News You Need To Know Wednesday

Good Afternoon Everybody,

We kicked off my Digital WakeUp Call tour last night in Indianapolis, and wow, what a good time we had. You know, one thing that makes presenting these programs fun is the audience. Last night we had one of the most lively, energetic, and receptive audiences ever.

We also had quite a nice little trade show with my friend Mary Mannix, from Canon USA, coming by and showing off the Canon 7D. I had it in my hot little hands for just a short while and snapped off a few images. I can't show anything until the camera is released later this month, but I did take a quick peek at the high ISO capabilities of the camera and I'm pretty impressed with what I saw. I'll give you a much more in depth impression and soon as I can.

Gabe from B&H, Michael from Graphic Authority, Rick from ACI, Patsy from Marathon Press, and Lou from the Professional Photographers of Indiana made it a great event for all who attended. Thanks to all for being there last night!

I'm literally blogging from the road this afternoon - we were coordinating different items for the tour this morning and I didn't have time to get to the keyboard until now. No, I'm not driving. LaDawn is covering that as I type. Ooh, what we do for our loyal DPT readers ;~)

Oh, by the way, LaDawn is still looking for assistants for our Omaha, Des Moines, Milwaukee, and Detroit programs. Drop her an email at ladawn@ziser.com if you can help. You'll be eligible for all the "door prizes" in addition to the prizes LaDawn will be awarding to you.

Hey gang, I've a few items queued up for today's 's post. Let's get right to them.

Animoto Now Does Video!

Man, am I stoked about this new feature. If you haven't checked out Animoto, you've really got to. It's the easiest way in the world to create cool looking videos for your clients.You simply upload your images and short video clips, select your music and let Animoto do the rest.

I think the shows Animoto puts together are amazing, but now what is more amazing is the new video feature. Many photogs are struggling with the new video capabilities of the new cameras. Well, now Animoto has made our lives about 100 times easier in that department. Check out the link to their sample videos right here and see if you don't see some possibilities here for your wedding, portrait, and senior shoots. My take - another great way to sizzle the client experience with your studio!

Why You Want To Check Out Canon's Newly Introduced 100mm F2.8 Hybrid IS Macro Lens

About 18 months ago, I started "bugging" Canon about the lack of image stabilization on their macro lens. Nikon had it, why not Canon? Well, I'm saying I was solely responsible for this new lens - turns out several photogs had been asking Canon for that feature.

Anyway, here's the deal. They didn't just add Image Stabilization, they added Image Stabilization on steroids!. Normally image stabilization only works along the X and Y axis. Canon decided to "juice" their IS feature to also work in the Z axis direction.

If you have ever shot with a macro lens, you know one of the issues is keeping the close up object in sharp focus in a slight breeze. Well, the new 100mm macro will do just that. That should be a great advantage in getting those super close close-ups. The new hybrid technology is more than just a souped up auto focus feature too. How about I point you to Canon's press release for all the info right here- very interesting reading indeed for anyone interested in macro photography.

Delkin Introduces The Fat Gecko

Delkin sent me their new Fat Gecko camera mount last week. I opened it up and thought the giant suction cups attached to this little mini monopod looked quite strange. That was until we were wrapping my Kelby Training shoot last Sunday and needed to add an accent light on me.

There was no place to put the light stand because of the tight quarters we were working in. I remembered the Fat Gecko, grabbed it, attached via the suction cups to the mirror behind and over my head. Jason attached his video light and we were good to go. Check out Delkin's site right here. They are showing the Fat Gecko used in some very unusual situations. It might be just what the doctor ordered for your next challenging shooting situation. Here is the link for all the info right here.

Hey gang, that's it for me today. We are about an hour out of St. Louis so I'm packing up the computer and getting ready for tonight's program. Hope to see you there. -David