Canon and Sony News for Aug 2014 (Page 3)
B&H has the Refurbished Canon EOS Rebel SL1 with EF-S 18-55mm IS STM Lens available for $469.95 with free shipping. Compare at $649.00 new.
The Canon Store has their Refurbished EOS Rebel SL1 kit available on sale for $419.99. However, after tax is added, the savings may not be substantial over B&H's deal.
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From Western Digital:
IRVINE, Calif. – Aug. 19, 2014 – To commemorate the 10th anniversary of its My Passport line of portable external hard drives, WD, a Western Digital (NASDAQ: WDC) company, is introducing a sleek new design for the world’s most popular external hard drive lines. More than 60 million My Passport drives have been sold in the past 10 years, providing approximately 42,000 petabytes of content protection for consumers worldwide. The My Passport Ultra - Metal Edition drive and My Passport Ultra - Anniversary Edition drive represent a decade of refinement for WD’s enduring portable drive line. They feature elegant metal exteriors, up to 2 TB capacities in smaller enclosures, content protection, including backup, and cloud integration for anywhere access to personal content.
The My Passport Ultra – Metal Edition and Anniversary Edition drives incorporate a unique and innovative radial-spin-design aluminum enclosure, which provides attractive styling and extra protection against the everyday knocks experienced in the hands of today’s mobile consumer. In addition, the drive offers users hardware encryption and password protection to prevent unauthorized use of the drive in the event of loss or theft. For additional content protection and remote sharing, the My Passport Ultra - Metal Edition drive includes WD SmartWare Pro software with Dropbox integration, allowing users to back up content from their computer to the drive and from the drive to the cloud, and retrieve content from their Dropbox account to the My Passport drive. These features make the My Passport drive an ideal choice for backing up, protecting, storing and enjoying digital content on the go.
“Ten years is a milestone by any consumer technology standard, and having the opportunity to consistently reinvent a product line like My Passport to suit the changing needs of consumers and creative professionals is something we are especially proud of,” said Tony Tate, vice president and general manager of WD’s Content Solutions unit. “We thank all of our customers for their ongoing feedback over the years, which has helped make My Passport the most popular external hard drives ever.”
Pricing and Availability
My Passport Ultra - Metal Edition drive is available from the WD store at select retailers and distributors. My Passport Ultra - Anniversary Edition drive is anticipated to be available in limited quantities beginning early September 2014. My Passport Ultra - Metal Edition 1 TB drive has a Manufacturer’s Suggest Retail Price (MSRP) of $89.00 and 2 TB has an MSRP of $139.00. Both drives will offer a regional 3-year limited warranty.
B&H has the WD My Passport Ultra - Limited Anniversary Edition and Metal Edition drives available for preorder.
From the Canon USA YouTube Channel:
In this video, understand more about how STM lenses differ from other lenses.
Want to know more about STM lenses? Check out Bryan's full reviews below.
Relevant Reviews:
From Canon:
Instruction by Amina Moreau, Jack Reznicki and Jim Divitale
Canon In Action Tour, a brand-new educational experience from Canon, is set to launch Sept. 6th in Denver, CO, featuring instruction by renowned image makers Amina Moreau, Jack Reznicki, and Jim Divitale.
The Canon In Action Tour helps advanced amateur DSLR users and filmmaking enthusiasts unleash their creativity and gain the knowledge, skills and confidence they need to create great images and videos. Those interested can attend a Saturday Imaging Essentials Seminar, or a hands-on Sunday Workshop, or both, for a nominal fee.
Each Saturday Imaging Essentials workshop will help teach participants how to take photos like a pro. Topics include understanding light, exposure control, camera settings, lens choices, composition, adding HD video, and utilizing Speedlites. On Sundays, participants will have two hands-on workshops to choose from – a Speedlite Intensive workshop will help teach comprehensive lighting techniques. In addition, the Exploring DSLR Video workshop will teach participants storytelling techniques like camera movement, audio, and lighting tricks to help participants shoot better video with their DSLRs.
The Canon In Action Tour will run through Nov. 23rd in several major U.S. cities. A full schedule of dates and locations is available at: www.inactiontour.usa.canon.com.
