Nothing Special: May 2015

Monday, May 25, 2015

FUJIFILM XF90MM and X-T10 – Some images

This came to me while I was on vacation … I thought some might find these interesting …

FUJIFILM FUJINON XF90MM – FAST APERTURE LENS THAT DELIVERS ULTRA-SHARP IMAGES

This looks like a real winner for a portrait lens. Very fast and rounded blades. And very light to boot.

XF90mm telephoto lens features newly-developed Quad Linear Motor and weather-resistant design

Valhalla, N.Y., May 18, 2015 – FUJIFILM North America Corporation announced the new compact FUJINON XF90mmF2 R LM WR, a weather-resistant, fast-aperture prime lens that delivers ultra-sharp images with rich bokeh, at all aperture settings. The XF90mmF2 R LM WR (137mm in 35mm format equivalent) uses an optical construction of 11 elements in 8 groups (including three ED glass elements) that minimizes vignetting and creates attractive bokeh thanks to the rounded diaphragm, which makes it perfect for portraiture and sports photography.

Despite having a large maximum aperture, the FUJINON XF90mmF2 R LM WR is both compact and, at less than 20 ounces, lightweight. It also gives users a minimum working distance of approximately 24 inches for a wide range of shooting scenarios. The XF90mmF2 R LM WR now uses a newly-developed Quad Linear Motor that delivers fast, accurate autofocus as fast as 0.14 seconds. The new linear motor is fast, quiet and accurate, and uses four magnets for higher torque and a high-speed autofocus that provides a more versatile shooting experience, allowing users to quickly react to subtle changes in a subject’s facial expression. And with its WR-rating, the XF90mmF2 R LM WR is weather and dust-resistant and can work in temperatures down to 14°F.

Along with the popular XF56mmF1.2 R, the XF90mmF2 R LM WR is a must-have lens for portrait photography fans that favor fast aperture prime lenses. The focal length allows users to shoot at a distance that won’t distract subjects, leading to more natural, candid results.

FUJINON XF90mmF2 R LM WR key features:

· FUJIFILM X-Mount is compatible with all FUJIFILM X-Series interchangeable system cameras

· Weather-resistant design with 7 sealing points for weather- and dust-resistance and operation as low as 14°F

· NEW Quad Linear Motor for 0.14 seconds autofocus speed and nearly silent operation

· Uses 11 elements in 8 groups, including 3 ED glass lens elements to reduce lateral and axial chromatic aberration

· Nano-GI coating alters the refractive index between glass and air to reduce ghosting and flare

· 7 blade aperture creates smooth and circular bokeh

· 1/3 EV steps

· Minimum working distance of approximately 24 inches.

The FUJINON XF90mmF2 R LM WR will be available in July 2015 for USD $949.95 and CAD $1,099.99.

About FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Electronic Imaging

For more information, please visit www.fujifilmusa.com/northamerica, go to www.twitter.com/fujifilmus to follow Fujifilm on Twitter, or go to www.facebook.com/FujifilmNorthAmerica to Like Fujifilm on Facebook. To receive news and information direct from Fujifilm via RSS, subscribe at www.fujifilmusa.com/rss.

FUJIFILM Holdings Corporation, Tokyo, Japan brings continuous innovation and leading-edge products to a broad spectrum of industries, including: healthcare, with medical systems, pharmaceuticals and cosmetics; graphic systems; highly functional materials, such as flat panel display materials; optical devices, such as broadcast and cinema lenses; digital imaging; and document products. These are based on a vast portfolio of chemical, mechanical, optical, electronic, software and production technologies. In the year ended March 31, 2015, the company had global revenues of $22.7 billion, at an exchange rate of 110 yen to the dollar. Fujifilm is committed to environmental stewardship and good corporate citizenship. For more information, please visit: www.fujifilmholdings.com.All product and company names herein may be trademarks of their registered owners.

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CONTACT:
Matthew Schmidt
Fujifilm
(914) 789-8529
mschmidt@fujifilm.com

FUJIFILM X-T10 – THE INTERCHANGEABLE LENS CAMERA THAT DELIVERS PROFESSIONAL QUALITY RESULTS FROM DAY ONE

Sorry folks … was out of town when this came up. Looks like a really nice little camera for those wanting to get into Fuji X series lenses etc. I must admit that the system is really taking shape these days and were it not for my requirements that video and stills be equal in my systems cameras, this would be a great option …

X-T10 uses advanced scene recognition and new auto focus system to capture your memorable moments

Valhalla, N.Y., May 18, 2015 – FUJIFILM North America Corporation today announced the all new FUJIFILM X-T10, the latest premium interchangeable lens camera that joins the world-renowned X-Series digital camera line-up. The sleek FUJIFILM X-T10 delivers outstanding image quality, usability and portability for photo enthusiasts with its new innovative autofocus system, large electronic Real Time Viewfinder, and incredible continuous shooting speed of up to 8.0fps. The X-T10 also has an amazingly short lag time of just 0.005 seconds so users can be ready and capture every image imaginable.

