Samsung NX20 WiFi gets unofficial reveal — Engadget.

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Another addition to the Canon camera line.  This little beauty is for those who want to take better pictures of the stars, and not those that walk the red carpets.  This camera has the same native low light ISO ceiling of 6400 like in the Canon 5D Mark iii. This little package is a sweet deal coming in under $1500 USD.

Canon 60Da

Read more — >Canon EOS 60Da: the DSLR for that astrophotographer in your life — Engadget.

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Pocket Wizard has combined all the great features of the Pocket Wizard II and the MultiMax into one awesome package.  Not to mention for an amazing price of only $139.00 USD!!   The Plus III  has 32 channels to choose from , so you’ll never have to worry about interference.  It features a LR (long-range) mode for extended  triggering distances, almost doubling your transmission range.   It also has  selective Quad trigger zone for turning on and off remote lights, flashes and cameras from the touch of a button.     All the features and things you love from earlier pocket wizards are all packed into this little wonder.  Plus you can easily add this into an existing pocket wizard setup since it works along with all the earlier versions or transmitters thus making this addition a no brainer.  

As soon as I can find one in a store I’m going to pick one up and will hopefully write some personal reviews on this awesome little package.

New PocketWizard Plus III Transceiver | Remote Flash & Camera Triggering.

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Anyone can take a great photo using just about any camera.  It’s not always the tools that make the photo.  It could just a special situation and you’re the one there to catch it.  With the invention of smart phones and high-resolution point-n-shoot cameras people have the ability to capture images in just about any situation.  What I would like to inform you about today is how to take a better photo using the cameras you already own.

Anyone can take a photo.  A monkey could technically pick up a camera and be taught to press the trigger to capture an image and I’m sure in some cases it might be considered a great photo especially considering the photographer.  But what many don’t know is that it isn’t always the gear involved with the process that makes a photo great.   There are many things to consider when taking a photo.  I am going to give you an abridged version of those points to consider. There is way too much to learn about photography especially once you dive into the realms of today’s advanced digital cameras.  First and probably most important thing to consider when taking a photo is your lighting.  Is there an available light source that you can use to help better light your subject?   Secondly would be composition.  Composition would be described as framing and setting up your shot while determining what needs to be in the shot.  Lastly I will touch on timing and its importance in taking a better photo.Lighting is one of the most important things to consider when taking a photo.  Without light there would be nothing to photograph.  Light is what will paint the picture you’re trying to create.  You should attempt to find the greatest amount of light available to set up your shot unless you’re trying to set a mood with your lighting and wish to only have certain amount of light in your shot.  You can light just a part of your scene to help bring out a subject in a photo and you can also help steer the eye to the focus point of your image with the use of proper lighting.  If controlled light such as a flash or other light source is not available, work with what you are given.  Turn on all the lights in a room and move your subject near the focus points of those lights.  If there is a window with sunlight shining through then bring your subject to the light source and let the sun shine.  One thing you should be careful of is back-lighting a subject without the ability to provide enough light to bring them out of the light.  Use a flash to properly expose your subject when you have more light behind them and cannot control the exposure of your shot to adjust for such a scenario.  One other thing to consider with lighting is the difference between hard and soft light.  Hard light will tend to cast shadows and create harsh looking images.  Soft light or diffused light will tend to be more pleasing and will help control shadows.  You can use just about anything to diffuse light.  Sometimes just holding a piece of paper up in front of a flash or pulling a light curtain across a window will offer enough diffusion to properly cast the light on your subject.

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I recently purchased this Canon 50mm 1.4 as my first prime lens and I will say I’m so happy I did.  This is a total upgrade from me from my starter lens that came with my camera and the Tamron 70-300mm that I purchased shortly after.  I recently got asked to do some product photography and needed/wanted a lens that would hold up to the standards I was looking for.   From all the reviews I read and the research I did this seemed to be like the wisest choice.  I was hesitant at first to go with the slower 50mm 1.8 from canon but decided that I wanted to spend a little more this time and get something I could get a better quality out of in the long run.

