E-3 | Roberts Raw! Camera News, Advice, And Learning

› posts tagged ‘e-3’

Photo Walkabout Follow-Up

So, last night’s photo walk was a bit of bust. Nick and I apologize, that’s as much our fault as the rain’s. We hadn’t expected the rain, and didn’t plan accordingly enough time to get there so we were running 15 minutes late to our own show. No one was there when we got there, so if anyone showed up and then left, we’re sorry we missed you, but we were just going to send you home anyway. It was wet out there.

That said, after all that hassle and stress, Nick and I couldn’t stand to leave straight away, so we took my fearless E-3 out and played around in the rain a bit. The result, an incredibly silly series of portraits, some soaked clothes, and a bit of fun.

We’ll try another photo walk again soon, maybe it’ll go over better this time.

Canon Pre-Announces Better Video Firmware for 5D Mk II

Seriously Canon? How do you pre-announce something? It was weird enough when Olympus did this for the E-3. Teases.

Anyway, Canon yesterday mentioned it’s going to grace your 5D Mark II’s with even better controls for video, such as adding 24fps (well, 23.976 fps) and 25fps options, changing the 30fps to the NTSC-standard 29.97fps, adding levels on the screen, sound sampling is being bumped from 44.1KHz to 48KHz, new histograms, and more.

So, “mid-March” seems to be the drop-date, nice and specific. I don’t own a 5D Mark II, nor do I shoot video, but I still think this is a very solid set of promises, and well worth spending the next couple weeks eagerly awaiting.

More as it comes…

Olympus’ New PEN: E-PL1

So, if you read any of the same blogs I do, you’ll have already read about this many times by now, but for those of you who haven’t, or just really want my input on the matter, Oly announced a third sibling in the PEN line-up today.

This new one, the E-PL1, is already being billed as “the affordable PEN,” although in fact it’s the most mainstream of the three that sets it apart. It adds a pop-up flash, and retains the E-P2′s wonderful support for that hot shoe-mounted EVF. The core specs remain in the usual ballpark: 12.3 megapixels on a 4/3 sensor, in-body IS, art filters, and 720p HD video (now with a dedicated record button. Ooh, shiny).

The major changes really are in the design, which doesn’t really sacrifice anything to looks (although a Mr Charlie Sorrel over at Wired seems to be of quite the opposite opinion), with this camera clearly being the true entry-level PEN we’ve been waiting to see ever since it became clear the E-P1 wasn’t gunning for a pro market.

How can I tell? It’s the controls on the rear here. Gone are the “advanced” jog wheels, and enter a few buttons which leave it looking…. yup, like a modern point and shoot. Go ahead, click the image there to see them large. Again, and maybe it’s just my familiarity and love of the E-3 (itself widely known for having a friggin lot of buttons), but I’ll have to disagree with Mr. Sorrel’s assessment of this being a button-heavy mess here too. It’s controls are clearly designed to provide a smooth transition from high-end point and shoots.

Anyway, we’ll have more to come on this shooter soon, but, if you don’t need jog wheels and have been eyeing the Pen system waiting for a cheaper option, it looks like your time is finally coming.

It’s The Future: More DSLRs, IN SPACE!

It’s the future, people. How can I tell? I can tell because we keep sending cameras I can actually buy into space!

Firstly, I remember right after buying my Olympus E-3 (I call it “Leon”) that Olympus sent some E-3s and lenses into space in a joint effort with JAXA. They’re now part of a project on the international space station.

Then, some enterprising MIT students sent a Canon Powershot A470 into shallow space in a cooler. A friggin’ cooler!

And now, our very own NASA is upgrading it’s D2xs to Nikon’s new standard flagship, the D3s. Imaging Resource has a press release saying they’ve ordered 11 of’em. So take that, naysayers and fence-sitters, whether or not you feel the D3 was as big a refresh as you’d expected, it’s big enough to convince NASA. And they shot the moon with a rocket, so you know they need their toys to be tough.

Now, since it’s now the Future, where are my moving sidewalks? Come on already!

Raw Footage and the Lensbaby Composer

A Friday special, from the dark corners of our footage folder, the Lensbaby Composer! Representing the newest of Lensbaby’s optical solutions the Composer features a ball-joint method for orienting the “sweet spot” and a true barrel-focus system, along with their new swappable optics (which we move to call ‘swaptics,’ you can have that off us, Lensbaby) which let you choose how much toy camera effect you want your Lensbaby to yield.

