Table of contents for V71 #2 in Pro Photo

If there’s one thing we should have learned this far into the era of digital imaging, it’s that nothing should really surprise us any more… and no development in technology – no matter how fantastical it may seem – is beyond the realms of possibility. So, in my last column, under the title ‘Size Matters’, I considered what might be the implications of Canon’s 50 megapixels D-SLRs. Fifty seems to be a magic number in megapixels digital capture and it’s certainly been important in the digital medium format world recently as all the major players promote the various benefits of a 50 MP ‘645’ CMOS. Canon’s full-35mm sensor obviously has smaller pixels, but the new EOS 5DS have plenty of other attractions related to speed, operational efficiency, lens system and…

Pentax’s parent company, Ricoh, has confirmed it will launch a full-35mm D-SLR which is expected to be available by the end of this year. Details are sketchy, but Ricoh showed a mock-up at the recent CP+ Show in Yokohama, Japan. It will obviously have the Pentax K mount and, like Nikon’s full-35mm models, will automatically switch to the ‘APS-C’ format when Pentax’s DA Series lenses are fitted. Ricoh has also announced the availability of two new full-35mm format Pentax lenses, the D FA 70-200mm f2.8 ED DC AW and the D FA 150-450mm f4.5-5.6 ED DC AW. Given both these models have weather-proofed barrels, it’s safe to assume the new full-35mm D-SLR body will be weather sealed as well. Three additional D FA Series lenses are also on the way,…

Foto Riesel – arguably Sydney’s best-known camera store – has been acquired by Digital Camera Warehouse which started out as an online retailer, but has subsequently opened a number of ‘bricks and mortar’ outlets. Located at 360 Kent Street in the heart of Sydney’s CBD, the store will re-open as ‘Foto Riesel by Digital Camera Warehouse’ in the coming months. Commenting on the acquisition, Digital Camera Warehouse’s director, Lucinda Dalton, said, “We’re excited to strengthen photo specialty retail in Sydney by becoming the new owners of Foto Riesel; such an iconic specialist retailer. We love its long history; it’s evolution through the changing face of the technology of photography and the retail industry. Purchasing Foto Riesel is part of our company’s growth strategy. We believe we will add significant value…

To Australia’s immediate north lies Papua New Guinea (PNG); its most southern tip less than five kilometres from Australia’s mainland. Yet life for women on this island nation is light years away from their Australian neighbours. In PNG around 95 percent of women, known as ‘meri’ in the local dialect, work on farms to provide for their families. Their lives are hard in every sense of the word, and there are few opportunities to break free when one is shackled by tradition, poverty, superstition and lack of education. If these burdens are not enough, the women of PNG are also beset by domestic violence and sexual assault at rates that are inconceivable. More than two-thirds of women suffer horrific abuse at the hands of their men and many are left…

Maximum Flash Power: 250 joules. Guide Number/f-stop: f32.2 (at two metres and ISO 100 with Magnum reflector). Variable Power Output: Nine stops, adjusted in 1/10 or full stop increments. Flash Duration (t=0.5): 1/1000 to 1/9300 second in Normal mode. 1/1000 to 1/15,000 in Freeze mode. Recycling Time: 1.35 seconds to 250 joules. Modelling Lamp: Nine watts LED (equivalent to 50 watts halogen). Modelling Lamp Control: Proportional, on/off, free adjustment. Triggering: Sync connector, switchable photo/IR cell, radio frequency. Main Features: Wireless TTL exposure control for selected Canon and Nikon D-SLRs, two flash outlets with fully asymmetric power distribution control, flash-to-flash output consistency of +/-1/20 f-stops and colour temperature of +/-150 degrees Kelvin, Normal and Freeze speed modes, digital display, auto dumping, cooling fan, switchable audible signals, accepts standard Profoto system reflectors…

Nikon has introduced a new version of its D810 specifically designed for astrophotography. Like its sibling, the D810A has a full-35mm CMOS sensor with a total resolution of 37.1 mega-pixels (36.3 MP effective), but it’s equipped with a modified infrared-cut filter which makes it four times more sensitive to the Hydrogen-alpha (H-alpha) wavelengths of light. These have a longer wavelength of 656 nm and are emitted in red by nebulae and other distant galaxies. The D810A optimises this particular sensitivity by having a special long exposure mode which can be set for timed durations of up to 900 seconds (15 minutes). The camera’s ‘Expeed 4’ image processor has been optimised to enhance noise reduction at the higher sensitivity settings. The ISO range is 200 to 12,800 with expansions to ISO…

Current to 10 May: Exhibition. Trent Parke: The Black Rose. The culmination of seven years of work by the Adelaide-based Magnum photographer, exploring ideas concerning the ‘meaning of life. At Gallery 21, the Art Gallery Of South Australia, North Terrace, Adelaide, South Australia 5000. Gallery hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm daily. For more information telephone (08) 8207 7000 or visit www.artgallery.sa.gov.au Current to 5 June: Exhibition. National Photographic Portrait Prize 2015. At the National Portrait Gallery (NPG), King Edward Terrace, Parkes, ACT 2600. Gallery hours are 10.00am to 5.00pm daily. Admission is free. For more information telephone (02) 6102 7000 or visit www.portrait.gov.au Current to 8 June: Exhibition. The Photograph And Australia. Comprising 350 photographs from over 35 lenders, this major exhibition reflects an evolving image of Australia from the…

