The Three Basics of Exposure and Photography

Redrock Micro, the recognized leader in affordable professional-level cinema accessories, announced today the immediate availability of a new family of Redrock-designed follow focus units. The new microFollowFocus family is the third generation offering from Redrock Micro that delivers new levels of performance, a unique “back-to-new performance” adjustable gearbox, and a range of products that can match any budget or feature needs.

Professional-level Performance for a Lifetime

At the heart of any focusing unit is precision performance. Redrock spent the last three years developing a new original-design unit featuring a completely geared, precision-machined transmission with virtually backlash-free performance. Recognizing that all follow focuses settle over time and are prone to develop play, all new microFollowFocus units include adjustable backlash, which can reset the unit’s performance to ‘like new’ condition at any time. The new gearbox delivers exceptional professional-level performance for a lifetime.

Special Features for DSLR Lenses

The microFollowFocus | blue solves the issue that many filmmakers face when filming with HDSLR lenses: the focus ring spins freely, making repeatable focus nearly impossible. The microFollowFocus | blue solves this with an ingenious adjustable ‘hard stop’ mechanism on the follow focus itself, so every lens now has hard stops. “Hard stops solve a big limitation of shooting with Canon EF lenses,” said Ted Coates, DP and owner of Moving Pictures, Inc. “I now have a tool that allows me to shoot with DSLR lenses with a similar level of confidence as traditional video lenses. ” The new microFollowFocus line offers additional features for DSLR lenses including support for shorter lenses with its flippable gear box, and when paired with microLensGears gives DSLR lenses the ability to achieve accurate, repeatable, precision focus pulling.

Choose the microFollowFocus to fit your Budget and Needs

The microFollowFocus family is available in three different configurations and price points. The microFollowFocus | blue is Redrock’s flagship product, with the features and performance for professionals and enthusiasts. The microFollowFocus | blue Studio adds a second side wheel (“studio” mode) for quickly switching camera sides, and can be added or removed at any time. The microFollowFocus retains the performance and core features of the flagship version at a more economical price.

The microFollowFocus Advantage

The Redrock microFollowFocus family is the only line of follow focus units to deliver all these key advantages:

* “Back to new” adjustable backlash that maintains precision performance for a lifetime.
* Adjustable hard stops for DSLR lenses.
* Reinforced, repositionable focus indicator for assistant or operator focus marks.
* Add a second side wheel (‘studio mode’) at any time, or switch between single and double sided.
* Works with both still and cinema lenses.
* Choice of follow focus unit to match your budget and performance needs.
* Confidence in gear that comes with lifetime warranty and is made in the USA.
* Incredibly affordable – starting at $595.

microFollowFocus Already a Success in the Field

“It’s great to see Redrock pushing the envelope to create new products that makes my job easier. The quality of the microFollowFocus is top notch, and the new hard stops and illuminated marking disk gets me the shots I need with ease and saves me much-needed time. I am a huge fan of Redrock gear and the new ‘| blue’ is the real deal.”
-Vincent Laforet, DGA; Award-winning director, cinematographer and photographer

“After several weeks of testing the new Blue Line Follow Focus, I think it has finally arrived with the other big kids on the block. After much design thought and tweaking, this follow focus is stronger, more versatile, and even expandable. The new follow focus is really worthy of more than just DSLR use, something the pros can rely on with cinema lenses.”
- Brook Aitken, DP/Cinematographer including the Oscar-winning film “The Cove”

“For years I have recommended Redrock Micro’s microFollowFocus as a robust solution for budget-minded shooters. The microFollowFocus | blue is a refined update that offers an upgraded gearbox and adds useful professional features. No question, microFollowFocus | blue is Redrock Micro’s finest follow focus to date.”
-Matt Jeppsen, FreshDV

“I have used the Redrock microFollowFocus | blue under a variety of circumstances, and I was pleased to find it an improvement over previous models. The build quality rivals that of other far pricier well-known manufacturers’ units. Recently I used the microFollowFocus | blue on my Sony F3 with PL mount cinema lenses. My 1st AC commented on how great it is in comparison to any lightweight follow focus on the market. I also had the pleasure of utilizing the built-in hard stops when I was shooting a live concert on a Canon still zoom lens. I cannot even begin to tell you how much easier this made my life!”
- Johnny Derango, DP and Director.

For More Information

Product and ordering details can be found on the microFollowFocus at http://store.redrockmicro.com/microfollowfocusishere

Pricing and Availability

All microFollowFocus products are available immediately from Redrock direct at store.redrockmicro.com and from authorized Redrock Micro resellers worldwide. The microFollowFocus introductory price is $595, the microFollowFocus | blue $795, and the double-sided microFollowFocus | blue Studio $1190.

About Redrock Micro

Redrock Micro revolutionized independent film production in the early 2000s with the M2 cinema lens adapter, and reinvented digital filmmaking in 2008 with HDSLR cinema rigs and accessories. Today, Redrock Micro continues to lead the industry in innovation with its award-winning digital cinema rigs and accessories, DSLR rigs, depth-of-field adapters, stabilization and support gear, sophisticated focus controllers, and advanced cinema accessories. More information is available at redrockmicro.com.

With a dozen different ways of triggering your digital SLR camera from your iPhone, the Triggertrap Mobile app takes creative photography to a new level.

By combining the success from their previous two products – the Kickstarter-funded Triggertrap v1 and Triggertrap Shield for Arduino – the Triggertrap team are announcing a brand new product today; Triggertrap Mobile.

The Triggertrap Mobile app can be used on its own, in which case it triggers the iPhone’s internal camera, but its innovation really shines when you use the Triggertrap Mobile Dongle to connect your phone to your SLR or advanced compact camera.

Never-before-seen ways of triggering

With the Triggertrap Mobile App, users can use the world around them to trigger their cameras in lots of innovative ways. Most photographers are familiar with Time-lapse photography (which is also built in), but the Triggertrap Mobile App introduces several triggering mechanisms that have never before been seen in a consumer device:

Distance-Lapse enables the user to set up a camera to take a photo at regular distance-intervals (every 100 meters, for example). When they are assembled into a movie, it appears as if the entire journey was conducted at exactly the same pace. When driving on a highway, for example, the app would take photos more quickly as the journey progresses at speed, and more slowly when the driver gets stuck in traffic. If you stop for a break, the Triggertrap Mobile App knows, and simply stops taking photos whilst the car is stopped.

Eased Timelapse is the other huge innovation in the Triggertrap Mobile app. When doing a traditional time-lapse, a user would choose to take a photo, say, every 10 seconds. In Eased Timelapse, however, the Triggertrap Mobile App uses mathematical formulas to vary the interval between photographs dynamically. The result is that, in the assembled time-lapse video, it appears as if time speeds up at the beginning of the video, and slows back down at the end – perfect for creating beautiful effects! The Triggertrap Mobile App comes with 5 acceleration profiles (ranging from ‘mild’ to ‘brutal’; or known in the animation world as ranging from Quadratic to Quintic acceleration). The user can choose whether they wish to ease in, out, or both.

12 different triggering modes

In addition to the already mentioned Timelapse, Eased Timelapse and Distance-Lapse mode, the Triggertrap Mobile App has a load of other triggering modes built in, including facial recognition, a shock sensor, a motion sensor, a magnetometer, a sound sensor, automatic High Dynamic Range (HDR) bracketing with up to 19 exposures per set and configurable steps between each exposure, a HDR timelapse mode and Star Trail photography mode.

Finally the Triggertrap Mobile App has a Cable Release mode, which enables users to use the app as a traditional wired remote control, complete with Bulb mode (hold the button for long exposures), Timed Bulb mode (press the button to start an exposure, press it again to finish), Long Exposure mode (the user can select any exposure from one second to 60 minutes, and the app will trigger the user’s camera for that duration), and much, much more.

3 different shutter channels

The Triggertrap Mobile Dongle supports two different devices – usually configured as the focus and shutter on a SLR camera.

For advanced users, the channels can be renamed to whatever the user wants, and all channel settings can be configured independently of each other. By using different cables or adapters, it’s possible to use the Triggertrap Mobile App to trigger just a camera, a camera and a flash separately, or even two independent flashes.

Each ‘channel’ can be configured with a number of settings, including the delay before triggering, a delay after triggering (to limit the number of photos taken in rapid succession) and a shutter lag compensation. The Triggertrap Mobile App also offers a customisable ‘shutter pulse length’ – or the duration of the signal sent to the channel. For a flash, this can be very short (typically 20 ms), for a camera shutter, this needs to be a little bit longer (typically 150ms), and it can be configured to be much longer, to give the camera connected to the Triggertrap Mobile App enough time to focus.

The Triggertrap Mobile App comes with a Lag-o-meter built in, which is designed to measure the shutter lag on your camera. This is important, for example, if the user wants to utilise the built-in bulb or HDR modes. Shutter lag could cause discrepancies in the exposures in these situation; the Lag-o-meter and the built-in shutter lag compensation settings solve the problem.

The final ‘channel’ is the camera built into iOS devices, which can be used with many of the Triggertrap Mobile App triggers.

Free version

In addition to the $9.99 (or local equivalent) premium version of the application, Triggertrap is also releasing Triggertrap Free, which is available as a trial version.

The Free app includes three full modes from the Premium version of the app: Cable Release mode, Timelapse, and the Seismic mode, which uses the iPhone’s acceleration sensors to trigger the camera based on vibrations, bumps, or knocks.

Pricing & Availability

The Triggertrap Mobile App is available in the iTunes App Store (http://j.mp/tt-mobile) from 30 April 2012, and will cost $9.99 (or equivalent in local markets).
The Triggertrap Mobile App (FREE) is available in the iTunes App Store (http://j.mp/tt-free) from 30 April 2012.
The Triggertrap Mobile Dongle is available now, costs $9.99 and is available from the Triggertrap web shop on triggertrap.com/dongle . Camera connection cables are also available from the same site.

Dear friends of landscape, architectural and outdoor photography, we are pleased to announce you new brand of square / gradual photographic and cinematographic filters for both professional and amateur artists / photographers.

Company 84.5mm was established in year 2011 by a group of enthusiastic studio and outdoor photographers who joined forces with experienced chemists and production engineers. The idea of its origin was born in 2008, followed by three long years of development, research, laboratory experiments and fine-tuning best production technologies.

“In 2011 we could say that we have created an ideal manufacturing technology and a series of filters of exceptional quality that will please even the most demanding professionals and not only for its reasonable price.” State the co-founders of the company.

Filters of brand 84.5mm are universally compatible and extended to fit square holder filter type P “84 to 85 mm” Filters are manufactured, similar as the world’s most established brands of filter material CR-39, which has exceptional optical and mechanical properties – the same material is normally used for production of lightweight dioptric glasses or cockpits of combat aircraft and has exceptional scratch resistance and also optical properties very similar to the optical glass (Light transmittance, Refractive index, Abbe number, etc.). To ensure the highest quality, precision and control are all 84.5mm filters made by hand in majority of production stages! Each filter is tested visually, as well with using modern measuring devices in above standard equipped test center.

founders of the brand also says “currently offered product portfolio of our optical filters is not final and we are currently developing dozens of new models that will soon appear on the market. Our long term goal is to come every year with attractive new models that will inspire hundreds of amateur and professional photographers around the world and the modern trends move steadily forward. Of course, while maintaining consistently high quality and favorable prices. “

You can learn more about 84.5mm brand and its products (including demonstration photos with and without filters) on the website:

http://www.84dot5mm.com

With its extremely small dimensions of 94x57x18.4mm and weight of only 105 grams, the new DC 1422 digital camera from MINOX is the ideal companion for all occasions. Additionally, the MINOX DC 1422 further convinces with the following technical features: 14 million pixel image resolution, 5x optical zoom and a 25mm wide-angle lens.

The large 1/2.3’’ CCD image sensor combined with the powerful Minoctar lens, guarantee sharp and brilliant images and the HD movie function allows for a much higher quality when recording video sequences. The 25mm wide-angle lens (with reference to a 35mm camera) is ideal for shots in small rooms or for creative landscape photography. The generous 2.7’’ LCD display simplifies the subject selection and subsequent evaluation of the photographed images from different angles. Thanks to the 5x optical zoom, the creative photographer has a wide range of detail to choose from without loss of image quality or resolution.

The autofocus responds quickly and accurately in any situation, ensuring spontaneous snapshots and fast image sequences thanks to the quick and reliable shutter release.

Natural colour reproduction is guaranteed with the automatic white balance. Several flash functions offer the photographer various possibilities to adapt to the prevailing light conditions.

Data is stored on SD / SHDC cards with a capacity of up to 32 GB or in the internal memory. The data can be transferred quickly and easily via the digital USB port and energy is supplied by a replaceable lithium-ion battery.

Included in the scope of delivery are an ever-ready case, a Lithium-ion rechargeable battery, a USB and video cable, battery charger, and image editing software.

Lensbaby announces today the availability of its Pro Effects Kit, which bundles the latest Lensbaby lens, optics & accessories, perfect for injecting creativity and uniqueness into a photographer’s portfolio. The Pro Effects Kit includes the Lensbaby Composer Pro with Sweet 35 Optic, the Edge 80 Optic, Macro Converters, Lens Cleaning Cloth and the Lensbaby System Bag.

This versatile kit provides a selective focus system solution for many types of photography, from portraits and weddings to landscape and commercial photography. By incorporating the Lensbaby creative effects lenses and optics, a photographer can add a new dimension to their shots in-camera.

“If you are looking to add more creativity and style to your images, Lensbaby has just created the perfect solution for you. The new kit includes the Composer Pro with two of my favorite Optics, the Sweet 35 & Edge 80 – these three pieces of equipment accompany me on every senior shoot,” said portrait photographer Holli True. “The Sweet 35 & Edge 80 will give you versatility and flair, ensuring whatever Lensbaby look you desire, it will be achieved. This kit is complete with Macro Converters, lens cloth and the System Bag, which makes bringing them along on your photo shoots a breeze!”

Pro Effects Kit Contents: Priced at U.S. $750 (click here for more information)

* Composer Pro with Sweet 35 Optic- The Composer Pro refines and enhances the popular and award winning Lensbaby Composer by upgrading the swivel ball and focus mechanism to provide professional performance and delivers ultra-smooth focus and tilt control. The Sweet 35 Optic is a 35mm f/2.5 selective focus optic with a 12-blade adjustable aperture that creates a tack sharp sweet spot of focus surrounded by blur.

* Edge 80 Optic- When tilted, this 80mm f/2.8 flat field of focus optic, with a 12-blade adjustable aperture, delivers a slice of tack sharp focus through the image bordered by a soft blur. When pointed straight ahead, Edge 80 can be used like a straight lens.

* Macro Converters- This set contains one 8mm converter and one 16mm converter. Stack them together to make a 24mm converter. When used with the Sweet 35 the focus range is 1.63” to 3.25” and with the Edge 80 the focus range is 9”-13.25”.

* Lensbaby Lens Cleaning Cloth- Made of a deluxe silky-style microfiber, this large cleaning cloth offers plenty of real estate to meet all your lens cleaning needs. The 14”x14” size of the cloth also allows you to protect any Lensbaby lens by swaddling it in the cloth and stowing it away in a camera bag compartment.

* Lensbaby System Bag- Features removable and adjustable elastic straps inside that allow you to customize and carry your favorite Lensbaby shooting set up. The bag includes a removable shoulder strap, several convenient compartments including an outside zipper and an inside mesh sleeve, and velcro straps on the bottom of the bag that allow you to attach one System Bag to another.

The Pro Effects Kit is available now from http://www.lensbaby.com and from Lensbaby-authorized photo specialty stores worldwide.

About Lensbaby
Lensbaby is a Portland, Oregon based manufacturer of award-winning Creative Effects SLR camera lenses. Lensbaby was launched in February 2004 by Craig Strong, a professional photographer and the inventor of the patented Lensbaby Creative Effects SLR lens system. Lensbaby sells to photographers all over the world through its website, http://www.lensbaby.com, by calling 877-536-7222 / 971-223-5662, at tradeshows, in leading photo retailers and through a growing global network of international distributors.

