UPDATE: 4K comes to the T2i

UPDATE: According to International Filmmaker Philip Bloom, who has been in communication with the said creator of this firmware, it has been sold to Canon. Please be advised that this is only information that was sent to him via email. HD DSLRs have certainly shook the game up forever, but for now, Magic Lantern is what we have on hand, and proven. Check out Philip's blog to read the humorous, original email.

Happy New Year! As we said previously, you will not find rumors on this site. But some things you just can't miss. A 3rd party firmware will be released next year on 1/1/11, according to PetaPixel, CrunchGear and a guy on YouTube known as "Earz62801." According to the posts, the firmware will allow 2K, 3K and 4K recording on the T2i between 45MB/s and 175MB/s. He also plans on releasing updates for other members of the EOS family. The max recording time for 4K is 6 seconds. Given the unfamiliar background of the creator, and the sudden announcement with a 1/1/11 release date, this likely is about as real as the RAW video 5Dmkii. However, it certainly is more feasable.

On a more legitimate note, Canon did reveal it's 4K DSLR-like concept earlier this year.

Motivational Quotes - Robert Rodriguez Jr

Photo: Robert Rodriguez Jr.

Motivational quotes are among the favorite searches on Google. Whether you are looking for actual motivation or if it's just a novelty search, quotes do carry a certain amount of power. The above is an image from Photographer Robert Rodriguez's Blog that was accompanied by one of his favorite quotes:
“If you limit your choices only to what seems possible or reasonable, you disconnect yourself from what you truly want, and all that is left is a compromise.” - Robert Fritz
Robert has a whole page of his favorite quotes, accompanied by his work, which makes a truly inspiring read. Robert is a Landscape Photographer based in New York and heads the Beyond the Lens Workshop.

Followup: Lunar Eclipse

f/9 200mm 1/250 | Copyright www.photogblogger.com
This morning around 1:30am, the Northern Hemisphere awoke to an amazing site. December 21 marks the first time in over 350 years that a lunar eclipse occurred during a solstice. For a gallery of images from around the world, head over to the Huffington Post.

Lunar Eclipse and the Solstice

Photo: Martin Pugh

This generation has witnessed many historical occurrences. From the "brightest moon" to the devastating hurricanes and the most recent oil spill, Photojournalists have given us stories that seem to be out of the next Hollywood film. Tonight, it continues with a total Lunar Eclipse. What makes this particular occurrence a once in a lifetime event is that it will occur during a solstice. The last time this happened was in 1638, over 350 years ago.

The eclipse will be visible from 1:33 to 5:01 a.m. EST Tuesday, with the total eclipse starting at about 2:41 a.m. This is also the darkest night of the year for those in the Northern Hemisphere so expect to see some very vivid red and purple tones. North America, Greenland and Iceland will have front row seats, while Europe and Asia will catch glimpses at the beginning and ending stages. If your batteries aren't charged, charge them now, you don't want to miss this!

TIPS:
*Don't slow the shutter down too much, remember the Earth is spinning and can create blur.
*Try not to shoot wide open apertures. Often a couple stops down will yield a sweet spot in the lens delivering a crisper image.
*Use at least a 200mm lens. The closer you can get, the larger your subject will be and you will easily pick up detail the eye can not see.


Links:
NASA eclipse guide (Eastern Time Zone)

Jaguar - Richard Swanner

Photo: Richard Swanner

Richard Swanner is an Entrepreneur spending most of his time in Sales. But as you can see from this stunning capture, he can easily wear the title of Wildlife Photographer. Here he has an image of a beautiful Jaguar, which is the third largest feline (hey, we all remember Zoobooks, right?).

Richard is based in Richland, California and has a gallery full of great images. Richard's gallery.

