Those of you that love shooting medium format or in black and white will probably really want to take a good look at the new Phase One Achromatic + 39MP medium format digital back. It’s really new and interesting technology and the first commercially available medium format digital back to do what it does. With a 49.1 x 36.8 CCD sensor with no RGB filters, the camera is meant only to shoot black and white images. With ISO sensitivities of 50-800, 12 stops of dynamic range, and a 2.2″ QVGA TFT LCD with 230,000 pixels it seems pretty solid (minus the screen). More about the technology can be read here and see it in action here. The back seems very targeted towards scientific professionals. It seems to be available for $41,990.

Chances are that if you’re a reader of this site that you’re an HDSLR user. Vimeo, the community with loads and loads of creative filmmakers and HDSLR users is hosting their annual Festival and Awards event and there seem to be quite a great number of speakers. Morgan Spurlock, the guy that did Super size Me, will be one of the guest speakers. Him and others will be talking more about the digital world and how documentaries are changing. This sounds really exciting as a guy that used to be an avid Vimeo user. Check out the press release after the jump. Also, you may want to check out B&H’s new HDSLR Guide.

VIMEO LAUNCHES SCHEDULE FOR INAUGURAL FESTIVAL WITH SPEAKERS TO INCLUDE TED HOPE, LUCY WALKER AND MORGAN SPURLOCK FOR NYC OCT. 8 & 9, 2010

Early Bird Pricing Still Available With a Two-Day All-Access Pass for Only $175

NEW YORK, Sept. 8, 2010 – Online video sharing site Vimeo®, an operating business of IAC [NASDAQ: IACI], today announced the full programming schedule for the inaugural Vimeo Festival + Awards, a two-day event for anyone interested in creative video featuring talks, workshops, screenings, and special events as well as a high-profile Awards ceremony.

While the Awards ceremony will honor the most outstanding work submitted, Vimeo designed the festival as a celebration of the entire online video space.

The two-day Festival is split into themes – Innovation and Inspiration.  The first day will offer individual creators an opportunity to learn about innovation across all stages and types of production. Documentary filmmakers Morgan Spurlock and Lucy Walker will discuss the changing landscape of documentary in the digital world.  Attendees can sign up for workshops on HD Digital SLR shooting led by Phillip Bloom.  Transmedia guru Lance Weiler will lead a talk about storytelling beyond the confines of the 16 by 9 frame.

The second day will start with a series of inspiring micro-talks from Vimeo Awards judges Neville Brody and Pulitzer prize winner Vincent Laforet.  The Vimeo Film School course will teach beginner creators the basics of filmmaking, from working with a crew to the fundamentals of editing and distribution.  Ted Hope and Brian Newman will discuss how the art and film business is changing. The talks will close with award-winning author and Wired blogger Bruce Sterling envisioning the future of creative digital culture.

“This is a truly unique festival that heralds a new era for a media industry that is at a critical turning point,” said Blake Whitman, Vimeo’s Director of Community and Product and co-Director of the Vimeo Festival + Awards.  “User generated content is no longer just the ‘dog on a skateboard’ videos, but the true underground from which the next trends will emerge.”

“We have tried to bring together an experience that is a hybrid between a traditional film festival and a conference, which looks through the lens of online creativity,” said Jeremy Boxer, co-Director of the Vimeo Festival + Awards. “The public will be able to see works that have previously been confined to the small screen explode onto the cinema screen. The talks and workshops will be a place for attendees to learn from and inspire each other. This is a not to be missed event packed with as much as we could fit into a two day schedule.”

Complete schedule and ticket information for the Vimeo Festival + Awards is available at www.vimeoawards.com/.   Tickets are available now!

About Vimeo, LLC

Leading video sharing site Vimeo® provides the easiest way for people to host and share their videos in high quality.  The site provides great privacy features and inspiring videos from a vibrant, respectful community of creative users who care about how and where they show their work. Launched in 2004 and headquartered in New York, NY, Vimeo offers users a video sharing experience that is both entertaining and easy to use. Vimeo is a 2010 & 2009 Time Magazine Top 50 Website. Vimeo, LLC is a subsidiary of IAC (NASDAQ: IACI).

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Watch out Canon! Nikon’s new P7000 seems very aggressively targeted towards taking out the Canon PowerShot G11(reviewed here) from the market. With a long feature set, we may perhaps see this taking aim at the Canon PowerShot S95in addition to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX5(comparison here) and the rumored G12. Nikon also announced the S8100 and the S80—all of which I’ve seen in person and was able to hold. I’ve seen these cameras about a month ago: my notes from the meeting and press releases are after the jump.

