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Hasselblad has been sold to an investment group. The infusion of cash may allow Hasselblad to compete effectively against Phase One, the big kid on the block. Cnet reported the sale today.

http://news.cnet.com/8301-30685_3-20075731-264/private-equity-firm-acquires-hasselblad/

On Monday Phase One announced the release of three new backs, the IQ140, IQ160, and IQ180, featuring 40, 60, and 80 megapixels respectively.

Although 80 megapixels is an incremental increase, the other capabilities of the backs impress me more.

These are the first backs to employ USB 3, which will eventually be a  blessing when dealing with such large files. New superfast buffering facilitates quick work. A 3.2 inch, 1.15 megapixel multi-touch screen that takes advantage of Focus Mask and instant zoom to confirm focus on the fly. The screen compensates for ambient brightness automatically. Focus Mask during preview clarifies the range of focus for the first time before the shot.

Specs are great, but when working with a camera, you want it to get out of the way. These backs answer a host of prayers.

I haven’t seen or handled any of the IQ backs yet, but I expect to get my hands on one near the time of their release in April. If the handling improvements are as dramatic as claimed, the Phase One system will extend its dominance of the medium format space.

The Phase One press release follows.

Phase One Announces IQ Series
Digital Camera Backs
Designed for Ultimate Creative Freedom
Copenhagen, January 24, 2011 — Phase One, the world’s leading pro photography equipment provider, today announced a bold new generation of medium format digital camera backs. The Phase One IQ180, IQ160 and IQ140 digital camera backs feature maximum resolutions of 80, 60.5 and 40 high quality megapixels respectively. This series sets new standards for medium format camera system handling and performance.
The Phase One IQ180 captures at full-frame 80 megapixel resolution, with a dynamic range of 12.5 f-stops. It is the first product of its kind to feature a USB3 connection, facilitating faster image transfers in the future. The IQ180 also features a FireWire 800 connection, ensuring the fastest tethered capture speeds possible today. For untethered shooting, the IQ180 digital back’s new memory card interface is so fast that it eliminates buffering delays, supporting continuous shooting until a card is filled.
“I am amazed by the image quality I’ve gotten ‘out of the box’ with the Phase One IQ180 on the Phase One 645DF camera. I can create images with more detail and unique looks than with any other camera out there. It helps me develop styles unique to me,” said lifestyle photographer Jens Honoré. (website: http://www.jenshonore.com/)
A newly-designed 3.2 inch retina type, multi touch screen features 1.15 megapixel resolution, providing the highest resolution and largest display of any SLR type camera available today. This means that very fine details can be checked instantly during a photo shoot — for instance using Phase One’s unique Focus Mask and the instant zoom function. The automatic adjustment of brightness and contrast ensures that the display is visible under various light conditions.
Context-sensitive controls, such as the instant zoom function, allow a photographer to zoom into an image using one finger only. Small histograms and highlight warnings can be enlarged to full screen view by a simple touch. The new Focus Mask available during preview helps validate depth-of-field and image focus. The wide format display allows for a full 4:3 aspect ratio VGA resolution image next to histogram, highlight warning, focus mask, EXIF data, and touch controls. This touch screen display is complemented by Phase One’s intuitive 4-button navigation.
“The new high-resolution multi touch screen with its intuitive controls is a perfect tool for checking image quality right at the moment of capture. With this display quality, I can leave my laptop at home, and ultimately this makes
my work easier,” said architectural photographer, Eugeni Pons. (website:

http://www.eugeni-pons.com/)

Phase One’s patent-pending Sensor+ technology, built into the Phase One IQ180, supports a variety of shooting conditions. One can capture images with full 80 megapixels resolution or, using Sensor+ mode, switch instantly to capture images with 20 megapixels resolution at 4 times higher sensitivity, up to ISO 3200. This flexibility is very useful under low light conditions; there is no need to slow down to change cameras, and there’s no crop or lens factor. One gets the maximum wide-angle performance from the existing lens, higher ISO levels, and a faster workflow.
According to fashion photographer Stefan Kapfer, “The new IQ180 suits my work very well. I can use the full 80 megapixel resolution for my high end fashion shots, and the 20 megapixel images I get from the Sensor+ technology give me a faster workflow when I do work for catalogue production. It’s really two perfect solutions in one system.” (website: http:// www.stefankapfer.de/)
Compatibility is improved between the IQ digital backs and the Phase One 645DF camera body. The power state of the digital back can now be controlled directly from the 645DF camera. An integrated battery charger ensures that the battery is charged while one is shooting tethered, offering more shooting versatility.
Capture One 6
Capture One 6 has been optimized for shooting with Phase One IQ digital backs. Together with the IQ series backs this professional RAW converter and image editing software will deliver the world’s highest image quality with excellent color and detail. The software comprises all the tools required to capture, organize, edit, share and print images for an efficient workflow.
Reliability and Service
Pro photographers can rely on Phase One IQ digital backs to get their jobs done. Their highly durable build quality is designed and tested to work in the toughest environments, including extreme heat, cold and humidity.
All Phase One products represent long-term investment value with superior service. For professionals, this protection is priceless, especially when shooting in unfamiliar situations and locations around the world.
Various service levels are available for Phase One IQ digital backs. For example, a value-added option includes a life-time (5 year) warranty, a free loaner unit during repair and other options. Phase One offers 365 days round the clock support delivered on-line and backed up by dedicated partners and a global support team. For a complete list of all the new Phase One IQ digital back features, including supported camera bodies, please see www.phaseone.com/iq
Availability and Pricing
The Phase One IQ180 is expected to be available end of April 2011. The Phase One IQ160 and IQ140 are expected to be available end of May 2011. The products may be ordered now through Phase One professional photography partners worldwide: www.phaseone.com/partners
Prices for new digital backs start at 16.990 EUR / 21.990 USD. Attractive upgrade offers are available for all existing Phase One photographers. People interested in a demo of the new products can sign up for a live demo here: www.phaseone.com/demo

About Phase One
Phase One is the world’s leader in open-platform based medium format camera systems and solutions. Phase One medium format cameras, digital backs and lenses are designed to deliver superior quality image capture and investment value. Phase One’s Capture One software helps streamline capture and post-production processes. Phase One products are known for their quality, flexibility and speed enabling pro photographers shooting in a wide range of formats to achieve their creative visions without compromise. For more information, please visit Phase One at http://www.phaseone.com. Follow Phase One on Twitter at http://www.twitter.com/PhaseOneWW

I highly recommend Mark Dubovoy’s characteristically insightful assessment of the best medium format systems found on a recent post on Luminous Landscape. Of course, I always think those who see things my way must be brilliant.

http://tinyurl.com/2f25q5g

After spending time with the Leica S2, I concluded it was by far the best handling medium format camera system, blessed with astonishing glass and resolution that seems to exceed its nominal 37.5 megapixel stats. I had no complaints but Leica upgraded the firmware, all to the good.

Some of the improvements don’t mean much to the way I shoot. I don’t care about increased tethering speed, for example. Autofocus works faster, improving the Leica’s class-leading speed, and the interface offers more custom settings. However, a few new features refine control and speed shooting in ways that matter most to me.

1. The histogram is now larger and easier to read. More importantly and unlike any other display I know, it reflects RAW data, not a jpeg representation. As someone who usually exposes to the right to get the maximum amount of information in a file, this is indispensable.

2. The clipping points for shadow and highlight on the histogram can be set by the user. Again, this is invaluable.

3. User profiles now include Drive mode. One can set up all parameters for a given situation. A landscape photographer can instantly switch from his preferred set up- single shot, mirror lock up, manual focus, manual exposure- to fashion mode- auto focus, aperture priority, high speed drive, etc- in a matter of moments.

