Cameras Underwater has announced a new underwater housing for the Sony NEX-5 compact system camera.
Saturday, November 13, 2010
Aquatica AN-5
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Canon PowerShot SX130 IS Review
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The new Canon PowerShot SX120 IS is one of the most affordable travel-zoom cameras around. For less than ?200 / $250, the Canon SX130 offers a 12x optical zoom lens, 12 megapixels, 3 inch LCD screen, 720p movies and fast DIGIC 4 processor. Aimed at both the family market, with Easy and Smart Auto modes, and enthusiasts, with a full range of manual controls, read our in-depth Canon PowerShot SX120 IS review.
The new Canon PowerShot SX120 IS is one of the most affordable travel-zoom cameras around. For less than ?200 / $250, the Canon SX130 offers a 12x optical zoom lens, 12 megapixels, 3 inch LCD screen, 720p movies and fast DIGIC 4 processor. Aimed at both the family market, with Easy and Smart Auto modes, and enthusiasts, with a full range of manual controls, read our in-depth Canon PowerShot SX120 IS review.
Urban Disguise 40 V2.0 Review
A Guest post by Kevin Jones.
The Urban Disguise series is a set of shoulder camera bags from Think Tank Photo which are designed to look professional while not look like a camera bag. This series has many bag sizes ranging from holding one SLR with lens attached to holding two pro sized SLRs with lenses attached plus additional gear. In this article we will review the Urban Disguise 40 V2.0 which is in the middle of the series.
Think Tank Photo’s attention to detail is evident when you first unbox this bag. These are little things that add up such as the tags being secured to the zipper loops rather than being secured by punching a small hole in the bag. Another minor detail is the adjustment loops on the shoulder strap have indentations to hold onto while adjusting it. Unlike other bags I’ve owned, this bag (and I believe all Think Tank bags) comes with many extra pads allowing you to completely customize the main compartment to fit your needs. You’ll see that Think Tank Photo really has thought of everything a photographer would need in a camera bag.
This bag is composed of a main compartment in the middle where the body and lenses are stored, two flat slots on the back for papers, an organizational area on the front flap for pens, notepad, batteries, etc, two pockets under the front flap for extra bodies, and an open slot inside the main compartment. You can see good photos illustrating these compartments on Think Tank’s website under the features tab. In addition there are stretchable pockets on each side of the bag which can hold water bottles or smaller strobes. On the back of the bag is an easily accessible slot to store business cards. Lastly, there are loops on the sides and bottom of the bag where you can use straps (sold separately) to attach extra storage such as Think Tank’s modular or skin component system.
In the main compartment I can fit a D90 with grip and lens attached, 18-105 tucked under the camera’s handle, SB-600 just to the right of that, and a 70-300 on the other side of the camera. In the elastic pouches on the side you can fit an SB-600, but not a LumoPro LP160 strobe which is much wider. You could also put a bottle of water, your keys, cell phone or other relatively small object in these. The D rings that the shoulder strap attaches to can get in the way of accessing these pockets when the strap is limp. The elastic pocket on the right side of the bag (if you are looking at the front) has a red loop inside it for you to clip items onto such as keys or the Pixel Pocket Rocket. It is also nice to know that you can attach modular or skin components on the sides of the bag for added storage space.
Access into the main compartment is somewhat bottlenecked. This is basically unavoidable considering the way this bag opens. In order to remove the bottleneck the main compartment would have to be accessed in the same style that the Retrospective bag is done. Basically there would need to be a hinged cover that opens rather than a zipper which allows you to pull the bag apart. This would make the bag more open, but would probably make it look more like a camera bag and may not be any easier to access. Overall the bag is fairly easy to access for active shooting; it’s just not easy to see everything in the main compartment at once.
Like many bags, if you put an item in one compartment it takes available space away from another compartment. There are lots of slots located in front of the main compartment, but some of them share space with the main compartment. If you are using a pro sized body then you will have the expansion zipper opened giving you more space. Even if you don’t have a pro sized body you can get more storage space by opening this expansion zipper.
The shoulder strap that comes with the bag isn’t easily adjustable. The pad is fixed in place, and there are separate adjustments on either side. This means when you change shoulders the strap may not be sitting on your shoulder anymore. Apparently Think Tank sells a strap with a movable pad. This is good, but doesn’t change the strap that the bag comes with. The shoulder strap that the bag comes with is very nice despite the difficulty in. It is non-slip, has soft fabric lining the sides where it might be touching your neck, and is well cushioned.