Nikon P7000

- 10.1 MP 1/1.7 CCD sensor

- 3 inch LCD with 921k dot screen

- 7.1x zoom, f/2.8 to 5.6 aperture

- 720 HD video MOV files 24p movie shooting

- Full manual control

- Expeed C2 processor

- Neutral density filters built into the lens.

- 1.1 fps shooting in RAW

- Stereo mic input

- Mono microphone built in

- Zoom memory function that remembers where the user loves to zoom to and immediately switches the lens to that point.

- One ED lens

- Optical viewfinder that zooms as the lens does

- Tone level information

- Multi-functional dial for things like White Balance, ISO, auto bracketing, TV value will allow you to lock in aperture and shutter speed and set ISO

- New feature that will give you a histogram for better tonal information

- Ergonomics and dials are very similar to the G11

- Wireless flash control, and all the new flashes will meter with the camera

- RAW images

- .9s startup, .31 second shutter lag

- ISO 100-6400 and expandable up to 12,800 in low noise night mode

- In-camera noise reduction

- No GPS

- $499.95 in October or November

- Press release here P7000 Press Release FINAL

S8100

- Back illuminated sensor

- 12.1 CMOS sensor

- 3 inch LCD

- 10fps at full res

- 921k dot LCD

- Vibration reduction

- 3200 ISO

- 1080p HD video

- ED glass in lens

- 249.95 no official date

- Press release here S8100 Press Release FINAL

S80

- 14.1MP CCD

- 3 1/2 OLED screen at 820k dots

- Full touch control

- 3200 iso

- 5 way to reduce blur

- 5x optical zoom

- H.264 MPEG 4 720p 30p

- Colors: silver, purple, blue, gold, red, black

- Retouch functions

- Looks like a business card holder

- Selective color mode

- $329.95

- Press release here S80 Press Release FINAL

AP released a video story not long ago exploring how the recent trend in photography is how users are ditching digital for film. According to the video, “Shutterbugs are rediscovering aperture settings, ISO film, shutter speeds and other terminology.” The piece goes on to talk to a Lomography store owner.

Professionals, photography students and those with the knowledge: share your thoughts in the comments below. I for one think this is kind of dissing digital, but there is a recent trend of shooting with film again. I also believe that AP isn’t going in-depth enough to explore why film is making the comeback and that those that really know how to do digital work (and make good money off of it) will still continue to do so. That’s also not to say I hate film. The Leica M7and 50mm F1.4 Summilux review is in the works. Additionally, so is a review of the Fujifilm Instax MINI 7s White Instant Film Camerawith the INSTAX MINI Twin Pack Instant Film(which also come in a bundlefor the hipster in all of us.)

Take a look at the way that the majority of people take photos. I’m not talking about the photo enthusiasts. I’m talking about the average person that has a camera and isn’t a total photo nerd. After careful observations, you’ll notice that they take a majority of pictures with their phone. This goes double or triple for iPhone, Android or Blackberry users. The reason for this is because of the instant sharing capabilities. As you know, most point-and-shoots can’t do this. Sure, a standard point-and-shoot can deliver better quality images, but this group of users won’t be able to tell the difference. Apple doesn’t seem to have incorporated any of the features that I asked for a while ago, but the audience of people I’m talking about here just want to point, shoot and share. So does this mean that the new Apple iPod touchwith its snazzy new camera could in turn destroy the point-and-shoot market?

Popularity

This screenshot was taken on Sunday September 5th, 2010. As you can see that according to Flickr’s Camera Finder, a phone that is around two years old at the time of writing this posting is seriously kicking butt. The reason for this is because of:

- Simplicity

- Immediate sharing abilities

- Various apps and support for different services like Flickr, Facebook, Youtube, Twitter, etc.

- Users are generally satisfied with the image quality

- The best camera is the one you’ve got on you at the moment. The iPhone 3G could be the camera that lots of people had at the moment.

- The fact that there could be 8GB, 32GBor 64GBbuilt in.

Now, despite how popular the iPhone is on AT&T, the new Apple iPod touchcould cater to those not on the network. Therefore, a whole new slew of users could potentially come in and upload like crazy. To be fair, Flickr also has a lot of photo enthusiasts and pros that display their work there.

