Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) is the organization of Japanese camera makers and companies making related devices. Their newest statistics for third and fourth quarter of 2011 makes for the first time division between single lens reflex cameras and non-reflex cameras in their category interchangeable lens cameras.
I collected their data into a colorful graph below.
This image has Q3 2011 on the left side and Q4 2011 on the right side. From top we have SLR shipments to Japan (red) , Europe (green) , Americas (blue) , Asia (yellow) and Others (grey). Below white demarcation line we have the shipments of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras to same destinations. The graph shows percentual shares of shipments during both times. Actual total shipments for Q4 was less than Q3.
The share of mirrorless rose from 19% in Q3 to 27% in Q4. It is now a little more than the share of SLR shipments to Europe which is again the biggest marketing area for ILCs. In Japan mirroless surpassed SLR during Q4.
Otherwise the graph rises only questions. Like, why did shipments to Asia drop so dramatically, below 50% in quantity? How much are the effects of Asian nature catastrophes seen here? For how long will Canon stand looking at their ever diminishing market share in their home market?
I would guess mirrorless will be bigger than SLR by early 2013.
This graph is about camera bodies. During 2011 lens sales world wide rose by 12% for 35mm lenses and by double of that for smaller formats. 35mm lenses have now a 22% marketshare of all lenses. In Japan 35mm lens sales declined by the same 12%.
Olympus has today introduced their new m4/3 camera line, OM-D, and its first body, the E-M5, and a bunch of accessories including two new lenses.
Some time ago I had the first chance to try this new camera. At that time there were only two E-M5 cameras in Europe and everything was very hush hush. I was not allowed to take the camera out of that conference room. Also it was a pre-production sample, which are useless for real testing. Anyhow it still was possible to try handling the new camera and get an impression of its new features. This blog tells what I see as interesting in this new camera. If you read me using expressions like better or markedly better, they are based on experience with E-P3 + VF-2. Right now I have no hard test or comparison data of anything. I will have a production sample in about two weeks to really shoot with E-M5.
Size
As you can see in these two pictures, E-M5 is small. It´s a lot smaller than at least I would think when looking at Olympus product shots. At 121 x 89 x 42mm it is smaller than E-P3 + VF-2 combination in EVERY dimension. Below is a comparison of E-M5 with Olympus OM-4, E-620 and E-5.
Construction
E-M5 is built around a magnesium alloy body. The body is dust- and splash-proof to the same standard as Olympus E-5. Red lines in the image above show the layout of sealing parts in body as well as in the optional landscape and portrait grips. Right now E-M5 is the smallest dust- and splash-proof body among all interchangeable lens type digital cameras. The pre-production body I tried felt solid and well made, but these samples are not always up to production standard. This body had a couple of buttons that were said to be not as final.
EVF
E-M5 viewfinder has the same 1.44M dot (800x600 RGB pixels) resolution as Olympus VF-2. Olympus doesn´t tell who is the manufacturer but my guess is that E-M5 has the latest version of the panel type used in VF-2.
A new feature is the possibility to have all info collected below the image. Info field can have a blue background like here or everything can be against black. This image shows only a small fraction of possible information. Because of info field, the image will then be smaller. Here black shows the whole viewfinder area and image proportions has been chosen to be 3:2. Now image magnification is 1.0X (50mm lens). With native 4:3 setting image magnification is 0.92X. You can also fill the whole viewfinder area with 4:3 image and then image magnification is 1.15X. All the info is now superimposed on image with the same general layout as with E-P3 + VF-2. Of course you can also turn all info off. Field of view is of course 100%.
Viewfinder optics is new. It was easy for me to see the whole area sharply even with my glasses. New optics allows also a wider diopter adjustment range between -4 to +2 diopter. Eye point is 18mm at -1.
Frame rate has been doubled, it is now 120 fps. You can also choose the old 60 fps. According to Olympus, the absolute color quality of viewfinder image is better at 60 fps. There and then I couldn´t really see any difference. The real difference is 120fps giving you a lot smoother experience with moving subjects and while panning.
Another improvement with moving subjects is a markedly shorter refresh time of EVF. E-M5´s new TruePic VI image processor has separate processors for saving images and LiveView. Now EVF seems to be on almost all the time. According to Olympus, the lag is shortened to 29ms.
