Just Starting My Christmas List
Just realized there’s only 56 days left until Christmas. I need to decide which of these two top level point-and-shoot cameras is going to be first on my list? The Panasonic Lumix LX3 (left) or the Canon G10 (right).They are in the $400 to $500 range. -RL
I Love LA & Canon Rebel XSi
I love LA. What could be more fun than the commute (the photo above-yesterday)? I am on my way to an assignment in San Diego today. Check out the excellent review of the Canon Rebel Xsi which appeared on the Macworld website. Just click the link below. Have a great day. -RL
MacworldReview: Canon EOS Rebel XSi
By Ben Long
It’s easy to look at the Canon DSLR product line and slot the cameras into “beginner,” “intermediate,” and “advanced” categories But to call the XSi a beginner or starter DSLR is a misnomer. The XSi is an incredibly capable camera that just happens to be small, and it yields great images... Read More
Made with the Canon 5D Mark II
Check out the amazing video made with the new Canon 5D Mark II DSLR camera by photographer Vincent Laforet. He made it with a bu
dget of $5,000 which included a $2000 helicopter ride. We are talking about making a high quality HD movie with a DSLR (Digital Single-Lens-Reflex) camera. Read about how Canon pulled the rug from under photographer Laforet and made him take his high quality version of the movie off SmugMug (a photo sharing website for creating online photo albums and buying prints and related products), so it would only be available on the Canon website. The problem: It is now in a lower quality. Click here for the movie on the Canon site. One thing for sure, this video will sell a lot of cameras for Canon.
Also, take a look at the Laforte’s how-it-was-done video on the SmugMug site.
Here is some text from the SmugBlog by Don MacAskill, CEO of SmugMug, in response to Canon pulling the movie. Click here for the full version.
“UPDATE: There should be an embedded video of the short film right
here, and a link to the HD version. But there isn’t (anymore). If you’d like a perfect example of a great company (Canon) making a terrible decision and wrecking a mountain of great PR, this is it: Canon has asked Vincent to ask us to take down the footage. What’s worse, Canon’s own website only includes video that’s marginally better than DVD quality. So here they are, with the most amazing camera the world has ever seen, and the press is calling us left and right, and customers are gushing over it, and what does Canon do? They squash it. I guess they don’t want to sell many of these camera bodies afterall.”Canon 5D Mark ll - It's Here
Full-frame, 21-megapixel Canon 5D Mark ll DSLR which shoots HD video
The new 5D Mark ll features from Canon:
*21.1 Megapixel Full-frame CMOS sensor, 14-bit A/D conversion (16,384 colors/each of 3 primary color), wide range ISO setting of 100-6400 (expandable L: 50, H1: 12800 and H2: 25600).
*Full HD Video capture at 1920 x 1080 resolution for up to 4GB per clip with HDMI output for HD viewing of stills and video.
*High performance with 3.9 fps continuous shooting, new shutter with a durability of 150,000 cycles and improved weather-resistant body.
*Live View Function for stills (Quick, Live and Face Detection AF modes) and video.
*3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots/VGA) monitor with anti-reflective and scratch-resistant coatings for improved viewing and smudge protection.
*Updated EOS Integrated Cleaning System specifically designed to work with a full-frame sensor.
And the new Canon G10
*14.7 Megapixel digital camera for the highest image quality.
*High powered 5x Optical Zoom with Optical Image Stabilizer plus a 28mm wide-angle lens 
gets you up close and personal to your subjects as well as captures more in your frame.
*New DIGIC 4 Image Processor improves Face Detection, adds Servo AF, Face Detection Self-Timer and Intelligent Contrast Correction for greater flexibility.
*Full range of shooting and recording modes including RAW + JPEG for the ultimate creative control.
*Large 3.0-inch PureColor LCD II (460,000 dots/VGA) with even greater true-to-life color reproduction.
