Photography: Willem Wernsen - Weblog

A beautiful photo blog, unfortunately without an RSS feed. Ok, and in Dutch, but the images are understandable for everyone anyway. And simply beautiful.

Here's the original article.

Hooray for Hewlett-Packard!

That sounds very good - a printer that has an explicit pure B&W cartridge with black, gray, and light gray. This allows you to convert it to pure B&W operation without wild experiments with third-party cartridges, refill kits, tubes, syringes, open-heart surgery, and general anesthesia. It sounds like the right printer for me might finally be coming - something like the 7960 or 7660, but in a format for A3 prints. Until that becomes available, however, the 7660 with B&W cartridge could certainly be a good interim solution ...

Here's the original article.

Leica Digilux 2 - the bigger picture: Digital Photography Review - More details and images of the Digilux 2

Minolta Digital SLR next year and more

Has Minolta finally woken up? No more stupid talk about the Dimage 7 series being a digital SLR? No more silly evasiveness when asked about digital SLRs from them? Or is this just a panic reaction? Anyway, for me the train has left the station. Contax not only built a full-frame digital camera, they've already discontinued it. Contax is simply ahead of its time.

At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) you can find the original article.

FocusFixer by FixerLabs - Corrects blurry photos

INTERNET NEWSPAPER IRAQ: Photographer Nachtwey injured in attack in Iraq

I'm keeping my fingers crossed that he's doing well. He is a fantastic photographer and his images impressively showcase the effects of war, chaos, and famine. Outstanding is the book Inferno with a selection of his images from various crisis zones - I have rarely seen such impressive photographs. He always manages to show the suffering and agony of people without depriving them of their dignity. No sensationalism, no hunger for sensation - but a clear statement against war and abuse. He is certainly one of the great photographers of today. Here you can find the original article.

TrueBlur by FixerLabs - Simulates shallow depth of field through artificial blur

Cruel and Tender: Photography and the Real

Perhaps an interesting exhibition for some.

You can find the original article on WDR.de.

Leica Digilux 2

The rumor mill was right - the Digilux 2 is a Panasonic Lumix LC1. With the specified data and a very nice appearance, in my opinion. Nice device, nice technical specs. I especially like the classic operation of the camera. Now all that's missing is a nice price. But that will probably be typical Leica again, definitely beyond the 1000 euro mark. But it's interesting nonetheless, Leica's marketing of the analog digital camera I think fits well. At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) you can find the original article.

Just posted! Olympus E-1 full review

DPreview now has a complete review of the Olympus E-1. If you're interested in the camera that was at the forefront of press coverage for a long time, you can now read whether it can also compete in the technical front ranks.

At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) you can find the original article.

Contax SL300R T* Announced

That's cool. But simply relabeling the camera and lens doesn't really bring any real advantages - except that the camera will certainly cost twice as much because of the name.

The Contax name is becoming increasingly diluted and more of a pure commercial label. This certainly has nothing to do with the image quality and craftsmanship that Contax is normally associated with.

A shame. Instead of silly consumer products with the Contax name, Kyocera should rather bring out a successor to the failed N Digital, or perhaps finally an RTS IV for the N system. Because while the N1 is nice, it's definitely not an RTS IV.

At PhotographyBLOG you can find the original article.

Vischering Castle in Lüdinghausen

Remnants of summer follow-up processing - 6 images of Vischering Castle in Lüdinghausen. A beautiful, picturesque castle. Just as you imagine a castle to be, with towers, defensive walls, drawbridges, and moat.

Shot with the Contax RTS III and the Sonnar 2.8/180, the 1.4/50 Planar, and a 3.5/17 Tokina on Kodak Portra 400 BW. Developed and scanned, by the way, at the Münster Fuji Minilab. Only the post-processing (slight tonal value correction and highpass sharpening), of course, done myself.

Here's the original article.

Rondayview: Da Funk and Da Noise

Interesting set of Photoshop actions under MIT license (so free) for reducing noise in digital images. The whole thing makes a good impression and is nice and easy to use.

Here's the original article.

LEICA DIGILUX 2 - more details about the candidate

A bit more for the rumor mill - a rather detailed description of the LC1, which could possibly become a Digilux 2.

Here's the original article.

New LUMIX camera DMC-LC1 scheduled for spring 2004

The candidate for the Leica Digilux 2?

Here's the original article.

First Look: Belkin Media Reader For iPod

Well - the thing is so big that they might as well have included the card reader with the drive in the first place. I mean, what's the point if the card reader is just as big as the iPod, and if the card reader needs extra batteries on top of that? Somehow not as great as it sounded. And the problems with the transfer didn't inspire confidence either - since when do you have to reformat a CF card if you deleted it while reading? Very dubious.

