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SHORT EXPOSURES: April 17

Canon US drops L-series lens prices…Beefed-up ‘Son of Nik’ editing app…Epson claims 400 years for mono prints…Fast, wide lens from Fujifilm…Lotsa TIPA awards…

Canon US drops L-series lens prices
Canon USA has dropped prices on 31 of its premium  L-series lenses and two teleconverters in the in the US, with savings of from US$50 to US$800.

The Canon 24mm, 50mm and 85mm are all US$100 cheaper, according to US online sources. The biggest drop was for the Canon EF 200-400mm f4L IS, which is now $800 cheaper at US$10,999.

This is the second price reduction of Canon L series lenses in the US in under a year, with significant drops back in September as well.

Beefed-up ‘Son of Nik’ editing app
Google has released a beefed up new version of its free Snapseed photo editing app for smartphones tablets. Snapseed 2 provides ‘the power and control of professional photo editing software, previously only available on the desktop.’ It’s reviewed as one of the best photo editing apps out there – and it’s based on Nik software, which Google acquired and then removed from the market as a suite of software products.

Snapseed 2 is a major upgrade, which features a ‘non-destructive workflow’ – if you mess up an edit it’s not irrecoverable – you can go back to where you started.

New tools including lens blur, tonal contrast, intelligent perspective transform, and spot healing. Filters can now be selectively applied to parts of the image using the brush tool.
It’s available in in both iOS and Android versions.

Epson claims 400 years for mono prints
Eps_SC_P800_product_Epson has released details of permanence testing being conducted on the Ultrachrome HD inkset used in its SureColor printers by Wilhelm Imaging Research.

Epson revealed that color prints made with UltraChrome HD pigment ink on Epson’s Premium Luster, Exhibition Fiber and Ultra Smooth Fine Art papers would last for over 200 years if properly stored, based on Wilhelm’s testing.

Epson also claimed that black-and-white prints created with the UltraChrome HD ink using the SureColor’s advanced black-and-white print mode could hit the 400 year mark if properly stored.

Epson said the preliminary results indicate that the new UltraChrome HD inkset is delivering twice the longevity ratings as the previous generation ink.

The Surecolor range is gradually replacing its Stylus Pro photo printers, with a 17-inch P800 recently flagged for release later in the year

Fast, wide lens from Fujifilm
XF16mmF1Fujifilm has announced late May availability of the Fujinon XF16mmF1.4 R WR wide-angle lens.

It’s the the fifth premium wide aperture lens to be added to the Fujinon range. The new lens weighs 375 grams and has a minimum working distance for macro photography of 15cm.

Other features:
– Nano G1 Coating for high image quality, and 13 elements in 11 groups;
– High speed autofocus in just 0.11 seconds;
– Focus ring with depth-of-field scale;
– Weather, dust and freeze resistant seals;

No local pricing was supplied. US pricing is US$1000.

Lotsa TIPA awards
logo-tipa-2015-aside-200The Technical Image Press Association (TIPA) has announced the winners of the annual awards for photo and imaging products for the past year.

Representatives from a bunch of photo magazines (28 magazines, 15 countries) have arrived at the following shedload of awards. It seems that few photo products manufacturers have gone home empty-handed:
Best Digital Professional Camera System: Pentax 645Z
Best Digital SLR Expert: Canon EOS 7D Mark II
Best Digital SLR Advanced: Nikon D810
Best Digital SLR Entry Level: Nikon D5500; Pentax K-S2
Best Hybrid Photo/Video Camera Expert: Sony α7S
Best Hybrid Photo/Video Camera Advanced: Panasonic Lumix LX100
Best Premium Camera: Fujifilm X100T
Best CSC Expert: Samsung NX1
Best CSC Advanced: Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark ll
Best CSC Entry Level: Sony α5100: Panasonic Lumix GM5
Best Expert Compact Camera: Fujifilm X30
Best Superzoom Camera: Nikon Coolpix P610
Best Easy Compact Camera: Canon Ixus 160/165 /170
Best Rugged Compact Camera: Panasonic Lumix FT6 (TS6)
Best Professional DSLR Lens: CanonEF11-24mm f/4L USM
Best Expert DSLR Lens: Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM
Best Entry Level DSLR Lens: Sigma 18-300mm F3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM
Best Interchangeable Lens: Zeiss Loxia
Best CSC Expert Lens: Fujinon XF 16-55mm f/2.8 R LM WR
Best CSC Entry-Level Lens: Tamron 14-150mm f/3.5-5.8 Di III
Best ActionCam: Ricoh WG-M1
Best Imaging Storage Solutions: Eyefi Mobi Pro
Best Lighting System: Nissin Air System
Best Portable Lighting System: Profoto B2
Best Tripod: Manfrotto BeFree Carbon series
Best Accessory: Zenfolio; UniqBall Ball Head
Best Technology and Design: Leica T (typ 701); Lytro Illum
Best Imaging Software: PhaseOne Capture One Pro 8
Best Photo Printer: Epson SureColor P600
Best Inkjet Paper: Canson Infinity Photo Lustre Premium RC 310 gsm
Best Photo Scanner: Epson Perfection V850 Pro
Best Mobile Imaging Device: Sony ILCE-QX1
Best Large Display: LG Digital Cinema 4K Monitor (Model 31MU97Z)
Best Photo Bag: Think Thank Photo Airport International LE Classic
Best Photo Projector: Epson EH-LS10000 Projector

 

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