Canon and Sony News for Feb 2018 (Page 6)

Nikon has released its third quarter financial results for the year ending March 31, 2018. As usual, we find the presentation material tobe the best way to digest the information.

3rd Quarter 2018 Financial Results

• Financial Results (PDF:275KB)
• Financial and Business Data (PDF:112KB)
• Presentation Material (PDF:643KB)
• Revision of the Dividend Forecast for the Fiscal Year Ending March 31, 2018 [Feb. 8, 2018] (PDF:99KB)

From Canon USA:

New Addition Brings 18 Years of Professional Photography Experience to the Prestigious Program

MELVILLE, N.Y., February 8, 2018 – Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is proud to announce the addition of photographer Susan Stripling to its renowned Explorers of Light program. Susan adds to the already impressive ranks of Canon's program, expanding its wide range of talented professionals that impact imaging culture and influence the way their audiences see the world. She will be at the Canon Booth (#121) at WPPI Expo 2018, February 26-28 at the Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas, NV and will be presenting on the Canon stage on Monday, February 26 at 2:15pm and Tuesday, February 27 at 12:15pm*. For more information about events in the Canon booth at WPPI Expo 2018, please visit usa.canon.com/wppi2018.

Susan Stripling is a Triple Master Status professional wedding, theater and portrait photographer based out of Brooklyn, NY. Susan believes in giving back to the photo industry that she loves and cares for deeply. In 2016 Susan started The Wedding School, an online educational resource for wedding photographers featuring books and videos to help guide them with their photographic skills and growing their businesses. Susan has won multiple WPPI 16x20 inch Print Competition Awards, including the Grand Award in Wedding Photojournalism in 2010 and the Grand Award in Weddings in 2016. In addition, Susan has previously been an educator at PhotoPlus Expo, WPPI Expo, and PPA Imaging USA Expo.

“It is an honor to join so many of my talented peers already in the Canon Explorer of Light program,” said Susan Stripling “Canon’s equipment provides me with the tools that help my visions come to life, and I am looking forward to the opportunity to educate and inspire photographers to reach their creative potential.”

“We are excited to welcome Susan Stripling to the ranks of this select family. Her expertise, combined with her passion for educating aspiring photographers, makes her a great asset to our program,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “It’s a privilege to see how passionate our Explorers of Lights are about inspiring eager audiences of photo professionals, hobbyists, and enthusiasts to further inspire them to reach their creative potential."

Since the creation of the program in 1995, Canon's Explorers of Light have been leaders in their respective fields, and have garnered awards and accolades for their work. These individuals work with Canon extensively as representatives, ambassadors, educators, and role models for aspiring creative artists. They participate in workshops, seminars, gallery showings and personal appearances throughout the United States.

For more information about the Explorers of Light program, visit: usa.canon.com/canonexplorersoflight.

by Sean Setters

Let's face it, while light stands can be extremely handy, they can also take up a lot of space in your studio when in use (especially when multiple light stands are being used) and cumbersome to transport. Other times, a light stand simply won't fit where you want to place your light. Thankfully, there are a few good alternatives for propping up your shoe-mount flashes and/or studio strobes when a light stand just won't do or is otherwise unavailable.

The Justin Clamp is a spring clamp with a cold flash swivel shoe. It's great for clamping shoe-mount flashes to boards/pipes/banisters up to approx. 1.6" (4 cm) thick.

So why is it called a "Justin" Clamp? We have famed photographer Joe McNally to thank for that. According to his 2009 blog post:

I was hanging SB-80 flashes all over aircraft with these cheesy, flimsy, third party [lousy] hot shoe clamping doobers, and getting frustrated as [could be], cause the little ball heads really couldn’t hold more than a thimble full of weight, and they were always slipping and the flashes would spill light in unwanted directions.

I called my bud Justin Stailey, then of the Bogen Corporation, and complained. Photographers. We’re good at complaining. I said there had to be a better way, and Justin being Justin, found one. He brought some off the shelf Manfrotto parts over to my studio and cobbled this little Frankenstein of a clamp together. I said "Perfect, that’s what I want, give me 10 of them."

