PhotoPlus Day 3 and Wrap Up

 Cameras, Industry news, Lenses, Photography, Storage, Trade Shows  1 Response »
Oct 272012
 

PhotoPlus finished up today with me wandering around seeing if I missed anything while scurrying from interview to interview the previous two days. There were a couple things that I did manage to notice.

Storage Vendors
In previous Expos the only storage vendors to show up were Drobo and LaCie (who were there) but at this show storage companies Synology and QNAP were there showing their network attached wares along with direct attached storage (DAS) vendor CruDataPort. 
The Synology unit pictured above has dual Gigabit ethernet ports and can handle up to eight SATA drives in a classic RAID configuration or Synology’s Hybrid RAID (similar to Drobo). The system is designed for business class use so it has a ton of features that pro photographers can really use. Multi-unit backup, offsite backups, cloud backups and Dropbox like services are just some of the features offered. 
QNAP, like Synology, makes business-class NAS devices with a ton of features useful for pro photographers. These are networked attached devices and the eSATA and USB ports on the back are for attaching external single drives or for daisy-chaining units together.
CruDataPort makes some of the studiest data enclosures on the planet. This is military-grade stuff. I had reviewed one of the products a few years ago. This particular model supports RAID right in tthe device itself. No special card needed. Just jack it into the USB 3.0 or eSATA ports. For the record, I forgot to photograph the new model of the above pictured unit which has eSATA and USB 3.0 ports.
Carl Zeiss

Carl Zeiss had their new X-mount and E-mount prototypes on display on their intended camera bodies. These lenses are autofocus and on the X-mount lens there is an aperture ring. I, for one, cannot wait  for these lenses to arrive in May.
Schneider-Kreuznach

The iPro System is a lens system for the iPhone 4/4S. It is a case and lens combination that adds a super-wide and telephoto adapter to the iPhone 4/4S. There is an optional fisheye lens as well. A new case is being designed for the iPhone 5.
The item on the bottom is a polarizing filter for the iPhone (all models). A small metal ring is attached to the body of the iPhone with adhesive tape and the lens is attached via magnets. This will also take care of any flaring that has been reported on the iPhone 5.
Cambo

Digital Transitions had several high-end medium format digital systems on display. Pictured above is the new Cambo WRC-400 compact technical camera. This is my dream camera. Never going to happen to me unless a miracle occurs to the tune of $20,000.00 (including the IQ140 digital back).
Lensbaby

Creative lensmaker Lensbaby was there with new Composer Pro body, Sweet 35 and Edge 80 optics. The Sweet 35 and Edge 80 differ from their other optics as the actually have internal apertures instead of the washer system used by the rest of their line. Alpha mounts are now available so that means that Sony users can feel the Lensbaby love as well. I will posting a review of the Sweet 35 and Edge 80 on the A99 in the near future as well.
That wraps up the show reports. Please visit this site for updated reviews and information. If you enjoyed reading these reports or have any questions, please feel free to leave a comment and don’t forget to share this with your friends.
Thank you and take care.

PhotoPlus Day 1 Report

 Cameras, Industry news, Lenses, Lighting, Photography, Technology, Trade Shows  2 Responses »
Oct 262012
 

October 25, 2012 – PhotoPlus Expo 2012 opened formally this morning to fairly sizable crowds. As usual, the main entrance was dominated by the Big Three (although Canon and Nikon would call it the Big Two Plus One). Needless to say, the Canon, Nikon and Sony booths were completely stormed by the early onrush.