Tech Specs (from Apple’s website)

• Video recording, HD (720p) up to 30 frames per second with audio; still photos (960 x 720) with back camera
• VGA-quality photos and video up to 30 frames per second with the front camera
• Tap to control exposure for video or stills
• Photo and video geo tagging over Wi-Fi
• Ambient light sensor

Display

• 3.5-inch (diagonal) widescreen. Multi-Touch display
• 960-by-640-pixel resolution at 326 pixels per inch

Connectivity

• 802.11b/g/n Wi-Fi (802.11n 2.4GHz only)
• Bluetooth^® 2.1 + EDR
• Maps-location based service
• Nike + iPod support built in

Image Quality

Once again, let’s get something straight here: the iPhone don’t kill DSLRs or larger sensor cameras. If you don’t believe this, OKCupid recently confirmed this. Even though iPod Touch’s back camera sensor isn’t like the iPhone 4′s, it could still potentially be quite a big contender. I mean, the thing has an F/2.8 lens and an ISO up to 1000. We reviewed the iPhone 4 camera and thought it was pretty solid actually. Hell, the type of people I’m talking about even wondered about how they can get better images.

The secret in all this lies in the marketing. Canon, Nikon, Sony, Panasonic and all the others are working on trying to get their customers the best image quality possible. Apple is taking a different approach: creating an all-in-one device that will lighten your pockets or your bag. For what it seems, the general populace tend to value Apple’s approach. And it makes sense. Why carry another device when my iPod can do it all?

We as professionals tend to think similarly. For example, photojournalists will much prefer to carry a DSLR that can shoot video instead of carry a DSLR, lenses, and a camcorder. It not only saves money but it also saves space in the camera bag. But even for people that don’t have DSLRs, think about what the security guards will allow these people to carry into the next big concert you attend: a DSLR or an iPod?

Expect to see changes in how we use our devices and holiday sales with the introduction of this little device.

Please Support the Phoblographer

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And so the battle of the pancake lenses commences! In one corner, we’ve got the 16mm F2.8 on the Sony NEX 5camera. In the other, the Panasonic 20mm F1.7 on the GF-1Micro Four Thirds camera. Each camera was shot in aperture priority at ISO 200 and tested on a Home Depot flier. Further, each camera was also focused on the Husky Logo in the center. Let’s see how they did.

Just for reference: Sony is on the left and Panasonic is on the right for each image. Each lens was not tested at F22 because the Panasonic lens only goes up to F16. Each camera was shot on a tripod.

Please note that in no way is this a scientific test. Also keep in mind that only center sharpness is being tested.

F2.8

F4

F5.6

F8

F11

Conclusions

F2.8- Panasonic has an edge.

F4- Panasonic has a slight edge and the Sony is starting the catch up.

F5.6- Pretty much even with the Sony now taking a slight edge.

F8- In my eyes, dead even.

F11- No idea what happened here. The Sony is starting to become problematic. The Panasonic is still holding strong.

Please Support the Phoblographer

We love to bring you guys the latest and greatest news and gear related stuff. However, we can’t keep doing that unless we have your continued support. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, please do so by clicking our link and then purchasing the items as we then get a small portion of the sale to help run the website.

Today at Canon Expo 2010, I got hands-on time with the new 400mm F/2.8 L IS USM II and 300mm F/2.8 L IS USM II. Though we weren’t allowed to put cards into the cameras, the image quality and features of the lenses will make them the envy of every photographer out there that would require these focal lengths.

400mm F/2.8 L IS USM II

The Canon 400mm F/2.8 L IS USM II is a gorgeous beast of a lens. In all honesty, I never thought that I would be able to hand-hold a lens and capture a stable shot at a very far range. Part of the reason for this is because of the fact that I’ve got shaky hands. This lens didn’t disappoint at all—figure skaters gracefully dancing around the ice rink that Canon set up not far away were captured with easy, no camera shake, and extremely sharp wide open.

Color rendition of the images that this lens is capable of producing is absolutely stunning. I haven’t seen anything like this since my old 80-200mm F2.8 L which I still swear by in my camera bag today. This lens is even better. The fluorite elements really seem to do the job well.

Ergonomically, the lens has a great feel to it. It is considerably lighter than its predecessor and this helps greatly with being able to shoot hand-held. Additionally, although the lens is still a bit on the heavy side it is still remarkably balanced. Sure it’s big. Sure, if you painted it black it would look like an old musket/blunderbuss from the revolutionary war days, but the ergonomics still stand up well.

Now here is the really, really cool part: the new power-focus mode that I talked about back during the announcement. As a reminder, this feature allows the photographer to focus much more smoothly when shooting video. I saw the different when holding the set button down and then focusing. In fact, it felt as buttery smooth as a Leica or a Zeiss cinema prime. Perhaps this could hint towards what Canon may be doing in the future with their lenses.

