Used Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8 ED VR

Used Nikon AF-S 400mm f/2.8 ED VR  Very clean condition. Comes with hard case, manual and front and back lens caps.

                  TAG # 5373                                         $7500.00      $6500.00   SOLD

NEW! Nikon D810 36.3MP Digital SLR

NEW! Nikon D810 36.3MP Digital SLR

($3,499 CDN - Available starting July 17)

[For a detailed list of changes see: D810/D800/D800E Comparison Sheet - 515KB PDF]

Nikon has announced the D810, a successor to both the D800 and D800E digital SLRs. While there is nothing dramatically ground-breaking (the D810 name might have been enough of a clue to tell you that already), there are indeed numerous enhancements that might make a fairly big difference depending on your shooting style or subject matter. Firstly, let’s discuss the sensor…

The D800 had an anti-aliasing (AA) filter in front of the sensor and its function was to ever so slightly blur the finest details across more than one pixel. This is generally useful to help prevent stair-stepping on hard edges, false-colour in fine details as well as colour and luminance moiré. Without going into all the technical details, the D800E had “half” an AA filter, and then a “refocusing” filter to cancel this half AA filter, the intention being to ensure that maximum detail is retained. The reason that Nikon didn’t simply leave out the AA filter entirely (a much easier solution) was that they needed the same thickness of “filter-pack” in front of the sensor on both the D800 and D800E. Whether or not this is the only reason, I cannot be sure but in any case, the D810 has now completely done away with this somewhat complicated and now unnecessary solution since there is only one camera and no separate ‘E’ version. This is, in my view, a major improvement and may indeed prove to have slight benefits in detail rendition, even over the old D800E. As far as concerns about moiré and aliasing (will it be worse than the D800E?), one won’t really know until detailed side by side tests are done. However given that the D800E wasn’t all that much more prone to these image artifacts than the regular D800, hopefully they will remain minimal on the D810 as well.

EX Rentals Dynalite XP1100

We are selling off the XP1000 from rentals. It comes with 3 batteries, one of which is only a few months old. The XP1100 AC Power Inverter provides 110 Volt AC power for lighting gear on location. It will provide power to any other manufacturer’s 1000 w/s — or lower — 110 volt power pack or monolight. It eliminates the need to rent noisy gas-powered generators. Its charger functions with almost any AC voltage: 100-240VAC, and will shut down upon completion of charge and will not harm the battery. This inverter requires only 2 hours for an 80% charge (5 hours for full charge). The XP1100 can provide over 200 full-power flashes with a 1000 w/s strobe and an average recycle time of 1.5 seconds.

Used Dynalite XP1000 and 3 batteries $750.00    $650.00

New Gitzo Mountaineer tripods

The rumors have proved to be true, Gitzo has now announced that they have totally redesigned the Mountaineer series of tripods.

The research and development team at Gitzo have started at the very core of the tripod and improved on the material the tripod is made of. The new Mountaineer tripods use HM (High Modulus) carbon fibre for increased stiffness and strength, producing a stronger, more reliable tripod. This improvement also allows for wider tube diameters in the lower leg sections which can often be a tripods weakest point. Also a big improvement is the new “ground level set”. This innovative design allows you to quickly remove the lower portion of centre column and then lock down only the upper most section. Next they have improved on the leg lock system with the new “G-lock Ultra”, and added internal “O” rings to keep dirt and grit out.

One of the major differences between Gitzo and other professional CF tripods is how smooth and fast it is to set up a Gitzo tripod. I have seen many CF tripods at trade shows and brought in to Beau Photo by sales reps, and they never come close to the smoothness and ease of use of a Gitzo tripod. Yes they do cost more, but when you invest in a quality made product, you have a tripod you want to take out and use, and you are not left feeling frustrated as you struggle to extend the legs of a tripod that feels like just had rigor mortis set in.

The new Gitzo Mountaineer tripods will be arriving soon. Call us for pricing.

FUSION 2014 - September 28th

LOOKING TO THE FUTURE & RECONNECTING TO THE PAST

IN CONJUNCTION WITH THE 1^ST ANNUAL PHOTOGRAPHIE FESTIVAL

(Register now for Early Bird pricing - to July 31st. Space is limited)

Fusion is back for the 4^th year and this year we are moving the date to the Fall – Sunday, September 28^th, and partnering with some pretty great people.

This year Fusion 2014 will be a part of PHOTOgraphie - PPOC-BC's professional photography festival. The festival’s purpose is to inspire and share the value of photography through education, gallery exhibitions and salon competition. We are also partnering with Vancouver Photo Workshops who have a great pool of local instructors along with a long list of international photographers that they bring in for Master Classes. With these new partnerships we are able to expand the scope of Fusion 2014 to not only focus on the latest in DSLR video but also include the ever popular still photography.

