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Doug Murdoch, Designer & President, Think Tank Photo joins host Scott Sheppard with some tips about traveling with your camera gear. Think Tank Photo develops a range of camera bags specifically to meet the needs of the professional photographer. Working closely with a team of working photojournalists, and other shooters for the past four years the feedback they’ve received from the field testing have been incorporated in their line of carriers and transporters.

Doug discusses their latest addition launched at Photokina, the Shape Shifter Backpack. Unlike other photo backpacks, the Shape Shifter actually changes it’s depth allowing you to expand or contract the bag to snugly fit your camera bodies and lenses without taking up extra unnecessary space. This is critical for traveling on location, and through airports. The backpack is soft and flexible, fully padded with air pockets on your back making it comfortable to wear while working. It includes extension flaps that work with the Speed Belt enabling quick access to lens changes while shooting, acting as a harness that provides additional stability to the backpack. All Think Tank modular products are designed to work together and help you configure a solution completely customized to carry your favorite gear.

Doug also describes their Skin line of carriers, that are thin, and lightweight without heavy padding developed for times when you don’t need the extra weight especially critical while traveling. Most photographers cringe at the idea of checking their camera or lenses at any point during their travels. Think Tank’s lightweight solutions allow for configurations that hold equipment securely to your body or fit easily under the seat or in the overhead compartment.

For more information on their full line of products visit: http://www.thinktankphoto.com/

The McNamara Report on Inside Digital Photo with Michael J. McNamara
This week’s topic: Still shooters: Are you ready for video?

Today’s DSLRs are starting to add live video capture modes to their Live View modes. For example, the Canon EOS 5D Mark II : a Full frame 21.1MP camera with full 1080p HD video and sound (mono from camera, or stereo with optional mike via input jack). The Nikon D90: an APS-C sized sensor that can capture 720p video (with mono sound) in Motion JPEG format with the professional smoothness of 24 frames per second.

On both cameras, the sensor is much larger than those found on typical pro or amateur camcorder, helping to deliver higher image quality and exceptional low-noise still images, as well as high ISO capture and dramatic depth of field control during movie shooting. Capturing creative movie clips or the drama of life’s moving moments is further enhanced by the wide selection of incredibly sharp Canon and NIKKOR interchangeable lenses that are available, from fisheye to wide-angle to super-telephoto (and image stabilization works in video mode!) But is video capture a great feature on a DSLR, or just one more tool that will rarely get used? Listen in on the McNamara Report segment.
Read more insights and analysis from Mike McNamara on: http://www.mcnamarareport.com

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Dan (Dano) Steinhardt, Marketing Manager, Epson Professional Imaging joins host Scott Sheppard for an update on their latest announcements including the new Epson Ultrachrome HDR ink set, the Epson Stylus Pro 7990-9900 and The Epson Print Academy. Dano explains some features and details, including the revolutionary color gamut, available in their new 24-inch Epson Stylus® Pro 7900 and the 44-inch Epson Stylus Pro 9900. Developed to serve the needs of commercial, flexo, and package proofing requirements, the enhanced printers offer high-density pigment chemistry, Epson UltraChrome HDR ink technology with all-new Orange and Green inks, and AccuPhoto™ HDR screening technology. The Epson Stylus Pro series also features an optional high performance, in-line spectrophotometer for commercial proofing applications. Developed by Epson in partnership with X-Rite®, the SpectroProofer™ incorporates a high performance X-Rite ILS20 spectrophotometer for extreme measurement and color output accuracy.

For more information on Epson’s Pro Imaging line visit: http://proimaging.epson.com

Dano also explains some details on their new Epson Print Academy, starting November 8, 2008 in Atlanta, GA. This 15 city tour features all new content in two main tracks; Track One, for advanced amateurs and photo enthusiasts and Track Two for working photography professionals. With topics covering all aspects of your workflow from capture to final prints, taught by the industry’s leading pro photographers and printmakers, the Epson Print Academy offers a great value on a day seminar full of hands-on how-to workflow tutorials.

For more information on Epson Print Academy visit: http://www.epsonprintacademy.com

The McNamara Report on Inside Digital Photo with Michael J. McNamara
This week’s topic: Are Medium Format digital cameras on the way out?

At the Photokina trade show in Cologne, Germany this September, Hasselblad introduced two new medium format digital cameras, the H3DII-39 and the H3DII50. The Hasselblad H3DII-50 will be the first camera in the market equipped with Kodak’s larger-than-35mm 50 megapixel CCD sensor. In 2009, Hasselblad claims the bar will be raised again with the Hasselblad H3DII-60, a 60 megapixel version.The 39.5MP H3DII-39 is available from $ 21.995, and the H3DII-50 from $27.995. The Hasselblad H3DII-60, expected in April 2009, will have a price-tag of about $35,500.

At a press conference during Photokina, Hasselblad CEO Christian Poulsen contended that digital SLR companies won’t be able to compete with medium format because their lenses can’t handle the resolution. "In my opinion, for those cameras, the pixel game should’ve been over a few years ago," Poulsen told the packed crowd. "I don’t think you can tell the difference between a 16-megapixel camera and a 21 or 24-megapixel camera and that has nothing to do with the sensor, it has to do with the resolution of the lenses."

Is he kidding? Facts don’t support his statement about lens resolution and MP wars. And the real question is whether or not the higher price for these medium format bodies and lenses is worth it when compared to existing 21 and 25MP full frame DSLRs from Canon and Sony.

Read more insights and analysis from Mike McNamara on: http://www.mcnamarareport.com