New Olympus TG-1 with f2.0 super wide high-speed lens sets new benchmark in compact underwater photography

Southend-on-Sea, 8 May 2012 – Even by the extremely high standards of Olympus’ category-defining TOUGH range of cameras, the new TG-1 TOUGH flagship takes remarkable pictures – and boasts some remarkable features. Its superb extra-wide f2.0 aperture high-speed lens can capture excellent quality images even in the permanent twilight found 12 metres underwater, which is exactly where this camera is engineered to excel. The TG-1 is waterproof*, shockproof*, freezeproof* and crushproof*. For all-action risk-takers or reef-loving divers, its peace of mind sealed in a stylish all-metal body. Full of high-tech innovations, the TG-1 features new Olympus iHS technology (Intelligence, High Sensitivity and High Speed), GPS and e.compass, plus a colour-rich, high-contrast, anti-reflective 3-inch OLED display. A treat for the serious photographer, new waterproof fisheye and tele converter lenses can be used via an optional adapter. The three new shooting modes – Low Light, Super Sports and Super Macro – make recording movies and stills easier even in tricky conditions. The Toughest Olympus yet, TG-1 will be available in time for the holidays – from mid-June 2012 – for just £359.99

Let there be light
No matter how tough your camera, in the end it’s excellent picture quality that counts. And picture quality is what the new TOUGH flagship is all about. Its f2.0 super-bright, high-speed lens gives the name TOUGH a new meaning – it’s really tough to get anything less than an outstanding shot. The lens is an eye-opening example of cutting-edge optical engineering. Combined with the powerful TruePic VI image processor and 12-Megapixel low-noise, high-sensitivity CMOS sensor, this lens makes it possible to shoot pictures that until now simply weren’t feasible with an all-weather ruggedized camera at this price. In low light conditions and with fast-moving objects, the new lens transforms the range of auto-focussed images you can take. The TG-1 also features the same FAST AF system technology found in Olympus’ PEN cameras, so in fast-action situations you have an excellent chance of getting your perfect Full HD movie or still.

Unlike with most cameras in the compact class, you can attach waterproof converters to the TG-1 using an optional adapter. A fisheye converter (FCON-T01) captures wider, more dynamic images even with dark underwater scenes; while the tele converter (TCON-T01) lets you increase the optical zoom ratio by 6.8x – for dramatic close-ups with professional-looking background blur. With the Super-resolution Zoom feature, you can even reach a magnification of 13.6x.

Let the games begin
A TOUGH is for people who don’t want to hold back. It’s worry-free and that makes life a whole lot more fun. From the top of an Alpine mountain to the bottom of a tropical lagoon, you can take it everywhere and capture everything. Your camera will be OK. It’s crushproof* to a force of 100kg, waterproof* to a depth of 12 metres, shockproof to a height of 2 metres and freezeproof* to -10°C. What’s more, the TG-1 is equipped with new features that make recording movies and stills easier even in tricky conditions. Like Low Light Mode that automatically speeds up the shutter to prevent blur when you want to capture the special atmosphere of a low-light scene. Or Super Macro Mode, that lets you zoom in for spectacular close-ups of objects just one cm from the lens.

The OLYMPUS TOUGH TG-1 comes in silver and costs £359.99. The fisheye converter retails at £129.99 and the tele converter at £129.99. The converter adapter is available for £19.99. An additional housing will be available soon that will enable the TG-1 to be taken to a depth of 45m together with a powerful flash attachment to boost onboard illumination at depth. Full details of the complete new system are show on the TG-1 system chart.

Outstanding features

Toughness
• Crushproof to 100kg*, waterproof* to 12m, shockproof* to 2m and freezeproof* to -10°C for worry-free use anytime anywhere
• Sliding double lock mechanism and metal body for optimum protection of battery, card slots and ports
• Hard glass lens barrier for extra-tough lens protection
• Water-repellent and scratch resistant double seal technology
• GPS & e.compass with unique three-sensor technology for orientation and key information at a glance
• Improved TAP Control Mode for controlling the camera by tapping or tilting the body, ideal when wearing gloves
• Built-in manometer for checking depth underwater
• LED illuminator for lighting up underwater scenes or macro subjects

Image Quality
• 4x wide optical zoom (25-100mm**) for shooting flexibility
• 12 Megapixel backlit CMOS sensor for high-resolution, superb-quality full-size movies, stills and prints
• f2.0-4.9 wide-aperture high-speed lens for dramatic shots with low depth of field or reduced blur in low light
• Powerful TruePic VI image engine for faster recovery time and shutter release plus excellent image quality
• iHS technologies for capturing exactly the shots you want irrespective of shooting conditions
• Low Light Mode for sharper, more atmospheric shots in low light
• Super Sports Mode for sharper sequential shots of fast-moving subjects
• Super Macro Mode for stunning macros just 1cm from the lens
• 1080p Full HD Movie with sound for capturing movies in the best image quality currently available in compact cameras
• Multi-motion Movie IS for recording Full HD movies with reduced blur while walking
• Dual Image Stabilisation for reducing blur with fast-moving shots
• HDR Backlight Adjustment for ideal exposure when shooting against the light
• Magic Filters for adding creative effects to HD movies and/or stills: Punk, Pop Art, Pin Hole, Drawing, Soft Focus, Fish Eye, Sparkle (photos only), Watercolour, Reflection, Miniature, Fragmented (photos only), Dramatic
• Advanced Intelligent Auto Mode (i-Auto) and AF Tracking for easy setting and focussing
• Face Detection and Advanced Shadow Adjustment Technology for capturing people’s faces just as you want them
• Super-resolution Zoom for digitally extending the range of the optical zoom with virtually no loss of image quality
• 3D photo shooting mode for striking stills
• ISO 100 to 6400
• Beauty Make-up Mode for hiding unwanted blemishes
• Pet Detection Mode for automatically capturing dog’s or cat’s faces when they look at the camera
• In-Camera Panorama for quick and easy panorama shots
• Scene Mode for automatic settings that suit specific conditions, including Landscape, Night and i-Underwater Snapshot

Storage & Sharing
• 3.0” OLED (610,000 dots) display for improved playback and visibility during shooting with enhanced contrast, brightness and angle of view
• SDHC and SDXC memory card compatible***
• Eye-Fi Card compatibility for automatic wireless uploading of images to a website or PC
• Photo Surfing and [ib] software for browsing, organising and viewing images by person, place, location or event
• HDMI technology for controlling your camera from one remote when it’s connected to HD equipment

Other
• Built-in flash
• In-camera help guide
• USB charging

* Waterproof according to IEC standard publication 529 IPX8. Shockproof figures equivalent to MIL Standard (Olympus test conditions). Freezeproof according to Olympus test conditions.
** 35mm camera equivalent.
*** SD is a trademark of SD Card Association. UHS I is not supported.

Product specifications are subject to change without notice. Please check the Olympus website at http://www.olympus.co.uk for the latest specifications.

Fujifilm is proud to announce the launch of the FinePix XP170 – the latest edition to the tough XP series of Fujifilm FinePix camera. The FinePix XP170 offers all the same extreme photo taking capabilities, whilst allowing for high quality images to be shared on social media platforms.

The FinePix XP170 has Wireless Image Transfer function which means you can connect to Android™ smartphone/tablet or iPhone™/iPad™ with the camera and upload high-quality images to social networking sites as soon as a picture is taken. The amazing picture quality of the camera means that friends, family and followers can see exactly what you’ve been shooting.

Tough design for the great outdoors
The solid build, rubberized coating and riveted metal handgrip make this the toughest FinePix yet! Underwater photographers can dive twice as deep with a FinePix XP170, compared to the FinePix XP50, which means they can keep shooting to depths of 10m. Walkers, bikers and extreme sports enthusiasts will be assured that the FinePix XP170 can survive the drops and knocks. If you like to take pictures of skiing, snowboarding or any other sub-zero activities, the FinePix XP170 will keep functioning all the way down to -10°C. Plus the camera is dust and sand proof, meaning you can take pictures at your favorite beach or when tackling the great outdoor wilderness, you don’t have to worry about the sand clogging up the camera.

What’s more, the Fujinon 5x wide optical zoom lens comes with a water repellent coating to prevent water droplets spoiling your shots and even the battery/memory cover comes with “the Double Lock” for ultimate protection from the elements.
Wish you were here? Share the experience with easy image transfer to social media networks

With the FinePix XP170, fast image upload to social networking sites no longer means low quality pictures. The camera can be connected with any Android™ smartphone/tablet or iPhone™/iPad™ via the simple download of the “FUJIFILM Photo Receiver” free app to their device, which includes easy to follow instructions to get them quickly connected.

To start uploading, users simple push one button and the images can be transferred to Android™ smartphone/tablet or iPhone™/iPad™ ready for uploading to social networking sites.

Despite the advanced imaging technology contained within the FinePix XP170, the camera’s menu system is designed to be both intuitive and easy to operate.

In short, whatever your active lifestyle throws at the FinePix XP170, it’ll keep on coming back for more and you can show off instantly on your social media platforms, to all friends and family!
Great pictures made easy

The FinePix XP170 isn’t just simply built to take the most extremes of what life can throw at it. The FinePix XP170 is a high quality picture-taking machine that is designed to deliver superb results time after time.

That process starts before you’ve even pressed the shutter release, with improved start up and focusing times over previous FinePix XP models ensuring that you’ll never miss a shot. The 2.7-inch LCD is also now brighter than previous models and has an anti-reflection coating that makes it easy to compose images, even when you’re in bright sunshine on the beach.

Image quality is assured thanks to the 14-mega-pixel CMOS sensor and 5x optical zoom lens that provides a focal range of 28-140mm (35mm equivalent) for a wide variety of shots. The FinePix XP170 also offers CMOS sensor shift image stabilization to reduce camera shake, have a wide ISO range from 100 to 3200. Couple this to a wide range of shooting modes plus continuous shooting at up to an impressive 10fps and you’ll soon realize what a tough but sociable, customer the FinePix XP170 is.

But the cameras will also appeal to budding movie makers. The FinePix XP170 has full HD1080p movie capture at 30fps and with the underwater movie function, you can capture life under the waves in superb quality. Watching your video back on an HDTV is simple, too, thanks to the micro HDMI connection that allows a quick, simple hook-up for instant reviews.

The FinePix XP170 has an NP-50A Lithium-ion rechargeable battery, which is capable of delivering up to 300 pictures per charge. The long-life battery keeps up with most active itineraries.

Available in two colors: orange and blue.

Fujifilm FinePix XP170 : key features
14.4 mega-pixel CMOS sensor
5x optical zoom (28-140mm equivalent to a 35mm camera) with water repellent coating
Waterproof to 10m
Shockproof to 2m
Freezeproof to -10°C
Dust/sandproof
Wireless Image Transfer (For any Android™ smartphone/tablet or iPhone™/iPad™)
Full HD movie capture and underwater movie mode
High speed movie — 80/160/240 fps
Continuous shooting — max 12 frames (3/5/10 fps)
Improved 2.7-inch LCD with anti-reflection coating
Double Look for the battery chamber cover.

Canon 5D Mark 3 HDMI PORT SAVER UNIVERSAL ADAPTER CLAMP

After the worldwide success of the LockPort Series for Canon 5D and 7D, LockCircle is announcing the professional LockPort 5M3 for the powerful Canon 5D Mark 3!

The LockPort 5M3 is a new product developed to help avoid damaging your 5D Mark 3 mini HDMI camera port.

The LockPort 5M3 protects definitely the fragile output on your camera from tough production abuse with a rock solid universal clamp and a smart mini to full-size HDMI adapter.

The LockPort 5M3 camera plate is designed to fit easily every head, baseplate, sliding plate, support out there using the original camera screws already there. Ready in 10 seconds!

The LockPort 5M3 safely secures a 90° FRONT/REAR mini HDMI to full-size HDMI adapter, protecting forever the “expensive to repair” mini HDMI port on your expensive HDSLR camera.

The Adapter has gold plated contacts and the full-size female output allows you to use stronger standard HDMI cables, you can purchase everywhere!

Standard size HDMI plugs locks securely in the socket – no signal loose, and if somebody walks over your cable, the plug still can pop-out saving your camera from falling on the ground.

The full-size HDMI 90° output can be used in FRONT or REAR position (2 different adapters) to reach the best cable ergonomics solution on your rig set-up!

The LockPort 5M3 adapters are availbale in FRONT and REAR editions, also available in kit or sold separately to upgrade the kits or like spare parts!

Instant reverse output direction set-up.

Can be ordered right now, shipment starts from the first week of June!

LockPort 5M3 Price List

USD 119,00
Euro 99,00

LockPort 5M3 highlights

- Works with Canon 5D Mark 3 cameras.
- Saves the “expensive to repair” mini HDMI port on your 5D Mark 3 camera.
- Full-Size HDMI output allows you to use stronger standard cables.
- Standard size HDMI plugs locks securely in the socket – no signal loose!
- 90° FRONT or REAR output editions.
- No loose of video signal anymore! The full-size HDMI output has stronger locking capabilites.
- Gold plated contacts.
- Rock solid UNIVERSAL ultra-low base clamp, can work on every plate, head, sliding plate, rig, support out there.
- Incredible lightweight design and CNC machined manufacturing.
- Better cable layout on your rig set-up.
- No longer camera screws, use all the camera screws already out there.
- Ready in a few seconds.
- Instant reverse output direction set-up.
- New! Survival Kit with spare parts available online.

The latest addition to the acclaimed range of Benro tripods, the Benro Traveler Flat 2 Series has been designed specifically for photographers who demand compact, lightweight equipment that doesn’t compromise on build quality or robustness.

The ultra-compact flat design of the Traveler Flat 2 makes it the ideal tripod for photographers who are on the move. This innovative design changes the traditional model of triangular profiles, adopting instead a flat shape that makes the tripod more compact and portable when folded.

Utilising magnesium alloy castings that are up to 30% lighter than aluminium, the Traveler Flat 2 incorporates the dust and water-resistant structural design that Benro is famous for. It is lighter, shorter, more stable, stronger and boasts a faster set-up time than many tripods in its class.

As an added bonus, each tripod features a detachable leg that can be unscrewed and used in conjunction with the removable extending centre column to convert into a full sized monopod.

Six models are available in either aluminium or carbon fibre, all featuring anti-rotation legs incorporating twist locks. Each tripod is supplied with a matched B Series ball head with quick release plate and fine controls for tensioning the ball movement and panning actions to enable fine picture adjustments. Interchangeable spiked and rubber feet and high quality carry case are also included.

Kenro Managing Director, Paul Kench commented: “Benro are renowned for their ability to produce tripods that match specifically to different photographers’ needs, and the Traveler Flat 2 is perfect for photographers who are constantly on the go. It’s also great for low-level shots – at its lowest point The Traveler Flat 2 stands just 10cm off the ground. It’s the ideal addition to any travel photographer’s kit-bag.”

The price for a Traveler Flat 2 in Aluminum ranges from £282 to £306, whilst the price of a Traveler Flat 2 in Carbon Fibre goes from £492 to £552.

To view Kenro’s full range, or for details of your nearest stockist please visit http://www.kenro.co.uk – alternatively call Kenro’s head office on 01793 615836 begin_of_the_skype_highlighting for further information.

All products are displayed in Kenro’s showroom at the company’s Swindon Head Office, trade customers are welcome to make an appointment to visit.

DxO Labs announces the immediate availability of DxO Optics Pro v7.2.3 for Mac and Windows, its image processing software of reference for all serious photographers. This update allows DxO Optics Pro to offer support for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and for the Pentax K-01, the latest in the Pentax hybrid camera lineup.

AN EXCLUSIVE CALIBRATION PROCESS
DxO Optics Pro v7.2.3 has already integrated 70 DxO Optics Modules for the Canon EOS 5D Mark III and 26 Modules for the Pentax K-01.

DxO Optics Modules are developed through a calibration process exclusive to DxO Labs, based on careful analysis of each camera and lens combination under different shooting conditions. This means that DxO Optics Pro automatically applies optical corrections for such problems as distortion, vignetting, chromatic aberrations, and lack of sharpness in a way that is perfectly adapted to each user’s equipment.

Camera and lens performance analyses are available on DxOMark, the reference site for image quality measurements. The Canon EOS 5D Mark III has achieved the best score among all Canon digital cameras (more information about this camera here.)

AVAILABILITY AND PRICES
The Standard and Elite editions of DxO Optics Pro for Mac and Windows are available for purchase in DxO Labs’ online store (http://www.dxo.com) and at photo resellers, at the following prices:

USD:
• DxO Optics Pro 7 Standard Edition: $ 169
• DxO Optics Pro 7 Elite Edition: $ 299
EUR:
• DxO Optics Pro 7 Standard Edition: 149 €
• DxO Optics Pro 7 Elite Edition: 299 €
(Suggested retail prices, including VAT)
BGP:
• DxO Optics Pro 7 Standard Edition: £135
• DxO Optics Pro 7 Elite Edition: £ 269
(Suggested retail prices, including VAT)
This upgrade is free for all owners of DxO Optics Pro 7, as well as for photographers who acquired a license for DxO Optics Pro 6 after September 1, 2011.

A fully-functional trial version of DxO Optics Pro v7.2.3, good for one month, is available on the DxO Labs website (http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo/free_trial_version).

