Canon USA has issued their WPPI 2012 Press Release.
David Hobby at Strobist reviews the new PocketWizard Plus III.
Joe McNally reviews the new PocketWizard Plus III.
B&H is taking PocketWizard Plus III Transceiver preorders.
Adorama has some SanDisk CompactFlash card specials available for Presidents Day:
SanDisk 128GB Extreme PRO Compact Flash Memory Card - up to 100MB/sec write speed. Reg $849.00 - Special $819.00 shipped. Expires 2/29/12.
SanDisk 32GB Extreme Compact Flash Memory Card - Up to 60MB/S Read/Write, UDMA Enabled. Reg $159.95 - Now $119.95 shipped.
SanDisk 64GB Extreme Compact Flash Memory Card - Up to 60MB/S Read/Write, UDMA Enabled. New - available for preorder - $299.95 shipped.
SanDisk 16GB Extreme Pro CF90 Compact Flash Memory Card. Reg $134.95 - Special $99.95 shipped.
SanDisk 32GB Extreme Pro CF90 Compact Flash Memory Card. Reg $249.95 - Special $179.95 shipped.
From LPA Design:
LPA Design Announces New PocketWizard Plus III Transceiver
Easy-to-use, feature-packed radio trigger is ideal for any serious photographer
So. Burlington, VT – February 20, 2012 – LPA Design, manufacturers of PocketWizard Photo Products, the world leader in reliable wireless control of cameras, flash lighting and light meters, announces the new PocketWizard Plus III – a feature-packed, easy-to-use solution for remote flash and camera triggering. This new simple but powerful radio provides professional and serious amateur photographers with the most reliable triggering system which they will never outgrow and never want to be without.
“Our goals in designing the new Plus III were simple: It needed to do more, cost less and offer the same reliability and simplicity as the legendary Plus II. We believe the Plus III achieves all of this and more in its sleek new design,” said Dave Schmidt, LPA Designs VP of Marketing. “Photographers need tools that will help them create images they couldn’t before and with less hassle and lower cost. The Plus III is exactly that tool.”
The new Plus III Transceiver features 32 channels and Selective Quad-Zone Triggering that enables photographers to remotely trigger flash and/or cameras in groups or individually all wirelessly from hundreds of feet away. Performance enhancing features include Long Range Mode and Repeater Mode to help photographers tackle the most challenging shooting environments and open the door for never-attempted image ideas. All features, channels and zones can be easily set using the soft-touch keypad and are clearly displayed on the backlit LCD display. *
The versatile new PocketWizard Plus III is compatible with all other PocketWizard radios and virtually every popular flash and professional digital SLR camera system. It also communicates with all PocketWizard-enabled photo gear including select Profoto, Dynalite, Norman and Photogenic flash systems and Sekonic light meters.
The new Plus III will be demonstrated at the PocketWizard WPPI 2012 Booth #621 in Las Vegas, NV, February 20-23, 2012 as well as in the JP Distribution booth at Focus on Imaging Show in Birmingham, UK, March 4-7, 2012.
* Please see PocketWizard PLUS III Features and Specifications documents for more information.
More information should become available at http://plusiii.pocketwizard.com/.
From LPA Design:
LPA Files Patent Claim
LPA Design Files Patent Infringement Claim Against Chinese Manufacturer
So. Burlington, VT – January 11, 2011 - LPA Design has filed a complaint for patent infringement in the United States District Court for the District of Vermont against Phottix (HK) Ltd. and Eternal Fortune (HK) Ltd., alleging that the Phottix Atlas wireless flash trigger produced in China infringes upon two patents held by LPA Design. The Vermont-based company, incorporated as Lab Partner Associates, Inc., is the manufacturer of the industry-leading PocketWizard® line of high precision wireless control devices for the professional photography market, including the popular PocketWizard Plus II®.
The PocketWizard technology allows professional photographers to control complex lighting systems remotely from the body of a camera. It is particularly useful in studio, sports and event photography, and has become the industry standard as a result of sustained research and development conducted in Vermont.
