We Have Moved

We have moved to a new address. Please follow the link below and bookmark:

www.digitaljournalofphotography.com 

Please continue to browse around the old site if you would like to, there's still plenty of original content here.

Phase One officially annouces IQ250 - 50MP CMOS digital back

Press release:

Phase One Introduces First CMOS-based Medium Format Camera

Opens New Frontiers for Photographers

COPENHAGEN, January 24, 2014 -- Phase One today introduced the world’s first CMOS-based medium format digital camera back. The new 50-megapixel IQ250 brings unprecedented image capture flexibility to the IQ2 family of wireless-enabled high-end camera systems. Whether photo sessions are held in the studio or on a mountainside, the IQ250 lets photographers capture stunning imagery in available light -- virtually anywhere and any time.

With a sensor size of 44x33mm, the IQ250 offers 68 percent more image-capture real estate than any full-frame 35mm DSLR camera and the widest usable ISO range of any medium format camera system. Its phenomenal dynamic range of 14 f-stops enables photographers to capture the most demanding scenes in one shot, while retaining details in highlights and shadows.

New Apple Mac Pro Available Starting Tomorrow

The highly anticipated Mac Pro will be available to order tomorrow from the Apple Online Store, prices start at £3,299 inc VAT (£2,749.17 ex VAT).

Press release:


CUPERTINO, California―December 18, 2013―Apple today announced the all-new Mac Pro will be available to order starting Thursday, December 19. Redesigned from the inside out, the all-new Mac Pro features the latest Intel Xeon processors, dual workstation-class GPUs, PCIe-based flash storage and ultra-fast ECC memory.

Designed around an innovative unified thermal core, the all-new Mac Pro packs unprecedented performance into an aluminium enclosure that is just 9.9-inches tall and one-eighth the volume of the previous generation. Mac Pro features 4-core, 6-core, 8-core or 12-core Intel Xeon processors running at Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz and two workstation-class AMD FirePro GPUs that deliver up to eight times the graphics performance of the previous generation Mac Pro.* PCIe-based flash storage delivers sequential read speeds up to 10 times faster than conventional desktop hard drives, and ECC DDR3 gives the new Mac Pro up to 60GBps of memory bandwidth for seamlessly editing full-resolution 4K video while simultaneously rendering effects in the background. With an incredible six Thunderbolt 2 ports, each with up to 20Gbps of bandwidth per device, the new Mac Pro completely redefines desktop expandability with support for up to 36 high-performance peripherals, including the latest 4K displays.

Pricing & Availability
The Mac Pro is available with a 3.7 GHz quad-core Intel Xeon E5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz, dual AMD FirePro D300 GPUs with 2GB of VRAM each, 12GB of memory, and 256GB of PCIe-based flash storage starting at £2,499 inc VAT (£2,082.50 ex VAT); and with a 3.5 GHz 6-core Intel Xeon E5 processor with Turbo Boost speeds up to 3.9 GHz, dual AMD FirePro D500 GPUs with 3GB of VRAM each, 16GB of memory, and 256GB of PCIe-based flash storage starting at £3,299 inc VAT (£2,749.17 ex VAT). Configure-to-order options include faster 8-core or 12-core Intel Xeon E5 processors, AMD FirePro D700 GPUs with 6GB of VRAM, up to 64GB of memory, and up to 1TB of PCIe-based flash storage. Additional technical specifications, configure-to-order options and accessories are available online at www.apple.com/uk/mac-pro.

The all-new Mac Pro will be available to order starting Thursday, December 19 through the Apple Online Store, Apple’s retail stores and select Apple Authorised Resellers.


*Testing conducted by Apple in October 2013 using preproduction Mac Pro 12-core 2.7 GHz units with 1TB flash storage and AMD FirePro D700 graphics, and shipping Mac Pro 12-core 3.06 GHz units with 512GB SSD and ATI Radeon HD 5870 graphics.

http://test.skimlinks.com 

Free 40mm f2.8 STM lens, Adobe package when bought with Canon EOS 5D Mk III - WEX UK deal UK

UK dealer WEX is giving away a Canon EF 40mm f2.8 STM lens, worth £169 (one of my favorite lenses) when purchasing a Canon EOS 5D Mk III. Further, Canon is offering both Adobe Lightroom 5 and Premiere Elements free when bought with the Canon EOS 5D MK III (or Canon EOS 6D) worth a further £180.

Please see here for details. With each product sold I get a small referral fee (but that doesn't cost you more, as it's paid by the retailer)

Other options available here.

Nikon to announce retro Df model

Nikon is set to introduce a new model, slated to be the Df, if a series of TV teasers aired in the US is anything to go by. Is this a picture of the real thing? Maybe, maybe not. We should know tomorrow though. The lower dial to the right of the pentaprism (from the front) is used to select the ISO settings. How novel.

Fujinon XF 23mm f1.4 first impressions

 

Build quality is impressive, and the aperture ring is nicely weighted, an improvement over the 14mm and the Zeiss 12mm in my opinion. I'm not keen on the plastic, petal shaped hood, especially as it was Fuji who followed Leica with the more effective squared hoods. It's not flocked with felt either, which I prefer. I've had the lens for a few days now and thought I would add a few samples. I'll be adding more in due course.

Fujinon XF 23mm f1.4 at 1.4, ISO200 out of camera JPEGs from X-Pro1.

At 100-percent actual pixels (taken from the extreme corners) there are some slight double edged effects consistent with slightly over-corrected designs.

After the Storm; Fujinon XF 23mm f1.4 at f1.4, ISO200. X-Pro1.

The Fujinon 23mm f1.4 XF R lens can be pre-ordered from WEX in the UK for £849, or in the US from B&HPhoto and Adorama for $899.

Nikon starts shipping new 58mm prime

Nikon is starting to ship the new 58mm f1.4G in Europe and and the US. I have one coming and I may post some samples here next week, perhaps against the Canon EF 50mm f1.2L.

The Nikkor 58mm f1.4G can be pre-ordered from WEX in the UK for £1,599 or in the US through B&H Photo for $1,696.95.

DxOMark publishes Sony A7R sensor results

DxOMark has published the results of the full-frame 36-MP Sony A7R. The lab concludes the sensor is very close in performance to that used in the Nikon D800 and D800E. Read the full review here at DxOMark. Please note that as the author of the review I can't comment further on any aspect of the results.

The Sony A7R can be pre-ordered at Wex in the UK for £1,699. US readers can pre-order at B&H Photo at $2,298, or at Adorama for $2,298