System Requirements
• PC: Microsoft® Windows® XP SP3 (32 bits), Windows® Vista® (32 or 64 bits), Windows® 7 (32 or 64 bits) and Intel® Core™ 2 Duo or AMD® Athlon 64 X2 processor
• Mac: Mac OS® X 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 Snow Leopard, Mac OS® X 10.7 Lion and Intel Mac® processor
• 3 GB RAM minimum and 400 MB available disk space

About DxO Labs
DxO Labs develops image processing technologies. In addition to its DxO Optics Pro and DxO FilmPack products for Mac and Windows, designed for serious and demanding photographers, the company also licenses diverse solutions for the principal actors in the imaging industry:
• Embedded technologies for real-time image processing, destined for camera and cameraphone manufacturers;
• Image quality evaluation and measurement tools, destined for specific imaging industries (e.g., camera module manufacturers, sensor vendors, and processor vendors) as well as for photography journalists and photo experts.
For more information, visit DxO Labs’ website at http://www.dxo.com.

DxO is a registered trademark of DxO Labs. Other trademarks and trade names may be used in this document to refer to either the entities claiming the marks and names or their products. DxO Labs disclaims any proprietary interest in trademarks and trade names other than its own.

Benro, manufacturer of tripods, monopods and heads designed for today’s demanding professional photographer and filmmakers, announces the new super compact, sturdy and lightweight Benro A100EXU Compact Digital Travel Tripod Kit.

“This new Benro Compact Digital Travel Tripod Kit has been designed for photographers who want a super compact tripod to travel with them that will easily fold and fit in spaces other tripods won’t,” said Jan Lederman, President of MAC Group. “This newest addition to the Benro Aluminum Digital Tripod family is the ideal choice for the modern digital photographer who demands reliable stability for sharp photos and videos at an affordable price.”

Slightly shorter than the incredibly popular Benro A150EX Aluminum Digital Tripod kit, this new tripod conveniently fits in virtually all 16” wide bags. It only weighs 1.9 lbs, but can easily support cameras up to 4.4 lbs.

Features include:
Portable tripod packs well in only 15.4” of space folded, but extends to an ample 40.7” in height.
Three position leg angles allow fast height adjustment and low level photography.
Reversible center column also splits to permit shooting at 7.5”.
A standard wing-nut style center column locking collar provides ease of use and extra strength.
Quick Lock four-section aluminum legs makes set-up and packing fast.
Thick layer closed-cell nitrile butadiene rubber provides a comfortable yet firm leg grip.
Rubber feet retract to expose steel spikes to insure the tripod sits solid on almost any terrain.
Precision matched ballhead with bubble level provides single action control of camera placement.
Oversize Camera Plate with Dual-Lock Quick Release System.

Suggested retail price for the new Benro A100EXU Compact Digital Travel Tripod Kit is $66. For more information visit http://www.BenroUSA.com

About Benro
Originally founded in 1996 as a cooperative tripod manufacturer, Benro developed and began marketing its own brand name – Benro Professional Tripods and Heads – in 2002. Since that time Benro Precision Photography Industry Co. Ltd. has received numerous accolades and praise for product and design features.
Benro continuously strives to develop lighter and stronger award-winning products to meet the needs of the most demanding professional photographers. By gathering input from photographers worldwide, Benro has been able to engineer photographic products designed for use by working professionals.
Benro’s™ mission statement is simple: our products are designed and built to provide value and performance for any photographer and to meet or exceed the needs and demands of professional photographers worldwide. To see the complete selection of Benro products, visit http://www.BenroUSA.com.
Benro products are exclusively distributed by MAC Group (http://www.MACgroupUS.com) in the USA.

Think Tank Photo to Release Airport 4-Sight Four-Wheel Rolling Camera Bag

Santa Rosa, Calif. – Think Tank Photo announces that in May it will release its first four-wheeled rolling camera bag, the Airport 4-Sight™. The Airport 4-Sight meets international airline carry-on standards. The roller’s weight has been reduced dramatically through innovative design and by a strict focus on the features that photographers find most beneficial.
With professional photography gear not getting any lighter, Think Tank set out to design a more ergonomic roller to reduce fatigue and strain on traveling photographers. Walking a four-wheeler alongside one’s self is easier than pulling it behind or carrying it over a shoulder. Putting the bags weight on four-wheels eliminates arm strain and makes rolling effortless.
Four-wheelers are superior on many smooth surfaces. On thick carpet, the Airport 4-Sight leans over to perform as a traditional two-wheel roller. It has the added benefit of rolling sideways on two wheels to easily navigate tight spaces, such as airline aisles.

Features Include:

High capacity. Holds Pro DSLRs with four to five lenses.
Integrated removable Think Tank Cable Management organizer.
Side hinged lid opens bag completely for quick and unencumbered access to gear.
Two-position locking handle for comfort and ergonomics.
Zippered top pocket for boarding pass.
Lockable zipper sliders on main compartment.
Reinforced bottom panel for increased durability.
User replaceable handle and wheels.
Seam sealed rain cover included.
YKK RC-fused™ zippers.

“The Airport 4-Sight is in a class by itself,” said Doug Murdoch, Think Tank Photo’s co-founder and lead designer. “It appeals to frequent flyers or anyone who seeks ease in transporting gear. Smart design features like reduced overall weight and increased maneuverability, ergonomics and capacity make this rolling camera bag a breakthrough in the industry.”

Specifications
Internal Dimensions: 12.3” W x 16” H x 5–6.7” D (31.2 x 40.6 x 12.7–17 cm)
External Dimensions: 14” W x 19.5” H x 8” D (35.6 x 49.5 x 20.3 cm)
Weight: 7–8.9 lbs (3.2–4 kg)

About Think Tank Photo
Headquartered in Santa Rosa, California, Think Tank Photo is a group of designers and professional photographers focused on studying how photographers work and developing inventive new carrying solutions that meet their needs. They are dedicated to using only the highest quality materials and design principles, and employing materials that are environmentally benign.

The World’s Smallest Always-Ready Camera Stand Is Now Available For The iPhone 4 And 4s!

JP Distribution is pleased to announce the tiltpod for the iPhone 4 and 4s.

Like most people, we want to be in our own photos. But without a tripod handy, our self timer shots are difficult to take, poorly framed and someone inevitably doesn’t quite make it in the picture. The tiltpod eliminates these issues.

The tiltpod’s compact design features a quick-connect magnetic ball pivot. Simply attach your iPhone 4/4s to the ball pivot and magnetically connect it to the base for an instant hold in seconds.

Features & Benefits

* Amazingly small and versatile
* Perfect for taking low-light shots, self timer group photo’s and stable video
* Magnetic base can be quickly attached and removed from the iPhone 4/4s
* Comes with a magnetic tiltpod base and a magnetic ball pivot

Dimensions 2” x 1.5” x 0.4”
Weight 0.25oz

Price £12.99 Inc VAT

THE NEW MONOCHROME EDITION

Summer Colours: Celebrate the blissful season with the new Monochrome Edition
Sweet Trinity: Diana F+ Neptune Green, Diana Mini Coral Fusion and Fisheye 2 Faded Denim will bring you in the mood for Spring!
Special Effects: Go square, half format or fisheye with these classic cameras

Are you ready for the blissful season? We are! Ready for miniskirts, ice-cream in the sun and this long awaited rush of spring fever! With our new Monochrome Edition we offer the perfect tool for exciting flirts under the tickling sun. Be prepared for some cheeky answers because these three classic cameras will attract lots of interest and will work as ice-breakers for every flirty occasion. Choose between the Diana F+ Neptune Green, Diana Mini Coral Fusion or Fisheye 2 Faded Denim, or just take them all!

Price:
Fisheye 2 Faded Denim: £79
Diana Neptune Green: £89
Diana Mini Coral Fusion: £99

Available from http://www.lomographyuk.com

Adobe Unveils Fast, Feature-Packed Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended

London, UK — April 23, 2012 — Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced Adobe® Photoshop® CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended software, major releases of the undisputed standard for professional digital imaging. Packed with new features and enhancements, the software includes groundbreaking innovations and unparalleled performance breakthroughs that expand the frontiers of imaging science, and deliver new levels of creativity and increased efficiency. Photoshop CS6 Extended integrates the state-of-the-art editing, compositing, and graphic design capabilities of Photoshop CS6, as well as advanced tools for 3D design*, image and video editing, and quantitative analysis which address the unique needs of the graphic design, video, Web, architecture, medical, manufacturing and engineering industries.

“Creativity is at the very centre of our efforts – both in developing exceptional tools, and enabling our users to create beautiful imagery that stands out from the visual clutter around us,” said Winston Hendrickson, vice president products, Creative Media Solutions, Adobe. “Photoshop CS6 is unrivalled in capabilities and power and – as we have seen from the astonishing reception of our recent public beta – has once again captured the imagination of the worldwide creative community. ‘Photoshop magic’ is alive and well with CS6.”

Since Photoshop CS6 was released as a public beta on March 22 for Mac OS and Microsoft® Windows® platforms, there have been nearly one million downloads of the software worldwide – surpassing any public beta in Adobe’s history. With this launch, Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended can be purchased as stand-alone applications, key components of the Adobe Creative Suite 6 family (see separate press release), and now as part of Adobe’s revolutionary Creative Cloud™ offering, also announced today (see separate release).

Create with Imaging Innovation and Peak Performance

Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended deliver unparalleled speed and power combined with the creative tools necessary to perform advanced image manipulation, design, motion‐based content editing, and compositing. The software helps users to patch images with control for exceptional results; edit with real-time interactions and a fluid feel powered by the new Mercury Graphics Engine; easily edit video; perform automatic tone mapping and sharpening; and use improved design tools for better results with fewer steps. Creative customers will be able to take advantage of an efficient, modern UI that puts all focus on images, and sync settings and preferences for consistent workflows across multiple devices via Adobe Creative Cloud.

“Adobe Photoshop CS6 gives Trek powerful design tools to help bring our creative vision to a reality faster and with greater control than ever before. The responsiveness of the new Mercury Graphics Engine is simply breathtaking and being able to see the results instantaneously helps us keep to our extremely tight timelines,” said Eric Lynn, creative director, Trek Bicycle. “We often work with large files that include more than 500 layers and being able to search them all – and continue working while saving a large document – is invaluable to our workflow and a huge time saver for us.”

Photoshop CS6 features include:

· Content-Aware Patch – Allows greater control by letting users choose the sample area used to create a patch.

· Adobe Mercury Graphics Engine – Takes advantage of the graphics processing unit in modern hardware to speed up imaging and editing tasks, and process large images faster.

· New and Re-engineered Design Tools – Type styles enable consistent formatting; vector layers apply strokes and add gradients to vector objects; custom strokes and dashed lines are easily created; quick layers search and more.

· Intuitive Video Creation – The full range of familiar Photoshop tools and an intuitive set of new video tools to create and enhance any video clip.

· Blur Gallery – A simple new interface with on-image and in-context controls allows users to quickly create photographic blur effects including tilt-shift effects, blur everything with one focal point, or vary the blurriness between multiple focal points.

Photoshop CS6 Extended includes all Photoshop CS6 features and:

· Mercury Graphics Engine for 3D – Increased power and speed via engine optimised for 3D imaging.

· New 3D Controls – UI improvements for more efficient 3D workflows.

· New 3D Effects – Reflections and “drag-able” shadows to enhance images.

Adobe Creative Cloud and Digital Imaging

Adobe Creative Cloud gives creative customers a new option for purchasing and experiencing Adobe software innovation, including Adobe Photoshop CS6:

· Creative Cloud membership provides designers with access to download and install every new Adobe CS6 application announced today and two new HTML5 products, Adobe Muse™ and Adobe Edge preview.

· Creative Cloud powers the integration of creative tablet applications, such as Photoshop Touch, into everyday work – seamlessly synchronising and storing files in the cloud, for sharing and access on any device.

· Creative Cloud members will be able to easily deliver mobile apps to iOS and Android marketplaces and publish, manage and host websites.

· Adobe Creative Cloud members will receive access to application upgrades, including new Photoshop features – before they are launched as part of a major update, as well as inventive new products and services, as they emerge. Adobe Photoshop Lightroom® 4 will be offered as part of Creative Cloud membership in the future.

Live Streamed Webcast

The launch event for Adobe Creative Cloud and CS6 will be streamed live beginning at 6pm GMT, April 23 at http://www.adobe.com/special/cs6/launch-event.html and will be available there as a continuous rebroadcast from 7pm – midnight GMT on April 23. An on-demand version will be available at http://tv.adobe.com beginning April 24.

Pricing and Availability

Adobe Photoshop CS6, Adobe Photoshop CS6 Extended, Adobe Creative Suite 6 editions and Adobe Creative Cloud are scheduled to be available within 30 days and can be pre-ordered now. Photoshop CS6 and Photoshop CS6 Extended will also be available through Adobe Authorised Resellers, the Adobe Store and Adobe Direct Sales; estimated street price for Photoshop CS6 is £556 (ex. VAT) and £794 (ex. VAT) for Photoshop CS6 Extended. Upgrade pricing is also available to eligible customers. Subscription pricing for Photoshop CS6 Extended is £14.29 (ex. VAT) per month for an annual contract and £22.23 (ex. VAT) for a month-to-month contract. For more detailed information about features, OS support, system requirements, upgrade policies and pricing, please visit http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/photoshop.html

Adobe Creative Cloud membership for individuals is £38.11 (ex. VAT) per month based on annual membership and £57.17 (ex. VAT) per month based on month-to-month membership and includes access to Photoshop CS6 Extended. A special introductory offer of £22.23 (ex. VAT) per month for CS3, CS4, CS5 and CS5.5 individual customers is also available. Learn more at http://www.adobe.com/uk/products/creativecloud.html

Mamiya Leaf Introduces the Leaf Credo Medium Format Digital Camera Back Platform

New Hardware Design with Blazing Performance Speed

TEL AVIV, April 23, 2012– Mamiya Leaf, a leading provider of medium format camera equipment, today introduced a newly designed medium format digital camera back platform—the Leaf Credo. Available in three different models, the Leaf Credo 80, Credo 60, and Credo 40 digital camera backs feature high-quality resolutions of 80, 60 and 40 megapixels respectively.

Key platform features include:

* A large, high resolution (1.15 megapixel), multi-touch screen with excellent rendition of 16 million colors for quick and easy verification of focus and tonal accuracy;
* Fast, new dual-core microprocessor enables powerful performance for the fastest available image viewing, focusing and editing;
* A new, intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) offers easy navigation and extends the touch screen beyond the LCD area—letting you navigate and click outside the image area;
* New FireWire 800 and USB3 implementation delivers fastest image transfer speeds.

Planned from the ground-up for comfortable, effective shooting both indoors and out, Leaf Credo delivers high-resolution Live View functionality for precise focusing when shooting un-tethered. It also offers a wide viewing angle and a built-in bi-directional spirit level.

The flagship of the Leaf Credo platform is a full-frame 80 MP CCD sensor with a dynamic range of 12.5 f-stops. New to Mamiya Leaf is a full frame 60 MP CCD sensor with 3:4 aspect ratio providing unmatched detail, richness of color, low noise and beautiful tonality. Also available is the 40 MP CCD sensor which offers the fastest capture speed in the Leaf Credo platform at 1.2 frames per second.

Leaf Credo digital backs work seamlessly with the Mamiya 645DF camera – which offers shutter speeds up to 1/4000 of a second and sync speeds of up to 1/1600 of a second with Schneider-Kreuznach designed Leaf shutter lenses.

The Mamiya Leaf open platform philosophy enables compatibility with other medium format camera bodies, such as the Hasselblad V and H and Contax (see http://www.mamiyaleaf.com for full compatibility list).

Leaf Credo digital backs are optimized for shooting with Capture One software, which comprises a comprehensive workflow to capture, organize, edit, share and print images.

“Leaf Credo delivers the best price/performance ratio in the large sensor digital back market,” said Ziv Argov, marketing director, Mamiya Leaf. “Its impressive combination of high resolution image quality, ease of use, and the latest multi-touch screen LCD technologies makes the Leaf Credo digital back platform appealing for all photographers regardless of their styles.”

Pricing for the Leaf Credo 40 starts at 14,995/$19,495. The Leaf Credo 60 is listed at 24,995/$32,495 and the Leaf Credo 80 for 29,995/$38,995. Shipping is planned for June, 2012.

