Category: Product News

JPG Magazine issue #6 now available

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Hot off the presses: JPG Magazine Issue 6: Oops!

There’s magic in mistakes. There’s something special in the spontaneous. Because it’s in those moments when photography becomes more than just a document. It becomes something real.

This issue of JPG is about your best "Oops!" photos. Whether it was faulty settings, old film, the random photo on the last frame of film, or the last photo a camera ever took, this issue features some of the finest slip-ups, freak-outs, and happy accidents ever captured on film or pixels.

We’re also joined by featured photographer Rion Nakaya, who shares some of her favorite serendipitous moments, and Ryan Gallagher, to talk about camera toss photography.

We photographers can’t help being detail-oriented. We notice things. Our eyes can’t help but frame reality. It’s what we do. But it’s always good to be reminded that control is an illusion, and sometimes the best photos are the ones that sneak up on you.

More info and order from JPGmag.com

Fujifilm Fine Art Museum inkjet paper

Nicolai Grossman

Fuji press release:

Fuji Hunt’s dedicated R&D division has long been developing methods to bring digital printing media to a par with traditional papers. Now, a new trio of especially smooth finishes have passed the quality barrier and represent the very best materials on which imagery of all types can be printed.

Fuji Hunt’s range of FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum inkjet media, which has already proven extremely popular with users seeking a higher than average result, especially when used for display and exhibition work in both black-and-white and colour, has been extended with three additional products: Fine Art Museum Baryt paper; Fine Art Museum Smooth RAG paper; and HD White Cotton Canvas.

Baryt, or baryta, photographic paper has long been recognised for its superior smooth finish. Traditionally, the baryta sizing used on this paper overcomes any fibrous effect by filling the pores of the paper via a barium sulphate suspension, the material then being calendered to produce an exceptionally smooth surface. This gives images printed on it a high level of sharpness, maximum tonal range and separation, while also avoiding contamination by any impurities in the paper base.

Creating baryt paper is an extremely specialist process, and it is usually only used for the best hand finished fine art printing. However, with FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum Baryt paper, Fuji Hunt has launched a unique inkjet 300gsm version which incorporates all the benefits of a silver halide baryt paper, and enables a superb level of reproduction or original imaging to be achieved across a wide range of applications.

In fact, the density rating (d-max) of the product is higher than that of traditional silver halide baryt paper, enabling images to be created which exhaustive testings and close examination have shown to be of a higher grade than pure silver halide.

Initially, FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum Baryt paper is being supplied in roll form in sizes to fit all the FUJIFILM/EPSON Stylus Pro printers, with cut sheet form in sizes up to A3+ (329x483mm, 13x19ins) due in the autumn.

The current Fujifilm Fine Art 300gsm Photo Rag paper is a mould-made fine art paper with special matt coating which has proven a leading medium for high quality fine art reproductions. Now, the company is introducing a unique smooth version called, appropriately, FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum Smooth RAG paper.

The unique structure of this material ensures not only that beautifully finished and highly contrasted images will result, but also that the material will stay flat, without the curling which often faces users of smooth heavyweight media.

Canvas materials have long been popular for printing reproductions of works of art and for showing fine art photographic work to its best. So it is that Fuji Hunt is completing the new smooth trio with a high-density 400gsm brilliant white canvas called FUJIFILM HD White Cotton Canvas.

This specially coated pure cotton canvas brings a vitality to images printed on it which was not previously possible on authentic canvas materials. Its brilliant white finish enables bright, vivid colours to be shown as fresh as newly painted. When used for black-and-white prints and reproductions, this product comes into its own as it produces maximum contrast images with the full gamut of subtle mid tones and shades.

Altogether, these new media take the field of inkjet printing to a new level of excellence and authenticity not previously possible, and are expected to make a strong impact on its markets.

For full details of the FUJIFILM Fine Art Museum media contact Greg Jackson at Fuji Hunt Digital Solutions by telephone: 02476 455 575, email: gjackson@fujhunt.com or visit www.fujihunt.com

Via PhotographyBLOG

ISO 24,000 film is not to be

Nicolai Grossman 1 Comment

In May, I re-posted Oran Grad’s post from The Online Photographer about a high-speed, ISO 24,000 black and white reversal (slide) film that Kodak’s research department came up with and was quite excited about its implications for pinhole and zone plate photography. Unfortunately, it appears that there wasn’t enough interest and they will not be offering the film commercially.

I received this from them via email:

The purpose of Dr. Gilman’s presentation, "A High-Speed Direct Positive Photothermographic System", was to share information on an innovative technology and to showcase its potential. Eastman Kodak Company invents and evaluates many technologies annually for possible commercial applications. However, Kodak does not have any plans to make this technology available in a commercial product.

