News / Other News

LensRentals.com is now shipping the Canon EOS 5D Mark III with the Magic Lantern 'hack' pre-installed. The most notable feature gained by using Magic Lantern on the 5D Mark III is Raw video support, which offers much better video quality than on the 'stock' camera. The rest of the Magic Lantern feature set is also available, including focus peaking, an intervalometer, too many movie enhancements to list, plus the DR improvement that we reported on last month.

Reuters photographer Kai Pfaffenbach found himself unexpectedly on the other side of the lens at the IAAF World Championship Men's Shot Put Finals. His photo of Germany's David Storl was used as evidence in a decision that overturned a 'foul' call and awarded the athlete a gold medal. When it was called into question whether Storl stepped outside of the ring in his attempt, Pfaffenbach discovered that his remote camera clearly showed Storl's attempt to be fair. Click through for more.

The Kodak planning to exit from bankruptcy on September 3rd looks very different from the familiar imaging company that filed for Chapter 11 last year. The U.S. Bankruptcy court has approved Kodak's plan for reorganization, a step that means the company can resume independent operation soon. CEO Antonio M. Perez issued a statement emphasizing Kodak's move into commercial imaging for a profitable future, including "packaging, functional printing and professional services." Click through to read more about where Kodak now stands.

Anyone who's traveled by train has seen the landscape outside of their car moving by in a blur. While most of us turn our attention back to our reading material and mobile devices, artist Rolf Sachs' finds inspiration. His photo series, called 'Camera in Motion,' aims to capture the effect of the blurred landscapes outside of his train traveling between Switzerland and Italy. The resulting images walk a line between landscape photography and surrealist art. Click through to see some of his work.

In the early days of digital photography a small American company, Imagek, started developing a digital sensor module that could be installed in film SLRs. The idea still generates excitement today, more than ten years after the company (by then named Silicon Film) failed. Photographer and blogger Olivier Duong has taken a look back at the promise and disappointment of the Silicon Film dream.

General-interest blog The Roosevelts has posted a selection of artist Sanna Dullaway's colorized images, showing what iconic images might have looked like to the photographer that captured them. Among the (exceeding well-done, it must be said) adjusted images are Malcolm Browne's iconic shot of monk Thich Quang Duc's self-immolation, Alfred Eisenstaedt's famous image of the kiss in Times Square on VJ Day, and Anne Frank's haunting 1942 portrait. Click through for a selection of shots, and links to both the full article and Sanna's website.

World War II and Depression-era America was mostly documented in black and white. That's why these color photos of the time belonging to the Library of Congress are so engrossing. Shot in color at the same time as more widely recognized black-and-white photos, these images offer a vivid look into American life in 30's and 40's. We've picked a few favorites of the more than 1500 images total contained within the Library of Congress' Flickr account. 

Printing in 3D is in the news a lot lately, but applications are usually limited to industrial prototypes. A company called Captured Dimensions has a different use for this technology. They've rigged 60 DSLRs in a 360-degree array to capture 3D portraits. The likeness is then printed using a substance containing gypsum powder, resulting in a 3D sculpture of 1/12 to 1/5 scale. Ready for your 3D closeup? Click through for more details (including how much it'll set you back).

Photographer Nick Ballon stumbled across the Lloyd Aero Boliviano headquarters on an annual trip to Bolivia. He was captivated by the expansive property and dilapidated buildings he saw, and his curiosity sparked a photo series and collaboration with Bolivian writer Amaru Villanueva Rance. Six months exploring the grounds, talking with employees and researching the long history of the dying airline has resulted in a stunning photo series and a book called Ezekiel 36:36. Click through for a glimpse into the L.A.B. 

We've been fans of Aaron Johnson's comic strip 'What the Duck' for years. 'WTD' is one of the best satirical comic strips in the world, and it's published here every week, as well as being included in our weekly newsletter. Barbed, topical and always amusing, we hope you enjoy WTD as much as we do. 