I wrote about in American Photo, and called it the Justin Clamp. Got Justin in hot water, though, cause his professors at RIT were pretty upset that a relatively recent graduate all of a sudden had a frikkin’ piece of equipment named after his own self. Justin is now with Leica cameras, and exploring the wonders of German optics.

The Super Clamp allows you to affix your flash to pipes/tubes 0.5" - 2.1" (1.3 - 5.3 cm) and also includes a wedge insert that allows you to securely clamp the device to flat surfaces as well. The standard Super Clamp comes with a hex stud that you can use to mount an umbrella swivel or a studio strobe (some studio strobes may require a Super Clamp with Pin). Also, if using with a monolight, you may be better off getting a T-handle/ Mafer version of the super clamp as the ratchet version may impede using ratchet mechanism on your studio light.

A drop ceiling scissor clamp is an inexpensive tool that is especially well suited for office environment lighting applications. Hop on a chair (carefully), reach up and affix the clamp on a cross bar and it's ready for mounting an umbrella swivel or strobe. I've had a pair of these in my lighting kit for years and they've been very helpful for on-location headshots (I typically use them with shoe-mount flashes to light the background or for a hair/separation light positioned behind a subject). Drop ceiling scissor clamps are so small, and so inexpensive, there's no excuse not have at least a couple of them in your lighting kit.

If you don't have room to set up a light stand, but you have a smooth, flat surface (such as glass) available, the Avenger Pump Cup can really save the day. With a load capacity rating of 4.41 lbs (2 kg), you won't want to use this tool with heavy modifiers on your lights. However, for loads within the load capacity rating, the stability of this device is impressive. I recently got a second one to use in my automobile boom rig, and decided to test the new F1000 before having to depend on it for a shoot. After pumping the cup to the proper suction (the red line disappears), the tool was impossible to remove from a window pane. In fact, it remained there for 3 days (with me trying to release it each day) before it finally released after a significant amount of effort.

Note that Avenger makes a swivel pin version (seen above) and one with a straight pin. While the straight pin model is slightly less expensive, I think the versatility afforded by the swivel pin is well worth its slightly higher price.

For permanent studio applications, baby pin wall plates provide fixed mounting options at a bargain price compared to quality light stands. For less than $15.00 and the cost of 4 screws, you can mount a 3" or 6" (7.6 or 15.2 cm) baby pin wall plate to your ceiling, a wall stud or a support beam/column. For those with small studios, mounting your lights to the walls and ceiling can help you maximize the space you have for posing your subjects. On that note, I recently installed an Avenger F805 6.0" Baby Wall Plate to a ceiling support beam in my studio so that I could leave a hair/separation light semi-permanently installed in a typically optimal location.

Wrap-Up

Don't get me wrong, I love light stands, especially C-stands and my personal favorite, the Matthews Maxi Kit Steel Stand. But there are times when adding a (or another) light stand to your setup is impractical or even impossible, given certain constraints. In those situations, the tools above can provide you with various ways to mount your lights without requiring the use of a light stand. Also, don't underestimate the importance of minimizing the number of light stands you have set up for a particular session; one less light stand erected means there is one less light stand leg for your subject (or yourself) to trip over, possibly causing injury or equipment damage in the process.

From the B&H YouTube Channel:

Watch as Charles Glatzer, Canon Explorer of Light shows how, why, and when to use the various meter patterns and modes to best advantage. The advantages and detriments of Manual and Auto priority modes will be covered at length. Easy to remember exposure tips and techniques will be provided.

Charles covers a number of post-production techniques in Lightroom, Photoshop, stand alone/plug-in software, and more to ensure you are extracting all the highlight detail captured in your RAW file.

From Nikon:

Changes from Version 1.2.10 to Version 1.2.11

Fixed the following issues:

• The XMP/IPTC Information > Keywords history could not be deleted.
• Auto Play sometimes failed to function as expected when Filters were enabled.