Why You Need To Photowalk

Photowalks = Sexy, Try and Deny It

We didn’t see you out at the last photowalk (except you, Tony, we appreciated seeing you.) And you know what, you really missed out. Check out that shot above. Check out the shots below. We really want to see you out this coming Tuesday. Don’t worry if you don’t think you’re very good or you don’t have fancy equipment, we don’t care. You want help and advice? We’ll give it, gladly. It’s about a love for photography, no matter how you do it.

Thanks again to Erin and Jeff. Shots below from Nikon’s D3 and my trusty Olympus E-3.

: Photowalks = Sexy, Try and Deny It

Olympus E-P1 Reviewed (And Also, Reviewed)

Olympus’ ‘Digital Pen’ E-P1 makes a resurgence this past week with a couple notable reviews showing up. DPReview has of course weighed in with their usual detail-oriented approach (the gem of which is they reviewed the two lenses, for those wondering how the 14-42mm and 17mm pancake weigh in), and DCResource takes the other tact and reviews it from a day-to-day use standpoint. A lot of points are made that basically boil down to “it’s a consumer camera”, which I kinda shrug off because, well, it is rather consumer-oriented. As my design prof used to tell me “it is what it i.” I, personally, still dig what it is, and still remain confident the image quality bests my E-3 (if not the weather-proofiness).

Olympus Updates Master, Shows No Love for E-3

Olympus has updated its Master software to include the new e-Portrait and Art Filter controls in the software. Except you still have to have a camera that could use these in the first place, in a bit of software lockdown all too familiar after their deal with pano-stitching only working on certain xD cards. So, if you don’t own an E-P1 yet, this is a pretty unexciting update. There might be something in it for you E-P1, E-30,E-620, and E-450 owners, though.

To get the update, make sure you have Master installed (it comes with all Olympus cameras), then make sure you’re connected to the internet, go to Help-> Update Software and follow the instructions.

Olympus E-P1 on Raw Footage

12.3 megapixels, full 4/3 sensor, better ISO performance than my E-3 thanks to the TruePic V processor (which apparently lets them use a weaker AA filter and handle UV cut-off in a way where lavendar flowers don’t look blue anymore), art modes, E-Portrait, digital level (dual axis), RAW, industry-acclaimed JPEG engine, boffo build, blah blah blah. It’s the Olympus E-P1. A “Digital Pen.” It’s neat. As heck. Nick and I are using one tonight. Field report to follow.

Where All Da White Lenses At?

So, as some of you may or may not know, I’m a fairly large NIN fan. I’m not to the level of obsessive tell-you-which-halo-is-which-by-number, but I dig them. They’re currently on tour with Jane’s Addiction (presumably so the tour can be called “NIN/JA”, because, well, ninjas rock). I saw them recently here in Indy. This all matters for ye olde day job because NIN and Jane’s Addiction got together and made the best decision in the history of modern concerts: they decided to allow recording equipment in. From Trent Reznor, lead man for NIN:

In an effort to allow you to document your experience at the upcoming NIN/JA performances, we will be relaxing our photo/video policy (5/7/09 – 6/12/09 only). Fans will be permitted to bring in their personal cameras, video and audio recorders. This is not not an open door policy for any and all recording devices. Please try to use common sense as we are trying to ensure this experience is great for everyone attending. Don’t show up with a television crew and a recording studio.
To be clear: this applies only to the North American NIN/JA tour.

Examples:

I have a nice SLR camera and lens and I want to shoot photos. YES.
I have a high-quality camcorder and want to record video / audio. YES.
I have a shoulder-mounted broadcast-quality video camera and want to shoot the show. NO.
I have a flash-based audio recorder with a stereo hand-held mic and want to record the show. YES.
I have a full Pro-Tools rig running off a generator and want to record the show. NO.
I don’t have any recording devices but I’d kind of like to make out with Ilan. NO (probably).

Now, this was about the most exciting thing ever. So, I threw my 14-54mm in ym girlfriend’s purse, smacked my 50-200mm on my E-3, and nervously paraded up to the security gate… where they didn’t bat an eye and let me straight in. But I was shocked to be the only friggin’ personI saw with a half-way pro rig? Where was everybody? Seriously?

OK, mind you, it did rain like heck during the show, which probably discouraged a lot of shooting (although not me, man I love that camera). I was still sad to see so few of you out there shooting. Anyway, pictures below:

back to roberts imaging ›