Cameras

Colorful and unusual patterns pictures are what photographer Erno-Erik Raitanen calls self-portraits. The pictures, which Raitanen says are more like photograms, involve no camera, some photographic film, and bacteria. The series, called Bacteriograms, is a display of Raitanen’s own body bacteria cultivated on the gelatin surface of film negatives, much like bacteria is grown in Petri dishes in a laboratory setting. “I have gathered the bacteria samples from my own body,” he says. “The bacteria consumed the film surface producing photographic images that are entirely created by a chance. I have been removed from the process but, at the same time, the images are a product of my body; self-portraits.” According to Raitanen, the Bacteriograms do not show the bacteria themselves, but rather show traces of bacterial activity. “These images are just a piece of degraded and therefore deconstructed film, which reveals the components that create the illusion we perceive as a reflection of the reality in the photographic image,” he says. “With this work I want to raise questions about representation and reality; the nature and the place of [the] photographic medium in contemporary society.” For more of Erno-Erik’s work, check out his website. (via Photojojo) Image credits: Images by Erno-Erik Raitanen and used with permission

The announcement of the PhaseOne IQ2 series introduced a clear functionality based stratification of the IQ line up of digital backs. The PhaseOne IQ280 still reigns supreme providing the highest resolution single capture of the bunch. The bigger and more interesting changes however, are within the IQ260 “series” of backs. Now there are two different versions of a 60MP full-frame medium format digital sensor; both of these two versions offer their own vastly different “skill sets” for different types of photography. Firstly, the IQ260 version introduces exposure times of up to one hour (the same as on the oft lauded P45+) in a 60MP variant housed within the superior chassis of the IQ series. This development could be said to be somewhat expected since there had to be an eventual successor to the P45+ and although it took a while, early results show that it was worth the wait. The other more curious version of the IQ260 is the new PhaseOne IQ260 Achromatic housing a fully monochromatic full-frame medium format sensor. It is, with a bit of irony, worth noting that imaging which started as grains silver-nitrate yielding black and white images has progressed through color films, back to black and white digital (a la early cameras), through color digital and is now seeing a resurgence in interest in digital black and white imaging. We have certainly come full circle seeing within the last year the Leica M9 Monochrome, Red Epic-M Monochrome, and now the IQ260 Achromatic. The first “modern” digital back of note for monochromatic imaging was the PhaseOne Achromatic+ (based on a 39MP chip) produced for Bear Images. PhaseOne now brings a far more versatile offering to the table for all fields from photographic to scientific — the new IQ260 Achromatic can and will have some far reaching implications. However, none of this is the purpose of this article. This article, is in fact (as the name suggests) about color. This may seem to be a peculiar subject to be discussing with regards to a monochromatic sensor like that housed in the PhaseOne IQ260, but in fact it is a subject which this camera can open up some new possibilities in. Monochromatic sensor harken back to B&W film in that they allow for the use of colored filters in front of the lens and sensor to achieve varying effects both stylistically and technically with their varying filtration. Early color images were created by taking black and white images filtered through Red, Green, and Blue filters. In this form, the process desired to create a perfect still image in color and was achievable with subjects who were capable of standing still for a long enough time for all three filters to be utilized. A difficult task, to say the least. Other examples show what happens when the subject moves and causes the 3 images to be mis-aligned when combined, in these images the differing colors of the filters will show through as colored “ghosts” around areas where there is movement in the image between frames or filters. Robert S. Harris invented a device called the “Harris Shutter” for Kodak. This video shows a some-what simplified version of this device: This gave rise to the “Harris Shutter Effect” which has been popularized through facsimile’s of the process which digital cameras and Photoshop have allowed us to make. To truly complete this process, images must be taken with the varying color filters in front of a black and white emulsion or sensor and then processed for the desired effect. I mention the Harris Shutter Effect because it is exhibited in the image above, and the images that we will be looking at further and discussing. There is a download link bottom of this article which contains the RAW PhaseOne IQ260 Achromatic IIQ files, labeled as to which filter was used with them. This images are my property and for personal use only and may not be used in print or online for any other purpose. When you look at the channels of any RGB color image, you will