Although the UD40 does not have a laptop compartment you could fit a netbook in the front pocket of the bag (the one that Think Tank advertises as being used for Pro sized bodies). You can probably fit an iPad somewhere in the bag, but I don’t have one to test. The back of the bag is very firm so that it doesn’t flex or wrap around your body. This is important because it will keep the papers you are storing neat and wrinkle free. This also means that you can’t store a small computer in the back slot.
Overall this is a great bag to work out of. It offers a good balance between storage space, size, and ease of use. If you need very fast access then the modular component system is the way to go, but the two shouldn’t be compared. The modular and skin systems scream, “I’m a photographer, and I have all this expensive gear.” The Urban Disguise series does quite the opposite. If you need a relatively low profile bag that is easy to work out of and holds a lot of gear then the Urban Disguise is good for you.
See more from Kevin Jones at his site.
Guest Contributor This post was written by a guest contributor to DPS. Please see their details in the post above. Become a Contributor: Check out Write for DPS page for details about how YOU can share your photography tips with the DPS community.
Armani restaurant 5th Ave.
finished a shoot at Armani’s restaurant on 5th Ave… 456 pics to edit.
No related posts.
Mystery of how a cat can drink is solved, thanks to high-speed photography
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Tags: cat drinking, high-speed photography, MIT, princeton
It is amazing how things in nature happen too fast for the eye to see.
It was once thought that a cat drank liquids by spoon them into its mouth, but thanks to high-speed video cameras, we know that it is more of a catapult motion that launches the liquid into its throat. This research by MIT and Princeton has shown that a cat can do four laps every second, with each swipe of the tongue bringing in 0.1 millimeters of fluid.
I wonder if dog lap up their water in a similar manner.
Tags: cat drinking, high-speed photography, MIT, princeton
Related posts
Aquatica Housing for Nikon D3 Series
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Cameras Underwater has launched a redesigned version of its Aquatica underwater housing for the Nikon D3 series.
Urban Disguise 40 V2.0 Review
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A Guest post by Kevin Jones.
The Urban Disguise series is a set of shoulder camera bags from Think Tank Photo which are designed to look professional while not look like a camera bag. This series has many bag sizes ranging from holding one SLR with lens attached to holding two pro sized SLRs with lenses attached plus additional gear. In this article we will review the Urban Disguise 40 V2.0 which is in the middle of the series.
Think Tank Photo’s attention to detail is evident when you first unbox this bag. These are little things that add up such as the tags being secured to the zipper loops rather than being secured by punching a small hole in the bag. Another minor detail is the adjustment loops on the shoulder strap have indentations to hold onto while adjusting it. Unlike other bags I?ve owned, this bag (and I believe all Think Tank bags) comes with many extra pads allowing you to completely customize the main compartment to fit your needs. You?ll see that Think Tank Photo really has thought of everything a photographer would need in a camera bag.
This bag is composed of a main compartment in the middle where the body and lenses are stored, two flat slots on the back for papers, an organizational area on the front flap for pens, notepad, batteries, etc, two pockets under the front flap for extra bodies, and an open slot inside the main compartment. You can see good photos illustrating these compartments on Think Tank?s website under the features tab. In addition there are stretchable pockets on each side of the bag which can hold water bottles or smaller strobes. On the back of the bag is an easily accessible slot to store business cards. Lastly, there are loops on the sides and bottom of the bag where you can use straps (sold separately) to attach extra storage such as Think Tank?s modular or skin component system.
In the main compartment I can fit a D90 with grip and lens attached, 18-105 tucked under the camera’s handle, SB-600 just to the right of that, and a 70-300 on the other side of the camera. In the elastic pouches on the side you can fit an SB-600, but not a LumoPro LP160 strobe which is much wider. You could also put a bottle of water, your keys, cell phone or other relatively small object in these. The D rings that the shoulder strap attaches to can get in the way of accessing these pockets when the strap is limp. The elastic pocket on the right side of the bag (if you are looking at the front) has a red loop inside it for you to clip items onto such as keys or the Pixel Pocket Rocket. It is also nice to know that you can attach modular or skin components on the sides of the bag for added storage space.