Sugarland with Canon, Lomo & Holga
I used three different cameras, Canon Mark II, Lomo Oktomat (35mm film), and Holga (120mm film), while on assignment photographing the band Sugarland for the Los Angeles Times.
Click here to check out the story and photo on the Los Angeles Times website. Also, click here for another story about the band in the Times.
Need to Give the Canon 50D a Little Love
From the CANON website:Canon's new EOS 50D bridges the gap between the novice and the seasoned pro with a perfect combination of high-speed and quality. It features an APS-C sized 15.1-megapixel CMOS sensor for tremendous images, new DIGIC 4 Image Processor for fine detail and superior color reproduction, and improved ISO capabilities up to 12800 for uncompromised shooting even in the dimmest situations. It features a refined 3.0-inch Clear View LCD (920,000 dots) monitor, supercharged Live View Function with Face Detection Live mode, plus a number of new automatic Image Correction settings and HDMI output for viewing images on an HDTV.
Worldwide Photo Walk
Photograph by Robert Lachman / Los Angeles Times @ 2007
Delauné Michel author of the book “Aftermath of Dreaming” photographed in HOLLYWOOD last year.
By Robert Lachman
I’m going to Hollywood. It’s time for Scott Kelby’s Worldwide Photo Walk. There are definitely some cool locations including: Paris, Beijing, Sydney, London, Vancouver and New York but I think I’ll be at one of the best. We’re talking HOLLYWOOD. And in the spirit of cool and arty photography I’m going into be shooting in the RAW mode, no .JPG for me. No compression for me. My photos need to be natural, I’m not losing any pixels when I don’t need to. Everyone there will be shooting RAW and I want to fit in. Note to self: Make sure to clear all my digital flash memory cards.
It will definitely be a different kind of shoot for me, more of a free flow. It’s usually work related stuff for me or I use my point-and-shoot for family stuff. Details and photos to come over the weekend.
More Miscellaneous: I get 60 free days of MoblieMe. I’m not sure what I’ll do with all the money I save :-)
MobileMe Update from Apple: “We have already made many improvements to MobileMe, but we still have many more to make. To recognize our users' patience, we are giving every MobileMe subscriber as of today a free 60 day extension.
This is in addition to the one month extension most subscribers have already received. We are working very hard to make MobileMe a great service we can all be proud of.
We know that MobileMe's launch has not been our finest hour, and we truly appreciate your patience as we turn this around.” - The MobileMe Team
Read this article for more details.
Click here to check out the Olympic photographs from the Los Angeles Times.
Note from the Oympics:
From Fox Sports: “NBC fails to show Michael Phelps record-breaking swim after moving the swimming finals to suit its advertisers, US television giant NBC didn't show Michael Phelps' historic swim live yesterday. The juggeranut network haggled with Olympic authorities and other networks around the world for several years to have the swimming finals moved to the mornings to cater for the US prime time television audience.
At one stage, NBC threatened to withdraw their nine figure rights deal if the finals were not switched to mornings. Swimming bodies complained about the change because of the way it would affect the swimmers' preparation. They were forced to re-arrange all lead up swimming events to ensure swimmers were well prepared for the dramatic change.
But we can reveal today that Michael Phelps' and other major swimming finals have not been telecast live into the US even though the events have started in prime time in the US. When Phelps swam for his tenth Olympic gold medal yesterday, Los Angeles NBC was screening entertainment program, Access Hollywood.”
I want this camera or a Nikon D3
From ephotozine: “Leaked specifications of the NEW Canon 5D MarkII.”
- 16.7 MP FF sensor
- Single Digic MkIII Processor
- ISO100-3200 (Low: 50 + High 6400)
- 6-8 fps - depending on grip
- 3in High Resolution OLED LCD
- 11 point AF
- 35 Zone Metering
- Viewfinder: 96 percent coverage .72 magnification
- Pop up flash
- New Lithium Ion Battery
- Weather Sealing slightly better than 40D