“Failures

In a summary session on the last day at the Peninsula I asked everyone to report on any equipment failures. Here’s the tally.

The top LCD on a 5D MKII spontaneously cracked; Another 5D MKII had a jambed on lens caused by a loose screw, a 1Ds MKIII reported intermittent problems; a 1D MKIII kept reporting Error 99; one Hasselblad reported electronic lens connection problems; two Canon G9’s failed (no G10s had any reported problems), and a Nikon 80-400mm lens came apart. No Nikon bodies (mostly D700s) failed in any way.

The largest group of failures through were among the Canon 5D MKIIs. Of the 26 samples of this camera onboard, one quarter (six) failed at one time or another, and while three recovered, the other three never did.”

I know what you’re thinking…  “Geez. We’re talking about Antarctica here.  It’s not like I’m going to take my Canon G9 or my Canon 5D up to Antarctica any time soon.  I just run around (insert hometown here) and take pictures.”

That may be true, however, the article continues to state,

“I don’t know what conclusions should be drawn from this high percentage of 5D MKII failures. All I can do is report on the facts of the matter. As for the weather during which most of the failures happened, it was no worse than a drizzly day in winter in New York or Berlin. Nothing Antarctic about it at all.”

Take all of that for what it’s worth.  I just thought I’d pass it along.

Check out the site.  There’s a ton of stuff for all you nature and landscape photographers out there.

-Jim

Linky – buy it here.

dpreview – read the review here.

Note:  This contest is from Panasonic Europe.

I’m know that those of you on the far side of the pond can enter, but I’m not so sure about us stateside.

PRESS RELEASE

This year’s contest seeks images that explore the theme of music

Panasonic Marketing Europe is pleased to announce a call for entries for the eighth annual online LUMIX Award digital photo competition which takes place from October 26, 2009 until April 30, 2010. Under the theme of “Visualise  (shouldn’t that be ‘Visualize’?  I wonder who does Panasonic’s proof reading, and how to apply for that job…) Music,” digital photographers are invited to submit each month one digital image that best captures the moment when music, whether through the sound of an instrument or every day life, impacts our visual senses.

“We hope that the LUMIX Award will encourage digital photographers to use their creativity and show us through their photos how an invisible condition such as music can be visualized,” explains Sven Dabelstein, Senior Manager Product Marketing, Optical Products, Panasonic Marketing Europe.

The digital photography competition is open for six months from November 2009 until April 2010. Each month, a winner will be chosen and awarded a LUMIX DMC-ZX1 – the latest digital compact camera from Panasonic. The overall winner of the LUMIX Award competition – for the single best digital photo – will win a LUMIX DMC-GF1, the worlds smallest and lightest interchangeable lens system camera from Panasonic along with tickets to see the Blue Man Group. Two runner-ups will each receive a LUMIX DMC-FZ38 digital camera. All submitted digital photographs will be reviewed and judged by an independent panel of professional photographers and creative directors.

Established in 2002, the LUMIX Award is a European-wide online competition aimed at promoting creativity in digital photography and establishing an interactive platform for digital photographers to share their work. Each year’s competition centres on a different creative theme.

For further information on the LUMIX Award competition or to see the submitted images, please visit: www.lumixaward.com

Check out the DMC-GF1 at dpreview here.   Looks like a cool little  $900.00 camera.

I’m not so sure that Pentax did anything to help their image by making it available in white, red or blue, though… unless they were trying to achieve the possibility that some may mistake a perfectly capable DSLR for a $22 Little Tikes Camera.

Read the dpreview hands on here.

Available as a preorder from Amazon here.
Pentax K-x 12.4 MP Digital SLR with 2.7-inch LCD and 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL and 55-300mm f/4-5.8 ED Lenses (Black)

Technical Details

* 12.4-megapixel CMOS sensor with Pentax Shake Reduction; HDR image capture
* Kit includes 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 AL and 50-200mm f/4-5.6 ED lenses
* Capture widescreen HD 720p video at 24fps; 2.7-inch LCD with autofocus and Face Detection Live View
* 4.7fps capture rate with 1/6000 sec max shutter speed; 11-point wide-angle autofocus
* Powered by AA lithium batteries; capture images and video to SD/SDHC memory (not included)

If you’re ready to move up to a DSLR this might be for you. Just make sure you buy a black one.

Jim

For all of you looking for Canon equipment
here’s the Canon Fall Instant Rebates (US)
Valid October 22nd to January 16th!

Check with your retailer for info.

Canon EF-S 60mm Macro – $30
Canon 85mm F/1.2L II – $130
Canon 200mm f/2.0L IS – $500
Canon 16-35mm f/2.8L II – $100
Canon 17-40mm f/4L – $50
Canon EF-S 10-22mm – $50
Canon 24-70mm f/2.8L – $80
Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS – $70
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS – $150
Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L – $80
Canon 70-200mm f/4.0L IS – $75
Canon 70-200mm f/4.0L – $40
Canon Macro Ring Lite MR-14EX – $50
Canon Macro Twin Lite MT-24EX – $70
Canon Speedlite 270EX – $20
Canon Speedlite 430EX II – $30
Canon Speedlite 580EX II – $50

Russian chemist and photographer, Sergei Mikhailovich Prokudin-Gorskii, travelled across the Russian Empire, documenting life, landscapes and the work of Russain people from 1909-1912, and again in 1915. Way cool color imagery from before the start of WWI. Check it out here.
Yes, I know it has nothing to do with digital photography. But hit up the library of congress and check out his process.

To get a free full version of Lexar Image Rescue 3 software, just follow the few simple steps below.

1. Go to this page http://store.lexar.com/imagerescue3/.

2. Enter ANY email address and click the Submit button.

3. Choose the version (Windows XP/Vista or Mac OSX) that you want to use and click on “Download Now”.

4. The download should start automatically. After finished downloading, extract imagerescue3.zip and run setup.exe to start the installation. No serial key code required.

Jim

Preview the new D5000 at dpreview.

Nikon D5000 Key Features

* 12.9 megapixel DX-format CMOS sensor (effective pixels: 12.3 million)
* 2.7″ tilt and swivel LCD monitor (230,000 dots)
* Movie capture at up to 1280 x 720 (720p) 24 fps with mono sound
* Live View with contrast-detect AF, face detection and subject tracking
* Image sensor cleaning (sensor shake)
* 11 AF points (with 3D tracking)
* IS0 200-3200 range (100-6400 expanded)
* 4 frames per second continuous shooting (buffer: 7 RAW, 25 JPEG fine, 100 JPEG Normal)
* Expeed image processing engine
* Extensive in-camera retouching including raw development and straightening
* Connector for optional GPS unit (fits on hot shoe)
* New battery with increased capacity
* 72 thumbnail and calendar view in playback