A woman is sitting at the bar of a dimly-lit cafe. Lost in thoughts, she doesn’t notice the glass of wine the bartender places before her. From a distance, a photographer tries to capture her mood. He brings her face, which is leaning toward her phone, into focus. Everything around her becomes a blur, and the lights in the background coalesce into a wild “dance” of diffuse shapes.
This shot will only work with a fast lens with short focal length and harmonious bokeh. Carl Zeiss introduces a new lens for just such images: the Distagon T* 1,4/35.
World’s Smallest 600mm Telephoto Zoom Lens and 80-300mm Equivalent Lenses Deliver Both Extreme Portability and Optimal HD Movie Recording
CENTER VALLEY, Pa., August 31, 2010 – Olympus today announces two new lenses to its Micro Four Thirds lens family: the M.ZUIKO® DIGITAL ED 75-300 MM F4.8-6.7 and M.ZUIKO DIGITAL ED 40-150MM F4.0-5.6. Both lenses feature a high-speed, silent autofocus during still shooting and high definition (HD) movie capture. They are the ultimate lenses for zooming in on sporting events, beautiful wildlife and faces from a distance, and because they make barely a whisper when focusing, they won’t call attention to photographer or add unwanted noise to movie recordings. Look what you can do.
Hamburg, 31 August 2010 – The remarkable PEN camera range is already a firm favourite with design enthusiasts and now Olympus has a special treat in store. Two exclusive kits for the flagship E-P2 feature a mouth-watering selection of matching accessories, all in elegant black.
In addition to the sleek black version of the E-P2 camera, both kits offer a black edition of the super-slender M.ZUIKO DIGITAL 17mm 1:2.8 Pancake lens. Available in black exclusively with these kits, this exquisite lens looks destined for must-have status. Both kits also include one of two additional, high-grade accessories.
This year’s visitors to the Carl Zeiss booth at photokina will be able to touch, test and even walk through high-quality lenses. The optical experts want to make an encounter with the world ofCarl Zeiss something to remember.
“We will present new lenses and, for the first time, accessories at photokina. You’ll have to be a bit more patient to find out exactly what we have in store,” announces Martin Klottig, Marketing Manager of the Camera Lens Division atCarl Zeiss AG. Twice as large as its predecessor in 2008, the “application island” at the booth in Hall 2.1 will allow visitors to test the entire line ofCarl Zeiss lenses. Using a number of real subjects, photographers and anyone else interested will have the opportunity to try our various focal lengths and settings. In addition to the entirely new ZEISS lenses, guests will also be able to use Sony lenses featuring Carl Zeiss technology and the coveted Compact Prime CP.2 lenses on HDSLR cameras for video recording.
The walk-through lens introduced in 2008, invites this year’s visitors to experience the 120-year history of lenses at Carl Zeiss. It shows howCarl Zeiss has accompanied photography from one era to the next and how developments of the past have laid the foundation for the future. The high-performance Tessar lenses, for example, have been around since 1902. These pioneering, compact designs are used in a miniaturized form in high-end Nokia mobile phones.
Our partner Nokia will also present its latest smart phones at our booth, and demonstrate how compact, creative and high-quality mobile photography with Carl Zeiss works.
ELMSFORD, NY, COPENHAGEN, TOKYO, and STOCKHOLM, August 23, 2010 – Mamiya and Phase One, leaders in open platform medium format digital
camera systems and solutions, and Profoto, the light shaping company, today announced the Mamiya/Phase One V-Grip Air. This is the first product resulting from these companies’ collaboration.
The Mamiya/Phase One V-Grip Air is not only the first vertical grip with a built-in wireless flash trigger; it is also the first and only wireless flash sync solution for a medium format camera system that is capable of delivering sync speeds as fast as 1/1600s. The new V-Grip also offers owners of Phase One and Mamiya 645DF cameras more shooting styles, and delivers longer camera battery life through power integration and easy firmware upgrades.
Cosina today announced a new lens in their family of M-mount lenses: the Voigtlander Heliar Classic 75mm f/1.8. An update to their excellent Color Heliar 75mm f/2.5, this version of the lens adds an M-mount (the original was Leica Thread Mount and had to use an adaptor on M-mount cameras) and is just about 1-stop faster than the original.
The lens is expected to ship in September and will have an MSRP of $875 USD. The US distributor for Cosina Voigtlander, Cameraquest, has not made any announcements yet, but historically they will be accepting pre-orders with a small deposit.
Specs
Focal length
75mm
Aperture ratio
1:1.8
Minimum aperture
F16
Lens Construction
3 groups of 6 elements
Angle of view
33.2 °
Number of diaphragm blades
10
Minimum focusing distance
0.9m
Integration range rangefinder
∞ ~ 0.9m
Diameter × length
57.9 × 73.8mm
Filter size
52mm
Weight
427g
Mount
VM mount
I currently own the Color Heliar 75mm f/2.5 and use it on my M8 with an adaptor. I am curious to see how well the new lens performs. The Color Heliar’s claim to fame has always been it’s bokeh. CV has made some pretty strong claims to that heritage with this new lens. I hope to get one in for testing so i can compare.
