Bibble Labs has announced the release of their much anticipated Bibble 5 Pro Workflow Software. The release comes more than a year after it was officially launched at Photokina 2008.

Bibble 5 Pro is available for purchase for $199.95. Bibble 4 customers can upgrade to the new version – either for free if they purchased after September 1, 2006, or for $99 if their Bibble 4 purchase was made prior to that date. Bibble 5 Lite isn’t expected to ship until the first quarter of 2010, so in the meantime, owners of Bibble 4 Lite are being allowed to use Bibble 5 Pro with their Lite license*. Upgrade instructions can be found on Bibble Labs’ new support forums. Also, see the FAQ’s.

Bibble 5 Pro supports Windows XP, Vista and 7, Mac OS X 10.4 or greater, as well as both Linux Fedora Core 6 or later, and Ubuntu 6.06 or later. The program can accept Raw files from a wide variety of manufacturers, including Canon (except sRaw), Kodak, Leica, Minolta, Nikon, Olympus, Panasonic, Pentax, Samsung, and Sony, as well as RGB JPEG or TIFF files at resolutions of 30MP or below, with a maximum dimension of 10,240 pixels on the longer side. The full list of supported file types can be found on the Bibble 5 specs page.

Bibble 5 Pro includes a totally new, completely multi-threaded image processing engine, allowing it to process images faster than anything else. Efficient enough to be perfectly usable on netbooks and older computers, yet powerful enough to take full advantage of 4, 8, 16 or even more CPU’s, Bibble 5 Pro is designed to fully utilize all the computing power available to it. On high-end computers, Bibble 5 Pro is up to 88 times faster in processing and exporting images that other leading applications, while on single CPU computers and more modest machines, Bibble 5 Pro can still be 2 to 8 times faster.

Bibble 5 Pro’s Selective Editing framework allows its image editing tools to operate on the complete image or a limited portion of an image, fully integrated into a totally non-destructive workflow. Read more and download a trial here.

*Once Bibble 5 Lite ships, the Lite keys will stop working on Bibble 5 Pro.

Most camera brackets were designed for event/wedding photography and are not suitable for extreme sport photography.

The Opteka X-GRIP handle was specifically designed for skateboarding and other extreme sports. The shape and foam-padded handle offer incredible stability and control. The hot shoe attachment enables you to add a video light or flash. It fits most compact camcorders, digital cameras, and entry dSLRs (including Canon EOS 5D and EOS 7D). A 1-year Opteka Warranty is included.

Several Opteka Deluxe “Skaters” packages are available also.

Opteka wireless remote control for Canon, model RC-4 – BRAND NEW

US $0.99 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Jan-31-2012 15:45:43 PST Buy It Now for only: US $5.99 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

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Here is a awesome night video shot in Prague (Czech Republic) with a pre-production Canon EOS 1D Mark IV. You can read about how it was made on Philip Bloom’s Blog.

Carl Zeiss is expanding its existing ZE line of lenses with two new macro lenses, the Makro-Planar T* 2/50 and the Makro-Planar T* 2/100, both now available with EF bayonet mount.

According to the press release, “both macro lenses render objects in close-up on a scale of 1:2. To enable such detail, these lenses include Carl Zeiss’s acclaimed “floating elements” design. This special lens alignment enables high optical performance across the entire focusing range, from 0.24 m to infinity. The Makro-Planar T* 2/50 and Makro-Planar T* 2/100 are already available with F bayonet (ZF) and K bayonet (ZK). The Makro-Planar T* 2/50 is also available as a ZF.2 version. Both lens systems are optimized for analog and full-format digital SLR cameras”.

Specifications

Price and Availability

The Makro-Planar T* 2/50 ZE will available in December 2009 at a suggested retail price of $1,283.00 (€965.55 excluding VAT). The Makro-Planar T* 2/100 ZE will be available at beginning of 2010 at a suggested retail price of $1,843.00 (€1,385.71 excluding VAT).

* As of December 04, 2009

Here is an amazing available low-light video shot with the Canon EOS 1D Mark IV by Vincent Laforet. The video was shot at ISO 6400. Read how it was done at Prolost.

