Vast Amount Of Memory At A Half-Vast Price

Today we are featuring the spirit of Christmas cheer and offering a buy one-get one free offer for all sorts of memory cards. All the manufacturers too - SanDisk, Promaster, Hoodman, Lexar.

Buy one card, get the same one as as second card free. Couldn't be simpler than that.

Mind you, somebody will try to complicate it but we'll deal with it in the spirit of Christmas cheer. We have a big bunch of holly on the end of a stick.

Ho ho ho...

Permajet A4

There are 6 finished prints in the Permajet display folder here and you're welcome to come inspect them. You can scoff at the images themselves as they are taken from my own studio, but the printing of them is pretty flawless.

I'm still not sure whether the Ultra Pearl 275 is charming or just weird, but the colour is superb. And the Titanium Lustre 280 is an eye-opener as far as detail on monochrome images goes.

I shall be spending some of my own discretionary money on the larger boxes of these - and trying to wangle some of the fine arts ones as well.

One thing is evident - the Epson inks in the 3880 and 3000 are perfect for these papers.

The Proof Of The Pudding With Permajet

My plan to scientifically test the new Permajet papers at home with the sample pack has fallen behind - the pressure of holiday preparations and the delivery of my new barn, railway siding, and grain elevator has delayed the program.

Nevertheless we have had a win this morning with the shop advertising. We're running promotions all the way to the 24th of December that need large A3+ hanging signs - up until now I have been using up the leftover papers from several years - I products, E products, and one old K product...

Today we ran dry...and grabbed the packet of A3* Permajet Smooth Pearl. No change to the profiles in my laptop - they are still just the Adobe/Epson combination that I always use. The results are great - every bit as good as other manufacturer's papers.

The significant thing is the number on the price sticker is a lower number than those on other maker's A3+ paper. Good for the advertising department here and good for you at home. I shall use the money saved to buy mince pies and gingerbread men...

Fujifilm Go Instantly Wide... The Crowd Goes Wild!

Well, if you're going to toot a trumpet or beat a drum you might as well do it loud!

Fujifilm have a fascinating range of Instax cameras that use the instant-film technology to deliver finished analog prints in your hand in 90 seconds. There are several modls ranging from tiny to medium sized...and now there is a wide version. We just took delivery of some of them.

It's known as the Fujifilm Instax Wide 300 and has its own film pack. The pictre in your hand is 11cm x 8.5 cm and 10cm x 6cm of that is picture area - hence the wide designation.

There's automatic flash, rangefinder focusing, a usefully large hand grip, and auto exposure on the camera. The close-up range of the camera gets down to 40-50cm. And thank goodness they have put a standard tripod socket in the bottom so you can use it for big groups.

Highly recommended.

Extra Soft With Fujifilm - The 56mm APD

Bokeh is all the rage these days. Apparently it translates to shakiness in the Japanese language and has been taken to mean the appearance of out-of-focus areas in the background of portrait images.

Of course this is an expensive new word hip word - in my day we were satisfied with blurry. In some cases the blurriness extended from the horizon to the front element of the lenses we were using, with no stops in between. Then we invented stops...don't get me started about walking 2 miles to school in the blizzards...

Well, if you are lucky enough to have a Fujifilm camera like the X-E1, X-E2, X-Pro1, or X-T1, you can make use of the lens in the picture. It has good blur to start with and softens the edges of it with a special apodising coating - which means you get a much more attractive portrait with the subject standing out of the background.

Of course you need a large aperture to take advantage of this sort of thing - the Fujifilm 56mm f:1.2 APD has just this and is perhaps the pinnacle of the Fujifilm lens maker's art. Superb finish, solid mount, and very smooth focussing action. It's larger than other Fujifilm X lenses but balances well.

Fremantle = Portraits = Prizes in 2015

Yes, here it comes again.

Our friend Dale Neille has just alerted us that the Fremantle International Portrait Competition is on again for 2015 - with some bouncing rewards for the best photos. $ 12,000 in cash and material prizes. You can bounce pretty darn good for $ 12,000...

You'll have some time to prepare as the date for the start of entries is set at 15 June, 2015...and the closing date for entries is 15 August 2015.

