Canon, Nikon and Sony News for Jul 2017 (Page 3) Report News & Deals  ►

B&H has the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens for Canon in stock with free expedited shipping.

Carrying lots of gear for your wedding or event photography? This utility cart may be good solution for transporting all of your gear from the car to your on-site storage/shooting location in a single trip.
 
Through midnight tonight Eastern Time, B&H has the On-Stage UTC2200 Utility Cart available for $74.95 with free shipping. Regularly $119.95.
 
Product Highlights
 

• Compact & Expandable for Audio Equipment
• Adjustable from 28.5 to 42.5" in Length
• Holds up to 485 lb
• 8" Solid, Wear-Resistant Rear Wheels
• 4" Front Casters with Brakes
• 10.5" Platform Bed Height
• 31" Handle Height
• Foldable for Transport/Storage

Image quality results have been added to the Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM Lens page.
 
As always, there are many comparisons that can be made, but I'll get you started with a comparison against a known good lens:
 
Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM vs. EF 35mm f/2 IS USM Lens
 
The Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM Lens is in stock at B&H | Amazon | Adorama.

You are planning to photograph the eclipse, right? This rare opportunity is coming to most of North America with the path of totality running coast-to-coast through the heart of the USA. The moon is going to cause the sun to disappear and that event is causing solar filters to disappear from retailer inventories. Don't wait to get yours!
 
Which solar filter should I get for my super telephoto lens? I just posted a review of that answer: The Meade Glass White Light Solar Filter.
 
You might be surprised at how inexpensive this filter is. The Meade Glass White Light Solar Filter is in stock at B&H | Amazon | Adorama. At least some sizes are in stock – preorder out of stock items immediately to get them in time for the big event.
 
You can also view the entire selection of solar filters at B&H, Adorama and Amazon.
 
If you don't own a super telephoto lens, this event is a great excuse to get one (some of these are also becoming scarce). If such a lens is not affordable or does not have long-term use, consider renting one.
 
Solar Eclipse Photography Resources
 
Here are some links that you may find useful. The first is NASA’s interactive map (click anywhere on it to get that location’s information). The second is our news feed of useful articles:
 
NASA: Interactive Solar Eclipse Map
Solar Eclipse Photography Tips (TDP posts)
Space.com's Solar Eclipse Guide
Solar Eclipse Exposure Calculator
American Astronomical Society: How to Shoot Solar-Eclipse Images & Videos
MREclipse.com: Solar Eclipse Photography Guide
NASA: Solar Eclipse Maps
NASA: Eclipse Photography

From the Lightroom Journal:
 
Today, we’ve got lots of great updates for Lightroom for iOS and Android.
 
iOS

Available now through the iOS App Store, today’s release includes a new selective brush, a new details tab, and an improved interface for iPads. As always, Lightroom for iOS is free to use and can be downloaded here.
 
Selective Brush
 
One of the most requested features in Lightroom for iOS is now here—the selective brush. Using this tool, you can selectively paint in enhancements to any part of your image. If you’re using an iPhone that supports 3D Touch (such as an iPhone 6s or later), you can even vary the effect by just pressing softer or harder as you paint. And for iPad Pro users working with an Apple Pencil, you get the same capability—press harder to apply more of the effect, or softer to apply less.
 
We’ve also added in the ability to selectively erase both the linear and radial gradients, making them even more powerful than before.
 
Details Tab
 
Another often requested feature has been added in this release—global control over sharpening and noise reduction. These advanced tools are often used to add the finishing touches to photographs by controlling noise and enhancing image details.
 
New iPad Interface
 
With the introduction of the iPad Pro, and now the iPad Pro 2, the iPad has become a serious option as a laptop replacement for any photographer. To that end, we’ve worked hard to make a truly portable and yet powerful version of Lightroom that is designed for the larger touch-based interface of an iPad.

Android

We wanted to provide the best Android experience possible so we redesigned Lightroom for Android from the ground up to be faster, more efficient, and, well, more Android-y. Every screen has been redesigned with the goal of ensuring a natural, native Android experience while providing the highest quality, professional-grade mobile photo editing app ever.
 
Check out some of the new and updated interfaces by downloading this free update now by tapping here.

B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.

From Canon USA:
 
Print and Share Photos with the Touch of Your Compatible Smartphone2 at all of your Parties and Get-Togethers
 
MELVILLE, N.Y., July 18, 2017 – Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, announced today the new SELPHY CP1300 Wireless Compact Photo Printer. This lightweight, mobile and Wi-Fi1-enabled printer makes sharing memories in real-time so easy, and is the perfect accessory to add an extra level of fun and entertainment to any party. An update to the popular SELPHY CP1200 printer, the new SELPHY CP1300 is perfect for connected digital camera or smartphone users in search of a portable Wi-Fi enabled printer that can be used virtually anywhere, anytime, thanks to its optional direct-connect battery (no wires), to print the perfect photos.
 
Features include:
 

• Party Shuffle Print: While previous SELPHY models included a Shuffle Layout function, the SELPHY CP1300’s Party Shuffle Print function is designed to allow Wi-Fi connected users to connect multiple compatible mobile devices2 to the same SELPHY CP1300 unit for everyone to enjoy creating a print layout made of combined images from family and friends.
• Larger LCD Screen Size: Images are now displayed on a reader-friendly 3.2” tilt-type LCD monitor. By increasing the screen size, users can more easily see printing options, especially when in a busy party setting.
• Improved User Interface: Category settings have been updated and rearranged to illustrate what a specific function is and what it can do. For example, showcasing a multiple photo layout image to prompt the user to touch that option for multi-photo printing.
• Date Filter & Multi-Playback Jump: Image searching is improved with the ability to filter by date and browse by page rather than one image at a time.
• New Photo Booth Friendly Layout Sizing: With DIY party and get together photo booths expediently growing in popularity, users can now print a 2-inch x 6-inch photo strip, helping immortalize anything from a children’s birthday party to a dream wedding. Simply have some props ready and an instant photo booth is ready to go!

