Photo&Cameras

Leica S2 Digital SLR camera : Responding to the needs of professional photographers, Leica Camera AG will introduce the Leica S2 at photokina in Cologne, a new digital Leica SLR camera system for professional photographers. A new system concept has been developed, entitled “Made in Solms”. For this camera concept, renowned professional photographers have been involved in all parts of the development process. The outcome is a system designed specifically to deliver the fastest, high end resolution work, requiring the minimum of post production. Excellent news for commercial photographers seeking to exceed demanding client expectations in a working time which allows improved income for their talents.

Leica S2 – 37 Megapixels CCD sensor
Designed from scratch the new German made camera is ground breaking, as unlike most other pro digital systems, it does not use a conventional medium format or 35mm plateform. The LEICA S2 has a sensor size that exceeds the 35 mm format and incorporates many of the advantages of professional systems. The new 37 mega pixels CCD sensor with a breathtaking image resolution will produce images at the top of the professional game for a number of years. In particular, the lenses set new performance benchmarks enabling the sensor to overdeliver per pixel. The pixels are distributed on a sensor 56% larger than full size 35mm.

Leica S2 Body
The compact design and handy metal body is smaller than those of comparative products from different manufacturers. Ergonomic and a pleasure to use, the camera is set to become a professional photographerВґs favourite. The Leica S2 cameraВґs bespoke sensor has enabled the Leica designers to produce the smallest camera in its class.

MAESTRO image processor technology
It´s super modern new and innovative processing technology is twice as quick. The Leica “MAESTRO” image processor developed with Fujitsu specifically for the LEICA S2, allows the camera´s lenses, firmware and sensor to function at their optimum. It produces market leading processing time and the highest level of picture quality with minimal energy output. It enables picture quality and super quick transfer time with minimal energy output.

Large bright viewfinder
In spite of the sensor size, the extremely compact body is fully protected against dust and splashes. For this class of camera, the LEICA S2 has a particularly precise and quick autofocus system that makes focusing easier. The large, bright viewfinder makes picture composition easy. Taking many pictures in quick succession is also possible, and there is a high sensitivity setting to use when lighting is problematic.

Leica S2 lens system
New lenses designed specially to suit the demands of this format offer unrivalled imaging quality and set new benchmarks for the camera market as a whole. Thus the LEICA S2 lens system meets the needs of professional photographers. The optic calculation incorporates all the factors and requirements of digital technology, meaning that software to correct image artifacts becomes superfluous.

Leica S lenses
The constant high image quality is present right into the corners of the images, from close up to infinity. Even at wide apertures, maximal contrast, high resolution and detailed colour reproduction are guaranteed. The between-the-lens shutters in some of the system lenses enable lightning fast synchronisation for the quickest possible exposure time. The quick and precise autofocus of the Leica S lenses can be adjusted manually at any time. Like the camera, the lenses are made from metal and come with a weatherproof seal. The lenses are thus particularly robust and protected from dust and dampness.

Leica S-2 system
The LEICA S2 digital system camera is particularly easy to handle and choosing the settings is pretty much intuitive. Ergonomically designed, the body sits comfortably in the hand whether in vertical or horizontal position. The bright, high-resolution display with quick zoom-in function enables exposures to be seen perfectly even in daylight. The Leica camera concept can be integrated seamlessly into the professional digital workflow.

S2 Leica System cameras
With Dr. Andreas Kaufmann as its main shareholder, Leica Camera AG is entering a new era. Following in-depth and successful re-structuring, the business can now concentrate on investing in new products. Leica has made a quantum leap in the field of digital technology, enabling it to combine the advantages of highly developed digital technology with the classic Leica values concerning optics, mechanics and optimal image results. The result of this is uncompromising cutting-edge technology; the LEICA S2 is the first to offer all these things to professional digital photographers. The LEICA S system sets the trend for future Leica products in terms of technology and leads the way for future product ideas from Leica Camera AG.

Souce: www.letsgodigital.org

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Leica has outlined plans to launch a ‘larger than full-frame’ digital camera system – ranking its historic significance on a par with the legendary Leica 1 launched 83 years ago.

(AP) has known about the camera for several weeks but adhered to a strict legally-bound agreement concerning its publication until today, 23 September.

The first camera in the new ‘S-system’ will be the S2, a professional digital SLR that Leica predicts will fill a gaping gap in the market.

The S2 will deploy a 37.5-million-pixel imaging sensor in a body primed to take on the full frame professional DSLR market, as well as high-end medium format digital cameras.