Stabilized EVF is another real breakthrough. Viewfinder image is always stabilized when in body stabilization (IBIS) is on. Always means here also video and with every lens. This means a marked benefit when using long focal lengths, shooting macro and using magnifications with manual focusing. Viewfinder stabilization actuates when you press shutter button halfway down.
EVF has now an eye sensor. When you move the camera to your eye, the image is displayed on the EVF. When you move the camera off your eye, the Super Control panel is displayed on the backside monitor. You can have the backside monitor to display the image by pushing monitor button on the right side of EVF structure.
EVF is not tiltable. You can use Olympus (4/3) angle finder with E-M5. You can also take off accessory port cover and add a VF-2 on E-M5 and have a tilltable EVF. The combination may be funny looking but totally functional.
16MP Live MOS sensor
E-M5 has a new (for Olympus at least) 16MP sensor instead of the 12MP sensor used in E-P3. It might be the same sensor as in Panasonic GX-1 or not. Olympus doesn´t tell. Comparing some specs from these two cameras makes me think the basic sensor could be the same. But there is lot more to a sensor. Olympus is now using a version of their ”Fine Detail Processing” technology which was introduced in E-5. That is an implication of E-M5 having a thin low pass (AA) filter which is good for sharpness. Olympus is using their ”Real Color” technology which is related to used RGB array. E-M5 is reading the sensor at up to double speed compared to previous cameras and that has benefits in fps rate, continuous autofocus and video quality.
Testing a production camera will tell the truth about sensor related to image quality. Right now I can only say that IQ will be better than with E-P3. Olympus speaks about highest sensitivity, lowest noise and widest dynamic range in their E-series. ISO range is now 200 - 25600.
Five Axis In Body Image Stabilization, IBIS
The newly developed 5 axis IBIS unit is a huge element compared to E-M5´s volume. I have outlined it here with red. It contains also Olympus SSWF sensor cleaning unit. I have not seen the units or pictures of them side by side but I think this structure is some three times as big as the one in E-P3. IBIS unit forces EVF electronics situated above EVF, which together with accessory port dictates the height of EVF box.
This is the first and only 5 axis image stabilization in interchangeable lens cameras. Those five stabilized movements are shown above. So far Olympus IBIS has been able to compensate for pitch and yaw. Canon has in some lenses also a stabilizer capable of compensating for horizontal and vertical moves. Roll compensation is not possible at all in an optical stabilizer. According to Olympus, this new IBIS system is effective for up to 5 full EV steps. They had the same claim for E-5 IBIS but it was effective for a lesser amount of camera movements.
IBIS works with all lenses and this new MSC type IS is as good for video as stills. Olympus says that the new IBIS removes rolling shutter effect ”dramatically” from movies. Also it stabilizes the video if you walk during shooting.
FAST Autofocus
FAST AF is Olympus´ name for their AF system, F.A.S.T. being an acronym for Frequency Acceleration Sensor Technology. Olympus claims E-M5 AF being the fastest AF system in intechangeable lens cameras.
For single shot AF, S-AF, the focusing speed should be roughly the same as in E-P3. It is based on the same 120 fps readout from the sensor as in E-P3. Maybe new algorithms and new processor make it even faster and boot response time is shorter. Couldn´t tell because Olympus MSC lenses focus so fast also with E-P3.
For continuous AF (C-AF) and AF tracking (Tr) everything is changed. Firstly the system reads video signal from sensor at double speed, 240 fps. Turning camera around and from far to near and back with C-AF on, showed that the camera keeps staying focused significantly faster than E-P3. TruePic VI has a new and separate object tracking unit just for calculating subject movements. It should give a ”vastly improved” predictive AF, as Olympus puts it. The system is based on face, color and pattern recognition. It can calculate movements, not only in changes in horizontal and vertical movements, but also in the rate of change in object size. That means 3D Tracking AF. Continuous, 3D tracking AF works up to frame rate of 4.2 fps. This will be one of the most interesting features to test later!
I know many 4/3 system users are disappointed to hear that C-AF and Tr do not work with 4/3 lenses. Only S-AF is available. I did not try S-AF speed with any of 4/3 lenses.