B&H has the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake lens for $149 (reg. $199) now through June 29, 2013. I love this little lens and think it’s a great addition to any Canon DSLR; however, it’s particularly pleasant on APS-C cameras with its 64mm equivalent field of view. Check it out here at B&H Photo. Copyright/DMCA Notice: The RSS entry was originally published on Photography Bay and is protected by copyright laws. It is unlawful to (a) edit, modify, alter, or create derivative works of the text, content or links supplied by Photography Bay, (b) use any robot, spider, scraper, other device or manual process to monitor or copy any content from the Photography Bay RSS feed, (c) sell, retransmit or commercially exploit the Photography Bay RSS feed, headlines or content in any manner except as expressly permitted in writing by authorized representatives of Photography Bay, (d) incorporate advertising into or the placement of advertising associated with or targeted towards the Photography Bay RSS feed or (e) use the Photography Bay RSS feed for any unlawful purpose or in violation of the rights of others. RSSID#794326 Related posts: Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM Pancake Lens In Stock Canon Rebel T4i and EF 40mm f/2.8 Pancake Lens Inbound Canon 60D w/ 18-135mm IS Lens for $829 – Deal Alert

Yahoo! has announced its plans to acquire popular photo blogging platform Tumblr for $1.1 billion in a move that has many photographers who use the service worried. In an announcement on her own Tumblr page, Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer said "we promise not to screw it up," and in a nod to Tumblr's particular style, accompanied the post with an animated GIF. Yahoo! seems to be acknowledging that Tumblr is a very different property with a different user-base than Yahoo! on its own has. In that Tumblr post, Mayer said: "Tumblr is... (read more)

What is it about GoPro cameras that make them so appetizing to wild animals? In February, we showed you this crazy clip of a lion munching on a GoPro mounted on a miniature robotic tank. Now, here's a Grizzly trying to make a snack out of naturalist and wildlife documentarian Brad Josephs' GoPro, which he had set up on the Alaska Peninsula to get footage for the BBC's Great Bear Stakeout. "I had a young bear actually chew on the camera," Josephs says about the below clip. "Amazingly there was no damage to the camera!" The... (read more)

From Yahoo: SUNNYVALE, Calif. & NEW YORK--(BUSINESS WIRE)-- Yahoo! Inc. (NASDAQ: YHOO) and Tumblr announced today that they have reached a definitive agreement for Yahoo! to acquire Tumblr. Per the agreement and our promise not to screw it up, Tumblr will be independently operated as a separate business. David Karp will remain CEO. The product, service and brand will continue to be defined and developed separately with the same Tumblr irreverence, wit, and commitment to empower creators. With more than 300 million monthly unique visitors and 120,000 signups every day, Tumblr is one of the fastest-growing media networks in the world. Tumblr sees 900 posts per second (!) and 24 billion minutes spent on site each month. On mobile, more than half of Tumblr's users are using the mobile app and do an average of 7 sessions per day. Its tremendous popularity and engagement among creators, curators and audiences of all ages brings a significant new community of users to the Yahoo! network. The combination of Tumblr+Yahoo! is expected to grow Yahoo!'s audience by 50 percent to more than a billion monthly visitors, and to grow traffic by approximately 20 percent. The deal offers unique opportunities for both companies. Tumblr can deploy Yahoo!'s personalization technology and search infrastructure to help its users discover creators, bloggers, and content they'll love. In turn, Tumblr brings 50 billion blog posts (and 75 million more arriving each day) to Yahoo!'s media network and search experiences. The two companies will also work together to create advertising opportunities that are seamless and enhance the user experience. Total consideration is approximately $1.1 billion, substantially all of which is payable in cash. "Tumblr is redefining creative expression online," said Yahoo! CEO Marissa Mayer. "On many levels, Tumblr and Yahoo! couldn't be more different, but, at the same time, they couldn't be more complementary. Yahoo is the Internet's original media network. Tumblr is the Internet's fastest-growing media frenzy. Both companies are homes for brands - established and emerging. And, fundamentally, Tumblr and Yahoo! are both all about users, design, and finding surprise and inspiration amidst the everyday." "I've long held the view that in all things art and design, you can feel the spirit and demeanor of the creator. That's why it was no surprise to me that David Karp is one of the nicest, most empathetic people I've ever met. He's also one of the most perceptive, capable entrepreneurs I've ever worked with," continued Mayer. "David's respect for Tumblr's community of creators is awesome. I'm absolutely delighted to have him join our team." David Karp, CEO of Tumblr, addressed the Tumblr community, "Our team isn't changing. Our roadmap isn't changing. And our mission — to empower creators to make their best work and get it in front of the audience they deserve — certainly isn't changing. But we're elated to have the support of Yahoo! and their team who share our dream to make the Internet the ultimate creative canvas. Tumblr gets better faster with more resources to draw from." The transaction, which is subject to customary closing conditions, is expected to close in the second half of the year.