Once again, Leica sets the standard for usability.

Leica S2 Firmware Press Release:

Germany (December 22, 2010) – Leica Camera AG has released a new firmware update for the Leica S-System. All LEICA S2 and S2-P cameras will now be supplied with the latest firmware version. Users wishing to bring their camera up-to-date can now download the firmware update from the “Owners Area” on the Leica website and take advantage of the latest improvements.

“Our close cooperation with photographers gives us not only an opportunity to constantly develop and improve the Leica S-System, but also allows us to address the precise needs of professional photographers. Therefore, the latest update, FW 1.0.0.24, includes quite a number of suggestions and wishes determined during discussions with professional users. The result is a wide range of improvements for applications, features and functions as well as the handling of the S2,” reports Stephan Schulz, product manager for the Leica S-System at Leica Camera AG.

The FW 1.0.0.24 firmware update enables a multitude of enhanced camera functions. These include, for instance, lossless DNG compression. This offers particular benefits by reducing file sizes from around 75MB to around 40MB and increasing the burst-rate capability to 14 consecutive exposures (at 1.5 frames per second). Both of these factors depend on the image content. At the same time, DNG compression leads to faster file-saving and transfer times when shooting tethered. Further new features of the firmware update are a new maximum exposure time of 125 seconds, shutter speed section in bulb mode (with the new firmware, the setting wheel can now be used to select the shutter speeds directly) and a setting option for highlight and shadow level warnings.

Existing camera functions have also been improved in the firmware update FW 1.0.0.24. This applies, for instance, to the histogram display in automatic review mode. This display option has now been enlarged for improved legibility. Furthermore, the update also allows the expansion of memory card compatibility to include 64GB UDMA6 cards and offers additional setting options for the AF/AE memory button. Autofocus precision has increased even more and focusing on very small subject details is, above all, greatly improved now.

Although his method was far from the world of medium format, Cartier-Bresson fused art and editorial in a way that should astonish anyone. Check out the exhibit of his work at MOMA SF if you have a chance in the next few weeks.

http://jamesbmartin.wordpress.com/2010/12/25/cartier-bresson-at-moma-sf/

Sometimes, it’s what doesn’t happen that matters. Our group crossed the Drake Passage twice, taking two days each way. A storm had passed by before we crossed to the Antarctic Peninsula, a 750 mile traversal of what can be the roughest water in the world. Just before we returned, the Clelia,  a luxurious stabilized ship, was disabled when a rogue wave knocked out the window of the bridge, swamping the electronics, disabling their communications, and hurling passengers out of their bunks. Our return was smooth sailing, but two days later the largest storm in decades hit the Drake with waves exceeding 35 feet. Timing is everything.

Good luck followed us as we made our way down toward the Lemaire Channel. We visited gentoo penguin colonies, small groups of chin straps, and a few adelies. For some reason seal sightings were rare, but most of us enjoyed a close encounter with a yawning leopard seal on iceberg. They resemble seagoing Komodo dragons, 1,100 pounds of predator sporting recurved teeth.

The mountainous peninsula is an extension of the Andes and cruising through them is like voyaging through a drowned world. Ice blankets the peaks, and sometimes a solid wall of glacier ice continues unbroken for miles. I shot the northern extreme of the Peninsula with a Leica S2 equipped with 70mm and 180mm lenses. I find it the most intuitive of medium format cameras. It sits well in the hand, the menus are clear and the few buttons well placed. It’s hard to fault the quality of the files. They compare well to 60 megapixel systems despite their relatively “lightweight” 37.5 megapixel sensor. I shot landscapes and and penguins at Half Moon Island and Brown Bluff in sunny and brisk conditions, from the ship handheld and on a tripod on shore. Love it. Unfortunately, my rather beat up loaner seized up on my midway through my day on Brown Bluff. I suspect jarring or moisture damaged the card slot.

The Antarctic Peninsula has suffered more rapid temperature increases than most places in the worlds. The penguin colonies are moving south to avoid muddy conditions that can kill the chicks  before they hatch.  The collapse of the ice shelves is reducing the food supply for wildlife. These changes are not readily apparent to the eye although they are clear via satellite, but over time we will see clearly what is going on even at a human timescale.

Nick Devlin wrote an initial review on Luminous Landscape of the Pentax 645D 39 megapixel medium format camera- ( http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/pentax_645d___a_first_review.shtml ) -and followed it up with a shoot out between the Pentax and the Phase One 40+ system with Mark Segal, ( http://www.luminous-landscape.com/reviews/cameras/2010_mini_medium_format_shoot_out.shtml ). In both cases, the Pentax was roughly the equal of the Phase One in image quality, sometimes a hair better, sometimes a bit worse. The interface looked completely transparent, but Nick encountered some operational glitches.

This camera resets the price /quality equation. There are a host of legacy Pentax lenses available, many on Ebay for a song, so the cost of entry to the medium format world has dropped.

Mamiya released their latest camera, the RZ22, a 22 megapixel version of their  digital re-imagining of the classic RZ 6×7 medium format camera, the RZ33.  The Press Release follows.

PRESS RELEASE: Mamiya Announces New RZ22 Digital Camera

Elmsford, NY – October 28, 2010 – Mamiya announces today a new RZ digital camera designed to enable professional photographers to utilize the superior flexibility of the open-platform Mamiya RZ system, at an exceptional price. The new RZ22 Digital Camera couples the latest technological improvements of the 22 megapixel, large sensor Mamiya DM digital back with the latest Mamiya RZ67 Pro-IID camera, delivering the same ease-of-use as Mamiya’s popular RZ33 system, all for only $11,499.

“Photographers were thrilled by our introduction of the RZ33 system, and many have indicated that they would like the option of an equally easy to use digital RZ system at a lower price point. The new RZ22 digital camera delivers just that: a powerful large-sensor digital camera delivering superior quality image files with the legendary flexibility of the Mamiya RZ camera system,” said Mamiya Product Marketing Manager Mike Edwards. ”Photographers can even utilize their existing Mamiya RZ system lenses, which are known as some of the sharpest, highest resolution lenses available.”

About the Mamiya RZ22
The Mamiya RZ22 is a new large-sensor digital camera kit combining the high performance 22 megapixel CCD sensor of the Mamiya DM22 digital back with the latest RZ67 Pro-IID camera body, plus a Mamiya Digital Interface kit and focusing screen. With no cables necessary, RZ22 users simply add their favorite razor sharp RZ lens and a CF card, and they are ready to produce large, detailed images at shooting speeds of up to 70 frames-per-minute. The RZ22 leverages the large availability of lenses and accessories from the previous generations of the Mamiya RZ67 family, allowing photographers to utilize premium-level equipment they already own.

Pricing and Availability
The new Mamiya RZ22 digital camera kit, including Capture One and Leaf Capture software, is now available in the U.S. for $11,499, from authorized Mamiya Digital dealers.

Michael Reichmann posted my piece on the using digital medium format gear for subjects usually seen as the province of 35mm such as wildlife and street photography. See:

http://www.luminous-landscape.com/essays/you_cant_do_that.shtml

Phase One is offering amazing trade ins for the latest gear, up to 90 per cent for customers who want to upgrade a back within 6 months. The press release follows:

COPENHAGEN, September 29, 2010 – Phase One, a leading provider of medium format digital camera systems, today announced an unprecedented new-product investment protection plan.

Effective immediately, Phase One is offering customers security when they buy a Phase One product. Now customers are guaranteed first class investment protection should they wish to upgrade to future Phase One innovations as new products are launched over the coming years.

