Thursday, June 28, 2007

Pentax AF-200FG Pictures

We are all interested in the physical size of the new Pentax AF-200FG flash. Thanks to Ned Bunnell, Vice President of Marketing for Pentax Imaging USA, we have some shots. Take a look at this post over at his blog.

As pointed out by PentaxLife in the comments, this flash also solves the problem where lenses larger than the 18-55mm kit lens cause vignetting in the bottom of a picture because the lens body or lens hood gets in the way of the built-in flash.

Wednesday, June 27, 2007

Pentax K100D Super and AF-200FG Flash

As pointed out by the OK1000 Pentax Blog, Pentax has announced a new K100D Super body along with an AF-200FG flash. What we all want to know is what makes the K100D Super different and/or better than the K100D. The big two additions are Dust Reduction like the K10D as well as support for the new SDM lenses such as the DA* 16-50/2.8 and DA* 50-135/2.8 coming out next month. Both of these features are extremely exciting to see in this camera. I will definitely order one of these soon.

I find it very interesting that Pentax is going back to their roots once again for naming a new model. No more dealing with *ist D, DS, and DL which made very little real sense. We now have the very logical K100D and K100D Super just like the days of the ME and ME Super. It is nice to see Pentax going back to what works.

Also of interest is the new AF-200FG flash. It is a nice compact flash with what appears to be few manual controls. It should hit a good spot for people who want a little more power but are not ready to move into the big leagues with a larger flash. It seems as though it could be an ideal macro photography flash but only time will tell. It is another thing to add to my list.

Both the K100D Super body and AF-200FG flash should be available in August. The K100D Super body with 18-55mm kit lens will be $599.95 and the K100D Super body alone will be $519.95. The AF-200FG flash will be $149.95.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

Luminous Landscape Video Journal 16

The Luminous Landscape Video Journal Volume 4 Issue 16 has been released! I received mine earlier this week. Notable features include some on location photography in California. This specifically focuses on the Big Sur and Point Lobos areas. In the techniques section, we have a tutorial focused on setting up a photographic gallery. Finally, we have three interviews this time. These include Bill Atkinson, Brooks Jensesn, and Charles Cramer.

While I always enjoy the on location shooting portion of the Luminous Landscape Video Journal, I was particularly fascinated with the tutorial on setting up a photographic gallery. This is especially interesting because I have considered setting up a gallery in the forward part of my office. The precise techniques are especially fascinating. Order this issue for yourself. You will not be disappointed.

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Canon EOS 1D Mark III Autofocus Issues

Rob Galbraith DPI has an article which talks about autofocus issues that affect the new Canon EOS 1D Mark III. The new autofocus system seems to be amazing but does have some issues that need to be resolved by Canon. Also note the June 21 update to the article.

Mac OS X 10.4.10 Update

Once again, we have some exciting news on the RAW camera support topic. Apple has released the latest update to its Mac OS X 10.4 operating system. This update contains a number of exciting additions in the area of RAW support. The complete list can be viewed here.

First off, the expected RAW camera support was for the Nikon D40x and Canon EOS 1D Mark III. Also on the more likely list is the Fuji S5 Pro. However the very exciting news is support for the Leica M8, D-LUX 2, and D-LUX 3. This adds to the pre-existing support for the Leica Digilux 2 and Digilux 3 models. As expected the similar Panasonic models are also now supported. These include the Panasonic DMC-LX1 and DMC-LX2. Those fortunate Leica M8 owners can now use all the great features of Aperture with their cameras. To top this all off, a DNG issue was resolved which could potentially cause DNG images to appear tinted or look distorted.