transmit's blog

How did Fujifilm succeed where Kodak didn't? How did Kodak's smaller Japanese rival manage to prosper, while one of America's greatest companies has faded into irrelevance and near bankruptcy? The Economist takes an excellent look at two different companies - Kodak and Fujifilm, examining how they both managed the consumer transition from film to digital. Read about it here

Established and aspiring concert photographers take note! Nikon and NikonLive have been sponsoring live music concerts at Jones Beach Theater in New York for much of the summer with artists like the Goo Goo Dolls and Aretha Franklin performing for the crowds and giving lots of photographers a chance to get great concert shots. Along with the concert series, Nikon is also sponsoring a photo contest, where you can win VIP tickets, airfare, and hotel for an upcoming event at the Nikon theater by submitting your best concert photo. Click here for more details about the contest and to see the top entries so far.

It seems almost every camera manufacturer in Japan has been affected in one way or another by the recent 9.0 earthquake and tsunami.  Adorama Camera has a special update page on its website detailing what is known about the current impact of these disasters on the Japanese photographic industry. 

Read the update

The latest version of DxO Optics Pro (v6.5) offers the ability to create HDR images from a single RAW shot - normally you need to use at least 3 shots taken at different exposures to create an HDR image.

DxO Optics Pro Single-shot HDR

Discover high-quality HDR rendering with one single shot:

• Optimal contrast for the highlights as well as for the dark zones of an image
• Preservation of the natural colors and aspects of each photo
• Noise processing adapted to your equipment, thanks to our unique, laboratory-based calibrations.

We tried it and it works quite well (above are before and after shots). Try it for yourself by downloading a free trial version of DxO Optics Pro here. 

DxO Labs is also offering a 30% discount on new purchases of DxO Optics Pro.

Classic German lens from the 1960's offers superb build and optical performance in an affordable package. We test it on a Nikon D90

Leica cameras and lenses are renowned for their superb craftsmanship and excellent optical performance. Based in Germany, Leica have always stressed product quality ahead of cost and this has resulted in some of the best performing and most beautifully crafted cameras and lenses ever made. Their equipment has always been well-regarded and highly sought after by pros and top-name photographers, as well as anyone lucky enough to be able to afford the best. 

In today's highly competitive photographic marketplace though, there are more choices than ever and buyers seem to be driven more than ever by low prices made possible by cheap Asian mass production. Because to this ever-increasing trend, Leica have seen their marketshare dwindle, especially with the move to digital. While they have recently started producing some equipment in Asia to better compete in price, there is still a lot of vintage Leica equipment around, much of it unused and collecting dust or in the hands of only a few die-hard traditionalists. Vintage Leica equipment, I have come to find, is one the the great treasures of the photographic world, and still has that fanatic attention to quality, craftsmanship, ergonomics and tank-like durability that Leica is  famous for.  And the best part is that some of these excellent and previously very expensive optics can be mounted and used on today's Nikon SLRs, and better yet, you can buy them for very reasonable prices on the used market !

Leica lenses on a Nikon SLR body?