There are some pretty amazing photographs of the Olympic games coming out of Vancouver these days. If you’re wondering what photographers are shooting with, Pocket-lint has the lowdown on what Getty provides its photographers:

As for the kind of kit you’ll need for the job, well typically, Getty Images supplies its men with 2 x Nikon D3s DSLRs, a 24-70mm lens, a 400mm lens, a 500/600mm lens, a 1.4x teleconverter just to make sure, a tonne of spare batteries and a deck full of memory cards. The photographer would also be wise to add thermal underwear and boots, an extra set of clothes to put on when in position as well as lots and lots of chocolate. The aim of the game is to have everything you could possibly need and generally at least two of them. It’s a long way back down the mountain.

Sounds like it’s not just the athletes who need physical training for the Olympic games.

(via Gizmodo)

We’ve been seeing this idea floating around in concept cameras and new camera accessories, so it might be a coming trend in digital photography: detached LCD screens.

Xi Zhu Concept Camera

This isn’t an actual product, but rather a concept camera by designer Xi Zhu. The idea is that while the LCD and camera are normally held together with magnets, the LCD can also be detached and held by the subject of the photograph, allowing them to instantly view the photos, and delete those they don’t approve of. The photographer shoots through the optical viewfinder, and doesn’t actually get to see the resulting photographs, delegating chimping responsibilities to the subject.

Pixel LV-WI Wireless Live View Remote Control

Unlike the above concept, LV-W1 Wireless Live View Remote Control by Pixel Enterprise Limited is an actual product you can buy for your DSLR (for $335). Though the photographer can still see instant feedback on their camera, the remote receives the Live View wireless through the 2.4GHz band and displays it on a 3 inch screen. It works by attaching a transmitter to the camera’s hotshoe, and allows you to operate the shutter remotely.

This can also be done through your iPhone or iPod Touch using onOne Software’s DSLR Camera Remote application, though this app requires wifi and a laptop.

(via Yanko Design and Engadget)

Thanks for the tip @eugenephoto!

What do you get when you attach magnets to the Joby Gorillapod? The Gorillapod Magnetic, of course. It’s one of the two new products Joby is unveiling at PMA starting this Sunday (Jessica will be there covering it), with the other being the Ballhead X. The magnets allow the flexible tripod to be anchored to things like poles and doorways, supporting up to 11.5 ounces. However, you probably don’t want the magnets to come too close to your camera equipment, since magnets usually don’t get along with electronics very well. The Gorillapod Magnetic is available at the Joby Store and costs $25.

Here’s a “carry around” tripod for your carry around lens and camera: The ZipShot is a “compact, ultra-light tripod” by Tamrac that has aluminum-alloy legs that resemble the collapsible poles used in tents. While it’s not very useful in windy situations, or with heavy professional gear, it might suffice for most ordinary uses and lighter cameras (supposedly it can hold up to 3lb). The biggest benefits are obviously weight (11oz) and setup time. Here’s a video showing how quickly you can set the thing up:

The ZipShot costs $50, and can be found at most camera equipment retailers online (just search for “zipshot”).

Today’s big story is announcement of the Canon 550D, also known as the Canon Rebel T2i. This camera offers many of the same features as the Canon 7D, including an 18 megapixel sensor, an ISO range of 100–6400, full 1080p video (at 30, 24 or 25fps with manual exposure control), 1.6x crop factor, and a 3-inch LCD screen.

Differences between the 7D and 550D include a rugged magnesium alloy body vs. cheaper build, 8 frames per second vs. 3.7, 8-channel readout vs. 4, two image processors vs. 1, and 19 autofocus points vs. 9. Also, unlike the 7D, there is no word on the 550D having a 100% viewfinder or built in speedlite transmitter.

The 550D is priced at $899 as a kit or $799 for the body only. HD video recording capabilities are now extremely affordable for any photographer wishing to try their hand at filming.

Here’s a hands-on video of the camera by PhotoPlus magazine:

P.S. Turns out the rumor we heard about the 550D having an articulating screen is untrue.

At the beginning of the week, Hasselblad announced the H4D-40 medium format DSLR, and stated the camera would be unveiled next week at the February 10th worldwide launch. Well, details of the camera were leaked onto the Internet, leading Hasselblad to lift the February 9th embargo it had request. Today Hasselblad officially released photos and features of the new camera.

