46-megapixel DSLR creates new market for medium-format photographers 

Ronkonkoma, NY, May 20, 2011 – Sigma Corporation of America, a leading researcher, developer, manufacturer and service provider of some of the world's most impressive lines of lenses, cameras and flashes, is pleased to announce that its flagship DSLR, the Sigma SD1, will be available for purchase for the MSRP of $9,700 in early June.

This 46-megapixel DSLR is delivered in a splash-proof, easy-to-handle build that is similar to that of a classic 35mm camera. Professional and high-end enthusiast photographers will utilize the SD1’s exclusive Foveon 23.5x15.7mm APS-C X3 direct image sensor to capture exceptionally rich and detailed images that have a film-like quality. Users will also benefit from Sigma’s wide selection of interchangeable lenses that are compatible with the SD1.

“The SD1 will carve out a new category in the marketplace by providing high-end photographers with an alternative to very expensive medium-format cameras and digital backs, while offering unrivaled image quality,” said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America. “By embracing the SD1, serious photographers will also be able to take advantage of Sigma’s extensive lineup of affordable lenses, which are compatible with this new camera. The selections of lenses for medium-format cameras on the market are somewhat limited, so this will be a huge advantage for SD1 users. This is undoubtedly a very special camera, and we’re thrilled to share it with the photo community.”

In addition to the 23.5x15.7mm APS-C X3 direct image sensor, the Sigma SD1 features dual “Three-layer Responsive Ultimate Engine (TRUE) II” image processing engines, which improves processing speed, provides high resolution power and produces high-definition images with richly graduated tones.  It also allows simultaneous RAW and JPEG recording, which is a first for Sigma cameras. Additionally, the photographer has the option to select full-size, half-size or quarter-size RAW files making it a more versatile camera for a wide range of photographers. The Foveon sensor uses three silicon-embedded layers of photo detectors, stacked vertically to take advantage of silicon’s ability to absorb red, green and blue light at different respective depths. This technology efficiently reproduces color more accurately and offers sharper resolution, pixel for pixel, than any conventional image sensor. Since color moiré is not generated, the use of a low-pass filter is not required.

The optical format of the Foveon sensor has been upgraded from that which was used in previous SD cameras, and has increased from 1.7x focal length to the 1.5x focal length multiplier. The SD1 also benefits from improved image processing and noise reduction algorithms, with an ISO sensitivity range from 100 to 6400. This is two full stops more sensitivity than the SD15, which has a maximum 1600 ISO.  An intuitive user interface and an impressive lightweight, yet solid magnesium alloy body and O-ring sealing connections that make the camera durable and splash proof are also key feature upgrades of the flagship SD1.  

The SD1 adopts the TYPE 1 Compact Flash Card, and is UDMA-compatible enabling fast processing of large amounts of data. The autofocus system features an 11-point shifted twin cross type sensor, which improves AF accuracy. The SD1 features a 3.0 inch TFT color monitor. This 460,000 pixel resolution LCD monitor benefits from a wide viewing angle, making it easy to check focusing and composition. The SD1 can be used with more than 40 Sigma SA mount lenses such as ultra-wide, ultra-telephoto, macro and fisheye.

Sigma’s image processing software, Photo Pro 5.0, comes bundled with the camera and its simple operation allows quick and easy capture of the desired imaged.  Additional functions such as Loupe, Slideshow, Print, Convert to JPEG file and Batch White Balance settings are also incorporated into this software.

The Sigma SD1 will be available for the MSRP of $9,700 through select authorized Sigma dealers. For information about Sigma Corporation of America, visit www.sigmaphoto.com. For more information about the Sigma SD1 DSLR, visit http://www.sigmaphoto.com/shop/sd1-dslr-sigma or view the camera’s special page at www.sigma-sd.com/SD1.

