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Black and White photography is among one of the most striking forms. Photos sans color require an enhanced use of lighting, shadows, and subject focus. Black and white photography brings out details usually overlooked in standard color photos. Subject studies is the discipline of concentration on one particular subject. Not quite still-lifes, though they share some similar qualities, subject studies focus on one particular object in view.

Take a look below for 31 stunning black and white subject study photos on Imagekind.

Pear in Porcelain by Dawn LeBlanc

Baby´s got Back by Andreas Stridsberg

Ready to Bloom by Tim Zeipekis

Resilience by Ari Bixhorn

Mount Rainer by Frank Melchior

Feather Study by Keith Dotson

Cotton-top Tamarin by Mihkel Maripuu

salute to the sun by Antje Bormann

Beach Ballerina by Nina Bradica

Subtle by Terry Shuck

Lonely Tree on a Barren Hill by Keith Dotson

Cool Chick by Dapixara Black White Photography

Column by Jean-Francois Dupuis

Flower on My Bedside Table by Ricardo Segovia

Pelican Model Behaviour II by Diana Claxton

Egret by Scott Hansen

You said you loved me by Anna Theodora

Elk Crossing by Santomarco Photography

End of the pier by David King

Sad Labrador by Justin Paget

The Wait by Maggie Dee

Giants Ring, Belfast by Chris McKeown

Wellington by Ben Ryan

Calla Lily by Chris Anderson

The Will of the King by Larry Bohlin

Stardust I by Gigja Einarsdottir

Wet Shaking Labrador by Justin Paget

My Lost Love by Lynsey Weatherspoon

Hunter from the Deep by Myles Teo

old elephant, amboseli national park, kenya by Konstantin Kalishko

Wild Horses by Heather Rivet

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

31 Stunning Black and White Subject Study Photos on Imagekind

The UK Policing and Crime Minister has reasserted that anti-terrorism should not be used to stop photographers and photojournalists. In a meeting with a Parliamentary photography group and journalists, David Hanson MP said the Sections 44 and 58A of the 2000 Terrorist Act should not be 'used to stop ordinary people taking photos or to curtail legitimate journalistic activity'. He also said guidance to that effect has been provided to the UK police forces, advising that these powers should not be used to stop innocent members of the public, tourists and journalists.

Pentax has finally pulled the wraps off a 40-megapixel 645D with a 55mm f/2.8 lens…

Read More…(645D)

Read More…(55mm lens)

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Source: DPReview via ImagingInsider.com

Five years after announcing its development, and following a month-long online campaign trailing the launch, Pentax has finally unveiled its much anticipated 645D medium format digital camera. The first digital version of the company's 645 medium format camera system, it features a 40MP, 44 x 33 CCD sensor, 921k dot 3.0" LCD and is compatible with the existing 645 system lenses. The camera will initially be available only in the Japanese market at a suggested retail price of ¥850,000 (~ US $9,400) from May 2010.

In conjunction with its announcement of the 645D medium format camera, Pentax has announced the smc D FA 645 55mm F2.8 AL[IF] SDM AW lens. First in the D FA 645 lens series, this weather-resistant prime lens features a Supersonic Direct-drive Motor (SDM) autofocus drive and Quick-Shift for instant AF/MF switching. It is also the company's first 645 system lens to incorporates a rounded diaphragm.The 55mm lens will be available alongside the 645D camera at a suggested retail price of ¥100,000 (~ US $1,100).

Optical Slaves are the simplest (and cheapest for the most part) method for using off camera flashes.

The principle is simple, when the optical slave sees another flash fire, it fires too. Kinda like yawning. Once one of goes, it is catchy.

Of course optical slaves have their limitations, one of which is that they are too dump to understand the difference between a flash and a pre-flash. There are a few more limitations to optical dumb slaves, but this post is about overcoming the pre-flash issue with a cool gizmo called Arduino.

read more

Annie Liebovitz, who has escaped all efforts to financially buckle under, now has a new creditor while keeping the rights to treasure chest of images. Colony Capitol is the same that got involved with Michael Jackson’s Neverland…

ANNIE LIEBOVITZ KEEPS HEAD ABOVE WATER

Read More…(FT)

Read More…(Gawker)

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ImagingInsider.com

By Jodi Friedman of MCP Actions: Photoshop Actions and Training

There are literally dozens of ways to saturate your colors in Photoshop. For this post I am going to focus on one way to pop colors using “Channel Mixer” adjustment layers.