The FUJIFILM X-T10 uses the latest generation 16.3 Megapixel APS-C X-Trans CMOS II sensor with built-in phase detection autofocus along with the high-performance EXR Processor II, and is compatible with all FUJINON lenses to deliver excellent resolution and outstanding image quality.

Advanced new autofocus system

The FUJIFILM X-T10 uses a new auto focus system that complements the fast and accurate single-point auto focus system with new Zone and Wide/Tracking modes, which use 77 autofocus points across a wider area to substantially improve the camera’s ability to track and capture moving subjects.

The Zone mode allows users to choose a 3x3, 3x5 or 5x5 zone from the 77-point auto focus area. When combined with the AF-C continuous focusing mode, the camera continues tracking a subject in the selected zone. The 3x3 and 3x5 zones at the center, in particular, offer extra-fast focusing with the use of the built-in phase detection pixels.

In the Wide/Tracking mode, the camera displays the area in focus, identified automatically out of the 77-point auto focus area (Wide in the AF-S mode) and tracks the focus area’s subject across the entire 77-point AF area (Tracking in the AF-C mode). This makes it possible to maintain focus on a subject that moves vertically, horizontally, and back and forth.

Stunning design with functional control

The FUJIFILM X-T10 has an all-new design that packs the best X-Series functionality into a compact and lightweight body, perfect for travelling light. The X-T10 top and base plates are made of a lightweight, but highly rigid, die-cast magnesium. The top plate features three precision-milled aluminum dials that give the X-T10 a premium feel and allow users to intuitively adjust the combination of aperture, shutter speed and shooting functions while concentrating on picture taking.

The X-T10’s back panel has a 3” 920K-dot tilting LCD monitor that makes above head and close to the ground shooting easy and fun. The X-T10 also has a new Auto Mode Switch lever for selecting the fully-automatic Advanced SR Auto mode. In this mode, the camera automatically chooses optimum settings for a given scene to make shooting effortless.

The X-T10 body also features an integrated pop-up flash, positioned in the center of the top plate that uses Super Intelligent Flash to automatically adjust light output according to the scene type.

A FUJINON XF/XC lens for every shooting style

The FUJIFILM X-T10 is compatible with every current FUJINON lens – 18 premium lenses ranging from ultra-wide-angle to telephoto, including five fast aperture prime lenses. These lenses bring out the very best image quality from the X-T10. Together with optional accessories including X- mount adapters and macro extension tubes, users can experience a full range of photographic possibilities with images that achieve edge-to-edge definition for high-resolution pictures across the entire frame.

FUJIFILM X-T10 key features:

· 16.3 million Megapixels APS-C X-Trans CMOS II Sensor

o EXR Processor II

o Fast AF of 0.06 seconds

o Startup time of 0.5 seconds

o Shutter time lag of 0.005 seconds

o Shooting interval of 0.5 seconds

· High-precision 2.36 million dot OLED viewfinder

· Large viewfinder magnification for digital cameras of 0.62x

· Wide viewing angle (horizontal 25°)

· Ultra-fast Real Time Viewfinder with a lag-time of 0.005 second and new Natural Live View with Preview Picture Effect

· Tempered glass 920K-dot high-precision 3” tilting LCD monitor

· Digital Split Image and Focus Highlight Peaking

· Completely electronic shutter up to 1/32000 seconds

· ISO200 - 6400, extended ISO 100, 12800, 25600, Auto (maximum ISO setting from ISO 400 – ISO6400 available)

· ISO setting of up to 51200 for ultra-high sensitivity that produces low noise and strong blacks in low light conditions.

· ‘Classic Chrome’ and ten other film simulation modes with eight Advanced Filter functions

· Eye Detection AF to automatically detect and focus on human eyes

· Full HD video 1080p at 60fps; bit rate of 36Mbps for clear capture of delicate movements; frame rates of 50fps, 30fps, 25fps and 24fps, supporting worldwide motion picture formats with a high bit rate of 36Mbps for high definition video capture

· Manual focus available during video recording

· Auto Macro function automatically activates the Macro mode while maintaining AF speed

· Variable aspect ratio can be selected from 3:2, 16:9, and 1:1 (square) to accommodate a wide range of photographic styles

· Interval timer shooting for time lapse photography is available with intervals of one second to 24 hours and up to 999 frames.

· Free FUJIFILM Camera Remote application and Wireless Communication function allows users to remotely shoot images from smartphones and tablets via WiFi

· Photos can be sent to the INSTAX Share Printer using the free INSTAX Share App (iOS and Android) SHARE Smartphone Printer.

