Hahnemuhle Adds Ultra Smooth and Baryta Papers
Posted on August 16, 2008 - Filed Under News, Photo | Leave a Comment
Hahnemuhle has added two new inkjet photo papers to its FineArt line. Photo Rag Ultra Smooth and Photo Rag Baryta are both acid-free papers designed for creating museum-quality prints. The 305 gsm Photo Rag Ultra Smooth is made for both black-and-white and color printing, while the 315 gsm Photo Rag Baryta is designed primarily for monochrome printing, with a surface that resembles that of silver-halide baryta paper. The 100 percent cotton paper’s glossy coating contains barium sulfate to produce its distinctive look.
FineArt Photo Rag Ultra Smooth and Photo Rag Baryta are available now in both sheets and rolls. For details on sheet sizes available, go to the Hahnemuhle Web site.
Samsung GX-20 Review
Posted on August 13, 2008 - Filed Under Art, News, Photo | Leave a Comment
Buy-n-Shoot have reviewed the 14 megapixel Samsung GX-20 DSLR camera.
“In summation, it is fair to suggest the GX-20 is not an entry level unit. It has clearly been designed with the intermediate to advanced user in mind who is familiar with the general controlling, functions and handling of a DSLR. The lack of scene modes and the detailed menu/function information help to define the target customer as an experienced camera user capable of fully controlling the GX-20 as opposed to it automatically controlling the look of images with point-and-shoot operation.”
Website: Buy-n-Shoot – Samsung GX-20 Review
Website: Read our Samsung GX-20 Review
LiveEdit Streamlines Your Workflow
Posted on August 5, 2008 - Filed Under Art, News, Photo | Leave a Comment
LiveEdit is a new web-based software tool that allows photographers to cut costs and save time. LiveEdit was created by professional photographers for optimal creativity and time management, with its interface divided into to four sections: Edit, Retoucher, Archive and Stock. Users are able to track their entire archive in one place, which will enable them to showcase and sell more photos by creating a personal stock site. “The way in which professional photography is administered and disseminated is antiquated, inefficient and cumbersome,” says Lipman. “LiveEdit brings ease and efficiency to this process, vastly speeding up time to market for photography. Its features help bring the photo profession into the modern era, where the cycle from shoot to end product must happen in days – not weeks or months.” Pricing starts at $395/Year for the Photographer Package with 2GB of storage.
LiveEdit Press Release
Public Launch ‘LiveEdit’ – Web 2.0 Photography Application
July 23, 2008—LiveEdit, a Web-based software tool for photographers, advertising agencies and other imaging professionals, is now available to the public. The revolutionary online program puts image workflow and images at the fingertips of its users anywhere, anytime—allowing imaging professionals to cut costs and save time across the entire process.
The new service was created by professional photographers for optimal creativity and time management. Its intuitive interface is divided into to four core applications: Edit, Retoucher, Archive and Stock, giving photographers the ability to:
• Collaboratively edit photo shoots
• Compare and share retouching comments
• Archive images
• Sell photos 24 hours per day
• Create layouts
• Edit the color of images
• Rate photos
• Create Contact sheets
• Enable clients to independently access high-resolution photos they need, when they need them
“Creative companies face business continuity problems because too often one person holds all of the knowledge about creative assets,” says Darren Lipman. “Live Edit empowers everyone at a creative company to make the best use of creative assets.”
Users are able to track their entire archive in one place, which will enable them to showcase and sell more photos by creating a personal stock site. LiveEdit offers:
• Secure login
• Customized branding
• Functions and features that are fast, in-depth and easy to use
Agencies and companies who utilize the service will find a myriad of benefits, including savings when it comes to storing and cataloguing photography. The software has been successfully used by a variety of companies, including InStyle magazine, Conde Nast Publications, Proctor and Gamble, L’Oréal.
For photographers, LiveEdit (http://www.liveedit.com) helps them save time and money when it comes to reduced production times, and helps keep everyone who uses it more organized – especially considering that imagery can be accessed with ease from anywhere on the planet.
“The way in which professional photography is administered and disseminated is antiquated, inefficient and cumbersome,” says Lipman. “LiveEdit brings ease and efficiency to this process, vastly speeding up time to market for photography. Its features help bring the photo profession into the modern era, where the cycle from shoot to end product must happen in days – not weeks or months.”
About LiveEdit
Live Edit is a limited liability company based in New York City.
