04/24/10 Seim Effects: Howdy everyone it’s Gavin Seim. Today I want to announce a brand new product to the Seim Effects editing system. Naked Elements is a collection of more than 60 photographic textures, combined with Photoshop speed actions for adding and prepping images at blazing speeds.
Naked Elements includes natural and scientific elements from rock, to fire, to metal, to sky and beyond. Check out the Naked Elements product page for a video and samples of what’s included. Like all Seim Effects products, free in version updates will be included in the complete set. You can also download a free sampler pack below. Enjoy… Gav
Color Fantasies LR presets have been out for nearly two months and I’m proud to say have been incredibly well received. While Power Workflow2 is still a mainstay for general editing and workflow, CF has gotten myself and many users thinking and using color more creatively without spending a lot of extra time in their editing.
Today marked the release of CF V1.1, which includes a few tweaks and enhancements to existing effects, as well as two brand new movie inspired effects. Old London was inspired by the color tones I noticed throughout the new Sherlock Holmes movie and Deep Magic came after I watched the second installment to Lord of the Rings and notices the subdued yet catching way in which color was used.
If you own Color Fantasies check your inbox for the 1.1 download. If you don yet have them, check them out here. If for some reason you did not receive the update feel free to contact me. Also if you’re not a member if the Facebook page don’t wait. FB fans gets extra special deals updated and tips Enjoy… Gav
“Got the Color Fantasies yesterday and you’ve outdone yourself, Gavin! They are really wonderful. Can’t wait to see what you come up with next” Connie Graham Terry
“The new “Color Fantasies” is gorgeous. It will define my look for 2010… simply great stuff!” Julian Fuhrmann
by Gavin Seim: Canon just released version II of the 70-200 2.8 IS, which may be their most legendary lens ever. My friends Ben & Molly from Nickles photography just got the new 70-200 2.8 IS II in their hands, so I went over for some tests (thanks for the help Ben). Being that the V1 is such a great lens, many (including myself) have been wondering how much it could be improved. And with a price tag of nearly $2500, it better offer something new. According to Canon the V2 “increases the speed, performance and optical quality of the 70-200, while maintaining all of the characteristics that have made it a legend“.
Well the images are in and so is this lens. I think Canon nailed it. Now granted their can be differences between one lens and another of the same model and my V1 lens is a few years old. It’s still in excellent working order however so I feel the comparison is pretty fair. These examples were all shot in RAW on the 5D MK2 under the same conditions and settings for each sequence. Images were processed in Lightroom 2, but no adjustments were added except that Camera Calibration in was set to Camera Standard.
Aside from the image quality I found a couple of interesting things. The V2 seems to shoot nearly 1/3 stop brighter and with a tad wider view than the V1. I checked this using a tripod for the detail tests to make sure the camera position would be the same. The V2 does indeed seem to be a few mm wider. I don’t know what that would be, I’m just showing what I found. I don’t see this as a big problem however. In fact the V2 letting in more light seems a good thing.
So far I’m impressed. See for yourself below. I’m posting full frames alongside tight details crops of each image. You can click any for a larger view,. You can also download the package of full res JPEG files at the bottom of the post if you want to take a close look. You can find this lens here on B&H or here on Adorama or here on Amazon. OK lets get started.
Image Stabilization Tests.
For each test I hand held 2oomm at 1/20th, supporting the lens barrel with my left and pressing the body firmly against my face. I took 5 consecutive shots for each comparison so I could account for variations in my own steadiness (or lack thereof). The results shown are the sharpest image from each sequence of five images, as well as crop zoomed in view of the same. While the V1 was good, the V2 of the lens was clearly better, producing consistently better IS performance.
It can't be said that IS is not useful. Even on the V1 it makes a huge difference. But on V2... Well read on.
by Gavin Seim: Those who listen to the podcast know that while I spend much of my time in Lightroom, I’m a fan on OnOne’s plugins for Photoshop and I look forward to getting my review copies to check out and tell you about. Well I learned that they’ve released FREE versions of their Photo Tools and Photo Frame plugins. Yep I said free. Of course the paid versions are still available, but this free sample model is cool. It’s something I’ve used successfully for my Seim Effects for some time and it’s always a winner.
What more is there to say. Obviously these are stripped down form the pro versions, but useful tools just the same. You can get the free downloads here. By the way we also have a PPS reader deal with OnOne so if you decide you want to pick up any of their paid products use code PRPHTPC at checkout and you’ll save 15%. Enjoy… Gav