The FUJIFILM X-T10 will be available in June 2015 in the following configurations:

X-T10 Body - USD $799.95 USD \ CAD $899.99.

X-T10 XC16-50mm Kit - USD $899.95 \ CAD $999.99.

X-T10 XF18-55mm Kit - USD $1,099.95 \ CAD $1,249.99.

About FUJIFILM North America Corporation, Electronic Imaging

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CONTACT:

Matthew Schmidt

Fujifilm

(914) 789-8529

mschmidt@fujifilm.com

Wednesday, May 6, 2015

12 Motivational Moments with a Republican Leader – My Take

I saw (and heard – there is audio attached as well) these in an article on npr: http://www.npr.org/blogs/itsallpolitics/2015/05/01/403632382/12-motivational-moments-with-an-ohio-republican-no-really

It’s a pretty good set of points made by Ohio Governor John Kasich, but in my opinion these are not quite what they seem and most certainly not what was advertised by the click-bate title of the article …

"People thought a Croatian was something that climbed out of the ocean or something."

His accent belies his Croatian / Czech background and in the audio clip he mentions that no one could pronounce his name. I have co-workers from that part of the world and yes, the names are pronounced very differently from how we interpret the spelling, but that goes for French and any other non-English origins in the USA. You hear mangled pronunciation all the time on broadcasts of every sort. No news there. And the fact that he calls out the ignorance of people in his state with respect to Croatia and its place in the world does not seem to me to be motivating in the least.

"If somebody's throwing bricks through my window, and I'm afraid of what they might do to me, I don't know how I make a great deal with them based on trust."

That was said regarding the Iran deal. I was not aware that Iran has been throwing bricks through figurative USA windows. Perhaps he is talking about the backing of terrorist groups around the world? But the idea that a leap of faith is required must cut both ways, no? Like when the USA engineered the Shaw’s ascendency to the helm of the country and the feeding frenzy on their resources. And, of course, the rather constant meddling in general. Just saying that this is a knife with two edges, and so a deal requires both parties to hold their respective noses. Nothing motivating there.

"I look at things pretty simply. You go to the car dealership and you want to buy a new car, and you're so hungry to get that car, you'll pay anything for it. Very silly way to do anything."

The article does not mention what he is commenting on here, so we are left to presume that he is talking about acquisitiveness in government through deficit financing? Like the spending of trillions to stomp enemies harder than they could stomp today? He probably was not talking about that. No. He’s probably talking about universal health care or something that has the power to do good rather than make people filthy rich. Can’t say that’s all that motivating.

"I see they've got this deal in Congress, and it's the same old deal. Here's what it is: Let me spend— I'm going to have the chocolate cake today, but I will go on a diet, like, next year. OK? It's typical."

How is this motivational? Frankly, it is what all countries in the world have been doing for a very long time. The USA was at some point financed by its own people purchasing bonds and so on. The world has changed of course, but one of those changes has been the spectacular increase in the wealth gap with the 1% taking 77% of all generated wealth for the last 3 decades (as one example of how this has played out.) That money is not “trickling down” to benefit the whole economy, but is rather sitting off shore somewhere for those families’ future generations to spend. The US government has to borrow 40% of what it spends now to make up for such shortfalls. And the burden of guilt for that falls squarely on the Republican ideology of no taxes for the rich in my (admittedly lay) opinion. So yes, (a Republican) Congress does what they always do, and the quote that calls that out is depressing, not motivational.

"On all these programs, I want to kind of quote my mother, who used to say, 'Johnny, it's a sin not to help all those who need help. But it's equally a sin to continue to help people who need to learn how to help themselves.' "

That’s actually a very well made point. The problem, of course, is that it completely ignores the Republican role in creating such desperate need for help. Starting with Reagan, the working poor have been systematically vilified as “lazy” and the mantra that they just need to “work harder” has managed to drown out the need to actually fix the system so that the middle and lower classes can find a job that does not stink and that pays a living wage. So no, I don’t find this lovely parable being uttered by a Republican motivational in the least.

"In terms of the spiritual side, look, you know, people don't have to think the way I do. I mean, I don't care if they're a humanist or if they're a believer of some faith. My feeling about it is, I think, you know, all people are made in the image of God, and everybody deserves respect."

That one almost worked. He is, on the one hand, magnanimously expressing respect for everyone whether they believe in his God or not. Awesome. But on the other, the Governor of an important state in the USA is saying unequivocally that everyone is made in the image of God on the record. I cannot quite see where the separation of church and state is being respected there. Demotivating at the very least.

"My mother taught me about pressure cookers. Pressure builds up, the top blows off. So the leaders have to be able to explain to people that you don't have to compromise your principles to be a compromiser."

Since the battle between Democrats is fought by Republicans using strict adherence to an ideology that is dangerous to the economy and to people’s health and welfare, leading to despicable laws being put on the books all over the USA and some of the most destructive brinkmanship in years with budgets and debt ceilings and so on, I find it hard to believe that this comment is anything but pandering BS for his base. How would that motivate anyone except the ideologue?

