2011-12-23

Beach Walk

004_R1174978, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

I took the dog for a walk yesterday, and decided to play with the GW-1 21mm lens a bit. I don't use it very often, because of the added bulk, but it's fine hanging around your neck in a half case. Nowhere near as bulky as the GT-1.

The light was really nice after the storm cleared. I had to fix a bit of distortion in this pic with Photoshop.

Amazon links:

Ricoh GW-1 21mm Wide Conversion Lens with Hood for the GR Digital & GR Digital II Cameras, Requires GH-1 Adapter for Mounting.


Adobe Photoshop CS5

2011-12-19

Ricoh GR Digital III at BBC

Take a look at this interesting photo essay by Graham Holliday about Rwandan biogas-powered prisons at the BBC, shot entirely with a Ricoh grd3. There's also an interesting discussion about the series at DPReview.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-africa-16203507

Seen at seriouscompacts.com.

2011-12-18

"There's a bunch of lazy-ass photographers out there"


Facing Change: Documenting America - Debbie Fleming Caffery from Leica Camera on Vimeo.

A great little interview with Louisiana photographer Debbie Fleming Caffery.

Seen at The Leica Camera Blog.

P.S. The Leica Camera Blog is one of the most interesting corporate blogs I know of, and I don't own any Leica gear.

2011-12-15

Russell Monk's Portraits of his Neighbors


One of Russell Monk's  neighbors, Izabelle.

I'm loving this series of portraits Russell Monk is doing of his neighbors in Mexico. He's posted them to his Facebook account. They make me want to shoot some film for a change.

Seen at Lens.

2011-11-07

Crazy Interception

MGCCC'S Alonzo Lawrence (15) intercepts a pass intended for Hinds receiver Qauntavius Leslie in the Bulldogs' 35-26 win over Hinds Oct. 29.

I was on the sideline Saturday, shooting our semi-final game against Northeast, when the Dean of Athletics told me one of my shots from the previous week had run in the Clarion-Ledger. We ran it on our site as well.

It was just a crazy interception that happened right in front of me. I've been told it looks like everything from interpretive dance to a Power Ranger move. I actually shot several frames in this sequence, and none of the other ones looked weird like this. There were a couple where the guys had more air, but the Sports Information Director liked this one.

We won our semi-final game also, in overtime. So we'll be playing for the state championship in Scooba Saturday.

Ricoh GRD4 Review

There's a nice little review of the Ricoh GR Digital IV over at jt . in . seoul. There aren't too many reviews out for this camera yet, and this one is a concise user overview, with plenty of pictures. There's also a brief comparison with the GRD3 and even the GR21!

Fuji Full Frame Mirrorless?

I was reading Ryan Brenizer's review of the Sony NEX-5n today, and near the end of the review he wrote this;

Fuji is currently developing a professional mirrorless system that should have an even bigger sensor than the NEX cameras.
Bigger than APS-C? And maybe with a sweet hybrid OVF like the X100? Sounds like a digital Contax G to me. I think I'll put of any big purchases until I see what that's all about.

2011-11-02

Think Tank Retrospective Series


Here's another good looking messenger style bag - the Think Tank Retrospecitve 10. Thinktank also make a Retrospective 5, 10, and 30 which are, as you might imagine, smaller or larger, corresponding with their model number designation. I still think the Lowepro Pro Messenger looks a little nicer, but I haven't seen either one in person.

2011-10-28

Lowepro Pro Messenger AW Series


I don't normally get excited about new camera bags, but these new Lowepro Pro Messenger AW Series bags look really nice. Understated, not too big but they still hold a lot of stuff, and a trolley sleeve. I want one of these, probably the big one - the 200. I think that's the 200 in the pic above.

I love my old Compudaypack, and it's been bulletproof, but it's not always the handiest bag to work out of. It's also International Distress Orange. Check out the video at the link below.

Via Lowepro blog.

2011-10-27

Roundflash


A friend just sent me this link, it's a gadget called the Roundflash and it might be awesome.
I've got a ray flash, but this thing is still intriguing.

The Ray Flash is very efficient, doesn't lose much of the flash power. But i like the larger surface area of that Roundflash. Plus it's light and packs up small. The Ray Flash is about the same price, and they're molded to your particular model of flash, not universal fit.

There aren't a lot of sample shots around yet, and I'm curious to know how many stops of light it loses. It's like a mini AlienBees Moon Unit.