Hi-Resolution Video http://liveedit.com/promo
Behind the Scenes on Hollywood’s Biggest Movies
Posted on August 3, 2008 - Filed Under News, Photo | Leave a Comment
In the entire history of Hollywood photography, no photographer has ever documented the craft of filmmaking the way David Strick has.
There have been many notable celebrity portraitists, from George Hurrell to Herb Ritts, who have captured the glamour of movie stars. There also have been many photojournalists, from Henri Cartier-Bresson to Douglas Kirkland, who have documented movie making. But no one has done it the way Strick has been doing it for the past 30 years or so.
Strick’s images capture the often funny and sometimes poignant interplay between the reality of the filmmaking process and the fantasy of the movies themselves. These are the moments when the actuality of craft and creativity are transformed into what Strick calls Hollywood’s “industrial magic.”
“The end product of this process affects all of us so deeply, but no one ever really has paid much attention to the work itself,” he notes.
Strick published his first collection of images in the 1987 book Our Hollywood, and for many years his work was seen regularly in Premiere magazine. Beginning this summer he became a contributor to the Los Angeles Times with a weekly feature called “David Strick’s Hollywood Backlot”that can be seen both online and in the Thursday edition of the newspaper.
This publishing arrangement gives Strick a unique platform for his visual ideas and has reignited his career. He talked with American Photo recently about working in two media at once, as well as his singular vision of Hollywood.
American Photo: Not many photographers are given regular features by newspapers, so you really are breaking new ground with this new job.
David Strick: Newspapers and magazines have lots of writers who do regular columns, but this is a fairly unusual situation for a photographer. I think the most interesting part is working both for the newspaper’s online and print products.
AP: Why is that?
DS: The web is changing everything in our culture. Magazines and newspapers, where I have always published my pictures, are trying to cope with it. And the entertainment business is facing real challenges related to the Internet — diminished advertising, lower DVD sales, and piracy. I wanted to explore how the Internet could work in a positive way for all the sides I deal with.
AP: Please explain more.
DS: For one thing, the Internet has become very important for movie studios because of the way movies are marketed now. The whole idea of success now is based on opening weekends — if a movie doesn’t have a big opening, it’s going to be bad news. So generating attention to upcoming movies is the Holy Grail of all publicity efforts. About 80 percent of film reviews are now read online.
AP: That’s is an amazing fact.
DS: Also, the viral aspect of the Internet has been an essential ingredient in the marketing of movies. Studios start putting out trailers for films a year in advance of the release date. One of the advantages of early publicity like that is that the studios can take advantage of the viral aspect of the Internet. One of the first movies we featured when my column debuted in the L.A. Times was Twilight, which has a huge viral audience of dedicated fans from the books it was based on. The studios were very happy to get that early publicity from my project.
AP: Is it hard to get access to movie sets?
DS: Yes, even for someone with a track record like me. Studios and production companies are not interested in supporting somebody’s art project. They’ve got their own art projects to worry about. If you’re going to be on their sets, you’ve got to be able to show that what you’re bringing to the table is a positive thing for them.
AP: How did you take up photography?
DS: I was a typical high school photo geek. I took a picture that won an award from the Boys Club of America — it was probably the best picture I’ve ever taken, and I’m still trying to recapture that magic. Sad, isn’t it? I did a year at UCLA and later studied at the California Institute of the Arts, but I never graduated. I went to work at a startup weekly called L.A. Newspaper, but it only last six months until the investor’s money ran out. But we had some great people: Roger Black was the art director, Terry McDonnell was an associate editor, and Barry Siegel, who later won a Pulitzer for the L.A. Times, was a reporter. It was a children’s crusade.
AP: And after that?
DS: I started freelancing and worked as a stringer for the New York Times. I started putting together magazine assignments and began to come into the orbit of Hollywood assignments. Then in 1975 I shot a story for the New York Times about the decline of the city of Hollywood, and it was published so disappointingly that I realized I was turning into a complete hack. I realized that if I wanted to do anything of interest I was going to have to self-assign and do more personal projects. So I began this work on Hollywood.
AP: You have a very particular take on Hollywood and filmmaking . . .
DS: I grew up in Los Angeles and my family has been connected with the movies for three generations. My great aunt was Gale Sondergaard, who won the first academy award for best supporting actress for the movie Anthony Adverse. Her husband was Herbert Biberman, a producer. My father was a television director and producer, and my mother worked as a publicist for Universal for a time. So I have this background. But my family was always also a little on the outside of the Hollywood world — they were left-wing intellectuals. My aunt Gale and her husband were blacklisted during the McCarthy era. We were more outsider-insider Hollywood people.
