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 July issue of THE CESCO TIMES. Here is a selection of winter warmers for keen photographers - ideas and offers to get your finger on the shutter button and your eye on the image. Enjoy!

CREATIVE, CREATIVER, CREATIVEST:

The greatest asset a photographer can possess is the ability to see light. The second greatest asset is the ability to shape and mould that light. We can't sell you the first but we CAN sell you the second. And now it can be supplied in neat green packages.

CREATIVE LIGHT is the name of the firm. They make light stands, reflectors, soft boxes, speed rings, light cubes, umbrellas, and myriad of other products. The quality is first-rate and the packaging is logical, consistent, and stylish. The prices are very competitive. Very.

We're keeping speed ring mounts in for the popular BOWENS and ELINCHROM fitting but I see from the catalogue that they can also supply these for nearly every other brand of studio flash under the (artificial) sun. Even if you have old Comet or Alien Bee mono blocks you can fit new soft boxes on them.

The popular trick of mounting a speed light onto a soft box has also been catered for with a sturdy cast aluminium ring that attaches directly to a light stand.

Final note - my favourite gotta have right now may well be the CREATIVE LIGHT strip soft box - 30cm by 120cm. $275, + ring.

CESCO Workshop Events:

Nikon Workshop 10
28^th August 2010

Register interest in any of our workshops here

I WAS RIGHT!:

Last month's CESCO TIMES mentioned the Black Rapid straps that were coming into the store - I predicted that they would prove very popular with Perth's photo professionals. How right I was.

The RS-4, RS-5, and RS-7 have flown off the shelves - we have had to place a massive order for them again. The RS DR-1 has proved to be the ideal solution for those who need to carry two DSLR's into action. Like weddings and other violent sports.

I bought the RS-4 and am slinging a NIKON D300 with battery grip and 18-200 lens when I cover the sword fighting and gladiator games. The weight of the unit is taken very easily by the left shoulder and the camera rides at the right hip. When I draw it up to the eye there is none of that business where the neck strap falls into the eyepiece - even in the portrait mode it is all comfortable. The RS-4 has a small pocket to keep an emergency memory card in it - the RS-5 has a more extensive pouch system that can hold several cards or a phone.

It is even good in the studio - you don't need to keep putting the camera down on the nearest flat surface while you arrange products or staple the brides to the backdrop.

This one is as hot as this morning - at the sales meeting we saw the new HOODMAN crane accessory. This is a bracket that attaches to the flash shoe of your DSLR and allows the HOODMAN loupe to swing up and down easily - view the enlarged image in the down position and up for the wide view. A valuable idea for the busy videographer.

If you are a photographer who uses a small-frame DSLR - the NIKON D300 and the CANON 7D spring instantly to mind - and if you are a keen student of architecture and landscapes you may be interested in the newest delivery from SIGMA; the 8 - 16mm zoom lens.

This is not a fish-eye lens - straight lines at the edge of the frame are rendered straight. It is the same angle of view that you can get by using a 12 - 24mm lens on a full-frame camera. All this with a fixed lens hood for $ 999.

Are you a sports shooter? SIGMA has added their Optical Stabilization System to the already-popular 70-200mm f.2.8 MkII lens.

Also a new formulation for the 50-500mm zoom lens - here the bird enthusiasts will pop their heads up and look around. Then ruffle their feathers and go back to feeding.

The SPYDER colorimeter that we keep here as a rental outfit has served its time - it is time to sell it off cheap.

Datacolor Spyder 3 Studio RRP $899 Special $550 a bargain!

Mind you, that is as long as you buy a printer to print on it...But keep reading.

EPSON is pleased to announce that you get several lots of their free media when you purchase one of the Stylus Pro models;

Buy a Stylus Pro 7900 and get one roll of 24in Premium Lustre plus one roll of 24in Matte Canvas and one roll of 24in Satin Canvas

We've also come to the party – buy the 7900 from us and you also get FREE delivery (normally $250) – and you get the package for $6499.

If you fancy the Stylus Pro 9900 you get the same sorts of media – Lustre paper, Matte and Satin Canvas, but of course it will be in the larger 44in size. AND we'll come to the party again with the free delivery. This package is $10,699.

Gotta hurry though - these deals are going to finish on the 31st of August 2010. Customers will need to register their purchases by September 6 and send in a proof of purchase. Simple enough for such a good bonus!

The last time someone used the term "you people" there was a heck of a fuss. As opposed to the term "ewe people " - which applies to the sheep business.

But I digress. Have you people heard that there is a new PENTAX 645D camera arriving soon here in the shop? This will be a 40 Megapixel camera recording on a dual card system. It will feature a lot of the hot options that have made the PENTAX K-20 and K7 popular; sensitivity program exposure, instant-access RAW, image sensor cleaning, PRIME II processing engine, etc. The great range of lenses that served the film 645 cameras is still perfectly usable. There is an extensive list of image parameters you can set for image recording and appearance.

PROFOTO - HOLY COW BATMAN!:

PROFOTO, the Swedish flash experts, have released a new Batpac. This is portable power at its best - it will allow you to take any of the PROFOTO studio packs and heads out on location.

How much power? You can run 4 of their D1 heads plus a laptop from it. More than enough capacity for the most creative shoot.

Special with this newsletter $2999 inc GST with Stands and Umbrellas.

The supply of THINK TANK bags is steady now. We have models in stock and on the floor to cater to all of Perth's photo storage and travel needs. A number of recent purchasers have been assembling custom belt rigs that exactly house and protect their unique set of equipment. You see that's the advantage of a truly modular system - you can tailor it to fit quite diverse requirements - and when the needs change or new equipment is added it is simple to discard the old storage and add new housings. The Speed Race V.2 is a case - or belt - in point. You can have as many of the solid or of the collapsible pouches as you like, provided you have the waist line for them.

