Digital Camera News, Reviews and Tips
Sony added a prosumer-level external flash to its lineup last week. The new flash features the same “Quick Shift Bounce” rotation as found the the flagship HVL-F58AM flash. It has guide number of 43 and offers 22 increments of power adjustments between full and down to 1/128 power – all in 1/3 stops – and is powered by 4 AA batteries.
The HVL-F43AM is slated for release later this Summer for around $350.
Full specs and more images below. [Read more…]
Cinevate just announced its new Atlas FLT at NAB 2011. I caught up with the Cinevate guys there and they let me take a quick test drive of the new slider. [Read more…]
Think Tank Photo has announced a new bag aimed at Micro Four Thirds and other mirrorless camera users – the Retrospective 5. Akin to the rangefinder-esque design of many of today’s mirrorless cameras, the Retrospective 5 camera bag mixes old-school look with new-school features.
It is available in black and Pinestone colors and can accommodate a mirrorless camera with 2-3 lenses and several other accessories. The Retrospective 5 should be available in May for $129 direct from Think Tank Photo’s website.
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.
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.
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 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…]
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…]
Nikon has extended its DSLR and lens instant rebates through April 30 with a couple of modifications. The high-end pro DSLRs are out, but the new stuff like the D7000 and D3100 are still part of the program.
B&H Photo has the full details on available DSLR and lens combos.
With a little help from the DSLR.Bot app ($4.99 in the App Store) for iOS, you can add an infrared trigger to your iPhone for Canon (and soon Nikon) DSLRs.
Check out the simple DIY instructions for the infrared iPhone adapter in the video below. [Read more…]