Photographer Anthony Karen has built a career around gaining access to ostensibly inaccessible societies. After a trip to Haiti documenting Vodou rituals, he has gone on to photograph white supremacist groups, the infamous Westboro Baptist Church and the Ku Klux Klan. His compelling photos and unrestricted access to the KKK resulted in a collaboration with the Discovery Channel, and slate.com has published an interesting profile of his work, in which he explains his approach. Click through for extracts, and some of his compelling images. 

While some of us were sleeping this weekend, photographers around the northern hemisphere were capturing the Perseid meteor shower as it peaked. The annual shower continues through August 24th, but it reached its highest activity levels on August 11th and 12th as debris from a passing comet produced as many as 100 meteors per hour. This year's relatively dim waxing crescent moon meant more meteors were visible to eager stargazers. Businessinsider.com has put together an impressive gallery of shots. Click through to take a look. 

Commercial photographer Frank Ockenfels III has worked on several high-profile blockbusters like Harry Potter and Men in Black 3, as well as a number of TV shows, and his most recent work is currently being used to promote the season five finale of Breaking Bad on AMC. PopPhoto has published an interview with him, in which he explains how he got started in the TV and movie business, the equipment he uses, and why he bases his career around the concept of 'never having just one idea'. Click through for a link to the full article. 

Olivier Morin, photographer for Agence France-Presse (AFP) managed to capture champion runner Usain 'lightning' Bolt approaching the finishing line at the same time as an actual lightning bolt lit up the sky behind him. The image, captured at the IAAF World Championships in Moscow, was taken using a remote-controlled camera, one of five that Morin had set up by the side of the track to cover the finishing line. Click through for more details, and a closer look at the 'double lightning' shot. 

Nokia's new Lumia 1020 smartphone packs some impressive features, most notably a 41MP imaging sensor capable of high-resolution stills and video. A new Nokia advert goes deep (literally) into this aspect of the phone's hardware with a virtual look inside the imaging pipeline of the 1020, showing the entire process of image capture from the shutter opening and light coming through the lens to the creation of a digital image. The result is pretty stunning. Click through to see for yourself.

Walker Evans' iconic images of American life in the early 20th century helped elevate photography to the status of fine art. His 1938 book 'Walker Evans: American Photographs' celebrates its 75th anniversary this year and the Museum of Modern Art is commemorating this milestone by bringing it back into print with an accompanying exhibition of his work. Click through and take a look at some of Walker's captivating images of American society in last century.

What's the safest way to get close up photos of lions on the Serengeti? Send in a robot. And an aerial drone. That's what photographer Michael Nichols and his team did, producing incredible images for a National Geographic feature. From a nearby car, Nichols and crew directed a small remote-controlled robot outfitted with a Canon camera toward lion prides as they hunted, slept and well, do everything lions do. And we do mean everything.

We've been fans of Aaron Johnson's comic strip 'What the Duck' for years. 'WTD' is one of the best satirical comic strips in the world, and it's published here every week, as well as being included in our weekly newsletter. Barbed, topical and always amusing, we hope you enjoy WTD as much as we do. 

Olympus has announced reduction in its camera business's losses but PEN sales have fallen behind expectations. The predominantly medical company said PEN sales had fallen 12% in the first quarter, but that it expected the year's income from mirrorless models to be consistent with last year's figure of ¥9bn ($90m). The company blamed the fall on its delay in releasing the E-P5 and said the camera business is on track to break even this financial year.

Money may not buy happiness, but it can buy you some pretty weird things. Luxury London store Harrods has a long history of catering to the 1%, and its exclusive 'Olympus Pen Art Edition' kit includes two Olympus E-P5 camera bodies - one hand-painted - with an assortment of lenses and accessories, all bundled together with a customized Vespa scooter. We presume this must have made sense to someone. Just how much will it set you back? Click through for more details.