Eligible customers who have purchased their products from an authorized Phase One partner and wish to upgrade to a new product within 6 months of its official launch, are guaranteed to receive:

• 90 percent of their original purchase price against any new Phase One digital back launched at a higher price within 18 months of the original purchase date.
• 50 percent of their original purchase price against any new Phase One camera body launched at a higher price within 24 months of the original purchase date.
• 50 percent of their original purchase price against any new Phase One or Schneider Kreuznach lens for the Phase One 645 camera platform launched at a higher price within 24 months of the original purchase date.

“Engineering and development is Phase One’s biggest investment,” said Henrik O. Håkonsson, CEO and President of Phase One.  “And we are eager to reward customers who have faith in us and invest in our products. Through this Loyalty & Investment Program, we are inviting them to share the benefits of our passion for driving technical breakthroughs and delivering the best possible products to market.”

Phase One professional camera equipment is available only through authorized Phase One partners worldwide. For further details, including how the protection plan works for the purchase of fully-configured camera systems, please see the partner closest to you: http://www.phaseone.com/en/Try-and-buy/Partner-Locator.aspx.

Hearing Mark Dubovoy talk about extracting maximum resolution at the PODAS Iceland workshop was revelatory. He starts with the best glass and a state-of-the-art back. A technical camera equipped with an excellent view camera lens has inherent advantages, including freedom from vibration and a favorable lens to back relationship. Alpa notes that misalignment between the back and lens, possible for a number of reasons, degrades sharpness. They offer shims of thickness down to 1/100mm to align the back with the back adaptor.

Installing the correct thickness is an interative process, adding and subtracting shims and reviewing the results like an optometrist trying lenses of differing strength with a phoropter to find the right prescription for a given patient’s eyes.

The improvements can be startling, pushing what was already the sharpest system into a new level of clarity. Mark showed projected images of before and after shimmed shot, and even with the smearing one would expect on a screen, the improvement was visible.

The best digital medium format backs can deliver more resolution than cameras and lenses currently allow. Fortunately, uncompromising companies such as Alpa and Phase continue to push the standard ever higher.

Leaf, a subsidiary of Phase One, released an 80 megapixel back, the Aptus II 12, which yields a 480 megapixel 16 bit TIFF file. It boasts a touch screen interface. The 12R version adds an internally rotating back for easy switching from horizontal to vertical. It’s clear the megapixel wars are not over yet.

http://www.leaf-photography.com/products_aptus212.asp

While in Iceland with the Phase One Digital Artist’s Series workshop, I saw this video of an African Elephant standing on a Phase One and a Hasselblad back. Don’t try this at home.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aFnQVnMY3Co

When were weren’t learning about camera theory, Capture One, or how to garner maximum resolution with real world equipment, the Iceland PODAS (Phase One Digital Artist’s Series) workshop participants shot under heavy cloud or light rain. I had visited the island twice before and looked forward to seeing one of the most scenic areas for the first time, Landmannalauger, a region of pastel-tinted hills, moss-covered lava, small ponds, and geothermal features.

Overcast skies allowed the colors to pop with full saturation.

I could have spent days here. As it was, I had to hike full speed from stance to stance just to get an overview. I will return for an ample stay so I can get a better feel for the landscape.

There is a 55 km trail to the coast that runs past ice caps, glaciers, and the volcano that disrupted European air traffic this year. The Alpa TC would be the medium format solution for that trek.

The Phase One Digital Artists Series Iceland Adventure concluded last night with a grand dinner at Eyrarbakki at the Red House. We reviewed our week on the island, glorying in the opportunities and glossing over the glum weather we endured. Everyone learned something. I definitely learned more than I taught. Mark Dubovoy and Jeff Schewe proved to be limitless sources of photographic knowledge and good humor, showing us how to elicit the last full measure of quality from each pixel.

I have a free night in Reykjavik in front of me, but given the condition of the well dressed party people scraggling home at noon, I suspect Sunday could be relatively quiet. Fine with me. We frequently hit the pillows near midnight after shooting til dark, eating late, and attending presentations.

Despite the clouds and rain, Iceland yielded some stunning images.

I look forward to the next PODAS and thank Phase One’s Kevin Raber and his troops for preparing and managing the event.

After more than 20 visits to SE Asia, Burma and Cambodia  continue to attract me the most. I look forward to returning on this Joseph Van Os Photosafaris trip, digital medium format gear in hand, to give the monuments and engaging people their photographic due.

I love the resolution and impact of medium format images and always have. For years I hauled 6x7s around the mountains of the west, into East Africa, and across SE Asia. Canon 1DS pulled me back to 35, but the latest digital medium format systems re-established medium format dominance. I’ve worked to push the limits of the format, shooting aerials, from mountaintops, tracking wildlife in Madagascar, and documenting religious festivals in India and Singapore, a form of extreme street photography. I look forward to shooting relatively quiescent subjects, the temples and peoples of SE Asia. Several manufacturers have agreed to provide our clients with medium format cameras to use on this tour. I will explain how to extract the maximum resolution from the state-of-the-art contenders and conduct brief critiques.

1000 years ago two great empires rose in Southeast Asia, the first Burmese empire  situated along the Irrawaddy River at Bagan  and the  Cambodian Khmer Empire at  Angkor, now Siem Riep. They are among the finest archaeological sites in Asia and very different in character. Bagan is a dry 16 square-mile plain dotted with hundreds of small shrines and dozens of larger temples while Angkor adheres to  the Indiana Jones model, with ornate temples and palaces emerging from the jungle. Evidence of the co-mingling of religion and power is seen everywhere. Burma and Cambodia have become my favorite places in Southeast Asia both for the architecture and even more for the cultures that live today. I always arrange for models in both countries: dancers, farmers, monks, ladies with parasols.

BURMA

Any trip to Burma, dubbed Myanmar by the military junta, begins in Yangon, the former Rangoon. This is the largest city in the country, but compared to metropolis like Bangkok or Singapore, it feels like a backwater. It is home to the Schwedagon, an immense  pagoda covered with more gold than the reserves of the British government. The stupa itself is ringed by a tile walkway bracketed by small shrines and miniature pagodas on either side. In the late afternoon worshipers pray before the various Buddhas or walk in a row sweeping with hand made-brooms. As dusk falls,  they light candles, and the golden dome glows against the darkening sky. Although this is a Buddhist site, some of the worshipers are giving offerings to spirits called nats, the remnants of the pre-Buddhist animist culture.

Burma is a country of monks. Almost every male spend some time in the monastery studying Buddhism as a boy, and some follow the calling for life. In Mandalay at the Amarapura  monastery, we will watch monks line up to receive rice for their daily meal. The monastery grounds are open to the public, affording a glimpse into their daily lives.

Mandalay, is full of rich subjects. The city surrounds the Mandalay Palace with its wooden parapets and tree-lined moat. U Bein Bridge is the longest teak bridge in the world. At sunset a stream of people walking bicycles, carrying bags, or balancing baskets on their heads are silhouetted and reflected in the lake. Kuthodaw Pagoda is comprised of a small forest of spires, each covering one of the collected sayings of the Buddha. A short boat ride away lies Mingdun, the massive base of what was to be the largest pagoda in the world, now abandoned and in ruins, an architectural Ozymandias cautioning against hubris.

Bagan is the highlight of any trip to Burma. Near dusk and dawn we will climb to the top of a temple to get an expansive view of the plain. There are temples as far as the eye can see. The spire of Ananda covers four giant golden Buddhas, Dhammayangyi is a hulking structure while Gawdawpalin near the river bank exemplifies grace. At dawn and dusk the reddish stone of the buildings looks like hot coals against a dark backdrop.