At iPoding there's the original article.

Reichmann in the Rockies

A report by Michael Reichmann on the Contax 645 combined with the Kodak 16 Megapixel digital back in use in the Rocky Mountains. And although he does not describe the combination as ideal at all (too many minor inconveniences in operation and interaction, plus power consumption), he is enthusiastic about the results and counts them among the best he has produced.

At PhotographyBLOG I found the original article.

Grafmatic Sheet Film Holder

A very interesting peripheral for large format cameras with Graflex mount: with this magazine you can expose 6 film sheets in succession without having to deal with cassette changes. In principle something like a revolver cassette that you can pre-load - has some similarity to the pack film cassettes for Polaroid, except that the films here are not bent, but rather pushed backwards inside the cassette through the click-clack process.

Particularly cool: you could adapt these parts to other cameras. I at least have the option of such an adapted cassette for my Polaroid 600 SE.

Update: I won the auction on eBay. Let's see what I get now.

Here's the original article.

Retractable 90mm Lens for Leica M

There is also a picture of the lens on the camera - very nice. I don't know if it might not be a fake (I haven't read anything about it from Leica yet), but if it comes out, it would be really interesting for me. With the glasses it achieves a usable approximate 1:3 (more details can only be given once the technical specs are released - but it's supposed to focus at 50 cm with the glasses). Without it, it's a compact 90mm. Great. So now I know exactly what I should definitely save up for - far more than for a new digital camera Here's the original article.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-LC1 at CEATEC

Sounds quite interesting. Could the Digilux 2 be it? The features sound good anyway and I like the design. Even if it looks more like a digital Contax G2

At PhotographyBLOG there's the original article.

Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ10

Hmm - another alternative to my E-100 RS. If the performance is right, this could actually be a real alternative - the zoom range is already pretty impressive (the E-100RS has 10x zoom). And with image stabilization, the camera is then really usable with that lens. And the light intensity isn't bad either. So I'll wait for the tests. Currently three alternatives for me:

• Fuji F-828 (no image stabilization, but good low-light focusing and 8 megapixels)
• Minolta Dimage A1 (image stabilization, but smaller zoom)
• Panasonic FZ10 (basic features most comparable to the E-100 RS, but only 4 megapixels)

Could I please have a Minolta camera with the focal length range of the Panasonic and the resolution of the Fuji?

At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) there's the original article.

Want to have ...

Yes, I know, it's just a compact camera, but the design alone is absolutely fantastic. Ok, I have a weakness, but I've always had a soft spot for Leica-M anyway, and this compact camera looks like it was cut from the same cloth as the M. Stylish. If it's also smaller than the M (ok, it won't reach the size of my Contax T, but that would be asking too much), it could very well be a camera I'd want to get. Although I wonder what it's actually for. Doesn't matter. Wanting something doesn't need justification Here's the original article.

Nordkirchen Castle

We were there again today. Nice park, and the light was great. So here are the photos without much ado:

Here's the original article.

Post without title

After a long time, I took my digital camera with me again and shot a few pictures of the city library.

Here's a picture of the main entrance. Lots of glass, lots of metal, slanted sides and impractical corners. No idea what possessed the architect, apparently it's supposed to be a special feature, but it doesn't suit my taste. But at least it provides a few motifs.

And here's the view back from the main entrance. A small passage that runs between the main building and an aimlessly standing side building and is crossed by a kind of bridge.

And to match the architecture, the lamps too, which somehow look like they could only illuminate the lower part of the building. Which is actually also true.

If architects want to call me a philistine now, go ahead, I can take it. I still think the building is ugly.

LWL - Westphalian Industrial Museum - Henrichenburg Ship Lift - Old Henrichenburg Ship Lift

Just as a tip, if you happen to be in the Datteln area: there's the Henrichenburg boat lift, which now serves as a museum facility. So far I've only looked at it from a distance, but hopefully we'll get there this vacation. It could also offer some nice photo opportunities.

Here's the original article.

Digital Outback Photo Reviews Photokit Sharpener

The description sounds very interesting, it seems to be a very powerful tool. However, I have some concerns about the price: is a tool just for sharpening really worth 99 dollars? The normal PhotoKit costs only half that (and includes a whole bunch of useful tools). Sure, the sharpening functions in PhotoKit aren't as sophisticated, but somehow I'm reluctant to spend 100 bucks just for this one aspect.