Reader Leverages the Latest USB Technology to Provide Blazing-Fast Card-to-Computer Transfer Speeds When Shooting is Complete

Key Messages:

• Delivers blazing-fast file transfer speeds from card to computer, with a USB interface speed of 500MB per second*
• Supports CF UDMA, SDXC™** and SD UHS-I memory cards, and is backwards compatible with standard CF, SD, and SDHC memory cards
• Dual-slot design enables concurrent and card-to-card file transfers, while pop-up mechanism protects slots from dust and debris when not in use

Multimedia Elements:

• Lexar Image Gallery
• Demonstration of the Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader (video)
• Supporting Product Info

Fremont, CA, May 19, 2011 – Lexar Media, a leading global provider of memory products for digital media, today announced the new Lexar® Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, a high-performance card reader that enables professional and advanced amateur photographers and videographers to maximize their workflow with blazing-fast transfer speeds. The reader leverages SuperSpeed USB (USB 3.0) technology to deliver high-speed performance that supports the latest CompactFlash® (CF) UDMA, Secure Digital Extended Capacity™ (SDXC)**, and SD Ultra High Speed-I (UHS-I) memory cards. The versatile reader is also backwards compatible with standard CF, SD™, and Secure Digital High Capacity™ (SDHC) memory cards and USB 2.0 host devices. For additional information about the Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader, visitwww.lexar.com.

“USB is the most popular connectivity option for PCs, and it’s critical that professional photographers and videographers have convenient and versatile tools to maximize their workflow and fully leverage the performance of their high-speed memory cards,” said Manisha Sharma, director of product marketing for cards, Lexar Media. “The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader combines extremely fast performance with a versatile, innovative design to provide pro and hobbyist shooters with a reader that dramatically reduces image transfer time. The speed offered by the reader enables users to move large volumes of high-resolution images and HD video faster than ever, allowing them to spend less time at the PC and more time on other activities.”

The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader features the new SuperSpeed USB 3.0 interface, which operates at 500MB per second; while the Hi-Speed USB 2.0  interface operates at 60MB per second*. The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader takes advantage of the performance of high-speed cards. Real-world tests prove that today’s high-performance cards can be read more than six times faster with the Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader than with previous generation USB 2.0 card readers, and future high-performance cards are likely to enable an even faster data transfer experience. The reader can transfer content from both SD and CF cards simultaneously, and allows for easy file transfer from one card to another. The USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader also features an innovative, pop-up mechanism that lets users close the reader when not in use, protecting it from dirt and debris. Its compact, portable design means users can take it on the go, and its smooth contours help it slip easily in and out of a photo bag or briefcase.

The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader provides consumers with the quality and reliability they have come to expect from Lexar Media. All Lexar product designs are tested in the Lexar Quality Labs, a group of facilities where all Lexar product designs undergo extensive testing to ensure performance, quality, compatibility, and reliability with more than 800 intended digital devices.

The Lexar Professional USB 3.0 Dual-Slot Reader comes with free, dedicated customer support and a five-year limited warranty. The reader is available now for purchase on www.lexar.com, and will be available from leading photo retailers in June, with an MSRP of $49.99.

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Re-blogged with permission from Damn Ugly Photography

I got an email from my friend Brad Trent for his latest blog post and thought it was pretty cool. Please click though to his blog too.

A very good friend turned me on to this post.    Read the origanalblog post and credits here

If colleges offered camera equipment anatomy classes, this Leica lens cutaway might be one of the things you’d be examining in the lab. It’s a Leica Tri-Elmar-M 28-35-50mm sliced cleanly down the middle, revealing all the glass and pieces inside that go into making the lens.

These were actually made by Leica students as a graduation project and boxed as a “cutaway model” of the lens. Here’s the same thing done with a Leica 50mm f/1.4 Summilux M ASPH lens:

Pulitzer Prize-winning photographer Brian Lanker passed away yesterday in Eugene Or. after a battle with pancreatic Cancer.

I had the privilege of working with Brian Lanker many years ago as a young photo assistant in Boston.
He had come to Boston to photograph former White House butler Eugene Allen  who served for 34 years under 8 Presidents, from Truman to Reagan. At the time Brian's regular first assistant was Ray Ng.
Though I only worked with Brian and Ray on this one shoot it was one of those experiences that turns out to be a great personal and professional learning experience; and one of the many reasons why I have in my writings and workshops encouraged photo assistants to diversify and work with as many different types of photographers as they possibly can.

Brian was the first photographer I'd worked with that actually did any research about his subjects.
Previously photographers I'd worked with just showed up to a location or met their subject at a studio took their photographs with little to no conversation or interaction with the subject and walked away with "So-So" images..
I was to learn that Brian had read Mr. Allen's entire memoir during his travel time during the previous 36 hours.
This preparation allowed Brian the opportunity to relate to and interact with his subject, and discuss Mr. Allen's book and have him discuss some of his first hand experiences a great many of which never made it into Mr. Allen's book. (The only other time I would see this level of personal preparation would be a few years later when I worked with Mark Seliger.)
This behind the scenes information, the conversations, and life experience are what really made those early days of photo assisting great.
Working with Brian also taught me about Lighting.
It was this first time I'd worked with someone that didn't setup a dozen soft boxes and then wrestle with trying to control the light that would inevitably be bouncing all over the place. It is my recollection that Brian worked in a 'Subtractive process' rather than an additive process. Too often photographers will just add another light.