Cambodia

At the height of its power, the Cambodian empire was the most powerful on the Southeast Asian peninsula. The kings devoted themselves to building palaces, temples, and a wide range of civic projects. The architecture reflects the many influences of  various religions and cultures found along the Bay of Bengal. The original inhabitants were Hindu which can be seen in the bas relief carvings of the earliest buildings, but Mahayana Buddhism took hold and later emissaries from the island of Sri Lanka brought Theraveda Buddhism to the country, which eventually spread throughout Southeast Asia.

I never tire of photographing Angkor Wat. This and other popular sites are best seen early in the morning before the crowds descend upon them. Dozens of lesser known temples surround the main archaeological sites, some still within the grasp of the jungle looking much as they did when the French archaeologists first explored here more than 100 years ago. In these quiet places I make time to stop shooting and sit like Edward Gibbon in Rome’s Capitoline Hill contemplating the grandeur and collapse of a dominant civilization.

Ta Prohm and Preah Khan retain some of the original character the first Europeans encountered when Angkor was discovered by the outside world. Trees are rooted to the walls, and we can thread through collapsed rooms and around fallen pillars while Banteay Srey, a small jewel of a temple, remains in impeccable condition, its bas-reliefs often pristine. Crowds swarm Bayon’s tower, but dozens of smaller temples attract few or none. I always try to visit at least one hidden gem on each trip. I haven’t been disappointed yet.

While Cambodia has transformed itself in the last decade, attracting armies of tourists, Burma remains stuck in time. Both will probably change beyond recognition within a few years, but as of today, they offer the richest experiences in SE Asia.

For more information or to sign up for the Cambodia and Burma Digital Medium Format Adventure, go to:

http://www.photosafaris.com/photography-trips-2011/cambodia-myanmar-photo-tour/

I had the pleasure of shooting with Leica’s S2 medium format camera. What a delight. It feels only slightly larger than my Canon 1DS Mk 2 but delivers images that seem to exceed its already generous 37.5 megapixels. I imagine the quality of the legendary glass has a lot to do with the image quality. Resolution aside, it was the ergonomics and intuitive layout that roused my interest. The layout is uncluttered and what you need, for the most part, is easily at hand. The menus are logically arranged and described in plain English. In short, I could figure out how to do almost everything without recourse to the manual, a real plus for someone who struggles with the menus on digital watches. Finally, this is the first digital medium format camera that benefits from a neck strap. It’s light enough to treat like a 35mm SLR. Details to follow.

Phase One recently acquired Microsoft Expression Media, an enhanced build of iView Media Pro, a photo database competing with the likes of Lightroom and Aperture. Many predicted the eventual merging of Phase One’s Capture One software, a leading RAW file converter with a host of image editing capablilities. With the announcement of Capture One 5.1.2, that integration has begun. It is now easy to send a selection of Capture One images to an Expression Media catalog, including ratings, to preview images in Expression using the Capture One rendering, and to create a Capture One album from an Expression Media search of the database.

Registered Capture One users are eligible for a free copy of Expression Media while Expression Media owners can acquire a free copy of Capture One. This offer expires at the end of June, 2010.

Phase One has also increased support for Leaf digital backs and files, which makes sense given that they bought Leaf a year ago.

For more information, see the Phase One press release at:

http://www.phaseone.com/en/News/Press-Room/Press-Releases.aspx

Mamiya has unveiled a digital version of their classic RZ camera. Although the camera’s sensor is smaller than the film versions 6x7cm, the camera accepts all the original lenses. The press release reads:

Mamiya Introduces the New RZ33 Medium Format Digital Camera
Brings legendary Mamiya RZ system into the large-sensor digital arena

Elmsford, NY – June 2, 2010. Mamiya announces today the new Mamiya RZ33 large-sensor digital camera kit for professional photographers. The Mamiya RZ33, featuring a high performance 33 megapixel CCD sensor, advances the long adored Mamiya RZ line to a new level, bringing the famous ease-of-use and versatility of the Mamiya RZ camera system to the large-sensor digital arena. With no cables necessary, RZ33 users simply add their favorite razor sharp RZ lens and a CF card, and they are ready to produce big, detailed, gorgeous images.

“The RZ camera system has always been a favorite of professional photographers around the world,” says Mamiya Product Marketing Manager Mike Edwards. “Now, what has been a favorite film camera for so many photographers through the years is poised to become their favorite digital camera. The new RZ33 brings all the ease-of-use advantages of the tried and true RZ camera system to large-sensor digital photography while making tremendous use of the existing line of world-renowned Mamiya RZ optics and accessories.”

With the demand from photographers to provide their clients with clearly superior digital image quality, Mamiya’s new RZ33 digital camera kit is the result of an evolution into the next generation of digital large-sensor cameras. It offers advanced microprocessor technology for direct communication of all camera functions to its 33mp digital back through its MSC (Mamiya Serial Communication) system. The result is cable-free digital operation just as smooth and trouble-free as shooting with film.

The new Mamiya RZ33 is ideal for existing Mamiya RZ system owners that already know and love the system as well as those professionals looking to add the quality of medium format photography to their workflow. It features cable-free integrated-operation, a large 33 megapixel CCD sensor, is fully compatible with all Mamiya RZ system lenses, viewfinders and most accessories. Of course, the RZ’s legendary Vertical-Horizontal rotation is built-in so there is no need to ever turn the camera.

The new RZ33 also offers professional photographers the same exclusive features of its legendary predecessors such as:

Precise Rack and pinion bellows focusing, with left and right course and fine focusing adjustment knobs plus a locking focus lever. The bellows focusing system provides for close-up focusing capabilities with every RZ lens, as well as infinity focusing—all without mounting-andunmounting cumbersome adapters.

Interchangeable Mamiya world-class quality lenses, with built-in leaf-shutters offer shutter speeds from 8 to 1/400sec. (plus T-setting for up 32 seconds). Electronic flash synchronization is achieved at all shutter speeds and intermediate shutter speeds can be set on the camera’s speed dial setting for more critical digital exposure control.

Interchangeable Viewfinders, offer multiple viewing options. Choose from the waist-level finder (included) for low-angle versatility, or one of the eye-level prisms, such as the AE Prism Finder FE701 which provides A/S Matrix metering, 1/6 f/stops exposure accuracy plus an LED function display in the viewfinder.

Interchangeable power winder (optional). The Power Winder 2 is powered by AA batteries or an AC Adapter and adds ease of use by cocking the shutter and resetting the mirror automatically. It produces single or sequential exposures at about 1 frame per second. It can also be remote controlled with radio or infrared transmitters.

Many fail-safe system checks, warn the photographer both with visual and audible warning alert signals. And, the new RZ33 is system compatible with all existing RZ lenses and most accessories.

Specifications Highlights
Capture File Format: .mos RAW file, 16 bits/channel
Included Capture Software Packages: Capture One DB and Leaf Capture
CCD: 48 x 36mm, 33 Megapixel
Largest file size: 190 MB 16 bit TIFF
ISO: 50-800
Capture rate: 1.1 sec/frame
Digital imaging user interface: 2.4 x 2.7 inch (6x7cm) LCD touchscreen

Pricing and Availability The new Mamiya RZ33 digital camera kit, including Capture One and Leaf Capture software, will be available in the U.S. for $17,990 and will begin shipping in July 2010.

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Phase One has purchased Expression Media 2 from Microsoft. Expression Media is an enhanced version of iView Media Pro, which Microsoft purchased in 2006. It is a media file database with RAW conversion capability. In concert with Phase One’s celebrated Capture One RAW conversion and editing software, it will join Lightroom and Aperture as a digital asset management system with powerful RAW conversion and editing tools with some unique features.

http://www.microsoft.com/Presspass/press/2010/may10/05-25ExpressionMediaPR.mspx

Tags: photography database

todd Burleson, the President of Alpine Ascents, called from out of the blue asking if I would like to fly around Mt. Rainier in his light plane to photograph with the Phase One camera. It was a perfect day so Leah Courage and I decided to go. We met Todd and his friend at the Renton, WA airport, boarded his classic bush plane and took off.

