Lowepro has announced the Flipside Sport 20L AW weather-resistant backpack for adventure-oriented photographers. The Flipside 20L can hold two pro-level DSLRs, two lenses, a tripod/monopod and a flashgun. Made of lightweight materials and breathable padding, the bag features expandable pockets for treckking poles and 1.5L bottles. The Flipside is also available in two smaller sizes with Orange/Light Grey and Galaxy Blue/Light Grey color options.
Photographer and imaging professional Jean Miele demonstrates how to combine images in Photoshop for seamless and natural-looking results. In this article he takes you through the basics of making Gradient tool adjustments to layer masks. Follow along with a simple tutorial that adds a dramatic sky to an interesting foreground.
British newspaper The Guardian is known for its editorial photography, but like all working pros, the staff photographers sometimes only get a few minutes to capture their subjects. In an article posted on the Guardian’s Photo Blog, several of the paper’s photographers share their tips for getting portraits in a hurry. Click through for some pictures, and a link to the article at guardian.co.uk.
The National Geographic Society continues to celebrate its 125th anniversary, and has launched a Tumblr blog called ‘Found’, which hosts a curated collection of photos from the National Geographic archives. The curation is done by Nat Geo’s William Bonner who has been scanning through the company’s extensive photography archive in the basement of its Washington, D.C. headquarters. Click through for more information and some fascinating photos.
The Cinetics Cine System is a low-cost kit which enables videographers to achieve smooth panning and zoom shots as well as window and vehicle mounted footage. The system is built around Joby’s popular Gorillapod Focus flexible tripod, and includes wheeled feet and the ‘CineSquid’ attachment allowing you to firmly mount a DSLR or small video camera to windows. We covered the Cine System last year in an article about interesting photography-related Kickstarter projects, and were really intrigued by its potential. Click through for a link to our review.
Nissin’s UK distributor Kenro has announced the Di700 flashgun and the PS 8 external battery pack for Canon, Nikon and Sony digital SLRs. With a guide number of 50 (at 200mm), the Di700 is equipped with an external power socket making it compatible with the PS 8. The battery pack offers a heat-resistant plastic body, a USB socket for charging and an LED indication lamp. The PS 8 is available for £165 (including VAT), while the Di700 will be available from April 2013 at a price to be confirmed. There is currently no information about US price and availability.
ACD Systems has extended the Raw support offered by its ACDSee Pro 6 and ACDSee 15 software packages. Version 6.2 of the Pro version and and ACDSee v15.2 gain support for an additional 19 cameras including the Canon EOS M, Nikon D5200, Sony SLT-A99V and the Olympus E-PL5. This update also includes performance improvements. Click through for more information.
Sigma US has announced the price and availability for its three latest ‘Art’ series prime lenses – the 19mm f/2.8 DN and 30mm f/2.8 DN for mirrorless cameras, and the 30mm f/1.4 for APS-C DSLRs. The DN lenses will be available for street price of $ 199 and the redesigned 30mm f/1.4 will be available in Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts for $ 499. All three will start shipping from the end of this month. No details were given about the 60mm f/2.8 lens also announced during the CP+ tradeshow.
Facebook has announced an upcoming update to the way photos are presented in user News Feeds. More space will be devoted to images, displaying them more prominently on the page. This is the second redesign that focuses on bigger pictures since July last year. The result of the redesign is not too dissimilar to the gallery view in Google+. In addition, the News Feed can be filtered to view only photo-based updates. The company says it is rolling the changes out in the coming weeks to both desktop and mobile version.