At PhotographyBLOG you can find the original article.

Total Photography

Nice review of the digital snapshot output and collection points for the same ...

At Spiegel Online: Netzwelt I found the original article.

Canon EOS-300D / Digital Rebel

Hey, that's already a start. Street price should land around 1000 euros, which is already significantly more acceptable than previous prices for digital SLRs. However, it's a Canon, who wants a Canon anyway

But it could be that this is where the price drop for digital SLRs finally begins and other manufacturers follow suit. Sooner or later they'll have to do it if they want a piece of the cake.

At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) you can find the original article.

New Sony: F-828

Wow. The feature list really does sound impressive. Could this device perhaps replace my good old Olympus E-100 RS? Actually, all that's missing for my happiness is image stabilization.

Here's the original article.

Stereo Images - Time for Space

Nice idea - stereo effects through rapidly alternating display of slightly different images. So simple to produce and completely easy to display - no additional viewing aids needed. Cool.

Here's the original article.

Unusual Product Names #2

This must be the most absurd reason for a product name I've ever heard

At PhotographyBLOG there's the original article.

Kindermann: No one presents their visions anymore

It's a shame. Kindermann is at least one of the last manufacturers of good - and above all affordable - medium format projectors. It would really be a pity if this quite old company were to disappear. Let's hope that the restructuring works and Kindermann is preserved and there's still room for the old products.

At dotcomtod you can find the original article.

Friends defend photographer as he is arraigned on sex charges

Bob Shell - Editor at Shutterbug Magazine - is currently in custody in connection with the death of his model Marion Franklin (aka Chloe Jennings). She died on July 3rd apparently from an overdose and there is apparently evidence of a sexual relationship between him and the model as well as evidence that he may have made her compliant with drugs. I only found out about it indirectly (Jutta pointed out to me that something was added to the Contax list about it), so far it apparently hasn't been reported in other media. Bob Shell is not entirely unknown in the industry as a technical author and photographer. Besides, he works as an expert at http://beststuff.com/ in the digital technology discussion forum, as well as in some other forums there. Here's the original article.

Leica Digital Modul for the R8 & R9

Hey, the conference isn't until 6:00 PM tonight! Well, Leica already has it posted on their own pages anyway.

About the module: do I want it? I'm not sure. A factor of 1.37 is quite reasonable. 10 megapixels too. And the combination with the Leica R8 or R9 makes a pretty decent camera (even though I still think the R8/9 body is ugly as sin). The combination also looks quite usable. But the price: 4500 euros. Plus the body for 1000 euros and the lenses (depending on needs - and Leica lenses aren't exactly in the budget category).

But what's nice is the idea of a well-designed manual digital camera, especially now that the Contax N Digital is off the market. Even if a digital camera without autofocus seems a bit odd at first glance.

At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) there's the original article.

Olympus E-1 Digital SLR

And there they are, the first data on Olympus's 4/3 system. The feature list sounds like it's straight out of the wet dreams of digiphilics. But the price, sorry, that's clearly quite hefty. Why pay 2200 US dollars for a 4/3 system (which will probably end up being 2500 - 3000 euros) when you can get digital SLRs from Canon for less? I don't think such a price is justified, because the smaller chip is simply a compromise solution (selective sharpness becomes much more difficult when focal lengths get shorter). And the factor here is 2, which means significantly shorter focal lengths than even in Canon's consumer segment.

Let's wait and see what kind of performance this system will deliver in September when it becomes available.

At Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com) you can find the original article.

101 three sixty five

A quite interesting photography and image technology blog. Photos, explanatory articles, technical background - everything you can imagine. Quite well done. And the link collection in the blogroll on the weblog is also quite interesting.

Here's the original article.

Microphotography

A series of tips about microscopy, microphotography and similar topics. Images, descriptions, link collection etc.

Here you can find the original article.

When things get really wild: Parcel services

Today I finally received the package with my teleconverter for the Contax – a Mutar II, by the way (to combine with my Sonnar 2.8/180 to make it a 360mm). Very nice.

Not so nice: the package had been here for almost a week, just not with me, but delivered to a shop in the building. I didn't have a note in my mailbox, nor was one hanging on the door. If one of the shop employees hadn't spoken to me, I would have sent even more angry emails to the shipper asking where my package was.

Even more absurd: on the entire package it's impossible to tell which delivery service actually brought it to me. There's a customs declaration from the sender (it came from the USA), but no customs stamp or notification papers. A package service doesn't just hand over a package like that to somewhere random – there will most likely be a customs invoice following that the delivery service will want payment for.

