Articles from Jaron Schneider

WINNER: Bob Mishkin! Be a winner yourself by using the promotional code “FSTOPPERS” at www.promotesystems.com and get 10% off your entire purchase when buying a Promote Control for the next 2 weeks!

Ok so many of you will not be fond of this technique. That is totally your preference. But for those of you who like good HDR photos, the guys are PHLEARN show a method that will teach you a method to get faux-HDR final images that will make some of your images go from good to great.

You might have heard some rumors spinning around earlier today regarding Lightroom 5, and those have been confirmed by Adobe in a Beta release of their latest iteration of the product. The Lightroom 5 Beta comes just 13 months after the availability of Lightroom 4, this time adding more options like a more advanced healing brush, radial gradient tool, smart preview, and high DPI support on Windows machines.

Who doesn't like a little artsy nudity now and again? The guys at PHLEARN certainly aren't against it in their latest tutorial that teaches one of the many methods for this type of photography.

Wanting to differentiate their affordable lines from their super high end products, Redrock Micro is going to offer a line of premium products under a new label: Redrock Black. The accessories will be made specifically for Canon EOS Cinema, Sony F and FS series, Red cameras, and Blackmagic cinema cameras.

While walking the floor at WPPI, there was one item we kept seeing over and over again: the MeFoto tripod. It seemed like everyone had one, and we had never heard of the brand. So we spoke with the guys at the MeFoto booth who agreed to let us test them out. Now after using all three sizes of MeFoto tripods, I can see why they were everywhere: they’re excellent.

Chinese company DEO-Tech has apparently developed a lens adapter that allows Leica M lenses to autofocus when attached to a Sony E-mount. They did this by first mounting a Lecia lens into a Contax G Biogon 28mm f/2, and when they use that with their Contax G - NEX AF adapter it becomes a lens usable on a Sony NEX.

Earlier this week at NAB, Benro extended its video product line by adding a Heavy Duty 3-leg folding base to the classic A38F and A48F models making them ideal for a variety of video shooters. Also new to the lineup are two twist lock versions giving the customer their choice of lock for both the S2 and S4 video monopods. The Benro monopods appear to compete directly with the popular Manfrotto video monopod.

For those photographers who do most of their work on the move, finding light-weight equipment that can really adapt to different situations is a tall order. Sometimes, even the most compact tripod or light stand still won’t fit into spaces or stay out of the way. The gratuitously named Nasty Clamps aim to amend that situation with their attach-anywhere attitude.

In addition to announcing their freakishly tiny cinema camera, Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic Production Camera 4K, a new high resolution 4K digital film camera with an innovative large Super 35 size sensor with professional global shutter, combined with precision EF mount optics and high quality Apple ProRes 422 (HQ) file recording for $3,995.

Blackmagic Design today announced Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera, a pocket-sized digital cinema camera that includes full-size features such as Super 16mm sized 1080HD sensor, super wide 13 stops of dynamic range, built in SD card recorder for Apple ProRes, lossless compressed CinemaDNG RAW capture and active Micro Four Thirds lens mount, all very attractive price of $995.

In addition to a new cage for the GoPro, Redrock Micro today announced the all-new One Man Crew, a new class of motorized 'parabolic slider' that operates unattended and delivers elegant cinematic motion. The One Man Crew is being touted as particularly effective for individuals and small crews who want their footage to stand out and have the look of being shot by a professional camera crew.

Redrock Micro announced today its new line of Cobalt Cages and accessories for the GoPro cameras, including support for the new GoPro HERO3. The Cobalt Cage delivers an aluminum housing that encases the camera for protection, mounting and rigging support, and extensive accessory attachments.

The Phottix Mitros TTL Flash was announced in early 2012 but saw another full year of development before it was finally officially released in March of 2013. That kind of time spent building a product really resonates with me, and I was expecting a finished product that was going to stand up to the rigors of daily use. I was not disappointed.

ENDS TOMORROW: We have teamed up with our friends at SquareSpace to give away three one year subscriptions to their awesome service. That means three of you are going to win brand new websites, and all you have to do is show us what you would use as your website lead image.

NAB (National Association of Broadcasters tradeshow) is this week and Tiffen just announced their new Steadicam Fawcett Exovest for the show. It is a semi-rigid exoskeletal vest that transfers the weight and torque of supporting a Steadicam system into anatomically appropriate areas, without interfering with natural movement.

Photoshelter is hosting a webinar featuring retoucher Kristina Sherk this week, and to advertise the webinar they posted an animated gif showing before and after Sherk got her hands on the image. I was shocked, as Sherk not only easily erased 10 years off the model, but even more amazingly did it without making it look fake.

Samsung today announced a WiFi version of the Samsung GALAXY Camera, building on their previously released GALAXY Camera 3G. Centered on the Android Jellybean 4.1 platform, the GALAXY Camera is a loaded point-and-shoot camera with a familiar, intuitive user interface and access to Android applications from the Google Play market. The GALAXY Camera is set to retail for $450.