Manual focusing is a lot easier with stabilized EVF. Enlarged view options are 5X, 7X, 10x and 14X.
Sequential shooting
There are two mode settings for sequantial shooting, L and H.
L: 3,5 fps; or with IS OFF 4.2 fps. Buffer capacity is 17 RAW images. In JPG shooting there is no buffer limit.
H: 9 fps (IS and C-AF OFF). Buffer capacity is 11 RAW or 17 JPG images at best quality.
Video
Video recording has now MOV, MPEG-4 AVC/H.264, as a new recording format. It is Full HD with 1920x1080, 60i. Sensor output is 30 fps, recording 20 Mbps. Maximum recording time is 29 minutes. Video is stabilized by IBIS as told above. There´s no more need for software stabilization. The true effect of Fine Detail Processing, Real Color, reduced rolling shutter and removal of aslant jaggies in movies will be seen later.
Built in microphones are on the sides of EVF box, as can be seen in the image below. They have wind noise reduction.
Configurability and handling
In this example I have Aperture priority chosen on the left, like I normally do. In basic use I would set aperture with main dial and exposure correction with sub dial. Shutter button is in the middle of sub dial. Autofocus is mapped into Fn1. This makes handling very easy and I can keep the camera on my eye all the time. Most of the time there is no need to interrup shooting because of camera.
With E-M5 at factory settings, pressing Fn2 and rotating main/sub dial would call and make active in EVF any of functions: highlight/shadow control, white balance control, magnification control and aspect control. You can do all these adjustments on the fly while keeping on shooting. But the again, Fn2 and many other buttons are configurable. So, what will be my final configuration for E-M5 button functions and dials is still open.
E-M5 is a small camera. Its handling qualities can be changed with optional grip set. Landscape grip (HLD-6G) and portrait grip (HLD-6P) change E-M5 into a different kind of tool. Landscape grip can be used alone with camera. Portrait grip only with landscape grip. Landscape grip has its own shutter button and sub dial. Portrait grip has the same plus main dial. It also has Fn1 and Fn2 buttons which can be configured to be the same as the ones in camera body or something different. Portrait grip has one battery slot. You can choose which battery is used first. Two batteries can give around 650 shots. DC-IN jack is included for operation with AC adapter AC-3.
Body with HLD-6G landscape grip seen from above shows the difference in right hand grip size. I like a system camera to have more grip than E-M5 does, so I think this is going to be my normal setup with E-M5.
GS-4 Wrist Strap is another accessory to complement grips.
E-M5 has a 610k dot, 3” OLED monitor which can be tilted up to 50º downward and up to 80º upward. This OLED monitor is a touch screen. It can be used as a Live Guide or for choosing focusing spot (also with 5, 7, 10 or 14X magnifications) and releasing the shutter. After shooting it can be used for playback with sweep gestures.
Live Bulb and Live Time
With E-M5 Olympus is introducing a new feature to set exposure and expose an image. They call it Live Bulb and Live Time. It is maybe best understood if you think about fireworks. You press release button once and shutter opens. You can see firework going up but now you can see it´s fiery path developing in OLED monitor. You watch the firework explode and grow bigger in monitor, and when you like it best you press shutter button again to close the shutter. Now, you actually have seen and know what kind of image you got! Only OLED monitor can be used here, not EVF.
There are still some technical limitations which mean what you see is not totally live. The monitor can´t be refreshed faster than every half a second. Also the number of refresh counts is limited to 25 (ISO 200). This means that with half a second refresh rate your exposure time is limited to 13 seconds. The maximum exposure time is 30 minutes with slowest refresh rate. All these parameters can be set in a menu.
Flash
E-M5 comes bundled with a small flash unit, FL-LM2. It has GN 10 at ISO 200. This flash is dust- and splash proof, the above image showing sealing parts. FL-LM2 includes commander function for wireless flash control.
Olympus is also introducing another new flash unit, FL-600R. GN is 50 at ISO 200. It has a video LED light below flash head. Video light can be used as focusing aid in still photography.
