Photographers take up the Strobist Challenge

The Elinchrom Strobist Challenge for 2009 was “Using a single flashlight explore the interplay of highlights and shadows to dramatically light a portrait of a single person”. The deadline for entries to this national competition has now closed but based on the steady flow of entries from professionals and students alike, the $8700 worth of prizes has been keenly sought. Entries will shortly go before the judges who will be looking for composition, originality, impact and technical quality when deciding the eventual winners. 1st prize is an Elinchrom Ranger AS Speed Kit valued at $5000. The results will be posted on Team Digital’s website www.teamdigital.com.au as soon as they come to hand.

 

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Canon Flash Day well attended

Team Digital’s Canon Flash Day was voted a success with over forty enthusiastic photographers attending the two in-house sessions held on the 28th May. Attendees listened to award winning professional photographer Andrew Ritchie as he discussed some of the techniques he uses to enhance his subject matter. Single and multiple flash options were covered whilst Andrew also stressed the importance of harnessing the available natural light when seeking to capture that fleeting image.

Anyone wishing to avail themselves of Andrew’s services should visit his website at: web.mac.com/mediafrenzy1 Where his considerable talents are clearly on display. We thank both Andrew and Canon’s Mathew Beetson for their contributions to the success of the Canon Flash Day.

 

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Orbis Ring Flash - A clever alternative

Ring flash has long been recognized as characteristic of high-end portrait and fashion photography. The preserve of the upper end of the market, studio ring flash systems cast beautiful shadowless light yet are bulky, relatively fragile and costly.

Conceived by a professional photographer and developed by  top optical designers, the Orbis Ring Flash uses your existing speedlight to create the same ring flash look that has previously only been possible with expensive studio systems. All you need is a standard speedlight unit and an off-camera cord (or other remote triggering method). The Orbis is hand held so neither impedes your camera systems functionality nor relies on the fragile hotshoe connection.

TTL functionality, robust construction and attractive pricing makes the Orbis Ring Flash a great addition to the photographer’s creative arsenal. On display at Team Digital.

 

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Rode Microphones

With our move into the video market gathering pace, we are proud to announce that we are now an Authorised Rode Microphone stockist and reseller.

Rode Microphones are designed and manufactured in Australia and the company has now established itself as a world leader, providing products that ‘represent the ultimate in value, performance and user satisfaction.’

We will be carrying a range of broadcast & AV microphones and accessories. Below are just a few of these superb microphones available now at Team Digital.

NTG-1

This lightweight, condenser shotgun microphone is perfectly suited to the film, television, video and ENG user.  This microphone offers wide bandwidth, low noise, capturing broadcast quality sound normally only seen in microphones with much higher price tag.

The NTG-1 is supplied with a case; stand mount and a windshield for noise reduction in moderate outdoors conditions. With price tag under $400, this is one of the highest quality, value for money, broadcast quality microphones on the market

NTG-2

Big brother of the NTG-1, this microphone offers all the superb sound and price benefits along with AA battery power. At a little over $400, Rode delivers a superior combination of professionalism and affordability".

Video Mics

Two of the best selling Rode mics on the market, the Video Mic and Stereo Video Mic, offer top quality recording, in compact and lightweight units.

Both mics are 3.5mm jack connected, but are easily adapted to XLR via Rodes 3.5mm to XLR adapter; making them perfect fits for both the consumer and professional level cameras.

 

The video mic boasts low noise and a wide bandwidth. Powered by a 9V battery and with a cold shoe mount, this mic is ideal for mounting on top of your video camera.

The Stereo Video Mic comes with a dead kitten windshield and at under $400, should be a must for the kit bag.

To accompany a great range of microphones, Rode manufactures a myriad of accessories to improve the broadcast and AV sound recording experience.  Including shock mounts, windshields, boom poles and stands.

The Blimp

One outstanding product Rode has recently introduced is the Blimp

This award-winning windshield is a complete shock mount windshield system for the NTG series microphones, in fact any shotgun microphone up to 325mm.

