Month: November 2010

World cup bobsled in my home town

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I don’t often get to post photos of what I’m currently shooting because much of it has to stay under wraps until the clients have used them in the magazines or adverts. This weekend though I have my photojournalism hat on in my home town of Whistler, BC. The bobsled and skeleton world cup is here for the first round of the winter season at the Whistler Sliding Center that hosted the event for the 2010 Winter Olympics. Here is a photo from lasts nights 2-man bobsled event. Canada 1 bob piloted by Lyndon Rush grabbed joint second place in …

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Canon 5d MKIII speculation

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Ok lets have some fun this week! What would you like to see from Canon in the 5d MKIII ? I asked myself this question and this is what I came up with. There’s no doubt that the 5D MKII was a revolutionary camera both in terms of it’s video capabilities and also it’s full frame still image quality at a much more affordable price than then 1DS MKIII. I have no official information on 1DS sales figures but it’s pretty safe to assume they took a huge hit with the 5D MKII’s introduction, to the point where the ever …

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ThinkTank launches new long lens rain cover

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NOTE: There is now a newly updated, improved and cheaper version of this rain cover. Details can be found here. Think Tank Photo have just launched a re-designed version of their Hydrophobia 300-600 rain cover. The name is a little deceptive though as you can easily use this on a Canon 800mm f5.6 lens too using the included cover extender. Think Tank make some great rain covers and you can check out my review of the small Hydrophobia 70-200 HERE. The great thing about the design of this is that it stays on the lens even when it’s not raining, …

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SBC Skier cover shot of Dane Tudor

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As a photographer there is very little that is more satisfying than walking into your local grocery store and seeing one of your images adorn the cover of your favorite ski magazine. When the issue in question is also the special 10th anniversary edition of the magazine it is even better! This photo of Dane Tudor was shot in Haines, Alaska while I was up there last spring time shooting alongside the Poorboyz Productions crew. You can read all about my trip in this post HERE. The line that Dane is skiing was one that he had his eye on …

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Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 L IS Review (Vs. 70-200 f4 L IS)

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The Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 L IS was announced in September 2010 and made it to stores at the beginning of November. There already exists two 70-300s in the Canon lineup but neither of them have ever been showered with praise. The previous 70-300 f4.5-5.6 DO IS lens was incredibly small due to its difractive optics design, but image quality suffered and it never sold in large numbers. The 70-300 f4-5.6 IS (non-L) is a more budget oriented lens (approx. $550) and again never really turned any heads. I heard a lot of people cry “Oh my god a variable aperture …

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A date with the Leica M9

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Last week I wrote about my experiences with the Leica X1. While I was down in Vancouver I also had the opportunity to have a more extended test period with the Leica M9. 50mm Summicron on the left with a 35mm Summilux on the M9 First a bit of a history lesson. The M7 and MP were the last of the film rangefinders and the first digital Leica , the M8, was introduced in 2006 with a 10.3MP 1.3 crop sensor. An incremental improvement was made in 2008 with the M8.2 which still employed the same 10MP sensor but with …

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Delayed but coming soon! Canon 70-300 L IS !

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The Canon 70-300 f4-5.6 L IS was due to be launched at the end of October but has slipped slightly. We are seeing the first sign that it is coming soon as all the major retailers have started to take orders for it. Be the first to get in line because this is going to be a BIG seller and number will no doubt be short to begin with. The lens retails for $1599.

Panasonic launches the GF2 Micro Four Thirds camera

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Panasonic has today launched the new GF2 Micro Four Thirds camera to supersede their popular GF1 model. The MFT (Micro Four Thirds) standard has been gaining market position quickly over the last couple of years and Panasonic’s cameras have been at the forefront of this popularity boom. The previous G models (G1, GH1, GF1) were very popular and well received by the press in general. At Photokina in September Panasonic too the wraps off the new DMC-GH2 and initial reports of that camera have found image quality and autofocus speed to be of excellent quality. When the original GF1 was …

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Canon delays three of its new lenses until March 2011

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Canon has announced today that three of its highly anticipated new lenses have been delayed until March 2011. The 300mm f2.8 L IS II , the 400mm f2.8 L IS II and the 8-15mm f4 L fisheye zoom. The lenses have been delayed due to changes in the manufacturing process. I’m personally most disappointed with the fisheye zoom as I plan to purchase that lens immediately and arriving in March it will miss most of my winter work where it would have been very useful.

Impressions of the Leica X1

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The X1 was launched by Leica alongside the M9 back in September 2009 and a new all black version was displayed at Photokina this year, set to ship within the next month. For those unfamiliar with this camera there are a few stand out features that immediately set this camera apart from other compacts. Firstly Leica have managed to squeeze a 12MP APS-C sized sensor into the diminutive X1 body which is an impressive achievement and immediately gives it an advantage over most other compact cameras. Secondly the X1 features a fixed 24mm Leica Elmarit lens. Elmarit in Leica land …

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