To start with, locate an image that could benefit from more vibrant color, overall or in selected spots. Of course, you likely will want to correct exposure and white balance prior to working on color. At this point, we will pull up a “Channel Mixer” adjustment. In CS4, you can use the adjustment panel – in CS3 and below, use the layers palette and go to “Channel Mixers.”

Once you pull up the adjustment layer, you will adjust settings in the dialog box. You will adjust all three output channels: Red, Green, and Blue. Use the same relationship for each. You want all numbers to total 100%. The higher your number for the output channel you are working on, the more saturated the colors will be.

For example, if you start with red, and put red at 150%, then you would split the difference to = 100%. So green would be at -25% and blue at -25%. Then you would drop down to green for the output. For this channel, you would do 150% for green, -25% for red, and -25% for blue. Lastly, you would drop down to the blue channel and do the same. Blue would be 150%, green -25% and red -25%.

Remember, all three outputs need to be treated the same. The output gets the high number in all three channels. The other two equally subtract the same amount so that the total is 100%. Using 150% is rather high, but if you will be painting your color on, as I am here, or if you want a lot of pop, this number may work well. You will want to experiment on your image to find the best settings. I recommend 116-120% for the main output channel light pop, 122-140% for medium pop, and 142-160% for intense pop.

When you saturate color, make sure you are not losing details and that your colors are printable. The printer I use handles intense color really well, so I mainly check to make sure I am not losing details or getting any color noise. Also, if photographing people, unless you are using low numbers, your skin tones WILL BE impacted. That is where “painting” comes in.

With masking, you have 2 choices. Either you can show the effect everywhere, white mask. And hide it on parts where you do not want it, such as skin. Or you can hide the effect everywhere, black mask. And you can paint it on specific areas, just where desired.

For this tutorial, I am going explain, hiding the effect and painting it on where desired. Either way would work.

So after getting your channel numbers set, you will invert your mask. The shortcut keys are PC: “CTRL” + “I” or Mac: “CMD” + “I” – which turns your white mask from black. You will not longer see the popped colors.

If you have never used layer masks before, this video tutorial and tips on layer masking will help you.

With the mask black, then select white as your foreground color, and pick a soft round brush. You will vary the hardness of the brush as needed. I usually set my opacity at 30%-35% and paint over the desired items where I want the color more vibrant. You can do this at 100%, but with a low opacity brush, you will have more control as you can build the effect by painting multiple times.

For the before and after image below, I painted on the image with the mask selected, using a 30% brush at 19% hardness. I painted over the entire image once. Then I painted on the truck until 100% of the effect was reached.

The only change in these two images was the channel mixer layer. I hope you learned a lot from this tutorial about using channels to enhance your color and about using layer masks.

About the Author: This post was written by Jodi of MCP Actions, the popular creator of Photoshop actions, training and of the MCP Blog. MCP Actions provides great products and resources for both hobbyist and professional photographers who want to improve their post processing and take their photography to the next level. If you are serious about the quality of your images or your photography business, visit MCP Actions.

You can also find Jodi on Facebook, Twitter, and through her RSS Feed.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

How to Pop Color Selectively Using Channel Mixers and Layer Masks in Photoshop

Today we’re giving away 6 great little kits to help you create some stunning Bokeh effects from Bokeh Masters Kit. Thanks to Udi Tirosh (follow him on Twitter here) for this offer. Here he is to introduce the concept behind the kits and to introduce the competition.

The Challenge

A while back DPS had an article about creating and using shaped bokeh as a creative drive. Taking that concept forward I built a product called the Bokeh Masters Kit which enables creating “bokeh images” in an easy and convenient way.

When I launched the Bokeh Masters Kit I needed to create a strong image which will clearly show how distant blurred dots become shaped bokeh objects.