When not monitoring Alpine Ascents from it’s Seattle headquarters, one of the few permitted to guide on Mount Rainier, Todd lives south of the Alaska Range in Talkeetna. From Talkeetna he flies to a lakeside cabin abutting the range and enjoys landing on the high glaciers for a spectacular camping experience minus the effort and tedium of a long climb.

We made a beeline for the north side of Rainer. The Willis Wall and Liberty Ridge rose above low clouds. I opened the window to shoot. We had smooth air and the wind didn’t buffet my lens if it protruded only a few inches so I could get a sharp shot with a shutter speed of a thousandth of a second. The contrast was ferocious, though, especially when we flew to the backlit east side where most of the mountain was in shadow. The shadows picked up the blue of the sky, which would give the impression of a blue cast to the images.

Todd made a few passes by Little Tahoma. At over 11,000 feet it’s the second highest mountain in the Cascades, but against the hulk of Rainier it looked like a dark thorn. The plane flew past the summit. As it did so, I fired several verticals intending to stitch them together as a panorama. They resulted in a half gigabyte 16 bit file with enough resolution to pick out climbers’ footprints on the summit dome.

I had wondered if mirror and shutter slap would affect the hand held Phase in a moving plane, but it acquitted itself well. When I got home, I had to decide whether to mask out the blue cast on the snow or let well enough alone. I tried it both ways and decided I liked the look of the blue cast.

Tags: Aerial landscape Mountain Rainier

We’re pleased to partner with Iceland-based Focus on Nature for a DMF tour of this amazing island. We will photograph glaciers, icebergs, waterfalls, hills composed of swirling colors, hots springs and perhaps an active volcano. Each day we will take time to explore the  potential of high resolution digital medium format cameras, learning how to extract the greatest clarity while minimizing or eliminating flaws caused by poor practices or technical limitations. Each participant may submit several images for daily critiques to further refine compositional vision while excising unnecessary elements.

While the workshop is aimed at medium format photographers, anyone is welcome. We will have several digital medium format camera systems on hand for clients to try in the field.

For more information or to sign up, visit: http://focusonnature.is/id/1000351

On May 19th, Hasselblad will be releasing a new version of their image processing software, “Phocus” that includes the capacity to work with over 150 3rd party DSLR cameras, including Canon, Nikon, Olympus and more. In addition to having a number of new features designed to improve workflow, “Phocus 2.5″ will offer support for several common RAW file formats, including TIFF, JPEG, DNG and PNG. The updated software will allow photographers using both Hasselblad and other camera systems to streamline their work within one program.

Phocus 2.5 will be offered for free for apple users on May 19th at the Hasselblad website: http://www.hasselbladusa.com/products/phocus.aspx.

Hasselblad has stated that the windows version of Phocus 2.5 will be available for download mid-June.

James Martin’s book Planet Ice won the Gold Medal in the category, Most Likely to Save the Planet.

Announcing the 2010 IPPY Outstanding Books of the Year.

Special awards recognize the daring spirit of independent authors and publishers.
For 27 years our mission at Independent Publisher has been to recognize and encourage the work of publishers who exhibit the courage and creativity necessary to take chances, break new ground, and bring about change, not only to the world of publishing, but to our society. These medalists were chosen from our regular entries for exemplifying this daring spirit — the book projects our judges found the most heartfelt, unique, outspoken and experimental among our 4,000 entries. All 12 of these books earned IPPY Award gold medals.

Leica has released the 35mm f/2.5 ASPH lens for the S2 medium format system.

This is the first wide angle available for the new Leica S2 system, and it makes it a viable landscape camera. The angle of view is equivalent to a 28mm for 35mm photography.

This is a very fast lens in the medium format world.

The lens will cost less than $6,000 and is scheduled to be released later this month.

For the specifications of the lens, look here: http://www.s.leica-camera.com/summarit-s-1-2-5-35-mm-asph-cs/

Tags: 35mm landscape Leica S2

The Kumbh Mela is the largest religious festival in the world. As many as 60 million Hindus make the pilgrimage to one of four cities to bathe in the Ganges. The festival is held in the 12 year cycle at Prayag (Allahabad), Haridwar, Ujjain, and Nashik. It is held every three years, but the exact date dependent on  the position of the sun, the moon, and Jupiter.

I attended the culmination of the festival at Haridwar, a small city nestled against the foothills of the Himalaya. I traveled with Art Wolfe, his friend Trevor Peterson, and my friend Nina Taylor.

I thought trying to photograph wildlife in Madagascar with a digital medium format camera was an exercise in frustration and difficulty. In India we encountered 108°F temperatures, throngs of people clogging the roadways held back by police barricades, bumbled between the river and the hills down narrow alleys. We encountered recalcitrant or greedy holy men, amazing amounts of dust and smoke, a complete ban on beer and meat, and more noise than a death metal concert. Compared to India, shooting digital medium format in Madagascar are was akin to reclining on the sofa eating bonbons.

I’d do it again, though. When the opportunity was right, when I had a cooperative subject and the light was neither too dim nor overpowering, I could capture some amazing images. I wondered the sadhu camps looking for interesting subjects and there was no paucity of opportunity. (Sadhus are itinerant holy men, some retired business men, some con men, some lunatics, and some sincere souls.) I found amazing faces, I found a man who hadn’t lowered his arm for 27 years, leaving it a withered stick with curling black fingernails. I shot men whose hair trailed on the ground. I found naked man covered in ash, con men from the West lecturing between massive hits of killer marijuana, and several men willing to roll their penises up on sticks for reasons that elude me to this day. India is always a riot of noise and color, but the Khumb is India times a million.

In his book Following the Equator: A journey around the world, Mark Twain wrote of his experiences at a Kumbh Mela.

“It is wonderful, the power of a faith like that, that can make multitudes upon multitudes of the old and weak and the young and frail enter without hesitation or complaint upon such incredible journeys and endure the resultant miseries without repining. It is done in love, or it is done in fear; I do not know which it is. No matter what the impulse is, the act born of it is beyond imagination, marvelous to our kind of people, the cold whites.”

Amen.

Since I left Art Wolfe Inc. in September of 2009, I’ve been preparing to start Digital Medium Format and to use the equipment to elevate the quality of my work for both prints and books. Art always has several books in the works, and I usually have two or more. As of today, there are several I work on with each trip and others that will take years to complete. One long-term project is Equator, a survey of conditions midway between the poles. It is an arbitrary line that passes through some of the most diverse terrain, including glacier-clad mountains, the mouth of the Amazon, across deserts, though islands such as Sumatra and the Galapagos, and across the three largest oceans. Belief looks at the manifestations of belief in human societies while another examines the lives of transsexuals in Thailand. After 20 published books I will venture into the world of self publishing with Digital Medium Format.

Leah Courage and I spent a month in SE Asia working on all these projects and more, starting with Belief, Equator, and Digital Medium Format in Singapore, the largest city near the equator.

I was allowed to photograph Singapore’s port, the busiest in the world. Dozens of ships wait in the straits for a chance to load, unload, or re-provision as activity swirls around the docks. The skyscrapers gleam in the background at noon or glow in the evening. We were still struggling with jet lag when we arrived to shoot, but the opportunity infused us with energy. Day One was rewarding and we looked forward to an abundant haul over the next month.