New lenses
Yes, the list goes on and, at least for me, here´s one of the most important news. Olympus introduces two new prime lenses: M.Zuiko ED 75 mm 1:1.8 and M.Zuiko ED 60 mm 1:2.8 Macro.
75 mm lens has the same beautiful metal finish as M.Zuiko 12 mm. It is a very interesting combination of reach (corresponds to 150 mm in FullFrame 35) and speed.
60 mm Macro is dust- and splash-proof. As seen in the picture above, it offers life size 1:1 images at its nearest focusing distance of 0.19 m. Focus limiters are on the left side of barrel. E-M5 new IBIS should be quite a combination with this lens, I hope.
Bits, pieces and price
A couple more accessories:
MMF-3, dust- and splash-proof adapter for 4/3 lenses.
Interchangeable eyecup EP-11
E-M5 has new battery, BLN-1 at 1200 mAh.
There´s one new art filter, Key Line, and one new sound effect for video, Echo.
I will not reproduce all the minute details here. All the specs can be read at Olympus web sites.
As pictures have shown, there will be black and silver versions of E-M5. Faux leather surfaces differ, and silver is complemented with a traditional pattern and black with a more techno pattern. Cameras will start appearing in shops in April. Europrices around:
body (including bundled flash), 1100 €
body (including bundled flash) with M.Zuiko ED 12-50mm, 1300 €.
Conclusion
What more can I say than being really interested in E-M5 as camera which has a promise to go well beyond E-P3 capabilities in so many aspects. Olympus is addressing EVF and AF usability issues in action shooting which I have critized in my previous blogs. I really am not an action shooter but every now and then E-P3 can not keep up with my pace. These new IBIS features are so important for me, I have already done 99,9% of a lifetime´s tripod shooting. I like E-M5´s smallness combined with Olympus system thinking. Being able to make one small body to adapt into many purposes is tempting. How good it really is for my photography will be seen later when I get a production sample. Two weeks... Hi-yo, Silver!
BCN Japan follows the trends in "all things digital" sales in Japan. BCN Awards 2012 is simply the order of cumulated sales during 2011. Below is the order of top three brands in camera and printer categories. The whole story can be found at BCN Awards web site.
Category: Digital Camera, Integrated Lens
Category: Digital Camera, SLR
Category: Digital Camera, SLR mirror-less. Note: here SLR does not mean what it says, should be Interchangeable Lens Camera, ILC.
These awards have no listing for all ILC´s, but from other sources I know that Canon is market leader. Surprisingly m4/3 mount has already risen to be the best selling mount in Japan. Olympus is actually not far behind Nikon.
I wrote last November on my first experiences on Canson Infinity papers. You can find the blog here. I promised to continue with there more papers. Now I have enough experience on them to write an opinion.
Baryta Photographique
Baryta Photographique has a smoother surface (but has still some texture) than Platine Fibre Rag and it has also a slightly wider gamut. They both have the same weight, 310g, but Platine Fibre Rag feels rougher and more "cardboard-ish" when hold in hand. The base material in Baryta Photographique is alpha-cellulose and it has a barium sulphate coating, just like traditional black and white papers had. Over that there is of course a receiver coating for ink jet. Visually these two papers have practically the same degree of glossiness. It seems that Baryta Photographique shows scratches a bit easier than Baryta.
Baryta Photographique has earned very good comments in net blogs and it has became a favorite for many Fine Art printers. Maybe I am just imagining but I tend to see the images on Baryta more three dimensional than on Platine. On the other hand I also feel that Baryta has a lesser character as a material than Platine, because I seem to find more qualifiers for Platine´s material feel. Baryta simply shows the image brilliantly and remains more in the background as a material.
Also Baryta Photographique is buffered, acid free and has no optical brighteners. Black ink should be photo black. The image dries immediately and is water proof. It is available in all standard sizes from 8,5x11" / A4 up to 44" roll.
BFK Rives
BFK Rives derives from printing graphics, and it has a history of more than 500 years behind. Made of 100% Rag, BFK Rives is mould-made. It is a slow technique where a cylinder mould fetches pulp from tank. Paper stock is transferred from mould to felt and then dried between cylinders. The choise of felt gives the paper its grain, defined by the felt’s structure. Mould-made paper is stronger than machine made because the bonding between paper fibres is the same in all directions. A paper like this is very good for embossing. BFK Rives in Infinity series gets of course a one sided ink jet coating. This printing side is very easily recognized by fingers from the other side.
