Your favourite online newsletter is back again - no, not the one from the dodgy political organisation in Canberra - the one from us, the Stirling Street photographic shop. We've got better ideas about how to save the nation and ours are a lot more fun!

Welcome to the February issue of THE CESCO TIMES. It is past the middle of the month and we've gotten Valentine's Day over and done with - now we can concentrate on the real love of our lives: photography.

NIKON NEW PRODUCT NOTES - NEW LENSES:

NIKON users can now officially rejoice and start becoming impatient. NIKON have announced the production of two new wide-angle lenses for FX cameras that are sure to prove popular. Indeed we suspect that they may become steady fixtures in pro camera bags - this will be particularly so for the architecture and interior shooters and for the low-light landscape workers.

1. Want the absolute best definition in a prime wide? Want to work in the dark? How does 24mm f.1.4 AF-S with the new nano-coating suit you? Hello dim church interiors and candle-lit weddings.
2. Goodbye tripod and hello coastline. This sounds like a bold venture, but with the new 16mm-35mm f.4 VR AF-S lens we think it is possible. This lens on an FX camera is going to be REALLY wide and if you can boost your ISO to 800 and handhold with the VR you are going to be the master of the landscape like never before.

These lenses will be coming to us as fast as ever they can so please check with us in a few weeks for details. They promise to be a new era in full frame imaging. Note: no news yet on the pricing.

FotoFreo 10
March 20th - 18th April

WAPF Convention
April 9th - 11th April

Red Bull Air Race
April 17th - 18th

CESCO Workshop Events:

BreakOut 10
TBA

Canon Workshop 10
2nd May 2010

Leica Workshop 10
TBA

Nikon Workshop 10
1st August 2010

Pentax Workshop 10
TBA

Sony Workshop 10
TBA

Register interest in any of our workshops here

CANON NEW PRODUCT NOTES - NEW CAMERA:

If you have been wondering whether or not to enter the DSLR world - or if you have been wondering if you should add a second camera to your bag - you can now stop wondering. The time has come to grab a new CANON 550D. They are fresh on the market with a whole slew of improvements. You get the reliability and ease of handling of the classic CANON 500D with the addition of:

1. 18 megapixels sensor
2. HD video with SDXC card
3. Live view
4. New bright detailed LCD screen

CANON have also announced their new 70mm-200mm f.2.8 L IS MkII lens - whew, what a mouthful. But this is a lens that professionals will be able to take out into poor weather conditions with greater confidence than ever - it is extensively sealed throughout the construction.

We'll likely see this lens in March, so can we see you in the shop to try it?

It is always good to be proved right - particularly when we introduce a new product line to Western Australian photo-graphers. Remember we said that the new THINK TANK range of camera storage bags would walk right off the shelves?

Walk they did. The stock gaps started to appear almost immediately, followed by special orders for people who were delighted to discover a really professional set of camera bags. Fortunately the THINK TANK people are getting quicker and we have gotten a fair bit of restocking.

Are they good? Yes. Tough, well designed, and well priced.

It is well worth making a trip here to Stirling Street with all your camera gear in a cardboard box (try not to drop it on the floor as you come in...) and spending some time trial fitting it into the THINK TANKS. When you buy your new bag we can dispose of the cardboard box for you into the bin - no charge!

The vagaries of the international money market and the rise of the Australian dollar mean that there have been a number of price adjustments on photo gear and you can profit right now if you are quick.

CESCO has dropped the prices of the following:

• ELINCHROM Ranger portable flash equipment
• DATACOLOR SPYDER colour calibration devices
• LASTOLITE light shapers and reflectors

These are all top professional brands and the equipment is all-but-essential for the working photographer. The price drops also mean that the keen enthusiast can now get the best gear. Come in to see us and scoop a bargain.

Sorry about that, it's early in the morning and I have just spent a night trying to photograph the Nocturnal Lesser Poopwort. I can see now that using the Linhof 4 x 5 with the double extension bellows and the glass plates was a bit of a mistake, particularly when I sneezed. The doctor says the stitches will come out in a week and I can expect to be able to feed myself in a fortnight.

Next time the Poopwort blooms I am going to be ready with the new NIKON 85mm MICRO-NIKKOR DX lens. It will fit on my D300 and focus down to 28 cm. Best of all it is a VR lens so I have a better chance of avoiding blurry images.

If I am quick - and if you are quick too - we can purchase this lens for a special price of $ 799. The normal price is $ 1099.

First reports coming in from the participants in the LIGHT FANTASTIC 2010 in Fremantle tell us that it was a resounding success. Not surprising, really, considering the caliber of the speakers - Dale Neill always has been able to entertain and instruct in respect to portraiture. Nick Melidonis has traveled and seen and unlike some photographers he has seen well.

The guest speakers included Nick Rains, Nigel Grant, David Bettini, and Frank Richardson - all experienced travelers in their own rights, and all well able to draw their listeners and viewers along with them on their journeys.

WHEEL THE CANONS INTO LINE!:

Sometimes the acquisition of a new camera is a delicious luxury - sometimes it is a hard-headed necessity. Either way, the CANON user wants to make sure that he has the best instrument for the job, and sometimes the job demands the ABSOLUTE top of the range in features.