Well, it's not the first delivery service that thinks they can't find me (even though the entrance is simply on the side of the building), but in this case I find it quite outrageous.

Shift Housing Cover

Sounds absurd? It is: essentially a plastic construction with a couple of lenses that provide a 35mm focal length on full frame, with 3.5 mm shift travel. Various connections for the body. The fixed focus lens from them with the adapter for the magnifier is also quite amusing. And the prices are unbeatable – for 21 dollars I can't even get a body cap for my M-Leica

Here's the original article.

Contax N Digital SLR Discontinued

Oh shit. Hopefully they'll come up with an alternative. No idea if Contax (i.e. Kyocera) can weather the disaster otherwise - and whether Zeiss will go along with the circus.

You can find the original article at PhotographyBLOG here.

Photokit - analog image effects for Photoshop

A new addition to my Photoshop plugin collection is the linked Photokit.

First, a drawback: the operation is somewhat awkward, as it doesn't integrate itself as a menu in the Filters menu where you would expect it. Instead, it's an automation plugin that you select, after which a small dialog box appears where you choose the effect group and the effect. Only then is this applied. However, the advantages outweigh this: all effects are placed in their own layer. The big advantage of this: they can all be combined well with the image via the transparency setting of the new layer and their strength can be influenced. Another advantage is the strict orientation of the effects toward photographic terms - albeit English terms. If you have problems with that, you might find help in the dictionary from http://contax-users.de/. Also nice about Photokit are the really good sharpening filters - luminance sharpening avoids color artifacts and the high-pass filter offers good variation of the effect through layer transparency. And last but not least: each effect is only one step in the Photoshop history - this makes the history clear and through multiple steps the effects can be well combined into your own more complex actions. Further tests were conducted at Digital Outback and at Luminous Landscape. The price of 49 US dollars is certainly not exactly small, but the tool saves a lot of work and since time is often short even in hobbies, and tedious standard tasks can be handled well by computers, it's a worthwhile addition. Here's the original article.

Overview of the History of Linhof Technika

Because Jutta now owns a Linhof Standard Press (basically a Linhof Technika III with limited front standard adjustments), I searched the web for Linhof information. The title links to what I consider the most comprehensive overview. Unfortunately, there isn't much information online about the special models. But the camera is beautiful - everything is mechanically robust, well-crafted, and in good condition even after 50 years. And the Polaroid 545 cassette fits behind the ground glass - now we just need 55 Polaroid film.

Here's the original article.

Polaroid 195 is being reissued

The Polaroid 195 is being re-released by NPC, but with an improved back: this time it's based on Polaroid's standard back for packfilm. Excellent - a revised and high-quality packfilm camera, with all the adjustment options you could wish for. And with a contemporary back. I'm in love.

Here's the original article.

Rumors about Digiback for Leica R8 or 9 again

Translation

The rumors about a digital back for the Leica R8/9 are heating up again. This time with various people who normally know quite precisely what's going on. It's going to be exciting. 7500 USD (or EUR?) and then a 1.3x factor and 10 megapixels aren't exactly groundbreaking, but certainly interesting. Not that I necessarily want to have an R system in addition, but the combination of a – admittedly high-quality – manual body with a good digital back would really just be amazingly cool.

Velvia 100 due in August

Well, hopefully it will then finally be available to buy properly in Germany, not like Kodak Portra 400 UC or Fuji Neopan Acros, which are almost only available by mail order...

At PhotographyBLOG you can find the original article.

Michael Arndt

Unfortunately no RSS feed, but really a nice photo blog that my colleague dug up.

At das Netzbuch - ralles Weblog you can find the original article.

Grosse Pointe Blank - good film, but no clue about cameras

So the film is great. But when the protagonist takes a picture of his sweetheart with a Minox B, there shouldn't be a flash and also no sound of a motorized film transport

Luminous Landscape Reviews Fuji S2 Pro

Quite interesting the test. The S2 Pro performs surprisingly well - and that despite being somewhat older. At least if you apply the lifespan standards of Digital SLRs

I found the original article at PhotographyBLOG.

Pictures with the 2.8/180 on the RTS III

I uploaded a stack of images (though they haven't been accessible since 2007 because I destroyed the domain), which I took in Hamburg with the RTS III and the 2.8/180 I picked up that day. A truly magnificent lens - nicely compact for its aperture and really excellent in optical performance. And I like the focal length too.

World's largest digital camera delivers first images

A 340 megapixel digital camera - well Canon and Kodak, any idea how you want to top that?

I found the original article at Spiegel Online: Science.