Tuesday, April 30, 2013

CANON 5D Mark 111 Firmware Upgrade





To my Canon 5D Mark 111 users - There is a firmware update to you cameras.  Always a good idea to keep up on these.

Download the update to your computer. Here is the link  > Drivers and Software (After selcting your operating system and version click on FIRMWARE)

Plug in your card reader with an empty formatted card> drag and drop or copy the firmware update onto the card>  

(Make sure your battery on you camera is charged you dont want your camera to die in the middle of an upgrade!)

Insert the card with the firmware into your camera > navigate to Firmware Ver. x.x.x. in your camera's 3rd set-up menu (with the yellow wrench 
Select OK when asked if you want to upgrade to the new version.  Let it install then remove your card.  

If you have any questions or problems...contact me!




A list of improvements in firmware version 1.2.1 is listed below.
  1. Uncompressed HDMI output is now enabled.
  2. Enables the center AF point to autofocus when the camera is used with Canon EF lens/extender combinations whose combined maximum aperture is f/8.
  3. Improves the speed of the camera’s acquisition of focus when using a Canon Speedlite’s AF-assist beam.
  4. Fixes a phenomenon in which the LCD monitor may freeze and display Err 70 or Err 80 when a still photo is taken during Live View or in movie shooting mode.
  5. Fixes a phenomenon that may occur when the continuous shooting priority setting is enabled for multiple exposures, such that, after the sixth image is taken, there is a slight pause before the remainder of the sequence is completed.
  6. Fixes a phenomenon in which the viewfinder display shows incorrect information during AEB shooting.
  7. Communication with the WFT-E7 Wireless File Transmitter has been improved.
  8. When images have been successfully transferred with the WFT-E7 Wireless File Transmitter through the FTP protocol, an “O” will be displayed. When images have not been successfully transferred with the WFT-E7 Wireless File Transmitter through the FTP protocol, an “X” will be displayed.
  9. Fixes a phenomenon in which the camera may not function properly when an Eye-Fi card is used.
  10. Fixes a phenomenon in which the focal length value listed in the Exif information is not displayed correctly for images shot with the EF 24-70mm F4L IS USM lens.
  11. Fixes a phenomenon in which the lens firmware cannot be updated properly.
  12. Corrects errors in the Arabic language menu.
  13. Fixes a phenomenon in which the camera changes the AF microadjustment value to -8.
  14. Fixes a phenomenon in which the on-screen guidance cannot be fully displayed when setting the maximum limit value for the “Setting the ISO Speed Range for Auto ISO” option.

Sunday, April 28, 2013


Light It Up In Lightroom & Monsoon Madness
Suzanne Mathia
August 12-15
Monsoon season at the Grand Canyon offers photographers endless opportunities to capture images of billowy thunderclouds stretched out across the rim's horizon giving while working with spectacular light that dances on the canyon walls.
Frequent Arizona Highways Contributor/ Photographer, Suzanne Mathia, will lend her extensive expertise in photographing the Canyon while instructing how to take images from capture to print using Adobe Lightroom software -- the program designed by photographers for photographers!
Suzanne is our resident expert in all things Lightroom. She has served on Lightroom beta panels, testing various updates and releases for the developer. During your workshop, Suzanne will take you to the best locations for photographing the sweet light and then bring you back to the classroom to take you step by step through organizing, managing, processing and outputting your images in Lightroom.
After this workshop, you'll have images worthy of your wall! Just five spots remain to get in on the power of Lightroom while photography one of the seven natural wonders.
register


Monday, April 15, 2013

Lightroom 5 Beta - What's New!


Stay tuned.  I'll keep you posted on whats coming!!!

Advanced healing, Smart Previews and more
PNG file support
Videos can now be included in slideshows
Faster Loading
Lock zoom position

If you want to take this new BETA for a test drive and play with the new features you can download a copy from http://labs.adobe.com.

I would suggest just importing some duplicate images into the LR5 beta and just play - DO NOT move all your files until the final version is released.

I'll post more tips and highlights as I discover them and will now start updating my Lightroom classes to address the new version changes!


