What's New

5 October, 2008 - Pro Convergence on RED

It seems to me that most amateur photographers aren't terribly excited about stills / video convergence. That's OK – they don't have to be – yet.

But for working pros it's another matter. A just published article in the pro journal PDN, titled Seeing RED, looks at how sometime National Geographic photographer David McLain used the ultra high-definition Red One camcorder to shoot a print and video campaign in Baja for clothing company Horny Toad.

A new business opportunity is emerging for professional shooters and a new art form is developing for adventurous amateurs. Ignore it at your peril.

Stay tuned.
I have been asked to be the first speaker in The Toronto Camera Club's 2008–2009 Lecture Series. My talk will include a presentation on my September shoot in Botswana and also a look at forthcoming trends in the photographic industry. If you live in southern Ontario or upstate New York I hope to see you there this coming Thursday evening, October 9th.

---

2 October, 2008 - Nikon D90 Video Review

Nikon was the first to announce and now ship a DSLR with video capability – the D90. I have spent the past week working with one, focusing on its video capabilities, and my exclusive review is now online along with sample footage.
The photograph on the Home Page has been updated with another from my September shoot in Botswana, and the Botswana portfolio page has been updated.

---

26 September, 2008 - Photokina Update

The product news is thinning out from Photokina, but there are some new stories to be had, and several more have just been added to my ongoing report.

Update: A report which I published originally about Sinar and Leaf turns out to have been incorrect. I have now published new information which clarifies the situation and have apologized to Sinar for my error.

My Botswana portfolio page has also had a new addition.

---

25 September, 2008 - Okavango : A Botswana Portfolio Begins

Having just returned from my recent safari / workshop shoot in Botswana I have been working on my files, and the second image from my upcoming Okavango portfolio and exhibition is now online on the site's Home Page.

I have also started a page titled Okavango which will feature new images every few days, and which also includes a discussion of the shots, equipment used, shooting conditions, and processing techniques.

I also expect to publish images taken by various safari members as they become available.

---

24 September, 2008 - Photokina and Industry News Continues...

While the major announcements seem to have all been made news continues to come out of the exhibition halls at Photokina. My Photokina 2008 page continues to be updated with new reports and commentary.

---

23 September 2008 - Photokina 2008 Announcements and Commentary

Photokina opens today, and though a number of products were already announced during the past two weeks (while I was off the grid), there are several exciting news items today and assuredly more to come.

My Photokina 2008 page is now online and will be updated over the next week as further interesting products are announced.

The site's Discussion Forum is now open to new registrations, after being closed while I was in Botswana.

---

23 September, 2008 - Home Again & Delayed Canon 5D MKII Video Report Online

I have just returned from a two week photo safari in Botswana, only to discover that world financial markets had melted down and my Canon 5D MKII report, which should have been published on Sept 17th by one of our staff, wasn't.

Since the former puts the latter issue in perspective, it's hard to be too upset about it. So, better a week late than never, here is what I wrote...

Ps: Lots to write about our safari shooting experience in the days ahead. First priorities though are dealing with my suitcase, which Air France managed to lose somewhere between Maun, Botswana, Johanseburg, Paris and Toronto, and also some 700 emails that need responses. But – jet lag awaits, so I'll give it a few days.

Sept 17, 2008

As few knowledgeable observes doubted they would, Canon has announced its replacement for the somewhat long-in-the-tooth 5D. The 5D Mark II is a considerable upgrade, with a 21 Megapixel sensor, enhanced high ISO capability, and all of the current Canon niceties, such as sensor dust removal and a high res LCD screen.

Of considerable excitement to those that have been forecasting stills / video convergence (yours truly included) the new 5D MKII is able to shoot high definition video, in 1080P resolution using the advanced H264 video codec.

I was able to spend a couple of days working with a pre-production camera earlier this month, before leaving on my safari expedition to Botswana, and my exclusive report focusing on the 5D MKII's video capabilities along with some sample footage is now online.

This article contains a video report as well as sample footage from the 5D MKII –  which was inadvertently omitted during the first hour that the piece was online. Sorry about that – jet lag at work I'm afraid.

