Sigma 17-70mm F2.8- 4 DC MACRO OS HSM

The Sigma Corporation is pleased to announce the new Sigma 17-70mm F2.8-4 DC MACRO OS HSM. This large aperture standard zoom lens offers an aperture of F2.8 at the 17mm Focal length and is ideal for many situations such as portraits, sports, macro and general photography. The OS (Optical Stabilizer) function offers the use of shutter speeds approximately 4 stops slower than would otherwise be possible. For Sony and Pentax mount, the built-in OS function of this lens can be used even if the camera body is equipped with an anti-shake function. As the compensation for Camera shake is visible in the view finder, the photographer can easily check for accurate focus and ensure there is no subject movement. The maximum aperture of F2.8 produces an attractive background Blur and improves autofocus speed.This lens has a minimum focusing distance of 22cm(8.7in.) throughout the entire zoom range and maximum magnification ratio of 1:2.7, making it ideal for close-up photography. It is possible to focus as close as approximately 4.7cm(1.9in.) from the tip of the lens to the subject making this lens particularly useful for close-up photography.Three aspherical lenses and one ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass element provide excellent correction for all types of aberrations. High image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. The Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting and provides high Contrast images. The incorporation of HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) ensures a quiet and high speed AF. This lens has a rounded 7 blade diaphragm which creates an attractive blur to the out of focus areas of the image. The inner focusing system eliminates front lens rotation, making the lens particularly suitable for using the supplied petal-type lens hood and circular polarizing filters.

Large aperture standard zoom lens designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras and incorporating Sigma’s original OS (Optical Stabilizer) function with close up capability This standard zoom lens is designed exclusively for digital SLR cameras and incorporates Sigma`s original OS (Optical Stabilizer) function. This lens covers several angles of view, from wide to telephoto as well as offering a large aperture of F2.8 at the 17mm focal length. It provides a bright image through the viewfinder and enables photographers to easily check focusing and composition. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 22cm (8.7 inches) and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:2.7 making it ideal for close-up photography as well as landscape and macro photography. ELD (Extraordinary Low Dispersion) glass and aspherical lenses provide excellent correction for all types of aberrations and high image quality is assured throughout the entire zoom range. Super Multi-Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting. The incorporation of HSM (Hyper Sonic Motor) ensures quiet and high speed AF.

Sigma Corporation of America is pleased to announce

our first-ever scholarship contest!

The Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship will award a cash gift of ,000 and ,000 in Sigma products to one talented high school senior to advance his or her education and goals toward obtaining a career in the photography industry.

Applications will be accepted from November 19, 2009 to February 15, 2010. Online voting will occur Feb. 16, 2010 to April 23, 2010, and the winner will be announced May 3, 2010. 

This new scholarship illustrates Sigma’s five decades of technological advancement and innovation in the industry, and our family-owned company’s desire to empower and support up-and-coming photographers. The scholarship winner will be selected based on his or her ability to deliver outstanding photographs with the superior caliber of image quality for which the Sigma brand has become known.

Eligibility
The Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship is open to all high school seniors who will graduate in 2010 and seek higher learning. Applicants must aspire to obtain a degree or certificate in a photo-related field such as photography, photojournalism, graphic arts, design, visual arts, art history, etc.
Family members of Sigma Corporation of America employees, dealers and affiliates are not eligible to apply.

Application Process
Applicants are required to submit an application, brief essay and three to five images that have a connecting theme in order to be considered for the Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship.

The essay will include an 800-word or less description of the student’s methodology and thematic intent. This material will complement the applicant’s images and help the judges better understand the student’s process of capturing and selecting the photographs.

The entire package will be judged based on creativity of subject selection, overall technique and, most importantly, image quality. Students are not required to use Sigma equipment to shoot the photo essay.

Online application form and essay:
This form will provide Sigma Corporation of America’s judges with valuable insights about the applicant’s academic history and photo-related activities, but will not be shared with the voting public. All fields are required.

The essay will also be part of the application form and it, coupled with the applicant’s name and images, will be the only materials shared with the voting public.

This document should be no longer than 800 words in length. Sigma Corporation of America reserves the right to discard any application and essay that is longer than this requirement. The essay will describe the creative process through which the applicant captured, selected and edited the images that will be submitted with it. It will also explain how the images are connected.