Lightroom 5 Beta Now Available!
The Lightroom team is proud to introduce the fifth major version of the product designed for and by photographers. It was 7 years ago today when we introduced the very first public beta of Lightroom at MacWorld on January 9, 2006. Since 2006 we’ve been hard at work improving an application that’s intended to be as easy to use as it is powerful.  This release builds on the image quality improvements in Lightroom 4 to provide a truly complete workflow and imaging solution.  We keep hearing from customers that they love Lightroom but needed to leave Lightroom to complete X, Y, or Z.  Lightroom 5 beta solves those issues.
IMPORTANT NOTES, PLEASE READ
Primary Known Issues
                Lightroom 5 beta is not complete but please provide feedback on the available enhancements.
                Lightroom 5 beta will not upgrade Lightroom 1.x, Lightroom 2.x, Lightroom 3.x, or Lightroom 4.x catalogs. The beta is intended to be used for testing and feedback purposes. Lightroom 1.x, 2.x, 3.x , 4.x and 5 beta libraries will be able to be migrated to the finished version of Lightroom 5.
                While data loss is not expected, this is an early ‘beta’ quality build and you should always work on duplicates of files that are securely backed up.
                Lightroom 5 beta will not overwrite or interfere with a machine that currently has Lightroom 1, Lightroom 2, Lightroom 3, or Lightroom 4 installed.
                Develop settings applied in Lightroom 5 beta are not guaranteed to transfer correctly to the final version of Lightroom 5
                The Lightroom 5 beta will expire after Lightroom 5.0 is available
                Additional known issues are listed below.
Minimum system requirements
Windows®
                Intel® Pentium® 4 or AMD Athlon® 64 processor*
                DirectX 10–capable or later graphics card
                Microsoft® Windows® 7 with Service Pack 1 or Windows 8
                2GB of RAM (4GB recommended)
                2GB of available hard-disk space
                1024×768 display
                DVD-ROM drive
                Internet connection required for Internet-based services†
* Dual-core processor recommended for HD or AVCHD video functionality.
Mac OS
                Multicore Intel processor with 64-bit support
                Mac OS X v10.7 or v10.8
                2GB of RAM (4GB recommended)
                2GB of available hard-disk space
                1024×768 display
                DVD-ROM drive
                Internet connection required for Internet-based services†
Install Lightroom 5 beta
Mac
1. Download Lightroom 5 beta from labs.adobe.com
2. Unzip the download, open the disk image, and double-click the Lightroom Beta 5 package in the resulting window.  Follow the on-screen instructions
Windows 7, Windows 8
1. Download Lightroom 5 beta from labs.adobe.com
2. Unzip the download, open the disk image, and double-click the Lightroom Beta 5 package in the resulting window.  Follow the on-screen instructions.
Serial Numbers
Anyone can download and work with the Lightroom 5 beta for the duration of the beta program. There is no serial number requirement.
Supported File Formats
                JPEG
                TIFF (8 bit, 16 bit)
                PSD (8 bit, 16 bit)
                PNG
                DNG
                Raw (Please visit http://www.adobe.com/products/photoshop/cameraraw.html for a full list of raw file support. File support for Lightroom 5 beta, aligns with Lightroom 4.4 and Camera Raw 7.4)
Important File Format Support Exceptions (Formats not supported)
• PSD files saved without a composite image. (Saved without “Maximize Compatibility” setting)
• Files with dimensions greater than 65,000 pixels per side
High Level Summary of What’s New
                Advanced Healing Brush
                Upright
                Radial Gradient
                Smart Previews
                Improved Photo Book Creation
                Slideshows with Videos and Still Images
Lightroom 5 beta Enhancements
Advanced Healing Brush
Lightroom 2 added the ability to quickly remove spots and imperfections from your images.  Photographers could only heal circular areas, but many unwanted elements in photographs have irregular shapes. In Lightroom 5 beta we’ve overhauled the Spot Removal algorithm.
With the Advanced Healing Brush, photographers can now adjust the size of the brush and move it in precise paths, so unwanted objects and flaws—even those with irregular shapes like threads—just disappear. Lightroom 5 even let’s portrait photographers achieve subtle, natural looking results when they smooth wrinkles or fix blemishes on their subjects.
Upright
There are many things that can come between a photographer and the perfect photo. Not holding a camera straight, or taking a picture from an odd perspective or with the wrong lens, can cause a subject to appear tilted or askew when imported into the Lightroom catalog and viewed on a computer screen. Correcting such images often requires a number of separate adjustments. A photographer might rotate an image, adjust it vertically and horizontally, and change its aspect and perspective. Finding the optimal combination of these settings often relies on a time-consuming trial and error approach.
Lightroom 5 extends the range of image enhancements available to photographers with Upright. The new Upright tool gives photographers four easy methods to straighten tilted images with a single click. Upright analyzes images and detects skewed horizontal and vertical lines, even straightening shots where the horizon is hidden.
