New Lensbaby Macro Converters Give Lensbaby Shooters Limitless Close-Focus Options
Lensbaby announces today the addition of its new macro photography accessories for its lens bodies and optics, the Lensbaby Macro Converters. These Macro Converters help Lensbaby photographers create close-up, dreamy and artistic photos while blurring out distracting elements.
Though the company already has an existing Lensbaby Macro Kit these Macro Converters offer can be used with the existing kit to get you even closer. The Macro Converters are available as a set containing one 8mm converter and one 16mm converter, which can also be stacked together to make a 24mm converter. The Lensbaby Macro Converters are available now for $50 from www.lensbaby.com, and Lensbaby-authorized photo specialty stores worldwide
No word on light loss.
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Pentax K-01 Sports APS-C Sensor, Weird Look
Yes, the rumors were true. Pentax announced the K-01 mirrorless camera. Unlike the Q, this one’s got an APS-C sized sensor just as large as their very good K-5. Other important features are 1080 HD video (H.264: 30p, 25p or 24p, ISO output up to 12800, and a burst shooting rate at 6 fps at the fastest. Plus, it features a 3.0-inch 921k-dot LCD and sensor-shift image stabilization. Lastly, it features an SD card slot. The Pentax K-01 will be sold body-only for $749.95 and will also be available with the new 40mm pancake for $899.95. By itself, the 40mm F2.8 XS will be $249.95.
Look for it all in March.
(UPDATED) Which One is Which? Sony NEX 5N vs Canon 5D Mk II
Recently at a concert in Brooklyn, I took the Sony NEX 5n and 50mm f1.8 along for a ride. Since I needed my 5D Mk II and 85mm f1.8 that day as well, they just happened to be on me at the time. During the concert, I got curious about their performance against one another and shot the following two photos. Can you discern which is which?
EDITOR’S NOTE: Photo 1 is from the Sony NEX 5n and Photo 2 is from the Canon 5D Mk II. The hints: Canon renders warmer images out of the box plus it did indeed misfocus in such low lighting conditions. The center focusing point is its strongest one. The NEX 5n nailed it in low light. Part of it also has to do with the focal lengths.
CameraBag 2 Comes Out of Beta; Essentially Lightroom with More Presets
Not long ago, we did a quick hands on review of the beta version of CameraBag 2. Today the company has announced that they are releasing the entire version. CameraBag 2 is a piece of software for Mac and PC that lets the user apply loads and loads of those amazing Instagram-like filters to their images (both RAW and JPEGs.) Additionally, it offers a totally different interface that Lightroom 3 and 4 do while still allowing the user to do quite a bit of the manipulations that those programs offer. It does all this while still remaining non-destructive in the editing process.
For the person that doesn’t want to take the plunge into Lightroom yet, you can surely consider CameraBag 2. However, don’t consider it a replacement for Lightroom or Photoshop.
CameraBag 2 is available now for Mac and PC. A single cross-platform license is available at www.nevercenter.com for $29 (launch sale price: $24), and a Mac-only version is available via the Mac App Store for $24 (launch sale price: $19). A free, fully-functional 30-day demo is included in the download from www.nevercenter.com, where more info, tutorials, and videos can also be found.
I’ve been using the final release for around a week now and will have a full review coming soon.
Review: Elinchrom 500/500 BXRi To Go Light Kit
Product Shot Example 1
A few months ago I reviewed photographer Scott Kelby’s newest book, Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It. Mr. Kelby loves to use Elinchrom lighting gear which is evident by watching any of his videos or viewing his behind-the-scenes images. He’s even gone as far as to create special Light It, Shoot It, Retouch It Lighting kits that consist of Elinchrom BX 500 Ri monolights and light modifiers. In this post, we review the Elinchrom 500/500 BXRi To Go Kit that consists of everything you need to get started in studio lighting photography.
Which One is Which? Sony NEX 5n vs Nikon D5100
DXOMark rates camera sensors, and they’re considered the standard in the industry though many will argue their findings at times. When Sony sent me the NEX 5n, I looked around the internet to try to find information about it. Everyone had compared it to Canon’s 5D Mk II due to the video capabilities. However, I didn’t see much when it came to Nikon comparisons.
Let’s get one thing straight: Nikon’s D5100 and D7000 have essentially the same video modes and therefore also would almost never be usable for most pros. Though Chase Jarvis uses the D7000 to create some great video, I have to agree more with Andrew Reed’s findings in that the auto-exposure adjustment override absolutely kills me. I really highlighted this in my D5100 review. Indeed, the T3i is a much better camcorder as we concluded.
But this test is about the still image quality between the Sony NEX 5n vs the D5100. Sure one is a DSLR and one is a mirrorless camera, but they’re both APS-C sized sensors. So can you tell which photo came from which camera? Take a look at our informal test to see.
