This Blog Has Moved!

We are happy to announce that the Camera West Blog is now hosted on our website making it easier for readers to access.

When on the Camera West homepage, access the blog from the left hand menu options. You can also go directly to the blog here : http://www.camerawest.com/cwblog/

Canon 5D Mark II/III ISO Comparison

Camera Labs has done a side-by-side comparison showing how the ISO performance of the new Canon 5D Mark III compares with the Mark II.

Check it out here :

http://www.cameralabs.com/reviews/Canon_EOS_5D_Mark_III/high_ISO_noise.shtml

Nikon D800's Impressive Resolution

Photographer and photo book author Darrell Young is quite impressed with the resolution of the D800. "I cannot express to you how overwhelmed I am by the resolution of this D800. All cameras I have ever used in the past absolutely pale into insignificance", he says.

Young shot the above photo of a cemetery. Check out the 100% view - you can read the names on the headstones. Quite impressive indeed!

More info here : http://www.nikonians.org/forums/dcboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=226&topic_id=39391&mesg_id=39391&page

Adobe Releases Photoshop CS6 Beta

Adobe has released a public beta version of Photoshop CS6, which is available as a free download. New features include a new look, improved performance, and video editing features, which are now available in standard Photoshop, not just in Photoshop Extended.

Expected to debut sometime in the first half of this year and is compatible with Mac OS 10.6.8 or later, and Windows XP SP3 or Windows 7 SP1.

Download here : http://labs.adobe.com/downloads/photoshopcs6.html

DP Review has an in depth look at this app : http://www.dpreview.com/articles/2601746315/photoshop-cs6-beta-new-features-for-photographers

Nikon D800/E User Manual

http://www.nikonusa.com/pdf/manuals/dslr/D800_EN.pdf

Canon 5D Mark III User Manual

Link to the new Canon 5D Mark III user manual :

http://www.canonrumors.com/files/eos5dmkiii-im-c-en.pdf

Nikon D4 Users Manual

Here is a link to the new Nikon D4 manual :

http://www.nikonsupport.eu/europe/Manuals/D4/D4_En_01.pdf

Buy a New Leica - Get Lightroom 4 Free

Adobe  Lightroom 4 is now part of the package supplied with Leica S2/S2-P, Leica M9/M9-P, Leica X1 and Leica D-Lux 5 cameras.

http://en.leica-camera.com/news/news/1/8799.html

See post below for info on what the latest version of Lightroom offers you.

Adobe Lightroom 4 Now Available

Adobe has just announced that Lightroom 4 is now available, and at 1/2 the price of Lightroom 3!

You can download this powerful app for $149. - $79. for an upgrade version.

I've been playing around with the beta version for a few months now and love the new features, especially the white balance adjustment brush.

New Features in Lightroom 4 :

• Highlight and shadow recovery brings out all the detail that your camera captures in dark shadows and bright highlights.
• Photo book creation with easy-to-use elegant templates.
• Location-based organization lets you find and group images by location, assign locations to images, and display data from GPS-enabled cameras.
• White balance brush to refine and adjust white balance in specific areas of your images.
• Additional local editing controls let you adjust noise reduction and remove moiré in targeted areas of your images.
• Extended video support for organizing, viewing, and making adjustments and edits to video clips.
• Easy video publishing lets you edit and share video clips on Facebook and Flickr®.
• Soft proofing to preview how an image will look when printed with color-managed printers.
• Email directly from Lightroom using the email account of your choice.

http://blogs.adobe.com/lightroomjournal/2012/03/adobe-camera-raw-6-7-and-dng-converter-6-7-available-on-adobe-labs.html

The Canon EOS System Celebrates 25 Years

The Canon EOS System was launched in March 1987 with the debut of the EOS 650 SLR camera (above) and three interchangeable EF mount lenses. This month, Canon commemorates its long, rich history with the celebration of its 25th anniversary of the EOS system.

http://cpn.canon-europe.com/content/news/25_years_eos.do

Jason Bradley Workshop, March 9 & 10

Click on image for workshop details

It's Official! Canon 5D Mark III

The long anticipated Canon 5D Mark III was just announced with an impressive list of features.

• 22.3MP Full-Frame CMOS Sensor
• 3.2" Clear View High Resolution LCD
• DIGIC 5+ Image Processor
• 61-Point High Density AF
• Full HD 1080/30p and 720/60p Formats
• Built-In HDR and Multiple Exposure Modes
• Extended ISO Range (50-102400)
• Up to 6.0 FPS Continuous Mode
• Dual CF and SD Memory Card Slots
• Durable Magnesium-Alloy Construction

Available the end of this month for $3499. body only.