Process and Setup

To make the bokeh effect work you need to have some highlights that you can take out of focus. Each such out-of-focus dot takes the shape of the hole on the bokeh adapter. A common way to create those highlights is to use LEDs. This is a great option as LEDs are small, cheap and can be bought in a “string form” for holiday’s home decoration. Indeed I started with LEDs. My first images were of my little daughter using a Christmas LED string as backdrop.

I loved the effect, but wanted something more. I wanted hundreds of little distant blurred dots to become hundreds of little shapes.

While working on another project I noticed that wrinkled tinfoil reflects many, many spots of light. This is just what I needed. It took little time to create a screen made from foam board and tinfoil.

I used a very simple 2 strobe setup to take the image: one flash with a CPU cooler gridspot was placed above R2D2 to light it from above. Another gridded strobe was set on the floor for fill and spilling some light on the background.

This worked out pretty nice and I got literally hundreds of little envelopes.

I did a second image with the same concept only using hundreds of tiny streetlight people.

The Giveaway!!!!

To kick things off, DPS will be giving away six Masters Edition kits.

To enter all you need to do is leave a comment on this post. Make sure that in the email field of your comment you leave a valid email address so we can contact you. One entry per person only please!

We’ll randomly select 6 winners from the comments 2 weeks from today and notify winners via email. If you can’t hold your breath that long, just order the kit here.

Lastly – here’s a quick picture of how the kid attaches to your lens.

Check out more of the type of images that you can achieve with this little bokeh kit here.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

Win a Bokeh Kit: Competition

With an X-ACTO you can convert that old vintage film camera into something artsy. Carefully slice a section out of the bellows to create a holder for business cards, pens, pencils, and even a mobile phone. (Lightly brushing the cut edges with “Liquid Electrical Tape” will keep the bellows material from fraying.)

Caution :: Be careful when using working with sharp cutting utensils. Also, provide adequate ventilation.

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ImagingInsider.com

Santa Barbara, CA—Digital cameras and flash technology have revolutionized photography. Originally seen simply as a way of illuminating dark scenes with portable light, flash today is used for a host of creative functions, including supplementing daylight and designing complex scenes lit by multiple light sources. Digital cameras with their preview screens make it easy to get instant feedback.

But flash photography can still be a difficult artistic and technical challenge. It’s simple to get that harsh deer-in-the-headlights look from built-in automatic flash, yet creating natural-looking images is not as straightforward. Manuals are terse and the terminology is confusing. This is whereMastering Canon EOS Flash Photography ($44.95 USD) comes in.

This is the authoritative book on the subject, guiding you through Canon’s Speedlite system, from off-camera portable flash to professional studio lighting. It covers the fundamentals of flash metering technology, discusses key lighting concepts, and documents a wide range of Canon and third-party equipment. Universal flash accessories, studio gear, and radio triggers are all thoroughly covered.

The book is lavishly illustrated with diagrams that demonstrate important functions and lighting arrangements, and inspiring photos that show sophisticated flash techniques. Though tailored for users of Canon EOS cameras, owners of other camera systems will find much valuable information as well.

So, whether you’;re just getting started with flash, whether you’ve picked up the bug for off-camera lighting from such popular websites as Strobist.com, or whether you’re making the leap into advanced studio work, Mastering Canon EOS Flash Photography will be your in-depth resource.

Includes a foreword by David Hobby, noted photojournalist and founder of Strobist.com.

NK Guy is a Canadian writer and photographer living in Britain. He specializes in travel photography and event portraiture, is the author of the Photographer’s Dictionary and is the creator of PhotoNotes.org, a popular online resource for photographic education. He no longer lives aboard a barge on the Paddington Arm of the Grand Union Canal in London, but wishes he still did because it makes for great book bio copy.

Additional Resources:
For more information about the book, see: http://www.oreilly.com/catalog/9781933952444

Mastering Canon EOS Flash Photography
Publisher: Rocky Nook
NK Guy
ISBN: 9781933952444, 250 pages,
Book Price: $44.95 USD
order@oreilly.com
1-800-998-9938
1-707-827-7000

About Rocky Nook
Rocky Nook’s books are distributed internationally by O’Reilly Media.

Rocky Nook was founded in early 2006 in Santa Barbara, California, and is closely associated with dpunkt.verlag, a leading publisher of books on technology based in Heidelberg, Germany. The focus of Rocky Nook’s publications is on digital photography and computing.

