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Sony grows E-mount lens collection with 20mm pancake, 18-200mm power zoom | Zach Honig | Engadget
Sony's doing its part to make its products more appealing by adding two new lenses (for a total of 13): a 20mm f/2.8 pancake and a 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS powered-zoom optic, which first made its debut with the VG30 camcorder, but will now be available as a standalone purchase.
B & H: Sony 18-200mm f/3.5-6.3 PZ OSS Alpha E-mount Lens ($1,198) Expected end of Feb
B & H: Sony 20mm f/2.8 Alpha E-mount Lens ($348) Expected middle of Apr.


Hands-On Camera Review with the Panasonic GH3 — [Side By Side Comparos + Can it Beat a $250 eBay Bargain?] | Ben Pitt | Chase Jarvis Blog
In many of my tests, the GH1 and GH3′s videos were hard to tell apart. The GH3 had a slight advantage for sharpness and its colours were a little punchier, but there wasn’t much in it. Here’s a frame from each camera’s 1080p output, split into three to show the GH3, GH1 and Sony’s NEX-5N – another excellent camera for video, but clearly trailing here for sharpness and colour response (click the image to enlarge it and type F to expand to actual size).


14mm Tests (Canon, Rokinon, Zeiss and some Nikon) | Drew599 | 599 Productions
My conclusion, the Rokinon 14mm 2.8 or T3.1 is a nice lens for the money you spend. It has some issues with distortion and flare but some people might welcome the look of the lens. It seems that the Rokinon did give a "mustache" distortion to the image, as I've heard it described from some fellow shooters. The Canon and Nikon lenses were very sharp and controlled the flare much better than the Rokinon.


Blackmagic Design, “Kodak” and Others Join Micro Four Thirds System Standards Group | ERIC REAGAN | Photography Bay
Olympus Imaging Corp. and Panasonic Corporation jointly announced the Micro Four Thirds System standard in 2008 and have since been working together to promote the standard. Now we are pleased to announce that five more companies have recently declared their support for the standard and will be introducing products compliant with the Micro Four Thirds System standard.


After Effects Apprentice Free Video: Converting a Comp to Ray TracingWhat do you gain; what do you give up? | Chris and Trish Meyer | ProVideoCoalition
In the movie below, I walk through the procedure of taking an already-built 3D composition that used the classic 3D rendering engine and converting it to use the ray-traced 3D engine. There are both gains and losses: The type gains translucency, reflections, and depth, converting it from a postcard to a glass object - but the flat poster artwork applied to a building loses the use of blending modes and has to rely on ordinary opacity to make it work in the scene: 


The Importance of Placement of Auralex® Acoustical Products | AuralexAcoustics | YouTube
Interesting video that gives advice on where to place acoustic paneling in your monitor room (i.e. where  you listen to audio playback) to reduce reflections. Covers absorption panels, bass traps and diffusors.



7 Tips for Shooting from a Helicopter | Peter West Carey | Tutsplus
Doors Off, PleaseIf at all possible, fly with the doors off. Depending on your situation, you may be able to request this (assignment) or not (vacation helicopter ride). Always ask. But also realize that it can get cold with the doors off, so be prepared for the temperatures.


A New Approach to Making Films That Matter | John S. Johnson | Good
The number of documentary films being produced has exploded over the last 20 years. The Internet Movie Database shows an exponential increase, listing 1,860 documentary titles for 1991 and 16,886 for 2011. But while the audience for documentary film has dramatically expanded, competition within the marketplace of ideas has kept pace.


How one man made a film at Disney World without Disney's permission | Amar Toor | The Verge
Armed with a Canon camera and a skeleton crew of actors, the 36-year-old director began surreptitiously filming at both Disney World in Orlando and Disneyland in Anaheim, taking every precaution to keep his project under wraps.

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