“Sharing memories is so important to us all, and with the new SELPHY CP1300 printer, printing photos of friends and family is so simple,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “The new improvements made to the SELPHY CP1300 take into account consumer feedback and offer enhanced capabilities and additional versatility that we hope helps users get even more joy out of printing their precious memories and fun times.”
 
Other features include:
 

• Optional Direct Battery Connection: Direct battery attachment makes it more convenient to print on the go, even if power isn’t available.
• Border Settings: To meet user demand, photos can either be printed without borders or by choosing border colors for single photo or layout settings on the printer itself.
• Connectivity: With the dedicated Wi-Fi button, it's so easy to get the CP1300 set up on a wireless network. Once that is done, you can use the Canon PRINT App2, AirPrint3, Wireless PictBridge4 and more.

The SELPHY CP1300 printer has a suggested retail price of $129.99 and is offered in black and white models.
 
B&H has the Canon SELPHY CP1300 Wi-Fi enabled printer available for preorder.

Adorama has the Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM Art Lens for Canon in stock with free expedited shipping.

by Sean Setters
 
I just moved into a new house in Savannah and, unfortunately, this one didn't have a large extra bedroom with high ceilings to use as my studio/office space. Fortunately, it did have a detached building that served as the previous owner's workshop.
 
The floor space available inside the workshop is 17' 5" x 11' 2.5" x 10' 5". The ceiling is 10' 5" at its apex but angles down to create walls which are roughly 7' high. As far as photography studios are concerned, this area is adequate for many needs but few would consider it spacious (especially with the gear that would eventually fill it).
 
After cleaning out the shop, washing the walls, installing insulation in the ceiling and fixing a minor electrical issue, it was time to decide on what color to paint the walls. Traditionally speaking, white is a good option. But I decided that the traditional option wasn't right for this space.
 
My previous studio was very slightly larger than this one. And even in that space, controlling light spill could prove problematic. That's because of the numerous nearby bright (yellow) colored walls for the light to bounce off of. Aside from the wall color making color balancing a pain (an x-rite ColorChecker Passport helped), limiting fill light in the space required using black [negative fill] cards for certain shoots.
 
So while white walls would have helped me avoid color balance issues, it would have compounded my previously-experienced light spill issues in a small (but larger than this) space. After thinking it over, I went to Home Depot and asked the associates in the paint department to mix me "middle gray," or specifically, 18% gray. Apparently, that's not a color that's found in their system. The next day I took a gray card to Home Depot and asked for a color match.
 
The above photo was taken just after the studio was painted. There's substantially less useable space now that my studio gear is all in place.
 
For this relatively small space, the benefits of having 18% gray walls include:
 

• Less light is reflected compared to white walls, helping to limit light spill for better overall control.
• For the light that does bounce off the walls, color influence is negligible.
• A gray background is great for classic portraiture.
• When gelling the background with flash, gray tends to work better because gelled flashes firing at white walls tend to get washed out relatively easily if any of your ungelled main light contaminates the background.

Unfortunately, there's only one small section of the room where the wall is actually bare and useable for background purposes, and that particular section is located on one of the longer sides of the room (shown above, left side between two power outlets), leaving a relatively small working space that is more appropriate for headshots or head-and-shoulder portraits as opposed to full length portraits. I can of course shoot longways in the studio with many other background options available. Below is recent head-and-shoulders shot I made in the new studio that was used by the subject's parents for a modeling call.
 

So far, I'm pretty happy with how the studio turned out. I'll be making another post later this week about some of my organizational techniques utilized for the space.

B&H has the PocketWizard MultiMAX II Transceiver in stock with free expedited shipping.
 
Product Highlights
 

• Combination Transmitter and Receiver
• Frequency: 340-354 MHz (FCC)
• Works with Most PocketWizard Radios
• Range: 1600' / 3200' (Long Range Mode)
• 32 Channels; Selective Quad-Triggering
• 20 ControlTL Channels with Three Zones
• Infinite Intervalometer; Multi-Pop Mode
• SpeedCycler; Lag Time Equalizer
• Rear Curtain Sync; Precision Delay Times
• Max Sync Speed: 1/125 to 1/1000 Second

B&H has Adobe Photoshop & Premiere Elements 15 (either together or separately) on sale for 33% off for a limited time.

Through midnight tonight Eastern Time, B&H has the E-Image EK60AAM Fluid Drag Video Head and Tripod available for $159.95 with free expedited shipping. Regularly $349.95.
 
Product Highlights
 

• 17.6 lb Capacity Fluid Drag Tripod Head
• Sliding Balance Plate with Safety Lock
• Spring Loaded Counterbalance System
• Fixed Tilt and Pan Drag
• 75mm Claw Ball
• 2 Stage Tripod with Mid Level Spreader
• 31 to 63" Height Range
• Independent Leg Adjustments
• Removable Anti-Slip Pads / Spike Covers
• Travel Soft Case

Note: A version of this tripod with a dolly kit is also on sale.

B&H has select DJI Phantom 4 Pro & Advanced Quadcopters on sale for $100.00 off.

 
From the B&H YouTube Channel:
 
Fashion photographer Lindsay Adler talks about her favorite approaches to creating conceptual, stylized portraits for her subjects including story-telling, styling, mood boards and more.
 
Lindsay then does a demo shoot showing how to create stylized images, a quick retouch, and see the finished image come to life in print.

Through 7/23, use coupon code PXHUDSON10 at AdoramaPix to get 10% off Hudson albums.