Live from WPPI: Nikon Senior Technical Manager Steve Heiner on the D800
Feb 22nd
The highly anticipated D800
It was hard to get a free moment at the Nikon booth here at WPPI due to all the interest in the new D4 and D800 cameras. When the crowds died down a little bit yesterday, I was fortunate to get a chance to speak with Steve Heiner, a Senior Technical Manager for Nikon. We talked a little bit about the new metering system in the D4/D800 and how major improvements have been made on an already incredible system. As Steve mentions, Nikon’s Matrix metering has long been regarded as one of the best in the business. Even though the D3/D700 are great cameras (I’ve owned both in the past so I can personally vouch for them), Nikon was really lagging behind in the HD SLR market, but finally we now have two incredible movie making machines. Here is Steve talking about the D800/D4′s upgraded metering system and some of the new features on both cameras that you may not know about. -MZ
Leica CL 50 Jahre (1973-1976)
Feb 22nd
The Leica CL is a fantastic little camera which was the product of a short collaboration between Leica and Minolta. Produced in Japan between ‘73 and ‘76, there were 65,000 produced. This little beauty is the 50 Jahre model, which signifies Leica’s 50th anniversary. It’s diminutive size makes it one of the smallest (and most economical) ways to get into Leica’s M-system. This camera sold so well that the bigwigs at Leica felt the need to kill it, fearing that sales would affect the value of their more dear “M” cameras. For more information about old cameras click here!
Live from WPPI: Christine Moossmann on the Sigma SD1 Merrill and 120-300 f/2.8 OS
Feb 21st
Sigma has re-released their ambitious flagship SD1 with a much more attractive price-tag of $2,299
For a long time Sigma has been dedicated to making high quality lenses. Some of them are your typical 70-200, 24-70, and 50 1.4 variants, but Sigma makes some very interesting lenses that other manufacturers don’t offer. Perhaps the most interesting is the 120-300 f/2.8 OS. If you know the basics of lenses, you are probably thinking this lens is huge and expensive. In some ways you would be right, but to be honest it isn’t much bigger than a standard 300mm f/2.8 and it certainly isn’t as expensive as the new Canon and Nikon 300mm f/2.8 lenses. As someone who has shot a variety of sports/action in the past, I see a need for this type of lens. It also makes for a great tight portrait/head-shot lens. As we say in Jersey, “That’s compression holmes”. Christine also talks about the “new” Sigma SD1 Merrill. It is nice to see a company caring about their loyal customers and offering a lens voucher/credit for customers who bought the SD1 at the original price. Admittedly I don’t know a whole lot about the SD1 so I am going to catch up with either Dave Metz or Kevin Ames later today to get the full scoop on what the SD1 Merrill has to offer. -MZ
Live from WPPI: Joshua Fischer on Ilford Inkjet Paper
Feb 21st
My personal favorite inkjet paper
I will never forget the “great” smell of the black and white wet darkroom. While I am sure some of you out there are glad that you don’t have to be around those harmful chemicals anymore, I actually became quite fond of the chemical funk and I met most of my current friends in the trenches of developer, stop bath, and fixer. From time to time I still try to get into the darkroom because even if we can’t agree on liking the smell of chemicals, we can agree on missing the luxurious quality of a gelatin silver print. The good news is that Ilford has taken the step into the digital age and brought their expertise in fine art papers with them. Personally I love their Smooth Pearl and Gold Fibre Silk papers. Here is Joshua Fischer from Ilford explaining some of that transition and why Ilford inkjet papers can simulate that special silver gelatin print look. Trust me, the look AND smell of Gold Fibre Silk brings back a lot of good memories. If you are here at WPPI, be sure to stop by their booth and check out some of the great paper stocks Ilford has to offer. -MZ
Live from WPPI: Great Deals and Free Demos by NIK Software
Feb 21st
