Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

 

No New Canon DSLRs This Week

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For those of you holding out hope, Canon’s own Chuck Westfall confirmed to me today that there will be no new Canon DSLR announcements this week.  The ‘major product announcements’ set for NAB were the recently announced video lenses and 3D firmware upgrade for the XF300 and XF305 camcorders.

For DSLR users, Canon’s biggest news has been the Technicolor ‘CineStyle’ and the update to the EOS Movie Plugin-E1 for Final Cut Pro.

I’ll have more details about the CineStyle profile later – hopefully, tonight.  Stay tuned.

Adobe Creative Suite 5.5 Announced, Upgrade & Subscription Options Available

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Adobe has updated its Creative Suite line of products from CS5 to CS5.5.  With the introduction of CS5.5, Adobe is shifting from an 18-24 month product cycle upgrade.  Instead, Adobe will now be release a major version update every 24 months and a mid-cycle upgrade every 12 months. [Read more…]

Sony Officially Unveils F65 CineAlta Camera

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At NAB 2011 today, Sony took the wraps off of its new F65 CineAlta camera, which offers 16-bit 4K RAW capture at up to 72 fps.  It will also shoot 2K resolution at 120 fps.  The F65 is a serious pro-level filmmaking tool.  It has an 8K sensor (approx. 20MP) in which a full half of the photosites in 4K output are green photosites – with the other half evenly split between red and blue.  Sony says, “This is twice the amount of green resolution compared with traditional 4K Bayer pattern sensors, providing a significant improvement in image resolution that is ideal for VFX processing.”

The Sony F65 is the big brother to the recently-announced Sony PMW-F3, along with its junior sibling, the Sony NEX-FS100.

Check out the video overview of the new camera and the press release below. [Read more…]

SF to Paris Timelapse

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They say adding motion to a timelapse is the way to make it really shine. The folks at Beepshow used an Air France jet as a 5000 mile dolly to capture this cool timelapse on an 11 hour flight from San Francisco to Paris.

The timelapse was captured with a Canon 5D Mark II and 16-35mm f/2.8 lens.  Audio was mixed on an iPad and the whole thing was edited in iMovie and After Effects CS5.

Yet another reason to always get the window seat.

[Beepshow via Fstoppers]

Painting with Light – New Book

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Painting with Light: Light Art Performance Photography (“LAPP”) is a new book from photographers Joerg Miedza and JanLeonardo Woellert.  “The first part of Painting with Light describes the evolution of LAPP as told by its originators, while the middle section goes on to present a gallery of spectacular, large format LAPP images. The final section offers some basic steps and tips to give you a starting point for creating your own LAPP artworks.” -Rocky Nook PR

Painting with Light carries a retail price of $39.95; however, it is currently available for $25.31 on Amazon.com.

Canon EOS Movie Plug-in-E1 for Final Cut Pro Updated

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Canon 1D Mark IV

Ahead of NAB 2011, Canon has announced an update to the EOS Movie Plug-in-E1 for Final Cut Pro.  If you aren’t familiar with the plug-in, it aids with importing .mov files from Canon DSLRs. It transcodes the files to Apple ProRes 422 much quicker and easier than using MPEG Streamclip, which is what we used before the plug-in originally came out.  The plug-in works with files from the Canon 1D Mark IV, 5D Mark II, 7D and 60D.

One of the previously frustrating features of the plug-in is that you have to maintain the folder structure of the CF card on which the files were captured – even if you move the files to your hard drive before you import the footage.  The updated version will make this process easier and allow users to import files from any folder “without needing to mirror the folder structure on the camera itself.”

Although many FCP users have developed a consistent workflow to accommodate this file structure when importing Canon EOS movie files, it will be a welcomed change to take this superfluous step out of the workflow.

Version 1.2 of the EOS Movie Plug-in-E1 for Final Cut Pro will be available to download for free on April 25, 2011.  Watch the front page for the link as soon as it is available.

Remote Exposure – New Book

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Remote Exposure is a new book from photographer Alexandre Buisse in which he discusses the “importance of having an efficient carrying system and a logical, planned workflow” while shooting in remote locations with adverse weather conditions.  “This book will guide you through the various options for equipment, since the requirement for lightweight gear that is able to withstand cold, adverse weather conditions presents unique challenges.”

Remote Exposure retails for $29.95; however, it is currently available for $19.17 from Amazon.com.