About O’Reilly
O’Reilly Media spreads the knowledge of innovators through its books, online services, magazines, and conferences. Since 1978, O’Reilly Media has been a chronicler and catalyst of cutting-edge development, homing in on the technology trends that really matter and spurring their adoption by amplifying “faint signals” from the alpha geeks who are creating the future. An active participant in the technology community, the company has a long history of advocacy, meme-making, and evangelism.

# # #

O’Reilly is a registered trademark of O’Reilly Media, Inc. All other trademarks are the property of their respective owners.

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ImagingInsider.com

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ImagingInsider.com

In this post, Steve Berardi from PhotoNaturalist discusses eight tips for photographing wildflowers.

To get the softly diffused light in this photo, I waited for an overcast sky. (Photo by Steve Berardi)

With spring on the horizon in some parts of the world, you may be thinking about photographing some beautiful wildflowers soon. So, here are 8 tips to get you started:

1. Use a tripod

Using a tripod will help you get sharper photos by ensuring your camera doesn’t move. But, the tripod helps in another way too: it forces you to be more careful about your composition.

When you handhold your camera, there’s a tendency to just snap away, but when you add the tripod, you’ll spend more time thinking about your composition and ensuring your camera is in a very precise position.

2. Wait for an overcast or cloudy day

Direct sunlight will cast harsh shadows and create bright highlights on wildflowers, causing a disaster for exposure.

So, the best time to photograph wildflowers is on an overcast day, because the clouds act as the perfect light diffuser: creating the most perfectly balanced light you can get.

If you can’t wait for an overcast day, cloudy days are good too: just wait for a cloud to cover the sun before taking your shot.

3. Position your camera’s sensor so it’s parallel to the most important plane of the flower

With every photo, you only get one geometrical plane of complete sharpness. So, to maximize sharpness in your wildflower photos, make sure your sensor is parallel to the flower’s most important plane, and carefully focus your lens on this plane.

To maximize sharpness in this photo, I carefully positioned my camera so the sensor was parallel to the flower's petals. (Photo by Steve Berardi)

4. Use a shutter speed of 1/200 or faster

The most annoying problem you’ll face when photographing wildflowers is battling the wind. So, to help freeze the action of wildflowers (which never seem to sit completely still!), use a fast shutter of at least 1/200 sec. You may need to increase your ISO to 200 or 400 to get this fast of a shutter.

5. Find a flower with a good background

When photographing wildflowers, it’s easy to focus all your attention on the beautiful flowers and forget about the background. But, a good background will help your image by drawing more attention to your subject. So, take the time to find a flower with a good background: one that’s far away (to help get it out of focus), contrasts well with the flower, and has no distracting elements.

6. Find a flower that’s in good shape

Closely inspect each flower before photographing it, to ensure it’s not missing petals or has poor color. Some individual flowers of the same species will be more saturated in color than other individuals, so take some time to find that “perfect flower.”

7. Use a telephoto lens with a short minimum focus distance

A long lens will help you isolate a sharp flower against an out-of-focus background. But, make sure you use one with a short minimum focus distance (5 ft or less), to ensure you can fill the frame with the flower. You can use an extension tube to make your lens focus even closer for the smaller flowers.

8 – Use the RGB histogram to check exposure, NOT the LCD preview

When you’re outside, images on your camera’s LCD will appear much brighter than they actually are. So, to ensure you have a good exposure, rely on the RGB histogram. The histogram is a whole other topic by itself, but the basic idea is to use the histogram to ensure you’re not overexposing any of the color channels in your photo.

Remember to leave no trace…

When photographing wildflowers (or anything in nature), it’s also important to leave no trace. That means, be careful not to step on the flowers, or disturb the ground around them (many flowers depend on the soil structure around them). And, it may be tempting to attach some kind of clip to flowers to keep from swaying in the wind, but please avoid this because it could potentially kill the flower.

So, enjoy the wildflowers, take lots of photos, but leave them just as you found them, so they can be enjoyed by the next person (or butterfly, heh) too :)

About the Author: Steve Berardi is a naturalist, photographer, and computer scientist. You can usually find him hiking in the beautiful mountains and deserts of Southern California. Read more of his articles on nature photography at the PhotoNaturalist and check out his new eBook, Digital Wildflower Photography.

