hard protection option for the backside of the Apple tablet.

By Mike Mackenzie

Car shows are notoriously terrible places to take decent photos. They’re almost always held during the middle of the day when the light is harsh, but the worst part is it’s nearly impossible to position yourself to take a decent shot.

With most lenses, you need to put considerable distance between you and the car, and show attendees constantly get in the frame. So a large car show seemed like the perfect place to test Sigma’s (http://www.sigmaphoto.com) new, US$950, 10–20mm f/3.5 EX DC HSM wide-angle zoom lens.

Cinematize 3 Pro — there’s also a non-Pro version, but more on that later — lets you extract audio and video clips off of any unencrypted DVD and save them in formats compatible with applications such as iMovie, QuickTime, Final Cut (Pro and Express), PowerPoint, and iTunes.

Note the “unencrypted” adjective; it won’t work with commercial DVDs so you can’t grab scenes off of No Country for Old Men and insert them into your home movie. Cinematize 2 Pro also works with the iPod. You can extract clips as short as fraction of a second or as long as a complete movie.

Sena’s Collega for the iPad 2 case (http://www.senacases.com/apple/ipad-2-cases/collega-cases/) isn’t cheap at US$150, but it defines the word luxurious. I feel as if I should wear a top hat and tails when I use it. But it’s also practical with its compact all-in-one design.

First, let’s just get the look and feel tidbits out of the way. The Collega is one swanky case of rich, hand-crafted leather that’s gorgeous to behold and touch. The Sena case’s stitching is flawless with straight, tight seams.

By Jay Nelson

I’ve used Pantone’s swatch books for more than 25 years, and I’m more excited about the new Pantone Plus Series (http://www.pantone.com) than any previous update to the Pantone Matching System.