The best research you can do right now is to go to:

www.fipp2015.org

And of course, start hunting down your subjects for your portraiture. With today's high-speed shutters and high ISO digital cameras you won't be restricted to thumbtacking your sitters onto a wooden chair in full sunlight for ten minutes...but it's still a fun idea.

Let's face it, if Fox-Talbot succeeded, so can you.

High Speed Synch - Profoto Flashes Onto the Stage

We've just had a heads-up from the wholesalers of the Profoto flash range that something new is here. They launched  a High Speed Synch for the Profoto B1 Off-Camera Flash on the 15th of this month.

It opens up the ability to shoot in many new areas with any aperture and any shutter speed up to 1/8000 second. This means you can shoot wide open even in bright sunny conditions ( like Western Australia in the summer...) without getting blown-out skies.

If you're using it to capture movement in mixed lighting you can get super-stopping power without motion blur that might have been occasioned by ambient lighting. The HSS works for Nikon and Canon and has been tested for all common camera models.

The launch consists of firmware upgrades for the B1 and Air Remote TTL-C/N.
 the firmware will be made available on:

www.profoto.com/myprofoto

and can be upgraded by the customer via USB. There are no hardware upgrades involved and the same flash tube can be used.

What a nice present for Christmas! And what a stunning flash system!

Cash Back Extended

We've just gotten an email to advise us that the Nikon Cash Back promotion for the following items has been extended:

D3200......$ 50
D3300......$ 50
D5200......$ 100
D5300......$ 100
D7100......$ 100
AW1.........$ 100

It will now extend to the 31st of January, 2015.

The mynikonlife website is a good source of detailed information about collecting this benefit, as well as may of the other services that Nikon offers.

Double Your Days With Our Rental Department

The Rajah Of The Rental Department has sent through a decree:

" Rentals customers can hire any rental gear from the 24th of December through to the 2nd of January  - that is a total of 8 days - and pay for only 4 days rental..."

This is a terrific offer and not to be missed.

Please also note that it is a very good idea to get your photographic equipment cleaned before the holidays begin. You'll receive 10% off all Sensor Cleans or Full Cleans until the 24th of December.

Please note all gear booked in for cleaning needs to come to us by 5:30 PM on the 23rd of December at the latest to get back in time for Christmas - we close at 3:00 on the 24th of December.

The Last Sherry Glass In the Cupboard - With Permajet Paper

Okay, you know what I'm talking about.

You get engaged, or turn 21, or get married. And you have this party, and people bring lame presents. Some of the presents are fondue sets and some of them are little wire carriers with 6 sherry glasses in them. You watch over the years as the sherry glasses gradually diminish - they crack or break - until you are down to that last one glass.

It will never break. It could be used to peen over the end of an armour-piercing shell...it's that tough. And your cupboard is full of the same thing from other sets of cups and glasses. You can set a table in the presence of your enemies with the calm assurance that they can't break anything...

It is the same with inkjet printing paper. You buy all sorts of different sizes and surfaces from all sorts of manufacturers and print up nearly all the packet...then you have the last few sheets. You NEVER use them again, because you NEVER have enough to do the next job. And the packets mount up...

Time to change. Go into your computer room and grab all those ratty ends of paper  packets and throw them out. Or print lost dog notices for imaginary dogs and post them up at the local IGA...always a favourite. Or make unwieldy paper airplanes. Whatever, get rid of them and get a set of the new Permajet papers.

I am currently working my way through the #1 sample pack and they are proving to be beautiful surfaces. So far the smooth pearl type is perfect with the profile I downloaded. When I can be bothered to change to matte ink I will run the fine-art types. This would be a good project for any printer during the coming holiday break...so come in an take home some packs of paper this week. And check the ink supplies as well - we'll be shut between Christmas and new years so get your shelves filled now.

Hanging Out With The Cullmann, Promaster, and #3 Legged Thing

The current rage for lightweight tripods has relieved a lot of travelling photographers of their weight worries. They buy ones that fold and fold and fold until they can get into the suitcase and as they are being made of increasingly lighter materials it is only a matter of time until they become actually lighter than air and will be stored on the ceiling...

While the light weight is helpful when travelling, it is counter to the principle of anchoring your camera down for the exposure.  That is why Cullmann, Promaster, and Three Legged Thing provide little metal hooks at the bottom of the center column of their tripods.

