Eton announces Boost line, lets you crank your way to a charged phone

Is your cell phone dead and there’s nary an outlet in sight? It’s not an issue if you’re feeling zesty and also toting a BoostTurbine hand charger, which Eton just announced as part of its new portable charger lineup. The BoostTurbine2000 and 1000 model numbers denote the mAh of the batteries in each device, which can borrow volts from a conventional outlet, then transfer up to a full or half charge (respectively) to most smartphones. In a pinch, though, you can pop out the hand-crank and grab about 30 seconds of call time for each minute of sweat equity, according to the company (depending on your motivation, natch). The BoostTurbine2000 will set you back $59 while the 1000 model will run $49, and both are now available at Eton’s store. The company also outed a new line of regular plug-in portable chargers — it’s all in the PR after the break.

By Steve Dent

http://nycfotoworks.com

This time last year I attended the NYC Fotoworks reviews. Initially I thought this event was too good to be true. However it turned out to be an amazing experience.

During this event I meet with some of America’s leading industry professional, Agents, photo editors, and art director’s. This exercise is great for reviewing a folio, but what I loved about it was the perspective it gave me of where I stood on a world scale, in a market that makes sense to me. Check out the website and see the list of reviewers.

http://nycfotoworks.com/photographers/

A great studio Album – Emancipator

Tunes set the scene for any great day in the studio and this album has been doing exactly that lately.

Being time poor, I am starting to rely more on my assistants, especially for finding new and worthy music to play in the studio while shooting, Steve mad pRoPs go out to you for sharing this album!

Emancipator is Douglas Appling, who is joined in the live setting by Violinist Ilya Goldberg.
To some, it must seem like this young electronic producer came out of nowhere this year, but those in the know have been following Emancipator since he self-released his first album, “Soon It Will Be Cold Enough,” at the age of 19 in 2006. His agile melodies layered over headnodic, immaculately-produced beats captivated fans across the internet and across the world. “Soon It Will Be Cold Enough” was picked up by Japanese super-producer Nujabes, pressed in Japan and sold 5,000 copies in the first six months. Emancipator landed a Puma sponsorship, gave an interview to Rolling Stone Japan, and even had his song “Maps” played at the Bejing Olympics.
His latest album “Safe In The Steep Cliffs” blends new instrumentation and organic samples with the signature Emancipator style of clean production, silky melodies and addictive drums. Dense layers of choirs, horns, American folk instruments such as the banjo and mandolin, violin and some distinct Asian influences make for a playful but refined album built out of intricate tracks listeners can enjoy on as many levels as they want. Dance to it, chill out to it, immerse your mind in it.

http://www.emancipatormusic.com
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Emancipator_(artist)

Profoto d1-500-air

I just brought three Profoto d1-500-air lights for the e-commerce studio I set up. These lights are fantastic, super easy to use and very fast for a small unit.
The coolest thing about them is they work off mains power but they can be plugged into the Profoto generator. http://www.profoto.com/batpac/

I purchased my D1′s from http://www.amazon.com
There are ways around the shipping restrictions that make these so much cheaper than buying them in OZ
Super performance in a small, affordable package
Compact and lightweight
Integrated reflector
7 f-stop power range
Short flash duration and fast recycling times
Accepting the Profoto light shaping tools system
Connect to your PC or Mac with Profoto Studio Air software
Product number:
901024

http://www.profoto.com/products/monolights/d1-500-air

Canon canon-EF-24-70mm-f2.8L-II

Ok anyone that says the original version of this lens was good needs to get glasses, that’s me being polite.

Finally Canon released -EF-24-70mm-f2.8L-II as a replacement and this version has been design specifically for digital photography unlike its predecessor which was still left over from the film age.

Its not image stabilised, however it is much sharper and lighter. I spoke to the guys at CPS (Canon Professional Services) prior to buying this and was advised that the mark 1 of this lens rated about 4.5 out of 10, with this lens scoring a 9.5 on the same scale.

Obviously this is talk from someone hired to preach company stats but after using this lens I agree. Its fantastic and a great addition to the Canon line up.

There were a few things I questioned about this lens, the image quality is great but I don’t understand why the focal length lock button is limited to 24mm as I feel it would have been a great feature to add onto the other focal lengths.

The other questionable update is the new lens hood, it now comes with a release button, I understand why Canon have added it however I loved the old style of hood. The old style had less moving parts and I can see this new feature breaking after constant use.

I’ve shot a few jobs with this lens now and it was worth the money. I purchased my lens at http://www.digidirect.com.au/camera_lenses/canon/standard

Canon 1 D X index 1

I am almost certain Canon will release a 1 DXS, but since I purchased the 1 DS Mark 3 when it was released I was well over due for a camera update when this camera was released.

I bought one after shooting a story for Marie Claire, This camera produces files that work for about 95% of my jobs. I recently processed some files at 250% actual size in Capture One. My client needed high res files for some large Duratrans in a department store.

I was actually surprised at how well the files held together. The only real tweak the files needed was additional sharpening.

http://www.canon.com.au

I bought my camera at http://www.sunstudiosaustralia.com/Sales now that CPS has moved into this establishment you will not find a better camera store.

CLEO MAGAZINE August issue

PHOTOGRAPHY | ADAM FLIPP
STYLIST | AILEEN MAR
HAIR | JAMES PEARCE @ NAMES AGENCY
MAKE UP | RAE MORRIS
MODEL | ALICA @ CHADWICK MODEL MANAGEMENT

www.adamflipp.com
http://www.cleo.com.au

Photography notes:
Canon 1ds Mark 3 with 100mm L series macro lens.
This shot was shot at B2 studios and we used a four light set up. Broncolor gear with a raw head above camera for the front light, black cards on the model.
Back ground we used 2 heads, however the model was a long way from the back ground to give us the black edge. One controlled light source from behind the model was used for highlighting the water. The skill with this is lighting water on a white background. The lighter the back ground the harder it is to get detail in the water. The front light is high key but all of the detail is recorded.