To be perfectly honest, the Canon and Nikon booths garnered the lion’s share of the visitors. The Sony booth saw a fairly steady stream of visitors. Not surprising considering the number of new products they introduced recently.
Nikon 1 Models V2 & J2

As you can see from the photos, the cameras were under glass. All of the V2′s & J2′s were prototypes and none were availble shots or even handholding. Diasppointing, really.
More frustrating though was the interminalble crowds clogging the Canon booth. If I had to call it, it would be Canon, Nikon, and then Sony.
Undaunted, I proceeded to my first interview of the day:
Datacolor
I had the pleasure of speaking with Mr. David Tobie, Global Product Technology Manager for Datacolor. This man loves color. The product he was so passionate about is the Spyder Capture Pro.
The Spyder Capture Pro is an end-to-end color management solution consisting of the following products:
Spyder Lenscal – Camera lens focus calibration tool. David explained that with Spyder Lenscal you can adjust a zoom lens very specifically. For example, a 70-200 lens can be adjusted to front-focus at the short end  for portrait work and back-focus at the long end for landscape work.
Spyder Checkr – is the ultimate color patch tool. Combined with software, the SypderCheckr will profile your camera’s sensor giving you a preset that can be applied to all photos from that body. This assists in correcting the dynamic range of a photo.
SpyderCube – this is a white balance adjustment tool for color correcting your shots. According to David, most shots only really need adjustment of their dynamic range rather than their color balance.
Spyder4Elite –  this is Datacolor’s best known product, their monitor calibration tool.
These four components, when taken together, allow you to control and calibrate the one piece of the image capture workkflow that was never previously calibrated: the camera.
I will be providing a complete review of the product once my review sample arrives.
 
Cullman Titan Tripods
On my way to another interview, I passed the Cullman booth where they were showcasing the Titan line of tripods. The Titan tripods are kind off unique that the lower leg sections are thicker than the upper pieces. The leg segments are not round but rather a gentle curved trapizoidal shape. When put together, the three legs form a cylinder, making it easier to store.
Tiffen
Tiffen is an umbrella company for a large number of brands. I will need to go through their press releases when I get home to properly report on all that I saw.
Fotodiox

Camera accessory maker Fotodiox introduced two new productsL the WonderPana Filter System for super wide-angle lenses and the WonderBurst wireless photo/flash trigger. The WonderPana comes in two models: the WonderPana 145, which sports 145mm circular filters; and the WonderPana 66 (pictured above) which adds on to the WonderPana 145 and allows it to mount square filters. These square filters can be used alongside the 145mm circular ones.
The WonderBurst also comes in two flavors: the plain WonderBurst for NEX cameras without a standard hotshoe and the WonderBurst HS8000 for cameras with a standard hotshoe. The latter has been tested on Canon and Nikon cameras and it is highly llikely that it will work with the Sony NEX-6 and SLT-A99V. I will test the HS8000 on those cameras once all of that kit arrives.
Sony
Sony had all three of its big Photokina announcements present and available to touch/fondle/drool over. Pictured above is the SLT-A99V aka the Alpha A99. Currently the “king of the hill” in Sony’s SLT offerings, the A99 is made for professionals. I will be providing a full review of this product in the near future.
The Alpha NEX-6 is the newest member of the NEX family, sits squarely between the NEX-5R and the NEX-7. However, is sports some features that the NEX-7 does not have like built-inn WiFi and camera apps.It does have a built-in electronic viewfinder like the one in the NEX-7 and A99. The sensor is 16 megapixels instead of 24 megapixels and has much better high-ISO characteristics. Again, a full review is pending once my copy arrives.
The Sony Cybershot RX1 is a bit of an odd duck. A point and shoot camera with a full frame sensor (the only P&S camera with a sensor that big) a super-high quality fixed Carl Zeiss lens (35mm). I think that this is a  marketing experiment on Sony’s part to gauge the market’s receptiveness to a full-frame interchangeable lens camera. I say bring it on.
Fujifilm X-E1
Fujifilm shook the photographic world up with their X-series of digital cameras. Last year they introduced the X-Pro1 a surprisingly high-end model. This year they brought us the X-E1, a camera with all of the best parts of the X-Pro1 minus the really expensive bits. I hope to have a review sample sometime in the future as well.
That’s it for Day 1. Stay tuned for Day 2.