Their intention is that you will hang a weight there and stabilise the assembly in the wind. Good idea, if you do it right - a problem if you do it wrong. The trick is to have the weight hooked onto the column but resting lightly on the ground.

If you were to just hang a Coles bag on it filled with tins of salmon but leave it to wave in the breeze it would act as a pendulum and set up more vibrations than it quelled. Let it pull down to the ground firmly.

Oh Yes - Ona

The new range of Ona bags that has dropped onto us this last week is interesting. I have been stacking them diligently but did not open the fancy dancy box until this morning.

This is seriously dancy. The black leather satchel is named the Brooklyn and it costs a high  pile of change. It also appears to be a heavy-duty bag - that leather is top quality and there are no raw edges or unlined surfaces.

The fittings are chromed and well-fitted. The interior divisions have thick padding to separate cameras and lenses.

The bag presents itself and its owner very well - as well as the well-known British boutique bag, with possibly a stronger structure. It looks to be eminently desirable so users in foreign parts would be well advised to carry it with the strap cross the body to reduce the chances of bag snatching. This also applies in certain parts of Melbourne and Sydney and ALL of Canberra...

Black Or Silver Olympus

 We got a dump truck full of Olympus mirror-less cameras earlier this year for the Christmas trade and then everyone bought them. Good idea, just peaked a little early. So we ordered more...

This time we got even newer ones - E-Pl5 bodies in silver and black. They go perfectly with the Zuiko 17mm f:1.8, Zuiko 25mm f:1.8 and Zuiko 45mm f:1.8, of which we also have a wheelbarrow full.

Obviously they are at good prices to shift through - the bodies are $ 549.

The economic icing on the photographic cake is that the lenses attract Olympus cash-backs from now to the end of January 2015. You can get $ 50 each on the lenses sent back to your bank account from Olympus - That'll pay for your memory cards.

These are the camera bodies with the inbuilt pop up flashes and the tilt screen. Also with the advanced 5-axis stabilisers. Compatible with all the fine Olympus lenses - come down and see the new 40-150 f:2.8 just arrived...

World Record Paid For Photograph

DP Review has just reported that a fine art photograph produced by Peter Lik has been sold to an undisclosed private buyer for $ 6,500,000.

This gives us all hope that we may, with the proper equipment and opportunity, emulate this success. Unfortunately the report does not state which camera and lens was used, nor the aperture or shutter speed. Apparently the original file is a colour one and has been converted to monochrome for this sale.

The photograph was taken in Arizona in a place called Antelope Canyon. It shows sunlight filtering down through what may be dust or smoke. Or it could be from some form of vapour rising from the sand floor of the canyon. Unfortunately the highlight that shows the floor of sand is so bright that it obscures whatever is lying there - hard to tell what might be releasing the vapour.

Perhaps there had been a recent visit from antelopes. Or zebras.

Nikon - Become A Member - Score Double Cash Back

The season for scoring big money is upon us, and Nikon enthusiasts are set to benefit greatly.

If you are a member of NPS or a member of My Nikon Life you can get a DOUBLE cash back on the big three Nikon f:2.8 lenses:

Nikon AF-S 14-24mm f:2.8G ED N lens

The store price for this is $2345. If you are an NPS or MNL member they'll send you $ 500 cash back - reduces the final bite to $1845!

Nikon AF-S 70-200mm f:2.8G VR MkII lens

The store price for this is $2699 and the cash back of $500 means you pay $2199 in the end.

Nikon AF-S 24-70mm f:2.8G ED N lens

The store price for this is $2279. When Nikon send you back $500 you will have paid $1779 all told.

The wonderful thing about this is that it is easy to become a member of My Nikon Life and cash in on the rewards. Go on your browser to

mynikonlife.com.au

and just follow through to join. Then raid the piggy bank and come on down to see us. We've got stocks.

Note* For those who are not MNL or NPS members there is still a cash back on these three lenses - $ 250 in each case.

Big Deal! - It's A Blog Bag! Think Tank Second Brains!

Blogging for a living is meant to be hard work, but that is just to keep you away from doing it. It's actually easy as, if you just remember to tell a story.

Same thing blogging for fun. You can say what you like and the only people who complain are the officers from the national security agency that arrive at the door with a warrant. In my case they arrive regularly and we have coffee. Hey, Earle!

