Nikon Black Lens Coffee Mug Now on Sale

Yes, it had to happen. Earlier this year we broke the news on the Canon White Lens coffee mug that was being distributed at the Winter Olympics in Vancouver and the Internet nearly exploded. Now a Nikon version has surfaced.

(Gulp.)

Don't know if it's an "official" Nikon release, but this simulated Nikon AF-S 24-70mm F/2.8 lens thermos coffee cup looks pretty sweet. We especially like the gold box treatment and the drawstring carrying bag.

It's selling for $23 here where they've got a few more choice photos of it.

Get 'em while they last!

Photoshop Disasters (Part 2): Jersey Shore's JWOWW Loses Her Belly Button

First we had the case of the missing caddie. Now one of the stars of MTV's Jersey Shore -- the prosaically named JWOWW -- appears to have lost her belly button to a clumsy Photoshop job.

Check out the nearly buttonless shot to the left from Maxim; and the "before" photo to the right with strategically placed religious ornamentation dangling.

(If you ask us, they both look like disasters...waka waka.)

(From Gawker via ONTD)

Photographer Cut by Getty for Altered Golf Photo Offers Explanation

The freelance photographer we told you about yesterday who was dropped by Getty after one of his images of a golf tournament was found to have been digitally altered has offered an explanation of what happened.

Marc Feldman, whose freelance status with Getty was terminated over the altered photo, told the Dallas Morning News he made "a fatal mistake."

"There was absolutely no intent to pass this off as a real image," Feldman explained to Dallas Morning News photo editor Guy Reynolds for the paper's Photography Blog. "Only a moron would have sent both."

A photo Feldman captured of golfer Matt Bettencort was distributed by Getty Images even though a caddie had been digitally removed from the background. Getty, which has a strict policy against altering its news images, later put out a "mandatory kill" notice on the photo after Reynolds alerted them to it, and dropped Feldman from its roster.

Feldman, 61, told Reynolds that he was in the press tent processing the images when Bettencort and his caddie stopped by to look at the photos. The caddie then suggested the photo would look better without him in it.

"So I showed them how easy I could do that," Feldman told Reynolds. "I thought I just saved it to the desktop not to the send folder. I certainly did not mean to send both of them to Getty."

What do you think about Feldman's explanation? Does it sound like a plausible, honest mistake? Have you ever done anything similar? Please leave your thoughts in the comments below.

Panasonic G2 Commercial Seemingly Shot with Canon 5D Mark II

Oops!

Panasonic's PR department must be kicking itself for releasing this behind-the-scenes video of the making of a new commercial for the Panasonic Lumix G2.

Watch the clip below and you'll see the Canon 5D Mark II with Canon L-series glass being used frequently throughout the filming of the spot even though the G2 shoots 720p HD.

Truthfully, most consumers -- who this camera and the commercial are primarily aimed at -- aren't going to notice (or care) but camera geeks will and the behind-the-scenes footage is already turning up far and wide in the tech blog-o-sphere.

Doh!

UPDATE: Looks like the behind-the-scenes video has been removed. Wonder why.

(Via Photography Bay & CrunchGear)

World's Largest Digital Camera Scans the Heavens for Danger

The world’s largest digital camera is being used by astronomers and scientists to monitor various space phenomena, including possible "planet-destroying asteroids," according to National Geographic.

The camera is a critical component of the PS1 telescope in Hawaii, and is snapping images of the heavens every 30 seconds at a staggering resolution of 1,400 megapixels per photo.

The images are mapping areas in the sky “as large as 36 full moons – a view 3,600 times larger than the Hubble Space Telescope’s main camera.” A 300-dpi print of one of the images would cover half a basketball court. In a full day the camera captures enough data to fill 1,000 DVDs.

The giant camera not only enables scientists to track near-Earth orbiting asteroids that have the potential to cause major damage if they were to impact the planet (according to Edo Berger, a professor with the Harvard-Smithsonian Center for Astrophysics, “It provides the best early-warning system we have”), but it also creates the potential for celestial discoveries previously unimaginable.

