Month: February 2012

Photo Mechanic & Lightroom Workflow

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I’ve posted a detailed video about what makes Photo Mechanic a must have program for many journalists and sports photographers before. But many people also like the easy adjustment tools of Adobe Lightroom.  This video walks you through how to setup a workflow that incorporates the best of both of these programs. For more detailed ingest tutorial please see my previous video -> vimeo.com/30521015

Pocketwizard Launches the Plus III

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LPA Designs have today announced the third iteration of the Pocketwizard Plus lineup.  It integrates several of the features of the Multimax into a smaller, cheaper package that will actually sell for $30 less than the previous version!  Great news!  There has been considerable physical design changes too including a built in antenna and a sideways profile so as not to get in the way of the photographers view when mounted to the camera.  There is a new long range mode designed for remote camera usage, a repeater function (which was previously confined to the Multimax), 32 channels and a

Canon’s Super Tele Shipping Dates Slip Again

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Last month we heard the planned ship date had slipped back to April for the new 500mm and 60mm f2 L IS II lenses.  Now, again via The Digital Picture, we are hearing that things have now slipped to May.  This is getting a bit frustrating for those of us who are waiting for one of these lenses!  I really need to have my new 500mm for a trip in June and this is looking increasingly unlikely. From Canon: “We appreciate your understanding and continued support.”

Hands On With The New Canon 24-70 & 24mm + 28mm IS Primes

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Recently Canon announced the introduction of three new lenses to their EF lineup.  The long awaited 24-70 f2.8 L II finally broke cover as well as two wide prime lenses with IS, the first of their kind.  Much has been made about the projected $2300 price point for the new 24-70 though which is about $1200 more than you can currently get the previous version for.  In the last couple of years Canon have updated some old lenses and introduced some new ones, all of which I have found to be exemplary so my gut feeling is that for pros,

Canon 24-70 f2.8 L II

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10mm shorter and 150g lighter than the previous version, the Canon 24-70 f2.8 L II will be available in April for approximately $2300. Pre-Orders B&H are taking pre-orders for the lens now!!  You will not be charged until it is shipped. Key features   High-speed USM AF Fluorine lens coating front and rear 9-blade circular aperture Three Aspheric lens elements One Super Ultra-low Dispersion lens element Two Ultra-low Dispersion (UD) lens elements Minimum focusing distance: 0.38m at all focal lengths Improved dust and weather resistance Improved durability for daily use Front of lens doesn’t rotate during focusing Manual focus possible

Canon Launches Three New Lenses : 24-70 F2.8 L II , 28mm IS and 24mm IS

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Canon’s revamp of the staple 24-70 f2.8 L has been in the pipeline for years if the rumors are to believed.  Today it was unveiled and whilst it doesn’t have the IS that many people wanted, it does come in at 10mm shorter and 150g lighter than it’s predecessor which will be welcomed by the pros who use this lens on a daily basis.  On top of this Canon have also unveiled the worlds first wide angle prime lenses to feature IS.  A 24mm f2.8 IS and a 28mm f2.8 IS.

 

UPDATE:   The 24-70 will be available in April for approx. $2300.  The 24mm and 8mm will be available in June for approx $850 and $800 respectively.

Press Release

London, UK, 7th February 2012 – Canon today adds to its world-famous EF lens series with the launch of three new lenses for photography professionals and enthusiasts. The new EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM professional zoom lens is an update to the popular EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM, while the new EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM and EF 28mm f/2.8 IS USM are the world’s first1 wide-angle prime lenses to feature optical Image Stabilizer (IS) technology. All three provide the highest levels of performance for modern digital photographers, combining premium image quality with durable, user friendly designs.

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM: the ultra-high performance standard zoom

The new EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM features completely redesigned optics to provide outstanding clarity, image quality and durability. A compact design makes it ideal for carrying on every shoot, and a range of optical enhancements provide improved performance – capturing greater detail across the frame while reducing distortion throughout the entire zoom range, particularly at the maximum 70mm focal length.

Read more

Nikon Launches the 36MP D800

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Nikon has unveiled the new D800 today which features a 36MP full frame sensor along with all of the video function improvements we saw on the previously announced D4.  In an interesting twist, Nikon will also be offering a D800E which is identical except for the omission of the anti-aliasing filter.  This should provide increased sharpness in that variation, but at the expense of possible aliasing on patterned subjects.  With the enormous processing power needed to deal with a 36MP image it comes as no surprise that the D800 is capable of a lower fps burst than it’s predecessor. 4fps

Canon 24-70 f2.8 II Leaked

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This one has been a long time coming!  Reports of an updated 24-70 have been going around for two or three years.  Initially it seemed like it was going to have IS but this photo leaked today (via Canon Rumors) shows that in fact it does not have IS. 82mm Filter Thread Lighter than the original version (which is a bit of a beast!) approx $1799