Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

HDSLR Gear That Saves the Day

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I’ve been working on a short film project recently with my church (along with our in-house video director/my very good friend Nick, and some very talented volunteers). The short film is something we plan to use as part of our Easter morning service later this month.  We’re shooting it entirely on the Canon 5D Mark II and Canon 7D. We shot most of the scenes in one day at two locations (around 25 total set ups for a 16+ hour shooting day).  Yesterday, we wrapped up with the intro scene, which calls for the lead character in a vehicle talking on a cell phone.

I thought I would share some of the random little tools that really saved the day and helped us get the shots (and audio) that were critical to this production. [Read more…]

 

Westcott Spiderlite TD6 and 7′ Parabolic Umbrella Hands-On

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Westcott had a regular photographer’s playground set up at Photoshop World last week.  Even though it had just announced the TD6 Spiderlite and new 7′ Parabolic umbrellas, there were plenty to be seen and put through the paces on the expo floor between the great classes at PSW.

One of the cool things that Westcott does for the attending photographers is set up several shooting stations with lights and live models to give everything a good run for your money. [Read more…]

GE Micro Four Thirds Cameras Coming Soon?

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GE Digital Cameras looks to be adding Micro Four Thirds to its growing lineup of cameras.  If a report from CNet Asia is accurate, we could see GE-branded Micro Four Thirds cameras by the end of the year.

For those unfamiliar with GE Digital Cameras, General Imaging Company is actually the company that makes and sells GE Digital Cameras subject to a brand-licensing agreement with General Electric (the company that owns the ‘GE’ trademark).  Obviously, General Electric has at least some marginal oversight of the products and the use of its brand, but the actual company that is making and selling the cameras is a camera company. [Read more…]

Scott Kelby’s Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques Available Now

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Scott Kelby’s newest book, Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques, is now available.  Scott says this book “was designed expressly for photographers who do their own retouching.”  If you are familiar with Kelby’s past books, then you know he pretty much nails the subject matter of all of his books.

Professional Portrait Retouching Techniques carries a list price of $49.99; however, it is currently available for $29.31 on Amazon.com.

Nikon D5100 Prices, Pre-Orders and Availability

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Now that the Nikon D5100 is officially out of the gate, you may be interested to know that the US price is $799.95 (body only) and $899.95 with an 18-55mm VR kit lens.

You can find it for pre-order or notification status at the following links. It’s scheduled to ship this month (April 2011).

Nikon D5100 (body only):  Amazon | B&H Photo

Nikon D5100 w/ 18-55mm VR lens:  Amazon | B&H Photo

Nikon ME-1 Stereo Mic: Amazon

The US price for the Nikon ME-1 hot shoe mic is $179.95.  However, if you’re going to spend that much on a hot shoe mic, spend a little extra and get the Rode VideoMic Pro instead.

Lensbaby Composer Pro Launched

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Lensbaby let the wraps off a new lens today – the Composer Pro.

The Lensbaby Composer Pro steps up its game with upgrades to the swivel ball and focus mechanism to make it (you guessed it) more “pro” oriented.  The new focus ring is a dampened fluid ring, which (according to Lensbaby) is more akin to pro-caliber lenses from conventional lens makers. [Read more…]

Nikon D5100 Incoming [Updated: It’s Here]

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With press releases already leaking out on the web, it looks like Nikon is about to lower the hammer with its new D5100 DSLR, which sports a 16.2MP sensor, 11-point AF system and 1920 x 1080/24p video capture.  Other juicy specs are a new HDR feature, video special effects and 4 fps still frame rate.

The most obvious new addition to the D5100 is a swivel LCD, which attaches to the side of the camera.  This is a bit of change up from the D5000, which sported a swivel LCD that attached to the bottom of the camera. The LCD itself is a solid 921k-dot res display that weighs in at a full 3 inches.

The D5100 offers a sensitivity range of ISO 100-6400, and is expandable to ISO 25,600.  What’s more, the D5100 sports a new “Night Vision” mode for video capture that records in low light up to ISO 102,400.

The D5100 captures both 1080p and 720p at 24p or 30p frame rates.  Notably absent is the ability to record at 60p when shooting 720p video (like the Canon 7D and 60D models).  Of course, this isn’t new to Nikon HDSLRs – with the recent Nikon D7000 locked down to the same frame rate options.  Manual exposure control is confirmed for video mode. [Update: DPReview confirms that the D5100 suffers from the same, frustrating aperture lock that cripples the D7000 when in Live View mode.  This seriously hampers the use of the D5100 as a video-centric tool.]

Those interested in using the D5100 to capture video will find the addition of a stereo mic input will be a welcomed bonus.

Speaking of mic inputs, Nikon looks to be launching the Nikon ME-1 stereo mic alongside the D5100 – although its spec sheet is hardly inspiring.  Nikon Rumors picked up word that the frequency response only covers 70Hz to 16kHz.  It will be powered by the camera and will sport a switchable low-cut filter (not sure what the low-cut boundaries are though).  Given that the ME-1 appears to be strictly intended for using on-camera and mounted in the hot shoe of a consumer-grade camera, it might be good enough.

[via Nikon Rumors]

Full Nikon Canada (replaced with US version) press release follows. [Read more…]