10.24.08
Posted in Reviews and Opinions at 5:59 pm by Administrator
Hello Ladies and Gents.
Well, I have some good news and some bad news for you all! The bad news… not a whole lot of new information… announcements are incredibly slow right now but I’m hoping for some before the end of the year. The good news, what little information there is right now seems to be some nice rebates from the two “Major” brands, both Nikon and Canon. Canon’s rebates seem to be primarily Lenses and their two major flashes, nothing major just $50 here and $150 there… when your talking about getting $80 off a $1500 lens, a person tends to go “big whoop”, but as any photographer knows, this equipment is exspensive and every dollar helps!
http://www.usa.canon.com/app/pdf/Promotions/ir_lensflash_oct08.pdf
Nikon’s also has some price drops, but they don’t have the specific information online, it should hits stores within the next few weeks!
Ok, now I had some customers come in today with questions about the Sony SLR camera’s. Now I personally have never had much affinity for them. I think they are bulky, image quality is so-so at best, and the Lenses and Accessories are nearly impossible to find in a store. Now, the Sony’s do have some major advantages! Many of you may know the name Minolta or Konika-Minolta, they were a major player in the camera market about 7-8 years ago, during the “Digital shift”. Well, they produced their Auto-Focus system called the Maxxum and it was a success film and early digital camera. Now, right before the “Digital Shift” Minolta invested a lot of money into a film system called APS (Advance Photo System) which was a smaller Negative than 35mm and allowed options for Panoramic and different size formats all on the same Neg. Well, APS all but died with Digital hitting shelves within 2 years of its release and APS couldn’t withstand the ease and Convenience of Digital. Well, when APS died, so did Minolta due to their major investment in APS. So Minolta goes under and Sony buys up their Camera division and puts Minolta tech into the Sony Alpha camera’s. So now people who had invested in Minolta Maxxum camera’s can use their Lenses on the Sony Alpha camera’s. That was one major advantage Sony had because even a Cheap lens runs you about $150-$200 so even one or two lenses and your saving yourself some major money. Sony has two other major advantages, #1: they produce their own Sensor tech. so it becomes much cheaper to produce the camera’s, allowing them to sell their camera’s without a sensor mark up like Nikon who purchases the majority of their SLR sensors from Sony. Sony also as a Tech company has a Feature rich concept for their products. So they formulated a different way of doing their LiveView which is a little more functional than the other major companies. Sony however does not have the best mind for Imaging Quality, and again, Lenses and Accessories are very difficult to come by unless you already have some from the Minolta Maxxum days.
That is all for today. Until tomorrow!
Permalink
10.23.08
Posted in Photoshoot Projects at 4:47 pm by Administrator
Well Ladies and Gents,
Today has been rather slow in news… right now we are between major photo conventions (Photokina being last month) so announcements are far and few between. And on top of that, sales are nil right now due to the economy. So sadly really not a whole lot to report…
Now, on a W1000W note, Kitty and I started fleshing out ideas for an upcoming shoot. I can’t divulge any details at this time, but the shoot should be a fun one and should have a lot of potential for some very nice photos! Keep reading future posts for more details as they become more public!
Until tomorrow!
Permalink
10.22.08
Posted in Reviews and Opinions at 7:28 pm by Administrator
Welcome to day number two!
For those of you who were hoping for some equipment reviews, I have to remind you that it is a plan for the future, it is something I strongly want to do, but it is also something that will take time and funds that for now I do not have.
Now to tell you what I DO know. I find it a little odd that just yesterday I bid farewell to the Nikon D80. Today at work I had two people coming in to the shop prepared to purchase one, and sadly I had sold the last one yesterday. Now don’t fret too badly, Nikon does have some back stock on them, and they should be available for a little while yet to come. However, I will say that if your looking for a modern camera and not worried about a few hundred dollars extra, I Strongly suggest looking at the Nikon D90. A great camera with many consumer friendly features, including the next step from Nikon and Canon towards a functional LiveView with one button activation and the first SLR camera with Video functionality. There are still issues with these features (and when I can do a more in depth review of these I will) but they are functional and these are features that nobody would have dreamed of just two years ago.
