Photography Blog DigitalPixels.net

The first thing I noticed about the 5D Mark II once out of the box was that the camera feels a little more substantial than the original 5D. I believe it's a little more rigid and slightly heavier. I didn't do a crash test or weigh the cameras, but this is my observation of the build quality.

The viewfinder is nice, big, and bright. I do prefer the viewfinder on the 1Ds Mark III because it protrudes further away from the body and helps keep my nose from being smashed into the back of the camera.

In my experience thus far the battery life is impressive. I've been able to shoot about 650 raw files on a single charge without the battery dwindling. On the video side I operated the camera for about an hour shooting just video and the charge on a single battery went down to about 30% or so. I do not intend to get the battery grip for this camera, because I want to keep size down for this particular body. So I am impressed by the performance. As always though, you should carry at least two batteries with you at all times.

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Olympus rebrands µ SW cameras as µ TOUGH series

Hamburg 9th December 2008 – Olympus, the company that introduced freezeproof, waterproof and shockproof cameras for active lifestyles to the mass consumer market in 2006, is now redefining the segment it continues to dominate. Beginning with the newest members of the line-up to be introduced in January 2009, these incredibly rugged cameras built to capture amazing images in extreme situations will be rebranded as µ TOUGH.

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Ridata Announces Blazing Fast 300X Supreme Series Compact Flash SLC Card

With Read up to 45MB/s and Write up to 31MB/s

Advanced Media, Inc., manufacturer and marketer of the popular Ridata brand of recordable DVD, flash media, electronic storage products, solar power and digital accessories announces a new 300X speed CF flash Memory card for professional photographers and other critical mobile devices. The Ridata 16GB/300x SLC (Single Level Cell) Supreme CompactFlash card boasts a large capacity (16GB) and one of the fastest transfer rates available.

Professional photographers are faced with shooting larger, high resolution - once in a lifetime photos. They cannot risk losing these photos or their clients. We developed the Ridata 300X SLC CF card for these people, remarked Harvey Liu, president of Advanced Media, Inc. In today’s world of sophisticated mobile digital products needing secure SLC data storage and faster read times it just makes sense.

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The Plugin Site Released the Mac Version of ContrastMaster

The Plugin Site (http://www.thepluginsite.com) is proud to announce the release of ContrastMaster for MacOS X. ContrastMaster is a plugin for effective contrast enhancement as well as creating dramatic contrast looks, photorealistic paintings and HDR-like effects. It can turn low-contrast photos into vivid and detailed images and transforms ordinary photos into interesting and dynamic shots.

ContrastMaster works with dozens of applications under MacOS X as well as Windows. For accelerated rendering it supports multiple processors and cores. ContrastMaster works with 8bit and 16bit RGB images. It is available in English as well as German language.

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Photodex Corporation today announced the release of ProShow Producer 4.0, the all-new generation of its award-winning photo and video slide show software for professionals. ProShow Producer 4.0 has powerful new features that streamline workflow and offer a broader range of creative possibilities. As the industry’s leading professional slide show software, ProShow Producer outputs to over 40 formats including DVD, Blu-ray and Flash.

“Creating professional output can be very time consuming. We wanted to optimize the workflow of creating a polished and professional looking show”, said Paul Schmidt, President and Founder of Photodex Corporation. “Producer 4.0 has simple-to-use, one-click features, that allow users to achieve professional results in less time and with less work. Combined with an all-new interface the path to professional slide shows is much simpler and more powerful.”

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http://www.flickr.com/photos/fotoaficionado/

FotoAficionado.com - Spanish photography blog

How to Reduce the Age of people and de-age in Photoshop

Joaquin Alfaro Photography

A selection of photos featuring beautiful reflections

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Meant to Be Seen, the foremost authority group on stereoscopic 3D gaming and home entertainment has joined forces with Hill Thompson, a talented MTBS member, to release Photoforms, a software program that lets anyone create true stereoscopic 3D images from a 2D picture.

Similar to the experience movie goers get in 3D theaters, gamers use S-3D technology at home for superior game immersion, visual beauty and game enjoyment.  In video games, stereoscopic 3D hardware makes explosions fly out of the screen and adds a depth that makes the display look like a window rather than a flat projection. Sample hardware includes iZ3D 3D monitors, TDVision head mounted displays, and a growing selection of 3D HDTVs.

Photoforms works in conjunction with free stereoscopic 3D driver software that supports windowed 3D viewing.  While the utility has been tested with iZ3D LLC drivers, additional compatibility is expected as alternate driver developers offer the same ability.  A future update is expected to include full screen support as well.

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Written by noted AP photographer and photoeditor Brian Horton, this is an insider's manual to one of the most glamorous and exciting media professions. Emphasizing the creative process behind the photojournalist's art, Brian Horton draws upon his three decades of experience, as well as the experiences of other award-winning photojournalists, to instruct readers in the secrets of snapping memorable news photos every time. With the help of more than 100 photographs from the AP archives, he analyzes what constitutes successful news photos of every type, including portraits, tableaux, sports shots, battlefield scenes, and more, as well as offering tips on how to develop a style of your own.

Associated Press Guide to Photojournalism (Associated Press Handbooks)