Geek Photographer

Very impressive video! prooves you dont need a high end camera to take great photos! very cool stuff

Over the last while, i have been trying out Lightroom 3.0 beta as my main photography workflow. given i shoot RAW, and given the software is still beta, i use LightRoom’s “Write changes to XMP Side car” option. this way, if anything goes wrong, i still have my originals, and i just need to remove the side cars…

Anyway, BETA 2 has been released, and due to the fact i am actually writing this from my Hospital bed, i wont be playing with it for a few days (check out my Twitter feed if your actually interested). from the AdobeLabs website, here are the new features:

• Improved performance throughout the application for faster importing and loading of images
• Native tethered shooting support for select Nikon and Canon DSLR cameras
• Luminance noise reduction has been added to the previous color noise reduction improvements available in the first public beta for outstanding overall high ISO quality
• Support for importing and managing video files from DSLR cameras for better overall photographic workflow control
• Improvements to the import experience in the first beta to reflect public feedback
• Improved watermarking functionality from the first beta to reflect public feedback

Lightroom 3 beta 2 builds on the enhancements introduced in the first Lightroom 3 beta release:

• Brand new performance architecture, building for the future of growing image libraries
• State-of-the-art noise reduction to help you perfect your high ISO shots
• Watermarking tool that helps you customize and protect your images with ease
• Portable sharable slideshows with audio—designed to give you more flexibility and impact on how you choose to share your images, you can now save and export your slideshows as videos and include audio
• Flexible customizable print package creation so your print package layouts are all your own
• Film grain simulation tool for enhancing your images to look as gritty as you want
• New import handling designed to make importing streamlined and easy
• More flexible online publishing options so you can post your images online to certain online photo sharing sites directly from inside Lightroom 3 beta (may require third-party plug-ins)*

Things i am interested in is the Performance (nothing can be fast enough!), import improvments and the Teathered Shooting… this is a very handy feature. So, if your interested, go check it out. but be warned… BETA = not production. i am a trained profesional and one day i will regret running BETA in production…

Canon has released a new software update for the 5D Mark II. this brings the frimware to 2.0.3 and includes the following features:

1. Adds or changes the following movie frame rates.

NTSC:
* 1920×1080 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps)
* 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps)
* 640×480 : 30 fps (changed – actual 29.97 fps)
PAL:
* 1920×1080 : 25 fps (added – actual 25.0 fps)
* 1920×1080 : 24 fps (added – actual 23.976 fps)
* 640×480 : 25 fps (added – actual 25.0 fps)

2. Adds a function for manually adjusting the sound recording level (64 levels).
3. Adds a histogram display (brightness or RGB) for shooting movies in manual exposure.
4. Adds shutter-priority AE mode (Tv) and aperture-priority AE (Av) mode to the exposure modes for shooting movies.
5. Changes the audio sampling frequency from 44.1 KHz to 48 KHz.
6. Fixes a phenomenon where communication between the camera and the attached lens is sometimes interrupted after manual sensor cleaning. (This phenomenon only affects units with Firmware Version 1.2.4.)

You can download the firmware update from Canon here.

DP Review has a, erm, Review of the Canon 1D MK IV. This is one hell-ov-a camera! 16MP, 10FPS to a max of 121 photos (when using UDMA mode 6 CF cards), 3″ Live View screen, etc, etc… It is a beast of a camera, and a beast of a review at 32 pages! Check it out, if you have the time…

Right, so it has been a while since i posted… Since then, the Canon 7D has been announced (kind of like a 5D MK II without the full frame: 18.1Mp, 1080P video, 8FPS shooting) and the 1D MK IV (one up from the 1D MK III: 16MP, 1080P Video, etc…).  Well, this morning, Canon announced the Wireless addon, named the WFT (Wireless File Transfer) for these cameras, and the 5D MK II… There are 3 available: WFT-E2 II A Wireless File Transmitter for the 1D MK IV, WFT-E4 II A Wireless File Transmitter for the 5D MK II and WFT-E5A Wireless File Transmitter for the 7D.

Some interesting features include the new Camera Linking Function, allowing one camera to control 10 Slave cameras, and the New Media Server Function, which seems to only be on the E5A (7D), that allows you to wireless-ly share your photos to DLNA compatible devices.

The E4 II A and E5A will sell at $699 and are available now. no price yet for the WFT-E2 II A, but will be available in the First Quarter 2010.