UPDATES

When I tested the 5D MKII earlier this month I had virtually no information from Canon – just the camera itself. I then left for 2 weeks in Africa with instructions that the article be published on the product's announcement date while I was away .

Getting back and discovering that the piece had not been published, as I'd instructed, I put it online as quickly as possible. What I discovered since is that the 5D MKII shoots in 1080P not 1080i. Cool. But, not what I'd originally written. Sorry about that. No harm, no foul.


The first of what will likely be a considerable portfolio of new photographs taken this month in Botswana is now online on the site's Home Page. A full write up, discussion of equipment used, and shooting situations will also follow, as well as images from some of the trip's members.

---

10 September, 2008 - Sony Announces 25MP Full Frame A900 DSLR - Review

Though we've known pretty much what to expect and when, Sony announcement of their 25 Megapixel full frame A900 is still very exciting. This makes it currently the highest resolution sensor in any 35mm format DSLR.

Our colleague Nick Rains has been using an A900 for the past week, and in his exclusive Sony A900 Field Report gives us his initial impressions.

Please note that I am currently on a shoot in Botswana and therefore unable to respond to any e-mails until I return on September 23rd.

---

7 September, 2008 - The Problem with Photographing the Beautiful and Famous

Do you enjoy photographing the usual or the unusual? Do famous locations make the smile or sweat? Today's essay by contributor George Barr is titled The Problem With Photographing The Beautiful and The Famous and will provide some food for thought.
I am now on my way to Botswana, where together with Andy Biggs I will be conducting a wildlife workshop / safari. I will be back on September 23rd, and offline until that time.

I will therefore not be able to respond to any e-mails, and our customer service department is also on minimal duty.

The site's Forum is operational, but no new registrations are being accepted at this time. The reason for this is that the site is under constant attack by spammers and pornographers, and so each application is visually checked while we are available – which we are not currently.

Our store remains open though and we appreciate your orders and your business.

This is an exciting month in the photographic industry, with many new cameras and other photographic items to be announced leading up to and at Photokina. I'll be away for much of the lead-up to Photokina, but I will also have some surprises (plural) in store for you during the next couple of weeks. Keep your eye on this page (What's New) because you never know when something of considerable interest might appear.

---

5 September, 2008 - Zeiss Distagon 18mm f/3.5 Field Report

I leave on Monday for a two week photo safari / workshop in Botswana, Africa. The house is buzzing this weekend as my wife and I try and fit all of our gear within the severe weight and size restrictions that current international travel imposes, not to mention the weight constraints imposed by the small planes and helicopters that we'll be flying on when in-country.

I'll have a small write-up here on this prep before I leave, and then a "how it worked" article after I get back. The fact that I'll be shooting video as well as stills on this trip definitely complicates things.

Zeiss has been making selected lenses in Nikon, Pentax and a few other mounts for the past few years. Their latest, just made available, is the Distagon 18mm f/3.5. I've had an opportunity to work with one for a few days recently and me field report is now online.
"I wanted to congratulate you on your LL guide to Lightroom 2 which I've just watched in a marathon single sitting while trying out the techniques demonstrated on a second monitor. Despite managing a database  of 40,000 images in Lightroom this is the first time I've really deeply understood this software. The tutorial was extremely thorough, clear and enlightening. I cant wait to incorporate this new knowledge into my daily work".

---

4 September, 2008 - Lenses and Workshops


Phase One has announced that together with Hartblei they will be releasing a revised version of that company's 45 mm f/3.5 Super Rotator lens. I reviewed this lens favourably about five years ago when I was working with a Contax 645 system.

According to Phase One they and Hartblei have engineered several important design advancements into the lens, including...

1.    New 2008 batch optical glass with multi-layer coating

2.    Improved 12 blade aperture design
3.    Mechanics with tighter tolerances
4.    New interior antireflection coating
5.    More streamlined mechanical design

This lens will be available in Mamiya / Phase One 645 mount beginning in Q4 of this year. Oh yes – one more thing – the price will be US $3,990. By way of comparison, when I bought mine 5 years ago it cost $995. (The Hartblei web site indicates that this lens is no longer available from them directly).

Two of my colleagues, Alain Briot and Pierre Calquin have announced new and revised photographic workshop schedules.

