GigaPan EPIC Pro, Due in April (better upgrade your RAM)
Looks like GigaPan is finally releasing their DSLR model (due in April for $900). Attach your DSLR to this sucker and be prepared to make gigapixel-sized images that’ll surely turn your computer into a smoldering pile of ashes.
The GigaPan Epic Pro can handle most DSLRs and lens combos of up to 10 pounds. It’ll also take multiple images when in one position, so now gigapixel HDR images are possible.
I’m curious just how fast this will take a group of images. I can see this being used for some interesting landscape photography (though I can see that moving water and clouds and the like could be a problem). Still, it’s not that expensive and might be worth renting to give it a try. I’d love to take a gigapixel image out of my window.
New camera sees like the human eye. Costs $140k!
TechOn is reporting that a company has produced a camera that can record the same colors that the human eye can see.
“We confirmed that the camera can take pictures with colors in the full visible color gamut with a color difference of less than 1.”
I suppose this is where things are going in the Land of Digital Capture. But at $140k for a 10.6 megapixel camera and no monitor or printer that can even come close to displaying that color gamut (at least ones that we can afford), I don’t think we’ll be seeing this kind of tech in consumer products anytime soon. Seriously, this is a great bit of news. Capturing RAW images with the same color gamut as the human eye is what we are all waiting for. Actually, wake me when they get the dynamic range to match that of the human eye. Then we’re talking!
Read the whole article here.
Veer’s Brilliant Idea
According to PDN, Veer has had the great idea putting higher priced images in the same collection as cheaper similar images.
The above two images, while not being exactly the same (different photographers and different contrast and lighting), are similar enough to be considered the same image. The one on the right, for low res usage is priced at $49. The one on the right is, now hold on to your hat, priced at $1 for the same size.
If you just screamed “WTF?” then you’re not alone. This is why the stock photo business is going to hell in a FedEx box.
Go over to PDN for the full poop.
Ritz Camera files for Chapter 11
According to Reuters, Ritz Camera is filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy today. According to the story:
“Ritz said it will seek court permission to obtain $85 million of financing to keep operating while it restructures.”
With both Nikon and Canon being the “largest unsecured creditors,” I sure hope they can secure this new funding.
This is not a good thing, both for the economy and for us photographers. I’ve used Ritz to purchase a lot of my equipment and have had wonderful shopping experiences with them.
Good luck, Ritz.
Full story here.
Photoshelter Image Buyer survey
Photoshelter has posted their most recent image buyer survey. You can sign up to get it free here.
Having just downloaded it, I opened to a random page and found this:
Looks like I’ll be redesigning my website soon!
Phillip Toledano: Hope and Fear
More work from Mr. Toledano. This series is strangely compelling to me, like some sci-fi flick gone wrong… or right.
Edward Steichen: The Condé Nast Years
Edward Steichen: The Condé Nast Years at ICP, January 16th-May 3rd 2009.
“Edward Steichen: In High Fashion features the finest examples of his fashion and celebrity portraiture made for Vogue and Vanity Fair. Much of the exhibition is drawn from the Steichen Archive at Condé Nast, which contains more than two thousand original vintage prints. A select group of prints from the George Eastman House, International Museum of Photography and Film in Rochester will be shown only at ICP.”
More info here.
This Is Japan!
This is Japan! from Eric Testroete on Vimeo.
This guy made this video from all the pix he took on his trip to Japan. Great 7-minute video. The music really makes this.
America: The Gift Shop
Photographer/Artist Phillip Toledano has opened up his gift store for America; a place to pick up a memento of the past eight years.