AP: That’s a pretty good description of your work.
DS: With my background, I probably started with a baseline that was different from the way most other photographers looked at Hollywood. Throughout the history of Hollywood, photography has been the happy handmaiden of the studio publicity machine, with the eager partnership of magazines and newspapers. There really hasn’t been much photography that has gone beyond that kind of standard celebrity-publicity photography. The very first time I was on a movie set, I wondered why all the other photographers were doing pictures that were so predictable.
AP: How does your work differ, would you say?
DS: I’m as amazed by the craft of filmmaking as anyone else, but I wanted to go beyond that. I’m interested in something that’s not on the surface, if I can possibly find it. My style is completely documentary — everything un-posed, candid, which is important, because when you’re dealing with Hollywood, you’re dealing with a high degree of artificiality. Recapitulating artificiality by posing actors and directors in imaginative ways doesn’t appeal to me.
AP: Has working for the web changed the way you shoot?
DS: Absolutely. When you shoot for print you are constrained, whether you even realize it or not, by the format. Magazines need a lead picture, they need a horizontal, and they have room for one or two pictures on the following pages, maybe. Then you might shoot a few extras if you think the subject will syndicate well. But with the web, you can run an infinite number of pictures, and you can shoot in many various ways.
Panasonic Unveils 14.7-Megapixel Lumix DMC-FX150
Posted on July 28, 2008 - Filed Under News, Photo | Leave a Comment
Panasonic has introduced a compact 14.7-megapixel point-and-shoot camera with an optically stabilized wide-angle 3.6x zoom lens. The Lumix DMC-FX150 sports a Leica DC Vario-Elmarit lens with an f/2.8-5.6 maximum aperture and a 28mm-100mm (35mm camera equivalent) focal-length range, along with a 230,000-dot, 2.7-inch LCD. The camera uses Panasonic’s Venus Engine IV processor to boost shooting speed and performance.
The FX150 offers both automatic exposure controls and a shutter-priority option that Panasonic calls Simple Manual. The camera’s automatic shutter speed range runs from 1/2000 to 60 seconds. Its Advanced Intelligent Auto mode deploys a battery of automatic tools to open up dark shadow areas, activate tracking autofocus and optical image stabilization, boost the ISO and shutter speed to keep images sharp, eliminate redeye and activate face detection when appropriate, and evaluate scenes to automatically set the camera to Scenery, Portrait, Macro, Night Portrait, or Night Scenery mode. There are also 25 individually selectable scene modes, including a high-sensitivity option that uses settings between ISO 1600 and 6400. Three of the modes are brand new to Panasonic’s line: one gives photos the look of pinhole-camera shots, one applies film-grain effects, and the new Transform mode lets you stretch images slightly to make subjects look thinner or broader.
Dust-Aid Platinum, Dust-Wand and Dust-Cloth MF
Posted on July 23, 2008 - Filed Under Art, News, Photo | Leave a Comment
Dust-Aid Platinum, Dust-Wand and Dust-Cloth MF are three new sensor-cleaning products from Dust-Aid. Dust-Aid Platinum is a dry sensor cleaning solution that allows for safe cleaning of DSLR sensor filters using specially fabricated platinum extruded silicone to remove dust particles. The Dust-Wand kit is a wet cleaning option with multiple wands, clips and Ultra Clean sensor cleaning liquid. Dust-Cloth MF introduces an advancement in sensor cleaning wipes with micro fiber cloths.
Dust-Aid Press Release
Dust-Aid Reinvents Dry and Wet DSLR Sensor Cleaning
BEND, OREGON — June 21, 2008— Today DUST-AID¨ introduced several new DSLR camera sensor filter cleaning products; Dust-Aid Platinum for dry sensor cleaning and the DUST-WANDª Kit for wet sensor cleaning. These new products deliver breakthrough features that make them truly unique sensor filter cleaning solutions.
The Dust-Aid Platinum reinvents dry DSLR camera cleaning.
The new patent pending design of Dust-Aid Platinum allows for safe cleaning of DSLR sensor filters using specially fabricated platinum extruded silicone to remove dust particles. The silicone is made without the use of traditional molds which eliminates the chance of mold release agents bonding to the silicone and contaminating internal DSLR surfaces when cleaned. Dust-Aid Platinum has been tested and approved for all sensor filter coatings and can be used on DSLR cameras with internal dust removal systems.
DUST-WANDª Kit: Wet cleaning with multiple wands, clips and a very unique liquid.