An interesting tidbit cropped up on the Mecablitz 58 AF-2 announcement on Photoscala:
Depending on the model offers the mecablitz 58 AF-2 digital, the main special features of Canon (E-TTL and E-TTL II), Nikon/Fujifilm- (i-TTL and D-TTL, 3D-flash mode), Olympus / Panasonic / Leica (Four Thirds-TTL mode), Pentax (P-TTL) or Sony (ADI DSLR) cameras.
Can this possibly mean a Leica branded M4/3 camera is in the offing?
Really Right Stuff, makers of some the best camera accessories on the planet, have just announced that the BS2-L plate is in stock and available for purchase. For those of you who do not know what an L-plate is, an L-plate is mounted on the tripod socket on your camera body. The plate allows you to mount you camera vertically (portrait mode) without having to tip the tripod head over 90 degrees keeping the camera’s weight and balance centered over the tripod.
Really Right Stuff makes L-plates for most major brands of cameras including medium format digitals. The also recently began shipping a combo L-plate grip for the Leica M8-M9 which I shall be reviewing very shortly. Be sure to also check out their line of ballheads and clamps for your favorite tripod. An RRS/Arca Swiss style clamp is needed to use their L-plate system.
For Dummies® releases guide to using first consumer friendly EVIL/Micro Fourth Thirds digital camera by Olympus
Hoboken, NJ (August 13, 2010) – The latest trend in digital cameras – hybrids that offer the flexibility of interchangeable lenses and a large sensor in a smaller body – now has a consumer price point and guide to using the technology. The Olympus PEN E-PL1 is among a new breed of digital cameras (the first priced at a consumer friendly sub-$600) and Olympus PEN E-PL1 For Dummies speaks squarely at first-time users of this new type of camera who are looking for a guide to help them better understand their camera’s controls.
Sometimes called EVIL (electronic viewfinder/interchangeable lens) or Micro Four Thirds (to describe a body designed for interchangeable lenses but without the mechanisms of a DSLR), these cameras allow photographers to shoot with SLR lenses and offer a larger sensor than what is found in point & shoot cameras. They do this with a significantly smaller camera body than a DSLR but a shooting speed that rivals their higher-tech brethren.
Olympus PEN E-PL1 For Dummies introduces users to the camera’s main functions and offers examples on how to use them to create effective digital photos. Coverage includes:
•Exploring the on-board controls
•Shooting in auto mode
•Working with lenses
•Dialing in exposure and lighting controls
•Manipulating focus and color controls
•Situational shooting
•Getting pics onto a PC for editing
•Printing, posting online, and other ways to share images
•Part of Tens including editing tricks
The book’s author, Julie Adair King, has penned six editions of Digital Photography For Dummies and several Nikon and Canon digital SLR camera specific guides in the For Dummies series. In this book, she speaks to the consumer/hobbyist who would like to take professional quality images without the intimidating load and price tags that accompany most DSLR cameras.
The book is due in stores and available online August 9th, while the camera itself has been brought to market and is currently enjoying both professional and consumer acclaim. Reviewers have lauded the power, flexibility, and price of the PEN E-PL1. Eric Reagan of photographybay.com wrote “Consumers looking to upgrade their point and shoot cameras should seriously consider picking up the E-PL1.”
To inquire about an author interview, request a review copy and/or excerpt content from the book, please contact Ashley Evens via email (aevens @ wiley.com) or call 201-748-6702.
Olympus PEN E-PL1 For Dummies®
John Wiley & Sons, Inc.; Paper; $29.99; 352 Pages
August 2010; ISBN 978-0-470-87950-4
About the Author
Julie Adair King (Indianapolis, IN) has been covering digital cameras and photography for over a decade. Along with the six editions of Digital Photography For Dummies, Julie has also written For Dummies guides covering specific Nikon and Canon digital SLR cameras, as well as Digital Photos Projects For Dummies. She also works one-on-one with beginning digital photographers in the classroom at the Palm Beach Photographic Centre.
About For Dummies®
With near universal name recognition, more than 150 million books in print, and over 900 + topics, For Dummies is the world’s bestselling reference series. With loyal customers around the globe, For Dummies enriches people’s lives by making knowledge accessible in a fun and easy way. Described by the N.Y. Times as “more than a publishing phenomenon, but a sign of the times,” For Dummies span every section of the bookstore, covering everything from health to history, music to math, sports to self-help, technology to travel, and more. The Dummies brand has expanded into new products and categories with an extensive licensed product line, including fitness and hobby DVDs, grilling kits, business software, cleaning products, automotive kits, craft kits, and apparel. For more information, visit Dummies.com. For Dummies is a branded imprint of Wiley.
I have recently discovered that use of the utility application “Clean My Mac” can break CS5′s ability to update itself. Clean My Mac, in it’s default setting, will remove international language files from applications to recover the “wasted” disk space. In most cases, this is action is harmless to the operation of your Mac. However, if you have Adobe CS5 installed (any flavor), the Adobe Updater looks for the language files to update them and bombs out.
The fix is to reinstall Adobe CS5 and reapply all patches. You can simply run the installer on the main disc without first uninstalling/unregistering the existing install. The Installer will overwrite the files and update all plists. The launch the Adobe Updater from within any app in the set and then exit the app to allow the Updater to do it’s job unimpeded. Please make sure all browsers are closed when this action is taking place.