Nik Software News Flash: Snapseed Mobile 1.4 Now Available

Leading photography software developer Nik Software (http://www.niksoftware.com) today released a new version of Snapseed® for iOS mobile devices. Snapseed is a new generation of photography software that inspires anyone, anywhere to transform any image into an extraordinary photo. Version 1.4 has been updated for full compatibility with the new iPad® from Apple® and iOS 5.1, and adds feature updates. To learn more, watch videos, and to purchase Snapseed, visit http://www.snapseed.com.

New features in Snapseed 1.4 include the ability to open photos directly into Instagram and additional language support for Brazilian Portuguese and Arabic. Several popular filters within Snapseed have also been updated. The Black & White filter has been updated with new conversion algorithms and color filters for even higher quality results. The Center Focus filter has an added feature to control brightness at the center and at the edges of an image.

About Nik Software
Nik Software, Inc. develops award-winning desktop and mobile software solutions and technologies for the professional digital imaging and consumer photography markets. Established in 1995, Nik Software has become the recognized leader in digital photographic products and technologies, including its patented U Point® technology. The company’s products have won over 100 top industry awards for quality and innovation. Its first ever mobile app, Snapseed received iPad App of the Year in the App Store Rewind 2011 and the International TIPA Award 2012 for Best Mobile Photo App. In 2011, the company earned the International TIPA Award for Best Photo Software for its Complete Collection of professional photography products, which includes Color Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro, Sharpener Pro, Silver Efex Pro, Viveza, and Dfine. For more information, visit http://www.niksoftware.com.

SAMSUNG ANNOUNCES THE NEXT GENERATION NX20, NX210 AND NX1000

The world’s first Wi-Fi-enabled compact system cameras deliver both quality and connectivity

London, UK,– April 19, – Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd, a global leader in digital media and digital convergence technologies, today unveiled three new additions to its award-winning NX range: the NX20, NX210, and NX1000.

The new models are the first compact system cameras to deliver complete Wi-Fi connectivity, representing the future in CSC technology: SMART devices with in-built Wi-Fi, allowing users to connect to wireless networks without any additional cards or devices. This is complemented by an impressive range of features that continue the heritage of innovation that the NX series has been consistently recognised for, since the launch of the NX10 in 2010.

Introducing the NX20, NX210 and NX1000
The NX20 and its sister models set a new standard in the definitive image quality that the NX series is known for. Each model boasts a 20.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor, developed in-house by Samsung for outstanding accuracy in colour and reduced noise levels. Combined with a wide range ISO (100-12800), the new models enable the capturing of clean and colour-rich images, even in low-light conditions.

The imaging capability of each model is coupled with high-speed functioning and responsiveness. The speed of the NX20 is a key advantage, boasting a shutter speed of 1/8000 sec to enable clear shots of action-filled settings. With 1080p Full HD Stereo Movie Recording (H.264), the new NX models also guarantee high-quality video alongside DSLR-standard images.

To complete Samsung’s 2012 SMART CAMERA ecosystem, these latest additions to the NX range have been designed to satisfy the ambitions of users. Regardless of their photographic abilities, whether an experienced professional or someone looking to trade-up from their point-and-shoot camera.

The NX20 is built for the enthusiastic amateur or for the professional photographer looking for a camera that offers them the quality and control of their DSLR, but in a lightweight and easily portable body. It has been designed with the serious photographer in mind, incorporating an ergonomic hand grip and DSLR-style aesthetic to convey a professional look and feel.

To allow for precision framing and focusing, the NX20 incorporates both an SVGA EVF and a 3.0” Clear AMOLED swivel display, the latter delivering approximately 20% more visibility, giving photographers a host of options when framing their shots.

As standard across the range, the NX20 is also compatible with Samsung’s innovative i-Function 2.0 lens system. This enables users to control parameters using the lens itself, adjusting the image without moving from the subject. Samsung’s eco-system of professional-quality accessories includes nine bespoke i-Function 2.0 lenses, ranging from pancake to macro, providing pro-standard options for every scenario.

The NX210 builds on the NX’s design heritage, with a premium metallic finish. Like its predecessor the NX200, the NX210 also offers a 3.0” VGA AMOLED display for viewing images and Full HD movies in brilliant resolution. With easy access to Wi-Fi functions, the NX210 allows quick sharing with friends and family, whilst with Samsung Mobile Link users can show off their best images on phones and tablets.

Rounding off the range, the NX1000 is highly portable and its eye-catching compact design makes it as useable as it is attractive. Available in stunning White, classic Black and eye-catching Pink the NX1000 houses a feature-rich range of specs, with technology such as Smart Auto 2.0 and the Smart Link Hot Key, making it simpler than ever to shoot and share great images instantly.

Wi-Fi SMART connectivity
The first CSC range to incorporate Wi-Fi SMART features, the new cameras enable photographers to instantly share and back up both images and video. On all of the new NX models, sharing to social networks such as Facebook directly from the device is simple, as is sending to friends and family via email. Images can also be shared between devices, including the ability to wirelessly share to a Samsung smartphone or tablet using Mobile Link. For viewing on internet-enabled TVs the TV Link function makes it easy to see stunning images on the big screen.

Storage issues are also solved effectively through the use of Wi-Fi, which allows users to clear storage space and back up their pictures for safekeeping through saving to either of two different Cloud services or by using Auto Backup.

The NX series is the only CSC range that ensures images no longer languish in the camera but can be shared effortlessly with the world.

Creative control at the touch of a button
Pictures shared on the spur of the moment are no longer restricted to simply shooting and sending – with the creative features of the new NX cameras, Facebook pictures can be artistic without ever going near a computer. The ten Smart Filters and added Selective Colour function, for example, mean that users can adjust the look and feel of shots as they take them. In addition, all three cameras also feature Panorama and 3D Panorama, allowing the whole story to be told in one complete picture. With the Smart Panel featured on all the new models, settings and features can be easily accessed and applied, making creative photography easier than ever.

Nick White, Head of Digital Imaging, Samsung Electronics UK and Ireland, said “The launch of the SMART NX Range marks an evolution in Samsung’s camera offering. With the inclusion of built in Wi-Fi, sharing your pictures has never been so simple and with the NX image quality they will be worth sharing. We are delighted to be offering this innovation in technology to our customers.”

About Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd.
Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd. is a global leader in semiconductor, telecommunication, digital media and digital convergence technologies with 2009 consolidated sales of US$116.8 billion. Employing approximately 188,000 people in 185 offices across 65 countries, the company consists of eight independently operated business units: Visual Display, Mobile Communications, Telecommunication Systems, Digital Appliances, IT Solutions, Digital Imaging, Semiconductor and LCD. Recognized as one of the fastest growing global brands, Samsung Electronics is a leading producer of digital TVs, memory chips, mobile phones and TFT-LCDs. For more information, please visit http://www.samsung.com

Prices:
NX20: £899
NX210: £749 – Available with 18-55mm lens
NX1000: £599 – Available with 20-50mm lens

The new Nikon D3200 makes beautiful photography easy for everyone

RRP
D3200 body only: £559.99 / €667.00
D3200 with 18-55mm VR: £649.99 / €775.00
Sales start date: mid May 2012

London, UK, 19th April 2012 Nikon introduces the D3200, a new easy-to-use entry-level D-SLR, boasting latest-generation Guide Mode with full HD video to deliver beautiful, high-quality pictures and cinematic quality movies.

Simon Iddon, Product Manager for Enthusiast Products at Nikon UK says: “The D3200 follows the success of Europe’s best selling D-SLR camera, the D3100 . Newcomers to D-SLR photography will benefit from the camera’s intuitive features, such as the Guide Mode that takes you step by step through the photography process to capture high quality images to be proud of.

He adds: “This high powered camera offers superior image quality, with an incredibly high megapixel count, as well as Full HD video for creative photographers”.

D-SLR photography made easy
The D3200 is perfect for those looking to capture quality photos and videos. Whether you are starting a family or about to embark on a big trip, the D3200’s easy to understand functions mean you can take beautiful pictures even if you have never used a D-SLR camera before.

Guide Mode, previously seen on the popular D3000 and D3100 D-SLRs, is now in its third generation with significant improvements to help you grasp the more creative options, taking you through the entire process step-by-step. Running in parallel, Assist Images uses visual examples to help you to identify the shot that you are imagining. Capturing that beautiful background blur in portraits or sharp pictures of your children playing has never been easier. New items have been added to the Advanced operation menu, for example, to help you to enhance the red in sunsets or reduce blur.

Nikon’s automatic Scene Recognition System will meticulously analyse the scene you are shooting and adjust the focus, exposure and white balance for optimum results. And, if you want your camera to do the work for you there is still a range of automatic functions such as Scene Auto Selector in Live View and Scene Modes that will apply the most relevant setting.

Superior image quality
The D3200’s incredibly high 24.2 megapixels delivers rich detail, meaning you can crop or print large images, keeping memories alive without a loss of sharpness. Nikon’s latest image processor, the fast and powerful EXPEED 3, provides high-speed operation, producing remarkably clear images with excellent colour reproduction; and enhanced movie recording. ISO 100-6400 (extendable to 12800 equivalent) helps you take sharp images, even in low light. The razor-sharp 11-point autofocus system will make sure everything is in focus, delivering sharp results even if your subject is off centre, or completely unpredictable, like your baby smiling or laughing. By shooting action at four frames per second, the D3200 helps capture fast moving objects, like children playing on their skateboards, at exactly the right moment.

Should you find yourself taking shots in high-contrast conditions, such as backlit scenes, Nikon’s Active D-Lighting automatically adjusts the lighting while retaining detail in both dark and bright areas for stunning images with natural contrast.

Enhanced HD movies
If you are looking to capture a milestone moment, such as your child’s first steps or their role in a school play, a picture is not always enough.

Record your own stunning full HD (1080p) movies to play back on your high definition TV using the D3200’s easy-access movie record button. The camera’s large sensor and high ISO offer exceptional image quality. There is a high quality microphone built in to the camera, but if you want to take a further step in sound recording, you can utilise the optional external microphone input. You can easily edit your movies on the camera by selecting the start and end point as well as saving selected frames so that you never miss a moment. When coupled with a wide variety of NIKKOR lenses, you can create fantastic cinematic effects to bring your home HD movies to life.

Connect the camera
Wirelessly transmitting images from your camera to an Android smart device is now possible by using the optional WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter. This means it is easy to share them with your friends and family instantly via social networks and e-mail or save and back them up when you are on the move. Because you don’t need a Wi-Fi connection to transfer images from the camera to your smart device, the WU-1a Wireless Mobile Adapter is an ideal accessory when you’re travelling. The WU-1a also allows you to remotely preview the live view screen and trigger the shutter from your android device, so you can be part of group photos. The WU-1a is compatible with Android smart devices.

In-camera editing
There are a variety of editing functions available to help draw out your artistic flare. Adding creative effects such as Miniature, Selective Colour, Colour Sketch and Filter Effects – to add a warm or soft filter – will bring a personal touch to the finished image. It also lets you resize your images, give them a quick retouch, or even straighten them if necessary, directly on the camera to quickly and easily improve the quality of your photos.
In addition, the large 7.5cm (3 inch) high-resolution (921k-dot) LCD monitor makes it a pleasure to review and edit your movies and photos.

Easy operation
Its lightweight, small body makes the D3200 easy to pack and carry around so you never miss those important moments. When you come to use the camera, the controls have been intuitively laid out to ensure you have a secure grip that it is comfortable to handle. The most common functions, such as Live View and Release mode, have dedicated buttons. If you want to take a picture of yourself using the optional ML-3 remote control, the D3200 has a receiver which has been positioned on the front and back to make it easier to do so. The Info button is also close to hand, should you need any further help.

Other key features
• Smart autofocus for movies: enjoy continuous autofocus (AF) when you shoot D-movies. Full-time servo AF (AF-F) and subject-tracking AF maintain the focus when you shoot moving subjects. Face-priority AF is ideal for filming events where you want to relax and let the camera focus on faces.
• Extensive movie options: you can record Full HD (1080p) and the camera supports use of Nikon’s ME-1 stereo microphone. In-camera edit functions let you perform tasks such as setting the start and end point of your movie. A mini HDMI output enables playback on an HDTV.
• NIKKOR lenses: take advantage of Nikon’s legendary NIKKOR lenses to capture images with vivid colour, striking contrast and crisp detail, or to experiment with cinematic effects. Use fast prime lenses for stunning portraits, micro lenses for life-size close-ups or telephoto lenses for distant subjects.
• Nikon system options: offer endless creative opportunities with a wide range of optional accessories. These include the GP-1 GPS unit that geo tags every image you capture so that you will always remember the place that it was taken. The D3200 comes equipped with a convenient built-in pop-up flash, but with optional Speedlights, inspired flash photography becomes even easier and more creative. The compact and lightweight SB-400 delivers intelligent through-the-lens (i-TTL) flash control and bounce flash capability for a more natural lighting effect without strong shadows. The multifunctional SB-700 offers the exciting potential of wireless multiple-flash operation via the Nikon Creative Lighting System

Nikon Launches AF-S NIKKOR 28mm f/1.8G
Fast, Wide-Angle FX-Format Lens

RRP: £619.99 / €739.00
Sales start date: 24th May 2012

London, UK 19th April 2012: Nikon today announces a new fast aperture wide-angle prime lens — the AF-S NIKKOR 28mm f/1.8G.

A welcome addition to Nikon’s range of FX-format prime lenses, the AF-S NIKKOR 28mm F/1.8G boasts a new optical design that makes it a perfect match for today’s high-resolution D-SLRs. Its large (f/1.8) aperture delivers sharper shots in low light and enables wonderfully smooth bokeh. The new optical construction results in beautifully rendered images.

Hiromasa Sebata Product Manager, Professional Products at Nikon UK says “The new 28mm adds to Nikon’s growing line up of popular wide-angle lenses, bridging the gap between the 24mm and 35mm NIKKOR lenses perfectly. The 28 mm focal length benefits from improved optical construction to control unwanted distortion. This highly anticipated lens is a practical choice for every kit bag.”

Wide appeal
Fast and compact, the AF-S NIKKOR 28mm F/1.8G is a great choice for photographers who want to shoot wide-angle images, and get the best out of a high-resolution D-SLR. The 28 mm focal length is ideal for shooting in confined spaces, capturing stunning vistas or photographing cityscapes and street scenes. The large f/1.8 aperture delivers sharper shots in low light and achieves a perfect balance of sharpness and bokeh, singling out subjects beautifully. The fast aperture also provides a bright viewfinder image.

Broad advantage
Equipped with a brand new optical design, the AF-S NIKKOR 28mm F/1.8G supports the increasing resolution of modern D-SLRs with sharp, beautifully rendered stills and movies. Two aspherical lens elements effectively minimize aberrations and correct the distortion that can occur with a wide angle of view. Nikon’s exclusive Nano Crystal Coat reduces ghost and flare, and Silent Wave Motor (SWM) ensures discreet but accurate autofocus.

Compact and durable
With a weather-sealed mount and weighing just 330g, the AF-S NIKKOR 28mm F/1.8G is a solid yet lightweight and compact option that will fit easily into any kit bag. Compatible with Nikon FX-format D-SLRs, it offers a 42 mm (equivalent) focal length when used with Nikon DX-format D-SLRs and is fully compatible with entry-level models that do not have a built-in autofocus motor.

The lens is supplied with bayonet lens hood HB-64 and lens pouch CL-0915.

Specifications:
Focal length 28 mm
Maximum aperture f/1.8
Minimum aperture f/16
Angle of view (135) 75°
Angle of view (DX) 53°
Lens construction 11 elements in 9 groups
Nano Crystal Coat Yes
Aspherical lens element 2
Minimum focus distance 0.25 m/0.85 ft
Maximum reproduction ratio 0.22x
No. of diaphragm 7 (rounded)
Focusing system Rear focusing
AF drive system Built-in SWM
Ｍ/Ａ Yes
VR effect No
Filter-attachment size 67 mm
Attachment ring Fixed
Lens hood HB-64 (supplied)
Case CL-0915 (supplied)
Distance scale Yes
Lens mount material Metal
Max. diameter x length Approx. 73.0 x 80.5 mm/
2.9 x 3.2 in.
Weight Approx. 330 g/11.6 oz

Hasselblad launches new Phocus software

17/04/2012 Hasselblad has launched version 2.6.6* of its intuitive Phocus software, plus a new feature-rich Phocus Mobile 2.0 format that gives iPhone, iPad and iPod Touch users added access to the existing wireless camera control together with a host of new elements.

“Many discerning photographers across the world are already familiar with the sheer power and performance of this highly intuitive software package,” explains Peter Stig-Nielsen, Hasselblad Product Management Director, “and this spring launch of Phocus 2.6.6 and Phocus Mobile 2.0 will make their imaging work more effective. Photographers can be wirelessly linked to a computer running Phocus, and now with the new 2.6.6 version, any number of Phocus Mobile clients can connect to the Phocus server simultaneously.