The DUST-WANDª Kit delivers everything needed to safely clean every DSLR camera sensor filter aspect ratio. The kit contains three different sized DUST-WANDS a pack of DUST-CLOTHS for wrapping the wands, specially designed clips for securing the cloths to the wands and the very unique sensor filter cleaning liquid, ULTRA CLEANª. The ULTRA CLEANª sensor cleaning liquid is one of the fastest evaporating liquids available. Due to the very fast evaporation rate there is no chance, when used properly, of liquid seeping down between the sensor filter and the sensor itself. In addition, the liquid is one of the cleanest in the industry which helps to reduce any chance of residue being left behind. ULTRA CLEANª liquid is also non-flammable and non-alcohol based, making it perfect for the traveling photographer. ULTRA CLEANª has also been tested and approved for multiple sensor filter coatings.
DUST-CLOTHª MF introduces an advancement in sensor cleaning wipes
DUST-CLOTHªMF brings in a new world of wet sensor filter cleaning wipes with the introduction of micro fiber cloths. Unlike the non-woven fabric used in typical sensor filter swabs and wipes, which have a troublesome tendency of leaving behind fibers, DUST-CLOTHªMF is made up of a soft micro weave which helps to eliminate fiber loss when cleaning. The DUST-CLOTHªMF is very soft and have been tested and approved for their use on multiple sensor filter coatings.
Learn more about all these new products at http://www.Dust-Aid.com
DUST-AID¨ ignited a new concept in the sensor cleaning industry with its flagship product that was named after the company in 2007. Today, DUST-AID¨ continues to reinvent and develop new and innovative ways to clean and prevent dust from degrading digital images captured by their DSLR camera customers.
Silver Efex Pro: New from Nik Software
Posted on July 19, 2008 - Filed Under News, Photo | Leave a Comment
Nik Software has announced the release of a new grayscale conversion and film grain emulator, Nik Silver Efex Pro. The program is available as a plug-in for both Adobe Photoshop CS3 and Elements, and Apple’s Aperture.
The new program employs Nik’s U Point technology and a familiar Nik interface. Additionally, Nik has developed a new grain emulation engine for the program, which, Nik claims, rebuilds the image based upon grain characteristics, instead of simply overlaying a “graininess” feel to the existing image.
Many popular film stocks and historical processes are represented and emulated in Silver Efex Pro, and users can also create their own personal styles and presets, as well as download extra presets from the Nik site.
Pretty much the only thing missing in this virtual wet darkroom is the lingering stench of Hydrosulfuric Acid and a safelight.
The program is currently available as a download for both MacIntosh and Windows platforms for $199.95. A fully functional 15-day trial is also available. Visit Nik for more info and to download the program. www.niksoftware.com
Stay tuned for a full review of Nik Silver Efex Pro.
DxO Optics Pro 5.2
Posted on July 14, 2008 - Filed Under Art, News, Photo | Leave a Comment
DxO Optics Pro 5.2 features a new RAW converter that dramatically improves noise reduction in ultra-high ISO images, plus support for three new camera bodies. The Pentax K20D, Sony-A350 and Sony-A700 DSLRs are now supported, and it also inlcudes the DxO Optics Pro Import plug-in for Adobe Photoshop. New lens correction modules have also been added for the Samsung GX20 and the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi. To celebrate the release of DxO Optics Pro v5.2, DxO Labs is extending the special DxO FilmPack free license offer until July 31, 2008.
DxO Labs Press Release
DxO Optics Pro v5.2 new RAW converter extends already important achievements in noise removal, detail rendition and color fidelity to images shot at ISOs as high as 25600. The software also adds support for the Pentax K20D, Sony-A350 and Sony-A700 DSLRs as well as the long-awaited DxO Optics Pro Import plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop®.
Paris, France – June 23, 2008 – DxO Labs today announced DxO Optics Pro v5.2, the latest version of its award-winning flagship software application for automatic image quality enhancement for digital SLR camera users, featuring dramatic improvements in RAW conversion for images shot at ultra-high ISOs. The release of DxO Optics Pro v5.2 is accompanied by support for three new camera bodies and an initial library of lens correction modules, bug fixes and improvements including the DxO Optics Pro Import plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop®, and extension of the free DxO FilmPack offer.
DxO Optics Pro v5.2 RAW conversion breakthroughs
DxO Optics Pro v5.0 marked an important milestone in the world of RAW converters by taking the lead in terms of noise removal and detail rendition. DxO Optics Pro v5.2 takes another dramatic step forward in noise removal for RAW images shot at ISOs as high as 25600, while improving the level of details and color fidelity in the photo.