Access into the main compartment is somewhat bottlenecked. This is basically unavoidable considering the way this bag opens. In order to remove the bottleneck the main compartment would have to be accessed in the same style that the Retrospective bag is done. Basically there would need to be a hinged cover that opens rather than a zipper which allows you to pull the bag apart. This would make the bag more open, but would probably make it look more like a camera bag and may not be any easier to access. Overall the bag is fairly easy to access for active shooting; it?s just not easy to see everything in the main compartment at once.
Like many bags, if you put an item in one compartment it takes available space away from another compartment. There are lots of slots located in front of the main compartment, but some of them share space with the main compartment. If you are using a pro sized body then you will have the expansion zipper opened giving you more space. Even if you don?t have a pro sized body you can get more storage space by opening this expansion zipper.
The shoulder strap that comes with the bag isn’t easily adjustable. The pad is fixed in place, and there are separate adjustments on either side. This means when you change shoulders the strap may not be sitting on your shoulder anymore. Apparently Think Tank sells a strap with a movable pad. This is good, but doesn’t change the strap that the bag comes with. The shoulder strap that the bag comes with is very nice despite the difficulty in. It is non-slip, has soft fabric lining the sides where it might be touching your neck, and is well cushioned.
Although the UD40 does not have a laptop compartment you could fit a netbook in the front pocket of the bag (the one that Think Tank advertises as being used for Pro sized bodies). You can probably fit an iPad somewhere in the bag, but I don’t have one to test. The back of the bag is very firm so that it doesn?t flex or wrap around your body. This is important because it will keep the papers you are storing neat and wrinkle free. This also means that you can?t store a small computer in the back slot.
Overall this is a great bag to work out of. It offers a good balance between storage space, size, and ease of use. If you need very fast access then the modular component system is the way to go, but the two shouldn’t be compared. The modular and skin systems scream, “I’m a photographer, and I have all this expensive gear.” The Urban Disguise series does quite the opposite. If you need a relatively low profile bag that is easy to work out of and holds a lot of gear then the Urban Disguise is good for you.
See more from Kevin Jones at his site.
Post from: Digital Photography School
Sony Hxr-mc50e + Glidecam 4000-HD in Club Video
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- DigitalPixels.net
- DigitalPixels.net
This Week in the Digital Photography School Forums (7-13 Nov ‘10)
T
his week’s assignment took a trip back to the basics by looking at the Rule of Thirds. This is a compositional rule that suggests that you put your subject on one of the lines that divides the image into thirds. Our winner this week was sunwrites’s keyboard image. The blue tint really works well with the graphical nature of this image. And there’s an interesting touch of the 3 being right on one of the “thirds” lines. Our first runner up was BarbaraAnn’s Hard Rock Cafe photo. This one makes good use of angles and lines, and you can see that the guitar of the sign lies right along one of the “thirds” lines. And last, but not least is dukesg’s City Lights. With this one, there are great colours and reflection and you can still see just a hint of colour in the sky. In this one, you can see that it’s the horizon that runs along the “thirds” line. Well done everyone!
After spending time following the rule of thirds, this week’s assignment is now Breaking the Rule of Thirds Sometimes an image is much stronger if it doesn’t follow the rule of thirds. Not every shot works well, but sometimes shots can gain symmetry or even just take advantage of having a strong subject in the middle of the frame. But keep in mind, don’t just break the rule without a reason, we want to see shots that use it well. As always, a quick reminder of the rules. First your photo must have been taken between 3-17 November 2010. Second, your post must include the words “Assignment: Break the Rule of Thirds” and the date that the photo was taken. Finally, your EXIF should be intact, and it’s useful if you can include some of the main points, such as camera, lens, aperture, shutter speed, ISO, etc. Next week we will be working on another compositional tool, this time we will be Filling the Frame. So get rid of all the distractions and fill the frame with your subject.
Nicole is a DPS Forum moderator and keen photographer from New Zealand. See her blog and Flickr account.
Aquatica AN-5
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Cameras Underwater has announced a new underwater housing for the Sony NEX-5 compact system camera.
Seashell SS2
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The Seashell SS2 is a universal waterproof digital camera case designed for digital compact cameras. Billed as the world’s first universal waterproof digital camera case for models with a lens located in the top left corner, the Seashell SS2 is compatible with over 150 internal zoom-type digital compact cameras, and complements the SS1, which fits cameras with a centrally located lens. Supplied with a comprehensive accessory kit, the Seashell SS-2 is available now from Cameras Underwater for £149.99 including VAT.
