Photography Bay

Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips

Photrade: Simplify Selling Photos

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I think every photographer has experimented with selling prints, mugs and anything else they can think of with their photography printed on it. It can be a good way to make a little money off of a picture that might otherwise just sit on your hard drive, taking up space. But it is a fair amount of work to do on your own.

Photrade is willing to take on the hard part of the work, for part of the profits. It’s an easy system to use — just upload your photos, set a price and Photrade will take and fulfill orders. You set the markup, and can also make a little more cash from advertising on your page. You’ll have to do a little promotion on your own, but you can get a little bit of income through the site.

The site is still in beta, but quite a few Photrade invites seem to be floating around through various invite trading sites.

 

Nik Silver Efex Pro Review at PhotographyBLOG

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PhotographyBLOG has posted a review of Nik Silver Efex Pro, which is a black and white plug-in designed for use with Adobe Photoshop or Apple Aperture 2.1. It uses Nik’s patented U-Point technology to assist you in making local changes to your images.

PhotographyBLOG dealt Silver Efex Pro a favorable review, giving it 4.5 out of 5 stars, and stating that it “is the most powerful and intuitive plug-in I’ve ever worked with for black and white imaging. The Grain Engine does an excellent job of providing a natural look to the image, and the selection of film types is good.”

Free Links Friday

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Below are some of the best photography links from other sites that I came across this week. Enjoy!

Why shoot JPG to learn to shoot RAW – Ann Torrence – Before you commit yourself to shooting RAW format only, it’s important to understand why you would want to.  Ann does a good job of explaining the “why” and how she convinced herself to switch from JPEG to RAW.

Terms to Make a Happy Face Very Sad – Photo Attorney – Carolyn Wright points out that Facebook takes an irrevocable license to your uploaded photos for practically any commercial purpose.

Six Ways to Help a Laid-Off Photographer Get Started as a Freelancer – Blackstar Rising – John Harrington points out why and how experienced freelancers should help out the new folks on the block.

The weird science of stock photography – Slate Magazine -This article takes an interesting perspective on stock photography and how photographers and media companies look into the future a bit to predict demand.

Harassed at the TCW Group building in Los Angeles – All Narfed Up – It seems like this has been happening far too often lately.  Check it out for Bryan Villarin’s account of private security confronting him on a public sidewalk and telling him he can’t take a photograph of a building.

DC’s Union Station Ordered to Clarify Photo Policy – PDN Online – “Delegate Eleanor Holmes Norton, who represents the district, convened a hearing to examine complaints by photographers that Union Station has no consistent photo policy, and that security personnel arbitrarily prohibit them from taking pictures.”

If you want your photography-related site on Free Links Friday, just drop a comment or an email asking nicely.  Leave a link and a short description of what your site or particular post is about.  Spammers need not apply.

Nikon D700 In Stock – Updated

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The following vendors have the D700 in stock as of 9:50 p.m. ET.  This in-stock status was confirmed by an email that I received from the vendors.  The warn, however, that the supply is limited.

For the moment (8:09 p.m. ET), the Nikon D700 kit is in stock at B&H Photo. (Update – No longer showing in stock.) Unfortunately, the body only option is not available at B&H yet.

Here’s the links to B&H Photo:

It’s probably time to start perusing some of the other vendors too. Here’s PB’s collection of pre-order links to the Nikon D700:

For the latest Nikon D700 news and reviews, be sure to visit Photography Bay’s Nikon D700 Reviews and Resources.

Pentax K200D Review at Camera Labs

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Camera Labs has posted a review of the Pentax K200D.

While there are a number of aspects to weigh-up, the choice between the K200D and rival DSLRs really boils down to how much you value build quality and Live View. If you want a tough, weatherproof DSLR at a low price, then buy the K200D. If however you’d prefer a smaller, lighter DSLR with Live View capabilities, then go for one of its rivals.

Click here for more info on the Pentax K200D.

Nikon SB-900 Review at Strobist

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David Hobby over at Strobist has given the Nikon SB-900 a good run-through and shares his thoughts on the new $500 speedlight.

One other noteworthy change is that the SB-900 swings both ways — you can go reverse 180 in either direction. This is especially useful, in that whichever way you mount a remote flash you can have the receiving window facing the master light source.

Jump on over there to see whether you should sell all of your SB-800’s to make room in your bag for SB-900’s.  (Ok, it’s not that simple, but David’s got some great insights on the pros and cons of the new flash, particularly for those of you who already own a stable of SB-800’s.)

Pre-Order the SB-900 at Adorama.

Canon EOS 1000D Review at DP Review

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DP Review has posted a review of the new Canon EOS 1000D (aka Digital Rebel XS).  The EOS 1000D takes over for the EOS 400D (aka Rebel XTi) at the bottom rung of Canon’s DSLR lineup.  It features a 10.1 megapixel sensor.  DP Review gives it a “Highly Recommended” rating along with a very positive overall impression.

It’s certainly a safe bet and one of the most consistent offerings in the sector (it has few annoying quirks or niggling loose ends) and its all-round competance, excellent high ISO performance and class-leading image quality will win it a lot of friends.

For the latest news, reviews and more, stay tuned to Photography Bay’s Canon Rebel XS Reviews and Resources.

Photoshop World Conference Keynote Announced

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The headliner for this year’s Photoshop World Conference will be John Loiacono, Adobe’s Senior Vice President of Creative Solutions. He will be taking the stage as the featured keynote presenter at Photoshop World Las Vegas on September 4th.

Loiacono is known for using Photoshop World to launch new projects — he announced the Lightroom 2 Public Beta at Photoshop World Orlando. His presentations are always interesting and engaging, not the typical humdrum business lecture you might expect from someone with his title. Loiacono’s executive bio is on the Adobe site. The above photo is from Loiacono’s talk at last year’s conference.

The Imaging Source’s New Telescope Cameras

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Interested in photographing the night sky? The Imaging Source, a company known for high quality imaging equipment, is now offering a line of telescope cameras.

I’ve done just a little bit of star-gazing with a camera in my hand. Astro-photographers seem to run into two problems continuously: first, the cost of equipment makes it an expensive hobby, and second, any photos taken with relatively cheap equipment are guaranteed to have a definite noise problem. The Imaging Source says that their cameras are low noise, however, and the prices are certainly affordable — the cameras range in price from $390 to $870.

There’s one heck of a meteor show in August, and I think I know what I want to photograph it with.

Nikon D700x / D800

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It didn’t take long after the announcement of the Nikon D700 for rumors of the next big thing to take center stage.  Aside from the Nikon D3x and D90 rumors, many sites and forums have begun to report on rumors of a Nikon D800 at 24+ megapixels.  I’m not sure where the Nikon D800 rumors began; however, there doesn’t really seem to be any credible evidence thus far.

Most of the info on the Nikon D800 seems to come from Nikon Rumors, who to their credit have been digging up mocked up images and rumors from their readers.  However, this recent entry shows off some copy take from the September issue of Chasseurs d’Images.  The article seems to discuss (it’s in French) the coming Nikon full frame camera in light of the Sony A900, which is bound to be announced around Photokina.  The article mentions the Nikon D800:

dont celle d’un Nikon D800, qui n’est pas qu’une rumeur.

Google’s translator says this means:

including a Nikon D800, which is not just a rumor.

However, at least one human translator says the end phrase should translate as:

. . . which is nothing more than a rumor.

Anyone that’s fluent in French feel free to clear this article up a bit in the comments below.

UPDATES

2/3/09: Rumors of a PMA 2009 release to compete with the 5D Mark II.  Read more.