B&H Photo announced a contest for the best videos portraying the use of technology or gear in an unintended way. The first prize winner will receive a Canon EOS 6D or a Nikon D600. Submit an original video about using gear or technology in an unintended way, and you may the winner! Submissions end 9/1.

We are obsessed with our gadgets these days. We are using them all the time for an ever increasing variety of reasons. But sometimes we have no idea how to use these gadgets, and in many cases we end up using them the wrong way!

We thought it would be fun to see what kind of crazy, weird, funny and clever videos you can create in which some of our favorite devices and gadgets are used in a way that they were never intended to be used.

Second prize is a Rebel SL1 (EOS 100D) or a Sony NEX-5R, third prize is a Canon Powershot S110, or a Nikon Coolpix P330. To enter the contest click here.

Contest Details

Submissions: August 1st to September 1st, 11:59 PM EST
The top ten will be chosen by the social media team and/or celebrity judges.
Voting: September 2nd to 10th, 11:59 PM EST
Winners announced September 10th through social media channels

Topaz’ latest addition to their products is Topaz Restyle, a plug-in that allows you to create photography effects and looks that you might otherwise get after long work with PhotoShop.

There are plenty of tools that help you achieve a specific look in your photos. But Topaz ReStyle is different – it gets you results that you wouldn’t have thought of otherwise. So next time you’re staring at an image after making some minor adjustments and it’s just not quite there, try using ReStyle to jump-start your creativity.

ReStyle’s proprietary technology learns from real photos to create sublime effects unavailable anywhere else. Immediately get hundreds of professional-quality results that would otherwise take you hours in Photoshop.

Topaz Restyle has an introductory price of $29.99 (click here) using coupon code restyleit, instead of $59.99. The offer expires 8/31.

Canon Europe press release:

LONDON, August 12, 2013 – Canon Europe, world-leader in imaging solutions, is sponsoring a WWF expedition to the Laptev Sea in Siberia as part of its role as Conservation Imaging Partner of WWF International. This is the second WWF Arctic expedition in 12 months, following a successful research trip entitled ‘Sailing to Siku – Voyage to the Last Ice Area’ in the summer of 2012.

WWF International is mounting the expedition to the Taimyr Peninsula in the Laptev Sea, one of the least explored areas of the Russian Arctic, from 13-26 August.  Its aim is to determine, by collecting the required genetic material, if there are genetically-distinct Laptev populations of walrus and polar bear, or whether the animals in the Laptev Sea are related to one or more of the adjacent populations. The answer to this question is required for development of effective status monitoring systems for both species and to determine the actions needed for their protection.

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  The better late than never Canon C100 (Adorama | B&H) review PLUS video review of the Canon XA25! – Philip Bloom
  • Same sensor as C300 and C500 which means stunning performance. Image look amazing.
  • Low light performance is pretty much as good as it gets right now
  • Terrific audio handling, good quality pre-amps, phantom power proper XLRS
  • Ergonomically great. All the buttons are in the right place and very easy to access key features with a twiddle here and a press there. Very intuitive
  • Terrific dynamic range with excellent gamma curves and the wondrous C-LOG
  • LCD is excellent

   

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  Canon PowerShot A2600 Review – ephotozine (sample pics, lab shots, etc)
  
  • For those in the market for a budget compact camera, the Canon PowerShot A2600 is going to appeal. Available for just £80, it has decent enough image quality and a well built metal body that looks stylish in any of the colours it is available in. There are a few cons; short battery life, slow continuous shooting and the lack of optical image stabilisation, but these are perfectly acceptable for this price. You can use the eco mode to ensure you get the most from the battery and beginners to photography will find the help menu useful.

   

• Canon Rebel SL1/EOS 100D Camera Review – The Perfect Camera For Walkers – Walks And Walking
• Canon sees good growth opportunities in camera market – thestar
• Canon & Ron Howard’s Project Imaginat10n – Jules Bianchi
• Red State Cinematographer Turns to Canon Cameras – sportsvideo

  • A director of photography for the past two decades, David Klein, ASC, has shot movies and television shows using numerous film and digital formats. “Every motion-picture film stock has its own look,” he noted, “and that’s true of every digital cinema camera as well.” A firm believer that the needs of the production should always dictate its capture medium, Klein shot the 2011 feature Red State using a combination of digital camera systems, including EOS 7D Digital SLR cameras from Canon U.S.A.

• Canon, Nikon struggle against smartphone cameras in Korea – c|net

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  Canon EOS 5D Mark III Magic Lantern RAW / FULL REVIEW – Part I – NotWorkingFilms

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  Scratching the Color Filter Array Layer Off a DSLR Sensor for Sharper B&W Photos – PetaPixel
  • In October 2012, astrophotographer Raymond Collecutt of Whangarei, New Zealand shared a new (and risky) idea he was playing around with: converting a standard DSLR into a sharper monochrome camera for photographing space.
    After removing the glass layer that’s covering the sensor of his Canon 1000D (“It pops off slowly with a small screwdriver,” he says), Collecutt started scratching the green layer from the surface of his sensor using a soft point. This layer is the color filter array (CFA) that helps capture color information. It’s a layer that’s directly on the surface of the sensor (unlike the infrared filter, which sits above the sensor).