gear
The iPad just became a must have for me
I just saw the video review of the iPad Camera Connection Kit adaptor by Terry White and basically the iPad is now #1 in my gadget wish list. Terry confirmed all the things I wished the iPad would do when you connect the Camera Connector.
- Reads RAW files out of the camera
- Previews the RAW images without a problem
- Apps can read the RAW files inside the iPad
One of the great things Terry shows is that you can connect a card reader to the iPad and download from your Compact Flash cards (the card format most professional cameras still use). This is huge since the Camera Connector only has 2 options, SD connector or USB connector.
I’ve always lusted after an Epson P6000 for it’s ability to preview files and work as a photo backup on location or a trip, but it’s ridiculously overpriced so I never considered purchasing one.
Now for the same money I can buy an iPad and trust me, it’s WAY more advanced and useful. I wouldn’t be surprised if Epson started to discount the P6000 any day now.
Check out the video at Terry’s site while I go put a few more dollars in my piggy bank.
Canon announces the 7D
When I read this today I thought “is Canon crazy? didn’t the 5D Mark II just come out?” Well, my panic went away when I saw that this camera is a prosumer crop sensor model. I wouldn’t have named it the 7D though. Maybe the 70D would have been a better name? oh the joy of “naming logic” of some companies. So it’s not a competitor to the 5D Mk II (even though from the front, this camera has the curvy top of the Pro models).
It looks like it’s a great prosumer model and I would love to have that new dual axis digital level on my camera.
It has a bunch of cool features and the now obligatory video recording. Nice camera overall. Check out the specs at dpreview.com
Tesla S. One more definition of sexy
I know this is not news but I just found these shots of the Tesla S and wanted to share them here. Love the lines on this car and the story of Tesla Motors. Hopefully in a couple of years I’ll be driving one myself since the U.S. Government just gave Tesla a nice chunk of change to keep developing their battery technologies.
Friday mixed bag
A couple of quick things that have been buzzing through my head recently:
iPhone 3.0
The new iPhone 3GS is too expensive for me and the new features don’t justify the crazy cost to get it so the upgrade to the new OS will have to do this time around. I just did the upgrade to 3.0 and haven’t had much time to play with it but it looks like there are some nice new features waiting to be discovered. My favourites up to now:
- Cut / Copy / Paste is awesome
- Search will be big time saver
- MMS is handy when an email is overkill
If you have an iPhone this is a must upgrade. No issues at all installing it.
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CEF Solstice Shoot
Yesterday I participated in the Compassionate Eye Foundation’s Solstice event by helping Steven Errico in his photography shoot. The theme was “urban gardening” and the location was on the 7th floor of a downtown condo that has a garden terrace with a variety of vegetables and herbs planted. The images Steven shot were really cool and the whole crew had a great time. Check Steven’s site for some great photography and keep an eye out for his images showing up there soon.
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Whithin the Frame
Last week I attended the unofficial Vancouver launch of David duChemin’s book “Within the Frame”. David is a freelance, humanitarian photographer based here in Vancouver and his enthusiasm is so contagious that you just want to go out and book a trip everytime you are around the guy! Now with the book out you’ll have this feeling every time you turn a page.
There are many extensive reviews of the book out there (here and here for example) so I’ll just say that since the day I got the book I want to shoot a lot more, but with a different perspective, a more open attitude to what I’m seeing through my camera lens. Highly recommended.
iPhone 3GS
In the words of Lisa Bettany
“my iPhone is now officially obsolete”
Although not totally obsolete, that’s precisely how I felt when I saw the new iPhone 3GS. The good news is that many of the cool new features are actually part of the new iPhone OS. In about 10 days I’ll be doing a lot of these:
• copy, cut and paste
• searching emails, apps and calendars
• MMS
• Landscape keyboard
But the feature that’s making my bank account very nervous is the new camera. It’s a 3 megapixel camera with auto OR manual focus and with video at 30 fps at 640 x 480.
You can edit video ON THE PHONE, and upload it directly to MobileMe or YouTube. Finally! I wouldn’t have to carry my iPhone AND a camera with me for casual photos and video. This is very cool.
Besides this, the speed improvement would also be a welcome change. It’s not that my (now “old”) iPhone is so slow I can’t use it, not at all, but any speed improvement in opening applications and rendering websites would be great.
Overall a great new version of the iPhone that will have to be checked out in person to compare with my current one.
Brace for impact!
drooling over the new Wacom Intuos4
The new Intuos4 tablet by Wacom was just announced and it has made me rethink the whole concept of sound financial behavior. In other words I NEED IT.
The new Intuos4 is a complete re-design of their previous tablets. The people at Wacom actually worked together with Adobe so that the new controls would work properly and intuitively with Photoshop. I’ve used a Wacom tablet for over a decade and can tell you that once you try them you are hooked. I read an analogy today on another blog where someone said that using a mouse to work with images on your computer is like using a baseball bat to create a painting. I couldn’t agree more.
Wacom is not a word usually seen in the same sentence as the word “affordable”, but in reality their products are so well made and last so for long that the investment in one of their tablets is actually very good. Once you see how much faster and precise your work is with a Wacom you realize how amazingly great they are.
Here’s a quick tour of the main features of the new Intuos4:
The first thing you notice is the new button layout on the tablet. They’ve replaced the “slider” strip with a wheel control and the placement is symetrical, allowing left handed people to rotate the tablet 180 degrees and have the exact same layout.
The buttons now have an actual display for their label. They change their name depending on the tool and application you are running. No guessing what each button does!
The wheel has a center button and allows for quick zooming and rotating just like an iPod. Quick and intuitive. Probably one of the new features that I will appreciate most when retouching since the navigation around an image will speed up considerably.
There are other new features like double the pressure sensitivity and improved pen and mouse so to check them out visit the Wacom site where they have a very cool presentation for the new Intuos4.
My new venture. Learn photography with me.