Via Gizmodo.

Nikon D7000 vs D700 for Football Photography

7000_DSC_3353, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

I've been shooting football all season, mostly with a D700. But this weekend I really needed two bodies, so my backup was a D7000.

The game started at 5pm, so it went from daylight to dark over the course of 3 hours. I started with a 70-200mm on the D700 and an 80-400mm on the D7000. 400mm is a lot of reach on a cropped sensor camera. the D7000/80-400mm combo worked fine in good light, when things weren't moving too fast. It allowed me to get some shots I couldn't have gotten otherwise. I kept it on a monopod and switched to the D700 around my neck when the action got closer and/or faster.

After halftime the battery in my D700 died (and I didn't realize there was a hot spare in the truck), so I stuck the 70-200mm on the D7000 and kept going. It worked, and having the extra reach was actually great, but it was frustrating as well. The D7000 just isn't a fast action camera. The AF is slower, and less reliable. The buffer is slower, and smaller. It made me miss shots.

The D7000 has a lot going for it; it's small and light, and the high ISO shots look great, but despite the fact that it's smaller and lighter, the deep, yet narrow, grip isn't as comfortable as the larger cameras for all day use. At least not for me. This isn't just the D7000 either, the D80 was the same way. And it's too slow. It sucks when a play is right in front of you, and suddenly nothing happens when you press the shutter button.

2011-10-12

More Stuff I'm Reading.

Just some interesting items from around the photo blogoshpere.

More Football Photos

East Central Community College freshman quarterback Jesse Blakemore
East Central Community College freshman quarterback Jesse Blakemore (10)

This past weekend I went to Decatur, MS to shoot the East Central Community College homecoming game. Since it was homecoming the game was early, kickoff was 2pm. So, since there was plenty of light I decided to shoot the whole game with the Nikkor 80-400mm and left the 70-200mm in the bag.

I just wanted to try shooting the whole game with something that would give me the extra reach. Zooming all the way in to 400mm let's you get photos like the one above. I couldn't have done that with the 70-200.

But I don't know if it's worth it. The 80-400 is really slow compared to the 70-200, in more ways than one. First it's got a slower aperture, f/4.5-5.6 versus a constant f/2.8, but that would be OK for daytime games if it weren't for the other problems. See, it's also a lot slower to focus. I mean a lot. And it's slower to use, because the zoom ring is so stiff. So stiff that the rubber grip is coming loose. It's just got a cheap plastic-on-plastic feel. The zoom ring on the 70-200 is smooth.

And the last thing is the close focusing distance. Even zoomed all the way out to the short end at 80mm, it still feels like the closest focusing distance is about 6 feet. The 70-200 can get down to around 3 feet I think.

So, until we buy a 400mm f/2.8 (never), I'll still use the 80-400mm, but I don't think I'll shoot a whole game with it again. It's a pain to shoot football switching lenses on just one body, but that's the way it is.

Oh, and the final score: MGCCC 37, ECCC 21.

2011-10-07

Popular Point and Shoots

004_R1174136, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

I was surfing the Point-N-Shoot forum at rangefinderforum recently, and noticed that the entire first page of 25 posts was dominated by just a few models. And most of them weren't recent models either.

  1. Ricoh GR-D (I,II,III)
  2. Ricoh GR1/v/s
  3. --
  4. Hexar AF
  5. --
  6. Hexar AF
  7. Konica Hexar AF
  8. Ricoh GRD4
  9. Lumix LX-5
  10. Hexar AF
  11. Klasse W
  12. --
  13. Ricoh GRD III
  14. Klasse W
  15. Fuji Klasse/Klasse S
  16. Olympus Infinity Stylus/Infinity Stylus EPIC
  17. Hexar AF
  18. Hexar AF
  19. --
  20. --
  21. Hexar AF
  22. Hexar AF
  23. Lumix LX5
  24. Ricoh GR Digital
  25. --

Here's the breakdown.

Konica (Hexar AF) - 8
Ricoh (GR series, both film and digital) - 5
Fuji (Klasse series) - 3
Panasonic (LX5) - 2
Olympus (Infinity Stylus series) - 1

The Konica Hexar is still pretty popular isn't it? Gotta get my hands on one of those eventually. Is the Fuji X100 the new Hexar? Or maybe the Sony Nex-7 with it's new Zeiss 24mm lens?