Post from: Digital Photography School - Photography Tips.

8 Tips for Photographing Wildflowers

National Geographic features Top Ten Photos of the Year plus the ongoing Visions of Earth gallery offering some new images from 2010.

An Extra Low Dispersion (XLD)[1]lens made from high-grade materials delivers best in class resolution. Tamron’s own Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD)[2] and Vibration Compensation (VC) make the lens fast, quiet and easy to use.

March 9, 2010, Commack, NY— President and CEO Morio Ono of optical equipment manufacturer Tamron Co., Ltd., announced another advance in Tamron’s pursuit of high resolution images in the telephoto lens category with the development of a 70-300mm F/4-5.6 telephoto zoom lens featuring image stabilization––VC (Vibration Compensation) and an ultrasonic auto-focus drive –– USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive). The SP AF70-300mm F4-5.6 Di VC USD (Model A005) high-resolution DSLR telephoto zoom lens has been produced first for the Nikon mount, with the development of compatible mounts for Canon and Sony[3]to follow.

This new telephoto zoom lens is designed for digital SLR cameras and can be used with both full-frame sensor as well as AF 35mm film cameras with a zoom range of 70-300mm; and with APS-C sensor cameras where the angle of view will change the zoom range equal to 109-465mm[4].

With superior optical performance, Tamron’s own USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive) and VC (Vibration Compensation), the SP 70-300mm F4-5.6 Di VC USD (Model A005) provides the performance of a high-end premium telephoto zoom that is appealing to a broad spectrum of photography enthusiasts.?

Unparalleled optical performance in a fast and steady telephoto zoom lens

In the pursuit to achieve the most outstanding image resolution in the 70-300mm class, Tamron’s 60th Anniversary lens – the SP AF70-300mm F4-5.6 Di VC USD (Model A005) – utilizes an advanced optical design that features an LD (Low Dispersion) and an XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) lens element made from specialized materials that prevent chromatic aberration. As a result, the SP AF70-300mm Di VC USD boasts sharper contrast and greater descriptive performance than all others in its class.

In addition, it is the first Tamron lens sporting a USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive), Tamron’s very own ultrasonic auto-focus drive mechanism. This USD mechanism delivers fast focusing, making it a perfect telephoto zoom choice for photographing sports, racing, and other fast-moving subjects. The lens also boasts Tamron’s proprietary VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization to assist in hand-held shooting, not only at long focal length ranges where blurring is common, but also under low-lit conditions, dramatically enhancing photographic freedom.

This combination of best in class image resolution, Ultrasonic Silent Drive and Vibration Compensation is a new achievement of Tamron technology, culminating in the production of a premium 70-300mm telephoto zoom lens.

Product Features

•     New optical system optimized for digital cameras achieves top resolution in the 70-300mm class with specialized glass elements including an XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) lens element

•This lens’ advanced optical design employs a sophisticated XLD (Extra Low Dispersion) lens element made from specialized high-grade glass that has lower dispersive properties than standard LD lenses (where refraction causes the dispersion of white light into spectral hues). The dispersive properties of the XLD lens are at a level similar to fluorite, and in combination with LD elements make for an optimal optical design that delivers best in class resolution with advanced axial chromatic and magnification aberration correction – major inhibitors of image quality enhancement. The result is a lens that delivers sharp contrast and better descriptive performance throughout the entire zoom range.

•     Fast focusing with USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive), Tamron’s ultrasonic autofocus drive

•The lens is equipped with Tamron’s first-ever ultrasonic auto-focus drive USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive). It achieves faster focusing making this telephoto lens perfect for photography of sports, motor racing, and other fast-moving subjects. With advanced motor technology and newly developed software, Tamron’s USD delivers precise and noiseless focusing at turbo speed.

•     USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive)

Tamron’s USD works with the high-frequency ultrasonic vibrations that are produced by a ring called a ‘stator’. Energy from the vibrations is used to rotate an attached metallic ring known as the ‘rotor’. Piezoelectric ceramic, an element that produces ultrasonic vibrations when voltage of a specific frequency is applied is arranged in a ring formation on the stator. This electrode configuration of piezoelectric ceramic causes two ultrasonic vibrations to occur in the stator.