When drafting your essay, make sure that it is appropriate for public posting on this corporate Web site. Sigma reserves the right to discard any essays containing language that the company deems inappropriate, libelous, plagiarized or offensive in any way.

By completing the form and essay, and clicking the “submit” button at the bottom of the page, students tender their application, pledge that all of the information provided in the application is valid and factual, and agree to the terms of the scholarship.

Photos:
Applicants must submit three to five images to be considered for the Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship. These photographs must be thematically tied and illustrate outstanding image quality.

All photos must:

• Be saved in JPEG format, no larger than 500 KB
• Be saved with 1000x700 pixels
• Include the student’s first and last name, as well as the submission date and image order number, in the file name (for example: “JohnSmith_11.19.09_image1”, “JohnSmith_11.19.09_image2”, etc.)
• Be appropriate for public posting on this corporate Web site. Sigma reserves the right to discard any images that the company deems inappropriate, libelous, plagiarized or offensive in any way.

Selection Process
Applications and materials will be accepted from Nov. 19, 2009 to Feb. 15, 2010, and the winner will be announced May 3, 2010.

All images and essays will be posted online on this site for public voting. Visitors to the site will be invited to vote for their favorite images and essay from Feb. 16, 2010 to April 23, 2010. Students will be notified when the public voting opens and are encouraged to share the site link with their friends and family to request support.

The public, online voting will select the top three finalists for the Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship. A judging panel comprised of Sigma executives will then determine the final scholarship winner. The winner’s name will be announced on May 3, 2010.

Applicant Terms and Rights:
By applying for the Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship and submitting the necessary materials, all students verify that the information is factual and the images provided are original. Sigma Corporation of America reserves the right to discard any materials and reject any applications that are suspected of being fraudulent or offensive, and cannot be held liable for content submitted and posted under this agreement.

All applicants must receive permission from their parents to vie for this scholarship and provide Sigma Corporation of America with permission to post their first and last name, images, and essays online to be voted on by the public. Applicants maintain all of the rights to their images, but will not be compensated for Sigma’s use of these images. The winner of the Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship will allow Sigma Corporation of America to use his or her images on the company’s Web site and in promotional materials pertaining to the scholarship and its publicity at no cost.

The winner of the Sigma Corporation of America Scholarship will receive a ,000 check from Sigma Corporation of America within 30 days of the announcement that he or she has won the contest. The winner will also receive a ,000 gift card that must be used within one (1) year of being issued. There are no prizes for second or third place, and there are no scholarship substitutions or cash redemptions.

Olympus has published the third installment of its video series celebrating the 50th anniversary of its Pen cameras. The compact, cropped-format cameras evolved into the Pen-F, one of the smallest mass-market interchangeable lens cameras ever made. The site says there will be another installment next week but, with few milestone Pen series cameras left to cover, its layout appears to leave room for more videos. Coincidentally, Olympus has said there would be more news this summer about its Micro Four Thirds camera, a distinctly retro mockup of which has been shown at recent trade shows. Update: Olympus UK has told us there will be a public hands-on event in London on June 25th at a venue to be announced soon. We'll bring you more details as soon as we have them.

Click here to see the latest video celebrating the anniversary of the Pen Series

Panasonic expands Marine line of underwater cases

Panasonic has further expanded the Marine line of underwater cases for the Lumix compact digital cameras. With the Marine Case DMW-MCFT1 you can now take your DMC-FT1 / TS1 rugged and waterproof digital camera to new depths of 130 feet / 40 meters, rather than the camera's standard 10 feet / 3 meters. The new Marine Case DMW-MCTZ7 will be the perfect fit for your model DMC-TZ7, TZ6, ZS3 and ZS1 and the DMW-MCFX40 will allow you to take your DMC-FX40 / FX48 to depths of up to 130 feet / 40 meters..