Fusion 2014 will be held at the Roundhouse Community Centre in Vancouver on Sunday, September 28th. This location offers the opportunity to present four 90 minute speaker sessions running concurrently, with four blocks throughout the day for a total of 16 presentations. The trade show will run in the great hall from 8:30am to 4:00pm, and attendees will be able to buy trade show only tickets or individual speaker tickets which will include a free trade show pass.

Fusion 2013 featured booths from:  Nikon, Canon, Profoto, Tiffen, Vancouver Photo Workshops, Panasonic, Red Raven Markerting, Hasselblad, NEC, Van Arts, Amplis and more. Fusion 2014 will include some new vendors in order to show the Vancouver photographic community what can happen when the photo industry collaborates to put on a fantastic event.

Hasselblad H5D-50C versus Nikon D800...

This is a continuation of the previous blog entry: Hasselblad H5D-50C - CMOS sensor magic!

The second instalment of my Hasselblad H5D-50C tests will compare its sensor performance to the Nikon D800. This could be interesting for several reasons: Sony makes the CMOS sensor used in both cameras, the D800 is known to have excellent usable dynamic range with very clean shadows that are free from colour noise or banding and cross-hatching artifacts and lastly, in the past most digital backs were not known for their high ISO performance. So the question is, how does the new H5D-50C with its 50 megapixel sensor stack up to the the Nikon D800 when it comes to dynamic range and high ISO image quality? As a matter of fact, the new Hasselblad equals or outperforms the D800 in these tests at pretty much every ISO, right up to ISO 6400... remarkable!

Lumen Printing

Recently Beau Photo donated to Paper Girl Vancouver, if you've not heard of Paper Girl Vancouver take a minute to read an excerpt from their website:

Paper Girl Mission Statement:
“Papergirl is an inclusive, non-commercial art project that brings people together in celebration of art and community in an unconventional way: through the spirit of altruism.”

What They Do:
“In this annual project, artists of all ages and abilities are invited to donate their work to a non-juried exhibition. Afterward, the artwork is rolled into bundles and is distributed by a team of cyclists (in the style of the American paperboy) to anyone they meet along specific bike routes around the lower mainland of British Columbia, Canada.”

Why They Do It:
“We view this simple act as a significant performance, where the individual artworks become part of a larger community-engaged project. The gifting of art takes Papergirl participants and strangers outside of their everyday experience of the traditional market economy that identifies art consumers by socio-economic class and education. When an artist gives their work as a gift, they build a relationship with the recipient and with others affected by their creativity and this act of kindness. Papergirl brings art back to its identity as true creativity: a 'pure gift' that builds community through sharing.”

If you'd like to read more or participate check out their website: http://www.papergirlvancouver.com/

After reading this I was extremely excited to help them out, they would be making Lumen prints with the paper & chemistry donated which got me wondering why I’d never tried making Lumen prints myself.

I read up on the procedure first and found it to be fairly easy. It would seem RC or Fibre base photosensitive paper will work fine and some people feel the more expired the paper the better! All I had at my disposal was a fresh 25 sheet pack of Ilford glossy RC paper, so I used that. I went outside on the patio and collected flowers and leaves, I sliced up an apple and orange- hoping perhaps that the juices would react with paper. I found some glass bottles and a glass plate Kathy had made weeks ago and spread all of these items across three pieces of photo paper, making sure to squish the flowers down with a piece of glass. Then set them outside in direct UV light and waited. After an hour I went out and collected them. They looked pretty neat, pinky brown mostly with white/blue details. I had to be quick about taking the flowers, fruit and bottles off the exposed paper so I could scan them before the white shifted blue too much. After scanning them I put them in a fix bath, which promptly shifted their colour more, turning the whole picture a more peachy colour. The photos on the left are the scans before I fixed the images, the ones on the right are the scans after they were fixed. I will keep experimenting perhaps using fibre paper and toner.

The Cutting Edge Tour is coming very soon!

On August 9th we be sponsoring "The Cutting Edge Tour". Adam Epstein from Saturday Night Live will be sharing his knowledge of video editing to those attending.  For those who love or dread video editing this will be the seminar for you:

Overview
The Cutting Edge Post-Production Tour will show exactly what it takes to go from an empty timeline to a high-quality, ready-for-broadcast piece. By using the full, original source media and project files from some of the most popular recent pieces from the SNL Film Unit, Adam will share numerous techniques, theories and editorial insight into what goes into taking a piece from start to finish while under intense delivery deadlines.

Designed for filmmakers and editors of all stripes, this all-day workshop will show you how to increase your speed and storytelling effectiveness, allowing you to plus whatever piece you need to deliver and add your own unique voice.

Tickets starting at $69 with discount code CETBEAU .  For more information and to register go to; http://cuttingedge.mzed.com/    Don't forget to use the discount code to save $$$