Download: Nikon ViewNX-i 1.2.11

In 2011, I [Sean] attended a Flash Bus Tour event in Nashville, TN hosted by David Hobby (the Strobist) and Joe McNally where the two famed photographers shared a multitude of off-camera flash tips gained from years of experimenting with various lighting techniques. It was a great experience. I was a big fan of David Hobby's going into the event, and I came out of the event with an equal amount of appreciation and admiration for Joe McNally.

In regards to the video above, even with years of experience under their belts, it's really interesting to listen to Joe and Daniel Norton discuss their brainstorming session before the shoot. It's also important to realize that not everything you try as a photographer is going to work; don't let fear paralyze you. As Joe says, "Sometimes you throw a dart at the wall, and sometimes it doesn't work. Then you regear and go a different direction."

Things to take away from the video:

• V-flats (either white or black) are easy to create, relatively inexpensive and extremely versatile tools. In some cases, heavy black fabric (duvetyne) can work just as well.
• Adding more flashes (reducing the power output required by each flash) can allow you to shoot more quickly, portraying confidence to your subject(s) and potentially reducing the amount of time required to get the shots you need.
• Shooting tethered makes it easier (and faster) to confirm your depth-of-field is adequate to cover your subject.
• Although not specifically elaborated on, the softness of the giant diffused light source along with the large fill reflector helps minimize the look of lines and wrinkles that may be prominant on older subjects. Instead of using hard light to create contrast and convey power, Joe is relying on the subject's light skin and hair set against the black background (paired with the subject's wardrobe) for contrast.

From the Adorama YouTube Channel:

Join Photographers Joe McNally and Daniel Norton for the first in a series of character portrait studies. Character portraiture is not just about finding interesting subjects, but creating light that hi-lights the subject in such a way to emphasize what it is we as photographer’s see in them. In the case of Mary, Joe and Daniel saw a beauty refined over a lifetime and a commanding yet subtle presence. To capture this, a large (thus soft) diffused light was used. This allowed for a flat almost shadowless light on Mary that was then contrasted by the choice of a black background and wardrobe. This combination focuses the viewer on the delicate quality of Mary’s expressions.

How old is your computer? I'm prompted to ask because Sean just posted a hot deal on a model similar to what I upgraded to a few weeks ago (the model I purchased has the i7-8550U 1.8GHz processor).

I typically upgrade my laptop annually as the improved performance is usually worth the cost and effort of doing so. But, I had been using a Dell XPS 15 (9530) for nearly 3 years (it was a very fast model when I bought it) and I was still struggling to find the time to make the switch. Finally deciding to make the move, I chose to go with Dell's powerful-but-tiny XPS 13. What it delivers in the tiny form factor is quite impressive.

While there are a lot of benchmarks for measuring computer performance, highly relevant to me is the RAW image conversion time. A hand-timed measurement for processing 8 RAW EOS 5Ds R files into 16-bit TIFF files using Canon Digital Photo Professional on the 3-year-old laptop was 2:00. The new laptop smoked the old one, knocking out the same task (same RAW files) in 0:50. Update: I was later testing another feature with a fresh set of RAW files and, for whatever reasons, was getting considerably longer processing times on the new laptop. The times were still faster than the old one, but not so dramatically so.

So, how old is your computer? We focus on keeping our camera gear up to date, but today, computers fill a key role in our photography workflow. If your computer is more than a couple of years old, you may find great benefit in upgrading it. Think about the difference I experienced if you are processing images from a sporting event, wedding or other shoot that generates a large number, perhaps even thousands, of images.

Not all tasks, especially less-intensive ones, seem to be accomplished noticeably faster in my upgrade. But, does the computer you are using now have an SSD? If not, brace yourself for the speed improvement a model with this drive type will bring. That difference is dramatic even for short tasks like opening applications.

If this sweet little Dell XPS 13 is not the model you are looking for, B&H has many other options for you to choose from. Head over and take a look.

What do you do with the old laptop/computer? While computers don't hold their value as well as lenses, they are still worth something on the used market. Try selling it on eBay (always use the eBay link at the bottom of all pages on the site).