From Vimeo:
Mike Greenberg of Konspiracy Studios joins host and planet5D writer Hugh Brownstone to show you how to balance a MoVI M5 in under three minutes.
B&H carries the Freefly MoVI M5 3-Axis Motorized Gimbal Stabilizer.
If you're like me and have a Chromecast device, use Chrome as your browser and load our News page, then you may have experienced something very strange this morning – like all the embedded YouTube videos playing simultaneously.
After a lengthy search, I finally figured out what the culprit was. It seems that the Chromecast extension for Chrome (Google Cast) is now causing all embedded YouTube videos to play automatically. The issue is relatively new and we're hoping it gets resolved very soon. In the meantime, you may want to disable the Google Cast extension in Chrome.
Please note that the issue isn't just with our site – it's on all sites with embedded YouTube videos. A Google Cast update seems to have created the issue. [Sean]
From Nikon:
Thank you for choosing Nikon for your imaging needs.
We have received a few reports from some users of the Nikon D810 digital SLR camera indicating that noise (bright spots) are sometimes noticeable in long exposures, and in some images captured at an Image area setting of 1.2× (30×20).
After looking into the matter, we have determined that some noise (bright spots) may on occasion be noticeable when shooting long exposures, and in images captured at an Image area setting of 1.2× (30×20).
Nikon service centers will service these cameras that have already been purchased as needed free of charge to the customer. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this issue may have caused.
Identifying affected products
To check whether or not your camera is one of those affected by this issue, please click the Affected Product Serial Numbers link below and enter your D810’s serial number as instructed. Your camera’s serial number will be checked against those of affected products. If your camera is one of those affected, you will be forwarded to additional instructions. If your camera is not one of those affected, you may continue using your camera without concern for this issue.
From Canon UK:
United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, 19 August 2014 – Canon today announces a refresh to its PIXMA home printer range with the launch of four multifunction inkjet printers – the PIXMA MG2950, MG5650, MG6650, MG7550 – and a portable printer, the PIXMA iP110. Built with convenience in mind, the new devices have connectivity at their core and include a range of new features that enhance the printing experience between connected devices, from easy access to photos and documents stored on the cloud to printing via NFC (near field connectivity), ensuring the PIXMA series continues to lead the way in printing innovation. Two new scanners also join Canon’s CanoScan range today – LiDE 120 and LiDE 220, with cloud scanning, and reliable, high resolution capabilities.
Introducing new ways to connect and print
New to Canon’s latest PIXMA devices is the integration of NFC technology. Making it even easier to print from connected smartphones, PIXMA Touch & Print allows users to print and scan using NFC smart devices by simply touching them against compatible printers.
Canon has also updated PIXMA Cloud Link to provide even greater access to photos and documents stored on the cloud. Accessible either via the PIXMA Printing Solutions app or via compatible printer TFT screens, PIXMA Cloud Link now provides access to Google Drive and OneDrive, as well as existing services such as Facebook, Evernote, Drop Box and Twitter. Users of the PIXMA MG5650, MG6650 and MG7550 can also scan JPGs and PDFs directly to cloud services such as DropBox, Google Drive and more, either directly from the printer screen or via smartphones and tablets using the PIXMA Printing Solutions app.
In addition, Canon is also introducing a scan to email function for PIXMA MG5650, MG6650 and MG7550, which will allow users to save time and send scanned documents and images as email attachments directly from the printer.
To further enhance the printing experience on tablets, Canon has also updated the PIXMA Printing Solutions app with a link to a new service; Easy Photo Print+. The new service allows saved photos stored on the device or in the cloud to be edited and easily printed, from a tablet. It also helps users to get creative with their photos, providing a range of templates to create personalised cards, calendars and collages.
Smart and powerful: the PIXMA MG7550
Replacing the current MG7150 is the new PIXMA MG7550, a premium all-in-one six-ink photo printer with an 8.8cm touch screen and a touch panel display. Canon’s unique Intelligent Touch System and Wi-Fi and Ethernet connectivity allow for complete cloud and NFC printing / scanning capabilities using smart devices.
Thanks to its six-ink system, which includes Pigment Black and Dye Black, Cyan, Magenta, Yellow and Grey inks, the PIXMA MG7550 can produce images with smooth gradations, even in monochrome prints, delivering professional photo lab quality borderless prints at the touch of a button. Producing print resolution at 9600dpi and full photo lab quality colour prints, the PIXMA MG7550 is ideal for enthusiasts wanting professional quality results in a compact design.
