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 May 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!

PROFOTO:

The good news for people photographers is our special on the D1 flash units. You can get a two-head D1 Basic kit from as low as $2850 this month and the super hottie is...just another $825 (normally $1500) puts these on great three-tier stands and then adds PERFECT light shapers on the business end.

This means one white softlight beauty dish and one 2 x 3 soft box. Remember that PROFOTO heads have an integral reflector and a protected tube so you have a 4-way choice of lighting right away.

You'll also appreciate the convenience and safety of the in-built radio receivers in the D1 heads. Anyone who has ever pulled a light stand and head over in a studio when they forgot that there was a synch cord attached will welcome this...

Light control with PROFOTO is simple and easy - these units are minutely adjustable and consistent in level and colour temperature.

Your portraits will reflect this precision - new images and greater success.

Oh - quick last note. PROFOTO have just released a very affordable portable battery pack for the D1 lights - now you can take the studio away with you out where the busses don't run.

CESCO Workshop Events:

Leica Workshop 10
TBA

Nikon Workshop 10
28^th August 2010

Pentax Workshop 10
TBA

Register interest in any of our workshops here

BLACK RAPID:

Okay - stand back. This one's mine. This looks to be just what I want!

I shoot with a DSLR - a big thing with a battery case grip on the bottom. I normally sling it from a regular neck strap and just as regularly find this strap droops down into my eye as I bring the camera up to a portrait shot. A I hop about the studio or out in the field I am not willing to trust it just to my hands - I remember dropping a LEICA down a storm drain a couple of decades ago doing just that...

Enter the BLACK RAPID R4 strap. It is a strong adjustable nylon over-the-shoulder single strap that has a running dragoon hook that attaches to your camera via the tripod screw. The hook runs up and down freely - you can grab the camera from under your arm and have it up to your eye faster than a wild west gunfighter can draw his Peacemaker. And the attachment of the hook means the strap does not flap over the eyepiece.

Best of all, when I get tired of shooting with the DSLR, the hook is sturdy enough to sling the 0.69 dragoon carbine. Now THAT makes camera club night judging interesting...

We change all the time around here - the full moon is particularly interesting... Recently we farewelled our salesman Andrew Wells - and we wish him well in the deep south - and welcomed three new people:

• Riccardo Basagni - Contributing a great deal of expertise and patience in the repair workshop.
• Gavin Carvalho - Selling up a storm on our shop floor. Also selling cameras...
• Christos Doudakis - Okay I lied - not new. But back again and thank goodness he is - this man knows how to run the hire department. Hooray.

Want to see a magic trick? Watch closely - nothing up my sleeve...on this table I have an ordinary THINK TANK Urban Disguise 50 bag, a professional DSLR with battery grip, a large zoom lens, a standard lens, a large flash, a charger, extra batteries, a 15-inch laptop, a handful of memory cards, a sandwich, an apple, a passport, pens, a picture of Ansel Adams...

Close your eyes. Now open them. Where has all the gear gone - there is only an unobtrusive black satchel left? You could pick it up by the handles or sling it over your shoulder easily.

$249 and you can make your camera gear quietly disappear too!

Oops, I had the hyperbole switch turned up a little high. What I meant to write was END OF THE FINANCIAL YEAR. It is approaching and if you want to take advantage of tax savings or fill departmental orders now is the time to consult with our staff. We can supply a list of persuasive arguments that may be used to convince financial controllers, department heads, and spouses of the need for new equipment. We also have a number of tempting offers that can be used to break down your own internal resistance, should that be necessary.

Remember, new equipment frequently earns MORE than it costs.

In an effort to prevent the store from blowing away in a high wind, we have placed an EPSON 7900 ink-jet printer on the sales floor. It is BIG - prints from a roll 24 inches wide - it is sleek, and it is easy to drive. And it is heavy. Heavy enough to bend light...

It uses the K3 ink set that produces magnificent results on gloss or matte media. The cartridges are the big ones - the 350/700ml so cost per ml of ink is surprisingly low. The cheerful news with Epson printers - and I know this from experience with my own 3800 - is that there is no ink wastage when changing cartridges. And no wasted prints - the machines will pause then complete a job absolutely perfectly.

It will also deliver true borderless printing with an in-built printer control of edge that is more accurate than can be set manually.

The Micro Piezo head is also something of a wonder - there is provision to vary the ink droplet size to deal with larger or smaller detail that assures the user of extremely fine detail combined with increased printing speed when possible. This is a head that is not run at a high temperature - it does not degrade with time.

