Digital SLR Blog

SLR-Gear reviews the Pentax 15mm f/4 ED AL Limited SMC DA lens and after analyzing it recommend it. The lens produced extremely sharp images and chromatic aberration was negligible. However according to the reviewer, the wide-angle lens produced soft images at times and the macro performance was disappointing

The Pentax Japan website has added more photos taken from the newly announced K-7 DSLR. The sample images are available as JPEG compressed files and Adobe DNG Raw files. full EXIF data is available in the JPEG files.  You can access the photos here.

Anthropics Technology Ltd have updated their portrait retouching software Portrait Professional. Portrait Pro v9 is available in both Standard and Studio editions and now features new ClearSkin technology which recreates skin texture in image areas where blown highlights and/or skin blemishes need correction.



Pricing:
Portrait Professional 9: $99.95
Portrait Professional 9 Studio: $149.95

Adobe Systems, Apple, Hewlett Packard, Nikon, Nik Software, Wacom and X-Rite have collaborated to organize a Creative Alliance Tour. The nine-city tour as been set up to provide creative professionals with a comprehensive insight into a complete digital workflow. The Creative Alliance Tour will begin in autumn 2009, with stops in the Netherlands, UK, Spain, France, Germany and Italy. For the exact dates and registration information please visit: http://www.thecreativealliancetour.com

The Frame 1.0 software by Kate Labs predominantly tests out digital cameras and lenses. Available for both Mac and Windows platforms, the software offers a graphical user interface and command line prompt.

Supported Test Charts

- ColorChecker
- ColorChecker SG
- ColorChecker Gray Scale
- ColorChecker White Balance
- ISO 12233
- Kodak Q-13 and Q-14 Gray Scale
- Kodak Q-13 and Q-14 Color Separation
- Kodak Q-60 Gray Scale
- Kodak Q-60 Color Separation





 

The ATP GPS PhotoFinder Pro is the latest Geotagging device on the block. Compatible with applications and websites like the iPhoto, Flickr, Picasa3, Locr, SmugMug, Panoramio, Google Earth, and Google Maps, the geotagging device supports more than 450 camera models. The ATP GPS PhotoFinder Pro will be available in July for $119.

The Spider Holster takes a unique approach when it comes to carrying photographic equipment by putting the camera' weight at the human body's center of gravity. Made of stainless steel and aluminum, the holster has a unique locking mechanism that lets one choose:

Lower Position - a quick-release lock that latches automatically when the camera is placed in the holster.

Upper Position - for free camera motion to get your DSLR from hip to hands in a flash

For more information go here.

The newly announced OWC Mercury On-The-Go Pro claims to be the “largest capacity, fastest bus powered portable storage solution on the market”. The 500GB 7200RPM pocket-sized portable storage solution is perfect for multimedia professionals as it features g FireWire 800, FireWire 400, and/or USB 2.0 interfaces for data transfer speeds up to 100MB/s. It can old up to 500,000 JPEG photos, 250 DVD movies, 38 hours of digital video, or 175,000 MP3 songs.

For more information on the Mercury On-The-Go Pro, visit:
http://eshop.macsales.com/shop/firewire/on-the-go

A video discussing and demonstrating how to do Advanced Sound for DSLR was recently released by Zacuto. “A double system is really the only way you can get good sound on a DSLR,” explains Steve Weiss, Director, Zacuto Product designer. “Secondly, you should have a dedicated person to doing sound, or at least monitoring it.”

If you want use a DSLR and record sync sound, then watch the video at http://vimeo.com/zacutousa.

For more information visit www.zacuto.com

ExposureManager (www.exposuremanager.com) has now introduced new e-mail marketing tools for all Premium Account members. The ExposureManager Premium Subscription service was created to help increase print and merchandise sales for photographers. The new tools include;



Viewing Saved Favorites / Carts of Customers – The Premium level account lets photographers easily view saved favorites and saved “cart” images of their customers and visitors.


Email - Verification – This feature creates an automatic verification process where anyone entering his or her email address for any reason will have that email address verified as valid. This measure prevents the use of phony email addresses to gain access to the features built into the site.


Email "Blasts" – This feature enables photographers to send out customized emails using a template. Email “blasts” can be sent to all or some of the emails that have been collected from a user’s site. Photographers control when these blast are sent, and they can include unique coupon codes to encourage timely sales.

Firmware version 1.01 is now available for the Sigma DP2. The latest upgrade improves AF accuracy and decreases the issue of intermittent camera freezes under certain conditions. For more information go here.

Curious about the newly announced Pentax K-7 DSLR? Then head over here to see the official sample images taken by the DSLR. The images have been taken at ISO 100 and from the following lenses; with three different lenses, the smc PENTAX-DA 55mmF1.4 SDM (pictured), the smc PENTAX-DA 50-135mmF2.8ED[IF]SDM and the smc PENTAX-DA 12-24mmF4ED AL[IF].

ACDSee™ Pro 3 is now available open for beta testing by photographers all over the world. ACD Systems International Inc. wants professional photographers from all over to participate in the best testing. Beta downloads are available at http://www.acdseepro.com.

“Every new feature in ACDSee Pro 3 is geared around saving time and making a photographer’s workflow process customizable,” said Cam Carmichael, product manager for ACD Systems. “Beta test participants will see a uniquely flexible image processing mode that helps photographers streamline and speed up the work involved in perfecting and preparing their photos for publication.”

Canon on June 2nd will release a firmware update for the EOS 5D Mark II which will allow users to manually control exposure when shooting video. The firmware update will include the following manual controls when shooting video:
Full aperture selection
ISO speed: Auto, 100 – 6400 and H1
Shutter speed: 1/30th – 1/4000th second

Now the general public can vote for the Hasselblad 2009 Masters Awards Competition. The top 100 finalists in the Hasselblad 2009 Masters Awards Competition have been selected and their images are now online for viewing and voting. To visit the online gallery and vote for your favorite images, click here.