I guess it’s time to start pushing the hell out of ISO 3200 film. I’ve successfully pushed Kodak T-MAX 3200 (TMZ) to 12800 using T-MAX developer and will see if I can coax another stop out of it or Delta 3200 to achieve the equivalent speed and report back with the results. It’ll be a negative instead of a positive and will have boulder-sized grain, but I’m still really excited about the prospect of handheld, freeze-frame, normal shutter speed pinhole photography.

New large format P&S cameras

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Oren Grad writes at The Online Photographer:

Check out the re-launched, much improved website of Fotoman Camera. This Hong Kong-based company is known for its well-made, (relatively) inexpensive, interchangeable lens, scale focusing, roll film panorama cameras in 6×12, 6×17 and 6×24 formats. A long-awaited second lineup of large format point-and-shoot cameras has now finally become available, including an ultralight 4×5, an 8×10 and—surprise!—a 4×10 panoramic P&S. Helical focus mounts, viewfinders, a comprehensive selection of regular and panoramic viewfinder masks and a dual-axis bubble level are now offered separately as well for users who would like to mix-and-match with their own equipment.

They actually are relatively reasonably priced. I’m not quite sure when $699 US because "reasonable" for a metal spacer with lens and film holder mounts, but it is compared to what else is out there (typically $1500 and up(!)). By Grapthar’s hammer… what a savings.

Check them out at Fotoman Camera

Horseman SW-D Pro super wide angle camera

Nicolai Grossman 4 Comments

Direct Source Marketing (DSM) Press Release:

CONCORD, CA, June 22, 2006 – A joint venture between Rolleiflex and Horseman today announced one of the widest angle cameras on the market, Horseman SW-D Pro, which accepts digital camera backs to give professional and high-end consumer photographers wide angle opportunities that weren’t available in the past for medium format digital photography. Some of the possibilities not generally accessible for medium format digital photography in the past include super wide angle lenses and bellows-like movements.

Super Wide Angle Lens

Super wide angle lenses were not commonly usable with digital camera backs in the past, because of physical limitations of the camera body. But now, with the Horseman’s new design, you can use a 24mm lens unit with any digital back equipped with a Hasselblad V® mount.

The 24mm lens unit in combination with a 38 x 48mm image sensor provides the same angle of view as a 17mm lens with the 35mm format. This super wide angle is especially useful in interior architecture and landscape photography, but there are many other applications.

The Horseman SW-D Pro lens units come quipped with German Schneider and Rodenstock digital lenses. The shortest focal length, the Schneider Apo-Digitar XL24, is one of four available lens units that include Rodenstock Apo-Sironar digital lenses of 35, 45 and 55mm focal lengths. Horseman SW series (originally for film cameras) lenses can also be used.

All of the available lenses are optimized for digital demands, which mean a smaller image circle with high optical resolution and contrast. This is important because for digital photography, lenses are designed to provide optimum MTF at relatively wide apertures since resolution of the digital image drops visibly at stopped-down apertures (f-stops).

Control of Movement

The Horseman SW-D Pro gives you the freedom of bellows-like movements and adjustments for work that benefits from rise, fall or image plane shift… Maximum rise and fall are 17mm in either direction or (with a 24mm lens unit), 10mm. Sideward shift of the image plane is possible by 15mm in either left or right direction. By combining shift with several exposures, images can be "stitched", resulting in maximum image sizes of up to 48 x 66mm or 36 x 78mm (depending on image sensor orientation). For professionals, being able to manipulate camera movement can make all the difference in sharpness and photo quality.

Franke & Heidecke, manufacturer of the Rollei medium format camera in Germany, and Komamura (Horseman), a leading manufacturer of medium and large format cameras in Japan, announced in February their joint venture to distribute their medium and large format professional cameras in the U.S. through Komamura and doing business as Direct Source Marketing. DSM was created as a result of the joint venture between Komamura Corporation, a long time distributor of Rollei and Horseman products in Japan, and Franke & Heidecke, the Germany-based manufacturer of Rollei products.

The Horseman SW-D Pro is currently available from leading high-end retailers. For more information, go to www.dsmww.com

Suggested retail for the camera is $2,799. Lens pricing is $3,899 for the 24mm lens with APO-DIGITAR 24/5.6; $2,499 for the 35mm lens with the APO-SIRONAR-DIGITAL 35/4.5; $2,599.for the 45mm lens with the APO-SIRONAR-DIGITAL 45/4.5; and $2,599 for the 55MM lens with the APO-SIRONAR-DIGITAL 55/4.5.