Photographer Nick Wesson experienced the power of the Internet first hand this past weekend after he managed to track down the subject of a photo he found in a thrift store camera — in a matter of hours. Wesson is a photographer and camera collector based in North East England. On Saturday, he was browsing through a local thrift shop when he came across a Pentax Spotmatic with a roll of undeveloped film still loaded in the camera. A Pentax Spotmatic After purchasing the camera, curiosity got the best of him, so Wesson removed the film and t ook it to his local Asda (a super market chain owned by Walmart) to have it developed. When the film was returned, most of the shots were ruined by light leaks and deterioration, but a few of them showed pictures that had survived the years. A couple of them showed a young boy and girl. Upon closer inspection, Wesson noticed that they were both wearing sweaters that read “Dornoch Pirmary School”: Dornoch is a school in the Scottish Highlands — about 7 hours and 356 miles away from Wesson’s home and the thrift shop where the camera was discovered. Poking around on the web, Wesson found a Facebook page for Dornoch Primary School that was set up by parents of Dornoch students. The page only has 69 “Likes,” but Wesson went ahead and posted the photograph anyway. His note read: Hi. Apologies for posting on here but thought the best place to start. I’ve just bought a camera from a charity shop in Guisborough in NE England. It had a film in it so out of curiosity, I got it developed. It’s been in the camera some time so there were some faults but it had photos of children wearing Dornoch Primary School jumpers. One of the pictures is attached. I wondered if people could share the picture and if anyone knows the people in the pics, I’d be happy to forward the pictures on. Two hours after the post was made, a woman named Sarah Richardson left a couple of comments on the post. It turns out the little girl in the photograph is all grown up now! What!!! That is nuts!! Yes that’s me in my younger days… I’m phoning my mum now! [#] Hi Nick, thanks very much for posting on here, I have absolutely no idea how the photos ended up in a charity shop in England! I can’t seem to find your Facebook profile on here but if you PM me I can give you a forwarding address for the photos. It just shows you the power of Facebook- 2 hours and you found the people concerned! Thanks again! [#] Wesson tells us that he’s now in touch with Richardson and is planning to investigate how the camera ended up so far from its original home. Image credit: Pentax Spotmatic by AndysRollei

Our friends and collaborators over at DxOMark have recently been looking into how lenses score on specific cameras, and the latest model they've examined is the Nikon D600. In a three-part article published at the end of last week, they investigate how 70 lenses from Carl Zeiss, Nikon, Samyang, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina measure up on the D600's 24MP sensor. The article also compares how given lenses score on the D600 compared to the 36MP D800 and 24MP D3X. Click through for links to the three parts of the article.

B&H has the HGST 4TB Deskstar 3.5" SATA III Internal Desktop Hard Drive available for $189.99 with free shipping. Regularly $249.99.

Stabilized lenses are increasing by the day. Tamron is pushing the stabilized envelope with their 24-70mm f2.8 stabilized lens, giving it optical image stabilization, code word "VC" for vibration correction. Neither the Nikon nor the Canon competing lenses offer this, yet they cost 1.5x+ the price of the Tamron. Can Tamron "disrupt" this workhorse lens focal range and beat Canon+Nikon at their own game? With that as a preface, the Tamron 24-70mm f2.8 Di VC lens has received a six page review at dpreview. If you are in a hurry, or running out of battery or out of signal range, you can jump to the conclusions before jumping to conclusions. Did it receive an Olympic medal or was it referred to the Alchemists? We won't leak the light here! The review was just posted but discussion will pick up after a bit in the dpreview comments. For more opinions on this lens, check its previous (and future) reviews in the Tamron Lens Reviews list. As of the time of writing, the 24-70 VC goes for $1300 in the Canon and Nikon and Sony Alpha (new arrival!) SLR mounts at Amazon and Adorama and B&H Photo. Pentax K-mount photographers are sadly without this option :( CORRECTION: the Alpha version of this lens is now in-stock and shipping at B&H Photo! For the latest camera specials and in-stock alerts, check the Cameras Deals blog. Republication of this RSS feed on any website or blog or app is prohibited and violates the terms of use of this RSS feed. This text comes from the RSS feed of 1001noisycameras.com. This full-text RSS feed is provided as a service to our loyal readers for their personal use. Republication fees start at $1000 per month and will be billed to violating websites.