Radial Filter
Busy backgrounds or bright colors can distract viewers from the focal point of an image. Photographers may try to reduce the distraction by cropping an image, but this can result in the loss of interesting detail and balance. Another approach to focusing the viewer’s attention is to create a vignette effect, but this only works if a subject is in the center of an image.
The Radial Gradient tool in Lightroom 5 now offers photographers more flexibility and control in how they guide a viewer’s eye to emphasize the important parts of an image. Using this tool, photographers can create off-center vignette effects or multiple vignette areas in a single image. This local adjustment control lets photographers minimize distractions and focus a viewer’s attention exactly where it should be.
Smart Previews
Photographers need flexibility, and new solid state drives and ultra-light laptops let them work from anywhere. However, the limited storage capacity of these devices restricts access to complete image libraries and original raw files, which are often stored on detachable storage devices or desktop computers. Inability to access to the files they need impacts their ability to edit and share high-quality images while on the go.
New Smart Previews in Lightroom 5 let photographers easily work with images without bringing their entire library with them. They just generate smaller, stand-in files called Smart Previews and leave the originals back at the studio. Photographers can make adjustments or metadata additions to Smart Previews and apply their changes to the fullsize originals later when they reconnect to the device holding the original files, all nondestructively, of course.
For many photographers, generating Smart Previews as they import their images gives them the freedom to disconnect from their storage device at any time, leave the originals at home or in the studio, and edit the Smart Previews from wherever they are. Building Smart Previews while importing is easy, just check the Build Smart Previews checkbox within the File Handling panel in the Import dialog box.
Improved Photo Book Creation
In Lightroom 4, Adobe introduced a robust Photo Book creation workflow. The Book Module makes it easy for photographers to create beautiful, custom books for clients, friends, or for their own personal enjoyment. The Book module provides everything photographers need to create a Photo Book and export it to a PDF for online viewing or directly upload it to the online printing site, Blurb.
Now Lightroom 5 lets photographers customize Photo Books more than ever, with a variety of easy-to-use book templates that you can now edit to create a customized look. Photographers can add page numbers, individual photo captions, and page captions.
Slideshows with Videos and Still Images
Lightroom 4 provided photographers tools to do more with video clips—from organizing, viewing, and making adjustments and edits to playing and trimming clips and extracting still images from video footage. With Lightroom 5 photographers can now easily combine still images, video clips, and music in creative HD video slideshows that can be viewed on almost any computer or device.
Lightroom 5 Additional Features and JDIs
                PNG file support
                True Full Screen Mode
                Configurable grid overlays
                Additional search criteria for filters and smart collections
                Look zoom position preference settings
                Direction field in EXIF metadata panel
                “Set as Target Collection” checkbox in Create Collections dialogue
                Integrity verification of DNG files
                LAB color readout
                Aspect slider added to the Manual tab in the Lens Correction panel
                Persistent clipping indicators between Lightroom sessions
                Crop overlay aspect ratios
                Visual indicator of Favorite book pages
                Transparent buttons for improved Text creation in Books
Additional Known Issues
General
                Localization is still in progress. The UI for all new features has not been translated to non-English languages.
                Offline photos can go missing from Lightroom when moving folder of images to a different volume.
        Book Module
                Make sure to review your book carefully before printing. In particular, please avoid using the ‘Creative’ templates in this build due to a issue where the borders will not be printed.
Develop
                Clipping Indicators turn on automatically with each new session
       Smart Previews
                Please build Smart Previews in batches of 1000 images or less.
        Video
                The audio of trimmed video keeps playing even if the video slides is passed
                The exported slideshow video does not applied the develop presets
                Occasionally the exported slideshow video cannot be played
                Stroke border draws incorrectly during transitions between slides.
                Occasionally the slideshow will not allow you to stop playback.  In this case, please Force Quit Lightroom 5 beta.
                Most of the keyboard shortcuts will be disabled during slideshow playing in the preview/full screen mode.
                Quick Develop Adjustments will not be applied to exported video clips as part of Video Slideshows