February 2016

Well it isn't just the big, heavy Canon cameras that are bursting out into new models - Canon Australia will be bringing the new EOS Canon 80D camera to Camera Electronic on March 3rd at 6:00 PM.The launch will show the new crop-frame Canon EOS body as well as the new 18-135 lens that is set to pair with it. And the whole presentation will be with the expert guidance of Stephen Scourfield.Stephen is the travel editor of the West Australian and a consummate photo shooter. He's been advising Western Australians for years about the best way to maximise the potential of the digital camera for our memories, and he's had a chance to see just how this new Canon performs.Of course, being Canon, and being for travel, the video component of the new body has really come to the fore. New Auto Focus performance, new flicker-free shooting, new higher ISO capability extend your video shooting into scenes that were never possible before. Audio pickup facilities have advanced as well.The night has representatives of Canon Australia, Camera Electronic, and Stephen...

Plan of Attack Number One:Northbridge Hotel, 210 Lake Street North Perth.Thursday the 25th of February, 20166:00 PMRendezvous with representatives of Canon Australia, Camera Electronic, and Andrew Ritchie.See launch of new Canon EOS 1DX Mk II camera. Hear Andrew discuss his work and experience with this new equipment. Watch videos. Take notes and price lists.Eat and drink. Be merry.Discuss pre-order price with Camera Electronic staff. Loosen wallet. Open it and blow cobwebs off credit card. Put down deposit on new camera. Chortle inwardly.Go home and plan out new profitable shooting at weddings, sports, fashion, studio, and events. Make sure lenses are cleaned and ready to go. Get extra invoice forms ready for new clients. Stand in front of mirror and practise sneering at other shooters who do not have the new camera. Chortle openly...

It will succeed on three counts:1. Performance of the stabilising mechanisms.The Olympus camera uses more stabilising elements than other cameras. It compensates more for what people and circumstance do during shooting and as a result there is a better chance of the camera returning a sharp photo. It cannot entirely eliminate the effects of vibration if the user has attached it to a hammer drill or is taking pictures in Christchurch, NZ, but pretty near anything short of that will be within limits.2. Adjustability of the colour and monochrome parameters.This camera features a dial on the right front face that allows the user to start the process of adjusting the rendering of the view. It is further modified by a toggle switch on the back and produces a very great many choices of saturation, curves, grain and tone. This is the experimenter's dream camera, but it can also be a workhorse in a number of fields once the user has worked out exactly what they want to set and where. There are 4 custom channels, which is a full complement...

I have been away on holidays looking at big white boxes - see the heading image.Whilst I was away the shop fitting gnomes have been to visit Camera Electronic and have installed two new showcases. Actually it might be one new showcase with two display areas but let's not quibble - the thing looks good.One side seems to feature Sony camera bodies and lenses - the mirror-less, compact , and bridge types stood out on their orange plinths - while the other portion has a number of Zeiss lenses on blue stands. They all look well, and this is a great encouragement in retail presentation. There's a bit of theatre needed for anything and these cases make a good stage.I hope there is storage space under those trays - that is another retail story that we have to cope with. All cameras and lenses come in boxes and once you get the item out to be seen you have created double the space requirements for storage. It's not like the computer desktop where you click up an image or click...

Did you know we have another contender for the systems filter stakes? I didn't, until I baled up Daniel and found out about it. You see, I believe the goods are only available from our on-line shop - either that or the rest of the staff are just being mean to me...

In an never-ending quest to find the smallest and lightest accessories for you, we have hit upon this little gem.It's a tiny ball level that you slide onto the hot shoe of your mirror-less camera for when you want flat horizons. If you're going to take landscapes - and in particular if you are going to go out capturing a series of shots for a panorama - you need this.Big deal? You might not think it if you see a set of bubble levels on your tripod, but sometimes those levels are placed there as a sales incentive without being a photo aid. If the camera is not level, the whole thing is pointless, and sometimes the makers put the tripod levels on bits that are just not going to help - you need a bubble level on the camera itself to get what you want.It weighs about nothing and doesn't cost much more - and if you plan to use the on-board flash anyway you can reserve the hot shoe for this level. I'd say this it the tourist's...

On my second pester stop one dayI talked with Daniel - the man who wrestles with corporate and institutional sales and who is adding things to the on-line ordering system. I cannot pretend to understand most of the mechanisms that he employs for this but he did reveal a few new lines of products that will be available soon.The straps caught my eye. Now I have posted before on the Frontier and Colonial Photographic Establishment weblog column about searching for a perfect camera strap. I had nearly sawed my neck off with a series of regular straps from different camera makers and realised that I needed to replace either them or the neck.I've been somewhat successful in comfort terms but have still to achieve coolness and style. Currently the Little Studio cameras depend from four different types:1. An Op/Tech 3/8" Classic for the X-Pro1 and lens. Comfy.2. A Crumpler mini cotton strap for the X-E2...

Well, as promised yesterday, I laid hands on one of the new Fujinon 100-400mm f:4.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR lenses. It is slightly longer than its name and has a very sturdy foot attached to the bottom. As you can tell from the appellation it has an optical stabilising circuit, weather resistant seals, and the premium nano lens coatings. It is moderately heavy, extremely well-built, and the fastest thing to focus you have ever seen through.I took my Fujifilm X-E2 with the new 4.0 firmware loaded into it so that it was a fair comparison to the 35mm f:2 lens on the Fujifilm X-T10. I could not detect any difference in speed for the auto focus, and that was with the 100-400 set to the full range of focus movement. You can actually command it to a restricted AF to speed things further.The images of the BHP and Rio Tinto buildings ( Is there some form of commercial rivalry going on here? Is this a sign...