The PRESSlite VerteX

I’m a huge fan of using off camera speedlights for on-location lighting, à la strobist style. Throwing a little gelled light from a few 580exII’s or SB-800′s can give incredibly stunning results. Sometimes with small speedlights though, it’s tough to get the light to go exactly where you want it. That being said, there always seems to be a new whizbang or gizmo in town aimed to make your speedlights just a little easier to use. I’ll be the first to admit that I’ve taken the bait on just about every one of them. Most are small and pretty inexpensive, so...

Tired of the 5DII hype

Maybe I’ll end up eating my words tomorrow (April 22nd) but I have to vent. As a preface, I’d like to make it clear that I’m just as excited as the next guy about the possibility of a new 5D being launched. I’ll probably be one of the first in line, eager to throw down my hard earned cash to grab one. I love my trusty old 5D – there’s no doubt about it. It truly is a great camera that produces stunning results. But after using my MKIII for several months, it’s readily apparent that the old 5D is starting to show her age, technically speaking. I am...

Lightroom 1.4.1 and ACR 4.4.1

Ah yes, I’m late to the game here, but Adobe did release the fixed version of Lightroom and a new version of ACR on April 10th (Thursday?) Lightroom Fixed EXIF time date field of images that had a metadata update applied. Fixed Olympus JPEG file rendering. Fixed DNG conversion – Any conversion to DNG in Lightroom 1.4 (Windows Only) would cause the DNG file to become unreadable by Lightroom’s Develop Module or Camera Raw 4.4 in Photoshop. Improved import performance relative to Lightroom 1.3. Camera Raw Fixed the EXIF time date field of images that were saved as...

Adobe Lightroom 2.0 public beta released

Big news… It’s everywhere. I guess the folks over at Adobe said "To hell with fixing 1.4, we’re just going to release the 2.0 beta and go from there." Adobe Lightroom 2.0 beta Download If you’re not a registered owner of Lightroom 1, it’s a 30 day trial. If you are a registered owner, you can use the beta version until August 31, 2008 ***UPDATE:************************ After using the beta for like, ten minutes, the following features already stick out as completely kick-ass: 1. Smart Collections 2. Redesigned Filters 3. Retouch tools in develop...

Web-Based Photoshop Express Launches

I remember when CS3 was first launched, there were rumors that Adobe would also be releasing a free, web-based version of Photoshop. Well, it looks like today is the day they made it a reality. I took a quick "test drive" of things and personally, I think it should be called "Lightroom Online" – because it has almost the exact same look and feel as Lightroom, and not so much Photoshop. There are no layers, no actions, no filters or masking, but it has a pretty slick interface that excels at being user friendly. Photo editing basics such as cropping, white balance...

The BlackRapid R-Strap

(Click here to view my gallery of product shots for Blackrapid.com) If there’s anyone out there using a regular neck strap for their SLR – Don’t do it anymore! I’ve been hunting for the perfect camera strap for a long time, and I think the R-strap from blackrapid.com may finally be the one. It is by far the quickest, most intuitive, most convenient strap I’ve ever had the pleasure of using. Regular camera "neck straps" have never been my thing, and I always use them as shoulder straps – not neck straps. It’s a rare occasion for me to hang my...

5D Firmware Update – 1.1.1

For anyone out there with a 5D, Canon has released a new firmware version 1.1.1. I just got finished installing it, and took a few test shots… all seems to be well. Not a huge update by any means, but it does add some useful functionality – the high-capacity CF support is the big one for me. It’ll be nice to load up some 8 giggers without worry. Download Link: http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eos5d/eos5d_firmware-e.html What has been changed in version 1.1.1 firmware? The following fixes and improvements have been incorporated: 1. It now supports high-capacity CF...

Don’t upgrade Lightroom to 1.4

Damn ye, Adobe. There be bugs in that 1.4 update that you rolled out. For other folks who use a pc and like to convert to .dng while importing, this update is no good.   I too am getting the "an unknown error has occured" when trying to view my files at 1:1 size. Solution (so far) has been to downgrade to the 1.3.1 release, available here: Win: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloa…jsp?ftpID=3815 Mac: http://www.adobe.com/support/downloa…jsp?ftpID=3810 Also see this post detailing the problems, courtesy of the Lightroom Journal: ...

Giant Friday Suprise – Boda Bag.

The Boda Dry Bag arrived this morning. I wasn’t expecting it until Monday, but apparently Jim Garner was able to get mine out the door the same day I ordered it. So if you’re reading this Jim, thanks! Initial impressions: The bag reeks of quality… and is probably the nicest bag I’ve owned. If a Domke ballistic bag and a Kata rucksack were to have offspring, this is what they’d look like. It looks and feels tough – ballistic cordura, giant quick release clips and nice wide straps are akin to something a stormtrooper would carry, which is definitely a...

The endless quest for bags and straps.

It would seem that I’ve been going through another one of those “find the perfect bag and strap” cycles, which seem to be occurring every six to eight months or so. For photographers, this is a difficult, time consuming and subjective process that’s largely dependent on your shooting style or simply what kind of mood you’re in (or think you’re in). Every person I’ve talked to or read about who is mildly involved in photography has no less than a closet full of assorted satchels, bags, backpacks and carrying devices that either work, kind-of work, or...