“LPA was an early and ground-breaking contributor to the technology and market for professional quality wireless flash triggers,” said Tim Neiley, CEO and President of LPA. “LPA has worked hard to bring its patented technologies to market through constant innovation and improvement always with a view to the needs of the professional photographer. This lawsuit is necessary to protect our investment in innovation.”
LPA Design holds patents in the United States and throughout the world covering its proprietary wireless triggering technology. The patents in the lawsuit cover technology in radio communications between wireless trigger devices and the innovative auto-switching transceiver introduced for the first time in the PocketWizard Plus II wireless trigger.
The patents LPA Design is asserting include:
United States Patent No. 5,359,375 issued for an invention entitled “Microprocessor Programmable Digital Remote Radio Photographic Control.”
United States Patent No. 7,437,063 issued for an invention entitled “Wireless Camera Flash Synchronizer System and Method.”
Founded in 1990 as an electronics R&D consulting company, LPA Design has expertise in printed circuit board design, RF communications and antenna optimization, and remote sensors. Among other innovations, LPA Design developed the industry leading PocketWizard line of high precision wireless control devices for the professional photography market. PocketWizard products provide ultra-high precision, wireless synchronization of cameras, flash lighting, and light meters, allowing professional photographers to create unparalleled photographs and achieve unmatched reliability in capturing high value images.
LPA Design is represented by Downs Rachlin Martin PLLC in Burlington, Vermont.
Nikon has posted a D800/D800E Technical Guide.
From CPN: Ziv Koren on shooting with the EOS-1D X
Nikon has announced an update to its my Picturetown image sharing and storage service.
Primary new my Picturetown functions
1. Post links to shared albums on Facebook
2. Use your list of Facebook friends to send links to shared albums
3. More functions for Gold Account members
Get the full details of this update on Nikon's site.
Canon USA has announced that the two new super telephoto lenses, the Canon EF 500mm f/4.0 L IS II USM Lens and Canon EF 600mm f/4.0 L IS II USM Lens, are expected to be available in May 2012
"We appreciate your understanding and continued support."
An investigation into Olympus Corp started in October after former CEO, Michael Woodford, exposed a major scandal. Results of the investigation have rocked the company and now include the arrest of 9 former executives and bankers according to Reuters.
TOKYO, Feb 16 (Reuters) - Japanese police and prosecutors have arrested seven men, including the former president of Olympus Corp and ex-bankers over a $1.7 billion accounting fraud -- one of the country's biggest corporate scandals.
Tokyo prosecutors arrested ex-president Tsuyoshi Kikukawa, former executive vice president Hisashi Mori and former auditor Hideo Yamada on suspicion of violating the Financial Instruments and Exchange Law, officials said on Thursday.
Read the rest of this sad story at Reuters. (thanks James)
On Jan 16th, Nikon sent a letter stating that "Nikon Inc. has decided that it will no longer make repair parts available for purchase by repair facilities that have not been authorized by Nikon, Inc. to perform camera repairs." All Nikon repairs will be handled exclusively by Nikon authorized repair facilities.
As you would expect, many are not happy with this decision - including ifixit.org. (thanks Huy)
Adobe has provided a Photoshop CS6 Content Aware Sneak Peek:
Very nice.
The Canon Store is estimating the Canon PowerShot G1 X ship date as Feb 21, 2012
Preorder the PowerShot G1 X at B&H - or the Canon Store.
I have added MTF chart comparisons to the review placeholder pages for the new Canon lenses:
Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM Lens Review
Canon EF 24mm f/2.8 IS USM Lens Review
Canon EF 28mm f/2.8 IS Lens Review
I'll try to get more commentary up in the next couple of weeks.
As reported by Alan Murphy, an unmarked van carrying $150,000 (£100,000) worth of Nikon gear destined for the Dublin NPS Roadshow was stolen sometime before 10:00 on Sat night. Taken in the heist were demo Nikon D4 & Nikon 800 DSLRs.
The stolen equipment will likely be sold. Download the full inventory list with serial numbers here.