If you shoot a digital camera with interchangeable lenses, sooner rather than later you’ll notice motes on your images—the effect of dust on your sensor. Frequent, obsessive cleaning is a fact of life with digital cameras. Fixed lens cameras deny dust entry to the chamber, so their sensors remain clean, but these don’t exist in the digital medium format world.

The dust doesn’t accumulate on the sensor proper. A glass cover or filter protects the sensor from damage and dust. This surface can be scratched, smudged or otherwise degraded, and the first rule of cleaning is, “Do no harm.”

Before touching the sensor glass with anything, try blasting it with air. The safest method involves a hand-squeezed blower bulb. It’s hard to get enough force with small bulbs so look for one that fills the whole hand.

Some folks use compressed CO2 gas, but this is a mistake. Ordinary compressed air contains propellants that accumulate on the sensor surface and must be avoided. Also, CO2 cartridges designed for air rifles contain additives that may cause problems. CO2 cartridges produce a very strong stream of air. While CO2 gets the dust moving, it can also force it into inaccessible parts of the camera. Finally, CO2 cartridges are not welcome on airplanes these days.

The Sensor Brush from Visible Dust of Canada is the most effective and easiest solution for removing dust and other particulates in my experience. Various sizes are available for use on different-sized sensors. The brushes are reusable and washable. I use an older Arctic Butterfly equipped with the largest brush. The newest models come with an attached light so you can see dust easily.

Before and after use, press the button so the bristles spin rapidly, This throws dust from the bristles and gives them a positive charge so they readily attract dust. Sweep across the sensor once in one direction and then back. Spin the bristles again to clean and charge them before sweeping again. Repeat as needed. If the bristles acquire bits of gunk that blasting won’t remove, wash the brush with mild soap or isopropyl alcohol. (Don’t use methanol. It will destroy the bristles.) Available in a variety of sizes, sensor brushes make it easy to clean digital sensors.

Moisture can create spots the brush can’t remove. Just breathing on the sensor transfers moisture and any dust will bond to the sensor. When this happens, a liquid solvent must be used.

I’ve always had a problem using swabs and liquids. With my lack of dexterity and inability to apply just the right amount of fluid, I end up with streaks that take many frustrating minutes to eradicate. Sensor Swabs from Photographic Solutions and Sensor Clean from Visible Dust minimize streaking. Shaped like miniature white brooms, the swabs allow for a precise application of cleaning solution. Each swab can be used twice. Sweep in one direction, which should cover half the sensor, and then sweep in the other direction with the other side of the swab so that both halves of the sensor receive one swipe. Larger sensors require two swabs. These are pricey gizmos. Use them only when air cleaning fails.

The easiest way to check for dust after cleaning is to shoot a frame of a blue sky or any other absolutely uniform bright or mid-toned subject. Turn off the autofocus, and throw the lens out of focus manually. After downloading, bring the image up on your computer screen and blow it up to 100%. Look for dark flecks and globs on the screen. If any dust remained on the sensor, it will be easy to see. If air or brush cleaning fails after a few tries, use the Sensor Swabs or Sensor Clean.

Sensor cleaning may be the most annoying part of digital photography for many—including myself—but it will gladden the hearts of obsessives!

Visible Dust: http://www.visibledust.com/

Photographic Solutions: http://www.photosol.com/

The Kumbh Mela is celebrated four times in a twelve year cycle in four cities.  Haridwar (the state of Uttar Pradesh) where the river Ganga enters the plains from Himalayas, hosts this year’s festival, which occurs when the Sun is in Aries and the Moon and Jupiter are in the specific locations in the sky. It commemorates a 12 year battle between God’s and demons fighting over the nectar of immortality mentioned in Vedic holy books.

Art Wolfe and I will photograph this year’s event. Millions of Hindus attend, and we hope to capture overviews of the throng, but our special interest are the Naga Sadhus, naked holy men who rush into the river en masse. It’s a spectacle not seen anywhere else on earth, an event that has been repeated for thousands of years. Trying to shoot in this chaos with a digital medium format camera will be a trial, but it shouldn’t be any more difficult than photographing lemurs in Madagascar.

CNN posted video and images of Kumbh Mela at: http://www.cnn.com/2010/WORLD/asiapcf/03/24/india.khumb.mela/index.html

“Art is like a greased pig – it’s hard to hold onto.” It was the first minute into day one of a three-day workshop on the elements of photographic composition, taught by world-renowned photographer Art Wolfe, and he already had the room engaged and laughing. “If you’re looking to learn how to take the perfect shot of the Snake River with perfect light and exposure, then you’re in the wrong place. I’m going to attempt to teach you the value of taking photos that aren’t cliché and haven’t been taken before.” I instantly knew I was in for a real treat in taking this course, but it took a few weeks for his teachings to sink in for me to realize just how profound the experience actually was.

Born and raised in the Pacific Northwest, Art Wolfe is an internationally acclaimed photographer, best known for his nature and wildlife images. Since he was a young boy, Wolfe has consistently drawn inspiration from his surroundings. “I was in nature non-stop from a very young age,” he said, speaking of the countless hours he spent exploring the woods and wildlife of Schmitz Park in West Seattle. “I was in love with the forest, the animals, the natural world around me – and I still am.” Wolfe lives in West Seattle in a home with a view overlooking Puget Sound and the Olympic Mountains, a self-designed Japanese garden surrounding the house. “You have to surround yourself with the elements that inspire you. I wake up every day and look out my bedroom window to see water, mountains and sky, and it gets me excited to shoot,” he said.

Wolfe doesn’t confine his shooting to nature and culture, however. He’s currently working on a series of black and white abstracts and symbolic compositions shot on Phase One P45+ digital medium format camera system in the studio.

Early in the workshop I discovered that Wolfe was not only a phenomenal photographer, but also a gifted teacher. At one point he displayed an image of a brightly lit zebra on the African savannah backed by dark, billowing clouds to illustrate how he’ll use positive and negative space to draw one’s eye to his chosen subject. He showed another photo of water pockets on a sheet of ice to demonstrate the power of patterns and repetition. “It’s all about perspective. You’ve got to analyze what’s going on to determine the best angle to capture your shot. Look for an unusual viewpoint.”

Wolfe has a die-hard attitude towards shooting a scene from as many different angles and perspectives as possible before he ends a session. “Stay with a subject and it will eventually reveal itself to you in unexpected ways,” he said, referencing a tight shot of a Mongolian father and son on a steppe, one of whom was propping up a golden eagle used for hunting on his arm. “I started shooting the men from far away, but the shot wasn’t working. I was frustrated, but I kept shooting until I eventually found an angle that worked for me, and it produced a strong image. Don’t give up; keep trying and sooner or later you’ll find some viewpoint that was hidden from you initially.”

Wolfe deliberately employs the compositional concepts originated by the impressionists and abstract expressionists in his work. He’ll literally sketch the images he wants to capture before he takes them. His acute eye for detail was apparent when he was able to completely transform a student’s image simply through cropping part of it, removing elements that distracted the eye and led it into blind alleys. The resulting image invited the eye to move across it. “The last thing you want is a static image. If the viewer sees everything in a picture in a glance, he moves on, bored.”

Even though Wolfe spoke at length about various elements he uses in his photography (light, lenses, gesture, pattern, etc.), I realized that two fundamental things set him apart from other photographers: his energetic, relentless attitude towards shooting (“Art is everywhere; I’m always looking at my surroundings as possible subjects to shoot…this keeps my creative juices flowing at all times”) and his devotion towards capturing his subjects from unusual and original perspectives. He sees the world as design elements that he’s constantly rearranging in his mind. Photography is a way of life for Wolfe; the camera is never turned “off,” so to speak. “Every photo’s got a story. How will you tell yours?”