"I get frustrated. I'm frustrated with things right now in my state, but [table bang] you don't knock the chess pieces off the chessboard. You don't give up. This is America!"

Ok, I’ll give him that one. If America is known for anything (on the positive side I mean), that would be the ability to conquer any problem of any magnitude by staying the course.

"I really wish I could take credit for all this, but I got these really smart people [table bang] and they do a really good job. And that's how it works. Team."

I’ll give him this one too. There is no substitute for a strong team led well. You can do almost anything with that. Of course, if staying in power is the end result, then I find it more deflating than anything. What a waste.

"The reason why I wouldn't prefer a path to citizenship is, um, I've tried to tell my daughters, you know, you don't ditch the line for — to get Taylor Swift tickets. OK? You stand in line. If you didn't get there at the right time, you don't get 'em. And, uh, I don't like people who ditch the line. That's part of the problem with those who came in illegally."

Wow … this was said with respect to illegal immigrants. Cutting in front of legitimate immigrants is the obvious target of this example. And of course, that is almost exclusively targeted to Mexican immigrants who arrived across the southern border and stayed because it is the one place where it can ben done in sufficient numbers to really matter. The hypocritical aspect of this is obvious – these people are good enough to come in and work under the radar at jobs that Americans will no longer settle for, but they are not good enough to be naturalized once they have been there for years and years contributing to the smooth running of the society. A cynical position from a cynical party. And to use “Taylor Swift” tickets as an equivalence is just embarrassing. You’re playing with peoples’ lives, not their social calendars.

"I had 28 percent approval after my first year. I mean, you have to work to do that poorly. And, you know, you see how the election turned out. So, you know, do your job."

Gotta give him that one. The people want you to do your job and you will get your rewards if you do it (or pander, which works too.) Of course, this smacks of a gross oversimplification but without more context available than the quote he can be congratulated for his acquisition (or reacquisition) of power. That might even motivate someone, somewhere.

"Most of the time, I kind of know what I think. I kind of know how I feel about something. And, you can't run around trying to please everybody. You gotta just be a leader."

Not terribly motivating, because reading this with even a shred of critical thinking leads you to conclude that this leader is “kinda competent, most of the time.”

So ultimately, the article is basically click-bate (as are most of the articles with teaser titles these days.) I enjoyed reading it, if only to ponder how poorly these sound bites match the alleged intent of the article (to inspire or motivate the reader in some way or other.) I wish the Internet had less of this low quality writing, but we are where we are. (I closed this with an intentionally trite phrase that will hopefully grate on everyone who might read this :-)

Right Wing petitions to take it all …

There is really nothing quite as fatuous as a Republican speaking on the subject of trickle down economics … which we now know is defined as giving the 1% all the money so that they can sock most of it away in the Caimans and then spend the rest on greasing the wheels of policy to get the next tax break. A wonderfully effective circle jerk for those with power and money. The 99% need not apply.

From John Boehner Ignores Reality and Blames Liberals For The Baltimore Riots - Linkis.com

“Speaker of the House John Boehner tried to argue that liberals are to blame for the Baltimore riots and the poor people in the inner cities would benefit economically if the Koch brothers and other billionaires got a big tax cut.”

No doubt this desperation to ensure yet a larger share of the wealth comes from inflation affecting the cost of the right wing politician as much as it does food, housing and transportation. Go figure …

Tuesday, May 5, 2015

Adobe Creative Cloud for Photographers – Photoshop CC and Lightroom CC for 10 bucks a month – my first stitched image …

Well, I’ve been toying with this for months and finally bit the bullet. Lightroom 6 looked pretty good with a really nice stitching feature and I’ve wanted to get access to the newer and improved content aware fill, so I figured what the heck. I can always go back by purchasing the stand alone Lightroom 6 and dropping back to Photoshop CS5 if I decide it’s not worth while.

So my first use of it was to take a group of 8 images that I shot previously just for stitching (prescient, or more likely goading) and to run the very simple stitching facility.

That brings up this dialog:

Which works just great, leaving you with this result:

And after cropping that image, you are left with:

Note the size … even after cropping, it is 10420x4614, or 48mp … which is a lot. Smile

Here is a pointer to the 1920 wide version in my gallery:

I’m pretty satisfied with that result after only a few clicks …

So far I am pretty impressed with CC for Photographers …

Monday, May 4, 2015

Tesla Powerwall – World-saving technology?

The following video lays out a future that has a shot at avoiding the calamity that is the end result of our current greed-first take-no-prisoners attitude towards resources and wealth.

Elon Musk outlines how much solar power it would take to free us of the destructive tyranny of fossil fuels and the answers will BLOW … YOUR … MIND!