BFK is naturally a matt paper. The mentioned structure makes this paper clearly different from the smooth Rag Photographique. Another difference is warmer paper tone. Obviously because of manufacturing method BFK Rives is a rigid material and as 310g paper it is very suitable even for cards. Its surface texture is sensitive for chafing, though.
I chose BFK Rives for images whose nature is more on the side of graphics than strictly photographic. This material promotes very well that style. Canson Infinity series has also materials with even more structure if you want to emphasize more painterly or water color styles.
Again with BFK Rives we can repeat all previously mentioned criteria for museum required longevity. You should use Matte Black with it. Also this one is available in all standard sizes from 8,5x11" / A4 up to 44" roll. BFK Rives is the most expensive of my five papers.
PhotoSatin Premium RC
PhotoSatin is the other alpha-cellulose based material of these five papers. Its base tone is also the whitest of these. It has a subdued satin shine, which is achieved by polyethylene coating. This satin surface has less gloss than Baryta Photographique. I consider PhotoSatin as a great paper for portfolios, books and as a material for first prints. It is the cheapest paper in Canson Infinity series. PhotoSatin is not easily stained and fingerprints can be wiped off easily. It is a lot thinner and more flexible than Baryta, and lighter also at 270g, which makes it good for books and portfolios. Really I don´t consider PhotoSatin to be any worse than the others. I just lacks the exquisite material feel which those non-RC papers have - for me.
And again I am repeating that PhotoSatin has no OBA´s and fulfills all museum criteria for longevity. And like with the others you can print with dyes or pigmented inks. Photo Satin is available in all standard sizes from 8,5x11" / A4 up to 44" roll.
Canson has two different trial or Discovery Packs. The other one has 10 and the other 11 different materials, two sheets of each. The difference between Packs is that the other one includes only matte papers and the other one has emphasis on glossy and semi-glossy papers. This image shows matte surfaces. These Discovery Packs are an easy way to learn differnt printing materials because you can get ICC-profiles for each of them from Canson Infinity web site.
Canson Infinity range and support
I have found that Canson has done a few important things right.
First is the width of high quality materials and surfaces. They have everything from high gloss to baryta surfaces. From smooth mattes to textured watercolor papers and canvases. All in all 20 different products of which I have introduced only five. For me the choise among these is more a question of taste than quality. The structure of surface, glossiness (or lack of) and base tone all work together when choosing a paper for each image. All materials are suited for pigmented and dye inks.
Second, Canson has taken time and effort to make excellent ICC profiles. When you change from one paper into another, you only need to change the profile (and printer settings) and the result is very predictable and consistent. This consistency makes printing a lot easier and cheaper without any compromise in quality. As I noted above, any high quality paper is not perfect for every image. Canson makes it easier to choose the best paper for every image.
And third, Canson Infinity has good instructions on their website for choosing right inks and paper settings for various printers which include over 40 printer models from Epson, Canon and HP. Paper range, product PDFs, ICC profiles and lots of information and tips on printing can be found at cansoninfinity.com
I have the privilege to introduce the first guest writer at my blog. He is Lee Varis, my friend since many years. Here is Lee´s report from PMA @ CES in Las Vegas.
Greetings from Las Vegas, home of the largest tradeshow in the US, the Consumer Electronics Show!