If you are going to be hauling telephotos, light stands, or tripods come and look at the Bazooka range. This includes the basic model and the two bigger ones - the big Bazooka and the Humongous Bazooka. They all feature a collapsible tube and strap that adapts to different lens or stand length. No police license is needed to own these.

Step one: Start by being skinny, bald, and French.

Step two: Shoot pictures with a LEICA.

Well, it worked for Henri Cartier-Bresson, didn't it? If you can't manage step one, just move on to step two - and step into Camera Electronic Sales and Service to get started.

(Now these days you don't need to spend hours and hours clapped into a cold dark room developing and printing. You can spend hours clapped into a cold dark room doing computer work and printing. It's still cold and dark but the smell of acetic acid is missing. If you get nostalgic put out an open dish of vinegar.)

I digress. Come in and look at the new street LEICAS here at the shop. The new LEICA V-Lux 20 is in stock for $899 as well as the fabulous little X1. These are just what HCB would have loved. Small, unobtrusive, quiet - with rapid response times and razor-sharp LEICA lenses.

And try not to move your tongue. Oops, sorry, forgot where I was - back to cameras.

When you are next in Camera Electronic Sales and Service stop at the front cabinet and look at the new wide angle lenses from VOIGTLANDER. We have fresh stocks of the Super-wide Heliar 15mm and the Ultra-wide 12mm Heliar. These are in M-mount for VOIGTLANDER or LEICA cameras, but remember that there are adapters available to fit these to some PANASONIC and OLYMPUS digitals.

These are sharp lenses and the mounts are amazing - solid precise metal machining and purpose-built lens hoods as part of the deal. Lenses to last a lifetime!

They look humble and they are humble, but when you need one you need it badly. Try taking a sequence of pictures to stitch together a panorama without a level camera and see what you get: you get the ocean running off to one side of the picture and the level plains looking like a ziggurat.

Answer? The little MICNOVA spirit level block that slides onto the hot shoe of your camera. Weighs almost nothing and fits into any traveller's bag, but absolutely vital when you want that landscape.

New stocks are in now. Come and get 'em.

We often get asked whether "they" are going to bring back POLAROID. Actually, it never left - just evolved. Now we have stocks of the new POLAROID 300 cameras and the POLAROID TWO.

The 300 camera is s super-cute one-handed camera that uses the classical POLAROID chemical pack film to produce a picture that develops in your hand in 90 seconds - full POLAROID colours and a convenient new size. Plenty of film in stock for this right now- this is a new new camera with all the old POLAROID magic.

The TWO camera is a departure into a new technology - a combination of a digital camera that will function like any old ( hahahaha ) digital camera but with the addition of an in-built inkless printer. This will pop out a dry digital print about the size of a business card from a little 10-sheet pack. This is the party camera supreme. Polaroid film is also a sticker.

This is the title of what promises to be a splendid exhibition of photography by the Workshop Camera Club Inc. this coming week. It will be on display from Monday, 5 July until Sunday 11 July at the ATWELL GALLERY - this is located at the corner of Canning Highway and North Lake Road in Alfred Cove.

This is a good opportunity to see some of the finest work by enthusiasts - professional photographers are also welcome to attend - they may be able to pick up a few tips to improve their images...

Glorious, just glorious! We have seen some of the advertising images for an exhibition of Banksia prints by John Maloney that is to be shown at the University Club Art Gallery commencing 2 July - it will be open until the 15th of August. Not just glorious art but historic too - these are blooms first collected by Banks and others as early as 1770.

The recording instrument has advanced a little since then - these were taken on a 50 Megapixel digital HASSELBLAD and printed to an archival standard on HAHNEMUHLE paper and canvas.

Mr. Maloney refers to parts of these flowers as possessing an infinite beauty - we can but agree seeing his wonderful renditions.

Please contact him at johnmaloney@bigpond.com for more details

Please note that Camera Electronic Sales and Service is proud to assist with the 2010 Mount Barker Wildflower Photo Competition. They will be displaying their results in late October but now is the time to get started with the images. Entry forms are available here in the shop and you can contact the organiser at davidaldred@westnet.com.au or on (08) 9851-1653.

Those of you lucky or prescient enough to attend last year's panorama course held in Margaret River by Greg Hocking and Adam Monk will remember just how good it was - real instruction in real time and real equipment to work with. And a darned good venue too.

This year they will be presenting a 3-day workshop that deals with the art of perfect printing. - one day to instruct you, and then a week later, two days of practical hands-on shooting and printing to make sure that you can do it right ALL the time. I'm hoping to be able to go and help out because I want to improve my inkjet printing too - plus the weekend dinner and the chance to meet other enthusiasts.

We've got booking cards here at the shop or you can contact Adam on the web at: www.adammonk.com or info@adammonk.com

AAPP (WA) is excited to be holding our National Convention 1^st to 3^rd August 2010

A Must Attend event for every photographer in WA this year.

For more details visit aappwa.com.au/events or contact

Chris Percival 0413 999 915
Bob Litchfield 0414 593 398

Uh, let me rephrase that... We're not the Apple Store but we really do welcome the opening of the Apple Store!

Not least because a lot of us here at the shop are users of their products, both in private and professional ways. I have a couple of their computers that store and manipulate my digital images and so far I have not managed to blow anything up but it is only a matter of time before my general ignorance breaks through the safety barriers... Before this happens I think I will avail myself of their experts at their Genius Bar. I will also be looking at some of the cool new small products and tempting myself with the power and the success of their big computers.

PS: remember Father's Day is coming up and I could use some goodies

More to come? Other brands? Other professional points of view? Watch this newsletter.

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!