Come in and see this printer -take away some literature. Think what you could make - a 24 inch by goodness knows how long print - the panorama business suddenly seems possible.

Hah! Talk about a busman's holiday! I recently spent a week in Melbourne and visited the camera stores there - in one a fellow salesman was fascinated by the Hood Hat that was on the front of my 50mm lens. It is made of neoprene like a wetsuit and snugly covers the lens hood of the NIKON f.1.4 lens whenever I am out and about in the field. It functions as a dust stop as well as a shock absorber. Easy to put on and off and when you reverse the hood it effectively seals the front of the camera.

There are sizes of these to fit any lens and they can also be hooked to similar pouches for real protection in a suitcase.

MACK INTERNATIONAL WARRANTY:

People in our trade see all sorts of camera troubles when customers bring their gear in. Sometimes something does not work exactly right in the first 12 months - the manufacturers who supply goods in Australia generally will set this. But sometimes the problem is after the 12 months - or includes water, sand, impact, or fungus damage. Frightening - as this can mean a big repair bill.

You can ease some of your anxiety by asking our staff about the MACK system of warranty extension. When you purchase your new Pro or Enthusiast equipment just a little more money invested can give one, three, or five year peace of mind in addition to that provided by the manufacturer. This covers malfunctions from inside the gear.

Best of all is the option to take out a Diamond International warranty. These run for 3 years and can fix or replace equipment even if it is broken (sand, water, impact, etc.) from the outside. We don't wish disaster on anyone but wouldn't it be a good idea to insure against the cost of it?

Those of you who have attended our workshops on DSLR videos will have seen the HOODMAN video loupes in action. These are the rubber-covered square eyepieces with the adjustable lenses that let you clap your eye directly to the LED screen on the back of the camera to observe the action as the camera films in video mode. HOODMAN are optical innovators -so much so that they are bringing out a set of spectacle frames designed specifically for photographers.

The frames are titanium and quite light in weight. They feature an additional hinge on the top of the frame that allows each eyepiece to independently rotate upwards clear of the eye. This lets the user press the naked eye close into a loupe or into an eyecup on a camera. The dioptre adjustment on the camera should then clear up the view. Of course you need to have the correct prescription lenses put into the frame by your optician.

We will be taking delivery of the new LEICA V-Lux 20 camera...as soon as it arrives... which will be...as soon as it arrives...Sigh...

When it does we will have a 12 x zoom lens -from 25-300mm equiv. - HD movie capability, and an in-built GPS tagging feature. To make a complete package that will be easy to use there is a copy of ADOBE Photoshop Elements 8 also included.

This camera and processing system bids fair to be a firm favourite with travelers, particularly those fortunate enough fly. There is a great deal of imaging capability in a small package. Remember that the Leica lenses are truly the world's best in these small sizes - don't your pictures deserve to be seen at their best?

Just a reminder that there is a great offer from the NIKON people - purchase one of their award-winning D700 full frame cameras and get a $200 cash back and 2 year warranty special. That's 100 cheap chocolate bars, 10 expensive cocktails, or one-third of a pair of Gucci shoes in Collins Street. If you already have two-thirds of a pair, hop in to see us for your NIKON deal.

Commencing 17^th May 2010 to 30^th June 2010.

NIKON D3000, D5000 and D90 CASHBACK:

Commencing 1^st June 2010 to the 31^st August 2010 Nikon will be offering cashbacks on the D3000 ($50 cashback), D5000 ($100 cashback) and D90 ($200 cashback) DSLRs via redemption.

It was fun, and for those who wanted to know how to make big money as well as great images, the SUE BRYCE GLAMOUR WORKSHOP series that was held on 1-2 May made it all happen.

The Saturday session concentrated on professional promotion and development as well as the technical aspects of Sue's business - and a fabulously successful business it is, by all accounts. Then Sunday saw a larger group of professionals and enthusiasts take control of a wide range of new CANON cameras and lenses to receive some very sound professional instruction by Sue and her model. It was astounding to see just what could be achieved with natural light and simple props and surfaces - no excuse for any of us not to succeed in portraiture.

Of course the venue - the Sandalford Winery in the Swan Valley - played a big part in the success of the weekend. You cannot but be happy with good wine and good food - it tunes up the photo-receptors! Or at least that is my excuse.

Thanks to the CANON staff , local and national, who brought the new equipment and the information about the Canon Professional Services and their assistance to photographic workers. Sue certainly seemed to love the new CANON 85mm. L-Series lens!

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!