Press Release
Another universal waterproof digital camera case added to the Cameras Underwater product range
10th November 2010: Cameras Underwater, the UK’s leading specialist in underwater photography, is pleased to announce the arrival of the Seashell SS-2 waterproof housing, which offers a convenient underwater photography solution for compact digital cameras. The Seashell SS2 complements the SS1, which fits cameras with a centrally located lens. The Seashell SS-2 adds to Cameras Underwater’s extensive range of products, making it even easier to explore the exciting world of underwater photography.
The Seashell brand is new to Cameras Underwater and its innovatively designed SS-2 housing is the world’s first universal waterproof digital camera case for models with a lens located in the top left corner. As such it is compatible with over 150 internal zoom-type digital compact cameras on the market today.
The SS-2 is suitable for use in depths of up to 40 metres and features a robust, hard case design for excellent and reliable protection against shock, dust, sand, snow and other potentially damaging elements. Its sporty, transparent design is accented with fashionable, bright details in a variety of colours. Cameras Underwater is ranging the SS-2 with either black or yellow details.
The SS-2 housing is supplied with a comprehensive accessory kit that makes it quick and simple to configure it for use with a wide range of digital cameras.
The kit includes the following items:
Round Type Cushions (12 variations)
Fish Tail Type Cushions (56 variations)
Back Foam Pad (four variations)
Actuator Shaft (eight variations)
Probe Pad (six variations)
Lubricant Grease
Mini Spanner
Neck Strap
Hand Strap
Fitting Sheet
User Manual
Quick Start Guide
The Seashell SS-2 is available now from Cameras Underwater for £149.00 RRP including VAT. Functionality includes power on/ off and shutter release control only.
For further information:
Website: http://www.camerasunderwater.co.uk
Twitter: @camerasuw
Tel: 020 7839 1991/ 01404 812 277
Zoom: Weekly Photography Challenge
Image by Steve JurvetsonYour challenge this week is to take and share an image with the dPS community with the theme of ‘ZOOM’.
You can interpret this theme any way that you wish.
you might want to followup on this weeks post on using a Zoom Lens as a Compositional Aide and get your telephoto zoom outyou may wish to experiment with the zoom effect and shoot some long exposures while zooming a lens in or outyou might like to shoot a moving subject – something that is ‘zooming’our you might have some other way of capturing an image that fits the ‘zoom’ themeOnce you’ve taken your “Zoom” image, upload it to your favourite photo sharing site and either share a link to it below or embed it in the comments using the our new tool to do so. Please note it sometimes takes us a while to approve comments with images as there’s a moderation queue – particularly over the weekend.
If you tag your photo on Flickr, Twitter or other sites with Tagging tag it as #DPSZOOM to help others find it. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.
PS: don’t forget to check out some of the great photos shared last week in the ‘10 Meter’ challenge.
The Business of Photography: Establishing a Business Strategy
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A Guest Post by Robert J. Mang
The product side vs. the business side
Whether you consider yourself selling a service or a product, there are two fundamental sides to most small businesses, including photography businesses: the product/service side and the business/marketing side. Most of our energy goes into the product side (improving skills, learning about new equipment? just trying to get better at what we do). The business side is not studied as often; however, that is going to be the subject of this discussion. The focus of our attention will be on developing a sound business strategy.
OK, so you?re either getting ready to start a photography business, are in the process of getting one off the ground, or you are looking to redirect an existing venture. If you haven?t already, the first thing you must do is write a business plan. Even if you change it a dozen times (which most likely will happen) write one anyway. And keep all the iterations so you can see how it evolves.
A good business plan includes a thorough financial and pricing analysis, but that will need to be a topic for another discussion.
Developing your Strategy ? a few basic questions to get you started
Some of the following questions may seem elementary and even academic; however, answer them like you were at a wine tasting: consider what?s in front of you, let your intuition guide you, don?t over analyze, and then write down your thoughts. These items will establish a foundation for your strategy. We?ll pull them together further on in the exercise.
- The first question should be (even if you already decided what market segment you are going to target), ?What type of photography do I like?? Ideally your business would be built around your passion; but realistically, that may not always be possible, at least not in the short-term. To help you answer this, you should also consider what aspect of photography you think you are particularly good at. Be honest. It may help to solicit the opinions of some people whose input you value.
