A digest of last week’s news is a selection of some of the news from week 46 related to the worlds of photography and video, covering multiple topics, always rounded up with a reading suggestion.
Typhoon ActionCam, the DJI Osmo competitor
The DJI Osmo has a competitor, which in fact arrived to the market before. It’s the handheld SteadyGrip for stable ground footage, available with the multicopters from Yuneec International, and now renamed Typhoon ActionCam.
The Typhoon ActionCam combines the CGO3 camera gimbal with a handle for stable ground footage, allowing consumers to record videos and take photos like never before. When using the Typhoon ActionCam, the camera stays level regardless of shaky hands or wobbling and is an ideal tool for capturing life’s moments.
The Typhoon ActionCam includes the CGO3 camera, 1400mAh LiPo battery and smart charger. The device is available on the market for the suggested retail price of $549.99 USD. For more information, visit www. yuneec.com.
Acer launches new 34 inch ultra-wide monitors
Designed for those who want the convenience of viewing graphic intensive content in sharp detail and without having to scroll to see the entire picture, Acer’s two new 34-inch ultra-wide monitors include Acer B346CK featuring QHD (3440×1440 @ 60Hz) resolution and the Acer B346C with FHD (2560×1080 @ 60Hz) resolution.
The new displays meet the highest standards for color accuracy with 100 percent sRGB coverage and 6-axis color adjustment. Both displays have a 21:9 aspect ratio, while the Acer B346CK delivers 3202 cd/m brightness and 1.07 billion colors, and the Acer B346C provides 3002 cd/m brightness and 16.7 million colors. A crisp 100,000,000:1 maximum contrast ratio and a 6ms response time contribute to the stunning picture quality. Acer ComfyView non-glare protection provides clearer, more comfortable viewing via a polarizer material to reduce reflections.
The new Acer B346CK and Acer B346C displays are available at Acer resellers and leading online retailers in the United States for manufacturer’s suggested retail prices (MSRP) starting at $599.99 for the Acer B346C and $799.99 for the Acer B346CK.
New Trimagon 95mm f/2.6 for portrait
Meyer-Optik-Görlitz announced a new lens, the Trimagon 95mm f/2.6, for Canon, Nikon, Fuji X, Sony-E, MFT, M42 and Leica M mount, available Summer 2016.
The new lens offer the classic triplet construction (3 lenses in 3 groups) along with a iris diaphragm with 15 specially constructed aperture blades from slats strip steel with a special anti-reflective coating.
Founded in 1896, by optician Hugo Meyer and businessman Heinrich Schätz, the Meyer-Optik-Görlitz was responsible for multiple advances in optics, but its name vanished from the body of lenses in 1971, after the brand was integrated into the VEB Pentacon and VEB Carl Zeiss collectives.
The name resurfaced in 1990-1991, but did not manage to attract investors. The Meyer-Optik-Görlitz brand was revived in September 2014, at Photokina, when Globell Deutschland exhibited new lenses under the Meyer-Optik-Görlitz name. December that year the first lenses were available. Price for this new lens? € 1699, or something like $ 1800.
QNAP has two new NAS for SOHO
The new NAS series from QNAP is formed by the quad-core 2-bay TS-251+ and 4-bay TS-451+ NAS that provide an uncompromising high-performance and scalable storage solution for small offices and workgroup users with appealing affordability.
The new models feature virtualization readiness, containerized applications, advanced backup solutions, real-time & offline video transcoding, QvPC Technology, HDMI video playback with an included remote control, and many more functions that are beneficial for businesses and SOHO users to build a cost-efficient and modern storage solution.
The TS-251+ and TS-451+ are powered by a 22nm 64-bit quad-core Intel Celeron 2.0GHz processor (burst up to 2.42GHz) with 2GB/8GB energy-efficient DDR3L RAM. They also include dual Gigabit LAN ports, and can deliver up to 225 MB/s throughput and up to 205 MB/s transfer speeds with AES 256-bit volume & folder encryption. “The TS-251+ & TS-451+ are ideal choices for those who demand the superior performance of a quad-core x86-based NAS without breaking the budget,” said Jason Hsu, Product Manager of QNAP. “Both NAS are speedy, versatile and provide future-proof scalability.”
Fine Art Printing for Photographers
Uwe Steinmueller may be gone to other photographic landscapes (1947–2014), but the German photographer and author left behind a wealth of knowledge for photographers. Uwe was the man behind outbackphoto.com, a popular website covering quality outdoor photography using digital cameras. And he was co-author, with Juergen Gulbins of Fine Art Printing for Photographers – 3rd Edition – Exhibition Quality Prints with Inkjet Printers.
I’ve the first edition of the English version, from 2007, which was the “bible” at the time for anyone wanting to use inkjet printers. The third edition of this best-selling book provides the necessary foundation for successful fine art printing but has been updated so it covers the most recent (in 2013) lines of high-end inkjet printers, photo papers, and devices for monitor and printer profiling. It also addresses the printing dialogs and some new features of Photoshop CS6.
It’s this eBook, Fine Art Printing for Photographers, some 356 pages of information to help you achieve better results when printing that Rocky Nook offers this week, at a special price: $9.99 if you use the code FAPRINT.