Click on the above image to see the full leak.

For years the digital SLR market has been dominated by two companies: Nikon and Canon.  More and more of the mainstream electronics companies are finally catching up it would seem. As we pointed out the other day, Panasonic is making some unique strides with their Micro Four Thirds System.  For years Sony has been trying to put out a viable alternative to the “big two”.  Because they have waited so long to become serious in the DSLR market (WHY?!), other companies are in some desperate need for unique and compelling changes.

Sony’s Alpha 230, 330, and 380 appear to fit that bill.  Unique ergonomics and interface seem to be a right step in the direction of luring in the entry-level DSLR crowed. No video, though, seems a mistake.

A recently posted image on a Russian site gives some advanced insight into the next Sony offering.

Chinese look at falling stock prices on an electronic board at the stock market in Zhengzhou, China Monday June 4, 2007. China's main stock index plunged 8.3 percent on Monday in its biggest one-day drop since a February fall that triggered a global sell-off.

–Canon Joins the “Bad Economy Bandwagon”

There is no doubt that the global economy is in shambles. Individuals and the companies they work (or worked) for are suffering big time. Unemployment claims are at a record pace and the stock market has pretty much been in shambles itself.

As much us photographers would like to think that photography as an industry is fine, the simple truth is that it too is suffering. Not only are newspapers, which employ many of the worlds photographers, struggling to stay afloat, independent photographers are wondering if they need to adjust their prices due to the economy. It should come as no surprise then that some of the heavy hitters in the photography industry are struggling.

This week Canon announced that its profits have taken a heavy hit. The fourth quarter profits, canon says, are down 91% while profits on the year are down 37%. Canon expects digital camera sales to be down 7% this year and as a result, revenue and profits should continue to fall.

–For those of us who won’t be upgrading our camera’s this year

Last fall Canon released its update to the 5D, cleverly named the 5D Mark II. Many canon “fanboys” weren’t very happy with Canon’s update, arguing that the camera lacked important improvements (perhaps most annoyingly, an updated auto focus system).

One unique improvement was its ability to take high def video, something never before seen from a D-SLR. This is a feature that expands upon the “Live View” feature of its camera’s which was first seen on a special version of the 20D known as the 20Da. Every new DSLR of Canon’s since the 40D has Live View (450D/XSI, 40D, 50D, 1DmkIII 1DsMKIII, 5DMKII) However, the only canon camera that is capable of taking the Live View feature and turning it into HD video, is the 5DmkII–it should also be noted that Nikon’s D90 and Olympus’s E-30 also have this feature.

The feature is neat, at best. It lacks auto focus and an SLR camera is simply not designed to take video (a tripod is a must). That said, it is a very unique and fun tool to have. Fortunately for those of us who aren’t upgrading our camera’s this year (thus contributing to Canon’s lack of profits?) to the 5DmkII, there are workarounds.

A couple of months ago the first attempt surfaced on a Russian website. It is basically just a small program that you download to your computer. With the camera plugged into the computer (via USB), the program activates the Live View feature, and captures what it sees. Many have called this a “hack” but the truth is that it technically isn’t. However, there appears to be an actual hack in the works that will enable you to record video to your CF card–no cables, cords, or computers required.

This is neat. I played around with the program version last night and i must say, i’m impressed. You can watch the youtube video or download the video here.

The growth of what our camera’s can do is amazing. It seems, our DSLR’s are finally catching up to our cell phones, which have long been able to make phone calls, take photo’s and take videos.

–And Congress Hates that

In one of those stories that makes you think to yourself “What are they thinking?” Republican Congressman Peter King  (New York) introduced the Camera Phone Predator Alert Act. The act would require that all cell phones “to make a sound when a photograph is taken.” This would go into place for all phones made after one year of the bill being enacted. You would hate for the Respected Mr. King to worry about real problems, like a financial crisis, actual crime, or any number of things he could be devoting his time to.

One has to wonder how quickly the hacks for those phones would be rolled out…

To learn more about the hack in development click here
For more information on the downloadable program click here

An unexpected car fire, captured only because i was ready

A few days ago, i mentioned how a photographer must always be watchful of their surroundings. Without practicing this simple technique, one can never find compelling and new things to photograph. The truth is somewhat deeper than that though. To be a great photographer (something i am not!) you must always be ready.

It is impossible to know when a photography idea strikes you. It is even more impossible to know (if it’s possible to be more impossible than impossible, that is a possibility i would like to know more about) when something that is worthy of being photographed is going to pop up. Allow me to give you an example:

I was driving home from a family members house out in the suburbs of Chicago, where i live. I happen to have my camera in my bag (more on that in a moment) when i noticed a lot of thick smoke bellowing into the air.

“That’s odd”, i thought to myself. Yet i continued to drive. It wasn’t until a couple of seconds later that i realized that an apartment building was on fire.

Lets pause for a moment. Some of us aspire to be photojournalists, some do not. I should do a write up on the different types of photography. For me, i enjoy seeing my work published in the hands of thousands of readers. That’s me. Continue…

I realized that this is news worthy but weighed whether or not it was worth my time to go photograph it. Typically fires are roped off and the staff photographers will have an edge as they usually have scanners and are on top of these sorts of things. Only then did i see the police car racing towards me. Then it struck me, i could be the first person on the scene if i hurried.

So i did. I screamed back towards the fire and sure enough i got there just as the fire department was pulling up. At the end of the day it was merely a car fire. An apartment fire, now that’s news. A car fire, well, that isn’t. No one picked up my photo. But there is a lesson to be learned here.

When i saw that fire i thought “Wow, i should photograph that”. Because i had my camera, i was able to. I honestly don’t’ usually drive around with $2,000 of camera gear in my car, for obvious reasons. But at the end of the day, i really should. It isn’t just breaking news that pops up. Sometimes its a sunset so amazing that words wouldn’t be able to describe it. Perhaps it’s a group of police officers at Dunk’n Donuts. Perhaps it’s a controlled burning of a prairie. Perhaps it’s an eccentric blues musician on the corner. It doesn’t matter. If you see it, you should be ready and willing to photograph it.

Some of my favorite photographs have come under these circumstances. Just some food for thought.

A controlled fire set in a local prarie, first seen miles away, captured only because i was ready.