Another good option is keep the old computer for secondary use, including as a backup to the primary model. Turning the replaced computer into a digital picture frame, bringing your deep archives to life, is a great idea. One more suggestion: there are many charities that would love to put your used machine to use in doing good.

I had planned to share this suggestion with you, but today's Dell XPS 13 deal accelerated my timeframe for this post. I wanted you to be able to catch the deal.

Just posted: Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens Review

This lens and the Sigma 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary Lens are positioned to battle it out.

The Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens is in stock at B&H | Amazon | Adorama.

From Canon USA:

MELVILLE, N.Y., February 6, 2018 – In 2017, Canon U.S.A., a leader in digital imaging, was the number one selling Full-Frame Interchangeable Lens Camera (ILC) brand and APS-C ILC brand in the U.S., according to The NPD Group. Canon has been number one worldwide in these camera segments for the last 14 years, based on a global Canon survey. February 4th showed that 2018 is off to a great start for Canon, as top sports photographers from across the country gathered in Minnesota to cover the big game between the teams from Philadelphia and New England. An estimated 80 percent4 of the photographers in the stadium used Canon EOS DSLR cameras and EF lenses, and Canon’s iconic white lenses filled the sidelines from the opening kickoff to the final whistle. In addition to the photographers on the sidelines, Canon’s line of HD broadcast lenses were also used extensively to help deliver the game to nearly 110 million television viewers.

“Canon understands there are many equipment options for photographers and we are honored to be the primary choice for both the pros capturing the nail-biting moments of the big game and for people capturing the important moments of their lives,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “As an industry leader, we also recognize the important role that service and support plays in keeping our customers satisfied, whether at our award-winning service centers throughout the country or on-site at major global events.”

A full complement of friendly and knowledgeable staff from the Canon Professional Services (CPS) team, a fixture at major sporting events throughout the year, were on site at the stadium for most of the week leading up to game day providing comprehensive equipment maintenance, extensive equipment loans and expert technical support to the major photo agencies and individual professional (or media) photographers covering the game.

For veteran sports photographer and Canon Explorer of Light Peter Read Miller, this was his 40th time covering the big game as a professional, and he was well stocked with Canon cameras and lenses.

"CPS has been a great support to me throughout the years, especially at a game like this where I get real time technical and equipment support. They've been instrumental in my success over the years."," said Miller. “40 years of shooting the big game is an amazing experience. Photographers are just as competitive as the athletes, and it’s great to know that I can count on Canon equipment and support to help me get the winning shot."

In 2018, CPS will be proudly attending to professional photographers at over 22 locations, including major sporting, auto racing, Hollywood and political events.

For more information about CPS, please visit http://www.cps.usa.canon.com/

From Canon USA:

MELVILLE, N.Y., February 6, 2018 – Canon U.S.A. Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, returned as a Sustaining Sponsor to the 2018 Sundance Film Festival (January 18th–28th in Park City, Utah). Canon celebrated filmmakers working behind the camera with daily programming at the Canon Creative Studio, located at 592 Main Street.

At least 63 of the 239 films and projects that premiered as part of this year’s slate – over 26 percent -- were shot using Canon equipment. Festival projects filmed using Canon cinema cameras include Generation Wealth, The Adulterers, The Sentence, Robin Williams: Come Inside My Mind, Crime + Punishment, The Trade, The Price of Everything, This is Home, and Awavena.

“Each year, we return to the Sundance Film Festival to connect with the filmmaking community,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A. “In Park City this year, we celebrated innovative projects from the minds of some of the world’s best filmmakers, as well as the bold new technology that help make these projects possible.”

Canon welcomed 2018 Sundance Film Festival attendees to the Canon Creative Studio (open January 19th–22nd, from 11am-7pm) for interactive displays of Canon equipment, live panel discussions, and a relaxing lounge stocked with coffee and snacks. Guests were invited to take a hands-on tour of Canon’s newest cinema camera, the EOS C200, and learn about Canon’s innovative Cinema RAW Light 4K video format. Guests also explored Canon’s flagship cinema camera, the EOS C700, as well as Canon’s line of Cinema, CINE-SERVO, COMPACT-SERVO, and EF lenses.