Olympus OM-D E-M5 On Its Way!

 Cameras, Reviews  8 Responses »
May 112012
 

I got an e-mail yesterday that my camera dealer has an Olympus OM-D E-M5 + Grip with my name on it! The camera will be winging its way to me very shortly and I will be able to start testing this little puppy. Based on a lot of shots and videos that I already have seen, this camera may well meet my rather stringent needs.

IMG_0093

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Fine Leather Half-Cases for the Sony NEX-7

 Accessories, Cameras  7 Responses »
Feb 152012
 

Korean craftsmen over at Gariz.com are preparing to release a fine leather half-case for the Sony NEX-7. The Gariz case, unlike any of the others on the market features a rigid metal baseplate with access to the NEX-7′s battery/memory card door. The case also features Gariz’ gun holster ring, a swivel ring on the bottom plate to accommodate his sling straps.

Pricing has not been set, but the case is expected to start shipping at the end of February.

 

Gariz NEX-7 Half Case Gariz Nex-7 Half-Case Bottom
Here is a link to the original blog article (in Korean)

New “Mamiya Leaf” Brand Delivers Strong Worldwide Synergy

 Cameras, image processing, Photography  No Responses »
Jan 162012
 

TOKYO and TEL AVIV, January 16, 2012– Mamiya Digital Imaging, a trusted manufacturer and developer of medium-format cameras and optics, and Leaf Imaging Ltd., a leading manufacturer and developer of digital backs for the medium and large-format photography markets, today announced that they have created a new, worldwide Mamiya Leaf brand that integrates both companies’ product lines into one complete medium-format digital camera system offering, streamlines new product development and establishes more efficient customer sales and support.

 

MamiyaLeaf_Logo_RGB_100dpi.jpg

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Sony NEX-7: First Impressions

 Cameras, Photography, Reviews  36 Responses »
Dec 262011
 

Sony has finally started shipping its NEX-7 compact system camera. Not being one of the big fish, I got mine the old fashioned way: I got on a waiting list and waited.

Patience paid off and I was graced with a UPS box a week ago containing a Sony NEX-7 body and a spare battery. No lens. I am still waiting for this to arrive. Fortunately, I had planned for this and acquired a couple of lens adapters allowing me to fit legacy glass on my shiny new NEX-7.

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PhotoPlus Expo 2011 Show Report – Part 1

 Accessories, Cameras, Industry news, Lenses, Lighting, Photography, Trade Shows  No Responses »
Oct 292011
 

The PhotoPlus Expo 2011 was held once again at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York City. With the absorption of PMA into the Consumer Electronics Show (CES), PPE has become the last major standalone photography exposition in the U.S. I once again took up my annual pilgrimage to the Big Apple to see what the camera makers had to offer.

20111029-174714.jpg

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Adobe Updates Lightroom to 3.5 (Release Candidate)

 image processing, Industry news, Photo Software  No Responses »
Aug 242011
 

Lightroom cs4

Adobe updated Photoshop Lightroom to version 3.5 (release candidate) today. The update will be available for download on their Labs site until October 31, 2011. The update adds support for several new cameras including the new Olympus E-P3 family, the Panasonic G3 family, and Phase One’s P40+. P65+, IQ140, IQ160 medium format digital backs.

The inclusion of Phase One’s digital backs by Adobe can be interpreted as acknowledgement of Phase One’s dominance in the MFDB market. Or. it can be interpreted as Adobe trying to steal Phase One’s lunch (prior to this release of Lightroom, the only way to process Phase One IIQ files was with their proprietary Capture One software). With the inclusion of Phase One digital backs, Lightroom can now process images from all of the major medium format digital brands (Hasselblad, Leaf, Phase One, and the DNG based systems – Leica & Pentax).

Read the list of supported cameras and lenses after the jump.

I will be testing the output from Capture One, Lightroom 3.5RC and Phocus to see how they compare.

You can download the software from here.

 

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