“We are facing a paradox,” says Cyrille de La Chesnais, director of the photography business at DxO Labs, “as technology evolves the number of pixels and the amount of noise simultaneously increase so that RAW conversion becomes more challenging.”
Frédéric Guichard, Chief Scientist at DxO Labs explains, “Reduction of the pixel size of roughly 30% from 2003 to 2008 and the naturally increasing demand from photographers to shoot at very high ISO reveals new problems with noise related to both the manufacturing of the sensor and the quantity of light hitting it. This means that RAW converters have to cope with higher photonics noise as well as with new sources of noise due to electronic imperfections. The ability of RAW converters to reduce noise while keeping good detail rendition is clearly the key for high ISO shooting.”
The noise engine in DxO Optics Pro v5.2 has been improved to take these evolutions into account:
New chrominance noise removal in RAW format is better adapted to the characteristics of each camera body and does a better job of preserving real color nuances.
Multi-scale RAW luminance noise removal allows the software to remove larger noise spots and results in even smaller digital grain size after correction.
Compared with competing RAW converters, for the same level of detail preservation, DxO Optics Pro v5.2 provides a 2-f/stop gain in the shooting latitude at ultra-high ISOs.
Support for 3 new camera bodies
DxO Optics Pro v5.2 adds support for the popular Pentax K20D, Sony-A350 and Sony-A700 DSLR camera bodies and an initial selection of lenses.
Camera body Lens DxO Optics Pro v5…
Pentax K20D Pentax DA 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Standard & Elite
Pentax K20D Pentax smc DA 12-24mm f/4 Standard & Elite
Pentax K20D Pentax smc DA 16-50mm f/2.8 ED AL [IF] SDM Standard & Elite
Pentax K20D Pentax smc DA 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL Standard & Elite
Pentax K20D Pentax smc DA 50-135mm f/2.8 ED [IF] SDM Standard & Elite
Pentax K20D Pentax smc DA 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED Standard & Elite
Pentax K20D Pentax smc D-FA 50mm f/2.8 Macro Standard & Elite
Sony-A350 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* DT 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Standard & Elite
Sony-A350 Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Standard & Elite
Sony-A350 Sony DT 16-105mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard & Elite
Sony-A350 Sony or Konica Minolta AF 50mm f/1.4 Standard & Elite
Sony-A350 Sony Super Wide Zoom 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 DT Standard & Elite
Sony-A350 Sony or Konica Minolta AF 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard & Elite
Sony-A700 Carl Zeiss Vario-Sonnar T* DT 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5 Standard & Elite
Sony-A700 Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 Standard & Elite
Sony-A700 Sony DT 16-105mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard & Elite
Sony-A700 Sony or Konica Minolta AF 50mm f/1.4 Standard & Elite
Sony-A700 Sony Super Wide Zoom 11-18mm f/4.5-5.6 DT Standard & Elite
Sony-A700 Sony or Konica Minolta AF 18-70mm f/3.5-5.6 Standard & Elite
With the release of v5.2, new lens correction modules have also been added for the Samsung GX20 and the Canon EOS Digital Rebel XSi (also known as the Canon EOS 450D or Canon EOS Kiss X2).
Camera body Lens DxO Optics Pro v5…
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi, 450D or Kiss X2 Canon EF17-40mm f/4L USM Standard & Elite
Canon EOS DIGITAL REBEL XSi, 450D or Kiss X2 Canon EF50mm f/1.4 USM Standard & Elite
Samsung GX20 Samsung 18-250mm f/3.5-5.6 or Tamron AF18-250mm f/3.5-5.6 Di II LD Aspherical (IF) or Pentax DA 18-250mm f/3.5-6.3 Standard & Elite
Samsung GX20 Samsung D-XENON 12-24mm or Pentax smc DA 12-24mm f/4 Standard & Elite
A complete list of DxO Modules (body/lens combinations) supported by DxO Optics Pro v5.2 can be found on the company’s website: http://www.dxo.com
Adobe® Photoshop® Import plug-in and other improvements
The DxO Optics Pro Import plug-in for Adobe® Photoshop® is included in DxO Optics Pro v5.2. It allows users to import images (RAW or JPEG) into Adobe® Photoshop® via the DxO Optics Pro plug-in and thus benefit from DxO Optics Pro revolutionary RAW conversion, and exclusive optical and lighting corrections. Additionally, as compared to v5.1, DxO Optics Pro v5.2 brings a number of stability and interface improvement, and bug fixes.