Panasonic Marine Cases for the other Lumix digital compact cameras:
DMW-MCFS5 for the DMC-FS5 / FS3 digital cameras
DMW-MCFX01 for the DMC-FX01 / FX07 / FX3 digital cameras
DMW-MCFX07 for the FX07, FX3, FX01, FX12, FX10 digital cameras
DMW-MCFX30 for the DMC-FX30 / FX33 digital cameras
DMW-MCFX35 for the DMC-FX35 digital camera
DMW-MCTZ1 for the DMC-TZ1 digital camera
DMW-MCTZ3 for the DMC-TZ3 / TZ2 digital cameras
DMW-MCTZ5 for the DMC-TZ50 / TZ5 / TZ4 digital cameras

Pentax launches two weather resistant lenses

Along with the K-7 DSLR, Pentax has launched the smc PENTAX-DA 18-55mm F3.5-5.6AL WR and smc PENTAX-DA 50-200mm F4-5.6ED WR weather-resistant lenses. Treated with Super-Protect (SP) Coating for dust resistance and designed with environmental sealing, both the lenses complement the latest Pentax weather-resistant DSLRs. Priced at 9.95 USD for the DA 18-55mm and 9.95 USD for the DA 50-200mm, the lenses will start shipping in July 2009.

 

 

The smc PENTAX-DA18-55mmF3.5-5.6AL WR and the smc PENTAX-DA50-200mmF4-5.6ED WR
Compact, lightweight, weather-resistant Zoom lenses designed for exclusive use with digital SLR cameras

May 19, 2009: HOYA CORPORATION PENTAX Imaging Systems Division is pleased to announce the launch of two compact, lightweight zoom lenses: the smc PENTAXDA18-55mmF3.5-5.6AL WR, and the smc PENTAX DA50-200mmF4-5.6ED WR. Featuring a newly designed, simplified weather-resistant construction, these zoom lenses offer excellent reliability in various outdoor applications — especially in rain, fog and mist.

Common features
Simplified weather-resistant construction
The new zoom lenses feature a simplified weather-resistant construction designed to minimize the intrusion of water and moisture into the lens barrel. With these lenses mounted on PENTAX weather resistant digital SLR camera bodies, the user is assured of improved durability and reliability during shooting in rain, fog or mist and at locations subject to a spray or splash of water.

SP coating to block dust and dirt
The front surface of these lenses is treated with PENTAX-original SP (Super Protect) coating, which applies a special fluorine compound to the lens surface through a vapor deposition process. This SP coating not only effectively repels dust, water and grease, but it also makes it easy to wipe off fingerprints and cosmetics.

Digital-SLR-exclusive optical design
PENTAX has optimized the characteristics of these lenses — including lens coating, curvature and positioning of optical elements — to reproduce the finest possible digital images. As a result, they are practically free of flare and ghost images, and bring out the best in the PENTAX digital SLR camera bodies they are coupled with.

Their Image circle is also perfectly proportioned to the size of the image sensor used in PENTAX digital SLR cameras, helping to reduce the camera’s overall size and weight and guarantee outstanding cost performance.

Quick-Shift Focus system for instant AF/MF switching
After the subject is captured in focus by the camera’s AF system, the unique Quick-Shift Focus system lets the photographer instantly switch to manual-focus operation for final pinpoint focus adjustment.

Other features

• Durable, dependable metallic lens mount
• Lens hood with a PL (polarizing filter) window included as a standard accessory

Overview of the smc PENTAX-DA18-55 F3.5-5.6AL WR lens
This standard zoom lens covers focal lengths from 27.5mm wide angle to 84.5mm moderate telephoto (in the 35mm format). Incorporating a high-performance aspherical (AL) optical element and a super-low Dispersion glass optical element in its optics, it assures outstanding image Resolution and remarkable Brightness, even at the edges, while effectively compensating various aberrations.

Overview of the smc PENTAX-DA50-200 F4-5.6ED WR lens
This telephoto zoom lens covers focal lengths from 76.5mm moderate telephoto to 307mm super telephoto (in the 35mm format). Incorporating an extra-low dispersion (ED) glass optical element in its optics, it assures excellent description of the subject in various telephoto applications, including portraiture, sports/action and landscape, while effectively compensating Chromatic aberration over the entire zoom range.