With the recent push into mobile editing software like Adobe Photoshop Touch, it's no surprise that additional support in various forms will start to crop up. Today Wacom released a new Bamboo stylus designed specifically for smartphone and tablet editing, which is a plus for anyone who lacks dexterity in their fingertips (like myself).

Award-winning action sports production company and lifestyle brand Teton Gravity Research (TGR) has become the first to acquire the new Gyro-Stabilized Systems (GSS) C520 system, the most advanced five-axis gyro-stabilized camera platform in the world. Mounted on the underside of a helicopter, the 4K bird's-eye-view footage is remarkably stable.

It's time... YouTube wants to thank you for all your great entries. YouTube finally has enough videos to begin selecting a winner after years of collecting videos at the rate of 70 hours per minute, it's finally over. "We've been thrilled with all of the diverse, creative entries we've seen so far, and we can't wait to begin the process of selecting the best video. We'll be announcing the winner in 10 years."

Zeiss lenses have been around for over 120 years, but admittedly "product design has never been the foremost factor." In designing their new high-end Distagon lenses coming to the market at the end of 2013, Zeiss wanted to really consider aesthetics in the project. "The newly-defined design is intended to reflect the lenses’ unique character and make Zeiss lenses truly unmistakable in the future."

Phottix has released a new product designed to fix one continual issue for photographers that love shooting with umbrella modifiers: though they are easy to transport and use and fast to set up, because of the inherent design they are almost impossible to tilt on a traditional light stand. To rectify this issue, Phottix made Multi Boom Flash Bracket.

Adobe bought Behance a few months ago in what was said to have been a move to expand the social functionality of the Creative Cloud. Today Behance posted a blog about what is to be expected from them in 2013 post-acquisition.

New Zealand based company Syrp Ltd, has officially launched the Genie, a new film equipment accessory set to "revolutionize motion controlled time-lapse." Following a hugely successful product launch on Kickstarter.com early last year, the Genie is one of those few products that is actually making it to market.

In addition to announcing the brand new Rebel SL1, Canon also upgraded the the popular T4i with the all new Rebel T5i. To be honest, I can't see all that much different between the T4i and T5i. Same processor, same megapixel count, same ISO range, and same frames per second performance. Hm.

All those rumors of a new camera body from Canon have come to fruition in the new DSLR called the Rebel SL1. Boasting a 18 megapixel DIGIC 5 CMOS sensor, 1080 full HD video capture and compatible with STM lenses, Canon's latest tiny consumer DSLR barely registers on scales, coming in at a lowly 0.8 pounds. How's that for travel friendly?

Variable aperture lenses are generally scoffed at by anyone who has been shooting for a few years, myself included. That said, collectively variable aperture lenses probably make up a vast number of sales for lens manufacturers. They aren’t necessarily bad lenses, but it can be tricky to select the quality from the lousy. So how does Sigma’s second lens that carries its new design, the 17-70mm f/2.8-4 lens, fare? Actually, really well.

Lowel makes a lot of lighting products, some of which like the Tota have been used in mobile pro video for what seems like ages. Lowel has completed a line of LED light panels that are designed to bring studio quality to productions of all types and sizes. They recently announced the Lowel Prime LED Model 800 to go along with the Model 200 and 400.

Spider Holster camera holsters have become really popular among event and wedding photographers because they free up their hands and keeps straps from encumbering movement. Their latest offering unveiled at WPPI Las Vegas is the Spider Monkey, which will hold your accessories like a speedlight in the same handy fashion.

Announced over a year ago at CES 2012, Phottix has priced and released their Mitros TTL Speedlight for Canon cameras today, with the Nikon and Sony versions coming in May. It's priced at $349 MSRP, but I expect to see it from dealers for around $300.

Since I reviewed the Sigma 35mm f/1.4 last year, I have been hit with a barrage of inquiries as to if it was better to grab the Sigma 35mm f/1.4, the Canon 35mm f/2 IS or spend some real cash and spring for the Canon 35mm f/1.4 L. After using all three lenses for the past couple months, I'm finally ready to name my favorite. And you know what? This one was closer than you might think.

In late January we announced three new lenses to be released by Sigma. Sigma just released the pricing and availability of those lenses. The updated 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM lens will be available in late March for $499 and the 30mm f/2.8 DN and 19mm f/2.8 DN lenses, which are available for both Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-Mount camera systems, will be also be available in late March for $199.

The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 lens is now available for your purchasing pleasure, refilling the stock that's going fast. If you want it for your Nikon, you can get it now, and get it you should, because it's freaking amazing.

Leica is known as a kind of Mercedez when it comes to cameras. It captures images like any camera will, but it's the name and reputation (and the quality that comes with it) you get a Leica for. That and the optics. Leica fans can rejoice over the opening of a store in Miami that showcases the full Leica photography and sport optics product portfolio, and it's got a pretty slick interior to boot.