The Canon Creative Studio also hosted cinematographers, directors, editors, producers, and crew at the invite-only Raise Your Glass To Cinematography cocktail party, Canon’s sixth annual celebration toasting the filmmakers of the Festival.

In 2018, the Canon Creative Studio featured new programming called Magic Hours, co-hosted by IMDbPro (Friday, January 19th), the AFI Conservatory (Saturday, January 20th), and VER (Monday, January 22nd). Each evening event, which were held from 5-7pm, featured an opportunity to network with companies and organizations that share Canon’s mission to support filmmaking.

Canon also introduced a new media partnership with American Cinematographer, the world’s leading publication dedicated to motion imaging and the art and craft of professional cinematography; the monthly international journal, published by the American Society of Cinematographers, is now in its 99th year. The magazine’s editors were on-site at the festival, and several of its contributors moderated a series of six in-depth panel discussions at the Canon Creative Studio, discussing topics such as lens choice, documentary cinematography, and shooting cinematic VR.

The panels were streamed through Facebook Live via American Cinematographer’s feed, accessible to those who could not attend the Festival, giving professional and aspiring cinematographers alike the opportunity to engage with the panelists. American Cinematographer’s website, ascmag.com, also features a series of online interviews with Sundance cinematographers, along with additional articles exploring cinematography trends at the festival, all sponsored by Canon.

Photographer Michael Ori returned to shoot professional headshots of Creative Studio guests. Ori took his photographs with the Canon EOS 5D Mark IV camera. Canon provided guests with an 8” x 10” copy of their portrait, printed on-site with the Canon imagePROGRAF PRO-1000 Professional Inkjet Printer.

In the second year of Canon’s popular collaboration with IMDbPro, the essential resource for entertainment industry professionals, IMDbPro Members were able to instantly upload their newly snapped portraits to their profiles, which reach entertainment industry decision-makers and hundreds of millions of fans worldwide on IMDb, IMDbPro, and Amazon Video. The IMDbPro station was open January 19th-22nd, from 11am-5pm, and guests were also able to experience IMDbPro’s new iPhone app, which empowers members with a convenient way to search the profiles of more than 4 million people, access the latest industry news, get contact and representation details for more than 300,000 industry professionals, and tap through to call or email directly.

On Monday, January 22nd, Canon presented a workshop called “Backpack Filmmaking with the EOS C200,” featuring the versatile and cinematic EOS C200 camera. Canon’s Loren Simons and cinematographer Shana Hagan (Generation Wealth, Inventing Tomorrow, Lenny) led attendees through an experiential session that demonstrates you can shoot cinéma vérité and lit, sit-down interviews with only what you can fit in a backpack. The workshop allowed filmmakers to get better acquainted with the EOS C200 camera’s Cinema RAW Light workflow -- from capture through post.

From the Eric Paré YouTube Channel:

About two years ago, we released "Signs of Light", the first video where we demonstrated how we use the tubes. I decided to go a bit further in this one by explaining the basic details to get you started with tube light-painting. This is a solid two minutes video with the important things you need to know to create images similar to ours. And as you'll see, you don't need much equipment: a plastic tube, a flashlight, a feather, a camera, a tripod and two radio remote triggers.

Useful Gear

• Eagletac D25LC2 Tactical 1200 Flashlight
• Tubes (Clear)
• Tube (Amber)
• Tube (Yellow)

In addition to the previously-shared Image quality test results, vignetting, flare and distortion test results along with specs and measurements are available on the Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens page.

I expect to have the full review Tamron 100-400mm VC lens review completed early this week.

The Tamron 100-400mm f/4.5-6.3 Di VC USD Lens is in stock at B&H | Amazon | Adorama.

by Sean Setters

I had been checking the ISS Transit-Finder web app regularly for opportunities to photograph the International Space Station against the sun or the moon. While there were no solar transit opportunities the month ahead, there was a great lunar transit opportunity with the center line of the transit falling only 1.15 miles (1.84 km) from my front door.