Taking the blog away from the main computer is easy as well* - many of us have laptops that can be connected to the net for free with dongles or for money in hotels. The same can be done with the smaller cousins of the computer - the tablets. And the even smaller smart phones. Mind you there is a point at which the screen gets too small to see and the fake keyboard too small to type on - at that point you are better off holing up in the bar and writing postcards.

If you are out on the road, writing, Think Tank have a very good series of bags to tote the machinery. The one you see in the picture is intended for iPad and iPad Mini tablets and have dedicated pockets for iPhones and an iSandwich. It has a shoulder strap and enough space within to take the adapters and chargers of both an iPad and a compact camera.

It is the blogger's entire armamentarium in one place. All you need is wifi, Wordpress or Blogger, and you can assault the senses of the entire planet.

* Also known as taking it on the lam...or the Lamb, if you are given to longer literary essays...

Weighs Nothing - Does Something - Lightweight Accessories For Christmas

I'm always banging on about the GoPro action cameras and their propensity to fill the ER at the local hospital with incautious users...but I really do admire their construction and the light weight that they impose on the photographer.

It's a lot of fun to carry heavy gear a long way in the heat and flies, said no photographer ever. That we still do is a testimony to our desire for megapixels and megapain. At least the people who ride bicycles off bridges have a legitimate excuse to break the habit, along with their clavicle.

This tripod from GoPole is light, tiny, and ready-fitted for the GoPro camera. If you are not going to wear the thing when you plunge off the cliff into the pit of dinosaurs, this is a good way to steady the camera to capture the scene. The cameras go for a long time once you press the start button so there is plenty of time to get into the scene.

The Joby Three-Way Strap is for wrist, neck, and shoulder and is instantly adjustable for different lengths. This is perfect for mirror-less system cameras.

The Cullmann Cross CX420 is the smallest Arca-Swiss - sized quick release plate and holder that you will ever see. Compacts and mirror-less cameras can now share the same tripod mount as your DSLR but not have a big block of iron hanging on the bottom.

Christmas is coming a stockings need to be stuffed with something besides dirty feet. Just sayin'

Self Absorbed With Go Pro And Your Mobile Phone

Have you ever wanted to send a picture of yourself in a nightclub toilet to prove that you are having a good time...? Or a picture of yourself on a beach that isn't just City or Cottesloe to prove that you have been on a holiday...? Or just a complete family picture with you in it instead of sitting behind the viewfinder of the DSLR...to prove that you exist...?

Here is your chance.

These complete selfie kits have attachments for action cams, compact cameras, and mobile phones so that you can hold them out in front of yourself. Then you make your mouth look strange and away you go.

You can use them to bat strangers in the back of the head in a mall while taking your selfie and for some reason they accept it. Expect them to bomb your photos in return - in Japan they use two fingers to wave at you and in other places they use one, but expect the unexpected.

Oh, go on. Buy one. You know you are going to take selfies so you might as well do it on a semi-professional basis. If nothing else you can use it to put your phone under the bed to see if you can find where the other shoe went.

Cool And Blue And Nikon

If you are the parent of a small child with sticky fingers or the child of a small parent with sticky fingers you may wish to consider this camera from Nikon for summer. It has been engineered to be as sticky-proof as possible and is simple to use in the bargain.

There is a zoom lens inside but the range has been kept sensibly to 3X - this is a camera that will be hand-held most of the time. The lens is fully encased so the beach trip cannot drive sand into it. The buttons on the back and the battery door are sealed as well so the whole thing can withstand 10 metres of water.

The shooting couldn't be simpler - two buttons on top - one for still and one for video. Crazy-close one-touch macro. Little on-board flash tube. Charming menu and assistance graphics. And a cool metallic blue colour.

Save the Christmas Lunch Party With Fujifilm

I don't want to depress you, but Christmas lunch is coming. You will be required to bring a plate - with food in it.

 Apart from the beer fridge, and possibly the pudding, there will be few other saving graces. Time will slow to a stop about 3:00 in the afternoon and only the start of a roaring sibling's fight will enliven the day.