By effectively combining these two ultrasonic vibrations, it is possible to convert the energy from the vibrations that produced simple motion into energy known as ‘deflective traveling waves’, which then moves around the circumference (rotation direction) of the ring.   

With the USD, the friction between these deflective traveling waves created on the metallic surface of the stator and the surface of the rotor produce force, causing the rotor to rotate. The focusing ring lens, which is linked to the rotor, is thus moved, creating a fast and smooth auto-focus drive.

•     Equipped with Tamron’s VC (Vibration Compensation) image stabilization

•The SP 70-300mm F4-5.6 Di VC USD employs Tamron’s esteemed image stabilization mechanism–VC (Vibration Compensation) seen in both the AF18-270mm Di II VC (Model B003) and SP AF17-50mm F/2.8 XR Di II VC (Model B005). With VC, the photographer has the freedom to shoot at a shutter speed that is an extra four stops slower without having to worry about blurring. This makes capturing handheld, evening, night, and interior shots much easier.

•     VC (Vibration Compensation)

Tamron’s VC mechanism employs a three-coil system, whereby three driving coils activate the shake-compensating VC lens group electromagnetically via three steel balls. The VC lens elements are held in place only by contact with the steel balls, achieving smooth movement with little friction. This provides a stable viewfinder image with excellent tracking performance that eliminates the blur from camera shake for cleaner, crisper shots.

•     Full time manual focus at your fingertips

•Auto-focus has many benefits but sometimes the photographer needs the control of manual focus. Full time manual offers just that: the crossover from auto-focus to manual focus by simply adjusting the focus ring, allowing the photographer to make adjustments on the fly. This feature helps the lens produce impressive results even in telephoto situations where the depth of field is narrow.

•     Better balance and consistent length with internal focusing

•When focusing, the internal elements of the lens move and the lens’ external size does not change. This offers better balance and easier telephoto shots. Moreover, the barrel is not subject to stray light entering from external helicoids that can negatively affect images. And because the external elements do not move, it makes it easier to utilize polarizing filters and the flower shape hood to control the amount of light that enters the lens.

•     Enjoyable photography for a wide range of enthusiasts, from those using traditional film cameras, to digital SLRs with full-frame or APS-C size sensors

•With a full-frame digital or 35mm SLR, portrait and medium telephoto shots can be achieved on the wider 70mm end of the range and spectacular telephoto shots at the longer 300mm side. When using an ASP-C sensor camera the angle of view changes, giving it the equivalent range of 109-465mm for bold ultra-telephoto shots. And with a maximum magnification ratio 1:4, the lens can be used to explore in the realm of semi-macro photography.

  

Focal length on Various Format Cameras:

Focal length range for DSLRs with full-size sensors and 35mm film format SLRs

70mm

200mm

300mm

Focal length range for DSLRs with APS-C-size sensors

*Tamron’s conversion value is 1.55x

Angle of view

equivalent to approx.

109mm

Angle of view

equivalent to approx.

310mm

Angle of view

equivalent to approx.

465mm

•     Uncompromising countermeasures to reduce ghosting and flare

•Digital photography requires extreme precision, which is why Tamron incorporates new BBAR (Broad-Band Anti Reflection) multilayer coatings that reduce reflection into the lens elements. This ensures excellent performance in all photographic conditions and enhances light transmission on both long and short wavelengths. In addition, Tamron applies internal surface coatings on cemented surfaces of lens elements to make images sharper with better color reproduction and balance.

•     Simple yet beautiful exterior design

•Tamron adopted a simple design with a smooth silhouette to ensure that this lens fits well with various SLR cameras. The exquisite textured paint gives a well-crafted finish to the exterior.

•     Flower-shaped hood with excellent stray light shielding properties–a standard accessory

•The flower-shaped hood has been designed specifically to block out damaging light rays and ensures clear, sharp descriptive performance.