Steve Jobs: Visionary, Inventor, and Very Challenging Photo Subject | PDN Pulse

PDN has an article up about Steve Jobs as a difficult portrait subject. It also has the behind the scenes story of the 2008 Albert Watson photo that was posted on the front page of Apple.com yesterday.

Steve Jobs: Visionary, Inventor, and Very Challenging Photo Subject | PDN Pulse

2011-10-06

Steve Jobs 1955-2011

Steve Jobs 1955-2011
The front page of apple.com today. Photo by Albert Watson.

Steve Jobs passed away yesterday evening.

Friends texted me, and it was all over the news. Celebrity deaths don't normally affect me, but this is different. This is someone that has had a very real impact on my life. I have a hard time imagining how different the world would have been without him. He will be missed.

2011-10-01

Pentax Ricoh Imaging Company

Well, it's official; my old favorite camera company, and current favorite camera company, are now one. They issued a press release today stating that the deal is done. I wonder if they'll continue with two distinct camera lines under the Pentax and Ricoh names? Or maybe they'll just go with Pentax Ricoh, like Konica Minolta did.

Via Ricoh-28mm.

2011-09-15

Ricoh GR Digital IV released

Ricoh GRD4
The Ricoh GR Digital IV, also available in white.

Looks like the rumors were right on, Ricoh announced the GRD4 today, September 15th. Much like the last even-numbered iteration, the GRD2, this seems to be an evolutionary step, rather than revolutionary. It already appears to be taking a bit of a beating on the forums.

So let's look back at my GRD4 wish list from March and see how I did. Not too well I'm afraid.

  • 12 megapixels at 3:2
  • faster AF
  • usable ISO to 3200
  • two distinct models - 28mm f/1.7 and 40mm f/1.7
  • black and white sensor
  • ability to use the GXR EVF, or even better...
  • a hot shoe mounted hybrid OVF
Mostly wishful thinking, but I bet we'll get the EVF and maybe image stabilization.

Hmmm. 12 megapixels at 3:2? Looks like we're still stuck at 9 since it's the same sensor. Faster AF? Should be, with the added hybrid AF. That's one of the headline features. Usable ISO to 3200? We'll see. Two distinct models - 28mm f/1.7 and 40mm f/1.7, black and white sensor, a hot shoe mounted hybrid OVF? I was dreaming on these. Ability to use the GXR EVF? I really thought they'd add this. And maybe image stabilization? Well there you go, 2 out of 8. Maybe 3 depending on how the high ISO looks when it actually starts shipping. I'm a better dreamer than futurist.

Ricoh has all the specs on their site. They've also issued a press release.

As for me, if Ricoh had included at least one of my dream features, like the black and white sensor or 40mm lens, I would be very tempted. As it is, I'll probably keep shooting with my GRD2 until it quits and then upgrade to a used GRD3. Unless a really good deal falls in my lap.

2011-09-02

How To Ruin A Monopod

MGCCC QB Raymond Cotton
MGCCC QB Raymond Cotton (7) stiff arms an East Miss. defender Sept. 1.

I've done a lot of different photo work over the years, but this was my first time ever shooting football from the sidelines. I've gotta say, it was way more fun than I would have imagined, and I hope I get the opportunity to shoot more.

This was opening night of the 2011 MACJC season. Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College vs East Mississippi Community College at Scooba, MS. It was also the first game played at EMCC's new Sullivan-Windham Field, and it's a great facility. There was also a documentary about juco football being filmed at the game.

In the second quarter, I got trampled by our new QB, Ray Cotton. I thought he was trying to cut up the field, but he got pushed out of bounds by a defender. I managed to stay on my feet, but I've got cleat marks going up my left leg. My borrowed monopod wasn't so lucky - it didn't survive. The D700 and 70-200mm lens were both fine. And one of the photos from this sequence ended up being used as the lead photo for the story on the front page of mgcccbulldogs.com.

It was great working with the D700 again. It's just a pleasure to shoot with. All these shots were at 1000 ISO.

2011-08-22

Photography Book Now

Screenshot of blurb.com
Screenshot of blurb.com

Voting is open now for the People's Choice award in Blurb's annual Photography Book Now competition. From their website.

PBN is an international juried competition celebrating the most creative, most innovative, and finest self-published photography books – and the people behind them.

Lots of good stuff to look at. Here are just a few that caught my eye.