It needn't be this way. This year arm yourself with a Fujifilm Instax Share printer and some packets of film and step into the breach. Become the family hero. Get invited back next year. Here's how you do it:

The Fujifilm Instax Share is a magic little printer that will take the images that people put on their smart phones and print them out onto Fujifilm Instax instant film - it scoots out of the printer and develops in your hand in 90 seconds. The novelty of it and the fact that everyone will have been drinking will ensure that a number of memorable selfies will occur. With the Fujifilm Instax they can be printed in hard copy - far safer than firing them onto Facebook.

We've got plenty of them so take the opportunity to buy yourself a present.

Working Retail - Working Retailers

I went to the shops this weekend. Not this one, mind - other shops. Garden City and Perth CBD. Holiday purchases needed during the next three weeks.

Well, that WAS interesting. Book shop, luggage shop, ABC shop, Games World, David Jones, Myers, Miss Mauds, and Sushi Sushi. An eclectic mixture, but my friends and family are a mixed lot so I match the present to the person.

What I learned:

1. No-one in the line ahead of me in Myers, David Jones, ABC shop, Games World, Miss Maud's, or Sushi Sushi asked " What's your best price...? ". I looked to see if they were dead, but they were all alive. Apparently it is considered correct to pay the price on the sticker. My head swam when I realised this, but I am coming to terms with it.

2. Newton was right. Greater mass creates greater gravity and leads to attraction of bodies. As people acquire ever larger 4WD and SUV cars they drive ever closer to your rear bumper. The purchase of these large vehicles must demand a great deal of their patience and good manners because by the time they are in the Garden City car park they have none of it left. I think there should be pumps at petrol stations that put perfume and tranquillising mist into the cabins of these cars along with the petrol and diesel. Or we should be allowed .44 revolvers.

3. Sometimes shop electric lighting systems break down and leave the staff in the gloom. This is inconvenient to the shoppers but it does allow the management to hire uglier workers. There is hope for me yet...

4. Apparently you can sell expensive coffee machines but you cannot stock the actual coffee for it. That has to come from the maker of the coffee machine. In the post. I am trying to relate this to our shop and the closest I can come to it is if we sell you a Nikon D930s ( the new Nikon D930s, not the old D930...) we then send you to the memory card shop and they post you out the card...and you can get the card in 25 different flavours, all with Italian names. Ciao!

5. Christmas wrapping paper comes in two sizes; too small or too large. Cost/weight ratio for it makes it slightly more expensive than plutonium.

6. If you have a cat, do not leave an empty paper bag on the floor then later drop something on what you naturally believe to be an empty paper bag. No good will come of it.

7. Label the presents as you wrap them. Never mind the twee little tags and the ribbons. Sticky labels and a ball point will do it, and you won't have to unwrap them to see who gets them. Wrapping presents with Kevlar tape is just mean. Mean fun, mind, but mean. But fun.

8. You cannot wrap some things. And I don't mean that damn cat. I mean there are some things that are either so distinctive in shape or so awkward that they cannot be enclosed. For these there is the green garbage bag with a nice ribbon.

9. Sushi Sushi does not have a rent-before-you-buy policy.

10. If you get your holiday shopping done early you can sit in the lounger out the back with a book and a drink and watch other people do theirs. It gets funnier and funnier the closer you get to Christmas but be careful about laughing out loud.

Fly Away With Think Tank

And a special prize for the person who identifies the make and year of the bonnet ornament.

Now on to the bag. A lot of the customers are flying somewhere for Christmas or January holidays. The airline companies are crying poor and cutting down on the baggage allowance that they they get to take. It will soon be more cost-effective to arrive in London stark naked and buy all your clothing there to avoid excess-baggage charges.

The tourists still want to take their cameras - and those who sensibly opt for smaller outfits will want to house them well. For the minimalist who decides that an Olympus E-P5 or a Fujifilm X100t will be perfect ( and they will be perfect...) the Think Tank Mirrorless Mover bag is equally perfect.

Space for the camera, several extra memory cards, a spare battery, and a Mintie*. Belt loop or shoulder strap. Water-repellent raincoat included in a side pouch. All you need in one convenient package.

* For those moments...

The Reverend Uncle Dick's Hour Of Power...with Toshiba and Powerex

Mah Frens, Ah can hear you out there a'groaning under the weight of sin! Ah can hear you a'groaning under the wait for your electronic flash to charge up!

You-all will have to cope with the former as best you can ( Hint: Adjust the sin so that it hangs evenly over the  shoulders from the front to the back.) but Ah can relieve you of your sorrow with the latter.

