Monday, May 20, 2013
Sony A58 Review
The Sony A58 is a new SLT / DSLR camera with a 20 megapixel sensor, 8fps burst shooting, 25pFull HD movies, high-resolution viewfinder, 2.7-inch tilting LCD screen, OLED viewfinder and an ISO range of 100-16000, all for under £400 / $600 with a standard zoom lens. Read our in-depth Sony A58 review to find out if this budget interchangeable lens camera is worth a look...
Friday, May 17, 2013
Benro Video Tripod Kits
Kenro, the official UK and Ireland distributor for the Benro range of tripods and bags, has introduced a new line of Video Tripod Kits with matching S2, S4, and S6 video fluid heads. Manufactured from high quality machined aluminium alloy with magnesium alloy castings there are three new models available, the A1573FS2, the A2573FS4 and the A3573FS6. Each tripod in the line comes with matching heads to complement its model The S2 head for the A1573 model is rated for a 2.5 kg camera / 5.5 lb, the S4 for the A2573 model will support a 4 kg / 8.8 lb camera, and the S6 head for the A3573 model can carry a 6 kg / 13.2 lb load, each designed for compactness and lightweight performance. These tripod kits are available now with SRP's ranging from £167.40 - £311.40.
Reflecta USB Video Grabber
The Reflecta USB Video Grabber allows users to easily capture and edit video from any home A/V devices, such as DV, V8, Hi8, VHS, DVD Player, HD video game console or set-top box promising to give old analogue videos a new lease of life. Distributed by Kenro in the United Kingdom, the USB Video Grabber from Reflecta is available now, at a suggested retail price of £29.04.
Bowens Offers New £900 Trade-in Deal on Creo Pack
Bowens is offering photographers the chance to save over £900 when they buy a new Creo 2400Ws generator pack. At participating dealers, photographers can trade in their old generator and purchase a Creo 2400Ws at over 20% discount from the typical UK retail price of £3,999.95. The Creo offers ultra-fast recycling (0.9 seconds at full power!), supports flas durations as short as 1/7700th of a second, a 9-F-stop range with 1/10th-stop control, and much more.
Logistics Manager 30
Think Tank Photo has released its newest rolling camera bag, the Logisitcs Manager 30. A new version of the company's popular large-capacity roller bag, the Logisitics Manager 30 holds multiple combinations of cameras and lenses, lighting gear such as strobes and reflectors, and accessories of all kinds. The internal dimensions are 35x70 x21–25.5cm, and the bag also has both internal and side pockets - as well as a large front organiser pocket - for various items. The Think Tank Photo Logistics Manager 30 is available for $499.75 via the website below.
Thursday, May 16, 2013
Sony A58 Photos
Ahead of our full review, here are 51 sample JPEG photos and a 1080p movie taken with the new Sony A58 DSLR camera, including the full ISO range.
The Sony A58 is a mid-range SLT camera with a 20 megapixel CMOS sensor, OLED Tru-Finder viewfinder, burst shooting up to 8fps, 15-point phase detection autofocus system and an ISO range of 100-16000.
Unsettled/Desasosiego
A new book by award-winning photojournalist Donna De Cesare depicts the devastating effects of decades of war and gang violence on the lives of youths in Central America. In this bilingual book Unsettled/Desasosiego, De Cesare’s evocative images put a face to those youths making a choice, or being caught up in gang violence through circumstance. More than a photographic treatise, Unsettled/Desasosiego is a memoir of De Cesare’s decades as a war photojournalist traveling and living in Central America. The 184-page hardback is available for $65.
Fotodiox Pro LED 100WA
Fotodiox has launched the LED100WA high-intensity LED lights, a constant light source modelled after a familiar strobe form. Available in 5600K (Daylight, pictured) or 3200K (Tungsten) colour temperatures, these new lights are equipped with a standard Bowens (S) bayonet mount allowing the use of standard strobe accessories like soft boxes, snoots, grids, and more. “While not a traditional strobe in definition, the LED100WA lights are styled after strobe lighting, giving photographers a familiar format for a constant light source with high light output,” said Drew Strickland, vice president of Fotodiox. “Photographers looking for powerful yet cost-effective lights have been turning toward efficient LED lighting. By offering more options in LED lights we aim to provide photographers with top-of-the-line technology that can meet their needs while also keeping down both equipment and energy costs.” The LED100WA lights are priced at $324.95 and are available now at the website below.
New Rollei Lenses for the iPhone 5
Rollei has introduced three new add-on conversion lenses for the Apple iPhone 5. The Rollei 1.5x Macro Converter (€24.95) conains an aspherical glass lens and enables iPhone 5 users to focus as close as 22mm. The Rollei 0.28x Fisheye (€34.95) comprises three elements in two groups and has a minimum focus distance of 40mm. Finally, the Rollei 9x Tele Converter (€39.95) has an angle-of-view of 12°, comes with a mini tripod and attaches to the iPhone via a hard case (also supplied).
Giottos Silk Road Wins TIPA Award
The new Giotto’s Silk Road range of tripods, has scooped a TIPA award for Best Design. The Giotto’s Silk Road YTL Series features a new, totally unique Y-shaped centre column, meaning legs can be stowed in a much more compact way, allowing a space saving of 30%. Mark Hoskins, the Category Manager responsible for Giotto’s said: "The TIPA Design Award for the new Silk Road series is a real coup - not only recognising the expertise of the design team, but confirming Giotto's tripods as one of the leading brands in the photographic market."