It’s been a very long time since there’s really been anybody other than Canon and Nikon in the frame when considering a ‘small format’ professional camera. But the times they are a-changin’, and the rise and rise of the mirrorless designs is bringing some old names back into the frame, most notably Olympus. At the height of the 35mm OM System’s popularity, Olympus was the brand of choice for both pros and celebrity shooters alike. It was standard issue at National Geographic magazine, but plenty of others were also seduced by the whole OM ethos of compact, high performance cameras. Now, around three decades later, Olympus is attempting to repeat this success with its digital-era OM-D system and it’s already enjoying a fair degree of success. The key ingredients are,…

Printer Type: High speed ‘dry film’ inkjet photo printer for medium volume commercial applications. Ink Cartridges: Individual per colour. 200 millimetres capacity. UltraChrome D6-S type. Colours are yellow, magenta, cyan, black, light magenta and light cyan. Nozzle Configuration: 180 per colour. Minimum Droplet Size: 2.5 picolitres with Variable-Sized Droplet Technology. Operating Noise: 55 dB. Max. Print Speed: 450 prints per hour at 100x150 millimetres size. Power Consumption: 120 watts operational. Dimensions (WxHxD): 460x354x430 millimetres. Weight: 23 kilograms. Price (inc. GST): Printer = $4795. Ink cartridges = $69.95 each. Maintenance tank = $22. 102 millimetres wide gloss paper roll = $41.25. 152 millimetres wide gloss paper roll = $63.25. 152 millimetres wide lustre paper roll = $63.25. A4 matte paper roll = $77. Distributor: Epson Australia, visit www.epson.com.au…

“It started with the death of Brett Whiteley in 1992 because I kicked myself that I’d never done anything about taking a portrait of him. Shortly after this, I saw a documentary on TV about Robert Klippel and I decided to write to him and ask if I could make a portrait of him. He said yes, so I went and photographed him – in a reasonably modest way – and he kindly gave me a contact for James Gleeson… and so it all sort of went on from there. “Some time later somebody gave me an introduction to Charles Blackman, and then Martin Sharp and then, in 2000, my agent, Rachael Shay, had a connection with Adam Cullen through her husband, the art critic and writer Andrew Frost. And,…

Following the huge success of its B1 battery-powered flash unit with TTL exposure control, Profoto has introduced a second model in what it’s now calling its ‘Off Camera Flash’ (OCF) system. The new B2 is a more compact and lightweight option than the B1 and also employs an entirely different configuration. It’s based on a very small power pack which can be carried via a shoulder strap or belt loop, and which has a pair of outlets for the new B2 flash heads. Fully asymmetric power control is available across the outlets over a range of nine stops, enabling the lowest power setting to be just one joule. The low power settings enable continuous shooting at up to 20 flashes per second. In the B2’s ‘Freeze’ mode the flash duration…

Sydney in May is once again the place to be for lovers of photography as the city and surrounding areas will be awash with exhibitions, seminars, workshops and other events, all part of the 2105 Head On Photo Festival. The Head On Photo Festival is now Australia’s leading photography festival, having grown significantly since it was launched in 2010. The first festival comprised 70 events, but in 2014 it showcased the work of over 900 Australian and international photographers. This year, the exhibiting iphotographers include Mary Ellen Mark (USA), Chris Rainier, Johan Willner (Sweden), Gilbert Garcin (France), Ben Lowy (USA), Sara Lewkowicz (USA), Scott Typaldos and Chien-Chi Chang (Taiwan). Other exhibitions this year include City Of Shadows, photographs drawn from the NSW Police Forensic Archive (1912-1948); and Korea: Then And…

There’s nothing like a dip into the archives to reveal just how much things have changed in the imaging industry, especially over the last couple of decades. In the early 1970s, pros were getting to grips with the idea of shooting with colour film and – gasp! – automatic camera functions. Here’s a selection of what was on the pages of this magazine 45 years ago when it was called Professional Photography in Australia. This is a snapshot of the January/February 1970 issue. Cover photograph – Antarctica by Roger Hayne. Test Reports Zeiss Hologon ultra-wide 35mm film camera EL-Nikkor enlarging lenses Royal Bromesko warm-toned B&W printing papers Hanimex interchangeable lenses for 35mm SLRs People And Places Roger Hayne on assignment in Antarctica Lorraine Ware (Melbourne) mini portfolio The Institute Of…

Type: Fully automatic, interchangeable lens digital camera with Micro Four Thirds System bayonet lens mount. Focusing: Automatic 81-point wide-area system using contrast-detection measurement via imaging sensor. Focus points may be selected manually or automatically by the camera. Manual switching between one-shot and continuous AF modes. Face/eye detection and auto tracking. Continuous manual override available with single-shot mode. Low light/contrast assist via built-in illuminators. Focus assist via magnified image (3x/5x/7x/10x/14x) and focus peaking display (Red, Yellow, White or Black; High, Normal or Low intensity). Metering: 324-point ‘Digital ESP’ (i.e. multi-zone), centre-weighted average, spot (2.0%) with highlight/shadow bias, and TTL flash. Metering range is EV -2.0 to 20 (ISO 100/f2.8). Exposure Modes: Continuously-variable program with shift, shutter-priority auto, aperture-priority auto, metered manual, TTL auto flash and TTL flash. Plus 25 subject/scene programs.…