This year its two shows in one with a merger of the PMA (Photo Marketers Association) into the CES show. Every year I attend the PMA show where, as an active board member of the DIMA subdivision of PMA, I am responsible for determining the content of the educational sessions. I also presented a seminar at the DIMA pre-show sessions on my 10-Channel Workflow. This year I was tasked with finding some PMA "Hot Picks" and surveyed a portion of the convention center center hall to select items for inclusion in the "Hot Picks" roster. This turned into a somewhat arduous task because, unlike past years, photographic items where interspersed with a wide range of other electronic items like: an electronic toilet, massaging beds and innumerable iPhone apps and accessories. The overall convention takes up the entire Las Vegas convention center, including the parking lot, plus 4-floors of exhibition space in the Venetian Hotel. The experience was draining, and after negotiating the crowds I collapsed in my hotel room at Bally's. To give you a sense of the tradeshow frenzy, here is a short video of the action at FUJIFILM's booth around the new Fuji-Xpro camera, a retro-styled, interchangeable lens camera that resembles an old rangefinder:
It can get to be difficult to move around in the crowds pressing forward to see the latest equipment. Its also a bit unclear how useful it is to see the equipment at a tradeshow instead of at your local camera store in a calmer environment. These days you can learn quite a bit from a website like the one for the afore-mentioned Fuji-Xpro: http://fujifilm-x.com/x-pro1/en/index.html The utility of the experience is secondary to the excitement of seeing equipment for the first time, however, so with that in mind, I thought I'd share just a few things from my limited time on the show floor. Returning to the Fuji-Xpro!
The Fuji-Xpro is a retro-styled interchangeable lens camera with high tech features
This was easily the most anticipated new camera at the show. Fuji is marketing this as a professional camera and the appeal is definitely old-school. The controls are annalog-manual, with ƒ-stops on the lens barrel and shutter speeds on a knob on top exactly like the film cameras old-timers like me grew up with! The rangefinder styling is clearly meant to emulate the Leica but this camera is thoroughly modern, designed from the ground up to be a digital camera with full auto-focussing, auto exposure and a unique "hybrid-viewfinder" that can alternate between optical and video modes. The camera looks like a bigger cousin to the X-100 but the similarity ends when we come to the lenses. Yes, this camera has multiple lenses—immediately available are an 18mm f2, a 35mm f1.4, and a 60mm 2.4 macro—these are fast compact primes!
The Fuji-Xpro has three available lenses
The Fuji-Xpro brings another innovation to the scene with its new 16MP sensor design. Fuji has re-worked the mosaic pattern of red, green and blue filters on the surface of the sensor to virtually eliminate moire. This also eliminates the need for the low-pass filter that "blurs" the image for traditional Bayer pattern sensors. The result delivers a sharper image to the sensor that supposedly improves the resolution to rival that of the higher pixel count Canon 5D. You can find a more in-depth review from my friends at DPReview here:http://www.dpreview.com/news/2012/01/10/FujifilmXPro1_Preview
Moving from this retro-styled, full-sized camera to a super compact futuristic version of the ILC (interchangeable lens camera) concept we come to the Sony NEX serie of APS-C sensor sub compacts.
The small Sony NEX-7 is built around a large APS-C sensor
The 7 is the top model in the line that includes the NEX 5N and the NEX 3 - the camera is almost all lens. The 7 has a built-in OLED viewfinder (highest resolution of its kind) that is extremely sharp and bright, displaying exactly what the sensor is capturing. The camera has just about every futuristic function for image capture like: Handheld Twilight Mode stabilization, Sweep Panorama, Dynamic Range Extension and auto HDR, and includes a bevy of "creative" Jpeg effects like: sepia tone, toy camera, and other assorted semi-useless effects. The appeal is really the overall quality of the 24MP captures, especially in low light. The images this camera captures approach the quality seen in bulkier DSLRs due largely to the large sensor. A range of wide to telephoto primes as well as zooms are available and Zeiss has a high-quality fast prime lens for the NEX mount as well.
The NEX 7 sports an articulated touch screen display
Given the high price of the 7, the NEX 5N may actually be more appealing for the pro looking for a 2nd camera to compliment a DSLR kit. At almost half the price, the 5N has most of the features minus the built-in OLED finder (available as a plug-in accessory) and a slightly lower res 16MP sensor. I believe that the lower pixel pitch of the 5N sensor delivers slightly better low light performance than the 7 and that may make it more desirable for some photographers. Another unique feature of the NEX series is the availability of various lens adapters for other camera makes. This allows the photographer to use their DSLR lenses on the NEX camera - manual focussing only but at least you can leverage some of your existing lenses in a pinch. There are some in-depth reviews of the NEX 7: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonynex7/ and the NEX 5N: http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/sonynex5n/ from DPReviews.
