All photo gears are now packed and I wonder if digital cameras Sony Alpha SLR will be up to the challenge of Southern Africa climatic conditions. I’m mostly worried about dust and sand (Kalahari, Etosha, Namib desert) more that about humidity (Okawango delta).

We carry with us the following material:

• 3 Sony Alpha DSLR cameras (A700, A350 and A100)
• 1 Sigma Zoom 50-500mm f/4-6.3
  
• 1 Sony 70-200 f/2.8 HSS
• 1 Sony 16-80mm f/3.5-4.5
• 1 Sony 35mm f/1.4 HSS
• 1 Sigma 30 f/1.4

and plenty of accessories such tripod, batteries, memory cards, cleaning material, charger, bean bag, etc… (not sure yet how I’ll pack my clothes in the suitcase which is already invaded by cables and boxes).

More to come…

Tags: a100, a350, A700, alpha, botswana, desert, dust, lens, namibia, Photography, safari, sand, sigma, sony

Searching the web, I found several online photo editors, and among there some which provide the possibility to upload your photos directly to your favorite site where you can share them.

It was not a surprise to discover that sites such Flickr and Facebook are the most integrated with these online photo editors, closely followed by Picasa and Photobucket. If all online photo editors propose basic editing tools such resize, crop, color balance, etc.. it's difficult to find one which propose all available options. Some tried to be as close as possible from Photoshop, proposing layer tools or distortion tool.

Fine tuning and precise corrections are difficult to obtain but at the opposite these tools, specially when you can edit an already published photo, give you the possibility to adjust your photos from any computer without having to purchase/install software on computers.

My 3 preferred ones are:

• Splashup (formerly Fausto) which is certainly the most complete one. Photoshop looks alike, so you feel comfortable with only if you have some knowledge about Adobe products. Loading a photo may be very slow from time to time (my ISP fault or are they victim of their success ?)

• PicNik which proposes an user friendly interface and does not require Photoshop knowledge. Advanced editing tools, touch-up tool, frames etc.. are only available with the Premium version which cost 25 USD/year. This editor seems to be the easiest and fastest editor available.
• Phixr is a simple one but fast and well integrated too with most usual image sharing sites but not providing preview of the photo you want to edit is a real problem if you do not have title on your photos.
• Some other solutions to may want to give a try : Cellsea, Pixer.us, Snipspot, Fotoflexer, Pikfix, Fanstudio, Online Phototool,  Flauntr, Fotocrib, etc..

  Soon, Adobe will also release an online version of its flagship software "Photoshop". Adobe Photoshop Senior Product Manager John Nack published on his blog earlier last month few lines about "Photoshop Express".

My 1st post about Flickr tools is here

Tags: 2007, A700, adobe, arc, blog, book, bt, ces, computer, computers, editor, facebook, fauxto, find, Flex, Flickr, fon, google, ia, ict, im, install, knowledge, lan, LED, nomadcom.net, online, online editor, phixr, photo, photo online editor, picnik, post, post processing, press, release, review, sco, search, share, sharing, simple, splashup, touch, user, web, wp, www, XP

Adobe has released its latest version of Lightroom with embedded version of Camera Raw 4.2.

Among others, following RAW formats are now supported:

• Canon EOS 40D
• Fuji FinePix IS-1
• Olympus EVOLT E-510
• Panasonic DMC-FZ18
• Pentax K100D Super
• Sony Alpha 700

For these using computer with non-English operating system or Regional Settings there is a simple trick to make sure that Lightroom appears in English:

1. Open your Lightroom installation folder (e.g C:\Program Files\Adobe\Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 1.2) in Windows Explorer.
2. Create a folder named e.g "Disable languages"
3. Open the Resources folder and move all unused language folders (e.g "fr", "de", "jp") into your newly created "Disable Languages"
4. Et Voilà!

Tags: 2007, A700, adobe, blog, camera, camera raw, ces, computer, DSLR, howto, im, install, lan, language, light, lightroom, nomadcom.net, olympus, photo, Photography, processing, raw, release, simple, sony, space, tax, uk, update, windows, wp, www, XP

The Sony A700 DSLR microsite was briefly available on Sony UK website earlier this week. Yesterday, Sony officially announced the A-700 in a press release.

New A-700 specs are the following :  

• 12.4 megapixel CMOS sensor
• BIONZ image processor
• 11 point autofocus system
• ISO 6400
• 5fps (for 17 shots in RAW mode)
• 1/8000th shutter speed
• 3 inch LCD screen (with 921,000 pixels)
• Optional battery grip
• Wireless Flash support
• Both MemoryStick and CompactFlash cards supported
• Size: 142 x 105 x 80 mm
• Weight: 690g
• Price Tag: : 1400€ body only, 1500€ with lens 18-70mm, 2120€ with lens Zeiss 18-80 mm

3 new DT lenses will be available:

• 16-105mm F3.5-5.6
• 18-250mm F3.5-6.3
• 55-200mm f4-5.6

Availabilty : 16th of November in Japan

Sources : Photography Blog, Virus Photo.
Check the A-700 Hands-on preview on DPreview  

Additional pictures on Engadget site.
More information later this week with the official Sony launch.

Tags: 2007, A700, api, ATT, blog, camera, card, ces, CTU, digital, DSLR, DSLR A700, flash, fon, gap, HP, ia, ict, im, iso, japan, lan, launch, memory, new release, nomadcom.net, pda, photo, Photography, picture, press, project, raw, release, review, screen, sony, space, uk, update, web, website, wireless, wp, www