High performance home printing: MG6650 and MG5650
Replacing the PIXMA MG6450 and MG5550 respectively, the MG6650 and MG5650 feature five separate ink tanks and have been designed for those looking to print a mix of high quality documents and photos at home. With Wi-Fi connectivity, both printers support a range of wireless printing features, from compatibility with Canon’s PIXMA Printing Solutions app for iOS & Android devices, to printing from Wi-Fi enabled cameras. Apple AirPrint and Google Cloud Print are also supported.
The PIXMA MG6650 includes a 7.5cm TFT touch screen and the MG5650 a 6.2cm TFT screen display, both of which are built into the devices and allow access to all of the printer menus and functions, making it easy to print and scan directly from the device. The MG6650 also supports NFC connectivity with smartphones and tablets.
Connectivity at every level: PIXMA MG2950
Delivering Wi-Fi connectivity at a competitive price, the PIXMA MG2950 features print, scan and copy functionality in a compact device. Designed for personal home use, the MG2950 allows users to connect , print and scan directly to a range of connected devices, and even print from the cloud using PIXMA Cloud Link. The MG2950 also comes with Access Point Mode, providing a direct link to wireless devices without the need for an internet connection.
Printing on the move: PIXMA iP110
Designed to deliver the ultimate in portable printing, the lightweight PIXMA iP110 is a slim, single function printer that produces quality prints, from clear crisp documents to vibrant photos, fast. The iP110 replaces the current iP100 and comes with a range of new connectivity features, including Wi-Fi and cloud printing and is compatible with Google Cloud Print and Apple Air Print, and supports Canon’s PIXMA Printing Solutions app.
The iP110 prints at up to 9600dpi resolution, with print speeds of 5.8 ipm for colour and 9.0ipm for mono prints, and produces a 4x6 borderless photo in approximately 53 seconds.
High-quality scanning: CanoScan LiDE 120 and LiDE 220
As well as introducing new innovations to the PIXMA printing range, Canon has also announced a refresh to its CanoScan range with two new devices, LiDE 120 and LiDE 220.
The CanoScan LiDE 120 is a stylish LiDE scanner that replaces the current LiDE 110. Thanks to a CIS sensor, it delivers a scan resolution of 2400x4800dpi and produces an A4 300dpi scan in 16 seconds.
Replacing the LiDE 210, the CanoScan LiDE 220 includes an additional fifth EZ button, which provides users with the ability to create a multipage PDF document without returning to their PC. LiDE 220 also frees up valuable desk space by incorporating a neat stand enabling it to be used in an upright position. The device delivers scans with a resolution of 4800x4800dpi, thanks to the CIS sensor, and can produce an A4 300dpi scan in 10 seconds. Both scanners are USB powered, and feature rich software, such as as Auto Document Fix and Auto Photo Fix II, and an easy-to-use interface, which includes an Auto Scan button to help users achieve the scanning results they desire with ease. Both scanners can also scan to the cloud via a PC.
Pricing and availability
- PIXMA MG7550 will be available from October 2014 with an RRP of £189.99/€229.99
- PIXMA MG6650 will be available from September 2014 with an RRP of £139.99/€169.99
- PIXMA MG5650 will be available from September 2014 with an RRP of £99.99/€119.99
- PIXMA MG2950 will be available from September 2014 with an RRP of MG2950 €59.99/€69.99
- PIXMA iP110 will be available from October 2014 with an RRP of £279.99/€329.99
- CanoScan LiDE will be available from September 2014 with an RRP of 120 £69.99/€79.99
- CanoScan LiDE 220 will be available from September 2014 with an RRP of £89.99/€109.99
Note: Canon USA made its own announcement after this UK Press Release was posted; it looks like the model numbers are slightly different in the USA.
Amazon.co.uk carries Canon PIXMA printers.
From Syrup:
The Magic Carpet is a simple, elegant and durable slider for producing silky smooth professional tracking movements. Beautifully designed and engineered with you in mind, the Magic Carpet is a lightweight solution for manual tracking shots and is motion control ready. With quick release adjustable legs, a counter weight roller for vertical shots, and high precision ball bearing rollers, the Magic Carpet is ready for quick setup and professional film making.