If'n you want the fastest solution to the problem, git the Toshiba AA batteries. They are cheap - $ 2.40 for two - and will generally fire off about 150 shots in a standard electronic speed-light. But sometimes they go for much longer - Ah fired mah Fujifilm EF-42 flash about 315 times last Sunday and the batteries still have power.

If you-all want to save money in the long run, you can git the Powerex rechargeable cells in either 2700 mAh or 2400mAh. You'll have to ask Ernest why they are different but they all work pretty well and you can just keep putting electricity into them between jobs. Powerex make big ol' chargers too.

Avoid the cheapie 300-packs that you can get in Woolies and $2 shops. They have abou as much electricity in them as a lightnin' bug on a string and if they leak in your flash you are in real trouble.

Which leads me to Mah next sermon...

Lowepro vs The Baggage Handlers

Leave us not be rude to the people who pack and unpack the airliners - they do a valuable job in difficult conditions and under time constraints. If they occasionally send your entire suite of luggage to the Dutch East Indies when you are flying to French Indo-China they do not do it out of malice. Likewise when your camera case is crushed in  the jaws of a steam hammer you mustn't be snide - remember it might have been your head in different circumstances.

The alternative - hauling your gear down the aisle of the Boeing and trying to cram it into the overhead locker - with the possibility of crushing the duty-free - is a real pain*. Wouldn't it be nice to have something that could withstand the gorillas on the tarmac but not be so big as to attract excessive charges for excess baggage? Well the Lowepro Hardside cases are for you.

This is the Hardside 200 that is good for small video or mirror-less kits. Waterproof and gorillaproof outer case with locking points, lightweight but sturdy internal case with shoulder straps and adjustable dividers. Throw it about and you'll still have a camera system at the other end of the flight

There are also two bigger sizes - the Hardside 300 and 400 - for ever-larger cameras and lenses.

They are a pretty good solution for the travelling photographer who needs to brave poor weather or dusty conditions but still needs a backpack when they get there.

* And the supercilious looks from the expensive people in the expensive seats...

New Epson Scanner Hits The Floor

Actually that should read " was placed carefully on the floor in anticipation of a sale...".

The new V800 scanners from Epson have arrived this week. They are like the old Epson V700 with a hundred more...Actually they are a dead ringer for the V700 in shelf footprint and ease of connectivity but they have several improvements:

1. New LED light source within the scanner. Epson mention that it is cooler, brighter, longer lived, and uses less power than the light on the V700 and V750. Also that there is no more warm-up time to sit through - the new scanner starts within two seconds.

2. Dual lens automatically selected with the source medium.

3. New film and slide trays that are more secure and provide a flatter hold on the films.

4. Optional fluid-mount tray for B&W images.

5. Silverfast SE8 editing program on a disc is included in the box.

6. The same 6400 dpi and D-Max 4.0 performance.

These class of scanner have always been noted for ease of use and speed of operation. I use a V700 regularly and depend on it to add images from my film archives. Boy, does it ever point out to me how rotten I was at processing in the 1970's...I seem to have been able to make every mistake in the book. But I can spot like crazy with the Photoshop Elements program so eventually all is well.

Tamron Try-On Trial Tips Trade Trip

And who said you can't write a snappy header early in the morning?

Okay - this is two notices in one:

1. The rental department here at Camera Electronic have some Tamron lenses that you can borrow as trial runs - the Tamron people are promoting a try-before-you-buy idea based upon you operating some of their lenses for a few days or over a weekend. Then the idea is you-buy-after-trying...makes sense.

The lenses that our rental department are holding for this are:

        a. Tamron AF 24-70mm f:2.8 Di VC USD in Canon or Nikon mount

       b. Tamron AF 90mm f:2.8 SP Di VC USD Macro in Canon or Nikon mount

       c. Tamron AF 70-200mm f:2.8 Di VC USD in Canon or Nikon mount

You'll need to call our rental department to make a booking and if it is the first time that you have ever rented something from us you'll need to bring in adequate ID - ask them what you need.

Tamron make some very good value-for-money lenses and one of these might just be the one you need.