"I wanted to congratulate you on your LL guide to Lightroom 2 which I've just watched in a marathon single sitting while trying out the techniques demonstrated on a second monitor. Despite managing a database  of 40,000 images in Lightroom this is the first time I've really deeply understood this software. The tutorial was extremely thorough, clear and enlightening. I cant wait to incorporate this new knowledge into my daily work".

---

1 September, 2008 - Understanding Video

The net is abuzz with discussions about the new generation of DSLRs with video capability. The Nikon D90 is the first, but there are others coming in the days and months ahead. I doubt if within 18 months there will be a DSLR at any price point that doesn't have video built in. (I am calling these cameras combocams).

There is an apparent lack of understanding by many still photographers of video technology and the developments currently taking place. This is seen at the moment on many web forums. I have therefore written a new essay titled Understanding Video, which appears here today.

I am also beginning today a new discussion forum section titled Combocams – Stills, Video and Beyond. Join us to discuss and learn more about this exciting change to our industry.
"I wanted to congratulate you on your LL guide to Lightroom 2 which I've just watched in a marathon single sitting while trying out the techniques demonstrated on a second monitor. Despite managing a database  of 40,000 images in Lightroom this is the first time I've really deeply understood this software. The tutorial was extremely thorough, clear and enlightening. I cant wait to incorporate this new knowledge into my daily work".

---

29 August, 2008 - Street Photography in China

China has been much in the news recently. As many now know, there are at last two different Chinas – the hyper-modern industrial country and the ancient one. Both offer amazing photographic opportunities.

Colin Jones, who speaks the language and has lived there, today provides us with a look at Street Photography in China, in Chongqing.

---

27 August, 2008 - Nikon D90 DSLR with HD Video Mode Announced

---

26 August, 2008 - Canon 50D Announced

---

25 August, 2008 - Across Iceland's Remote Landscapes

Over the past seven years I've been to Iceland five times to do landscape photography. It remains one of my all-time favourite locations.

Though the summer season there is now drawing to a close, for many it will be the time to start considering a trip for next year. With that in mind Ben Hattenbach gives us a very good introduction to some of Iceland's best photographic locations in In Search Of Light – Across Iceland’s Remote Landscapes.

---

21 August, 2008 - Fun!

This is great fun. Be patient, let it download, and then watch the whole thing.

---

20 August, 2008 - Thinking in Themes : 'Camera to Print' now on DVD ROM from Calumet

William Neill is one of America's leading landscape photographers, and is becoming a regular contributor to this site. Today he shares with us his thoughts in Thinking in Themes.

---

16 August, 2008 - Image Disembodiment : Is the fine art print history?

For most creative photographers the fine art print is the end goal of our work. But will it always be thus? Today, contributor Bernard Languillier asks the question in our latest essay titled Image Disembodiment.

Our summer contest in which you can win a lens of your choice is coming to a close in a couple of weeks. Any purchase from our online store qualifies you to enter, and each new purchase is a new entry.

---

12 August, 2008 - Sign of The Times

I'm greatly enjoying watching the Olympics on TV. Having done quite a bit of sports photography in my days as a staff photographer at CBC Television, it's always interesting to catch a glimpse of pros at work.

---

11 August, 2008 - The Call : What's Involved in Doing a Commercial Shoot?

Have you ever wondered what's involved to doing a large-scale commercial shoot? One of the world's leading commercial photographers, James Russell, today gives us his often humorous recollections of doing a recent product shoot for his client, medium format back maker Phase One. The article is titled The Call.

Don't neglect to watch the video of the shoot linked about half-way down the page.

---

8 August, 2008 - Tripping Over Nikon's Shoe Laces

Yesterday Nikon announced several new Coolpix cameras. Many were pleased to learn more about the P6000, which had been rumoured for some weeks. The concept appears good, challenging the Canon G9, and adding a few neat wrinkles of its own. A likely worthy entry by Nikon, potentially aimed at serious photographers looking for a competent pocket camera with raw capability.

Unfortunately it turns out, as noted here yesterday, that the P6000 has crippled raw capability. This has raised a considerable firestorm of angry commentary on this site's forum as well as others.

