New 4 Terabyte External Drives From WD

Western Digital recently debuted new 4-terabyte (TB) capacity My Book storage systems. Designed to work seamlessly with Macintosh computers in addition to Windows, the new RAID 0 drives are compatible with Apple’s Time Machine automatic backup. They include eSATA and FireWire 800 compatibility for maximum performance as well as FireWire 400 and USB 2.0 for maximum flexibility. They also feature WD’s GreenPower Technology for power savings and cool, quiet operation. With a MSRP of $649.99, the new drives also can be formatted for Microsoft Windows Vista and Windows 7 systems, but not Windows XP, which has a 2TB storage limit.

Western Digital External Hard Drives

Sony Announces New DSLR Lenses

Sony has also announced a new full-frame lens to coincide with the release of the new Alpha 850 full-frame sensor DSLR. Expected to begin shipping in November 2009, the 28-75mm f2.8 SAM lens provides a constant f2.8 at an affordable price. Expected to retail for around $800; far less than the available Sony Zeiss 24-70mm F2.8 ZA. The lens features 14 elements in 16 groups including four(4) aspherical elements and SAM (Smooth Autofocus Motor) within the lens.

The SAL30M28, a 30mm f2.8 Macro DT lens for the APS-C format is also due to be released around the same time

New Sony Alpha 550 Dpreview.com Preview

Digital Photography Review has just posted a hands-on preview of the new Sony Alpha 550 by Richard Butler. Take a first look at the new 500 series DSLR from Sony.

New DLSR Models From Sony

Just when I was about to jump ship Sony has announced the upcoming release of three new cameras. The new Sony Alpha 850 is their next generation full-frame DLSR following the popular A900. At only around $2,000 you get the same 24.6-megapixel CMOS sensor that graces the A900, and most of the same features.

For those of us on a budget, the new Sony Alpha 500 and 550 sound like good choices if you haven’t already decided on the older Alpha 700. At 12.3-megapixels for the A500 and 14.2-megapixels for the A550 featuring a brand new Exmore CMOS sensor these models will provide quality for less than $1000. Each includes built-in SteadyShot stabilization, a 3-inch tilt-angle LCD, BIONZ image processing engine, ISO settings up to 12800, and an auto HDR mode to combine two frames. Other features include LiveView, and an ISO button for quick selection. Many online retailers are already offering pre-orders for these models that are due out within the next month or so.

Being a long-time Minolta shooter, and more recently Sony, I have been contemplating starting over and replacing my gear with Nikon. Obviously expense is the largest concern, but I just haven’t been feeling the love from Sony lately. With the addition of these new affordable choices, I am now seriously contemplating staying in the Sony camp. Realistically it’s the photographer and the lens that are the most important part of a good photo. The camera body just provides additional features and tools to improve the process of capturing images. Now the question is APS-C sensor or Full-Frame?

Youth Soccer Ends

It has occurred to me that I have been ignoring this blog since the Fall youth sports season began. So it seems fitting that this current posting “Youth Soccer Ends” follows the last one; “Youth Sports Begins.”

Over the last few months I’ve been able to capture some wonderful moments of these kids improving their skills while learning valuable lessons about teamwork. I hope I have successfully portrayed their high level of effort within these images. I’ve put together a small gallery of images taken over the course of the Fall 2008 soccer season.

View the Youth Soccer Fall 2008 Gallery.

Youth Sports Begin

Youth soccer season is finally underway, along with football so the camera is clicking again in the great outdoors. Of course it is still 102 degrees in the valley of the sun stroke. Never mind that it is now October! At least the weather soothsayers predict the mercury will dip below triple digits by this Saturday. Just in time for another game.

My trusty Sony A100 and Minolta 70-210mm F4 (Beer Can) lens haven’t seen the outdoors since a trip to California a couple of months ago; my attempt to escape another 112 degree Arizona summer. So last Saturday morning (7:30am to beat the heat) was the first official game of the GYSA soccer season here in Gilbert, Arizona. The kids were ready to get outside and enjoy some heathly competition.

Now that Fall is officially here, the Sony will be getting some exercise and I can get some fresh air without burning my lungs. I’m not sure if I’m mentally prepared for exercise just yet, however.

Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.1 Release Candidate

The new Lightroom update fixes 2.0 bugs and adds Raw support.

Lightroom Product Manager Tom Hogarty announced the availability of Lightroom 2.1 as a release candidate on Adobe Labs.

"The goal of this release is to address bugs that were introduced with the release of Lightroom 2.0 and provide additional camera Raw support," Hogarty explained on the Lightroom Journal. "A comprehensive list of issues fixed in this release is provided on Adobe Labs." Camera support is "identical to the support provided in the recent Camera Raw 4.6 update," he added, citing the Fuji Finepix IS Pro, Nikon D700, Nikon D90and Nikon Coolpix P6000 specifically.

The release notes and downloads for Mac or Windows versions are available on the Lightroom 2.1 page.

New Lexar Shoot-n-Sync Wi-Fi Memory Card

Lexar will release it's Shoot-n-Sync™ Wi-Fi® memory card - a convenient wireless solution for uploading digital photos to computers as well as sharing them via social networking and photo-sharing websites. The 2GB memory card, compatible with SD-compatible digital cameras, reliably records and stores digital photos in a camera just like a standard memory card, but adds the time-saving convenience and simplicity of wireless uploading from camera to computer - and directly to the Internet.

The Lexar Shoot-n-Sync Wi-Fi memory card will be available in October.