For some unknown reason, Canon asked Vincent Laforet to remove “Nocturne” from his blog in October. It plays nicely from YouTube; for now anyway.

It’s been about a year since premium lens-maker Carl Zeiss introduced the ZE-series lenses with a Canon mount. The Planar T* 1.4/50 and Planar T* 1.4/85 are now complemented with the Distagon T* 2.8/21 ZE, an ultra-wide-angle lens.

The new lens is designed especially for architecture and landscape photography. Featuring a 21mm focal length and an aperture range between f/2.8 and f/22, the new it provides an image ratio at close range of 1:5. Digital photographers taking wide-angle shots often encounter image errors at the transition between bright and dark light as a result of lenses breaking the various wavelengths differently.

The Distagon T* 2.8/21 ZE lens corrects color errors, prevents fringing and unwanted lack of focus that can result from chromatic aberrations. The new lens also features an anti-reflex coating to prevent stray light and reflections. The large front filter diameter allows for the use of standard screw-in filters when combined with the standard lens shade.

Price and Availability

The Distagon T* 2.8/21 ZE lens is available in the USA for $1,540 (M.S.R.P) and in Europe for EUR 1,549.

The launch of the controversial Canon EOS 7D has generated a huge amount of forum buzz as to where it fits in to the Canon product lines. Marketing departments seems to make abrupt shifts in naming conventions leaving consumers to guess their strategy if they even have one. In Canon’s case, we are left to ponder such inconsistencies such as why there was no Powershot G4? Or, why the PowerShot SD980 IS is called the Digital IXUS 200 IS outside the USA?

Along comes the Canon EOS 7D with an 18MP APS-C size sensor, new viewfinder, improved body construction, new AF system with a dedicated processor, dual Digic 4 processors and new shutter mechanism to allow 8fps continuous shooting. The size and appearance of the EOS 7D are clearly those of the EOS 50D. However, the feature set puts it outside the EOS 10D, 20D, 30D, 40D, 50D product line.

Without a full-frame sensor, you could argue that it’s not a successor of the EOS 5D. Of course, there never was an EOS 6D. Instead, photographers got a EOS 5D Mark II. Now, I am really confused!

The price of the Canon EOS 7D (body-only) at Amazon is US$1,899 (MSRP) which is about 2X the price of an EOS 50D body but well below the US$2,749 it will cost you for the EOS 5D Mark II.

Perhaps, we found the answer to the naming mystery! The Canon EOS 7D is a new price point rather than a new product line. It gives advanced amateurs and professionals alike another choice without detracting from existing models. It will help Canon prevent marketshare loss from the likes of Sony’s A700 and Nikon’s D300.

LP-E6 LPE6 Charger for Canon EOS 7D 5D Mark II + Strap

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Vienna, Austria-based Lomographische AG has announced two new adaptors that allow use of the ‘Diana F+’ series lenses on both film and digital SLRs from Canon and Nikon.

The Diana camera lineup was manufactured from the 1960s through the early 1970s by Hong Kong’s Great Wall Plastic Factory. Available under different (often a stick-on label), Diana cameras were offered at very low prices – anywhere from under one dollar, to three dollars or more for the most expensive models. After being out-of-production for years, Lomographische relaunched the series with newly updated camera designs under the commercial trademark “Lomography“.

Images shot through the plastic lenses of a Diana camera exhibited vignetting, as well as aberrations, blurring, low contrast and unusual tonality. The very defects in quality that once saw the Diana derided as toy cameras has evolved into sought-after images effects (by both amateurs and professionals alike) described as ‘surreal’ and ‘dreamlike’.

The very same plastic lenses used on Diana cameras can be mounted on modern film and digital SLRs from both Canon and Nikon with the new F+ adapters.

As with the original Diana cameras, the prices are low! The Diana SLR adapter for the Canon or Nikon mount can be purchased in the USA for just $12. There are four different bundles including a choice of Diana F+ mount lens along with the adapter range in price from $50 to $60.

The lenses can also be purchased separately for $40 to $50 depending on the model. The four lenses available are a 20mm fisheye, a 38mm super-wide, a 55mm wide angle, and a 110mm telephoto. The 55mm lens can also function as a macro by sliding on an included close-up lens.