Martin Usborne's book has gotten some press recently. And that Jody Ake book is really something. Wet Collodion is a process I really want to try someday.

2011-07-15

New Biloxi Civic Center & Library

civic_center_ribbon_cutting, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

I made it to the ribbon cutting for the new Biloxi Civic Center and Library last night. The Civic Center is a beautiful, first-class facility, but I'm personally more excited about the Library.

It's been six long years since we had a real library in East Biloxi (I guess I'm not counting the temporary trailer), and although I really liked the old library, which also housed the George Ohr museum, I have to admit that the new library is nicer. It doesn't hurt that it's also closer, a short seven block walk from my house. Now if I can only find my library card.

2011-07-14

Use Film

004_R1173827, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

Probably any of these old film cameras can be had for under $25.00. Try to shoot some film this week. Personally, I'm carrying my Ricoh FF-3AF in my bag this week. Loaded with bulk, expired T-Max 400.

2011-06-28

Terry Richardson's Cameras


I like following Terry Richardson's Tumblr - lots of great photos, updated constantly. Sometimes a little behind-the-scenes stuff too. And he always leaves his EXIF data.

Terry is probably almost single-handedly responsible for me not being able to afford a Yashica T4 on ebay, but I think he actually traded those in quite a while back for a Nikon D3x with a Custom Brackets CB Mini-RC. He still uses point and shoots for a lot of his personal stuff though. Mostly a Ricoh GR Digital III and a Panasonic GF1.

While looking at one of his posts today about a new Katie Perry shoot he did for the current issue of Rolling Stone, I noticed that one of the published shots is actually from the GF1, not the Nikon. It's always cool to see point and shoots get published.

2011-06-27

Eudora Welty Exhibition


004_R1173983, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

I made it to the Eudora Welty exhibition at the Pass Christian Historical Society this weekend. It was my first time there and it's a really nice facility, although a bit small for the exhibit. The staff were extremely friendly and helpful. The prints are great, and some the photographs themselves are truly good, although I've never thought of Eudora Welty as being in quite the same league as some of the very best WPA photographers like Dorothea Lange or Walker Evans. Of course neither Lange nor Evans won a Pulitzer Prize. Besides, who am I to argue with John Szarkowski, often quoted as saying that Eudora Welty's photographs "show us only the rarest and most evanescent truths."

It's a free show that runs till the end of July, and I highly recommend it.

It's actually three exhibits combined into one show. I didn't realize until I was there, but the photography exhibit is a show that was put together in 1995 by the Mississippi Department of Archives & History entitled Eudora Welty: Other Places. When I saw the catalog, I realized I had a personal connection to the show; a good friend of mine worked in the darkroom when the new prints were made for this show in 1995, and when they were done he made a couple of prints of one of my negatives with some of the left over materials. It was a portrait originally commissioned by Coast Magazine, and I still have a framed copy at home.

2011-06-21

Replacement Ricoh Parts

004_R1173357, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

While sampling beers at the Top of the Hops Beer Festival, I perhaps sampled a few too many and lost the lens bayonet ring from my Ricoh GRD2. I asked around over on the Ricoh Forum, and got some advice on where I could get replacements, but they were various colors and what I really wanted was a plain black OEM ring.

Eventually, I contacted Ricoh and they told me to contact their service facility's parts department - CRIS Camera. They first sent a ring for a GRD3, but I contacted them again and they were very nice and sent the correct ring. After it was all said and done, it cost me $22.00 including shipping. Nice people to do business with.

Here's the contact info.

CRIS Camera Services
ricoh@criscam.com
480-940-1103 (ext. 101)

2011-06-17

Another Friday

004_R1173448, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

I went the whole week without a post. Things came up. So here's a picture of a mushroom.

2011-06-10

It's Friday!

004_R1173456, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

Here's a Happy Friday pic of my mom's dog Maggie. It was taken with the GRD2 and the GW-1 21mm lens attachment.

2011-06-07

Lomo Photoshop Tutorial


Just more re-blogging, so I can take another look later. This video has some nice techniques, even if you're not into the Lomo look.

Seen at Fstoppers.

2011-06-06

My Thumb


004_R1173380, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

After a hard day's plumbing. Ricoh GR Digital II - Macro.

2011-06-03

Photography exhibit by Lyle and Paul Bonge’

Of local interest only, there's a reception tonight for an exhibit of photography by Lyle and Paul Bonge’. Here's the info from the Sun Herald.