Art Wolfe conducts workshops and seminars across the country. For more information, look at www.artwolfeworkshops.com.

Jim and I traveled to Bangkok specifically to find and shoot kathoey – the transsexual ladyboys of Thailand. We had the fortune of meeting a well-connected and lovely ladyboy named Tina who agreed to let us shoot both her and one of her ladyboy friends. We arranged to meet her and her friend at a Starbucks on Sukhumvit in the late afternoon one weekday. We walked in at 5:00 PM, right on schedule. I looked around for Tina and her friend and didn’t spot them. The only person I saw was a beautiful, long-legged young woman sitting by herself at a table, drinking an iced frappucino. After glancing at her a second time, I realized that she wasn’t a woman, but in fact a ladyboy. I approached her asked if she was Tina’s friend, and in a deep, melodic voice she said yes and that her name was ‘Bell.’

Bell and I communicated for a few minutes through broken English. I was struck by how feminine and delicate she was; long limbs, large lips, doe eyes, elegant gestures. Even for having gone through a transformation from man to woman that took amazing emotional strength, she had a sweet innocence about her that made me smile. Tina arrived shortly thereafter, and Jim shot the girls on the sidewalk along Sukhumvit with his Phase One P45+ system. We received a lot of confused looks from passers-by.

What struck me the most about Tina and Bell was their down-to-earth nature. I didn’t know what to expect of kathoey when I arrived in Bangkok, and I found these ladyboys to be friendly, genuine, and normal people going about their lives, doing what they had to to make ends meet.

Tina took me and Jim to a salon wherein an older ladyboy worked as a hairstylist. Jim shot the hairdresser styling the hair of a younger, harder-looking kathoey, who we later shot on the street. I saw a distinct split between the life choices of Tina and Bell and the other strung-out ladyboy (whose name I’ve forgotten); the difference was clearly worn on their faces.

Being exposed to such a contrast between ladyboys only furthered my belief that Thai culture (or any culture, for that matter) is far more complex than any outsider could ever hope to understand. A feeling of ‘knowing’ should serve as a warning to me from now on, signaling that it’s time to take a step back and reevaluate what I’m looking at.

Phase One added me to their roster of  PODAS (Phase One Digital Artists Series) instructors. http://www.phaseone.com/en/PODAS/Info/Intro.aspx

These workshops are designed to transform one’s photography, from visualization to composition to processing and output. Each participant is given a Phase One P65+ digital medium format system – the current high resolution champ- and access to all the Phase One lenses for use during the event.

I’m scheduled for the Glacier National Park trip June 8th through June 13^th with Jack Flesher and Tim Wolcott ($4995) and Iceland from August 29th through September 5^th with Jeff Schewe, Mark Dubovoy, and Daniel Bergmann ($6500). All expenses are covered from pick up at the airport to drop off at the end.

These are two of my favorite locations and both figured prominently in my book Planet Ice. I’m very pleased to be part of PODAS and look forward to a long and fruitful association.

We arrived in Thailand to shoot video for stock, digital medium format travel images, and to start work on a body of work I expect to print and publish as a book revealing the world of the Kathoey, the transsexuals of Thailand also known as ladyboys.

I became interested in kathoey after encountering them on  my many trips to and through Thailand. At first they seemed over the top and cartoonish, affecting female mannerisms and often clothed more as drag queens than ordinary women. However, over time I came to see them as brave people following a difficult path, a hard row even in tolerant Thailand. I read about Nong Tum, a champion muay thai kickboxer who continued to win as she made her transition and became a national celebrity and subject of a movie, Beautiful Boxer. I noticed kathoey in shops, praying in the wats, trolling for customers in Patpong, or strutting down the street on shopping sprees. I resolved to create a complete picture of their lives, from the grim to the triumphant, the beautiful and the tragic.

Leah and I started shooting at Christy’s Cabaret on Koh Samui. They allowed me to set up at the end of the catwalk, but the light was too low to use the Phase One. ISO 800 wasn’t going to cut it. I pulled out my Canon 7d and alternated between stills and 1080p video during the performance. The costumes were Vegas chic, full of ruffles, feathers, flowing gowns, and dramatic headdresses.  The next night we shot backstage amid the controlled chaos of their preparations: donning costumes, applying makeup, and cleaning up in very tight quarters. The performers were gracious and fun at all times. We both felt very comfortable and our respect only grew the more we were around them. They threw themselves into the performances, delighting the crowds of farang (foreigners) with their dancing and lip synching.

Back in Bangkok we found a personable ladyboy who posed and recruited her friends to model as well. Tina arranged for us to photograph an older kathoey working in a beauty salon. I loved the utter lack of glamour. Another of her friends seemed somewhat tattered and defeated, while one shone as a model, composing her face differently moment to moment.

This was a good start. Now it’s time to identify the gaps in coverage and arrange to shoot again when I stop in Thailand this April enroute to shooting for Belief in India.

Whenever I’m told I can’t do something, I instantly bristle. Sometimes it makes sense, and I let it go. If someone tells me I can’t survive jumping off the Golden Gate Bridge, I’m likely to let it pass; however, if I can see a way and judge the benefit worth the risk, I’m likely to give it a shot.

When I started to investigate digital medium format systems, I heard that they were suited primarily for studio work. Since my first love were the high-resolution images produced by the f64 club as exemplified by Ansel Adams, I wanted to take whatever camera I into the field. The Phase One cameras and  backs had a reputation for surviving in wet and rugged conditions so that was my first choice.

I had shot film in medium format cameras for almost 20 years so I knew what I was in for. Operating the camera would slow me down, I would have to wait between shots, I wouldn’t have access to very long lenses, I would miss some great shots. I prefer to nail one fantastic image than bring home a hard drive full of the merely okay.

I decided to take my P45+, a 39 megapixel back, to Madagascar for its maiden trip. My longest lens was a 300 mm, equivalent to about 200 mm in 35mm world. It would work well in situations well-suited to the strengths of the Phase One, but much of the time would be spent trying to capture a skipping lemur, a restive frog, a grumpy chameleon, or a tiny insect with a comparatively balky camera. I packed a 35mm with one lens, a 500, as backup just in case something spectacular happened that the Phase couldn’t possibly photograph.

The camera did spectacularly well, but I started to break down under the weight and stress of trying to master the system in rough circumstances. As predicted, a lot of images got away, especially the moving lemurs. Even chameleons, a specialty of mine, had a chance to march out of view as I fiddled with the camera. But the good images were great. Everything I value technically in a photograph was present: sharpness, exposure latitude, and rich color.

I had to revert to some old techniques. The lenses couldn’t follow focus so I pre-focused on the spot I expected an animal to pass and tripped the shutter when the moment arrived. I got a few serviceable shots.

We found a giraffe beetle under a leaf in the eastern rainforest of Perinet. This exotic creature is about as long as my thumbnail and as strange as any creature in Avatar. The faintest breezes blew the leaf slightly, making it impossible for me to focus. I told the clamp out of my bag, attached one end to my tripod and the other to the leaf. Voila, immobile insect.

Our visit to Baobab Alley on the west coast of the island fit the strengths of the Phase One system perfectly. Nothing this side of a rock beats a tree if you want to take your time creating an image, and the “upside-down trees” both symbolize the island and offer strong graphic elements. The spiny forest of the south is like nowhere else on the planet, with twisting tendrils protected by natural needles. Near sunset their backlit leaves glow.

Madagascar is one of my favorite places on Earth, full of marvels, a photographer’s dream. If I had just one chance to visit, I would probably go for a faster outfit, but given the chance to supplement a large collection or the time to fail several times between each success, I would go for digital medium format.