2. The people at Tamron are nothing if not adventurous. And here is your chance to join them. Go to the website:

                                     tamron.com.au/beehive

and look at the competitions they are running that involve the Taiwan Rocket Festival. There are two - one that involves you buying a Tamron lens and one that is free ( the free one will attract more entrants so you'd have a better chance of winning with the lens one...) but the prize seems to be a trip to the Taiwan Rocket Festival - billed as the world's most exhilarating fireworks party.

I looked up exhilarating in the dictionary and applied the definition to being close to Chinese fireworks factories in full bloom. Like watching those old films of Bikini Atoll where they all put on dark goggles and hunker down...

Nevertheless, we commend it to you. If you win, and go, and come back, please show us the images.

PS: The Vandenburg AFB and Semipalatinsk Rocket Festival people refused to answer the phone when I called. Grouchy...

The Successor Succeeds - A Canon Camera For Safaris

 
We sold a lot of the Canon PowerShot SX50 HS cameras earlier this year - they were at a very good price and people flocked in to get them. We trust those customers are off enjoying their purchases right now - taking the camera out for wildflowers, tourist landscapes, and family pictures.

Well, the SX 50 HS is replaced with the Canon PowerShot SX 60 HS and the fun carries on - but with even more range. You see the lens has a greater pulling power - a full 65X zoom range. In addition there is very capable HD video shooting and deliberate provision for steady shooting while recording.

In even more respects this is the camera of choice for many of our clients who are going to go on African or Canadian adventure tours. The thing that they like to do, besides shop for cheap booze in the duty-free shops, is to see the wild and savage animals; the lions and elephants in Africa and the Edmontonians and Newfoundlanders in Canada. SOme venture to Alaska to see grizzly bears but really this is somewhat of an extravagance as the same grizzling can be seen round our house early on Sunday mornings and we're in Bull Creek...

Never mind. The Canon is a great camera for long-distance shooting combined with landscape capability. It's easier to haul than a DSLR and for the average web or A4 shooter in decent light it will be perfect. As it fires the files off to a tablet with wifi, you need not take cumbersome external drives or things on the plane with you. Save weight - more space in the luggage for warm clothing and brandy.

Art Paper? Wasn't He That Actor In The Mini-Series About Lavoisier...?

No, he wasn't. It was his brother, Litmus*.

Moving right along, art paper is the stuff you use when you have an image that is better than you normally make...and you want to celebrate your success with something that looks good. The surfaces are finer - some with texture and some with tint - and you can choose ones that replicate canvas. there are even double sided papers.

We have a special on right now with some Promaster inkjet papers. They are a different size than the average DIN offering. The boxes are 81/2" x 11"...also known as US letterhead size.

They are particularly appropriate for images that replicate the older 8" x 10" or 4" x 5" film sizes. Of course you can set out your picture area just as you like with modern printers and programs, but many of you will prefer to leave clean margins around your images  to make them stand out.

We can offer 15 sheets of dual-sided Soft Gloss for $ 26, 25 sheets of Ultra Premium Glossy for $ 12 and 25 sheets of Bright White Cotton paper for $ 20.

Go-on - try a change of size today.

* Chemical joke for a digital audience...

What's Big And Green And Cheap?.....Ask Ilford

The stack of pancakes you see here is composed of Ilford Galerie Smooth Gloss inkjet paper - these are the A2 size.

A2 is perfect for the larger Epson printers - the 3800, 3880, 4900, 7900, 9900, etc, and I suspect that Canon and other printers that are big enough would be perfect. All it needs to do is print to 22" wide and away you go.

We wish that this paper stack would go - it is making it hard to see all the other Ilford papers in stock. Time to take action.

Right. Normally we sell this size and surface at $ 115 for a 25-sheet box. Let's slash that price to $ 69 and clear the floor! Saul's orders. Come on down and take it away - 290 gsm professional-quality gloss for unbeatable detail in inkjet images. No surface disruption to confuse the resolution of the finest lenses.

First come, first served - when the stack runs out that's it.

Have We Got A Bag For You?

You bet we have and if you are a canny shopper we have some rare bargains.

We've put out special stickers on some selected Lowepro, Kata, Lomo, and other bags that have up to 40% discount.

Time to house your good gear in good bags and save a good chunk of change in your pocket - you'd be surprised how far your bag dollar will stretch between now and Christmas Eve here at Camera Electronic.