Thursday, March 31, 2011

Bookmark and Share

They're here...


We are in the process of calling our pre-order customers. So far, no sign of the accessories, although we do have some of the spare Li-Ion battery packs in stock already. Sadly, no extra cameras yet though... and I won't be getting mine yet since "real" customers have to come first!  I will have to wait until the next shipment unfortunately... bummer.

UPDATE: my mistake... unbeknownst to me, we did get a handful of filter-ring/hoods in (not enough to cover pre-orders), however not many... and the rest are backordered for now.  Definitely no leather cases yet unfortunately.

Sunday, March 27, 2011

Bookmark and Share

Hasselblad Solutions Event wrap-up...

Burrard Inlet from Burnaby Mountain - Hasselblad H4D-60
(click image for a 2800 pixel wide, 100% crop)

The Hasselblad event last Thursday was a success.  First and foremost, I want to thank Marc Koegel, Wayne Hoecherl and everyone at Vancouver Photo Workshops for generously hosting our Hasselblad event!
Bookmark and Share

Wicked Promo from Phase One!

Phase One 645DF with IQ back
This one is very short, but very sweet, should you be wanting to get into the Phase One system! In the (slightly edited) words of the Canadian Phase One distributor...

We have a sale that is going from Monday, March 21st to Thursday, March 31st. It's a very short promo.

Trade in H or V series Cameras and lenses and save 50% off the selling prices of these items with the purchase of a back or upgrade. The competitive upgrade for Leaf, Hasselblad, Imacon etc. also works here.

If you can believe it - normally $5500 for a 645DF and 80mm Schneider leaf shutter lens, trade an old 500CM with an 80mm lens and get the Phase One DF kit for only $2750. Remember that there also has to be a digital back as a part of this. Lenses can be traded for an equivalent lens and saves 50% as well.

It's a blitz. The mechanical Hasselblad community is particularly excited about this one! This gives them way more for the old gear than it's worth used!


So the upshot of this, is if you are wanting to buy into a Phase One digital back, and were thinking of putting it on an older Hasselblad, now you can get an extremely generous trade-in for your old body and step up to a modern autofocus 645DF system from Phase One! Call us for more details...

Saturday, March 19, 2011

Bookmark and Share

X100: First shipment arriving soon!


After Fujifilm requested that I take down my image gallery with photos I had shot with a preproduction X100, I decided to hold off on a detailed review. Basically I found out that the camera I had did not have a final quality lens, nor did it have a final sensor, nor did it even have a final quality body as far as some of the external controls went! Initially our local Fuji rep was not aware of how far from final this unit was, since he had okay'd my initial gallery posting.  In any case, a detailed review of such a non-production camera would have been unfair and not representative of what the final X100 will be like.

However, I have found out that our initial shipment (which won't cover all the backorders) will be sent out to us at Beau Photo next week, so I will have many happy customers.  Fuji Canada just received their initial shipment from Japan! However, since the shipment does not quite cover our pre-orders, sadly I won't be getting mine just yet. I am hoping that, with luck, I may have a generous customer, who might let me shoot some tests with a production X100 though, so hopefully a review of a final camera will be forthcoming within the next two weeks.

The preproduction camera I shot with did have final v1.0 firmware loaded, so I may try to write up some further thoughts on its operation (mostly very good with only a few niggling quirks) however I may also hold off until the final camera test. Not sure yet since the next week will be very busy with other commitments.

Lastly, while many will be happy that the first X100 shipment made it out of Japan before the recent earthquake/tsunami disaster, I'm sure everyone's hearts go out to all those people stricken by the horrible events there. People there need to focus on family, friends and rebuilding their lives before going back to work, building more cameras. One way we can help out, is by donating to those in need. The Canadian Red Cross would be a good place to do so and has information on how to give to those in Japan urgently needing assistance...

Thursday, March 10, 2011

Bookmark and Share

March 24th: Hasselblad Solutions Event


NOTE: The event is FREE, but registration is required: http://www.regonline.com/HSS_BC

Phocus Mobile is a really sweet solution when shooting in the studio. You can control your camera and even view captured images with your Apple iPhone, iPad or iPod Touch. Imagine handing a commercial client an iPad so they can sit back, relax, and watch how your shoot progresses, rate images, zoom in on details and more. No more hovering over your shoulder, peering at the LCD on the back of your camera and getting in your way!

Say you have a complicated lighting setup, and you are walking around a large set, adjusting lighting ratios or repositioning your strobes. Rather than walk all the way back to your camera or computer to take another test shot, just pull the iPhone out of your pocket, shoot and preview an image to see your changes, right on the spot using the awesome "Retina" display on your iPhone 4. Cool!
Bookmark and Share

New Rebates for March

March brings some new rebates from Canon, Lexar and Nikon. I am only going to highlight a few choice ones here.  Call for all the details...

Canon
EOS-60D Body & Kits - $50

Lexar
32GB Professional 400x CF - $24

Nikon
D7000 Body & Kits - $50
(the D7000 qualifies for an additional $50 rebate in a dual lens configuration as mentioned below)

Dual Lens Kits with D3100, D90, D7000, D300S: Get a $50 rebate when buying an AF-S DX VR 55-200mm, AF-S DX VR 55-300mm or AF-S VR 70-300mm with any of the above mentioned bodies and any additional Nikkor lens.

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

Bookmark and Share

ImageQuest Winner!


Drum roll please....the winner of the ImageQuest registration package is Chris Mara from Coquitlam! Congratulations Chris! We look forward to meeting you at the convention.

Thank you all for entering the contest. Stay tuned on Beau Photo's social network sites for any further contests and information on all things photographic.