Via PhotographyBLOG

Adjustable height medium format scanner film holder

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BetterScanning.com, maker of the well-received "MF Film Holderä" medium format film holder for flatbed scanners, has just released an adjustable height version.

Why adjustable height? The focus of most flatbeds (the Epson Rs, anyway) is supposed to be set at 1mm above the glass for scanning transparencies, but in reality, the true focal point can be off by as much as 250% or more, which means that depending on your scanner, you can get blurry scans with Epson’s crappy stock film holders no matter what you do. "Variable Height Versions allow you to customize the film suspension height to best match your scanner’s particular optics for better focus. It is like adding a focus adjustment function to your scanner."

I had the pleasure of beta testing the dual channel model for Epson 4870 and 4990s, and the difference was substantial. First, it actually holds the film flat, unlike Epson’s holders; second, by following the simple calibration instructions, I discovered that the focus point of my scanner is at 1.8mm, not 1mm, and that my 4990 is capable of better scans with a properly adjusted Better Scanning holder than I was getting with the Epson holder.

I’m travelling right now and will post a detailed review when I get home, but the bottom line is that this is a well designed, well built, fairly priced holder that does what it says, and is sold by a company that stands behind its products. I’m buying the unit I was sent for testing—there’s no way I’m going back to Epson’s junk holder now—and I enthusiastically recommend it.

Check it out at BetterScanning.com

iView MediaPro v3.1 update

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iView Multimedia Press Release:

iView Multimedia has released iView MediaPro 3.1 for both Windows and Macintosh. MediaPro is now a Universal application and runs natively on Intel-based Macs. Version 3.1 also features the new Notepad Tool, designed to enable communication between creative professionals and their clients.

Notepad Tool
Notepad enables communication between a MediaPro user and his/her client. The client simply drags and drops selected catalog items onto the Notepad palette, adds comments and then e-mails the Notepad file. This Notepad file imports easily into the creative professional’s original catalog where he or she can view the client’s feedback and execute the appropriate actions.

Improved Catalog Reader
iView also announced an improved Catalog Reader, the free utility that allows MediaPro users to distribute and share iView catalogs with anyone using a Windows or Macintosh machine. The addition of Light Table functionality enables Catalog Reader users to view and compare up to 6 images on-screen and mark items with labels and ratings to aid the image selection process. iView Catalog Reader supports all 100+ media file formats of MediaPro, offers slide show and search functionality and supports Notepad. iView customers can now include a MediaPro catalog and copy of Catalog Reader on a CD or DVD and their clients can launch and run the catalog directly from the disc, without installing an iView application.

Designed for creative professionals, iView MediaPro 3.1 is a FREE UPDATE for MediaPro 3 users and also delivers features such as:

  • Increased maximum number of images on-screen in the Light Table to six.
  • Enhanced slide show support for more than 32,000 items.
  • Import/export of color label metadata in XML files.
  • Toolbar text searches are now asynchronous — search results are displayed as they are found.
  • Improved overall performance on both Macintosh and Windows systems.

For a complete list of improvements, please download this version history document (PDF, 28KB):

DOWNLOAD MEDIAPRO 3.1 NOW:
http://www.iview-multimedia.com/downloads/

This update is free for registered users of MediaPro 3.x. This update works best with the latest version of QuickTime (7.x) from Apple, which is strongly recommended to both Windows and Macintosh users.

An updated manual for iView MediaPro 3.1 is now available on the iView support page.

Via PhotographyBLOG

Holga lens for Canon EOS cameras from Holgamods

Nicolai Grossman 1 Comment

Randy from Holgamods continues to kick ass: he’s now selling a Holga lens mounted on a body cap for use on Canon EOS cameras (Rebel XT, 20D, 30D, etc.). US $34.95, order here.

I’ve ordered cameras from Holgamods before and recommend him strongly. If you want a Holga and don’t want to modify it yourself, this is the place to go. (I have no relationship with Randy other than being a satisfied customer.)

Canon to halt development of film cameras

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TOKYO (Reuters) – Japan’s Canon Inc. said on Thursday that it would halt development of new film cameras to focus resources on digital models, the latest sign of the rapidly fading role of film in photography.

A spokesman at Canon, the world’s largest maker of digital cameras, said it made the decision to freeze development of both compact and single lens reflex (SLR) film models because the markets for both are shrinking.

Canon said it would continue to produce and sell existing models and make a final judgment on the business in the future while monitoring market demand.

Continue reading at Reuters

This is becoming a familiar story. It sucks, but I can’t say I’m surprised. At least they’re keeping the current models around, which IMO is a very good thing. If you’ve already got money in Canon EOS glass for digital, US $300 for an Elan 7N body is one hell of a value if you want to shoot film.

Via Plaid Jello