Photography exhibit by Lyle and Paul Bonge’ open reception: 5-7 p.m., During First Friday Art Walk in downtown Biloxi, Dusti Bonge’ Art Foundation Cottage/Gallery, 132 Rue Magnolia, Biloxi. Details: 432-7660.

Read more: http://www.sunherald.com/2011/06/02/3164511/whats-happening-june-2011-updated.html#ixzz1OEXacgrn

2011-05-31

Polaroid AutoProcessor 35mm manual

Another manual from my formerly vast Polaroid archives. I don't have my AutoProcessor anymore, but it's not a big loss since I was never able to procure any film for it. The AutoProcessor was used to process Polapan and Polachrome 35mm "instant" films. According to The Land List they used the same chemistry as the earlier, ill-fated Polavision movie system.

This one doesn't have any cool illustrations like the Polavision manual but hey, it is what it is. Enjoy!

Wikipedia has a bit of information about this system on their Polavision page.

Polaroid_35mm_AutoProcessor_manual.pdf - eight pages (1.8MB)

2011-05-28

An Old Stereoscope Slide

stereoscope view of turkish regimental band
Infantry regimental band with the Turkish army by Underwood & Underwood.

I was in an antique store yesterday, and picked up a few cheap, interesting old photos, including this great stereoscope slide of the Turkish army regimental band, ca. 1914-1918, from Underwood & Underwood. I've also helpfully made an annoying animated GIF version.

I don't have a stereoscope, but the slide is a nice object all on its own. There were a couple of stereoscopes in the store, but they were a little pricey.

Here the full text from the slide, it's a little hard to make out in the picture.

Underwood & Underwood, Publishers
New York, London, Toronto-Canada, Ottawa-Kansas
Works and Studios-
Arlington, N.J. - Westwood, N.J.
11856 - Infantry regimental band with the Turkish army.
© Underwood & Underwood. U-144695

2011-05-26

MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 Mark II


MS Optical Super Triplet Perar 3.5/35 Mark II

Japan Exposures has the Perar 3.5/35 Super-Triplet Mark II in stock. Order fast if you want one, the original version sold out quickly.

2011-05-25

Video: Early Morning Street Photography


I always enjoy the videos from DigitalRev. In the latest episode, Kai takes to the streets at 4am and talks about getting outside your photographic comfort zone.

2011-05-17

Christian Behr: Senior-Style Portraits


The Tamron email newsletter came in today, and there's a nice article, by Jennifer Gidman, about portrait photographer Christian Behr. It's focused on senior portraits. Not too much of a sales pitch, and a little practical advice. It also reminded me how much I sometimes miss being a portrait photographer.

2011-05-01

Camera and Lens Survey

Adobe Bridge CS5
Adobe Bridge CS5

I've got a folder where I save pictures I want to be able to look at again. Maybe for composition, lighting, Photoshop tricks, or maybe just because I like them. It's a mixture of Fashion, Street, Candid, Food...whatever. A lot of these images still have their EXIF data, so as I was looking through them in Bridge the other night I decided to write down all the camera models and focal lengths and put together a survey. I converted all the focal lengths from APS-C, APS-H and Medium Format to 35mm terms just to make it easier to read.

Cameras

20% - Canon EOS 5D Mark II
15% - Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III
9% - Ricoh GR Digital III (this is probably an outlier)
7% - Nikon D3x
5% each - Nikon D3, Panasonic GF1
4% - Phase One P45+
3% each - Canon EOS 1D Mark III , Canon EOS 5D, Nikon D2x
2% each - Canon 1Ds Mark II, Nikon D300, Nikon D700, Nikon D90, Phase One P30+, Phase One P40+, Phase One P65+
1% or less each - Canon 30D, Canon 40D, Canon 450D, Canon 7D, Canon Rebel XS, Canon EOS Digital RebelXSi, Hasselblad H3DII-31, Hasselblad H3DII-39, Leica M8, Leica M9, Nikon D3s, Nikon D70, Nikon D70s, Nikon D80, Nikon D5000, Olympus E-300, Phase One H25, Phase One P25, Ricoh GR Digital II, Ricoh GXR P10, Sinar Hy6/Sinarback eMotion 75II, Sony DSC-F828

Nothing too surprising here, except perhaps the strong showing by Phase One. The GRD3 numbers are probably inflated because I have an interest in the camera. Let's move on the the lenses.