Children with AIDS: Spirit and Memory
A new exhibition at the New-York Historical Society, Children With AIDS: Spirit and Memory, will feature 20 black-and-white photographs by noted photographer and social realist Claire Yaffa from her collection “The Changing Face of Children with AIDS. " Yaffa, whose photographs have been featured in The New York Times and other major publications, has worked for years to document medical institutions and their youngest patients. Among the institutions that Yaffa worked with during her long artistic career is the Incarnation Children’s Center in the Bronx, one of the first organizations to care for orphaned infants born with HIV. Installed in the Civil Rights Gallery from 7 June through 15 September 2013, the mid- to large-format photographs, taken from 1990-2000, reveal heartbreaking tales of children afflicted with HIV and AIDS.
WD My Passport Ultra
WD has announced the availability of the My Passport Ultra line of portable hard drives. Available in 500 GB, 1TB and new 2TB capacities, My Passport Ultra portable hard drives have built-in WD SmartWare Pro backup software with Dropbox integration, hardware encryption and password protection to safeguard against unauthorized drive access. My Passport Ultra portable hard drives offer USB 3.0 SuperSpeed connectivity and are available from WD's online store and at select retailers and distributors. My Passport Ultra 500 GB has an MSRP of $99.99 USD, and the My Passport Ultra 1TB is $129.99. My Passport Ultra 2 TB will be available in the third quarter of 2013.
Wednesday, May 15, 2013
Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 1.8/32 T* Photos
The Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 1.8/32 T* is a 48mm equivalent standard prime lens for Sony NEX and Fujifilm X-series compact system cameras.
We spent a couple of hours shooting with both new Touit lenses and the Fujifilm X-Pro1 camera at Carl Zeiss' UK headquarters (admittedly not the most photogenic of locations) to bring you a gallery of full-size sample images, including the full aperture range.
The Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 1.8/32 T* will cost around £700 in the UK and will be available from Saturday June 1st.
Carl Zeiss Touit Distagon 2.8/12mm T* Photos
The Carl Zeiss Touit Distagon 2.8/12mm T* is an 18mm equivalent ultra-wide angle lens for Sony NEX and Fujifilm X-series compact system cameras.
We spent a couple of hours shooting with both new Touit lenses and the Fujifilm X-Pro1 camera at Carl Zeiss' UK headquarters (admittedly not the most photogenic of locations) to bring you a gallery of full-size sample images, including the full aperture range.
We've also got a final production Carl Zeiss Touit Distagon 2.8/12mm T* lens in for a full review, so watch this space...
The Carl Zeiss Touit Distagon 2.8/12mm T* will cost around £950 in the UK and will be available from Saturday June 1st.
Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 32mm f1.8 Hands-on Photos
Want to see exactly what the new Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 32mm f1.8 lens looks like in the flesh?
Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 32mm f1.8 lens, a high-quality standard prime for Sony NEX and Fujifilm X-series cameras.
Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 12mm f2.8 Hands-on Photos
Want to see exactly what the new Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 12mm f2.8 lens looks like in the flesh?
Check out our hands-on gallery of photos of the Carl Zeiss Touit Planar 12mm f2.8 lens, a high-quality ultra-wide-angle prime for Sony NEX and Fujifilm X-series cameras.
Syngenta Photography Award 2013 Winners Announced
Warsaw-based documentary photographer Jan Brykczyński has tonight, Wednesday 15 May, been announced as the winner of the Syngenta Photography Award Professional Commission at a ceremony at Somerset House, London. In addition to the $15,000 prize money, Brykczyński will receive a grant of up to $25,000 to complete a commission, a central part of the professional competition. “Farming Tribes” will explore the relationship between human beings and nature in four of the world’s major urban spaces – New York, Yerevan, Warsaw and Nairobi. Mimi Mollica (Italy), announced as the second place winner for the Professional Commission, was awarded US$ 10,000, and Pablo Lopez Luz (Mexico) received US$ 5,000 in third place. Holly Lynton (USA) was announced as winner of the Open Competition for “Sienna, Turkey Madonna”, in which a farm worker embraces four turkeys that are to be slaughtered for Thanksgiving on an independent farm in the small town of Shutesbury, Massachusetts.
Rogue FlashBender XL Pro Lighting Kit Now Available in US
ExpoImaging has announced the US availability of the Rogue FlashBender XL Pro Lighting Kit. The kit includes a FlashBender XL Pro white reflector, an XL Pro Strip box diffuser, an XL Soft Box diffuser and a reversible XL Pro silver/black reflector. The Rogue XL Pro Lighting Kit is available to buy now, at a guide retail price of $99.95.
ProDrenalin Now Available
proDAD has announced that its ProDrenalin software is now available to purchase. This all-in-one software application allows GoPro action/sports camera users to improve their videos by removing fisheye and perspective distortion, stabilising, correcting rolling-shutter distortion, de-noising, colour correction, and adjusting the brightness and contrast of the video. Supporting 2.7K and 4K resolutions, the program is also capable of rotating the video if the camera was accidentally mounted upside-down or at the wrong angle. ProDrenalin for Windows sells for £29.85..
Tiffen Photo fx Ultra 5.0 Wins TIPA Award
The Tiffen Photo fx Ultra 5.0 iPad app has been named "Best Mobile Photo App of 2013" by the Technical Image Press Association (TIPA). "We are extremely proud to be honored by TIPA for Photo fx Ultra," comments Steve Tiffen, President and CEO, The Tiffen Company. "Unlike other awards that require a submission process, eligibility is based purely on a product's value in the marketplace, making the TIPA Awards one of the most coveted in the industry." The award-winning app is available for $4.99 through the iTunes App Store.




Canon PowerShot SX500 IS
Panasonic Lumix DMC-TZ40
Fujifilm X20
Samsung NX1000
Canon PowerShot SX50 HS
Sony A58 Review
Nikon Coolpix S6400 Review
Samsung NX300 Review
Panasonic Lumix G6 Review
Olympus XZ-10 Review