At first glance this lens is far better than your cheaper lenses.  It’s build quality is far better and less plastic feeling then your economy lens.  Though this might not be of ‘L’ lens quality the weight of the glass on this is instantly noticeable but not so bad that you will have a back ache at the end of the day from hauling it around.  The autofocus on this lens is lighting fast in comparison to say your packaged 18-55mm canon lens.  With is USM mechanics inside it’s about 70% quieter then those lenses without.  The full-time manual focus is also a great feature I forgot to mention earlier that would set this apart from your lower models.    I haven’t had much time with the lens in shooting in different environments so I don’t have much to share in the way of pictures and opinions in many different scenarios but I plan to do as much shooting with this lens as possible as I can see it to be my new “goto” lens for many situations.

If I had to give my suggestion I would say that this is a great lens with superb build quality and is really worth the money. The images you get come out sharp and are quick to get in focus with the USM autofocus on this lens.  I say spend the little extra to get this lens and you will be glad you did. But if your on a tight budget and still want a good 50mm then go with the canon 50mm f1.8 but you’ll always

be wishing you got this one.

Photos taken with my Canon EFS18-55mm kit lens (not bad if I do say so myself)

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Nikon D800 D-SLR Camera | High Dynamic Range Camera.

The Nikon D800 is finally here and what a beauty she is!  With a Whopping 36 mega pixels your bound to fill up any hard drive with these file sizes.   I would love to get my hands on one of these cameras soon and hopefully will.   But until then I can stare and drool at the stats like the rest of us.

$2,999.95^*SRP

^{SRP (Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.}

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Canon offers tutorials on using Speedlights for creative photography. Photographer Bruce Dorn walks you through his techniques of creatively lighting environmental scenes. This series is geared towards the professional photographer all the way down to the person just getting started.

Canon DLC: Gallery: Environmental Portraits with Speedlites: Tutorial Series.

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There are tons of free online photo editing websites and apps out there. If you don’t need or want to pay for Photoshop or any other expensive software and just want to do small edits and touch up work for posting your photos online then here’s some sites to check out.

SumoPaint

Pixlr-O-Matic

PicJuice

Picasa

Phixr

Blingee

JpgFun

Fake-Magazine-Cover

MagMyPic

Picnik

(This site is free to use till April 2012)

Photovisi

FotoTrix

PiZap

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Vimeo does an overhaul with a brand new video page, better browsing, better uploading, advanced search options, more privacy control, and a list of tons of other new features.
Vimeo to me has always looked better than YouTube and is filled with far less junk videos and misleading images. I prefer Vimeo to watching seriously well done videos in HD quality. Take a look for yourself and see. Upload and share something you shot on your DSLR today!

Take the new Vimeo for a spin.

Open Your Eyes to the New Vimeo from Vimeo Staff on Vimeo.

Plus Tons More Great New Features

• Import friends/followers from Facebook and Twitter
• Related links on almost every page for easier navigation
• Enhanced messaging features, like sorting unread messages
• Smarter thumbnail selection
• The ability to sort videos by their length
• Vimeo Events listings let you know what we’re doing and where we’ll be
• Add a personal message when you invite friends
• Picasa photo support for video pages
• Voice recognition search with Google Chrome browser
• Download any version of a video (SD, HD, original, mobile)
• Super-sharp 960-pixel thumbnails on the video page
• Contextual help module on every page of Vimeo
• Your recently uploaded videos appear on your homepage
• Add multiple URLs to your profile page
• Delete a video right from the video page
• Combined share/embed functionality
• More ways to discover all the things Vimeo offers
• Video downloads available to non-members
• Timeline relating the entire illustrious history of Vimeo
• And there’s even more on the way…

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Looks like the Nikon will beat out the New Canon 5D Mark III on it’s release date.

According to many internet sources the new D800 will feature a 36-megapixel full frame sensor and will use the same processor used in the Nikon 1 series which means that users will be able to take a lot of pictures per second and capture low compression video. The auto focus system will feature 51 points while the maximum ISO will reach six digit numbers.

Check out the leaks and possible updates to the camera and some photos of it on these great sites.

nikonrumors.com/2012/01/06/who-wants-to-see-the-nikon-d800-on-nikon-de.aspx/

Nikon D800 promotional photo leaked? | News | TechRadar.

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