The ‘flagship’ model will feature a Kodak-made CCD imaging sensor measuring 30×45mm – 56% bigger than a frame of 35mm film.

Though primarily aimed at the fashion and advertising market the firm pointed out that the AF and processing technology may eventually trickle down to enthusiast-level DSLRs.

The S2 will be made at Leica’s base in Solms, Germany and a working prototype is due to be shown at this week’s Photokina show in Cologne, Germany.

The firm claims that the S2 will be smaller than the ‘top-end’ Nikon and Canon DSLRs – combining the benefits of a medium format camera, with the handling of a digital SLR, while retaining the ‘look and feel’ of a Leica.

In an interview with AP, Leica said that the project has been in development for two years, long before the dismissal of former chief executive Steven K Lee in February. Lee left the firm following his suggestion that Leica would launch a full-frame upgrade to the M8 digital rangefinder camera.

Describing the S2 as the ‘mergence of all professional camera systems’ Leica Camera AG product manager Maike Harberts told AP that she is confidant the camera will be ready to go on sale in ’summer 2009′. However, she remained tight-lipped over a likely launch price.

Harberts expects the camera’s chief competitors to include Hasselblad, Phase One and Leaf.

The S2 will house a ‘low power’ Maestro processor, made by Fujitsu, claimed to be twice as fast as comparable medium format digital backs.

An ‘all-weather metal body’ will help protect against dust and moisture.

Though technical details are scant Leica says that the S2 will incorporate an ‘ultra high precision AF system’ and boast a ‘faster frame rate than any medium format camera’.

It will be capable of recording DNG, raw and JPEG files.

The S2 will make use of a dual shutter system. The camera will include a focal-plane shutter and an ‘in-lens’ leaf shutter will aim to make high flash sync speeds possible.

Among the first lenses to be launched will be f/2.5 AF optics.

We understand the range will include 24mm, 70mm,180mm, 30-90mm and 350mm DC lenses.

Leica hopes to have a full lens line-up completed within two years, including a 30mm tilt and shift lens.

В• For the full story В– plus editorial comment – look out for AP’s issue dated 4 October

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A 24-year-old from London has scooped £5,000, a Nikon camera and a magazine commission in a photography competition organised by .

Jonathan Hyams beat more than 1,000 other entries to win the Nikon-backed contest with an image captured in the aftermath of the conflict in Uganda.

‘My photograph explores the implications of the fragile peace process on a population which has experienced a lifetime of displacement and cruelty,’ said Jonathan, who also came first in the Reportage category. His winning image shows the daughter of an ‘escaped female child soldier’.

The competition was organised to celebrate 20 years of magazine.

Penny Lancaster Stewart, one of the judges, said: ‘It was both encouraging and inspiring to see such a high standard of photographic talent.’

Rachel Brown was named as the runner-up, bagging £2,500 and a two-day internship with a Getty photographer in an area of her choice, as well as a ‘top-of-the-range’ Nikon camera. She also won the Fashion category.

Picture credit: Jonathan Hyams

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The winner of this year’s Postcards from the Park competition has been named as John Rhodes from Thrapston in Northamptonshire. John won the East Midlands category with his image ‘Lone Tree’ and was named national winner at an awards ceremony in London on Tuesday. He wins £1000 of Jessops vouchers.

The competition, launched by the Heritage Lottery Fund and Big Lottery Fund in partnership with parks charity GreenSpace, received over 1600 entries from across the UK. There were twelve regions in total with a winner and runner-up per region.

Now in its second year, the competition, judged by photographer Mike McCartney and AP’s Damien Demolder, encouraged people to capture what they love about their local park.

Mike McCartney said: "I’ve been so impressed by the quality and quantity of entries. John Rhodes’ photo is a wonderful shot, which not only illustrates the high standard this year, but why so many people love their local parks."

John’s winning image was taken at Brixworth Country Park in Northamptonshire. В“I’m delighted to have won,В” he added. В“I spend a lot of time in parks within the East Midlands and Northamptonshire. What inspired me to take this particular photo was the dramatic cloud setting and variations in light.В”

The winning and runner-up images will be on display at Mile End Park Arts Pavilion in London until 13 September. An exhibition at Birkenhead in the Wirral runs from 17 October to 3 November. All the images will be made into postcards, which will be available from Lottery-funded venues across the UK.