On top of this, there is also the IS 3 mode, which is brand new. This mode allows the user to only see the image stabilization in their viewfinder when they are autofocusing or half-press the shutter button down. The effect is really quite cool and helps the user to see just how much camera-shake there could potentially be.

Autofocusing is quiet as well, so if a wildlife photographer wants to photograph a young doe, there is no way that she will be scared away.

300mm F/2.8 L IS USM II

The 300mm F/2.8 L IS USM II is the smaller of the two lenses, and considerably so actually. Though it probably wouldn’t fit into any of the camera bags I own, it could probably fit into a backpack type format bag attached to the body—but even that could be a stretch.

Those ergonomics work very well for it. The 300mm actually seemed a lot more like a lens that I would perhaps want to carry around if I were able to justify it for any of my work. For Fashion Week users that shoot with primes, this would probably be a lens that you’ll want to get your hands on. The 300mm feels exactly like the 400mm but smaller in every shape and form. That isn’t a bad thing at all though: the focusing rings and switches are all still sized very well and are very easy to get to with a finger.

This lens, like its bigger sibling, delivers sharp and contrasty images that are just simply beautiful. Once again, the fluorite elements really come into play here. The rendition of deep blues, reds and yellows must really be noted here.

Like the 400mm, this lens also has the IS 3 mode and the power focus option for videographers and cinematographers.

Autofocusing once again is very quiet. For any photographers looking to upgrade their big primes, these two lenses are the ones that you’ll want to give serious consideration to.

Gallery

This posting is literally just a huge dump of photos from Canon EXPO. Check them out after the jump. Also be sure to check out our hands-on postings with the 400mm F2.8/300mm F2.8 and 70-300mm F4-5.6/8-15mm F4.

Though it is surely not a new camera, the Panasonic GF-1has finally arrived on my doorstep for review. This review should’ve taken place a year ago when I was still at Photography Bay, but complications in shipping prevented it from happening. Now that the camera is finally in my hands, let’s drive deep in! Right before doing that though, I’d like all users interested in reading this posting to also please check out my posting at Digital Camera Review about how to use these cameras like a pro.

Technical Specs

Ergonomics

The Panasonic GF-1is larger than the Sony NEX-5(first day review here) but still isn’t really a large camera per se. It does surely have a hefty feel to it but it is a beautiful camera nonetheless targeted to a more experienced user. In comparison, the NEX-5 is smaller and has less buttons—effectively telling the user to just leave the camera in Auto mode and snap away.

The GF-1can be held in two different ways: like a standard point and shoot and like a DSLR in Live View. The shutter has very little kick to it, though with the Panasonic 20mm F1.7lens one still does need to remain still in order to ensure no motion blur and sharp images that take true advantage of the pancake lens.

The camera in a way remind me a bit of my old Leica CL that I sold years ago. It would’ve been almost dead on if I had the electronic viewfinder sent to me as well. However, it is interesting to note that the aperture and shutter speed are both controlled through the back dial and switched by pressing in the dial. Panasonic has done this with all their G series cameras at the time of writing this and I find it to be very comfortable especially in opposition to holding down another button and then turning the dial.

The screen is nice, but I can’t help but wish that it were higher resolution like that of the NEX-5.

Before I go on, I should note that I am testing the camera with the Panasonic 20mm F1.7lens and nothing else. At the moment, Vincent is reviewing the Olympus PEN E-P2 with 17mm f/2.8 Lens and Electronic View Finderand Will is reviewing the Panasonic G2with the Panasonic 20mm F1.7and the Panasonic 45mm f/2.8 Aspherical MEGA OIS Lensso items will perhaps be swapped amongst one another.

Autofocus

Perhaps the camera’s strongest feature is the autofocus. If Nikon is the king of autofocus in the DSLR segment, Panasonic is the one that needs to be dethroned in the mirrorless compact segment.

Not only is the camera fast (even in low light) and smart about where/what it is focusing on based upon your composition, but it also allows for a very simple Autofocus with manual override function to ensure that the eyes of the beautiful lady you’re about to take a photo of are tack sharp.

Menus

Panasonic’s menus haven’t changed significantly in a long time and I’m quite pleased with this. Like the Panasonic ZS-7 (also reviewed here) the GF-1 menus are simple to navigate and mostly everything that you want to get to is intuitive. My only problem that I had was that I could not figure out how to format my SD card.