The Magic Carpet comes in two sizes. An ultra portable 2.6ft (800mm) track or a longer 5.2ft (1600mm) track. We understand that every filming situation is different so if you're looking for the flexibility of a portable slider as well as longer camera movement then the Magic Carpet combo kit will be right up your alley.
Key Features:
- Ajustable quick-release legs
- Genie - Motion control ready
- Counter weight wheel for vertical shots
- Smooth ball bearing roller carriage
- Toll-less changing between 3/8 UNC and 1/4 UNC threads
- Tripod mounts
B&H carries the Syrup Magic Carpet slider and Genie Motion Control Device.
When we received the Digital Photo Professional 4 announcement, we were optimistic that Canon had significantly improved the software that has become a big part of our lives. Based on the sheer volume of significant changes, there's no doubt that this program deserves its new version number. It is not an incremental upgrade.
However, after processing thousands of photos with DPP 4.0.0, we feel like early beta testers. From our perspective, the software isn't finished. Here's a few reasons why:
- DPP 4 is very buggy and its perfomance is unbearably slow. We have experienced multiple program crashes. Image adjustments do not update quickly enough. While batch processing images, DPP 4 sometimes becomes unusable in its busy state.
- DPP 4 does not recognize DPP 3.x recipes. This means that, for backward compatibility, I must retain a DPP v3 install on my laptop forever if I want to retain my previously-made edits.
- DPP 4 only recognizes a very limited number of camera models and not all of my cameras are included. Who wants to process their images in different software versions depending on the camera being used? Limited support is acceptable to get new features into photographer's hands ASAP, as long as support for the rest of the camera models follows soon after.
- There are some DPP 4 changes that make going back and forth between software versions difficult. One obvious change is the mouse wheel direction being reversed. I think v4 treats the scroll wheel direction properly, but this direction is opposite of the v3 direction.
- DPP 4's crop tool is less precise than in previous versions when using the mouse for adjustment. Therefore, one must adjust the values in the text boxes instead of relying on a quick mouse click and rotation.
- CTRL-Z no longer toggles the last change made in DPP 4. The shortcut still functions as the UNDO command, but now you must use CTRL-Y to REDO the last change. This change would be understandable if Canon used CTRL-Z to implement multi-level UNDO and REDO. But they haven't. So now it's just an unnecessary addition to the keystroke combinations we have to use in our workflow.
- Moving files takes a VERY long time from within DPP 4. One 15-file move to a remote USB 3.0 drive operation took 10 minutes? The move process often ends in a program crash or non-responsive application.
And to be candid, that's really just the tip of the iceberg. The program also suffers from many user interface issues. For instance, if you type in a new brightness adjustment value into the textbox and press CTRL-S, the new value isn't saved in the file. Instead, you must click away from the textbox (make it lose focus) before the program will allow the change to be saved into the file.
Requested Features:
- Many photographers are using computers with large amounts of RAM. Please figure out a way to cache and preload recently used and expected-to-be-viewed-next images. We toggle through many images all the time. Why do we have to wait for those images to be rendered again after every glance?
- We need hot keys to move between images in the main window regardless of what control has focus (such as the brightness slider).
- Use the Windows standard for selecting files. Click, shift-click, control-click and shift-control click should work the same in all Windows applications. Same for the Mac standard.
- The Stamp tool was a great addition to DPP many versions back. Taking away hot key support (alt-click, control-z), the mouse wheel functionality (unless first clicking on the slider) and the spacebar-mouse-drag functionality in this tool makes it far less useful for me.
Complaining aside, DPP 4 is loaded with very positive enhancements. Here are just a few of them:
- Far more options for viewing images when checking and editing are now provided.
- You can now determine which settings are included with the copy and paste recipe (more power, but more complexity) with hot keys now supported.
- Darker grey background is better for brightness adjustment/determination.
- A secondary prompt is not required for delete and files can be deleted from directly Quick view.
- New folders can now be created from within DPP.
- Allows (optionally) single-click to show full resolution/100% (great feature!)