To view the images visit www.postcardsfromthepark.org.uk

Picture credit: John Rhodes

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Phase One will begin selling a new full-frame medium format camera system in late 2008. The P 65+ system includes a digital back that uses the new Sensor+ CCD technology that Phase One co-developed with DALSA Semiconductor. The rest of the system is composed of Phase One’s existing medium-format camera components. The Sensor+ platform allows the back’s CCD to be upgraded, giving the back a longer lifespan. The P 65+ back incorporates a 230,000-dot, 2.2-inch LCD.

The P65+ back’s CCD is a 53.9mm x 40.4mm chip that offers 60.5-megapixel resolution. The dimensions of the sensor make it close enough to the size of a frame of 645 medium-format film to be considered full-frame medium format, allowing lenses to be used without a conversion factor. The P65+ back outputs 180MB, 8-bit RGB files that are supported by Phase One’s Lens+ and Focus+ software technologies for correcting optical flaws. According to Phase One, the P 65+ back offers 12.5 stops of dynamic range and 1fps capture. Its light-sensitivity settings range from ISO 50 to ISO 800, and the back supports exposures from 1/4000 second to 1 minute.

Pricing on the digital back starts at $39,900; the full P 65+ camera system starts at $41,990. Phase One is currently accepting advance orders at sales@phaseone.com.

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Panasonic Lumix G lens camera system : Panasonic is pleased to announce a brand-new digital interchangeable lens camera system – the Lumix G Micro System. It is based on the new Micro Four Thirds System standard that greatly reduces camera size and weight to further enhance the inherent advantages of the original Four Thirds System standard for digital interchangeable lens cameras. Although the world market for digital interchangeable lens cameras continues to grow at a steady pace, yet there is a widespread notion that digital SLR cameras are large, heavy and hard to use resulting in a preference for compact cameras. Panasonic has now made it possible to develop digital interchangeable lens camera that comply with the new Micro Four Thirds System standard and feature greater compactness and lighter weight.

Panasonic Lumix G – Micro Four Thirds System
The new Micro Four Thirds System products will join today’s Four Thirds System products to provide customers with even higher levels of performance in a digital interchangeable lens camera. The features that clearly set the Micro Four Thirds System standard apart from the Four Thirds System standard: approx. 50% shorter flange back distance (mount-to-sensor distance), approx. 6mm smaller lens mount outer diameter and electrical contacts in mount increased from 9 to 11. In essence, not only the camera unit but also the Micro Four Thirds lenses are smaller, and this is particularly true for the wide-angle and high-power zoom lenses. The number of electrical contacts between the lens and the camera body is also increased in the new Micro Four Thirds System, to allow a variety of new features and system functions in future models. The Micro Four Thirds System will also allow users to continue using their present Four Thirds System lenses on Micro Four Thirds System bodies by adding a mount adapter. Together with an innovative mirror-less structure that also dramatically downsizes the camera body, the Panasonic Lumix G Micro System achieves a dramatic portability and ease of use by an adoption of electronic Full-time Live View Finder instead of conventional optical viewfinder.

Panasonic Lumix G Micro System
Combining superb image quality and unprecedented mobility, Panasonic Lumix G Micro System will change the way you see the world around you, and the role that photography plays in your life. Panasonic is committed to creating a new photographic culture by introducing innovative, high-performance cameras and lenses for this new generation standard.

Souce: www.letsgodigital.org

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Alien Skin has announced a new version of its image-resizing software plug-in. Blow Up 2 offers a simplified interface, easy batch processing, and improved performance with support for multi-processor and multi-core systems. The plug-in can be used with Adobe Photoshop and Photoshop Elements software, and can handle CMYK images, 32-bit-per-channel HDR images, and output up to 300,000 pixels on a side.

Alien Skin has also added a Smart Cropping feature designed to center the crop area over the most interesting part of the photo, sharpening that is automatically optimized for the degree of enlargement and paper type selected, and greater control over simulated textures and film grain to retain a natural look. Blow Up 2 also offers new controls for cleaning up JPEG compression artifacts in images from low-quality sources.

Blow Up 2 is available in Windows and Mac versions on the Alien Skin Web site for $249 or as a $99 upgrade for current owners of Blow Up 1. Those who purchased Blow Up 1 who after July 26, 2008 can upgrade for free.

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Organisers of a photography competition have defended their right to publish entries anywhere they like on the grounds that only amateurs – not professionals – are eligible to enter.

Launched by the Container Shipping Information Service (CSIS), the contest offers prizes totalling $1,500.

