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House, MD Season Finale Being Filmed On A Canon 5D Mark II

So, this has been going around the past few days, I just forgot to blog it earlier. But, all you Canon evangelists have already penciled this season’s finale for House, MD onto your calendars, right? I mean, it was shot entirely with a 5D Mark II, so I can’t imagine why you wouldn’t want to see it. (Also, does anyone remember which 1 series Canon that one patient who was the photographer and kept taking pictures of them all was? Anyone?)

That’s all, really. I mean, there’s already been a movie or two shot on a 5D Mark II, so it’s not quite as exciting news as it could be, but I suspect House is going to reach a few more eyeballs than the movies have so far.



Photowalk Rain or Shine

PF-THIN-88 Alllllllll right you impatient walkers, we’re getting up on this tomorrow evening. Unless there’s a monsoon downtown, we’re still meeting at the circle at 6PM. For those worried by light sprinkles, be not afraid -be equipped. Aquatech, Optech, and Hefty all have options to protect your gear.

To reiterate, we’ve got Jeff Penn of Nikon coming out carrying a bag of flash for us to pass around and highlight Nikon’s Creative Lighting system. The ineffable (not to be mistaken with infallible) Dawn is cajoling a model friend out, so we’ll not only be equipped for street portraiture, we’ll also have a subject -till about 7pm. After that, we might be left shooting (shudder) each other, or strangers.

MM. Strangers.

Quick recap: Memorial Circle, Tuesday August 11th, 6pm, Jeff Penn, CLS, Dawn’s hot friend till 7pm, pictures, rain, raingear, monkey-business.



What do you want your camera to do?

What do you want your camera to do?

I’ve asked this question thousands of times. The answers back are interesting as are the answerers. Some people know exactly what the want when they come into a camera shop, some act as if mystical forces drew them in and they are unwitting participants in the experience.

My least favorite answer to that question is the one most often replied. “Take pictures.”

Usually the answerer is not being intentionally obtuse, they just want guidance, and information and don’t know the options or how to express their needs.. The next few questions the salesperson asks are supposed to narrow down the buyers desires, and intentions. “What do you like to take pictures of?” or “Do you have kids or pets?” “Do they play sports?” “Do you already have (or, did you have) a camera?” Is this your first camera?” Your first digital camera?

I’m reminded of an old joke.

A man walks into a Doctor’s office and says, “Somethings wrong with me Doc. I hurt all over.”The Doctor asks a few questions to narrow down the information, but the patient doesn’t know what may have happened to him. Eventually the patient demonstrates by touching his forehead and immediately grimaces in pain, then he touches his knee to the same results, then his chest again the terrible pain. “The Doctor says that’s enough I know how to treat you.” “Whats wrong with me Doc?” says the patient. The Doctor answers, “You have a broken finger.”

The process of narrowing down a persons needs versus their preconceptions can be an enlightening experience for both seller and buyer. Because we listen and have experience here at Roberts they almost always leave with the camera that best suits their needs. If you are new to the process remember the we offer a free class with nearly every camera we sell.

Remember, if it hurts to push your shutter button you may have a broken finger.



Fourth Wall, Meet Breaking

So, I didn’t post anything yesterday, making it my first work day in quite some time without a post. And why? Easy: Writer’s Block.

I was wandering all over our page, looking at stuff, trying to find something I could expand on, but nothing was striking me. So, I finally manned it up and just logged in. And there’s this note saying “Ilford wide format paper, talk about Ilford wide format paper.” And, you know, rather than argue against how I’d even make that work as a post, I’m just going to run with it.

So, Ilford wide format paper, not to be mistaken for Epson wide format paper, I’m going to level with you, the last time I used Ilford it was in a darkroom, but, I do know I can buy their digital paper in “pearl” finish, which I know will be a “luster” or “semi-gloss” finish, which I’ve always liked more than pure gloss (prone to smudges and annoying reflected light) or matte (which always just seems kind of lifeless, I want my art to lie to me a little). And it claims instant dry ink setting, which I also like. Surely I’m not the only one alive who gets impatient watching a printer bring my image to life one pass at a time, right?

Ha, so there we go. Take that, persnickety little note.



Canon 5D Mark II

Yes, the rumours are correct.  The new Canon Digital SLR  camera, the EOS 5D Mk II, has begun shipping to dealers.  Here at Roberts we are going to move through our list as best we can.  Please be patient in that quantities are small and demand is high. Keep in mind that there is also a rebate program on Canon lenses and two other Canon digital slr cameras.  Roberts also stocks the complete line of Canon digital camera accessories.



Computer: Fire my Canon

Wired has this. It’s from Rob Galbraith’s site. And, darn it, we’re not going to miss out on talking about it, either. It seems there’ll be some software coming out next month that’ll let you Windows shooters using Canon’s software for tethered shooting to work it by imitating Star Trek captains. No, really. It uses WIndows voice recognition system built-into Windows, and then it uses that to operate the Canon software. The catch? You have to preface all commands with “Computer.” I mean, check out the video:


One of the people here in the office asked us why this’d be useful. Well, other than the ‘awesome’ factor of telling your camera what to do in the most literal way to date, how about the following:

You’re in your studio, your professional studio lighting glaring away like an artifical sun (assuming artificial suns have modeling lamps, that is). Your EOS is on your camera tripod (perhaps one of those Bogen Manfrotto tripods). You’ve got it pointed where you need it, but you’re not sure where you want your lights pointed and your model is getting impatient. Then, in a burse of inspiration, you run your video out to a TV so you can monitor shots in real time and you run over to your lights. You move one and shout for the computer to fire, which it does. You check. Too dark. You tell it to change your aperture and fire again. Perfect. Instant feedback with hands-free operation? Put me down for that.




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