The ILC category is the big item this year and everyone, with the notable exception of Canon, is coming out with ILC systems. Nikon has chosen to go after the point and shoot upgraders with its new line of ILCs, the "1" series. These tiny stylish cameras come in a wide assortment of colors for the fashion conscious crowd and are built around a small sensor.
The "1" series cameras have an assortment of lenses to cover a tiny sensor size.
The 1" type sensor (13.2mm x 8.8mm) gives a 2.7x crop. The camera is priced similarly to other ILC with large sensors and I'm not sure how the quality of the captures compare but certainly it can't approach large sensor performance in low light. Nikon seemed to be emphasizing the convenience of the small form factor combined with a sense of camera as fashion accessory as they had a trio of models wearing camera color coordinated clothes posing for the crowd. Finally, just for fun, there is the latest Polaroid hybrid digital camera/printer the Z340. This relatively inexpensive camera offers the ability to capture images and deliver small snapshot-sized prints on the spot. Multiple prints can be made from the same digital file and various "effects" can be rendered to the prints making it the ideal party camera. The files can be accessed through the usual USB connection or SD card but really, the point of this camera is the instant prints. The quality of the output is not stellar, the fixed focus non-zoom lens is also not the highest quality but there is a quaint, toy camera feel to the images that, combined with the various effects such as sepia, vintage color, B&W, etc... can be appealing. Polaroid had the inimitable Jim McHugh on hand to demonstrate the artistic capabilities of the plastic camera lending some gravitas to a fun toy.
The Polaroid Z340 tries to recapture the magic of the instant print
I have fond memories of the original Polaroid cameras and I've owned my share of SX70s and other instant print cameras. Somehow, the fact that you can make multiple copies of a low quality digital file removes the "one of a kind" allure that the original cameras had and it still remains to be seen whether Polaroid can re-invent itself for the digital age. The CES show runs through Friday Jan 13th and there was way more to see than I really had time for. Beyond my administrative duties as the newly elected president of the DIMA board, there were receptions dinners and award shows as well as the attractions of Las Vegas itself.
The brand new Aria Hotel Complex
I did manage to grab some photos of interesting sights around Las Vegas, especially at the new Aria Hotel complex. Las Vegas is like no other city on earth—a weird collection of fantasy architecture lit-up with garish neon and a constant soundtrack that seems to follow your every move—many photo opportunities in every direction!
Taxi line at the Paris Hotel
New York, New York Hotel and Casinos
I like to examine odd details that become geometric abstracts isolated in the camera frame.There where many opportunities to shoot architectural details that provided unusual cubist abstracts and I spent a long afternoon, and evening, enduring puzzled stares from passers by.
There were many opportunities to capture geometric abstracts
Lee Varis ,the owner and founder of Varis PhotoMedia, is a photo-illustrator working in Hollywood. He has been involved in commercial photography for the last 37 years. He started working with computer imaging about 21 years ago after being introduced to the Quantel Paintbox system. Lee currently works with digital as well as conventional photography in conjunction with computer graphics to create images for use in advertising, commercial graphics and multimedia. His work has been featured on movie posters, video box covers, CD covers, and numerous brochures, catalogs and magazine articles.
You can find more of his work as well as an assortment of tutorials in PDF and video formats on his website at: varis.com and numerous articles on photography and photoshop on his blog at: blog.varis.com
February 15, 2012 at 15:15 
Canson has two different trial or Discovery Packs. The other one has 10 and the other 11 different materials, two sheets of each. The difference between Packs is that the other one includes only matte papers and the other one has emphasis on glossy and semi-glossy papers. This image shows matte surfaces. These Discovery Packs are an easy way to learn differnt printing materials because you can get ICC-profiles for each of them from Canson Infinity web site.
Lee Varis ,the owner and founder of Varis PhotoMedia, is a photo-illustrator working in Hollywood. He has been involved in commercial photography for the last 37 years. He started working with computer imaging about 21 years ago after being introduced to the Quantel Paintbox system. Lee currently works with digital as well as conventional photography in conjunction with computer graphics to create images for use in advertising, commercial graphics and multimedia. His work has been featured on movie posters, video box covers, CD covers, and numerous brochures, catalogs and magazine articles.