PhotoLynx recently announced the release of ProofMyClass.com and ProofMyTeam.com online proofing systems. One can  upload their images and data to the secure ProofMyClass.com or ProofMyTeam.com website where authorized individuals from the respective group, the school or league, access the information and make needed changes and corrections.

Thanks to OnOne’s new iPhone application, one can control their Canon DSLR from their phone. The DSLR Remote application acts like wireless cable release for Canon EOS cameras. The application will debut on the Apple iTunes App Store soon.

The Tiny Hi-Def Photo Player (HD-0311) by Hi-Den Vision claims to be “the smallest photo / media player for viewing photos in large HDTVs of up to 1080p resolution”. The player has options like 16 transition effects, slide interval time, random or sequential playback and ships with a remote.

[Via Photography Blog]

The Ansel Adams Gallery and Blue Earth have collaborated to highlight the work of fine art landscape photographers to the Mumm Napa Gallery in Rutherford, California, beginning September 19. The  exhibition, titled “Changing Earth: Photographers’ Call to Action” will be displayed for six months. “My grandfather’s photographs demonstrated that artistic interpretation can raise public awareness, change perceptions and alter understanding about our world,” said Matthew Adams. “It is in that spirit that The Ansel Adams Gallery has joined Blue Earth and Mumm Napa to do the same.”

For more information go tohttp://www.anseladams.com.

The LEICA M8 'White Edition’ is now available. So if you fancy this pristine beauty then be prepared to shell out $8.500.00. The LEICA M8 'White Edition' is available in a set including a silver anodised LEICA ELMARIT-M 1:2.8/28 mm ASPH lens and strictly limited to just 275 examples.

Firmware version 1.1 for the Lumix G Vario 14-45mm f/3.5-5.6 ASPH Micro Four-Thirds camera lens is now available and it brings the following changes:
    * Improved Auto Focus performance in [AFC] mode.
    * Improved Auto Focus performance in Motion Picture recording.
    * Please note that Auto Focus in [FHD] does not work.
    * Improved the stability of O.I.S. in Motion Picture recording.
      (except [FHD] mode)
    * Decreased the operation noise of the aperture in Motion Picture recording. (except [FHD] mode)

Western Digital recently expanded their AV-GP line of hard drives to include a 2 TB model. Designed exclusively for audio and video applications, the WD AV-GP 2 TB hard drive is perfect for applications such as DVRs (digital video recorders), media centers, media servers etc. The WD AV-GP 2 TB hard drive (model WD20EVDS) can be purchased for $299.00.

Cosina will soon release a Voigtländer branded 50mm f/1.1 lens exclusively for the Leica M mount. The superfast 50mm ƒ/1.1 lens with ultra-high refractive index glass will be released to commemorate the 10th anniversary of Cosina's Bessa series of rangefinder cameras.

[Via The Online Photographer]

ExposureManager (http://www.exposuremanager.com) announced a new Two-Image Group Package template exclusively for event photographers. Photographers utilizing ExposureManager can now offer their customers a range of package options when selling both group shots and individual portraits. ExposureManager’s premium package is $24.95 per month.

“The Obama Time Capsule” which has the distinction of being the first customizable photo book can now be purchased from Amazon. “The OBAMA Time Capsule” is a brainchild of HP and Against All Odds Productions (AAO) and the photo book chronicles Barack Obama’s journey to the White House.


[Via Photography Blog]
 

If you are curious about the newly announced Panasonic GH1 then head over to Photography Blog. The website has posted sample images taken from the pre-production version of the Panasonic GH1 camera and the 14-140mm F4.0-5.8 and 7-14mm F4.0 lenses. Images are in both RAW and Jpeg.

Nik Software is offering free and interactive live-webinars, which offer training in all Nik Software products as well as special topics. The trainings are in English and German language and highlight all software products developed by Nik Software, including plug-ins Dfine®, Viveza™, Color Efex Pro™, Silver Efex Pro™ and Sharpener Pro™ as well as Nikons® Capture NX 2. One can register here.



 

The Adobe Photoshop Camera Raw 5.4 Release Candidate is now available for download. The Camera Raw 5.4 Release Candidate extends raw file support to an additional 26 camera and camera back models including the Canon EOS 500D (EOS Rebel T1i), Nikon D5000, and 18 Hasselblad models. For more information and to download got tohttp://labs.adobe.com.

Additional Supported Camera and Camera Back Models
Canon EOS 500D (EOS Rebel T1i)
Epson R-D1x
Hasselblad CF-22, CF-22MS, CF-39, CF-39MS, CFH-22, CFH-39, CFV, 503CWD, H2D-22, H2D-39, H3D-22, H3D-31, H3D-39, H3DII-22, H3DII-31, H3DII-39, H3DII-39MS, H3DII-50
Kodak EasyShare Z980
Nikon D5000
Olympus E-450
Olympus E-620
Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH1
Sigma DP2

The new Panasonic SDHC memory cards with Class 10 speed specification will be available in Europe by the end of May. Class 10 is a new speed specification standardized by SD Card Association and the Panasonic GOLD line series will adopt this new speed class. The new series will be available in the following four models: RP-SDW04G(4GB) / RP-SDW08G(8GB) / RP-SDW16G(16GB) / RP-SDW32G(32GB).

The Dfine 2.0 photo plug in is now available courtesy Nik Software. Dfine 2.0 now supports Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.3 and higher and also provides superior noise reduction thanks to the on board patented U Point technology. The update is available now as a free download to current Dfine 2.0 owners at http://www.niksoftware.com/lightroom.