A few more impressions from the Berlinale can be found in the “press images” section on the main website.

Mr. Martin Wieser (Techn. Representative Retail) gave a very detailed presentation about the stunning features and technical developments all combined in the new top-model that will be available at your local store around April 2012. The main features and specs are of course already on the web since several month but he explained in much more detail how this new camera is trying to make life of the Photographer more easy. Here, I would like to mention only the very sophisticated (adjustable to the shooting  situation) AF, face recognition, freely programmable buttons, the Ethernet-port, the clean and clear menu-structure (there are many, many new functions) and the low-light capability (ISO 6400 is really useable now).

After one minute, I could use it like my own cameras. All the buttons and switches are right where I expect them to be. To learn about all the functions and new features will take much longer, that’s for sure (Like this the camera will stay “new and exciting” for a long time). With a price tag of around 6k Eur it is clearly aimed at the professional photographer, who will find a camera that allows to work fast and efficient in practically any shooting situation.

The resolution of the full-frame CMOS sensor is 18 Megapixel. Why not 20+, 30 or even more ? The answer was interesting: “The current portfolio of EF-lenses would not allow for many lenses to really show the image quality of such a sensor”. Many mainly newer  L-series lenses are capable to stand up to the demands of such sensors. As there are still many “bread and butter” lenses out there that would only give a “sharp image” in the central area of the image, the resolution is “limited to 18 Megapixel” at the moment. This will change in the future.

Enough words, let pictures speak :

I would like to thank Canon Europe, Calumet Photographic Berlin and the whole Central City Studios Berlin team for making this interesting event possible.

Stay tuned …

Looking forward to shoot again in half a year at the next Fashion Week.

Stay tuned …

Stay tuned …

The last few month have been busy and I did not manage to take care about this blog as much as I should have. First of all, this is going to change a bit next year, second I want to thank all of you who left feedback and commented on various posts !

fashion shooting, November 2011

For now, I want to wish all of you a MERRY CHRISTMAS and a few peaceful days with Family and friends,

Hope to “see you” soon again here.

Peter

After the recent presentation of Toshiba’s “FlashAir” SD card with built-in LAN functionality now SanDisk is launching a counterattack. Instead of developing its own wireless cards, the company teamed up with Eye-Fi to sell co-branded wireless SD cards to European customers. The cards will be available in 4GB and 8GB sizes, and are basically Eye-Fi cards with a SanDisk logo. At the moment neither prices nor release dates are known.

As soon as the first cards are available I will test them. In the past Eye-Fi cards were reportedly sometimes difficult to operate and not too reliable. In addition a CF-version would make the range of products much more interesting.

It’s already late, it’s raining cats and dogs, the parking feels like being a mile away, the (press-)photo job is boring to say the least. But anyhow the ambitious photographer wants to get the best possible image. So, let’s get back to the car and pick up the wide-angle lens that was forgotten before. Trying to avoid the deepest puddles I rushed back to the parking. Opening the trunk, ripping the backpack open, grabbing the lens, a quick click on the power door locks and back to the event. Stop. This is where the misfortune happened. You will see later.

After two more hours that appeared like five to me and with only a miserable amount of photographs on chip, I decided to call it a day and get back to the car. Time for leisure-time. It was dark outside and raining even more. With a quick move I grabbed the backpack and then it happened: The camera with the lens attached fell down on the road! The backpack was left open – not noticed by myself in the dark.

Extremely annoyed about my own stupidity and trying to digest what happened I inspected the damage: The camera itself is working in principle, only the AF-system does not allow me to select all focus points. The cost-estimate from the service center will show if this will become an insurance case. (Having an all-risk insurance for one’s photo and computer gear pays off, if you make your living as a photographer).

By now, I know that the financial damage was kept in limit. In any case, lesson learned !

So much for today … Stay tuned !

For the Photographer this means a couple of challenges: Converging lines, even the widest wide-angle lens sometimes can’t capture the full scenario. My approach is to focus on specific parts of the structure and to use composite images. This technique seems very adequate in this kind of location, as static motives are easily captured stitching together a set of frames in order to obtain the full image.

The following images were shot in the Church of St. Ouen in Rouen, in northwestern France. It is famous for both its architecture and its large, unaltered Cavaillé-Coll organ, which Charles-Marie Widor described as “a Michelangelo of an organ”. Built on a similar scale to nearby Rouen Cathedral, it is, along with church of Saint Maclou, one of the principal Gothic monuments of Rouen. The church was originally built as the abbey church of Saint Ouen for the Benedictine Order, beginning in 1318 and interrupted by the Hundred Years’ War and sacked and badly damaged during the Harelle. It was completed in the 15th century in the Flamboyant style.

The last image shows the Rouen Cathedral (French: Cathédrale Notre-Dame de Rouen), a Roman Catholic Gothic cathedral in Rouen, in northwestern France. It is the seat of the Archbishop of Rouen and Normandy. The construction started in 1202 and was finished in 1880. With a total height of 151 m, it was the tallest in the world between 1876 and 1880.

The amount of old airplanes and helicopters on display is impressive. I can strongly recommend a visit to the museum (check out http://www.luftfahrtmuseum-finowfurt.de for more info).

Stay tuned …