Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Archives for July 2010

Apple Refreshes iMac and Mac Pro Lines

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Apple has updated its iMac and Mac Pro line to include the latest Intel processors, adding Core i7 as an iMac option and a dual processor 12-core Mac Pro option.

Additional product releases include a Magic Trackpad for adding MacBook trackpad functionality to desktops, and a new 27″ LED Cinema Display.

Full details at Tech Tilt: Apple Updates iMac and Mac Pro, Introduces Magic Trackpad and New 27-inch LED Cinema Display.

Also, working pros who demand serious horsepower should checkout this insightful post from digital imaging technician, Brook Willard: The State of Apple’s Professional Line.  I’m not trying to pile on by any means; however, I think Brook makes some important points about the lack of USB 3.0 and limited PCI slots, among others.  Your thoughts?

 

Panasonic Adds 3D Lens to Micro Four Thirds System

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Panasonic has announced the development of a 3D lens for its Lumix Micro Four Thirds system.  The lens’ design allows it to capture stereo images on a single image sensor, which merged with not-yet-disclosed 3D image processing system.

The new 3D lens should go on sale by the end of 2010.  No word on price yet.

More details in the press release below. [Read more…]

Sony 24mm F2, 35mm F1.8 and 85mm F2.8 Lenses

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Sony has announced 3 new A-mount lenses for its line of Alpha DSLRs.  The new lenses include the Carl Zeiss Distagon T* 24mm F2 ZA SSM, the DT 35mm F1.8 SAM, and the 85mm F2.8 SAM.

The Distagon T* 24mm F2 and 85mm F2.8 SAM should be available in September at and initial retail price of £1,100 and £220, respectively.  The DT 35mm F1.8 should be available in October at an initial retail price of £175.

Sony has not announced pricing or availability for these lenses in the US yet; however, US pricing and available should be revealed closer to the September and October launch dates for these lenses.

More details and images in the press release below. [Read more…]

Ansel Adams Negatives Bought at Garage Sale, Now Worth $200 Million+

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Rick Norsigian purchased a box of 65 glass negatives 10 years ago at a yard sale in SoCal for $45 have been estimated to be worth at least $200 million.

These glass plate negatives were thought to have been lost long ago in a darkroom fire in 1937.  Experts speculate that Adams somehow left them behind when teaching a photography glass in Pasadena in the 1940s.

[via CNN]

Panasonic G2 Sample Images

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As part of my upcoming review of the Panasonic G2, I have managed to capture a few photos that I thought were worth sharing.  It will be a little while still before the review is complete; however, I wanted to pass along these sample images for you to check out.  All were captured using the Panasonic G2’s 14-42mm kit lens.  All images were captured in JPEG format, and I have noted the basic shot info below each image.

Feel free to download any of these sample images for your personal inspection (not for republication).  You can get the original files by right-clicking on any of the images and choosing “Save link as…” [Read more…]

Samsung NX100 Rumored to Launch in September

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Recent leaks and rumors suggest that the Samsung NX100 will launch just before Photokina 2010.  Photo Rumors is pegging this camera as a higher end camera to the mainstream Samsung NX10, which was recently reviewed here.

And that makes sense, given that the NX5 (not launched in the US) is a stripped-down version of the NX10.

[Samsunghub via Photo Rumors]

Royal Family Joins Flickr

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The Queen attends the Royal Windsor Horse Show in 1982

The Royal Family has opened a Flickr account.  It appears that Queen Elizabeth II and Yahoo have been working behind the scenes for some time putting this account together.

They’ve got a number of sets, which, at launch today, include over 600 total photos, ranging from the Victorian era to a couple of days ago.  Prince Harry also has his own collection that you can follow.  William too.

While many of the images are low-resolution and comments have been disabled, the British Monarchy account will allow Flickr users to use the “Share” tab by emailing or embedding photos on other sites (as I’ve done above with an image of the Queen from 1982).

The Queen already has a YouTube channel and Twitter account, so she had to be feeling a bit behind the times without a photo sharing account.

[Flickr via Yahoo News]