Extension of the DxO FilmPack special offer
To celebrate the release of DxO Optics Pro v5.2, DxO Labs is extending the special DxO FilmPack free license offer until July 31, 2008. Customers who upgrade (either a free or purchased upgrade) or purchase DxO Optics Pro v5.2 and activate it before August 1, 2008 will receive a free DxO FilmPack v1.2 license. DxO FilmPack exists as a plug-in for Photoshop or DxO Optics Pro, or a stand-alone application, accurately reproducing the color and grain of traditional films onto digital images, thereby allowing users to capture all the magic of film in their digital images. Customers who already own DxO FilmPack can install the new license on additional computers.
Pricing and availability
DxO Optics Pro v5.2 for Windows and Macintosh platforms is available immediately on the company’s e-store or from respected retailers. See the company’s website for a complete list: http://www.dxo.com
DxO Optics Pro v5.2 is available in Standard and Elite versions at pricing unchanged from version 5.x:
DxO Optics Pro v5 Standard: £99
DxO Optics Pro v5 Elite: £199
(All prices are including VAT)
All customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro on or after August 1st, 2007 are entitled to a free upgrade to version 5.2. For customers who purchased DxO Optics Pro before August 1st, 2007, the pricing of upgrades is as follows:
DxO Optics Pro Standard (any version) to DxO Optics Pro v5 Standard: £59
DxO Optics Pro Elite (any version) to DxO Optics Pro v5 Elite: £75
Operating System Requirements
Windows:
Intel® Pentium® 4 processor or AMD® equivalent (Pentium® Dual Core or higher or equivalent recommended)
Microsoft® Windows XP 32 bits Service Pack 2 or Windows VISTA™ 32 bits
Macintosh:
Universal Binary (G4, G5 or Intel)
Mac OS X.4 or X.5
120 MB of available disk space
DxO Optics Pro Standard & Elite Edition: 2 GB RAM
About DxO Labs
DxO Labs offers products and solutions ensuring excellence in digital imaging. DxO Labs develops and licenses intellectual property serving the entire digital imaging chain: licensing of optics and silicon architectures for embedded still and video image processing; image quality evaluation and measurement tools and methodologies; image quality enhancement software for consumers. The company’s key customers and partners include:
Consumer electronics manufacturers such as digital camera vendors and cameraphones vendors;
Imaging components suppliers: camera module manufacturers, sensor vendors, and processor vendors;
Demanding photographers, as well as photography journalists and imaging experts.
DxO Labs’ product portfolio is steadily finding a place at the heart of advanced consumer electronics and world-class industry imaging systems where “Image Science by DxO” becomes a reference for quality.
For more information or a list of distributors and resellers, visit DxO Labs online at http://www.dxo.com.
Pentax Announces 17-70mm f/4 AL [IF] SDM Lens
Posted on July 9, 2008 - Filed Under News, Photo | Leave a Comment
Pentax has introduced a new zoom lens for its digital SLRs. The smc Pentax DA 17-70mm f/4 AL [IF] SDM has a constant f/4 maximum aperture throughout its 4.1x zoom range, provides 0.31X maximum magnification, and has an 11-inch close-focus distance. When mounted on a Pentax digital SLR, the 17.1-ounce lens provides an angle of view equivalent to that of a 26mm-107mm lens on a 35mm camera. Its design includes two hybrid aspherical (AL) elements for minimizing optical flaws, an inner-focus (IF) system, and Pentax’s SDM autofocus motor for achieving smooth, quiet autofocus. Other features include a Quick-shift Focus System for switching instantly from autofocus to manual, and Pentax’s SP coating, which protects the lens surface from grease, water, and dust. The lens takes 67mm filters.
The smc Pentax DA 17-70mm f/4 AL [IF] SDM lens will be available in July 2008 for a $599.95 retail price.
AA Batteries Compared
Posted on July 2, 2008 - Filed Under Art, News, Photo | Leave a Comment
PopPhoto have rounded-up the latest AA batteries and tested them from a green angle, emphasizing rechargeable batteries and recycling.
“With plenty of time to plan ahead, we shopped around for the best prices, dropping two Franklins at Wal-Mart. $200 bought seven sets of rechargeable and seven sets of single-use batteries—84 batteries in total. With individual single-use batteries ranging in price from 50-cents to upwards of four dollars (purchased in packs of four or eight), our objective was simple: Calculate cost per shot for each battery.”
Website: PopPhoto – AA Battery Test
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