Also, as part of this, consider what type of photography you don?t like, and what you feel you are not so good at. Say for example you want to do family portraits, but upon this analysis, you realize that you don?t particularly like children who misbehave. You?ll then know that is an issue which might affect your ability to be successful, and it may result in a change of direction. Or, you may need to address this issue and find a solution around it.
- The next question you need to ask yourself is, ?What am I selling?? Am I selling photography services? Photographs? Fine Art? Memories? When Dominos Pizza started out, they did not think of themselves as primarily being in the pizza business. They were in the Delivery Business, and they just happened to be delivering pizzas. (Maybe that?s why their pizza is so bad, but that?s another story.)
- Conduct a competitive market analysis. Start by looking at what segments are already being serviced in your area. Then, try to determine segments that might be under-served. Next, look for some ?unmet needs?. These are opportunities that no one is currently addressing.
i’m le
Once you look hard at all the photography businesses in your area you?ll probably see some common areas of emphasis, or you?ll most likely see a lot of broad offerings. Try a niche within a broad offering and you might find it easier for people to identify with what you have to sell. A business opportunity can sometimes be a niche that ?sits inside? a broad offering. Or, you may find a completely new opportunity that addresses an inadequately addressed segment.
- How do you define success? When you are successful what does that feel like?
A SWOT Analysis
- From the foundation work above, you can now develop a SWOT Analysis: Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats. It?s best to do this by creating a grid with four sections. In the upper left put Strengths, upper right put Weaknesses, lower left put Opportunities, and lower right put Threats.
- Strengths ? simply put, what are you good at (from Q-1)?
- Weaknesses ? what are you not very good at (from Q-1)?
- Opportunities ? what are the under-serviced segments or unmet needs in your area (Q-4)?
- Threats ? what are the internal factors (that?s you) or external factors (that?s the outside world) that might limit your ability to be successful?
For each category, list as many items as possible. Really try to scrape the bottom of the barrel.
Developing Opportunistic and Defensive Strategies
- Now, look at your Strengths and Opportunity items (on the left side of your grid), and then develop a list of ways you can capitalize on your Strengths, while at the same time taking advantage of as many Opportunities as possible. These are called Opportunistic Strategies, and when you have an idea that both plays on a Strength and address an Opportunity, then you have a potential are of focus for your photography business.
- Next, look at your list of Weaknesses and Threats (the right side of the grid), and then develop a list of ways to mitigate the effect of these. These are called Defensive Strategies. These may take nothing more than occasional monitoring, or if they are significant issues, you may need specific action plans to actively mitigate them.
Factors for Success
- Know your Key Success Factors. These are a list of items that are fundamentally necessary for you to be successful (success, as you?ve defined it). Without these in place you believe that success will be difficult, temporary, or even impossible. E.g. do you want to be a product photographer? Well, having a studio would most likely be needed. List as many of KSF?s as you can think of, but try to list them in order of importance, or rate them in categories, A, B, C.
- Who is your Target Customer? For this exercise, you should resist trying to target everyone who might need the services of a photographer. Narrow your market segment. Niche segments can be more profitable then broad ones. E.g., Portraits could be narrowed to Family Portraits. A narrow segment is easier to explain to your target customer. They get it. They will understand what you do, and they will be more comfortable coming to you for their specific need that you are addressing.
Now let?s say you identify two segments you want to pursue, but they are somewhat different, e.g., Family Portraiture and Product Photography. You should develop a list of ways these segments overlap (studio, lighting, etc), and ways they don?t (target customer, lenses, etc). I would suggest the best way to market yourself is by completely segmenting your message to each audience, in lieu of say promoting yourself as a portrait + product photographer. The fact that you do both is OK, buy it?s how you position yourself to each target audience that counts.
- What is your channel to market? Will you sell direct to consumers or through an intermediary (e.g., a gallery)?
Even though volumes have been written on these principles, if you answer the questions in this brief overview you should end up with a much better idea of how to chart your path to success. At the minimum, you will know a bit more about yourself, your market, your target customer, and your product/service offering. Good luck!
Robert J. Mang is a photographer living in Santa Fe, New Mexico. Visit him at his Photo Blog and Travel Blog.
Post from: Digital Photography School
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