Brian on this shoot used Dynalites with grid sets and Cine foil. This made more work for the assistants because we were constantly adjusting the lights to hit the moving subject as Brian wanted; but it also gave Brian the ultimate control over his lighting and how the lighting would interact with his subject.
For those of you not familiar with Brians work consider doing a Google Images search or checking our his book: I Dream a World: Portraits of Black Women Who Changed America

Credit - NPPA
Brian Lanker won the 1973 Pulitzer Prize for Photography for "Moment Of Life," a small black-and-white photography essay that captured Lynda [then Coburn] giving birth via the Lamaze method, which was a newsworthy development in the early 1970s. The photographer was 25 years old. Lynda was 29 and giving birth to her second child, Jacki. When the Coburns divorced, Lynda and Brian married on December 31, 1974.
View a short interview with Brian Lanker heree.

What started as friendly banter when photography agent Heather Elder
wrote an open letter to art buyers with several responding back and
everyone agreeing and asking for open and honest dialogue between the
two, has suddenly taken a turn for the worse this morning when a
senior art buyer at DHPH-NY/LA declared "I'm tired of this shit, you
people work for me" then announced a new policy called the "silent bid
off." Now up to 20 photographers will be asked to submit silent bids
on all jobs. The job will be awarded to the lowest bid or picked based
on "arbitrary rules we've made that you have no idea about."
Additionally, an a la carte menu will allow agents to purchase more
information about a job (e.g. budget, creative call, who you're
bidding against) that may or may not give you an edge in the bid off
and could potentially mean you're paying them if you win.

Senior agent David Chartikoff from Creative Photographers Agency fired
back with new surcharges that will be added to all jobs. Photographers
will have at their discretion the ability to charge thousands of
dollars in "dealing with agency/client buffoon charges." The DWACB
charges include additional surcharges for people trying to eat and
drink the expense budget in a single evening and people standing
around set acting like they're on "spring break" instead of working.
He hinted at some type of hangover fine but was initially unsure if
that might backfire on some of his well known photographers who "work
better" when everything is a bit blurry in the morning.

Read the full text http://www.aphotoeditor.com/2011/04/01/agents-and-art-buyers-go-to-war/

Making money at photography is a difficult thing to do. I don’t want to discourage you from your dreams, you should always pursue whatever it is that you love doing. The fact is that in the last three years the business has changed considerably. It has gone from being hard, to being very very hard. Success requires considerable luck, a vision that is relevant to the market, business sense and most of all perseverance. There is a certain Darwinian element to it, those who try the longest and the hardest survive.

Read full story here: David Harry Stewart

This weekend we added a new feature that allows you to crop the image you wish to upload as the  profile image for your database listing.

Despite our requesting that users only upload images that are 300 X 300 pixels, some people have been a little too quick to hit that upload button and then we end up with a bunch of profile images on the site that look "Smooshy" or to put it in photographic technical terms "F*%#ed up"!

So this new handy dandy feature provides you the opportunity to do your image cropping right on the web page.

Now you still have to upload an image that is reasonably sized, unless you really feel the need to wrestle with your web browser trying to edit an image that is 2600 x 2200 pixels; which is just foolish,.. but do-able as far as I can tell.

Have fun

and if you have any site suggestions for new site feature or options please let me know.

Saving Another Legend

Impossible saved the last intact production machinery for the legendary 8x10 inch film format and shipped it from the USA to the Impossible factory in Enschede (NL) in late 2009.
We carefully re-located this unique equipment from Waltham near Boston to the Impossible factory, where the 8x10 production machinery is now set up. As soon as we have reached our primary goal - to have production of the new PX integral film formats running smoothly - we will do our very best to bring back this wonderful and unique large format material. Please stay tuned.

Read it at their site  http://www.the-impossible-project.com/projects/8x10/

Lexar Media Now Shipping the Industry’s First 128GB Professional SDXC Memory Card

128GB and 64GB SDXC Cards Enable Capture of High-Resolution Images and HD Video on Compatible Devices