Are You Looking For A Different Kind of Photo Contest?

Photo Contest
Image courtesy: lensrentals.com

Then look no further than lensrentals.com. Roger Cicala started the First Annual Photogeek Geek Photo Contest. There is a little more than one week left to participate (10 days left).

Things are a bit different in this contest, compared to “classic” photo contests.Roger’s introduction:

Don’t worry, my pixel-peeping photogeek friends, I know that your usual images of ISO 12233 charts, backfocus targets, dog and cat fur don’t lend themselves well to the various photo competitions out there. I know that a beautiful picture of a cloudy sunset doesn’t give you the opportunity to evaluate corner resolution, and that it’s impossible to assess for spherical aberration in an artfully shadowed nude. Yes, we could enter an superbly sharp brick wall in the architectural category of a normal photo contest, or a 100% crop of our cat’s whiskers in the wildlife section, but we know those ‘artsy’ photo judges never have proper appreciation for that kind of work.

These are the categories:

  • Sharpest corner – first prize: a lensbaby
  • Bokehliciousness – First prize: An early 1900s Baush and Lomb Tessar
  • 3-D Rendering of a 2-D Test Chart – First prize: A 24″ x 36″ Edmund Optics Resolving Power chart
  • Largest Number of Accesories Between the Lens and the Camera – First prize: 2 pounds of  lens elements from Roger’s bin (see pic above)
  • Best Picture of Stuff Inside a Lens – First prize: the Lensrentals repair team will get the stuff out of your lens
  • Most Distortion Corrected in Software – First prize: A distortion-free Holga Pinhole lens
  • Dynamic Range Demonstration – First prize: A pair of no-longer-available-to-the-public, totally geeked out T-shirts
  • Best Picture from a Camera without a Movie Mode – First prize: A Lomography Kunstructor Build-it-yourself film SLR Kit

Be aware of the following:

JUST SO YOU KNOW:  Yes, the contest is in fun, but the prizes are real. So if you’re the only one who enters a category (which seems pretty likely) you win the prize. If no one enters a category, I win the prize (it’s my stuff anyway, so that’s fair.) Although I suspect some of my fellow judges will have a catfight over the T-shirts, at least.

Entries must be received by November 15th, we’ll announce the winners over Thanksgiving weekend after the sales are over. Non U. S. entries are accepted but we’ll only be able to ship to U. S. addresses so you’ll need a friend in the U. S. to forward it to you.

And be sure to check all you have to know at lensrentals.com

Canon EOS 70D Review (Digital Camera Review)

Digital Camera Review posted their review of Canon’s latest mid-range APS-C DSLR, the [shoplink 14246]Canon EOS 70D[/shoplink]. Image quality for stills is good, as much as the other features of the 70D, but where the EOS 70D really excels is the Dual Pixel Auto-Focus, especially when it comes to video. In the conclusion they write:

Switch the 70D into video mode […] and all bets are off. While the 60D didn’t offer continuous AF for video capture, the 70D does so, and does so with a vengeance. Continuous AF shooting video with the 70D is simply the best DSLR performance I have ever had my hands on, regardless of camera brand. I don’t shoot a lot of video with my personal DSLRs, but the AF system of the 70D has the potential to make even a video novice like me look like they know what they’re doing. Canon has had good video image quality for a while now in their DSLRs, but the introduction of this AF system raises their video performance to another level.

The pros according to the reviewer:

  • Good still image quality
  • Good ISO noise performance
  • Latest generation processing engine and technology
  • Touchscreen monitor offers quick control response
  • Exceptional DSLR video performance due to continuous AF

Sample pics and test charts can be seen here, images of the camera here. Final rating 4.5/5.

Canon EOS 70D
[shopcountry 14246]

EOS 70D

New Tamron 150-500mm Set To Be Announced This Week?

Tamron 150-500mm

Tamron will soon announce a new lens, candidate date is November 7th.

Rumors have word that it will be a replacement for the current Tamron 200-500mm f/5-6.3, but that it will have more range, possibly 150-500mm, and feature image stabilization technology (VC=Vibration Compensation). Tamron will just announce the development of the lens, pricing and availability will be known in Q4 2014.

The image above showed up in a Polish forum, the rumor came via PR.

Canon Rumor: New Pro “1” Series DSLR Could Be Announced Before Summer 2014

[shoplink 4119]Canon Rumor[/shoplink]

A new rumour concerning the next top pro “1” series Canon DSLR. We are talking about a still camera this time.

NL had word that a new top 1-series body could be announced in Q2 of 2014. A price reduction of the [shoplink 4119]EOS-1D X[/shoplink] before the announcement of the new body can be expected. The new DSLR most probably will not ship before end of 2014.

No specs unfortunately.