No, I’m not joking. This is always the first function that I always look for as well. After a bit of searching, I finally found out how to do it.

Image Quality

So far, the image quality seems very solid although I have not tested the RAW files to a large extent yet. More will come on this as the review continues.

Please Support the Phoblographer

We love to bring you guys the latest and greatest news and gear related stuff. However, we can’t keep doing that unless we have your continued support. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, please do so by clicking our links first and then purchasing the items as we then get a small portion of the sale to help run the website.

Both the Canon S95and the Panasonic LX-5are available for purchase now at Amazon and readers may perhaps be confused as to which one to get. Though we do not have image quality comparisons to show (and we’ve only handled the S95 and the Leica D-LUX 4 which compares to the LX-3) we can compare and contrast specs.

LX-5K

- F2.0-3.3 Leica Summicron lens

- 3.8x Optical Zoom

- 10.1 MP CCD sensor 1/1.63-inch

- Venus Engine FHD is new for better performance

- Intelligent Resolution technology is present in this camera. For more on that, go here.

- HD videos in AVCHD Lite 720p 30p

- Thicker grip than before

- ISO 3200 but expandable to 12,800.

- Newly-incorporated turn-and-push jog dial achieves various selection and setting more quickly

- The Panasonic LUMIX DMC-LX5 will be available in late-August 2010 for a suggested retail of $499.95 and will be available in black and white models.

- The 3.0-inch large 460,000-dot high resolution Intelligent LCD also redesigned by adopting High CRI (Color Rendering Index) backlight LED to greatly increase the color reproduction, making it more visible both in shooting and playing back images in any conditions from at dark night to under bright sunlight.

- Battery life is extended to shoot 400 photos (CIPA) per a single charge.

- A wide-variety of accessories, including a Live View Finder (DMW-LVF1), External Optical View Finder (DMW-VF1),  Wide Conversion Lens (DMW-LWA52), Conversion Lens Adaptor (DMW-LA6), MC Protector (DMW-MC52), ND Filter (DMW-LND52), PL Filter: DMW-LPL52, External Flashes, Leather Case (DMW-CLX5) and a Battery Pack (DMW-BCJ13).

S95

- 10 MP CCD sensor (1/1.7-inch) with a 3.8x Optical zoom and an F/2.0-4.9 aperture

- 720p HD video at 24p

- ISO 3200 in manual; 12,800 in auto mode.

- Scene modes: HDR, Smart Shutter, Vivid, Poster Effect, Fish-Eye Effect, Miniature Effect (which also works in movie mode).

- Hybrid IS like that found in the Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM

- 3 inch LCD with 461,000 pixels

- Ring around the lens is still there. This was perhaps one of the most popular features of the camera.

- DIGIC IV Processor

Conclusions (from the respective websites)

- If you take a look at the chart above, the LX-5 will have a slightly larger sensor than the S95.

- The Panasonic shoots at 30p vs the Canon’s 24p

- The Pansonic has a much brighter lens through the aperture range

- The S95 has a processor that is in its DSLRs like the 5D Mk II, 60D and T2i

- Same ISO range

- Ergonomically, I’ve always favored the LX-5, which is close to the LX-3. The addition of the more pronounced grip is very welcome.

- Both shoot RAW files.

- The S95 has a better screen.

- S95 is approximately $100 cheaper than the LX-5, but the LX-5 also has the brighter Leica lens and an ever so slightly larger sensor.

- The LX-5 can accept off-camera flashes.

- The S95 has that awesome ring on the lens.

- S95 weight is Approx. 6.00 oz. / 170g (camera body only) and LX-5 weight is Approx. .61lb with Battery and SD Memory Card

- Battery life of the S95 is approximately 200 shots to the Lx-5′s 400 shots.

- The S95′s dimensions are 3.93 x 2.30 x 1.16 in. (99.8 x 58.4 x 29.5mm) while the Lx-5′s are 4.32 x 2.58 x 1.69 in / excl. protrusions: 1.00 in. The Lx-5 is a bit larger.

So which one do we choose: at the moment the Panasonic LX-5 for overall potential. But the S95 for price.

The Panasonic LX-5is $499.00 at Amazon while the Canon S95is $399.99.

Please Support the Phoblographer

We love to bring you guys the latest and greatest news and gear related stuff. However, we can’t keep doing that unless we have your continued support. If you would like to purchase any of the items mentioned, please do so by clicking our links first and then purchasing the items as we then get a small portion of the sale to help run the website.