Germany: Day 1

Typical German countryside as seen from Burg Hohenzollern

Greetings from Deutschland! Well, despite being severely jet-lagged and fatigued, I thought I had better post something before hitting the sack. I was up for nearly 35 hours yesterday (flight day), and after only 6 hours of sleep last night, today was still tiring.

Before I get into the photos, I wanted to mention that a massive stroke of luck delivered a small shipment of Panasonic's new autofocus Leica branded 25mm f/1.4 Summilux DG lenses to Beau Photo on Friday, my last day at work before flying to Germany on Saturday. Although the shipment caused my bank account to get lighter yet again, once I decided to take one of the lenses and shot some tests with it, I was ecstatic that I was able to secure one before my trip. Many of the photos following were taken with it. And yes, there are more available in stock at Beau Photo now! If you are a Micro-Four-Thirds shooter, this lens definitely deserves a look!

X100: We have one in stock...

[Update: It's gone now...]

For the first time since Fujifilm started shipping the X100, we are actually caught up on pre-orders and have one in stock, ready and waiting for the next lucky customer who wants one! I have put it in our showcase, so I don't expect it will last too long.

We also have genuine Fujifilm NP-95 batteries in stock. However we are not yet caught up on the hood/filter-ring kits unfortunately, nor the premium leather cases...

Epson Stylus Photo R3000 - in stock!

We finally received a shipment of Epson's latest R3000 printers. This all new desktop 13"x19" printer boasts much larger ink cartridges than the R2880 (over twice the capacity) and, similar to its larger cousins like the Pro 4880 or 4900, the cartridges are now installed in a separate compartment and not directly on the printhead. Unlike the R2880, the R3000 now allows loading of both the photo-black and matte-black inks for hassle free printing on either glossy or semi-gloss RC and fibre-based inkjet paper, as well as on matte fine-art or proofing papers too without having to switch out the black cartridge. The printer is also WiFi enabled and has Ethernet and USB 2.0 ports for connectivity.

The new print heads also have a low-friction ink repellant coating that should reduce the need for head cleanings, and with tiny 2 pL droplets, your photos will print with incredibly smoothness and essentially no visible dot pattern. Black & white images will render dead-neutral (if you so desire) under pretty much any light source and with the right paper, colour print longevity can be upwards of 100 years.

Specifications: Epson Stylus Photo R3000 Specifications Sheet

The price is $899 and we have a few in stock...

Panasonic: GH2 is in stock!

It's a miracle! After being on order since December 2010, we finally received a shipment of GH2 bodies! We now have a few, both a body and a kit with the video-optimized 14-140mm stabilized zoom.

In addition, our rental dept. now has numerous Panasonic items for rent, including the GH2 kit with the 14-140mm, a 7-14mm f/4 ultra-wide zoom, a 14mm f/2.5 pancake prime, the 20mm f/1.7 pancake and lastly, the excellent 100-300mm f/4-5.6 OIS zoom.

I have spent a bit of time shooting with the GH2 system now, and plan to do so a little more over the next couple of weeks. Watch for a hands-on review by the time our next newsletter hits at the beginning of July.

X100: DigiPower Travel Charger

DigiPower TC-55F Charger compared to Fujifilm's X100 Charger

While Fujifilm's charger that is included with the X100 works great, it can be a bit of a pain to travel with. First off, looking at the above picture, you will see the piece of white "gaffer" tape on it. That tape is on my charger to keep the little plastic insert from getting lost. Without this insert, the NP-95 battery will not stay in place for charging and this little bit is not very securely fastened and pops off quite easily. Secondly, have a look at that power cord, it's huge! And it is stiff. Total overkill and it takes up a lot of extra of room when packing. Most chargers that I have, for all the different cameras I own, have little fold-out prongs and are very convenient to pack when traveling.

After a bit of searching, I found a Fuji compatible DigiPower charger available from one of our suppliers and after bringing one in for testing, I decided to order a few for stock here at Beau. I bought one for myself too.

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.

Zacuto! We finally have Z-Finders in stock...

Get 'em while they're hot!

Finally, after months of waiting, we have the Z-Finders in stock, both the 2.5x and the 3x versions. We have filled our backorders and have stock on hand...

NIK Software - Save up to $99!

We have stock on NIK Software at Beau Photo and the good news is that we have some limited time special pricing! The Image Explorations show on Vancouver Island was a resounding success, but we still have a few copies of NIK software at the show special pricing. These prices are only going to be on for a limited time, so don't delay if you want to take advantage of these specials!

NIK Software		Regular	PROMO
Dfine 2.0		$99.00	$75.00
Color Efex Pro 3.0		$299.00	$225.00
Silver Efex Pro		$199.00	$150.00
Sharpener Pro 3.0		$199.00	$150.00
Complete Collection (Ultimate)		$599.00	$500.00
Complete Collection (Aperture & Lightroom)		$299.00	$250.00

Trial versions of all the different plugins are available here: http://www.niksoftware.com. While you could buy the serial numbers for these plugins online... take note that our sale prices are way lower than the web prices!

Also note that if you are a student enrolled in a certified photography program, you would be eligible for educational pricing on NIK Software, and that's even lower than the above promo prices.  We have student editions of most packages in stock as well.

Rode Microphones at Beau Photo...

Beau Photo has just received a shipment of Rode microphones, specifically the VideoMic and the Stereo VideoMic. These high quality and ruggedly built microphones are perfect for use with your video DSLR and will mount right onto the camera's hotshoe. We will also have them available in our rental department, so you will have a chance to see for yourself... or rather, to hear for yourself, how much better these can sound that the built-in mics that the cameras have!

Canon EOS-7D in stock again...

We finally got a shipment of EOS-7D bodies in again, luckily while the rebate is still running! Our price is $1825 and Canon's rebate is $150, so effectively $1675.  A good price for an awesome camera! I should know... I shoot with one myself.

We were also out of LP-E6 battery packs and they have made it in as well...

Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II - in stock!

Well, we finally received another shipment of these new and highly sought after lenses. We have filled backorders and now have a few available in stock for sale! Call or email if you'd like us to put one on hold for you!

- Link to specs on Canon's website -

- NO this is not a Canon lens mug! -