Friday, November 20, 2009

We’ve just launched an exciting new addition to Photography Blog - you can now sort our camera reviews by manufacturer, rating and date.

Previously we’ve just had a big long list of all our reviews, with the newest at the top, but you can now alternatively choose to browse them by a particular manufacturer, either by date or by rating. Want to quickly find out which are the best Canon cameras? It’s now just a couple of clicks away.

This great new feature works with every camera review that we’ve published since we re-designed the site back in March - that’s a massive 77 of the latest cameras to choose from!

And remember, you can also check out the Best Cameras list to find out which products come with the official Photography Blog seal of approval.

The Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship will award a cash gift of $5,000 and $1,000 in Sigma products to one talented American high school senior to advance his or her education and goals toward obtaining a career in the photography industry. Applications will be accepted until February 15, 2010. Online voting will occur Feb. 16, 2010 to April 23, 2010, and the winner will be announced May 3, 2010. Applicants are required to submit an application, brief essay and three to five images that have a connecting theme in order to be considered for the Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship. The entire package will be judged based on creativity of subject selection, overall technique and, most importantly, image quality. Students are not required to use Sigma equipment to shoot the photo As always, make sure to read the rules before entering your work.

Website: Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship Application Form

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Passers-by at London Waterloo station were greeted by a rather unusual sight: a 3.6m x 2m mock-up of the new Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX1 digital compact camera. The giant snapper, which has appeared at London Waterloo station yesterday morning, is part of Panasonic’s unconventional marketing campaign that had earlier seen a giant pigeon “land” on the grass beside London’s City Hall. The heavily-promoted Lumix ZX1 is a new ultra-compact digital camera with an 8x optically-stabilised zoom lens that provides a 35mm equivalent focal range of 25-200mm in a body measuring just 2.6cm thick.

Review: Read our in-depth review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-ZX1

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Adobe has posted documentation for Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta. Help topics include a What’s New section, importing photos into a catalogue, exporting using Publish Services, creating a copyright watermark, simulating film grain, updating the process version, applying a post-crop vignette, exporting a video slide show and Custom print packages. To access the documentation, choose Help > Lightroom Help (F1) in Lightroom 3 Beta or go to Using Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 3 Beta. Adobe warns that “just like the software, this documentation is prerelease”.

TweetPhoto and Eastman Kodak Company have announced that the two companies have entered into a collaborative agreement on initiatives focussed around real-time photo sharing. The companies have signed an agreement with the intention to work freely together to develop, test and release products and services that leverage the viral nature of the real-time web and social eco-systems. “Real-time photography is currently used across social networking sites to start a conversation or give context to a tweet,” says Sean Callahan, Co-Founder of TweetPhoto. “Photo sharing on the real time web is only going to continue to grow, and we are pleased with the opportunity to collaborate with Kodak, the world’s leading imaging innovator.”

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Imation has announced availability of its next-generation Solid State Drive (SSD) Upgrade Kit, simplifying migration from a hard disk drive to SSD in just three easy steps. Simply transfer existing files from an HDD to the new SSD, then install the SSD and finally, repurpose the existing hard drive into an external USB drive for additional backup and storage using a specially designed case. The M-Class SSD Upgrade Kit is available in a 2.5-inch form factor in capacities of 64GB and 128GB. Products are available for a starting MSRP of $110.99 for the M-class drive and $194.99 for the M-Class Upgrade Kit through authorized Imation distributors, wholesalers, resellers and e-tailers in the US and Europe.

Website: Imation

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GoPro has announced HD Hero Naked, a wearable 1080p HD camera for sports enthusiasts. The HD Hero Naked is the newest addition to the company’s line of wearable cameras, which already include vertical market specific HD Motorsports Hero,HD Helmet Hero (outdoor sports), and HD Surf Hero. These units come bundled with a variety of mounts ranging from suction cups to vented helmet straps, head straps and adhesive mounts for attaching the camera to cars, motorcycles, bikes and surfboards. The HD Hero Naked, which captures “professional quality” 1080p / 960p / 720p true HD video at 30 and 60 frames per second, differs from the aforementioned HERO cameras in that the HD Hero Naked comes with one mount for attaching the camera to a helmet or other curved surfaces, the camera, and the housing which protects the camera from bumps and keeps it waterproof to 180’/60m. Included are a removable rechargeable lithium-ion battery and cables for attaching the camera to an HDTV or computer, but aside from this the camera comes “naked,” sans the mounts included in the other models. In addition to shooting HD videos, the HD Hero Naked and related cameras also shoot 5MP photos and feature an optional auto-photo mode that captures photos every 2, 5, 10, 30, or 60 for the duration of a consumer’s sport or activity. The HD Hero Naked is available for $259.99.

Website: GoPro

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Hoodman and Trek-Tech have introduced a new toolkit for macro photographers that makes positioning and stabilising cameras for close up, macro photography quick and easy. The toolkit combines the Hoodman Right Angle Viewer and a Trek-Tech T-Pod table top tripod. The right angle viewer with 360° rotation gives photographers the flexibility to position a camera to get down and up close to the subject matter. The table-top tripod supports cameras with “rock solid stability” for sharp focus. The Hoodman Right Angle viewer fits all Canon, Nikon, and Fuji Digital SLR cameras and comes with a compact, protective storage case included. The Trek-Tech T-Pod is very versatile and high quality table top tripod which comes complete with ball head, quick release system and travel pouch. The T-Pod with the upper tube attached adjusts from 10” to 13.5” in height. The ball head may also be connected directly to the legs creating a very stable platform which is 4” high. The Macro Photography Toolkit costs $129.99.

Website: Trek-Tech

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SeenBy.com have announced the launch of their fine art photography website. SeenBy.com boasts a collection of more than 60,000 pieces in the online gallery, which is allegedly hand-picked by an editorial team with years of experience as journalists and photo editors. In addition to featuring artwork with an unusual and modern feel, SeenBy.com offers gallery-grade prints on a variety of materials that can hang frameless, emphasising the natural impression of the photos. Additionally, SeenBy’s photo lab allows customers to produce their personal images with the same technology and quality used by museums and galleries.

Website: SeenBy.com

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Thursday, November 19, 2009

Imation today announced the US availability of its Pro WX Wireless USB hard drive, billed as the “world’s first wireless USB external hard drive. With a fast Wireless USB data transfer rate of up to 15MBs/second, the product can back up a typical CD in under 50 seconds, and store up to 300,000 photos or 750 hours of video. Available in 1.5TB capacity, the Imation Pro WX will be demoed at the Pepcom Wine, Dine & Demo media event at the Hammerstein Ballroom at Manhattan Center Studios tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. The manufacturer’s suggested retail price is $449.99.

Website: Imacon

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