Focal Lengths

17% each - 50mm, 28mm
14% - 70mm
9% - 35mm
8% - 85mm
6% each - 24mm, 40mm
5% - 60mm
4% - 100mm
3% - 90mm
2% - 110mm

Everything else got one percent or less. Although there were a few trends even in that. If you add everything between 90mm and 110mm together, it's about eleven percent. Combined 70mm to 85mm is 24%. And there's another two or three percent bunched somewhere around 150mm. The shortest lens was 12mm and the longest 220mm.

This is all fairly unscientific. None of the images were chosen at random, they're images I like, but they're mostly from professional, working photographers.

2011-04-27

NEX-5 Fashion Shots


There's a great post today at Ben Trovato Blog of Brazilian model Yasmin shot by Rita Zimmermann. Nothing unusual about that, as I've noted before a lot of great photography gets posted there. And they always leave the EXIF data, so that gearheads like me can obsess about it. Which leads me to the unusual part - it looks like the whole story was shot with a Sony NEX-5 and the 18-55mm kit lens.

See the whole story here. Warning - nudity.

2011-04-22

And Another Thing

While I was reading the rest of Thom Hogan's post, he also wondered what Nikon could possibly do for their next round of consumer DSLRs in 2012. He thinks the current DX models are so good, and they are good, that Nikon will have a tough time improving them significantly. Here's the quote.

The question that needs to be asked is whether or not this strategy will work for another consumer DSLR generation. Such a generation would start to appear in md-to-late 2012. But what would it have that the current ones don't?

I've got some ideas. How about:

  • bringing sensor production in house
  • a breakthrough in dynamic range
  • multi-format sensors, à la Panasonic
  • getting rid of the Bayer array
  • a true black and white sensor

That's just off the top of my head. I think there are lots of things Nikon could do. Besides, the lower end of the consumer range will probably get eaten by mirrorless at some point anyway.

2011-04-20

Nikkor 50mm f/1.8G


A few days ago, Nikon accidentally leaked a new 50mm 1.8G AF-S lens. That's fine, and I love my 35mm f/1.8g, but what I'd really like to see is a full line of DX lenses. I've seen Thom Hogan speculate about this before, and I like some of his suggestions, but here's what I'd like to see.

AF-S DX NIKKOR 15mm f/4G
AF-S DX NIKKOR 24mm f/2G
AF-S DX NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G
AF-S DX NIKKOR 58mm f/1.8G
AF-S DX Zoom-NIKKOR 55-200mm f/4G ED

That would really do it for me. There's a real wide angle prime, a wide-normal to complement the 35mm we already have, a portrait lens and a prosumer zoom.

Seen at Nikon Rumors.

Update: The day after I wrote this, Thom Hogan touched on this same topic again. It's on his front page currently, but his content moves around. Here's the relevant part.

At the risk of repeating myself: 16-50mm f/2.8, 50-135mm f/2.8, 16mm f/2.8 (preferably faster, but needs to be small), 20mm f/1.8, and 50mm f/1.8 at a minimum.

Not exactly what he asked for before, but any new DX lenses would be nice.

2011-04-06

RE-35 Digital Cartridge Hoax


RE-35 mockup by re35.net.

This recently revealed April Fool's Day hoax has been making the rounds. Lots of people bought into it, even PopSci. Not many people seem to remember that this was almost a reality 10 years ago. I'm getting old.

I remember being pretty excited about the Silicon Film EFS-1 e-film cartridge back then. It was pretty hot vaporware for a couple of years, and I think there were even semi-working prototypes. It never came to fruition however, which was probably for the best with it's 1.3 megapixels and a terrible crop factor.

You can still read about it over at DPReview.

Seen at B, and Photo Rumors.

2011-04-04

Lensbaby Composer Pro


the_bill, originally uploaded by infrar3d.

I've owned a Lensbaby 2.0 for a long time, and it's never turned out to be as cool or as useful as I thought it would be. It's fun, but I find that I just don't use it that often. I figured that would probably be the last Lensbaby product I'd ever want, but some of their recent products might change that.

First with the recently introduced Sweet 35 optic, and now with the new Composer Pro that I just read about today, I'm thinking about upgrading. With every new iteration the Lensbaby products seem get closer to actually being useful, and this new combo looks really interesting.

Seen at Photo Rumors.