Hands on preview and video
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/03/02/Canon-EOS-5D-Mark-III-preview

Low-light ISO Samples
http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/03/02/canoneos5dmarkiii-isoseries

Vincent Laforet's thoughts on the new camera
http://blog.vincentlaforet.com/2012/03/01/canon-5d-mkiii-my-thoughts/

A side by side comparison of the 5D Mark II, 5D Mark II and the Nikon D800
http://www.dpreview.com/products/compare/side-by-side?products=canon_eos5dmkii&products=canon_eos5dmkiii&products=nikon_d800

Kodak: All Slide Films Are Now Gone

Citing a decline in demand, Kodak has announced that it will discontinue Kodak Professional Ektachrome E100G, Kodak Professional Ektachrome E100VS, and Kodak Professional Elite Chrome Extra Color 100.

Existing stocks are expected to last another six to nine months, depending on demand.

Slide (transparency) films have accounted for only a single-digit percentage of color film production for many decades. The announcement does not affect Portra or Ektar color negative films, or the remaining Kodak black-and-white films.

Celebrating 20 Years at Leica

Tom Brichta with his S2 at Bodie State Historical Park

This year, Tom Brichta, Leica's Northern California Representative, celebrates his 20th anniversary of  working at Leica Camera.

Tom not only is a great landscape and nature photographer, but a really nice guy, and a bit of a prankster. Read about it in this two part Q&A on the Leica Camera Blog.

Part One

Part Two

Tom was also recently appointed as an instructor for the North American Leica Akademie and this upcoming April he’ll be leading a Leica Destination workshop in Monterey and Big Sur.

You can see Tom’s work on Flickr and on his website, thomasbrichta.com. If you’d like to learn more about the Leica Destination workshop that Tom is leading, visit leicaakademie.com.

A Camera Shutter Filmed in Super Slow Motion

Out of the Shadows

A nice book review by Barney Britton (DPReview.com) of the new Vivian Maier book. 

http://www.dpreview.com/articles/9682544241/book-review-vivian-maier-street-photographer

For background of the late street photographer from Chicago, read this previous Camera West Blog post : 

http://camerawestblog.blogspot.com/2010/12/life-in-shadow.html

Join Us on the Camera West Flickr Site

Our Camera West Flickr Photo Group is for friends of Camera West to share their photos. We invite you to post pictures taken with equipment or supplies you have bought from either the Walnut Creek or Rancho Mirage stores.


Please tag the pictures with "Camera West" so they can be enjoyed by others.


We look forward to seeing your work!

http://www.flickr.com/groups/camerawest/

Shoot and Share, Wirelessly

Canon has introduced 2 new point and shoots with on-board Wi-Fi capability.

The Elph 530 HS and Elph 320 HS both have built-in Wi-Fi  that can connect to your home network, a hotspot, or an app on your iOS or Android device. You'll soon be able to wirelessly transmit photos and videos from the cameras to Facebook, YouTube, Twitter, and other photo sharing sites. 

The Elph 530 HS (pictured above) is a 10-megapixel camera with a CMOS sensor, 12x optical zoom lens, and a 3.2-inch LCD touch screen. It will be available in black and white finishes and is set to hit the streets in April for $349.99. The second Wi-Fi camera, the Elph 320 HS, is a 16-megapixel CMOS shooter with a 5x (24-120mm) zoom lens and a 3.2-inch touch screen LCD. Available in black, silver, red, and blue, you'll be able to buy it in March for $279.99.

3D Light Graffiti

Photographer and expert light painter Trevor Williams blows our minds with his three-dimensional light graffiti. Williams, who is originally from Canada, founded the group Fiz-iks, which is based in Japan.They specialize in light painting photography for the still and animated images.

They chose light painting because of its unique feel that cannot be duplicated with any other method. The basics of light painting involve moving different light sources in front of an open shutter to create different effects. The art combines photography, performance, and use of the local environment.

http://fiz-iks.com/

Nikon D 800 Technical Guide

Nikon USA now has the 20 pages Nikon D800 | D800E Technical Guide available for download. The guide includes samples and covers the basic camera functionality.

http://www.nikonusa.com/en_US/o/Y6wrkA9OU_z04IreazIXl_22UII/PDF/D800_TechnicalGuide_En.pdf