Fujifilm Finepix X100 preview

Fujifilm’s X100 was first revealed at Photokina in 2010 and it’s retro styling instantly captured peoples attention.  The X100 has yet to hit store shelves but Fujifilm has been slowly releasing more and more information about this camera to tantalize prospective buyers.  Sadly this is a hands-off preview, I have not yet used one of these cameras in person but since we still don’t know exactly when this camera will come onto the market I thought I’d write a little about what we already know of the camera.

UPDATE: The camera is now up for pre order at Adorama!  Get in line while you can !

UPDATE 2B&H now have the camera up for pre order!!

The important specifications:

  • 12.3 MP APS-C CMOS sensor
  • Fixed 23mm (35mm equiv.) f2.0 Fujinon Aspherical lens
  • Magnesium top and bottom plates
  • Hybrid optical/electronic viewfinder
  • Aperture ring on lens
  • Top plate dials are metal
  • Manual focus ring on lens
  • 2.8″ LCD screen
  • 10cm close focus distance for macro shots
  • Built in 3-stop neutral density filter
  • 720p video recording with stereo sound
  • SD Card compatible
  • Diminutive size (126 x 74 x 53 )
  • $1200

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RED Epic finally in the hands of film makers

RED’s new flagship camera, the Epic has finally started to ship in limited quantities.  A few months ago RED announced that a limited number of hand machined and hand assembled Epics would be available slightly before the regular production run begins.  The so called Epic-M was available to order for $58,000 and that package included a 5″ touch screen, the Bomb EVF and a 128 GB SSD module + a Redmote.  Overall, the premium for getting one of these limited hand assembled versions is about $10,000 but people jumped at the opportunity and the very first one shipped to OFFHOLLYWOOD

New Canon 1.4x and 2x Extenders now up for order

These things usually only come up for order when they know they will be shipping fairly soon so this is a good indication that the new MKIII Extenders (teleconverters) will be hitting stores soon.  Originally slated for a December release it seems this may slip to January.  B&H has them up for order now Canon Extender EF 1.4X III Canon Extender EF 2X III I wrote about these when they were announced earlier in the year at Photokina.

Interview on B&H Photo website

I just did an interview with the guys at B&H Photo, please check it out on their website HERE. Or download it here.

Redrock Micro Running Man HDSLR rig review

The ergonomic difficulties associated with HDSLR movie making is something we take as a given.  We accept it without much complaint because the end results can be well worth the trouble it takes to put together an HDSLR rig that suits your needs.  Cameras like the Canon 5dMKII and 7d were not intended to be used for pure video production purposes so there are a number of problems that need to be tackled if you are going to produce quality work with them.  The first such problem is a way to view the screen, which I have already touched on

Photography Tips for Skier Magazine

I was asked to create a series of ski photography tips to feature in Skier Magazine.  Here you can see a selection from that series as published.

5dMKII bit rate hack! Magic lantern firmware update.

Fans and users of the Canon 5dMKII will probably remember Tramm Hudson’s incredible firmware update that he created LONG before Canon did to allow for various additional features  like audio meters, zebra stripes and a feature to disable the auto audio gain.  Well ever since Canon’s own 24p firmware update that also included manual audio control, all has been quiet from Tramm and his Magic Lantern firmware.   Until today! Tramm has just released a new version of his firmware and this time it follows in a similar direction to the popular Panasonic GH1 bit rate hack.  Essentially it allows you

Panasonic GH-2 1:1 video mode is VERY interesting!

The Panasonic GH-2 is just starting to trickle onto the market from some of the major retailers and several people are reporting the discovery of a quite remarkable feature that Panasonic didn’t think to tell anyone about.  A feature so good that many people are saying it “changes everything again”.  At very least , it’s a headlining feature for people wanting to shoot video with the GH-2 and it is utterly puzzling as to why Panasonic is not flaunting this feature as one of it’s major selling points. So what is this feature I’m going on about ?  Well, tucked