However, the rules state that submissions ‘become the property of the CSIS’ and that organisers ‘may use and display them for any defined, reasonable and lawful purposes thereafter, whether a photo is a winning photo or not’.

When confronted over the rules of the competition a spokesperson failed to dispel any concerns entrants are likely to face.

She told : ‘CSIS completely understands and respects the sensitivities surrounding copyright. For that reason, we have only allowed amateur or В“have-a-goВ” photographers to enter. Professional photographers are not eligible to enter.’

The spokesperson added: ‘This competition is only meant to raise awareness of the importance that the container shipping industry has on our everyday livesВ… If anyone is unhappy with any aspect of the terms and conditions we would encourage them not to enter the competition.’

Organisers say the aim of the contest is to ‘improve the image of the container shipping industry’.

Souce: www.amateurphotographer.co.uk

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Casio Exilim EX-Z85 digital camera : Casio announced the release of a new, high-profile addition to its Exilim family of digital cameras. The 9.1 effective megapixel Exilim Zoom EX-Z85 camera feature a stylish design and are packed with the kind of innovative features users have come to expect from Casio. The Casio Exilim Z85 comes with a Face Recognition function that can detect the presence of up to 10 people’s faces and then give priority to the faces of pre-registered people for correct focus and exposure, and an Auto Shutter function, which automatically takes a photo the instant camera shake ceases, as well as a Movie button that lets users easily record widescreen movies. Casio will showcase the Casio Z85 at the Photokina 2008.

Casio Exilim Z85 body measurement
The design of the focus frame and the color of the menu screen can be customized in accordance with each user’s wishes, and the camera comes in eight colors – silver, black, vivid pink, pink, blue, green, brown and orange. The Casio Exilim Z85 camera delivers high performance with a compact, stylish look. This high performing model with 9.1 million effective pixels takes high definition photographs. The Casio Z85 features a stylish design contained within a compact size. Body measurements for the EX-Z85 are 89.7mm wide by 51.7mm high by 19.0mm thick.

Casio EX-Z85 – LCD monitor and Body colors
In addition to the standard body colors, this camera comes in a rich variety of expressive colors such as vivid pink (available in a total of eight colors: silver, black, vivid pink, pink, blue, green, brown and orange). In addition to the usual rectangular focus frame that is indicated on the LCD monitor, users can choose from frame designs featuring a heart shape or a butterfly, for example. When the scene is properly focused, a clear heart shape is displayed, and when the scene is out of focus the heart shape breaks up. This makes it easy to see when the picture is in focus, and users will enjoy it, too.

Casio Z85 captures H264 video format
Users can choose their preferred option from six different colors (black, chocolate, cinnamon, rose, sky blue and olive) as the color for the menu screens. The Casio Z85 uses the H.264 video format, which records beautiful, high quality movies in highly compressed video files. When the Movie button is pressed, the camera records widescreen movies with an aspect ratio of 16:9. This camera comes with a highly visible 2.6 inch widescreen display. Information on camera settings is displayed in the “Control Panel” on the right hand edge of the screen, so settings can be changed quickly and easily.

Casio Exilim EX-Z85 self-portrait photography
Using blur detection technology, the Casio EX-Z85 can automatically take a photo the instant that hand shake or subject movement stops, even without the need to push the shutter button. This reduces photo blur caused by the movement involved in pressing the shutter. The camera will also automatically release the shutter at the moment of a smile or the moment subject blur ceases in a panning shot. A shot can also be taken the moment the user’s face fills the frame when taking a self-portrait.

Casio Exilim Z85 includes automatic face recognition
The Face Recognition function allows users to detect the presence of up to 10 people’s faces, and then, prior to shooting, the camera automatically recognizes the pre-registered face or faces that should be most clearly photographed, and gives those faces priority for correct focus and exposure. The settings menu in the easy mode has been pared down to just three items – flash, self timer and image size – making it easy for even beginners to understand and use.

Souce: www.letsgodigital.org

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Phase One has released an update to its Capture One workflow software. Version 4.1.2 of the program extends its Lens + and Focus+ correction tools to support numerous lenses with Hasselblad H, Hasselblad V, and Contax mounts. The correction tools remove optical flaws in images captured by specific lenses. A full list of lenses and RAW formats supported by Capture One 4.1.2 is available on the Phase One Web site.

Capture One owners can upgrade to the new version for free. New customers can purchase the program for $129.

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