Scientists are now able to see objects that are ten times fainter than anything registered during previous surveys thanks to the technology the camera offers. Because of its stunning accuracy and sensitivity, scientists anticipate making many new breakthroughs.

“This will take us a long way along the path of charting the heavens, both in space and in time,” Berger said.

-- by Cameron Handley

Using Two Nikon D90s to Shoot 3D Portraits

May 26, 2010

By Dan Havlik, PDN's Technology Specialist

If you happen find yourself in Sydney, Australia on May 27th, you should check out an interesting new show that features 3D portraits created with two Nikon D90 cameras.

Entitled "Stereo Portrait Project," the show is the work of visual artists Alex Fry and Jamie Nimmo who mounted two D90s closely together on a custom wooden camera rig to emulate the distance of a pair of human eyes.

They shot the portraits using three synced SB900 Speedlight flashes and then sorted the pairs of photos in Apple Aperture. 

The shots were exported to Nuke, a compositing software, where final tweaks were performed before they were combined into Anagylphic 3D images. (Yes, that means you have to wear those funky two-color glasses to get the 3D effect when viewing these portraits.)

Along with the show, which will run at the Oh Really Gallery in Sydney until June 8th, the artists have produced 25 books of the portraits on Blurb.

More details on Nikon Rumors.

 

Wedding Photo Disaster (Video)

May 20, 2010

What do you get when you pose the bride, groom and entire wedding party on a rickety old dock for a group photo? A total wedding FAIL. (Don't try this with your next client.)

FAIL. (Don't try this with your next client.)

Posted by Dan Havlik on May 20, 2010 at 11:38 AM

Vincent Laforet Critiques Episode of House Shot with Canon 5D Mark II

May 19th, 2010

We catch some grief for mentioning Vincent Laforet's name in this blog from time to time (how dare we talk about someone who is making news in the photo industry!) but while watching the season finale of House the other night, we couldn't help but wonder what Mr. Reverie thought of the show considering it was shot entirely with a Canon 5D Mark II.

Laforet's saved us the trouble of calling him up and interviewing him by writing his own blog post entitled "Thoughts on 'House' Finale."

Like us, Laforet thought the episode looked "STUNNING."

But what impressed Laforet more than the performance of the 5D Mark II was the lighting, giving big kudos to House's Director of Photography Gale Tattersall. Read more here.

As a side note, we've received some questions from readers about whether Canon paid Fox to shoot the House finale with the 5D II. According to a Canon spokesperson, that was not the case.

"Canon did not pay or sponsor the show at all," said Len Musmeci, Senior Specialist in Public Relations at Canon U.S.A. "It was their decision to use the 5D Mark II."

If you missed the House finale, you can catch it on Fox's site for the next week.

Friday Fun: HBO's True Blood to Be Shot with Canon 5D Mark IIs?

May 14th, 2010

First there was the much discussed season finale of Fox medical drama House, and now, it appears, that HBO's forked-tongue-in-cheek vampire series, True Blood, may also be shot with Canon EOS 5D Mark II digital SLRs.

According to Cinema 5D, the crew from True Blood just borrowed two Canon 5D Mark IIs and a Red Rock Micro rig from a noted Hollywood rental house to shoot the series. It also looks like they might be using Zeiss ZE lenses. (If you have HBO money, why not?)

Yes, this is a somewhat speculative story but considering how many TV shows, commercials and movies are being shot in high def with HD-DSLRs these days, it's very possible.

We'll add more details to this story as we get them. (via Wiegartner.)

Friday Fun: Photographing Models in Freaky Poses

May 7th, 2010

Ok, this is from that super-cheesy Cheezburger network but worth a look on a Friday. The blog is called "Ridiculous Poses" and it features photos of models in…wait for it…ridiculous poses.

Check out "Manicorn" below.