The 40 megapixel camera will cost $19,995, includes a lens and viewfinder, and is meant to compete with the Leica S2 (a 37.5MP medium format camera in a 35mm style body). In their press release today, Hasselblad CEO Larry Hansen states,

Most high-end photographers understand the advantages that a medium format system has over smaller formats, but many younger photographers have never been exposed to larger format photography.

Hmmm… Many younger photographers have never been exposed to $19,995 cameras either.

(via Amateur Photographer)

Based on patents recently filed with the United States Patent Office, Canon seems to be working on technologies that could have a huge impact on how you photograph.

Since these are simply patent applications, there’s no guarantee the technology will find its way into cameras anytime soon. However, it’s interesting to see what the camera corps are working on and what we might expect sometime further down the road:

Viewfinder LCD

One of the developments is the introduction of a small LCD screen in the viewfinder, separate from the live, optical view. In the images from the patent application shown above, you can see the LCD view above the traditional optical view and information bar on the right.

This means you can keep your camera pressed to your face while shooting, reviewing prior images on the in-viewfinder LCD rather than the LCD on the back of the body. If you constantly pull the camera away from your face to review what you just shot, this feature might give you an extra boost in productivity.

Sensor-based Stabilization

Another interesting thing found by Photography Bay in the patent application for the in-viewfinder LCD is the mention of an in-camera image stabilization feature.

This is interesting to note due to the fact that Canon and Nikon have long advocated image stabilization and vibration reduction built into lenses rather than camera bodies, even while other DSLR-makers (i.e. Sony) have offered stabilization built into bodies via sensor shift technologies.

Will we see Canon and/or Nikon introducing sensor shift stabilization soon? This would be a big deal, since it would instantly improve the performance of non-IS/VR lenses.

Your Thoughts?

You can learn more by reading the patents yourself here: 20100003025 and 20100002109.

What do you think of these two features? Do you want them included in Canon/Nikon bodies, or would cameras be better off without them?

(via Photography Bay)

SnapSort is a new web application that’s super simple but surprisingly useful. Give it two camera models and it will give you a side by side comparison of the specs, as well as pick a winner for you. In addition, it lists pros, cons, and similar cameras for each camera.

The service was created by a team of four — two programmers, a CS professor, and a “serial entrepreneur”. Here’s a screenshot of a camera comparison:

The website states that the service will eventually turn into a personal camera recommendation service. There’s no word on how SnapShot plans to generate revenue, but this type of application can do well with both advertising and affiliate sale business models (much like Flickr’s Camera Finder).

I’m pretty interested in seeing where this service goes, especially with such a large team behind it. If you’re currently in the market for a digital camera, give SnapSort a try!

(via Photojojo)

As Canon Rumors reported two days ago, a large number of lenses have completely disappeared from the Canon USA website. What made the story even more interesting was the fact that many of the missing lenses were among Canon’s most popular and highly acclaimed, and lenses about which upgrade rumors have been circulating for a long time.

These include the 24-70mm f2.8L, a lens that might soon be upgraded to a Image Stabilized (IS) Mark II version in the very near future.

However, The-Digital-Picture just reported today that,

Canon USA has “… identified the issue and will have it fixed as soon as possible”.

What do you think? Was this simply a technical glitch, or is Canon getting ready for a major announcement?

Keep in mind that numerous sites have reported that Canon has two announcements planned for January 5th (tomorrow) and January 9th (Saturday), in line with consumer technology tradeshow CES.

(via Canon Rumors)

Update: B&H has an event on the 5th called “Discover Canon’s High-end Pro Lenses Presented by Canon“. Wonder if this is related… (thx @Krypty)

Remember the Nova Concept DSLR? Well this one might be even stranger. Fleximus is a conceptual digital camera that’s based on a flexible tube:

The viewfinder of this tube-shaped camera is on one end of the tube, with the lens on the other. You can either use the compact viewfinder by putting that end of the tube to your eye, or you can attach an optional three-inch display module for a more traditional feel.

The idea behind this concept is that it allows you to take photographs at unconventional angles and with greater flexibility.

This might be useful for street photographers… or maybe spies. The concept of separating the viewfinder physically from the lens and camera itself obviously isn’t new, and can be done already on DSLRs with accessories such as the Aputure Gigtube. However, seeing a whole camera design based around this idea is pretty interesting.

What are your thoughts? Would you consider buying this camera?

Fleximus camera concept (via PC Pro)