talking pixels

Tenba has released a redesigned Air Case for the Mac Pro.

It is now a “double door” design with access through the sides and no access from the top.

We believe one of the reasons for this “double door” design is the ability to run the MacPro without removing it from the case itself.

Conceptually, the air flow would be adequate and you would have access to all necessary ports. We are intersested to see how it functions on set and in the hands of the infamous baggage gorillas.

Hopefully the case will be able to handle a stronger impact than the original case. Looking at the photos provided on their website, it appears some of the extra storage space in the original case is now lost, but there sure is nice pocket for the keyboard.

We also hope that the wheel design has improved.  The first model would scrape on stairs if pulled up and down and basically become useless in a sensitive location.

It’s great that Tenba has redesigned the Tower case and we hope that it is significantly improved over the original.

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Rumors have been flying around the internet for months now. Leaf was up for sale like many other companies in this economy. Its now official and we can talk about it.

Phase One has purchased Leaf. The two will now work as a team competing with Hasselblad. The brands will stay separate but resources are pooled. Separate brands will allow for the different styles to continue and options be available for customers. Word from my Phase One contact is that Capture One Pro will soon support Leaf files as well. Great news.

Here is the press release:

COPENHAGEN and TEL AVIV, June 25, 2009 — Phase One A/S, in conjunction with senior management employees of Leaf, today announced that they have created a new entity, Leaf Imaging Ltd., to purchase certain assets of the Leaf camera business. The assets include the “Leaf” brand product names, engineering design and production tools. The new entity will also enter into an intellectual property license with Eastman Kodak Company that is royalty bearing to Kodak. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.

“Since introducing the world’s first digital camera back in 1992, Leaf has been recognized as a worldwide leader in the professional photography market. Our extensive digital imaging and color management knowledge, combined with Phase One’s software and hardware capabilities creates a unique opportunity for the world’s leading photographers,” said Dov Kalinski, General Manager, Leaf.

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Our new “Nehalem” MacPro Towers have arrived. These 8 core beasts are custom built with 12gb RAM, 4 TB of hard drives, upgraded video cards, and both eSATA and FireWire expansion cards.

Ready to crank out your JPEGs in record time.

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Finally, Hasselblad has released their Phocus software to the public. Previously you had to have the serial number for a Hasselblad digital back to access the download. They also released four sample RAW 3F files.

This is a smart decision for Hasselblad as it will allow people to test drive their software without purchasing or renting an actual digital back.

Traditionally we have found Hasselblad Digital Backs and their old school FlexColor software to be excellent for still life and product work.  But it choked on any heavy image workflow.  What we have seen of Phocus has been promising and we have high hopes for it in the future.

Nice move Hassy.  Now where is my 65mm H lens??

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With January 2009 MacWorld Apple has announced a Unibody version of the 17″  MacBookPro.  The new 17″ has an 8 hr permanent battery.  Our guess is its 3-5 hrs in real life photo crunching.  Initially we aren’t happy with the lack of battery swap ability.  What do you do when that battery runs low and you don’t have a place to plug in?

The Unibody design appears to be an excellent structural move on Apple’s part.  Both new MBPs are lacking a FW400 port, put FW800 is backward compatible and adapters are commonly available.  15″s now have the “glass” screen stock but the 17″s have a $50 “Anti Glare” option.  Thats good news as the glass screens make location viewing difficult.

We are very happy to the new 8GB RAM capacity.  Maxing out that RAM will help tremendously while running Lightroom, etc.

On a green note, Apple’s claiming that the new notebook is arsenic-free, BFR-free, Mercury-free, PVC-free, more recyclable, 34% less packaging and EPEAT Gold certification.

For now we are definitely sticking with our Matte 15″ MBPs as we have love them for travel and there is not currently much processor advantage.  Our recommendation is to wait for upcoming Quad core processors if you don’t need a laptop immediately.

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Running Pixels now has a few Canon 5D Mark II kits in stock.  

Excellent value and 21MP.  Perfect for double page spreads and editorial work.  Kits come with the 24-105mm L Zoom lens and two camera batteries.  We are awaiting the Wireless Transfer grips and will put those into rental as soon as possible.  

Testing is ongoing and we will be comparing the Hi ISOs to our favorite low light camera, the Nikon D3.

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