This innovative Phocus 2.6.6 software upgrade is designed to provide uncompromising image quality while allowing photographers to work quickly, efficiently and creatively with the world’s most advanced image files. Features provided include Hasselblad Natural Color Selection (HNCS), sophisticated lens corrections for H and V System lenses, extensive customisation options for individual workflow scenarios, live video, scene calibration and reproduction tools and highlight recovery, shadow fill, clarity and dust removal tools.

“There is no question that Phocus 2.6.6 with Phocus Mobile 2.0 offers new functionality and innovations,” Peter Stig-Nielsen adds, “and this will expand the options and help to speed up the workflow for time pressed photographers.”

*For Mac OS only

Meanwhile Phocus Mobile 2.0 significantly improves options for photographers to show and share their work during a shoot and also includes a 100% zoom function of images in the file browser, new GPS tagging, folder access control and a Demo Mode functionality. All of this is now available as a free download at the App Store.

Manfrotto, the world leader in the design, production and distribution of equipment and accessories for the photographic and imaging industry, has launched SYMPLA, a video rig system for HDSLRs and the latest camcorders, aimed at and developed for the purpose of making photographer’s and videographer’s lives simpler,

The exceptional functionality of the SYMPLA range allows for the ability to set-up and adjust any camera on the rig in seconds, being able to react quickly to changing contexts and creative inspiration and the possibility of shooting from any angle even under challenging light conditions.

SYMPLA features a range of individual components for building custom rigs and accessories, with three main ready-to-go KITS – a Flexible Matte Box system, a Long Lens Support system and a Shoulder Support system.

Without extra tools, SYMPLA supports can be assembled, configured and adjusted to a wide range of situations in seconds. Every product in the line, from the unique Flexible Matte Box to the innovative Variable Plate, is made of steel and aluminum to withstand the rigours of professional use and meet Manfrotto’s high quality and performance standards. The number of components in the SYMPLA family provides the user with maximum flexibility and adjustment control with minimum hassle. Like everything Manfrotto makes for professional users, SYMPLA is 100% compatible with all Manfrotto photo and video support products.

SYMPLA modular rigs are another example of Manfrotto’s unparalleled research and development, engineering and manufacturing expertise. They incorporate design and technological innovations and best-in-class functionality from Manfrotto’s current products. The rigs feature self-supporting clamps that stay in place even before they are locked – straight from the world of heavy-duty stage lighting – flexible, easy-locking ball-joint hand grips inspired by Manfrotto’s photographic ball heads and sliding plates with quick release and secondary safety buttons first featured on Manfrotto’s professional video heads. Together, these advanced components make SYMPLA modular rigs easier, safer and more comfortable for even the smallest video teams to use on location. The SYMPLA range of products, available in May, has already been awarded a prestigious accolade at one of the world’s leading design competitions: the 2012 Red Dot Design Awards.

Corel AfterShot Pro Service Pack

Enhancements

* Improved Highlight Recovery processing
* Two new plugins: Equalizer, for added color correction, and Nostalgia, for black-and-white and color film simulation
* Increased the maximum supported JPEG or TIFF image size from 30 megapixels to 40 megapixels
* Improved plugin SDK to support more plugins that include features like geo-tagging

Additional Camera RAW Support for:

* Canon PowerShot G1 X
* Canon PowerShot S100
* Canon 5D Mark III
* Fuji X100
* Leica V-LUX 3
* Nikon D4
* Nikon D800
* Nikon D800e
* Panasonic GX1
* Panasonic FZ150
* Pentax K-01
* Samsung NX200
* Samsung NX100
* Samsung NX5
* Samsung NX10
* Samsung NX11
* Sony NEX-C3
* Sony A35
* Sony A57
* Olympus OM-D E-M5

Issues Addressed

* A one-pixel wide or tall image artifact that appeared through the center of some images
* Localization issues
* Instability when removing Heal/Clone layers
* Demosaicing – stability and processing time
* Fedora Linux—installation and run issues
* Output issue that prevented images from being converted to the correct color space
* No Label – fixed menu bar issue

During the NAB Trade Show in Las Vegas from April 16-19, 2012, Carl Zeiss will present three new Super Speed lenses. Available with a fast T1.5 aperture and in focal lengths of 35mm, 50mm and 85mm, the new Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses offer filmmakers new opportunities for shooting in low-light conditions. Like the other Compact Prime CP.2 lenses, the new Super Speed lenses cover a full-frame sensor format and are equipped with the interchangeable lens mount system for use with a variety of cameras ranging from HDSLR to professional cinema cameras.

“With the new Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses with a fast T-stop of T1.5, we expand our family of CP.2 lenses with an even more powerful choice of lenses”, says Michael Schiehlen, Sales Director of the Carl Zeiss Camera Lens Division. “This opens up new creative possibilities in low-light situations, especially with the new high ISO HDSLR’s and HD video cameras. The Super Speed name has a long history at Carl Zeiss and these new lenses are a fitting tribute to their legacy”.

The faster T1.5 aperture is one of the key advantages to the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses, especially for night-time shots or under low-light conditions. This helps to limit the need for artificial light, delivering more natural looking scenes with less effort and expense.

The cinematographer Sebastian Wiegärtner has tested the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses and was very enthusiastic about the faster aperture while shooting a short film: “We filmed for three days in outdoor locations, with about eighty percent of the shots being taken at night. During the medieval-looking filming of two actors, the faster aperture was particularly effective by using lighting accents in the form of torchlight. The resulting images achieved the desired look and were appropriately stylish and soft.”

As with the rest of the CP.2 family, the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses feature a 14-blade aperture, which creates a round iris opening and a natural, out of focus rendition. The standard cine-style housing with gearing allows the attachment of any standard follow-focus system. A long, 300 degree focus rotation and smooth action provides fine control, which is especially important given the shallow depth-of-field when using these lenses at wide open aperture. By using the interchangeable mounts for PL, EF, F, MFT and E, the Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses can be easily adapted to numerous camera systems and ensures compatibility with future cameras as technology changes. Carl Zeiss T* anti-reflection coating ensures the maximum contrast and color rendition by minimizing stray light and ghosting within the lens.

The Compact Prime CP.2 Super Speed lenses can be purchased individually, or combined as set with other Compact Prime CP.2 lenses in the product line.

The lenses will be shipped in August 2012. The recommended retail price for the Compact Prime CP.2 35/T1.5 Super Speed is €3,700 or US$4,900 (excluding VAT)*. The recommended retail price for the Compact Prime CP.2 50/T1.5 Super Speed and Compact Prime CP.2 85/T1.5 Super Speed is €3,300 or US$4,500 (excluding VAT)*.

* Status: 16 April, 2012

Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic Cinema Camera, a revolutionary digital cinema camera design that includes powerful features such as super wide 13 stops of dynamic range, high resolution 2.5K sensor, built in high bandwidth SSD recorder, open file format support, color correction with full version of DaVinci Resolve and a built in LCD with metadata entry, all in an attractive compact design for only US$2,995.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera will be demonstrated on the Blackmagic Design NAB 2012 booth at #SL220.

Many current generation video cameras suffer from a “video look” due to a limited contrast range, a maximum HD resolution sensor, poor quality optics and lenses, the use of heavy video compression for file recording and poor integration with NLE software metadata management. With these limitations, they cannot be used for high end work or feature films.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera has been designed to eliminate these problems so customers get a true feature film look, and at an affordable cost can shoot high end television commercials, episodic television programming and feature films.
Blackmagic Cinema Camera

Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes a super wide 13 stops of dynamic range, large 2.5K sensor, a built in SSD recorder that has the bandwidth to capture open standard CinemaDNG RAW, ProRes and DNxHD files, a built in capacitive touch screen LCD for direct metadata entry, standard jack audio connections, built in high-speed Thunderbolt connection, 3 Gb/s SDI output, a refrigerated sensor for low noise, and is fully compatible with extremely high quality Canon EF and Zeiss ZF mount lenses.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera also includes a full copy of DaVinci Resolve for color correction and Blackmagic UltraScope software for waveform monitoring. UltraScope can be run on a laptop connected to the camera via a Thunderbolt connection.

One of the most important features of the camera is its super wide dynamic range of 13 stops, allowing feature film quality images. Commonly people focus on more pixels, however often this just creates a higher resolution, but still “video” looking images that suffer from highlight and black clipping that limits details. Blackmagic Cinema Camera’s wide dynamic range eliminates this problem and provides film quality with dramatically more detail retained in black and whites in the image. Once the shoot is complete, the included DaVinci Resolve color correction software can be used to adjust images and take advantage of this extra range in the images. The high quality EF and ZF lens compatibility also helps create sharp and cinematic images that look incredible.

To eliminate the damage that low bit depth and high compression video storage creates, Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes a fast SSD recorder. The built in SSD recorder can record on fast solid state disks the full sensor detail in 12 bit Log RAW files in the open standard CinemaDNG format. These files can be read by all high end video software. The full 2.5K sensor data is stored in the files completely uncompressed because the SSD has the speed to store video data at the required rate. Then this high quality file can be color corrected on DaVinci Resolve for the same high quality result currently only possible on cameras costing tens of thousands of dollars.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera has been designed as the perfect companion to Final Cut Pro X and Avid Media Composer NLE software. Unlike other cameras, which require the use of custom video file formats that are not compatible with popular NLE software, often making the post production process a nightmare, the Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes absolutely no custom video file formats, and every file type included is open standard. It records into CinemaDNG format for RAW files, ProRes and DNxHD for HD resolution files compatible with Final Cut Pro X and Avid Media Composer.

The built in large LCD display makes focus easy, and allows playback of captured files. Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes a built in microphone, as well as external jack based mic/line level balanced audio connections. When playing back recorded clips, a speaker is built in, and there is an included headphone socket, as well as embedded audio on the SDI output and Thunderbolt connection. The SDI output includes all camera data such as timecode, transport control, shutter angle, color temperature setting and ASA information overlaid in attractive anti aliased fonts.

For easy metadata entry, the built in LCD features fast and responsive capacitive touch screen technology. When the user taps the display with a finger, a data entry window called the “slate” appears. This lets the user enter shot information just like typing on a smart phone. This data is then stored in the files so can be accessed by NLE software when editing content later. Metadata is compatible with popular software such as Final Cut Pro X and DaVinci Resolve. All camera settings can be changed on this touch LCD, such as frame rate, shutter angle, color temperature, dynamic range, focus assist settings and more.

Blackmagic Cinema Camera includes an innovative industrial design built from solid machined aluminum metal which results in an attractive but rugged design. All of the camera, recorder and display have been shrunk down into a lightweight design thats very portable.

“This is one of the most exciting products we have ever created and its been a work in progress for a very long time,” said Grant Petty, CEO, Blackmagic Design. “Ever since I was a telecine engineer back in the 1990’s I have wished that video cameras would include features that allowed them to perform creatively similar to film. However current digital cameras are too heavy, way too expensive and need costly accessories to work. We felt there was a need for a camera that delivered these features in a design that’s optimized for professional video shoots, as well as being a compact, elegant design that’s easily affordable. We think we have achieved that!”
Blackmagic Cinema Camera Key Features

* High resolution 2.5K sensor allows improved anti aliasing and reframing shots.
* Super wide 13 stops of dynamic range allows capture of increased details for feature film look.
* Built in SSD allows high bandwidth recording of RAW video and long duration compressed video.
* Open file formats compatible with popular NLE software such as CinemaDNG 12 bit RAW, Apple ProRes and Avid DNxHD. No custom file formats.
* Includes no custom connections. Standard jack mic/line audio in, BNC 3 Gb/s SDI out, headphone, high-speed Thunderbolt I/O technology, LANC remote control and standard DC 12-30V power connection.
* Capacitive touch screen LCD for camera settings and slate metadata entry.
* Compatible with extremely high quality Canon EF and Zeiss ZF lenses.
* Supports 2.5K and 1080HD resolution capture in 24, 25, 29.97 and 30 fps.
* Thunderbolt connection allows direct camera capture via included Media Express software and supports live waveform monitoring via the included Blackmagic UltraScope software.
* Includes a full copy of DaVinci Resolve 9.0 color grading software.

Availability and Price

Blackmagic Cinema Camera will be available July 2012 for US$2,995 from Blackmagic Design resellers worldwide.

About Blackmagic Design

Blackmagic Design creates the world’s highest quality video editing products, color correctors, video converters, video monitoring, routers, live production switchers, disk recorders, waveform monitors and film restoration software for the feature film, post production and television broadcast industries. Blackmagic Design’s DeckLink capture cards launched a revolution in quality and affordability, while the company’s DaVinci Emmy award winning color correction products have dominated the television and film industry since 1984. Blackmagic Design continues ground breaking innovations including stereoscopic 3D and 4K workflows. Founded by world leading post production editors and engineers, Blackmagic Design has offices in the USA, UK, Japan, Singapore, and Australia. For more information, please check http://www.blackmagic-design.com.

Canon today announces the development of four new digital cinematography zoom lenses, as the company expands its EF Cinema Lens range to provide greater creative options for video professionals. Joining the seven high-end lenses announced in 2011, the new models support 4K (4,096 x 2,160) resolutions and will be smaller, lighter and more compact – offering outstanding mobility and quality. Available with both EF and PL mounts, the lenses will also be available at competitive prices, offering premium performance to a wider range of users.

The expanded EF Cinema Lens series will include two wide-angle cinema zoom lenses, the CN-E15.5-47mm T2.8 L S (EF mount) and CN-E15.5-47mm T2.8 L SP (PL mount), alongside two telephoto cinema zoom lenses, the CN-E30-105mm T2.8 L S (EF) and CN-E30-105mm T2.8 L SP (PL). Ideal for use with next-generation 4K cinema cameras, the new lenses will join Canon’s existing line-up of high-end EF Cinema Lenses in forming the core of the Cinema EOS system, which spans lens, digital cinema camera and DSLR categories.

In addition to compatibility with industry-standard Super 35 mm-equivalent cameras, the four cinema zoom lenses will also offer superior flexibility. Each lens will feature a compact, lightweight body supporting a wide focal range, making them ideal for handheld shooting. Combined with the Canon’s existing high-end EF Cinema primes, the new lenses will offer a greater variety of creative possibilities for video professionals of all types.

Prototypes of the new cinema zoom lenses will be on display at NAB 2012, one of the world’s largest events for the video, broadcasting equipment and digital media industries. NAB 2012 will take place from April 16 to 19 in Las Vegas, USA.

Availability:
The CN-E15.5-47mm T2.8 L S (EF mount), CN-E15.5-47mm T2.8 L SP (PL mount), CN-E30-105mm T2.8 L S (EF mount) and the CN-E30-105mm T2.8 L SP (PL mount) will be available from September 2012.

During the NAB Trade Show in Las Vegas from April 16-19, 2012, Carl Zeiss will show its first Compact Zoom CZ.2 lens to complement the Compact Prime CP.2 line of lenses. According to customer requests it is the first compact zoom lens of its kind with interchangeable mount and full frame capturing capability. The Compact Zoom CZ.2 70-200/T2.9 gives the filmmaker the choice of a single lens in the short-long telephoto range, perfect for separating the fore- and background areas or for situations when the subject is a distance from the camera.

“The Compact Zoom CZ.2 70-200/T2.9 is first in a line of zoom lenses designed for the owner- operator from Carl Zeiss that allows them to be used with a wide variety of current and future cameras, because of their compact design, full- frame coverage and interchangeable mounts”, notes Christian Bannert, Senior Director R&D, Carl Zeiss Camera Lens Division. “There has never been a zoom lens on the market with similar features.”

The Compact Zoom CZ.2 lens is a perfect complement to the smaller, lighter HD video and cine cameras introduced in the last year. Especially when used with Steadicam systems, the weight of the lens and camera becomes a critical factor. Weighing only 2.8kg (6.2lbs), it opens up new creative opportunities for action sequences by allowing the camera to be used hand-held for a greater range of motion.

The Compact Zoom CZ.2 lenses feature an 18-blade aperture, which creates a round iris opening and a natural, out of focus rendition. As with the rest of the Compact Prime CP.2 family, the cine-style housing with gearing allows the attachment of any standard follow-focus system. By using the interchangeable mounts for PL, EF, F, MFT and E, the Compact Zoom CZ.2 lens can be easily adapted to numerous camera systems and ensures compatibility with future cameras as technology changes. The Carl Zeiss T* anti- reflection coating ensures the maximum contrast and color rendition by minimizing stray light and ghosting within the lens. The Compact Zoom CZ.2 delivers flare-free results and it has no focus shift over the whole zoom range.