Date & Time: February 1, 11:36:36.16 pm
Transit Duration: 0.84 seconds

The address provided along the center line of the transit belonged to an apartment complex, which was perfect. I could simply park in the parking lot, set up my tripod there and wait for the transit to occur.

As the transit time drew nearer, I packed my Canon EOS 7D Mark II (because of its high burst rate), EF 300mm f/4L USM (precursor to the IS version), tripod and a wired shutter release (TC-80N3) and anxiously watched the sky as patches of clouds rolled overhead. I downloaded an app for my smartphone that could display an NTP synchronized time (down to the milliseconds). This would hopefully allow me to perfectly time my continuous burst. My plan was to composite an entire ISS transit sequence into a single frame using the individually captured burst images.

At 11:15pm, I went outside to find the clouds had vanished. I grabbed my gear, hopped in the car and traveled to the apartment complex parking lot.

By 11:25pm, my EOS 7D II, lens and wired remote were mounted atop the tripod with the moon centered in viewfinder. I fired off a few images to test for proper focus and exposure parameters. With the moon almost full, the exposure parameters I settled on were f/5.6, 1/640 sec, ISO 200. The lens was set to Manual focus and I disabled Anti-Flicker Shooting in the 7D II's menu so that I could achieve the camera's maximum burst rate.

I reasoned that the f/5.6 aperture would give me the sharpest result without diffraction impacting image sharpness, and that a faster-than-1/500 shutter speed would likely allow me to freeze the ISS as it crossed the moon (for longer focal length lenses, an even faster shutter speed would be required). ISO 200 allowed me to achieve a decently bright moon at 1/640 second.

With the transit time only 90 seconds away, I reframed the scene to put the moon slightly lower and to the left of the middle. My earlier tests had given me a pretty good idea of how the moon was traveling through my frame, so I had a good idea where to put the moon so that it would fall right into the middle of the composition to take advantage of the lens' sharpest area of the image circle projected. And then I waited, with the wired remote in one hand and my smartphone in the other, counting down the seconds. As my app passed 11:36:35, I waited roughly half a second and then held down the shutter button for roughly 2.5 seconds. Excitedly, I flipped through the captured images on the camera's LCD screen.

And.... I quickly realized that I had missed the first half of the transit, roughly, with my first image in the burst showing the ISS having already covered approximately 40% of the Moon's surface. My timing was off. I should have taken full advantage of the 7D II's 3-second RAW buffer and started my capture at 11:36:35 to give myself a small buffer before the calculated transit time. Regardless of my failure to capture the entire transit, I really liked the [heavily cropped] composition of the shot shown above.

ISS Lunar Transit Tips

• Download a synchronized time app that shows NTP time down the milliseconds.
• Use a tripod, your longest telephoto lens and a wired remote shutter release. Using a tripod with a high max height can make framing the moon high above much easier.
• Set your camera to continuous shooting (burst) mode with a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the ISS (approx. 1/640 second @ 300mm on APS-C, faster for longer focal lengths). Disable Anti-Flicker Shooting (if available) to maximumize burst rate.
• Try to time your continuous burst duration so that your camera's RAW image buffer gives you an equal time before and after the event to ensure you capture the entire sequence, even if your timing is slightly off.

Relevant Article

• Use Your Solar Eclipse Gear to Capture an ISS Transit of the Sun

From the PHLEARN YouTube Channel:

The Pen Tool is the most accurate way to make selections in Photoshop. Finally, it's yours to master! Download the sample image here: https://phlearn.com/tutorial/master-pen-tool/

The Pen Tool is a powerful and versatile tool that can be found in a variety of Adobe’s software products. In this tutorial, we break down the fundamentals, demonstrating how to use it to make elegant curves, perfect angles, and accurate selections. Whether you need to cut a subject out of a photo or create a precision shape or design, we’ve got you covered.

B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.