We have sometimes been asked to compare the CANON 5D mkII and the CANON 1DS mkIII for professional or advanced enthusiast use. The best way to do this is to remind the reader of the things you get on the 1DS mkIII that are just not available on the other body. Look at these:

1. Dual card slots
2. Full weather sealing
3. Strongest and toughest body available
4. 17 custom functions - 57 custom settings
5. Up to 300,000 shots shutter life
6. 100% viewfinder
7. 19 AF points
8. 63 metering segments
9. 1/250 flash synchronisation
10. 5 frames per second
11. Dual processors
12. Super battery that delivers more than double the shots of a 5dMII

If you are doing your sums right now be aware that this camera body is available with a bonus 3 year warranty for only $ 8999 - and that is a considerable saving from the normal retail price of $ 10999. That's a real financial advantage!

I clean the glass cabinet doors once a week, except in front of the HASSELBLAD display and that needs cleaning daily. You see people tend to press their noses against the glass looking at the goodies on display. I can't say I blame them.

The stars of the cabinet right now are a current -model 503CW body complete with WLF for $ 2499 and a brand new 150mm F.4 CF lens for $ 3499. There's even a couple of new backs - an A12 and an A16 in their boxes for a third off the regular price. Egad.

The people pressing the glass obviously know they are looking at the best of the best in medium format. They love working with film right now - those backs are just itching to start work - and they know that the new CFV 39 backs from HASSELBLAD will hop right onto the back of the body and away they go. Indeed for someone wanting to go MF digital this is the chance of a lifetime.

I think the people who do scientific work would also be well advised to look at the variety of close-up tubes and accessories in that window - I well know that the bellows and/or the 120mm f.4 Makro Planar can render the smallest object with a precision that is unmatchable. Why? 'Cause I got them in my studio and I ain't going to part with 'em.

Notice how the HASSELBLAD company seems to be putting ever-higher numbers into their model designations? It would appear that we can now get 40 megapixels on their large sensor - that means that the new camera can turn out a 50 Mb file using the RAW3FR and the Phocus 2.0 software that comes bundled with it can eliminate all lens distortions and vignetting.

It would appear that we have moved somewhat past the era of the box Brownie...

Some of the salient points for this new camera are:

1. True Focus to assure accurate focus when we shift the camera.
2. High speed capture for fast events.
3. Boosted ISO capability.
4. Affordability - this camera can be yours with the 80mm lens for $ 26,999.00.

Please keep watching our website and this newsletter for arrival date.

I suppose if they sell NIK software in Italy that someone will eventually shout "Viva Viveza on the Via Veneto". You can tell them that you read it here first.

My first experiences with this plug-in filter system have been positive, but there have been surprises.

The basic premise of the Viveza programs (There is a 1 and a 2 - I have the 1) is the local control of colour in an image by the use of the U-Point system. Rather than carefully selecting and isolating sections of an image with brushes or lassoes, I place a small control dot in the colour area that I need to modify and then run through a series of adjustments right at that spot. I get to fiddle with brightness, contrast, and saturation, and then can extend myself to red, green, and blue as well as warmth.

How does the computer know how wide to broadcast these changes? I adjust a little slider to draw a circle around the area of operation.

At first it would seem that this makes for a crowded image, but this is an illusion. Having the sliders near to the central adjustment point is actually very slick from an ergonomic point of view - no going up to the top of a screen to drag through a menu list. As I am done with one I tap off to the side and all the sliders vanish, leaving only a small note to remind me where the control point was centered.

The program looks at the spot under the control point and decides where to work based not only on colour but also on texture, so it is hard to fool it - it is remarkably intuitive as far as where to apply itself.

Of course the final artistic result also depends on me knowing what it is I should ask it to do. It is easy to go too far and lose sight of the appearance that one is really trying to present. I suppose I will get better, but it would be easier if there were a "good taste" filter also available...

The rental side of CESCO is a surprisingly large thing. Each week we see a steady stream of pro and student photographers hiring out lenses, cameras, and lighting equipment to do their jobs. New items are being added as they become available to add new effects to images. It is all very exciting.

Up till now the booking a checkout side was a little complex - blame the computer for that. Help is on the way, however, as CESCO has undertaken to revamp and revise the rental department. Expect to see the following in the future:

1. Online booking and availability information.
2. Streamlined check in and out.
3. More of the favourite equipment available.

Please note that the plans to electronically transmit the actual equipment will have to be put on hold for a while. We tried to send out a 70-200 lens and the technician is now having to dismantle the fax machine to recover the fragments. We will report when the system is successful.

The CESCO service department is trying to compete with the sales department in making alluring offers to the customers. They are offering the following:

1. For any customers having equipment serviced in March and April - if they mention this newsletter they get a free INCA AAA USB charger and torch.
2. For any customers who are NPS or CPS members, they may have one free sensor clean from now to the end of April if they supply their appropriate NPS or CPS membership number.

Of course the sales department have plans to counter this - mind you we do have the advantage of natural beauty...

PROFOTO, the Swedish studio flash manufacturers, have introduced a couple of special promotions throughout Australia designed to get their equipment out into the hands of the working photographers. Until the end of June 2010 you can get:

1. 20% discount off the list price of the Acute2 Kit or any of the D4 packs.
2. With the purchase of a battery pack, the buyer will get a dedicated lamp head free. This means:
   1. Pro-B2
   2. Pro 7B
   3. ProHead or Pro-B Head
   4. Pro-B Head
   5. AcuteB
   6. AcuteB Head

Now that the ball is rolling here at CESCO we will be bringing news and ideas to you more often. We hope they will help you in your business and your art - we have a lot of fun trying them ourselves and sometimes we succeed!