Allow me to leave you with some opinions! Leading up to the release of the Nikon D90 I followed several forums and rumor sites, many discussing the advent of Video Functionality in SLR cameras. I studied long and hard the different Brands and how they incorporated the LiveView into their SLRs to make it easier for Studio Photographers and people upgrading from standard P&S (Point and Shoot) cameras which have heavily relied on their LiveView systems for some years now. Now different brands have taken different approaches to the implementation of LiveView with Sony somewhat taking the advantage using a two sensor system allowing for LiveView without having to lock up the Mirror and bypass the AF system. Now, with Nikon and Canon, they have more set designs in their Camera Bodies (and Nikon doesn’t have the facilities to make their own sensors, so purchasing a second sensor, even a much smaller one, will increase cost of production greatly!) So they opted for a Mirror Lock system in which the internal mirror is locked in its horizontal position allowing light directly onto the main sensor for their LiveView. Now Nikon was the first to program the camera to take that LiveView and record it into a 24 F/s AVI video. Some people are complaining about the 24 F/s, but what they seem to not remember is not that long ago all our Box Office Movies where shot on 24 F/s Film! The other issue for the Nikon D90 video function is that you can only record five minutes at a time. Nikon did this purposely because the sensor they used for the camera was not designed for extended recording, so on fear of burning out the sensor they limited its record time to five minutes. Personally, I think its just fine! The Canon 5D Mk II which will hit the shelves I’m told by the Local Canon Rep. at the end of Nov. will have a 30 F/s Video recording function with a brand new sensor (Canon can do this because they produce their own sensors) designed to take the video recording, but even they capped the video’s at 4gigabites of size. Now I personally think that Video has no place in high end SLR camera’s like the 5D Mk II because if a professional wants to take video’s, they are going to take a separate Video camera specially designed for it! Now I think the D90 is a perfect place for Video Function in an SLR camera. The people who buy those camera’s, the high end consumer, are looking more for a fun toy and an all in one tool, so that they don’t have to carry multiple tools around the family vacation even if the quality isn’t quite as high.
Thank you for stopping by and I hope you enjoy these little writings! Until tomorrow!
Permalink
Posted in VH1 Save the Music Event at 7:34 am by Administrator
I have decided to take on a project that hits close to home for me. I am a firm believer that you should give back to your community. Even more so when it comes to the education of our children. I am sure many of you know that in today’s public schools that they have decided to take on a great deal of cut backs. One of the biggest and one of the many first cut backs is the music department! This is why I decided to do a fundraising event for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. This foundation raises money to give to schools across the nation to educate children in music.
Music in my opinion is a very important part of our childrens education. It teaches them hand eye coordination. It helps stimulate the mind in creativity. It can even help them concentrate studying while listening to classic.
The reason why this is really important to me is because I was one of the kids who had to suffer the cut! I was learning how to play the violin, and when I got into high school, I was in an orchestra class. On the first day of my freshmen year, they told me that they are no longer having this class due to school’s cut backs. They told me that if I wanted to play that much, then I would have to go to another school just for that class alone! This school was across town! That was impossible for me to do! To go back and forth for only one class! I could not bare the thought for another child having to go through that for the love and want of music!
Keep your eye on our blog site to see how this event in unfolding itself. The goal for this event is in early January. A big party to celebrate the love in diversity of music along with starting out the New Year on a good note by giving to a cause!
Also with in the week there will be a new page on the website dedicated to the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. On this page we will posting the events updates, the bands that will be performing, the DJ’s who will be spinning and a paypal donation button if you can not come to the event! Remember every dollar counts!
Permalink
10.21.08
Posted in Reviews and Opinions at 11:23 pm by Administrator
I believe that every start has to come after an end. So now, let us have a moment of silence for the recently departed Nikon D80… It was an amazing camera that fought strongly ‘til the very end.
Ok, so now that our ending has passed us, we can get on with the beginning! My name is Douglas, and obviously you have some interest in photography or you would not be here. Now, allow me to attempt to give myself some credibility here. I have had my hands around a camera for nearly ten years, and in that time I have attended 3 different schools to study photography. I worked as a professional photographer for nearly that entire time, and currently working in a specialty camera shop for over a year and a half.
Now, as for what I’m doing here… I haven’t thought that far ahead yet! ::laughs out loud:: For now, I figure I will report to you some of the rumors I hear and find about upcoming equipment from the major brands and tell you my opinions on such rumors. Eventually, I’d like to start doing some equipment reviews. But there are two major issues with that, One: I don’t know what equipment you want me to review! Two: The equipment I have access to is a bit out dated… now this blog isn’t designed to make me money, but in order for me to review equipment beyond what I have, money is needed to have access to it. If you are interested in helping, there are many ways you can do that. The W1000W main site now has a page where you can purchase art prints of our work, you can also hire me directly if you need help learning your new camera.
In the meantime feel free to let me know what you would like from me to research and inform you! I’ll look forward to hearing from you!
Permalink
10.20.08
Posted in Reviews and Opinions at 11:11 pm by Administrator
Greetings!
As you can see, we are adding things to our website! From new services we are providing, adding info about our services, prints for sale, along with a blog with our thoughts!
We have been discussing for quite some time about adding a blog to the website. We were trying to figure out what kind of things we would post. So we decided on a few things. First of all, Doug has a love for learning all that he can on photography equipment, as well as software. On a daily basis and even through out the day he checks on updates on products, and reads to his hearts content on any reviews he can find! So check on a daily basis to see what new finds he has come across!
Second, projects we are working on. There are a few that we are stirring up. So check in from time to time to see where we are on our chaotic schedule!
Third, the biggest thing this company will ever do! My personal goal and dream. My charity event to raise money for the VH1 Save the Music Foundation. This event is getting started and well on its way with great anticipation! I will keep you updated on this event on a monthly basis!
I hope you find this blog to be informative. To get an insight on our company, as well as getting to know us as individuals!
Permalink
« Previous Page « Previous Page Next entries »