More compact zoom lenses also made in Germany with additional focal lengths will be announced during the course of this year.

The Compact Zoom CZ.2 70-200/T2.9 will start shipping in the fourth quarter of 2012 at a recommended retail price of €14,900 or US$19,900 (excluding VAT)*.

* Status: 16 April, 2012

Canon expands Cinema EOS System with new EOS-1D C digital SLR supporting 4K video capture

United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, 12th April 2012 – Canon today announces the introduction of the new EOS-1D C, a digital single-lens reflex (SLR) camera targeting the motion picture, television and high-resolution production industries. Delivering outstanding video quality, advanced low light performance and film-like dynamic range, the compact and lightweight EOS-1D C supports in-camera 4K (4,096 x 2,160) video recording with 4:2:2 colour sampling, offering greater creative freedom for video professionals.

The first SLR camera of its kind, the EOS-1D C offers a unique and highly portable package optimised for high-quality video recording. Advanced creative flexibility is provided with support for a range of resolutions and variable frame rates. 4K video is recorded using 8-bit Motion JPEG compression at 24p, and Full HD (1920 x 1080) video capture is available at frame rates up to 1080/60p. The camera supports internal recording to CF cards at all resolutions up to and including 4K, offering enhanced mobility. Video can also be output to external recorders (excluding 4K video) via an integrated HDMI terminal using an uncompressed YCbCr 4:2:2 signal.

The EOS-1D C also features Canon Log Gamma, which facilitates the capture of high-quality video rich in exposure latitude and dynamic range. Ideal for video professionals who want to retain the maximum amount of information without huge file sizes, Canon Log Gamma offers a dynamic range uniquely comparable to film, minimising shadow-detail loss and highlight-detail loss to provide greater grading freedom for colourists in post-production.

“The EOS-1D C is a fantastic addition to the Cinema EOS System,” said Kieran Magee, Marketing Director, Professional Imaging, Canon Europe. “Since the introduction of Cinema EOS we’ve had an excellent response from professionals who are hugely excited by the image quality and creative freedom the system offers. The new EOS-1D C will expand those creative options further – it’s a unique camera, supporting 4K video recording in a highly compact body that can be used in a number of different ways. We’re very excited to see what the professional community can achieve with it.”

Advanced performance meets creative flexibility
Based on the core specifications of the EOS-1D X, the EOS-1D C provides exceptional image quality and versatility, with an 18.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor. Optimised for high quality video capture, the sensor provides video professionals with the freedom to adjust image resolution to suit a subject or desired output. During 4K shooting pixels are cropped to an area equivalent to an APS-H sensor, preventing the need to resize or scale the image, ensuring maximum image quality. Additionally, a Super 35mm crop in Full HD recording caters for cinematographers who typically work in the Super 35mm field of view.

The sensor provides high quality performance in all conditions, delivering advanced creative blurring and light capturing abilities when used in combination with Canon’s EF Cinema prime lenses. Its size enables professionals to achieve an extremely shallow depth of field with beautiful background blur, and sensitivity up to ISO 25,600 provides excellent quality and reduced noise in low-light situations.

In addition, support for 24, 25, 30, 50 and 60p frame rates in Full HD resolution shooting provides additional flexibility, satisfying the shooting needs of professionals across the industry. Industry-standard timecode and codec support and a choice of compression methods provides compatibility with established workflow processes, facilitating easy editing and grading immediately after shooting.

The EOS-1D C ships with an exclusive software package, including a suite that allows 4K/Motion JPEG and Full HD/60p video shot on the camera to be output on an external monitor (Requires the use of a PC equipped with an SDI port) with no loss of image quality. It also enables video shot with Canon Log Gamma to be output on a monitor with standard video gamma applied.

Additional advanced applications, including Picture Style Editor and EOS Utility, also enable adjustments to various camera settings to be conducted from a PC. Real-time procedures, such as the editing and registration of picture styles or checking results on a monitor, can be conveniently performed on-set using a PC or Mac – allowing users to promptly carry out adjustments, and ensuring efficient shooting and post-production procedures.

EF lenses and EF Cinema Lenses – freedom to explore
As part of the EOS system, the EOS-1D C is compatible with more than 60 EF lenses, all of which offer high resolutions to support 4K image capture. The EF lens series offers exceptional creative freedom, with focal length options ranging from 8mm to 800mm. Over 70 million EF lenses have been manufactured since the EOS system launched in 1987 – a measure of its unparalleled quality and popularity. As part of the Cinema EOS System, Canon has also introduced a range of 4K EF Cinema Lenses, utilising the company’s unique optical heritage to produce leading-quality lenses optimised for high-quality video capture.

Canon EOS-1D C – key features:
4k movies
1080p at 50/60fps; Canon Log Gamma
Uncompressed HDMI output
18 MP Full Frame CMOS
Up to 12fps stills; 14fps mode
61 point AF system
ISO range 100-25600
Dual DIGIC 5+ processors
Clear View II 8.1cm (3.2”) LCD
EF lens compatible

Pricing & availability:
The EOS-1D C will be available from October 2012, priced at £10,000 / €12,300 RRP inc VAT.

Join Bryan on location in Dubai where he discusses how to use a wide angle lens to capture foreground and background using a wide angle lens. Watch as Bryan uses his unique artistic touch to help his students make interesting photographs.

Apple today introduced the new iPad, the third generation of its category defining mobile device, featuring a stunning new Retina display, Apple’s new A5X chip with quad-core graphics and a 5 megapixel iSight camera with advanced optics for capturing amazing photos and 1080p HD video. iPad with Wi-Fi + 4G connects to fast networks worldwide, including AT&T’s and Verizon’s 4G LTE networks, and still delivers the same all-day 10 hour battery life* while remaining amazingly thin and light. Beginning today, iPad 2 will be offered at an even more affordable price starting at just £329 inc VAT.

“The new iPad redefines the category Apple created less than two years ago, delivering the most amazing experience people have ever had with technology,” said Philip Schiller, Apple’s senior vice president of Worldwide Marketing. “The new iPad now has the highest resolution display ever seen on a mobile device with 3.1 million pixels, delivering razor sharp text and unbelievable detail in photos and videos.”

The new iPad’s Retina display delivers four times the number of pixels of iPad 2, so dense that the human eye is unable to distinguish individual pixels when held at a normal distance, making web pages, text, images and video look incredibly sharp and realistic. The 3.1 million pixels in the Retina display are more than one million more pixels than an HD TV, and with 44 percent increased colour saturation the new iPad displays colours that are unbelievably richer, deeper and more vivid. Movies are now capable of playing at full 1080p HD-resolution, delivering an incomparable viewing experience on a mobile device.

The powerful new A5X chip with quad-core graphics was specifically designed by Apple to deliver a fast, responsive user experience while supporting the incredible Retina display. With double the graphics performance of the A5 chip, the A5X provides a superb balance between performance and power efficiency so users can enjoy all the benefits of the stunning new display while experiencing a smooth Multi-Touch interface, immersive gameplay, incredible visual depth and all-day battery life that iPad is known for delivering.

The 5 megapixel iSight camera features advanced optics for taking stunning pictures and recording full HD video. Backside illumination allows you to take great photos in low-light conditions and a new video image stabilisation feature removes the bumps and shakes typically seen when filming with a hand-held device. Images can be enjoyed on the large Retina display, then edited, enhanced and easily shared with friends and family using the built-in Photos app on iPad.

iPad Wi-Fi + 4G with built-in next generation 4G LTE has the most comprehensive support for fast networks worldwide including HSPA+ and DC-HSDPA, and now both CDMA and GSM iPad users have the ability to easily roam internationally. The world-ready iPad delivers blazing download and upload speeds so web pages load incredibly quickly and email with large attachments can be sent and received easily. Personal Hotspot can be used to share the fast network connection on your iPad with up to 5 other devices using Wi-Fi, Bluetooth or USB**.

With iOS 5.1, the latest update to the world’s most advanced mobile operating system, the new iPad has a number of new features and enhancements including: a redesigned Camera app with video stabilisation technology; the ability to delete photos from Photo Stream; support for dictation in English, French, German and Japanese; and Personal Hotspot. iOS 5.1 also works seamlessly with iCloud, a breakthrough set of free cloud services including iTunes in the Cloud, Photo Stream and Documents in the Cloud, that works seamlessly with your iPhone, iPad, iPod touch, Mac or PC to automatically and wirelessly store your content and push it to your devices. When content changes on one of your devices, your other devices are updated automatically.

The new iPad also supports dictation, another amazing way to get things done just using your voice. Instead of typing, tap the microphone icon on the keyboard, then say what you want to say and the new iPad listens. Tap done, and iPad converts your words into text. You can use dictation to write messages, take notes, search the web and more. Dictation also works with third-party apps, so you can update your Facebook status, tweet, or write Instagram captions.

Apple also introduced the iPhoto app, along with major updates to iMovie and GarageBand, completing its suite of iLife apps for iOS. iLife and the iWork apps, Pages, Keynote and Numbers, have all been updated to take advantage of the new iPad Retina display. iPhoto includes breakthrough Multi-Touch features so you can use simple gestures to sort through hundreds of photos and find your best shots, enhance and retouch your images using fingertip brushes and share stunning photo journals with iCloud. iMovie now gives you the ability to create amazing Hollywood-style trailers as you record HD video, and GarageBand introduces Jam Session, an innovative and fun new feature that allows a group of friends to wirelessly connect to play instruments and record music together live on their iOS devices.

iPad runs almost all of the over 585,000 apps available on the App Store, including more than 200,000 native iPad apps, from a wide range of categories, including books, games, business, news, sports, health, reference and travel. The iTunes Store puts the world’s most popular online music, TV and movie store at your fingertips with a catalog of over 20 million songs, over 90,000 TV episodes and over 15,000 movies. The new iBooks 2 app for iPad lets users experience an entirely new kind of ebook that’s dynamic, engaging and truly interactive. iBooks created with Apple’s new iBooks Author offer gorgeous, fullscreen ebooks with interactive animations, diagrams, photos, videos, unrivaled navigation and much more.

Pricing & Availability
The new iPad Wi-Fi models will be available in black or white on Friday, March 16 for a suggested retail price of £399 inc VAT (£332.50 ex VAT) for the 16GB model, £479 inc VAT (£399.17 ex VAT) for the 32GB model and £559 inc VAT (£465.83 ex VAT) for the 64GB model. iPad Wi-Fi + 4G will be available for a suggested retail price of £499 inc VAT (£415.83 ex VAT) for the 16GB model, £579 inc VAT (£482.50 ex VAT) for the 32GB model and £659 inc VAT (£549.17 ex VAT) for the 64GB model. iPad will be sold in the UK through the Apple Store (http://www.apple.com/uk), Apple’s retail stores, and select Apple Authorised Resellers. iPad will also be available in Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Hong Kong, Japan, Puerto Rico, Singapore, Switzerland and the US Virgin Islands on Friday, March 16. Customers can begin pre-ordering their new iPad today, and the incredible iPad 2 is now offered at a more affordable price of £329 inc VAT (£274.17 ex VAT) for the 16GB Wi-Fi model and just £429 inc VAT (£357.50 ex VAT) for the 16GB Wi-Fi + 3G model.

iOS 5.1 and iTunes 10.6 are available today as free software updates. iPhoto, iMovie 1.3 and GarageBand 1.2 are available today for £2.99 each from the App Store (http://www.itunes.com/appstore). Keynote 1.6, Pages 1.6 and Numbers 1.6 are available today for £6.99 each from the App Store. Updates are available for free to existing customers. By the end of March iPad will be available in Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Macau, Mexico, The Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain and Sweden.

*Battery life depends on device settings, usage and other factors. Actual results vary.

**Personal Hotspot requires supporting data plan. Customers should check with their carrier for availability.

DxO Labs announces the immediate availability of DxO FilmPack v3.2 for Mac and Windows.

Thanks to DxO Labs’ advanced calibration technologies, DxO FilmPack brings all the emotion and creativity of silver halide photography to your digital images. By means of a simple and intuitive interface, both beginning and expert photographers alike can apply any of the authentic characteristics of color, contrast, saturation, and grain of more than 60 famous analog films to a digital photo. With 25 additional renderings and numerous processing tools available, DxO FilmPack offers users a palette of infinite creativity.

INCREASED POWER AND SPEED

The software algorithms have been adapted to run in 64 bits. DxO FilmPack is now able to process very large files of up to 200 megapixels.

Further, this new version has been optimized, particularly with respect to managing memory. The software starts up almost instantaneously, and image processing is up to two times faster than in version 3.1.

EXTENDED COMPATIBILITY

DxO FilmPack v3.2 runs in both 32 and 64 bits as standalone software. As a plugin, it is now fully compatible with:

* Adobe® Photoshop® CS 3
* Adobe® Photoshop® CS 4
* Adobe® Photoshop® CS 5
* Apple® Aperture® 3

DxO FilmPack v3.2 is also compatible with Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 9 and 10, thereby reaching an even greater number of photography lovers.

IMPROVED ERGONOMICS

The faithful reproduction of grains is now visible in the resizable filmstrip at the bottom of the screen, allowing users to see an effect before applying it to their images.

In addition, users can now use arrow keys as well as improved scroll wheel action for more intuitive navigation within the renditions library.

CREATIVITY AND EMOTIONS TO SHARE

Thanks to the large number of controls available, photographers can unleash their creativity and lend a unique atmosphere to their images. Customized renderings can be saved in a dedicated library, and a new import-export feature (available in the DxO FilmPack v3.2 Expert edition) allows users to share their customized renditions with one another.

AVAILABILITY AND PRICES

Compatible with Mac and Windows, DxO FilmPack v3.2 is available in 2 editions – Essential and Expert – which differ in terms of the number of film renditions and functions available. Both editions are 32- and 64-bit compatible.

USD:

* DxO FilmPack 3 Essential Edition: $ 79
* DxO FilmPack 3 Expert Edition: $ 129

EUR:

* DxO FilmPack 3 Essential Edition: 79 €
* DxO FilmPack 3 Expert Edition: 129 €
(Suggested retail prices, including VAT)

BGP:

* DxO FilmPack 3 Essential Edition: £ 69
* DxO FilmPack 3 Expert Edition: £ 99
(Suggested retail prices, including VAT)

This upgrade is free for all owners of DxO FilmPack 3.

A fully-functional trial version of DxO FilmPack v3.2, good for one month, is available on the DxO Labs website (http://www.dxo.com/intl/photo/free_trial_version).

System Requirements

* PC: Microsoft® Windows® XP SP3 (32 bits), Windows® Vista® (32 or 64 bits), Windows® 7 (32 or 64 bits) and Intel® Core™ 2 Duo or AMD® Athlon 64 X2 processor
* Mac: Mac OS® X 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 Snow Leopard, Mac OS® X 10.7 Lion and Intel Mac® processor
* 2 GB RAM minimum and 400 MB available disk space

Plugin compatibility

* DxO® Optics Pro® 6 and 7
* Adobe® Photoshop® CS 3, CS 4 & CS 5
* Adobe® Lightroom® 3
* Adobe® Photoshop® Elements 9 and 10
* Apple® Aperture® 3
About DxO Labs

DxO Labs develops image processing technologies. In addition to its DxO Optics Pro and DxO FilmPack products for Mac and Windows, designed for serious and demanding photographers, the company also licenses diverse solutions for the principal actors in the imaging industry:

* Embedded technologies for real-time image processing, destined for camera and cameraphone manufacturers;
* Image quality evaluation and measurement tools, destined for specific imaging industries (e.g., camera module manufacturers, sensor vendors, and processor vendors) as well as for photography journalists and photo experts.

For more information, visit DxO Labs’ website at http://www.dxo.com.

Here are Canon’s official sample images and movides for the 5d mark III camera : canon site

Adobe Systems Incorporated (Nasdaq:ADBE) today announced the availability of Adobe® Photoshop® Lightroom® 4 software for Mac OS and Windows. Lightroom is the essential digital photography workflow solution helping amateur and professional photographers quickly import, manage, enhance and showcase their images. First released as a public beta in January 2012, the final version of Lightroom 4 is now available for US$149 for the full version and US$79 for the upgrade, providing an incredible value for photographers. Lightroom 4 introduces refined technology for superior shadow and highlight processing, ability to create photo books, additional local adjustment controls, and enhanced video support.

“Feedback from our customers is invaluable in developing Lightroom and the real trick to a great release is to combine these insights with Adobe’s unrivalled image processing innovation,” said Winston Hendrickson, vice president products, Creative Media Solutions, Adobe. “Lightroom 4 is a stunning new release that will enhance photography workflows and help photographs stand out from the crowd.”