You can find more information on the Diana F+ adapters and lens on the Lomography blog.

Lomo Diana F+ Camera x Canon EOS DSLR Adapter ALL LENSES,110mm,20mm,38mm,55mm

US $179.99 End Date: Sunday Feb-05-2012 18:28:59 PST Buy It Now for only: US $179.99 Buy it now | Add to watch list

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Canon has just introduced the latest digital camera in the G-series. Lo and behold! The tilt and swivel LCD screen, long missing since PowerShot G3, is back. The tilt and swivel LCD screen (2.8 inch Vari-angle TFT) allows a photographer to take candid shots from all sorts of angles not possible with a fixed LCD or viewfinder. Why Canon ever took it out is beyond me. Without it, the G-series became just another line of pricey sub-dSLR compact cameras.

Another smart move is reducing the resolution to 10.0MP compared to 14.7MP for it’s predecessor, the PowerShot G10. Together with a new sensor (1/1.7” CCD) and enhanced DIGIC 4 image processor, this lowering of resolution offers substantially improved image quality over the PowerShot G10; especially when using higher ISO sensitivities.

While the resolution has been downsized, the lens is a larger, 5x zoom len (28-140mm 35mm equivalent) which is 2 stops faster than the G10. Included is optical Image Stabilizer (IS) which allows handheld shots to be taken at much slower shutter speeds (4-stops) than conventional non-IS cameras. Focusing modes include: Auto focus TTL, 9-point AiAF with Face Detection, 1-point AF (center or Face Select and Track), Fixed centre or Face Select and Track, and Manual Focus.

The PowerShot G11′s RAW mode lets you shoot images without JPEG compression. Just like with a dSLR, the PowerShot G11 can also be set to allow the simultaneous recording of both RAW and JPEG images while shooting.

The design of the PowerShot G11 follows that of the Canon PowerShot G10. The optical viewfinder, flash hotshoe, tripod mount, and pop-up flash have been retained. Flash sync speed increases to 1/2000th of a second. HDMI output has also been added.

There is also a “Low Light Mode” that enables photographers to shoot up to ISO 12,800 in reduced 2.5MP resolution at 2.4fps capturing shots indoors without the need for a flash. For bright conditions, a built-in Neutral Density (ND) filter decreases light levels by 3 stops.

What’s in the box?

The Canon PowerShot G11 comes supplied with the following accessories: Rechargeable Lithium battery pack NB-7L, Canon battery charger CB-2LZ, neck strap, Digital Camera Solution CD-ROM disk, a USB interface cable and an AV cable.

Price and Availability

Canon PowerShot G11 is scheduled to be available at retailers in October. The price in the USA is $499.99 (MSRP). Pricing for the UK has been set at £570. Otherwise, you will need €589 according to Canon Germany.

Canon PowerShot G11 10.0 MP Digital Camera – Great Camera!

US $389.00 (0 Bid) End Date: Tuesday Jan-31-2012 12:33:43 PST Buy It Now for only: US $450.00 Bid now | Buy it now | Add to watch list

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Canon Inc. said second quarter profit plunged 86 per cent as the global economic downturn weighed on sales of its copy machines, printers and digital cameras while a stronger yen reduced overseas earnings.

Canon’s net profit was 15.6 billion yen (US$164 million) for the April-June quarter, down from 107.8 billion yen a year earlier. Revenues declined 28 per cent to 793.8 billion yen, from 1.11 trillion yen last year.

For the current fiscal year through December, the company cut its revenue target to 3.20 trillion yen from 3.33 trillion yen. It held its profit target steady at 110 billion yen, which would mark a 64 per cent yearly decline.

With three-quarters of revenues from overseas, Canon was hurt by the stronger yen compared to a year earlier. The company said the rise in the Japanese currency has taken about 151 billion yen from its revenue over the first six months of the year, compared to last year.

One bright spot was SLR, or single-lens reflex, cameras, where demand was steady. But its overall camera business suffered as prices of cheaper digital models continued to fall rapidly.

Unlike many Japanese companies, Canon’s fiscal year matches the calendar year. The company reports earnings under U.S. accounting rules.