Yesterday I got the chance to catch up with Tony Corbell from NIK Software. If you are out here at WPPI, you need to stop by our booth (737) as we will have a representative from NIK Software demonstrating their great products. Like many others out there, I was a giant skeptic of the NIK products before I got to try them for myself. In theory you can do almost all of your editing in Photoshop/Lightroom, so why buy NIK (or any other) plug-ins? The answer is pretty simple. NIK Software has been designed by photographers for photographers. Instead of having to go through time consuming steps in Photoshop, NIK has a bevy of filters that are specifically designed for portrait, landscape, wedding, lifestyle and event photographers. In my opinion, NIK’s Control Point system is the most appealing feature. Using Control Points is much easier and takes far less time than layer masking in Photoshop. Here is Tony explaining a little bit more about what NIK is doing out here at WPPI. I plan on doing a full review of Color Efex 4 when we get back to New Jersey. -MZ
Live from WPPI: Rob Moody on the New Tamron SP 24-70 f/2.8 VC
Feb 21st
Last week I mentioned that I was more excited about the new 24-70 f/2.8 VC lens from Tamron than any of the new Canon or Nikon products. Again I think it is important for everyone to have more options, especially those who are up and coming photographers who understand the importance of having a constant f/2.8 aperture. I am happy to see that this is a full frame lens and that it has Tamron’s excellent (dare I say best in class?) Vibration Compensation. To me this means Tamron is targeting a higher-end customer. Many people are excited about the potential of the VC for stills, but with the rise in DSLR HD video over the past several years, I know videographers shooting on a full frame DSLR will be seriously interested in this lens. The price has not been announced, but I was told it would be significantly less than the $1,699 figure I came up with. I was also told to watch out for another new fast-aperture zoom with VC from Tamron this year. My guess is a long needed refresh of their 70-200 f/2.8 variant. Tamron wasn’t letting anyone attach the new lens to a body, but here is Rob Moody from Tamron talking about the new 24-70 f/2.8 VC.
Masters of Photography: Friedlander
Feb 21st
I suppose everyone has a story about their first love…it all started at The Museum of Modern Art. Now, I had never been to a museum before, let alone one by myself. Shamefully enough it wasn’t even a visit for my own benefit , it was part of an assignment. After a few hours of schlepping around, staring blankly at work that wasn’t saying much to me, I was hit in the face with what I would like to describe as catharsis. Right then and there my heart skipped a beat.
- Lee Friedlander Self-Portrait, Haverstraw, New York 1966
Live from WPPI: Dave Schmidt Introduces the NEW Pocket Wizard Plus III
Feb 21st
There about as many ways to trigger strobe lights and flashes as there are ways to skin a cat, but the Pocket Wizard brand has been a keystone in the professional photographer’s kit for a long time. While perhaps not the most exciting thing going on in Vegas, the annoucement from Pocket Wizard is big news for photographers out there. The new features are pretty great and as so rarely happens, the price on an updated product is actually LESS than it’s predacessor. Enough from me, here is Dave Schmidt from Pocket Wizard explaining the new Plus IIIs. -MZ (Pictures of the Plus III after the break)
Live at WPPI: John Williamson on Profoto D1 Air Remotes
Feb 20th
The Profoto booth was one of my first stops. I have always admired their products and actually used D1 kits while still in school. Would have been nice to have the air remotes. It can be quite the challenge to change power on a light after placing it in a hard to reach place (e.g. on a boom for a hair light). Here is John Williamson from Profoto explaining the system in more detail. -MZ
Live from WPPI: Welcome to Vegas
Feb 20th
If only the view from my desk looked like this every day!
Hey everyone we just touched down in Las Vegas yesterday. After schlepping through Newark Airport at around 5AM, we caught our flight out here to Las Vegas for the annual WPPI (Wedding and Portrait Photographers International) show. The sounds of shutters chirping surround you along with the barking of show specials and product demos. I was out here last year for WPPI, but stayed mainly behind the sales booth, assisting customers from all over the globe. This year I am going to be going around interviewing reps from various manufacturers to find a little bit about their latest products and what they have to offer at their booths. I will be posting videos every day so stay tuned and if you are out here at WPPI, be sure to have a little fun too. -MZ More >
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