New Features in Lightroom 4
Lightroom 4 is a major release, adding significant new capabilities and innovations. New adjustment controls maximize dynamic range from cameras, recovering exceptional shadow details and highlights. The software features new and improved auto adjustments to dynamically set values for exposure and contrast, and additional local adjustment controls including Noise Reduction, Moire and White Balance.

Lightroom 4 provides photographers the tools to create beautiful photo books with text controls and a variety of easy-to-use templates, as well as a direct link for photo book creation from within the new Book module. A new intuitive Map module displays images already assigned a location, provides location tagging and reverse geo-tagging controls and saved locations for easy assignment of a photographer’s common locations.

Now, native video support gives photographers the capability to play, trim and extract frames from video clips shot on DSLRs, point-and-shoot cameras and smartphones. Video-specific presets and many standard Lightroom image adjustment controls can be applied to video clips, and adjusted videos can be exported as a H.264 file or published directly to Facebook or Flickr*.

In the Develop module, presets fully utilize new processing technology and the addition of soft proofing helps photographers tune images in a destination color space to ensure content looks its best. In addition, customers can now email images directly from Lightroom using an email account of their choice.

Pricing and Availability
Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4 is now available for Mac and Windows at http://www.adobe.com/store. The estimated street price is US$149 for new users or US$79 for upgrades. For more detailed information about product features, upgrade policies, pricing and language versions, please visit http://www.adobe.com/go/lightroom.

Users can also connect with the Lightroom team directly on Facebook (http://www.facebook.com/lightroom), via Twitter (http://www.twitter.com/lightroom) or on the Adobe Lightroom blog (http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal). For Lightroom how-to videos, visit http://www.youtube.com/lightroom.

Adobe Photoshop Family
Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Extended are at the heart of the Photoshop family, joined by solutions for users at every level who want to bring out the best in their digital images either at home, in the office or on the go. Photoshop Lightroom addresses the workflow needs of amateur and professional photographers, helping them create, manage and showcase images in impactful ways. Photoshop Elements provides consumers with powerful yet easy-to-use tools that organize, edit, create and share photo memories. For mobile devices, the Adobe Photoshop Touch app helps users transform images with core Photoshop features custom-built for tablets; and Adobe Photoshop Express is a free app for simple photo fixes and enhancements, and sharing to social networks*.

Watch different light moidifiers.

GPS receiver GP-E2 – a new compact, lightweight, high-performance hot shoe GPS unit which makes it easy for photographers to geo-tag their images. Compatible with the EOS-1D X, EOS 7D1 and new EOS 5D Mark III, the GP-E2 tags photos with longitude, latitude and altitude data as well as the direction in which the shot was taken, adding information to the EXIF file of the image.

A GPS Logger function also allows photographers to track their route by downloading GPS data at regular intervals, whether the unit is attached to the camera body or stored in its case. Once back in the studio, photographers can tag their images with the GPS data stored in the log files and their route can be displayed using Google Maps or the bundled Map Utility software.

For improved accuracy and precision when recording the time of image capture, photographers can also synchronise the clocks of their cameras with the global atomic clock via UTC information downloaded from the satellite. This is particularly useful for professional photographers shooting with multiple EOS 5D Mark III bodies, who may wish to process all the images together and sort them according to the time each was recorded.

GPS Receiver GP-E2 Key features
• Hotshoe-mounted GPS unit for compatible EOS cameras.
• Embeds location and altitude data into each file’s metadata.
• Digital compass records heading information.
• Data logging mode.
• Portable design, powered by 1xAA battery.
• Accurately set camera’s time using UTC time

1Via firmware update – connection via cable only

Join Bryan in the forests of Oregon where he discusses how to use color, contrast and composition to create a compelling image. Watch as Bryan uses a unique point point of view and wide angle lens to capture a creative photograph.

In this week’s episode Mark explains why you might choose to use a flash when shooting outside in bright sunlight. Watch as Mark takes you through an in-studio exercise and then heads out to the park for a demonstration.

ncorporating feedback from photographers worldwide, the EOS 5D Mark III offers improved performance in virtually every area. A new 22.3 Megapixel (MP) full-frame sensor offers the ideal balance of resolution for stills and HD movies and up to 6 frames per second (fps) shooting, whilst a 61-point AF system and 63-zone metering provide greater speed, flexibility and accuracy. Powered by the latest DIGIC 5+ processing technology, the EOS 5D Mark III also features enhanced video functions, offering improved image quality alongside greater audio control – redefining creative possibilities for photographers and amateur videographers alike.

“The EOS 5D Mark III represents a big step forward for the EOS 5D series” said Kieran Magee, Marketing Director, Professional Imaging, Canon Europe. “The EOS 5D Mark II is an exceptional camera and we’ve listened carefully to feedback from its passionate community of users to improve performance in every area. This camera has been designed to meet virtually any creative challenge – it’s faster, more responsive and features the tools to adapt to everything from studio photography to creative videography, while producing results of the highest quality.”

Enhanced performance
With its comprehensively upgraded specification, the EOS 5D Mark III is the ideal tool for the growing number of photographers shooting both stills and movies. It incorporates a number of the features launched with Canon’s revolutionary EOS-1D X, providing vastly improved performance, flexibility, handling and durability.

The camera’s newly-developed 22.3MP full-frame sensor provides increased resolution and finer detail, enabling the capture of a wide range of scenes, from sweeping landscapes to beautiful portraits. Higher speed continuous shooting also offers expanded creative possibilities. With an increased 8-channel read out, the camera comfortably handles a maximum full resolution speed of up to 6fps in bursts of 18 RAW images or over 16,000 JPEGs¹, without the need for additional accessories. Additionally, the sensor’s advanced architecture offers a huge native ISO range of 100-25,600, expandable to 102,400, making it possible to capture clean, high quality pictures, even in extreme low-light conditions.

The EOS 5D Mark III utilises the same 61-point wide-area AF system as the flagship EOS-1D X, providing exceptional sensitivity, precision and speed. One of the most advanced AF systems currently available, it features an impressive 41 cross-type points and five dual cross-type points, providing unsurpassed accuracy across the frame. The customisable AF pre-sets introduced in the EOS-1D X are also available, helping the capture of traditionally challenging subjects, and providing additional reliability in situations where subject movement can be unpredictable.

Highly accurate exposures are provided by Canon’s acclaimed iFCL metering system, which incorporates a 63-zone Dual-Layer sensor linked to each point of the AF system. Focus information gathered from the AF system is analysed alongside colour and luminance signals measured by the metering sensor itself, enabling the EOS 5D Mark III to deliver consistently accurate skin tones and excellent results in a wide range of shooting situations.

Creative performance without compromise
The EOS 5D Mark III features Canon’s latest DIGIC 5+ image processor, which powers a range of new functions without affecting the camera’s performance. 14-bit A/D conversion provides smoother tonal gradation and transitions between colours, while in-camera HDR shooting combines three different exposures and allows one of five preset tone maps to be applied, enabling photographers to capture all the detail in high contrast scenes. With in-camera RAW processing and editing capability, photographers also have the option to immediately begin post-processing their images while still on a shoot.

The increased power of DIGIC 5+ also enables a range of tools which contribute to higher image quality. Lens peripheral illumination correction, Lens chromatic aberration correction (lateral and axial) and high ISO noise reduction are all performed in-camera without affecting performance, allowing photographers to continue shooting without any camera lag. Additionally, in-camera image rating via a dedicated button makes it easy for photographers to organise images ahead of post-production.

The EOS 5D Mark III features a new Creative Photo button, which enables users to quickly select Picture Styles and capture multiple exposures, as well as offering direct access to the HDR shooting mode. In playback, pressing the Creative Photo button displays a new comparative playback function, displaying two images side-by-side to allow photographers to view, magnify and compare the quality of different exposures mid-shoot.

For situations where photographers want to avoid being noticed, such as weddings, the EOS 5D Mark III also features a new silent shooting mode that dramatically reduces the sound of the shutter and mirror, ensuring they can work quietly in the background. A continuous silent mode is also available, enabling photographers to capture faster-moving subjects without attracting attention.

Next generation EOS Movies
The EOS 5D Mark III builds on the reputation of the EOS 5D Mark II, with a range of new features introduced following feedback received from photographers to provide even better Full HD video performance. As well as offering the depth-of-field control loved by video professionals, the new full-frame sensor combines with the vast processing power of DIGIC 5+ to improve image quality by virtually eradicating the presence of moiré, false colour and other artefacts. The addition of a movie mode switch and a recording button also offers greater usability, enabling videographers to begin shooting immediately when movie mode is engaged.

Additional movie functions include manual exposure control and an enhanced range of high bit-rate video compression options, with intraframe (ALL-I) and interframe (IPB) methods both supported. Variable frame rates range from 24fps to 60fps, and the addition of SMPTE timecode support provides greater editing flexibility and easier integration into multi-camera shoots. Users can also check and adjust audio during recording via the camera’s Quick Control screen and a headphone socket enables sound level monitoring both during and after shooting. Enhanced processing power provided by DIGIC 5+ also makes it possible to conveniently trim the length of recorded movies in-camera.

Professional build, easy operation
The EOS 5D Mark III has been built to offer photographers easy-handling and robust build quality. Its lightweight, high-grade magnesium body offers advanced weather proofing for protection against the elements, while the construction of the shutter has also been reinforced, with 150,000-cycle durability making it ideal for repeated, everyday use. An enhanced version of the Intelligent Viewfinder featured in the EOS 7D offers approximately 100% coverage, as well as an on-demand grid display via the built-in transparent LCD.

The same reinforced 8.11cm (3.2”) Clear View II LCD screen as used by the EOS-1D X provides high quality framing and playback in all conditions. 1,040k-pixels provide the resolution to accurately check image sharpness and focus, while the gapless structure design introduced with the EOS-1D Mark IV prevents reflections and protects against dust or scratches. A headphone socket and locking mode dial have been included, while the inclusion of a UDMA 7-compatible CF card slot plus an SD card² slot enables shooting to both cards simultaneously, auto switching when the one in use becomes full and the option to copy images from one card to the other in-camera.

Digital Lens Optimizer – new in Digital Photo Professional v3.11
The EOS 5D Mark III comes complete with the most advanced version of Digital Photo Professional (DPP) yet – Canon’s free, in-box software enabling high-speed, high quality processing of RAW images. New in DPP v3.11 is Digital Lens Optimizer – a revolutionary new tool designed to drastically improve image resolution take the image nearer to how the scene appears to the naked eye. This creates exceptionally detailed, high-quality images with highly manageable file sizes, providing photographers with maximum image quality and greater flexibility.

Digital Lens Optimizer (DLO) precisely imitates lens performance, with a series of complex mathematical functions replicating each stage of the journey of light through the optical path. Using this information DLO can correct a range of typical optical aberrations and loss of resolution caused by a camera’s low pass filter, by applying an inverse function to each shot to take the image nearer to how the scene appears to the naked eye. This creates exceptionally detailed, high-quality images with highly manageable file sizes, providing photographers with maximum image quality and greater flexibility.

EOS System compatibility
As part of the EOS System, the EOS 5D Mark III is immediately compatible with over 60 EF Lenses, including the EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM – the new, essential wide-angle zoom lens from Canon’s famous L-series. The camera is also compatible with a newly-announced range of accessories designed to offer extended creativity, including the Speedlite 600EX-RT – a high performance TTL flash with wireless radio connectivity. Additionally, the new Battery Grip BG-E11 offers greater handling flexibility alongside the ability to double the camera’s battery life.

Canon EOS 5D Mark III – Key features:
• 22.3 Megapixel full-frame sensor
• 61-point autofocus
• Up to 6fps continuous shooting
• Native ISO 100-25,600 sensitivity
• Full HD video with manual control
• 14-bit DIGIC 5+ processor
• Enhanced Weather sealing
• 8.11cm (3.2-inch) 1,040,000-dot screen
• HDR mode with presets

The Speedlite 600EX-RT is a high-performance TTL flash unit designed to meet the expanding creative needs of modern professionals. Integrated radio frequency triggering, in addition to standard infra-red wireless flash control, allows photographers to achieve exciting results with complex on-and-off-camera lighting set-ups. Using one master 600EX-RT or the new ST-E3-RT radio-frequency wireless Speedlite transmitter, up to 15x 600EX-RT flash units, positioned up to 30m away, can be remotely triggered – offering great potential to experiment with more creative lighting techniques and effects. EOS cameras with a connected Speedlite 600EX-RT can also be triggered remotely by either model, allowing photographers to explore more extreme shooting angles to produce surprising and inspiring creative results.

Subjects over a wide range of distances can be lit creatively or evenly exposed, thanks to an increased guide number of 60m¹ and wide lens coverage of 20 – 200m. For wide-angle shots, a diffuser adapter can also reduce the focal length to 14mm and the bounce-and-swivel flash head creates more flattering, shadowless effects. Ideal for shooting portraits, a catch-light panel produces natural catch-lights in the eyes of a subject when shooting with bounce flash. Additionally, custom flash coverage options provide more creative scope by using guide number priority to light the subject, while creating slightly darker edges to the frame.

Like its predecessor, the Speedlite 600EX-RT communicates white balance settings to the camera through the hot shoe connection. However, to further balance flash and ambient light, a new colour filter adapter and two supplied colour gels can be fitted to balance the temperature of the flash and create a more natural effect when shooting around tungsten or mercury lighting. When shooting in dark conditions, photographers can also employ the AF-assist beam for accurate autofocus with lenses of 28mm or longer, ensuring the subject remains in focus when the flash fires

Designed for professionals, the Speedlite 600EX-RT and Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT feature a robust, weatherproof design matching that of the EOS-1D X, with a clear LCD display making it easy to select settings and switch between normal flash mode and wireless modes. Powered by four AA/LR6 batteries for added convenience, the Speedlite 600EX-RT offers fast, silent recycle times, allowing photographers to keep shooting and exploring creative lighting effects in all conditions.

¹ISO 100 at 200mm setting

Canon Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT

Fire compatible Speedlite flashguns over distances of up to 30m. Radio-frequency control provides reliable operation even when direct line of sight is not possible.

Features

* Radio frequency remote flash trigger
* Fire selected Speedlites from 30m away
* Part of the E-TTL II flash system
* Controls up to 15 flashguns
* Remote camera triggering
* Weather sealed against dust and moisture.

A radio-frequency flash trigger aimed at professional photographers using off-camera flash.

Reliable off-camera flash control
Control compatible Canon Speedlite flashguns over distances up to 30m. 2.4GHz radio frequency triggering operates reliably, even when shooting outdoors and around corners – direct line of sight not required.

Multiple flash photography
Create intricate multi-flash lighting set ups, triggering up to 15 Speedlite flashes with a single camera-mounted Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT. E-TTL II flash metering makes exposure control easy.

Remote camera control
Trigger an EOS camera fitted with a Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT from a second unit or from a compatible Speedlite flashgun, such as the Speedlite 600EX-RT. Up to 15 cameras can be triggered at once, for synchronised shooting.

Easy to use design
The Speedlite Transmitter ST-E3-RT is sealed against dust and moisture to the same degree as professional EOS cameras and L-series lenses. It features an easy to read back-lit LCD control screen and is powered by two AA/LR6 batteries.

The WFT-E7 is a new wireless file transmitter for a wide range of EOS models. For those who need to transfer their images quickly and easily, for example, photojournalists or sports photographers, the new WFT-E7 provides enhanced versatility through high-speed Wi-Fi and support for wired connectivity over Gigabit Ethernet. Featuring 802.11a/b/g/n support for file transfer speeds of up to 150mbps, and Bluetooth for linking to external GPS units, the WFT-E7 offers super-fast image transfer direct to an FTP server or even to a DLNA² -enabled HDTV.

When creative shoots or harsh conditions require the photographer to control the camera from a distance, the WFT Server function of the WFT-E7 allows the camera settings and the scene framed in the viewfinder to be accessed and controlled through a web page on any internet-enabled device, such as smartphones, tablets or laptops. Camera settings can also be changed remotely via EOS Utility, allowing photographers to control and trigger the camera over a wired or wireless LAN connection.

The WFT-E7 has a lightweight design and can be attached to the bottom of the camera, to the new bracket AB-E1 or even to the strap. For added versatility, it also supports Linked shooting with up to ten other cameras, with Wireless Time syncing ensuring that the time across all slave devices is aligned with the master camera in order to maintain consistency across multiple units. During Linked shooting, the WFT server function can also be activated to allow easy remote access to the master and slave cameras for even greater creative control of lighting effects during multi-camera shoots.

Replacing the PIXMA MX885 and PIXMA MX870, the new PIXMA models are stylish in design and feature fast colour document print speeds. A range of business orientated features deliver improved productivity, including high-speed fax capabilities, a 35-page Duplex Auto Document Feeder (DADF) and Auto Duplex printing.