Gear: Canon 1Ds MkII | 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II

RED Scarlet First Video

For years now, people have been talking about the RED Scarlet. Remember, it was discussed even before the Canon 5DMKii was released, and to some extent Canon enjoyed much of the thunder that very may well have went to the Scarlet if it was released sooner. Not only was the 1080p capable DSLR born, but it has already evolved. So does the Scarlet still hold any weight? What is the market? Let's look at the specs:

- 5" LCD Touchscreen
- Fixed 8x Lens
- CF memory slot (option)
- HDMI port
- up to 120fps (150fps burst)
- 3K Image
- 720p or 1080p scaled recording
- 2 independent microphone level channels
- 48V Phantom Power
- HDR stills mode
Also, all of the modules and accessories are compatible with the EPIC.

MSRP (8x Fixed): $5,750USD

So it looks like the Scarlet is still on the course it always was, game changer. This is a video camera, not a still camera that shoots video. The only thing that may deter some is the lens ring design, which is a single ring that can be set to zoom, iris or focus. Great for aesthetics and ease of use, but you lose the ability to zoom and focus at the same time. RED does offer a body, or "brain" only with a selection of prime lenses.

The RED Scarlet has been shown off in a few photos this year, but this is the first video walk-around of an actual working camera.

LINKS:
Tonaci Tran Blog
RED EPIC

Canon Mode Dial Modification

Canon has announced that it will offer a $100 service to the 7D and 5D Mark II camera bodies. The modification includes adding a lock mechanism to the mode dial. Some users have reported that the dial could easily turn to a different setting while using the camera. On Canon's website, it states:
"This modification is available, for a fee, to owners of these cameras who would prefer a Mode Dial which locks in place and can’t be accidentally moved during normal camera operation."
The words "during normal operation" make this seem like a flaw in the design, but in reality most users do not need a locking dial. Still, many will attest this should be a free fix rather than an "upgrade." And the feature does come standard on the 60D. I think it would be great of Canon to give new customers the option when ordering a body, which would carry a much lesser fee.

USB Follow Focus

There are a lot of DIYers out there, and mostly because accessories are just too expensive. If you can afford the flash, you can't afford the modifier. At least this was the case just a few years ago. Today, DIYers are our Entrepreneurs. With networking storming onto the internet, a DIY project can go from your garage to the world within hours. That means a lot of people will be interested, and soon you might just call your yourself SmallHD.

Just three months ago, the project here was a prototype follow focus consisting of a circuit board and a battery pack. It was constructed by Slippers [Cinema5d] and he kindly updates us on every step of the process. As you can see, the unit is barely larger than the 2AA batteries powering it. This is already ideal, but the redesign is even smaller. Slippers mentions that the unit was already completely functional as-is.



Here is the video of the follow focus in use:


More info on the unit can be found in the links below.

Links:
Original Thread
Programmer
Video tests

bluSLR App

Many Photographers have made at least some use of the popular iPhone apps such as Best Camera and FX Photo Studio. But these are tools to help take better pictures with your iPhone. What if you could use one to take photos with your DSLR? bluSLR answers that question.

bluSLR is an app for the iPhone that allows you to remotely release the shutter. It connects to the body via a bluetooth dongle, and allows you to communicate using your touchscreen. It also lets you adjust focus! Other features include a GPS location map tool. This adds metadata to your images that map your latitude and longitude. You must have at least an iPhone 3G, 2G iPod Touch or iPad or to use this app. Android support is coming soon.

Currently only available for Nikon, the bluSLR is statused for pre-order, shipping on December 20.

MSRP: $149.00USD

PRODUCT ANNOUCEMENT:
XEquals today announced the release of blueSLR, a Bluetooth accessory made for everyone who loves to take pictures. Whether you are on a paid photo shoot or simply want to snap a photo of a loved one, you can now use your Apple iPhone, iPod Touch, or iPad to remotely control your camera shutter and geocode any photograph. Discover a new way to both map your memories and wirelessly control your DSLR camera from up to 300 feet away. blueSLR connects to your camera and is then controlled by your compatible Apple device as the remote.

blueSLR is one of the first certified accessories to use Bluetooth to interact with compatible Apple devices. It is compatible with 11 different Nikon camera models, including the latest D3100, D7000, and the ever-popular D200. Visit http://blueslr.com/Compatible for a list of supported cameras. Future support is planned for Canon cameras, as well as Blackberry and Android phones.
Key Features
Here are some cool things you can do with blueSLR.

