Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

New Canon 500mm & 600mm Lenses Available in May 2012

By

Canon 600mm f/4L IS II

Canon USA has issued an update on the availability of its 500mm f/4L IS II and 600mm f/4L IS II lenses, which were previously announced in February 2011.  Initially, the lenses were set to be available in May and June 2011; however, that was pushed back until December 2011 and ultimately listed as TBD for the availability of both models.

Now, Canon says that both lenses will be available in May 2012.  Currently, B&H lists the availability for each lens as April 25, 2012.  Check the following links.

Canon 500mm f/4L IS II @ B&H

Canon 600mm f/4L IS II @ B&H

 

Nikon D700 to Stay in Current Line-Up

By

Nikon D700

Those lamenting over the high resolution of the new Nikon D800 may be pleased to know that Nikon will continue to manufacturer the D700 “for the foreseeable future.”

There is no doubt to the popularity and solid performance of the Nikon D700, so this doesn’t necessarily come as a big shocker.  The continued flux of the D700’s availability proves that there’s still a pretty big demand for this camera.

No word on what kind of price decreases we might see though.  It’d be nice to see the D700 work its way into the sub-$2000 price range in the next few months.  (Although that’s mostly wishful thinking – given its current $2700 price tag.)  I think that would make it an easier reach for a lot of folks who have been holding off or saving their pennies to grab one.

[via Rob Galbraith]

Light and Lighting – New Book from Syl Arena

By

Light and Lighting

Light and Lighting is an upcoming book from Syl Arena. His last book, Speedliter’s Handbook, is awesome and takes the cake in terms of Canon Speedlite instruction.  It’s the book that should come with every Speedlite sold – or, at least the book that anyone who wants to learn how to properly use a Speedlite with their Canon camera.

Syl takes a more basic and brand-agnostic approach with Light and Lighting, as he notes below.

As part of Peachpit’s From Snapshots to Great Shots series, it will present fundamental concepts about light and various techniques of photographic lighting at a level accessible to novice shooters.

Syl is a great photographer and author.  Expect this to be a real gem for getting your lighting feet underneath you.  Light and Lighting is due out in June of this year and is available for pre-order from Amazon now.

[via Speedliting.com]

Vanguard BBH Series Professional Ball Heads Hands-On

By

Vanguard BBH Ballheads

In addition to the new GH-200 pistol-grip ball head, Vanguard also had its new BBH Series of pro ball heads on display at CES 2012.

I’ve been a big fan of Vanguard ball heads since I picked up the SBH-250 a couple of years ago.  The new BBH Series builds on the good stuff from the SBH Series and then adds some more oomph for the professional touch and feel. [Read more…]

Adobe to Offer Creative Suite Subscriptions for $50/mo

By

Adobe Creative Cloud - Everything You Need

Adobe is about to shake things up a bit with a new subscription model for its Creative Suite applications.  Adobe has kinda soured the milk recently with its decision to cut upgrades for earlier versions of its software (which it later rescinded for this upgrade cycle), so I’m curious to see how all of this shakes out. [Read more…]

Lensbaby Edge 80

By

Lensbaby Edge 80

Lensbaby has introduced the new Edge 80, which is a new optic that’s compatible with the Lensbaby Composer Pro, Composer, Muse, Scout and Control Freak.

The Edge 80 is an 80mm lens with a 12-blade aperture that ranges from f/2.8 to f/22.  Shooting level and straight ahead gives you everything in focus; however, tilting it off-axis gives you a slice of sharp focus that can be altered based on the given aperture setting.

Lensbaby Edge 80 Samples

The Lensbaby Edge 80 runs $300 and is available at Lensbaby.com and B&H Photo.

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