For a while it looked like Hasselblad and Phase One, which absorbed Leaf and Mamiya as it developed its own world class backs, would have the medium format world to themselves. Now they are seeing some competition from stalwarts from the 35 mm world, first Leica and now Pentax.

http://www.pentax.jp/english/news/2010/201008.html

Tags: Camera Digital Medium Format Pentax

I’ve always thought of Singapore as a refuge from the dirt, noise, chaos, and political instability found in the region. Admittedly, they sometimes go too far. Possession of chewing gum remains a serious offense and the government has instituted laws to punish urinating in elevators. I admit it’s hard to resist such behavior without government sanction.  It’s hard to argue with caning as a punishment for vandalism, though.

This is a garden city on the south shore of a garden island. It is the economic success story of the region, expanding on reclaimed land yet preserving a high quality of life. It is also unique on the Equator, the only large city near that imaginary line. Shooting the Port and Thaipusam was great fun, but just living in the city is a great experience. There are the tourist stops, such as the worlds largest ferris wheel  (550 feet) or paying an extraordinary amount for a Singapore Sling at the Raffles Long Bar, visiting the world class zoo or shopping on glitzy Orchard, but merely living, turning a corner and finding something new, that appealed to us the most.

We went to the waterfront by the Esplande to shoot the skyline at dusk. A small crowd listened to a jazz ensemble playing next to the water. Soft warm breezes rustled the water, and boats full of tourists emerged from the Singapore river for a turn in the bay. Amid this tranquility we could see the sparks of welders assembling yet another tower, working 24/7 to build a new skyline, a reinvented Singapore.

Upriver at Clark Quay (pronounced ‘key’) restaurants line both shores: Malay, Thai, Japanese, British, Mexican, Chinese. At a nearby park young men operated remote control aircraft shaped like alien birds, swooping silently in graceful arcs. Some of the bridges had been painted in wild patterns and colors. In the early morning, we saw men scrubbing the sidewalks. I can’t imagine the fine for littering.

Except for the price of coffee (I paid $32 US for two cups of drip with a refill for each), I could live here, at least for a while. Then, I would need to return to America, to speak too loud, speed like James Dean, chew gum with a snarl. and otherwise forget a government even existed.

Since vibration degrades resolution, select gear and adopt practices that limit its impact on your images.

Cameras require a stable platform. At a high enough shutter speed, a human hand will do. You can enhance the performance of this basic implement by tucking your upper arm against your chest to ground it. As Joe McNally pointed out, wrapping a hand over the top of the camera at the same time further immobilizes it, but for most people this requires viewing with your left eye. Either way, take a deep breath, let it out, wait a moment and squeeze the shutter button. This sounds like Photo School, Day One, but I see experienced photographers hold their elbows out like chickens about to take flight all the time. When the decisive moment arrives, excitement overwhelms training so watching them squeezing the shutter evokes a concert pianist hitting a fortissimo high C.

If that sounds like you, or even if it doesn’t, relying on a tripod and a cable release will produce optimal results. All things equal, a heavier tripod and head will dampen vibration better than a lighter one so carry the heaviest kit possible. If your pocketbook or erector spinae limit you to lighter gear, hang your equipment bag off the tripod from a hook on the center post or with the strap wrapped around the legs. Mass equals stability, and the camera can’t tell if it comes from a bag of sand or pricy carbon fiber legs. Carbon fiber is reputed to be a superior material for absorbing vibration. I like it because it doesn’t transmit cold as well as aluminum and seems to work well even when a bit lighter.

Most vibration is generated by the camera itself, chiefly the moving mirror and shutter. The mirror on an SLR flips away from the sensor like a garage door. Focal plane shutters, found on SLRs, open and close like bear traps. Mirrors are more serious offenders because they possess more mass. The quick movements ring the camera like a bell. A shutter curtain generates less vibration.

If your camera has a focal plane shutter, there is no cure. Test to see which shutter speeds seem to result in slight blurs, likely the result of shutter slap, and avoid them.

Rangerfinder cameras dispense with both mirror and focal plane shutters. The tiny leaf shutter within the lens moves low mass over a very short distance, introducing negligible vibration. In some cases, cameras equipped with focal plane shutters will accept leaf shutter lenses. In these cases, the focal plane shutter is locked open along with the mirror, allowing the leaf shutter to work its magic.

Lenses on rangefinder cameras offer more advantages at the cost of speed of operation and convenience, which I will discuss in a subsequent post on lens quality.

Anti-aliasing filters are also known as optical low pass or blur filters. Camera designers employ anti-aliasing filters to suppress the rainbow moiré patterns generated when not all color sensors are triggered. This typically occurs when small points of light can’t cover all three color sensors, such as the threads of a complex fabric or the grid pattern of a screen door.

The anti-aliasing filter combats this by blurring the image slightly so the light spreads out to cover the sensors. Unfortunately, the blurring visibly reduces sharpness.

Resolution lost at capture is gone for good. The sharpening programs found in camera software, Photoshop, and various plug-in programs increase contrast to the edges and thus boost apparent sharpness to the eye, but in fact, the actual detail is lost. More advanced sharpening programs, such as the Smart Sharpen filter in Photoshop, “guess” which pixels were lost and rebuild them using mathematical models. Still, what is lost is lost.

Not all cameras have anti-aliasing filters, including digital medium format systems and Leica rangefinders. Part of the higher resolution for a given pixel count these cameras enjoy derives from the absence of the filters.

The designers count on the fact that moiré patterns are not a common problem for most photographers. Why degrade quality for a rare occurrence? For some photographers, though, moiré patterns are the kiss of death and must be removed or dramatically reduced. Fortunately, there are software solutions found in RAW converters and plug-ins as well as home-brewed in Photoshop. These tend to have a softening effect analogous to noise reduction or anti-alias filters so use these tools with care.

Thaipusam is an annual Hindu festival where many of the celebrants carry large wire floats over their heads supported by metal hooks piercing the skin. Some of these floats require dozens of piercings. Some enhance the experience by skewering their lips and tongue with metal rods, towing a cart from hooks in their back, or walking on shoes with upturned nails pressing against the soles of their feet. Once suitably rigged, they walk slowing from a temple in Little India to one near Robertson Quay, more than a mile.

An army of helpers attach the apparatus, a lengthy and laborious process. As they work bands of drummers work at High- volume cross purposes, people scream and chant, and knots of photographers jostle for position. This is no place for a digital medium format camera, at least if you want to work deliberately. I resolved to work as fast as possible, not caring if  out of 10 images failed as long as I got some keepers.  I pushed up the ISO and dove in. In minutes I was sweating freely, I couldn’t hear Leah shouting at me inches away, and time after time someone entered the frame just as the shutter fired. I was shooting on faith.

In the end, I came out of the experience with a few good shots and ringing ears.

The following images shot by Leah Courage.

We all want the highest resolution images possible, files that display grainless perfection, that blow up to incredible sizes without degradation, that take our breath away. It was the quest for resolution that drove the megapixel wars among camera manufactures and leads some to opt for medium format systems to achieve ultimate quality. The more light-recording photo sites, photodiodes, you pack on a sensor, the finer resolution, all things being equal.

But things are never equal. Megapixels matter but are far from the whole story. High-resolution files result from high megapixel sensors, good glass, immobile cameras, and state-of-the-art signal processing to suppress chroma and luminance noise. Eliminating the anti-alias filter from the sensor design more than doubles apparent sharpness.

If a camera moves even slightly during an exposure, assuming a relatively slow shutter speed, the image will be blurred. A strong tripod and head, eliminating mirror slap vibration, and using a cable release all contribute to sharper images.

In the following posts we will look at how to achieve maximum resolution in detail.