Specifications

Model: A005

Focal length: 70 – 300mm

Maximum aperture: F/4 – 5.6

Angle of view (diagonal): 34° 21‘-8° 15’

Lens construction: 17 elements, 12 groups

Minimum focus distance: 59.1″

Maximum magnification ratio: 1:4 (at f = 300mm: MFD 1.5m)

Filter size: Ø62mm

Length: 5.6″*

Diameter: Ø3.2″

Weight: 27.0oz.*

No. of diaphragm blades: 9

Minimum aperture: F/32-45

Standard accessories: Flower Shaped Lens Hood

Compatible mounts: Canon, Nikon, Sony**

*Length and weight values given are for the Nikon mount.

Specifications, appearance, functionality, etc, may be changed without prior notice.

**The Sony mount does not include the VC image stabilization functionality, as the body of Sony digital SLR cameras contains built-in image stabilization functionality.

About TAMRON Co., Ltd.

‘New Eyes for Industry’ is Tamron’s slogan, as they are a comprehensive manufacturer of a wide range of original optical products, from interchangeable lenses for SLR cameras to various optical devices for both the general consumer and OEMs. Tamron makes optical products that contribute to a range of different industries. As a leading manufacturer of optical devices, Tamron will continue to exercise its rich creativity and leading-edge technical prowess to make advances into various industrial fields. Tamron is aware of their environmental responsibilities and aspires to preserve the environment in all business activities.

Optical Product Line-up:

Interchangeable lenses for SLR cameras, digital camera lenses, video camera lenses, CCTV camera lenses, automotive lenses, lenses for cell phones cameras, ultra-precision optical components, etc.

[1] XLD-Extra Low Dispersion lens is made from specialized high-grade glass that has lower dispersive properties than standard LD lenses.

[2] USD-Ultrasonic Silent Drive is Tamron’s proprietary ultrasonic motor drive.

[3] The Sony mount is not equipped with the VC image stabilization mechanism, as anti-shake functionality is included in the body of Sony digital SLR cameras. Consequently, the name of the Sony mounted lens, SP 70-300mm F4-5.6 Di USD, does not include the VC description.

[4] Tamron’s conversion 1.55x

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ImagingInsider.com

Reuters features Life of Wine, an interesting gallery of images on wine from the vineyard to the glass.

Tamron has announced the development of a 70-300mm f/4-5.6 zoom lens featuring image stabilization and an ultrasonic auto-focus drive. The SP 70-300mm F4-5.6 Di VC USD is the company's first lens to feature its latest Ultrasonic Silent Drive (USD) autofocus motor, with full-time manual focus override. The optical design includes an element made from Extra-Low Dispersion (XLD) glass, said to have optical properties similar to fluorite. Designed for both full-frame and APS-C digital SLRs, the lens will be initially available in Nikon mount followed by Canon and Sony versions.

Delkin had the Jellyfish, a unique looking flotation device for your underwater camera. If you drop it in the water the Jellyfish will save the day even with it’s built-in bottle opener. Also shown were the CombatFlash, a super rugged memory card along with more Fat Gecko camera mount gear. (www.delkin.com)

The Zoom Q3 Handy Zoom Recorder was used in creating this video. The Q3 is a portable high quality stereo audio recorder as well as video camcorder. Read More about the Zoom Q3…

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ImagingInsider.com

#pma2010

Stellar Lighting Systems was showing their Ovallite WebStar LED-based product that is geared for turning your web conferencing into something useful. This is a ring light that throws even illumination on your face while you use programs like SKYPE. Finally, there is affordable light that you can easily take with you. (www.ovallite.com)

The Zoom Q3 Handy Zoom Recorder was used in creating this video. The Q3 is a portable high quality stereo audio recorder as well as video camcorder. Read More about the Zoom Q3…

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ImagingInsider.com

#pma2010

I am very happy to announce the new look of DIYP. If you are reading this via RSS, you may want to click though and see the new design.

Over the last few weeks I have been working with the great team at cre8d design to give DIYP a new look.

The fact of the matter is that since I originally installed Drupal on the site, I ever changed the default theme. It is a great theme, however it did not allow for some of the features I wanted for DIYP.

The team at cre8d did a very nice job of creating a new theme that makes better use of the space the page has to offer, as well as allow for some community features.

read more