Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Archives for October 2009

HDR Poll Results – Lightroom vs. Photomatix

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Last week, I showed you a couple of images that I processed with a goal of creating an extended dynamic range.  One was processed in Lightroom from a single image and one was processed from three separate images in Photomatix to create an HDR image.  This grew largely from an experiment with a Canon 5D Mark II RAW file to see how far I could push the dynamic range from a single file in Lightroom 2.5.  Nothing scientific.  Just a little fun.

If you missed it, here is the original post.

To make things a little more interesting, I posted both images with metadata stripped and asked you to decide which was a single image processed in Lightroom and which was a combination of 3 images processed in Photomatix. Take a look at the results of that poll below. [Read more…]

 

Canon 2009-2010 Fall and Winter Rebates

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Canon Rebates

Canon has announced its lineup of lenses and flashes eligible for instant rebate savings for fall / winter 2009.

This is an instant rebate program too – no mailing receipts and UPC codes an then waiting 6-8 weeks.   The rebate applies for purchases on qualifying Canon gear between October 22, 2009 and January 16, 2010.

The specific items are listed below, along with links to product pages for each lens or flash at Amazon, Adorama and B&H Photo.  Additionally, Amazon has set up a dedicated page for this rebate program.

Canon Lens Rebates

EF 200mm f/2L IS USM – Save $500 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS USM – Save $150 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM – Save $130 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM – Save $100 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF 70-200mm f/2.8L USM – Save $80 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF 24-70mm f/2.8L USM – Save $80 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF 70-200mm f/4L IS USM – Save $75 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF-S 17-55 f/2.8 IS USM – Save $70 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF-S 10-22mm f/3.5-4.5 USM – Save $50 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF 17-40mm f/4L USM – Save $50 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF 70-200mm f/4L USM – Save $40 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

EF-S 60mm f/2.8 Macro USM – Save $30 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

Canon Flash Rebates

Speedlite 580EX II – Save $50 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

Speedlite 430EX II – Save $30 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

Speedlite 270EX – Save $20 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX – Save $70 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX – Save $50 – Amazon / Adorama / B&H Photo

Spider Holster Hands-On Review

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The Spider Holster is a unique, new holster belt for a photographer. It allows them to mount their cameras safely and securely while enabling quick access should the need arise for it. It is great for wedding photographers, sports shooters, photojournalists, event shooters that carry a backup body amongst others. While I was at first skeptical, a hands-on demo quickly disproved my initial reservations.
[Read more…]

Windows 7 Photography Solutions and Applications

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Windows 7

If you haven’t heard already, Windows 7 is here and available everywhere.

If you use Windows Vista on your computer, you may be more than ready for the upgrade.  Microsoft has been hyping Windows 7 as a better solution for a long time.  What follows are some of the latest developments for photographers, along with a brief look at what casual photographers can expect out of Windows 7 for helping organize and edit images. [Read more…]

Sigma 70-300mm f/4-5.6 DG OS Lens Hands-on Review

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The Sigma 70-300mm F4-5.6 DG OS lens is a consumer-oriented lens and is available for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax and Sigma DSLRs. This lens is one that is relatively compact for its abilities. It feels very light in your hands and should be very enjoyable for amateurs, enthusiasts, etc. Granted, the lens is not an EX (Sigma’s top of the line) and it surely shows it. I received some brief hands-on time with the lens and was able to judge the Canon version’s abilities vs. something like my much older Canon 80-200mm F2.8 L.

[Read more…]

Sony A850 Hands-On Review

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The Sony A850 has no differences from the flagship Sony A900 besides a slower rate of fire, a slightly smaller viewfinder and $700. For the money, it is the best bang-for-your buck value out there right now for full frame photographers. Put some nice Minolta or Zeiss glass in front of that sensor and you’ll begin to see some very nice results. During my hands-on time, I noticed some other slight differences in handling.

[Read more…]

Canon 1D Mark IV Hands-On Review

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After getting some hands on time with the 7D before, my impressions going into Photo Plus with the 1D Mark IV were that it was basically a “grown up” version of that camera. In some ways I’m wrong, and in some ways I’m right. The 1D Mark IV is a camera that Canon users of all types and backgrounds will drool over. From the amazing high ISO photos to the lovely HD video modes, there is lots to love in this camera.

[Read more…]

Nikon D300s Review

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Nikon D300s

The Nikon D300s is a 12.3-megapixel DSLR that can also capture video at 720p resolution and 24 frames per second.  The D300s is a follow up to the D300 and serves as more of a refreshed version of the D300 as opposed to a totally new product.  It has most of same components and features as the D300 with a few new bells and whistles thrown in for good measure.

Since the recent announcement of the D3s, Nikon appears content in offering video capture at 720p for this generation of cameras.  All of the Nikon DSLRs that offer video only allow a maximum resolution capture of 720p at 24 fps.  Canon has stepped out of the box from its initial video limitations in the 5D Mark II by offering serious firmware updates to it (and promising more to come) and additional video options to its other new DSLRs like the Canon 7D, which offers 1080p HD video capture at 30fps, 25fps, and 24fps, as well as 720p HD video at 60fps and 50fps.  While Nikon has received much criticism on the video limitations of its recent DSLRs, it has shown no signs of stepping up the game in this generation of cameras.

That said, the Nikon D300s (and every other DSLR for that matter) is first and foremost a still image capture device.  Sure, video is relevant nowadays; however, performance for still image capture and quality is still our golden measuring stick.  With this in mind, let’s take a brief look at the key features and jump into the rest of this review. [Read more…]

Hands On: Phase One 645DF, P 65+ and P 40+

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During a quick visit to the Digital Transitions store in NYC, I got to spend some personal hands on time with some of Phase One’s newest products in a studio environment. Being medium format, the images are really quite spectacular. On top of this, using the equipment was very simple to do but is very much different from using traditional DSLR cameras. The experience is something that photographers would truly love.

[Read more…]

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta Now Available – for Free!

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Lightroom 3 Beta

All you Lightroom users out there, get ready.  Adobe just dropped the beta version of Lightroom 3 out onto the Interweb, and it’s packed with all sorts of new bells and whistles.

Improved efficiency, Flickr integration, overhauled developing engine and more are served up in this revised processing powerhouse.

So, what are you waiting for?  Go download the Lightroom 3 Beta now.  The beta is schedule to expire in April 2010, so you should continue to use your current version of Lightroom for serious work until this is for real.

There’s more details in the press release below for you over-analytical types. [Read more…]