Enhanced Business Productivity
The new PIXMA MX715 and PIXMA MX895 are designed with the home office user in mind and boast fast print speeds for quickly creating documents and graphics. The models produce ISO speeds of 12.5ipm for black and white documents and 9.3ipm for colour prints, and can produce an A4 copy in just 14 seconds. Canon FINE print head technology ensures photolab quality; a 1pl ink droplet size and 9600dpi print resolution produces documents and images with smooth gradations and fine detail.

For quick and easy scanning, copying and faxing of multiple page documents, both models feature a flatbed scanner, boasting 2400dpi high-resolution scanning and a 35-page Duplex Auto Document Feeder. The models also offer versatile media handling with two-way paper feeding and a self-opening paper tray.

The PIXMA MX715 and PIXMA MX895 also come with eco features. New ECO Settings software allows users to save paper through Auto Duplex printing, which enables automatic double-sided printing for greater efficiency. Minimal ink wastage is also ensured through the five separate ink tanks, which can be changed individually when they run low to reduce printing costs.

Connect and Share
The new PIXMA MX715 and PIXMA MX895 are designed to enable easy printing from smartphones and tablets with new connectivity features. Built-in Wi-Fi capability allows for scanning and copying from virtually anywhere in the office, and with Canon’s Easy Photo-Print App, PC-free printing and scanning from mobile iOS™ or Android™ devices is also quick and easy. In addition, with direct access to the cloud, users can even print their favourite photos directly from online albums, including CANON iMAGE GATEWAY and Picasa Web Albums, using the Online Album Photo Print function via the PIXMA Cloud Link. The new PIXMA printers also include a range of print-ready templates, including calendars, envelopes, stationery, memos and other useful resources, which are all available at the touch of a button with Web Template Print.

Easy Operation
The new models include a range of features to enable easy operation. Quick Start ensures the printers can start operating swiftly after powering on, for easy and quick printing on demand. Both models feature a large TFT display to easily preview and select documents and photos directly from memory cards; the MX895 features a 7.5cm display whilst the MX715 has a 6.2cm display. The new Dual Function Panel, from which the user operates the printer, features LED-lit dual purpose keys. Only the keys needed for the function being performed are lit up, for greater ease of use.

Smart Software
A comprehensive suite of intuitive software for photo and document printing and scanning comes as standard on the new MX devices. Smart and efficient web printing is enabled through Easy-WebPrint EX, which allows multiple web pages to be clipped and then combined on one page, to minimise paper and ink wastage.¹

Easy Photo-Print EX software means users can impress friends and family by creating and printing perfectly formatted photo albums and calendars. The software also offers a range of editing options, such as Red Eye Correction and Digital Face Smoothing.

The new PIXMA printers also support Full HD Movie Print, which gives users the ability to capture and print beautiful still images from Full HD video footage shot on Canon’s range of Digital SLRs or Canon Digital Still Cameras. Multiple still images from movies can also be combined to give a sense of motion to prints with the Merge Frames feature.

PIXMA MX715 – key features:
• All-In-One with Fax, Wi-Fi & Ethernet
• Stylish black design
• Dual Function Panel
• 35-sheet Duplex ADF
• 5 Single Ink Tanks
• ISO ESAT 12.5 ipm mono / 9.3 ipm colour
• Up to 9600 dpi
• ISO A4 Copy: 14 seconds
• Auto Duplex Print
• Scan to USB memory without a PC

PIXMA MX895 – key features:
• All-in-One with Fax, Wi-Fi & Ethernet
• Stylish black design
• 7.5cm TFT display and Dual Function panel
• 35-sheet Duplex ADF
• ISO ESAT 12.5 ipm mono / 9.3 ipm colour
• PIXMA Cloud Link
• Auto Duplex Print
• ISO A4 Copy: 14 Seconds
• Scan to USB memory without a PC

Availability

The PIXMA MX715 is available from April 2012.
The PIXMA MX895 is available from April 2012.

¹With Internet Explorer 7, 8 and 9 (for Windows)

Wacom® today announces Intuos®5, the next generation lineup of tablets for professional photographers, designers and artists who wish to take their digital content creation to the next level. Superior new features include multi-touch gesture support for intuitive input, an Express View display to facilitate an efficient workflow and wireless capabilities for convenience and comfort. Combined with Wacom’s renowned pen pressure and tilt sensitive pen, the state-of-the-art Intuos5 inspires creativity through an immersive experience.

With its ergonomic, ambidextrous design and bold new look, the slim-profile Intuos5 allows creative professionals to work in complete comfort. The professional matte-black, soft-touch finish and illuminated accents reflect a modern and durable design. To meet the workflow and workspace needs of Wacom’s diverse professional customer base, Intuos5 models are being introduced in the Americas in three different sizes (small, medium and large) to accommodate creative preferences.

The Human Touch
The addition of multi-touch to the Intuos5 provides a complementary input method to the pen that is natural to use in the creative process. One of the distinct benefits of multi-touch is its support of gestures to zoom, scroll, pan and rotate digital content, all while remaining focused on the creative process. Not only is the Intuos5 able to recognize standard Windows® and Mac® gestures, but customizable gestures can be created in supporting applications to make navigational input easier and stress free. For example, a customized gesture could be created to open a commonly used feature within Adobe® Photoshop®.

“The multi-touch interface in the Intuos5 is Wacom’s most elegant implementation of gesture support to date,” says Don Varga, Professional Products Brand Director for Wacom Technology Services Corporation. “Switching from pen to touch or to gesture based navigation is a liberating experience, allowing one to reduce repetitive motion and interact more naturally with the computer.”

Stay Focused
Wacom continues to build customizable non-dominant hand controls into its professional tablets to help users streamline their workflow and be more productive. On the Intuos5, these include customizable ExpressKeys™ (six on small size and eight on both medium and large sizes) and one Touch Ring, with four-function toggle. These features allow users to place commonly used shortcuts and modifiers right at their fingertips, decreasing dependency on the computer keyboard while increasing productivity. The ambidextrous design allows right-handed and left-handed users to simply rotate the tablet 180 degrees for easy access to the ExpressKeys and Touch Ring.

To help users remember their application-specific ExpressKey settings, Intuos5 comes equipped with Express View, a new Heads-Up Display (HUD) feature that displays the current settings on the computer screen. Lightly resting a finger on any of the keys reveals the settings on-screen and fades within a few seconds so as not to disrupt the creative process. “Express View modernizes the user interface and is instrumental in helping improve workflow and boost productivity,” says Varga. “It allows users to remain focused on their work and concentrate on the creative process while providing all the benefits of a faster workflow.”

The Intuos5 Grip Pen
For creative professionals, the Intuos5 Grip Pen remains the heart and soul of the tablet experience. The Intuos5 pen registers 2048 levels of pen pressure and up to 60 degrees of pen tilt, allowing the pen to emulate the same feel, response and effects derived from working with traditional tools such as paint brushes, markers and pens. In addition, Intuos5 features Wacom’s proprietary Tip Sensor technology, which means that pressure-sensitive effects can start with an incredibly light touch. The Wacom pen expands the creative effects that can be achieved within software applications that support pressure and/or tilt sensitivity such as Adobe® Photoshop®, Adobe® Illustrator®, Corel® Painter™, Autodesk® Sketchbook® Pro and many more. The Grip Pen also features a pressure-sensitive eraser and two side switches that can be customized for commands such as double-click and right-click.

Optional Wireless Connectivity
With the Intuos5, Wacom broadens its offering for wireless connectivity. Now, all sizes of Intuos5 can be converted to a wireless tablet by installing the Wireless Accessory kit, sold separately on Wacom’s e-store. The kit includes a rechargeable battery that charges through USB, a RF module that plugs into the tablet and a receiver that plugs into a USB port on the computer.

The Intuos5, available today, comes in three models: Intuos5 touch Small ($229.95 USD), Medium ($349.95 USD) and Large ($469.95 USD).

About Wacom
Founded in 1983, Wacom’s vision to bring people and technology closer together through natural interface technologies has made it the world’s leading manufacturer of pen tablets, interactive pen displays and digital interface solutions. The advanced technology of Wacom’s intuitive input devices has been used to create some of the most exciting digital art, films, special effects, fashions and designs around the world and provides business and home users with the ability to explore digital content creation in a comfortable, natural way. Today, millions of customers use Wacom’s cordless, battery-free, pressure-sensitive pen technology to express their creativity.

Sony introduces waterproof Handycam®

Feature-packed GW55VE camcorder resists water to 5m*, dust** and drops from 1.5m***

* Exmor R™ CMOS sensor captures beautiful Full HD 50p video, even in low light
* G Lens with 10x optical zoom (Extended Zoom 17x) and 29.8mm wide angle
* Optical SteadyShot with Active Mode for clearer footage when walking or zooming
* Detail-packed still photos up to 20.4 megapixels
* Intelligent AUTO adjusts settings for great results every time
* 7.5cm/3” Xtra Fine LCD touch-panel

It’s your perfect poolside partner. Great for trips to the beach, snorkelling expeditions and fun-packed family days out, the new Handycam® GW55VE camcorder is waterproof to depths of 5m*. It also resists dust** and shocks from a height of up to 1.5m*** – so there’s no need to worry about a sudden shower of rain, or accidental drops by the pool or on the beach.

Made for everyday adventures, waterproof Handycam® comes packed with advanced technology for clear, stable Full HD video and stills in any situation.

Image quality is everything you’d expect from Handycam®. The Exmor R™ CMOS Sensor captures beautifully detailed, low-noise video footage and photos, even in low-light conditions where other camcorders struggle.

It’s teamed with a high-quality G Lens by Sony, capable of capturing everything from wide-angle scenes to dramatic close-ups. Extended Zoom boosts 10x optical zoom range to a powerful 17x maximum magnification: By Pixel Super Resolution processing ensures clear, ultra-detailed high-zoom shots.

Even when you’re zoomed in close or walking along, video footage looks clearer thanks to Optical SteadyShot with Active Mode that corrects hand-shake for stable results.

In a Handycam® first, Intelligent Sweep Panorama lets you capture extra-wide scenes with a huge field of view. Just press the shutter button and sweep the HD camcorder to take in the biggest scenes. Using Face and Motion detection, Handycam® makes sure that even moving people and objects are reproduced naturally as you sweep the camera.

Also new to Handycam®, Self Portrait Timer ensures properly framed, clearly focused arms-length photos of you and your friends. Thanks to Face Detection, the GW55VE ensures beautiful self-portraits with no cut-off heads.

Not sure how to get the best out of any shooting situation? Intelligent AUTO recognizes up to 99 scene types, adjusting camcorder settings for best results. There’s even a special Underwater mode so those under-sea videos look better with rich, natural colours.

An ideal travel partner, waterproof Handycam® also features on-board GPS that logs where all your clips and photos have been taken. See your current position onscreen, or view all those GPS-logged memories back home on your laptop with exciting online maps.

An optional, matching case is available in the UK for the new Handycam® GW55VE waterproof camcorder. The new LCM-GWA case offers stylish but functional protection whether you’re in the city or on the beach. The water repellent material won’t be damaged even if you put the camera away wet, and this tough little case will be available in black or white to match this great new camera.

The new Handycam® GW55VE waterproof camcorder from Sony is available in the UK from mid-May 2012.

Not A Basement Studio today is pleased to introduce Fuzel 1.0 for iPhone. Whatever it is that you love, Fuzel helps you take their photos, put them together in your own layouts, retouch them individually with gorgeous photo filters, complete them with beautiful frames and captions, then share them with your loved ones on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, or just email.

“Fuzel brings quality, precision, and creativity to your iPhone and Facebook photography.” 5/5 star rating – AppSafari’s review.

Main Features:

The Cutting Tools:
* Create your very own customizable layouts
* 36 preset layouts, with fully adjustable nodes
* Aspect ratios supported: square, 2:3, 4:3

Camera:
* Import from Camera Roll, or Facebook Photos (sign-in required)
* Enhanced camera for better image quality: torchlight, auto-focus, touch focus
* Full-screen camera to capture everything
* In-frame camera for better collage composition

Editing Tools:
* 17 beautiful photo frames & captions
* 18 gorgeous photo filters
* 27 fun base colors
* Zoom and rotate photos
* Apply filters to individual photos
* Adjust the outlines’ width

Sharing:
* High-resolution export
* Share your photos on Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, or just email
* Tag your Facebook friends in your photos

Take photos of people, things, and places that you love. Fuzel combines everything, and makes them more awesome. Download it, and let us know what you think!

Device Requirements (iPhone):
* iOS 5.0 or later
* iPhone, iPod touch and iPad.
* 10.2 MB

Pricing and Availability:
Fuzel 1.0 is priced at only $0.99 for a short period of time. The app is available worldwide on the iTunes App Store in the Photo & Video category.

Fuzel 1.0: http://www.fuzelapp.com/
Purchase and Download: http://itunes.apple.com/app/fuzel-photos-made-awesome/id487564488
Vimeo Video: http://vimeo.com/36686060

Not A Basement Studio was started in January 2010 when Ken Luong, Khoa Nguyen, and Hieu Tran were getting bored with the university’s curriculum and WoW’s raiding nights. Being avid manga fans, they looked to the App Store for something to cure their boredom. That’s when the idea for our first app came about. Four months of hard work and countless (actually 120) sleepless nights, Manga Rock, a manga reader for the iPhone, was released. Greeted with much love, and hate, the app received close to one million download on the app store. Two years later, joined by more like-minded and passionate people, we are now making awesome apps for the iOS App Store, making life better, one app at a time. Copyright (C) 2010-2012 Not A Basement Studio. All Rights Reserved. Apple, the Apple logo, iPhone, iPod and iPad are registered trademarks of Apple Inc. in the US and/or other countries.

Data transfer for iPhone, iPad, and iPod without using iTunes

Many Apple users wonder every day why iTunes makes transferring data transfer to their iPhone, iPad, or iPod is so unnecessarily complicated. Anyone who wants an easier way to transfer data will do well to use the new i-FlashDrive from Hama.

Music and images can be transferred from a computer to the stick and, from there, played on the Apple device, all without using iTunes.

The i-FlashDrive is also a practical way to transfer files in the opposite direction. If at any point the internal memory of the iPhone is completely full, the stick can be used to provide useful memory expansion. 16 GB are available for storing your music, videos, documents and images.

In this episode of “How’d They Do That” Mark talks to Jason about his light sources, designs, and unique photographs.

In this week’s episode Mark discusses Moiré patterns. Learn what a Moiré pattern is, how to prevent them in your photos and how to fix them in Photoshop if you do get an unexpected Moiré pattern in your photo.

ProMaster debuts today the new ProMaster FL100 High Power TTL electronic flash unit. Featuring a guide number of 100 in a super compact body, the new FL100 is nearly 3x more powerful than the built-in flashes in most interchangeable single-lens reflex (SLR) digital camera bodies. The new FL100 Flash is the ideal accessory for the casual digital photographer who is frustrated by the fact that their built-in flash won’t go the distance.

The ProMaster FL100 makes getting the shot at the high school basketball game, or catching a child’s dance recital easy. It’s fully automatic TTL (through-the-lens metering) operation means there are no settings to make – the photographer just attaches the flash unit to a camera body’s hot shoe mount and they are ready to shoot. The unit’s manual zoom head also allows photographers to set a greater flash angle to get good quality light for indoor family events.

“ProMaster has long been the industry leader providing high quality electronic flash alternatives that offer great value,” said ProMaster’s Jeff Neal. “The FL100 is the first in our new series of electronic flash units designed to meet and grow with the needs of today’s digital photographers.”

The new FL100 is available for use with Nikon, Canon, Sony, Pentax, Olympus and Panasonic digital cameras. It will be available this spring from specialty photo stores across the U.S. and Canada or online at http://www.promaster.com for a retail price of $99.95.

Specifications:
Guide Number at ISO 100: 100 ft. / 30m
Circuitry: Advanced IGBT with microcontroller
Adjustable head positions: 28mm / 35mm / 50mm
Recycle Time: .3 – 10 seconds
Weight: Approx. 4.05 oz. / 115g without batteries
Dimensions: Approx. 2.6 x 3.5 x 2.7 inches (65mm x 90mm x 68mm)
Powered by: 4 AA batteries

About ProMaster
For more than 50 years, ProMaster has been fulfilling the needs of professional photographers and aspiring photographers. ProMaster products offer terrific value in a wide range of quality products backed by a strong warranty and an equally strong commitment to user satisfaction. ProMaster products are available the U.S.A. and Canada from knowledgeable photo specialty retailers as well as online from http://www.promaster.com.