GET IN THE PICTURE

* Use blueSLR to wirelessly control your compatible digital SLR camera and snap pics from up to 300 feet away.
* Don’t miss another career-making shot again! blueSLR is fast, so there is no waiting time between photos.
* Connect blueSLR to your compatible digital SLR camera and use your compatible Bluetooth device to adjust your camera’s focus, shutter speed, or timer.
* blueSLR is small enough to stay attached to your camera so it goes wherever your camera goes.


MAP YOUR MEMORIES

* Use blueSLR to record when and where in the world you took your photos by encoding precise location including latitude, longitude, and elevation, as well as speed and direction right in the photo metadata.
* Share your photos on MobileMe, Places, Flickr, or Picassa and they’ll be visualized on a map.
* Protect the copyright of your photos by using blueSLR to accurately record when and where your photos were taken. blueSLR will provide you with definitive proof that you are the owner of your creations.
* Sort your photos on sites like Places or Flickr based on where they were taken using blueSLR’s sophisticated GPS geocoding technology.


Pricing and Availability

blueSLR is available now for $149 and can be purchased from www.blueSLR.com.

Customers who pre-order by December 6, 2010 get free shipping. Delivery will commence the first week of December 2010.

Included in each shipment is the blueSLR accessory and QuickStart Guide. The software is downloaded dynamically once the blueSLR device is paired with the Apple compatible device (sold separately).

iPhone, iPod, and iPod touch are trademarks of Apple Inc., registered in the U.S. and other countries. iPad is a trademark of Apple Inc.

Which Hard Drive Should I Buy?

www.curtisharper.com

With the cost of data storage devices these days, more Photographers are able to have plenty of space, and more importantly, a solid back-up. When searching for a hard drive, remember that price does matter. This is one case where the brand name makes a difference, and even so it goes beyond the brand down to the particular model. Some drives are simply built stronger and can last a lifetime. Yes, a lifetime! Two of the most popular brands are Western Digital and Seagate. Are there better options, maybe, but expect to pay at least 3x the cost but receive little to no performance increase, or any other real benefits for that matter.

When searching for a drive, you first need to consider your performance requirements. Drives come in 5400RPM and go up to 15000RPM+. Think of it as a motor, 1000RPM is slower than 2000RPM. The standard is 7200RPM and is usually capable of any day to day computing, including editing.

Next, you need to know what type of connection you have. Most new systems will include SATA 3 connection, but check your motherboard to be sure. And remember an important step to take before installing any components is to check for clearance issues. Sometimes other components may get in the way of your connectors. When you have 3 or 4 of these in a case, it starts to get crowded.

Beyond this, cache and size are almost irrelevant. Any decent drive will have at least a 16MB cache and you simply purchase the size drive you need. Perhaps a 250GB for the Operating System, and 2x1TB drives for data storage and backup. Remember, the drives that will be in active use should be at least 7200RPM.

Last but not least, check the warranty. Some drives include a 5 year warranty, some a 3 year and almost all others come with a 1 year. The cost difference is usually within $30, so try to get the longest available. Sure there may be some drives that are just so cheap that you won't care if it fails in a couple years, but then you have to go through the hassle of replacing more often. Time is money. Also drives usually fail unexpectedly, but here are a few warning signs.

Till this day I see no benefit in having a Glyph or similar priced drive. The only true benefit I see is their sleek designs and free recovery service. This entitles the original owner to two years of free recovery and service of a faulty drive. But consider the following: 1) Back up your data 2) Should you worry about a drive like this failing in 2 years? 3) They still offer no guarantee. Before opting for one of these drives, I would consider something like a Drobo. This device allows you to connect multiple drives as one, simply replacing a single drive should it fail.