Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

DSLR Average Online Purchase Price Increases By More Than $350 from 2011

By

Online buyers of DSLR cameras pay $1,291, on average, for their camera, up from $937 in 2011, according to the J.D. Power and Associates 2012 Digital Single-Lens Reflex Camera Online Buyer ReportSM released last week.

I was a little surprised to read those numbers, considering the affordable DSLR options available now – with cameras like the Nikon D3200, Rebel T3 and Sony A37.  However, I’m also a little curious if the consumer move toward affordable mirrorless cameras like the Sony NEX-F3 and Olympus E-PM1 has impacted these figures (which may not be factored into “DSLR” sales evaluated by JD Power).

Additional notes from the report points to Pentax’s lead in buyer satisfaction and durability.  Finally, note that these scores are based on consumer surveys rather than objective test data.

More excerpts from the press release below. [Read more…]

 

LevelUp for Photoshop Makes a Game of Learning Photoshop

By

Level Up for Photoshop Game

Adobe has launched a new game for learning your way around Photoshop.

LevelUp for Photoshop is a game of missions — and points and rewards — that guide you along the way of learning basic Adobe® Photoshop® CS5 and CS6 software skills. If you are a photographer and are just starting to use Photoshop, this is the game for you.

More details on Adobe’s website.

Valve Source Filmmaker

By

[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Zri1c_If6Ic&w=640&h=360]

Valve, the video game company, has launched a project dubbed Source Filmmaker, which gives users the power to edit scenes using video game action.  And get this . . . it’s free.

The Source Filmmaker (SFM) is the movie-making tool built and used by us here at Valve to make movies inside the Source game engine. Because the SFM uses the same assets as the game, anything that exists in the game can be used in the movie, and vice versa. By utilizing the hardware rendering power of a modern gaming PC, the SFM allows storytellers to work in a what-you-see-is-what-you-get environment so they can iterate in the context of what it will feel like for the final audience.

I can see this being an effective storytelling tool for people wanting to sharpen their editing skills but lack source footage to work with, or maybe even as a pre-viz tool.  Beyond that, I bet we’ll see some folks come up with rather entertaining stories built on the shoulders of video games.

[Valve Source Filmmaker]

Canon Refurbished Gear 20% Off at Canon Store

By

Canon 7D

The Canon Store online has 20% OFF Select Refurbished EOS Digital Cameras and Refurbished Lenses with coupon code 20SLR612.

Notable deals with this coupon code include a Canon 7D for $1087 (compare at $1699 new retail) or a Canon 60D w/ 18-135mm kit for $831 (compare at $1299 new retail).  See the full inventory on Canon’s website.

I’ve bought refurbished Canon gear before and wouldn’t hesitate to do it again – especially when savings like this are available.

Canon 7D Firmware Upgrade Due in August… Bigger RAW Buffer, GPS Adapter Compatibility and Manual Audio Levels

By

Canon 7D

The previously teased firmware update for the Canon 7D is now officially set to be released in August.  The firmware set looks to be a mighty big one with a RAW image burst buffer that now allows 25 consecutive images over the previous 15. [Read more…]