For more on why Nikon's use of Windows Imaging Component is a bad idea, have a look at this commentary.

"The Coolpix P6000 looks like a very sweet camera. The advanced controls, the built in GPS and the ethernet port are just the features I’m looking for in an advanced compact. But if Nikon is arrogant enough to not let me access my own camera RAW data except through a system that makes me a hostage of both Nikon (bad) and Microsoft (worse), I think I’ll pass on this one".

Nikon pundit and expert Thom Hogan seems to agree that the P6000's new raw format is a bad idea. Here's part of what he has to say on his commentary page dated 7 April, 2008.

"Personally, I'm disappointed in Nikon's Coolpix efforts since the 8800, and the P6000 actually increases that disappointment. My advice is to look at the Ricoh GX-200 and the Panasonic LX-3 if you want a quality compact camera in the near term. Both have true raw support. Both are excellent, photographer-centric cameras. And with care using raw conversion, both produce fine results at low ISO values. Looks like I need a new Coolpix bumper sticker to add to my collection: Skip the P6000".

And as for Mac users, who constitute a potentially large segment of the potential users of a high-end pocket camera with raw capability, looks like we're SOL. Here's what Thomas Knoll has written on an Adobe user forum...

"WIC is Windows only.

Even on Windows, WIC is basically useless for Camera Raw/Lightroom type applications".

I'm afraid that this is beginning to look like a repeat of Nikon's white balance encryption fiasco. Seems like Canon aren't the only ones tripping over their own shoe laces these days.

---

7 August, 2008 - Nikon P6000 Announced

As forecast on this page a while ago, Nikon has announced its hotest new pocket digicam for serious photographers, the P6000. It looks to be a direct competitor to the Canon G9, while upping the ante with built-in GPS and Ethernet connectivity.

But, though it has raw capability, the P6000 doesn't shoot Nikon's NEF format, instead producing .NRW files using Windows Imaging Component under Vista. Very curious.

When I queried Nikon about this I was told that they would eventually be producing a codec so that third party applications could decode these files, but I have to ask – why the hassle?  Why can't camera makers keep life simple for themselves as well as their customers? Who at Nikon thought that this was a good idea?!

Just imagine. If the P6000 could produce DNG files anyone could buy it and immediately use any raw processing program. Since more people could enjoy the camera because it was compatible with virtually every computer platform and raw processing program more people likely would buy it. What a thought.

But I guess some folks at Nikon's product planning department don't think that expanding availability and increasing potential sales is a good idea. Instead we're saddled with another proprietary raw format and a snub to Mac users who comprise a significant portion of the pro and semi-pro photographic community. Makes no sense to me.

UPDATE

For more on why Nikon's use of Windows Imaging Component is a bad idea, have a look at this commentary.

"The Coolpix P6000 looks like a very sweet camera. The advanced controls, the built in GPS and the ethernet port are just the features I’m looking for in an advanced compact. But if Nikon is arrogant enough to not let me access my own camera RAW data except through a system that makes me a hostage of both Nikon (bad) and Microsoft (worse), I think I’ll pass on this one".

Nikon pundit and expert Thom Hogan seems to agree that the P6000's new raw format is a bad idea. Here's part of what he has to say on his commentary page dated 7 April, 2008.

"Personally, I'm disappointed in Nikon's Coolpix efforts since the 8800, and the P6000 actually increases that disappointment. My advice is to look at the Ricoh GX-200 and the Panasonic LX-3 if you want a quality compact camera in the near term. Both have true raw support. Both are excellent, photographer-centric cameras. And with care using raw conversion, both produce fine results at low ISO values. Looks like I need a new Coolpix bumper sticker to add to my collection: Skip the P6000".

And as for Mac users, who constitute a potentially large segment of the potential users of a high-end pocket camera with raw capability, looks like we're SOL. Here's what Thomas Knoll has written on an Adobe user forum...

"WIC is Windows only.

Even on Windows, WIC is basically useless for Camera Raw/Lightroom type applications".

I'm afraid that this is beginning to look like Nikon's white balance encryption fiasco all over again. Seems like Canon aren't the only ones tripping over their own shoe laces these days.

---