 

Specifications

	smc PENTAX-DA 18-55mmF3.5-5.6AL WR	smc PENTAX-DA 50-200mmF4-5.6ED WR
Lens mount	PENTAX KAF mount	PENTAX KAF mount
Lens Construction	11 elements in 8 groups	11 elements in 10 groups
Angle of view	76 - 29° (wiith PENTAX D-SLR camera body)	31.5 - 8.1° (wiith PENTAX D-SLR camera body)
Aperture control	Automatic	Automatic
Minimum Aperture	F22-38	F22-32
Number of Diaphragm Blades	6	6
Minimum Focusing Distance	0.25m (0.82 ft.)	1.1m (3.6mft.)
Filter size	52mm	49mm
Maximum Magnification	0.34x	0.24x
Dimensions (Maximum Diameter x Minimum Length)	68.5mm x 67.5mm (2.7 inch x 2.7 inch )	69mm x 79.5mm (2.7 inch x 3.1 inch)
Weight	230g / 8.1 oz. (with hood 255g / 9.0 oz.)	285g / 10.1 oz. (with hood 325g / 11.5 oz.)
Lens Hood	PH-RBC52mm	PH-RBD49mm
Tripod adapter	-	-

Hasselblad wins third award in three months

Hasselblad has won the Technical Image Press Association’s TIPA award - one of the photo industry’s most prestigious awards worldwide - for “Best Medium-Format D-System in 2009,” making it the third honor bestowed on the company this year. In January, the H3DII-50 won Professional Photographer’s coveted Hot One Award. Earlier this month, the camera was named Product of the Year at Russia’s Photoforum 2009.

In a secret vote for the best photographic and imaging products introduced in Europe during the past year, TIPA editors took into account innovation, the use of leading-edge technology, the design and ergonomics of the products, and their ease of use and price/performance ratio.

Christian Poulsen, CEO of Hasselblad, commented: “Hasselblad is again proud to accept this prestigious award. This honor demonstrates Hasselblad’s vision of providing the world’s best photographers with the most advanced camera system, enabling them to create the world’s best images. With H3DII-50, new components including the HCD 35-90mm zoom lens, HTS 1.5 Tilt & Shift Adaptor, and Phocus software, Hasselblad is helping photographers break creative barriers and achieve image quality that was not possible even six months ago.”

For more information on Hasselblad’s Hot One Award, click here

 

Canon releases EOS 5D Mark II firmware version 1.1.0

Canon releases EOS 5D Mark II firmware update version 1.1.0. This firmware update offers the manual video exposure control already announced last month and these fixes/improvements:
• Disables the depth-of-field preview button when images are played back
• Fixes a problem with image Peripheral illumination
• Fixes the algorithms of the Auto Lighting Optimizer
• Corrects indications in several language menus
• Changes battery info display for the Battery Grip
...   &   Go to the Canon EOS 5D Mark II Firmware Update page.


Firmware Version 1.1.0 incorporates the following improvements and fixes.

1. Includes a function to enable the manual exposure setting when shooting movies. *For details on how to use this function, please download the PDF files from the bottom of this page.
2. Disables the function of the depth-of-field preview button when images are played back or when the menu screen is displayed on the LCD panel.
3. Fixes a phenomenon where the peripheral illumination of images cannot be properly corrected, even if the images were captured with the lens peripheral illumination correction function set to Enable. *Digital Photo Professional software version 3.6.1 or later (for Windows and Macintosh) can be used to automatically correct the peripheral illumination of RAW and JPEG images that were captured in the Peripheral illumination correction setting with cameras that have Firmware Version 1.0.7 or earlier.
4. Fixes the algorithms of the Auto Lighting Optimizer function when Custom Function C.Fn II-3 Highlight tone priority is enabled.
5. Fixes incorrect indications on the Arabic, Romanian, Spanish, and Ukrainian menu screens.
6. Changes the battery information displayed on the camera when using the optional Battery Grip BG-E6.

In case you missed or did not apply the previous Panasonic Canon EOS 5D firmware update, you will get these improvements too:

[Version 1.0.7]
• "Black dot" phenomenon (the right side of point light sources becomes black) When shooting night scenes, the right side of point light sources (such as lights from building windows) may become black. The phenomenon may become visible if the images are enlarged to 100% or greater on a monitor or if extremely large prints of the images are made. This firmware improves and mitigates this phenomenon.

• Vertical Banding noise
If the recording format is set to sRAW1, vertical banding noise may become visible depending on the camera settings, subject, and background. The firmware improves and mitigates this phenomenon  

Tamron 10-24mm for Sony and Pentax coming soon

Tamron has announced that the availability of Sony and Pentax versions its 10-24mm wide-angle zoom APS-C cameras. This lens, which received a Recommended rating when tested in its Nikon mount guise, will be available in Japan from June 12th, the company says, with sales then expanding to other markets.