Review Train (books, software, printer, bags and meta)

We had a DSLR-heavy edition of the "Review Train" on Sunday, today's edition is camera-free :) For past, present and future editions, be sure to check the review mini-blog.

Book Reviews
Reading is fun-da-mental, which is why we start this episode with Book Reviews, starting with TwiP Photo reviewing the "Travel Photography" book by Bob Krist. The book is part of Lark's "Digital Masters" series.

And there's no doubt that during your travels you will run into lots of flowers. And that's where the review of C. Beane's "Flowers" fits in. The review also by TwiP Photo.

Next up, the Imaging Insider spotlights a book-review of "Camera Raw" published as part of the "Real World" series of books.

And since we are talking books, TOP has picked their 2008 book of the year. And to make it more exciting, we won't reveal it here. Hint: it's not a camera-gear book!

Meta
There are plenty of reviews, how about a meta-post? In this blog post, the dpreview team talks about refining the group-test format. Group tests are something new for dpreview, they introduced them just in time for the 2008 holiday shopping season. This post gives us an inside-look of what to expect from future group-tests.

Software
CS4 (Photoshop 11) has not been received by Wii-crowds of photographers, and rumor has it that it's not doing as well as some may have expected. What could the reason be? Is it the economy? Is it the software itself? Is it the pirates of the softobean? We do not have an answer for you, but the PDF Gear Guide blog has posted a review of Photoshop CS4.

Gear
The PDN Gear Guide reviews some ...gear, the Tenba Shootout Sling bag in this case. What did they think???

Printing is fundamental if you like prints :) With that in mind, and your budget in mind, Photography Blog has reviewed the affordable 13x19 (A3) printer, the HP Photosmart B8550. As with everything else, no spoilers!