- +/- 3 stops of exposure adjustment (was +/- 2 stops) and other options offer finer control (increments of .1 vs. 1)
- Fine-tune sliders are a great addition for color adjustment
Overall Benefits of DPP
- DPP has always been a very easy-to-use tool that delivers very high quality RAW conversions.
- DPP is especially good at getting pleasing color.
- That DPP stores recipes directly in the RAW file means that there is no catalog to maintain and no sidecar files to keep track of and makes file management as easy as drag and drop.
- A Canon EOS camera has not hit the streets without being supported by DPP (in one form or another).
- That DPP is free is another great attribute.
We love the direction that Canon is heading with DPP 4, but right now it's just too buggy to be dependable for important work. Bryan and I have reverted back to DPP v3.x for most of our post-processing needs until the v4 bugs are eliminated.
What has been your experience with DPP 4.0? Feel free to let us know in the comments.
eBay (via BuyDig) has the Refurbished Nikon D7000 DSLR Camera available for $529.99 with free shipping. Compare at $609.95 refurbished.
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From the Canon USA YouTube Channel:
In this video, learn more about highlight tone priority and how it helps the exposure in your photos.
Admittedly, my method of attaching the camera to the BlackRapid Strap makes vertical shooting a bit uncomfortable (but not prohibitively so). This product looks like an interesting solution to the problem. [Sean]
From Kickstarter:
The CAMS Pro line of a products is a revolutionary way to carry, shoot, and mount your pro bodied or gripped camera and telephoto lens.
Carry And Mount System started off with the simple goal of mating a bottom-mounted sling strap to a camera in a way that would not interfere with using a vertical shooting grip. We did not set out to develop a plate that was Arca-compatible and made the vertical grip more comfortable to use, but when we mounted the first machined prototypes, we found that we had surpassed our original intent by far. Fortunately, we did not stop there. Involving other photographers led us to rethinking the strap and strap connection and adding the threaded insert (which seems so obvious now). Using hindsight to our advantage, the lens plate evolved quickly into a natural companion of the camera plate, as essential to the system as the telephoto lens is to the photographer.
Each component of CAMS is designed to offer the perfect balance of comfort, convenience, and strength.
Read more about the CAMS Pro Sling Strap on Kickstarter.
Think Tank Photo’s newest About A Photograph video features USA Today photographer Robert Hanashiro’s remembrances of shooting images of the late Robin Williams.
August 17, 2014 – Think Tank Photo’s newest About A Photograph video features USA Today photographer Robert Hanashiro’s remembrances of shooting images of the late Robin Williams, as well as actor Dustin Hoffman. About A Photograph can be found at blog.thinktankphoto.com/about-a-photograph
“Telling Robin Williams to stay still was almost impossible,” said Hanashiro. “I always go into these celebrity shoots a little nervous, even though I’ve been doing this for 25 years. I always appreciated him making me feel relaxed. And when I’m relaxed I can make a whole lot better photography.”
Hanashiro continues, “I remember the first time I met him. I knocked on the door of the hotel room and he answered the door, which was very surprising. He just looked at me and asked, ‘Who might you be?’ And he just laughed. Robin Williams was the best of the best.”
“It’s sad that he’s gone because he was such a great character, a person who made us all laugh and all cry. I got to admit that when I’d heard he’d passed away, I was, very, very sad. Not only because he was such a great subject, but a great person to be around.”
For over two decades, Hanashiro has been the West Coast staff photographer for USA TODAY, the country’s largest general interest daily newspaper. He has covered every major sports event imaginable from the Super Bowl to the Final Four to the World Series to the NBA Finals. He has also covered 12 Olympic Games. Hanashiro’s duties for “The Nation’s Newspaper” also include coverage of the entertainment industry, making portraits of many of the world’s leading actors, directors, and musicians. He also covers the major awards shows, including the Grammy, Emmy, Golden Globe, and Screen Actors Guild Awards. For the past four years Hanashiro has been one of just four photographers covering the Academy Awards from backstage.
MPB Photographic has an ultra-rare, used Canon EF 1200mm f/5.6L USM available for £99,000.00. (thanks John)
If you're curious how much that is in American dollars, the conversion works out to a cool $165,285.45. :-)
Want to know more? Bryan got his hands on this massive lens when B&H had one available for purchase.
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