With an adjustable dual hoop mounting system, Dead Wombat cover and pistol grip, the Blimp is a superb tool for reducing wind and handling noise. Where other similar products will climb over $500, the Rode Blimp comes it at $250, making the choice a simple one.

DROBO Pro - Business Class Storage and Backup

 

Meet your new primary storage, the second  generation of the safe, expandable  Drobo storage robot.  Simple yet powerful Drobo plugs into Mac, PC and Linux systems for redundant data protection without the complexities of RAID. Drobo holds up to 16TB in four drive bays using any combination of 3.5” SATA drives and comes with FireWire 800 and USB 2.0 so you get the protection you need with the speed you want.

In April 2009 Data Robotics unveiled DroboPro with the claim that it was the first “business class” storage array that manages itself. DroboPro is a radically simplified storage facility that incorporates advanced self monitoring and self healing functionality that enables small to medium businesses (SMB’s) to maintain uptime in the face of constant growth. DroboPro offers the user the flexibility to replace failed disks, upsize the capacity of the disks and with one click, switch between single and dual disk  redundancy without costly downtime.

Features of DroboPro at a glance:

• Up to 8 disks for instant expansion to 16TB and beyond- grow storage capacity in line with needs with minimal effort.
• Dual disk redundancy- protects against the simultaneous failure of up to two hard disks.
• Smart Volumes- allows the user to create new volumes in seconds and manage 16TB over time with ease.
• Triple interface featuring iSCSI- attaches directly to a server or workstation that requires storage or to a shared server or workstation on a network.
• Rack mount ready & quiet- can fit into a desktop rack  mount, automatically manages its speed to control cooling and noise.

Talk to the security experts at Team Digital and take the worry out of data storage.

 

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Revolutionary Cintiq from Wacom

“The ultimate interactive pen display that re-defines the interface to your creativity”, that is how Wacom describe their latest graphics tablet the Cintiq 21UX.

From our observations this new release seems to represent a quantum leap in sophistication with a number of features which the creative professional will  surely love. Enhancements include on-tablet programmable express keys and touch strips, increased pressure sensitivity, pen tilt sensitivity, tool ID and compatible with Intuos devices and accessories. The 21.3” wide-vision UXGA TFT LCD is ICC profiled for the most demanding colour needs and the rotating stand lets you freely adjust the inclination and rotation angle of display for easy stroke creation and viewing.

We could wax lyrical about the Cintiq 21UX for ages but you really have to see it to fully appreciate just how good it is. Feel free to pop into our showroom and check it out.

AGDA PRESENTS KRIS SOWERSBY – 16TH JUNE 2009

Kris  Sowersby’s reputation for typeface design has lead to his working with and for, contemporary typographic luminaries such as Christian Schwartz, Erik Spiekermann, Chester Jenkins, House Industries , DNA Design and Pentagram. Kris will be AGDA’s guest presenter on the 16th June at Tiger Lils in Murray St Perth commencing at 6.30pm.  This is a don’t miss event. Team Digital will also be on hand with a display of Wacom’s latest and greatest including the brilliant Cintiq 21UX.

Admission:	AGDA Members	$20
	AGDA Student Members	$10
	Non Members	$40
	Students	$20

See you there.

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Jerry Courvoisier Bound for Perth

Santa Fe Photographic Workshops is an internationally recognised educational institute specialising in training photographers through a range of offerings that include on-campus courses, weekend intensives, National Geographic Traveller seminars and workshops around the world. On the 14th & 15th July 2009 one of Santa Fe’s leading presenters Jerry Courvoisier will be in Perth to deliver a two day intensive hands-on workshop on Adobe Photoshop Lightroom.

The workshop has been formulated specifically for photographers just entering the digital camera realm as well as those who already have one foot in the door. The only qualification required is that attendees be computer literate. Although not being sponsored directly by Team Digital the course will be conducted in our training facilities at Lord St East Perth. Given the reputation of Santa Fe Photographic Workshops, at $395 for the full two day program this seems to us to represent excellent value. For further details and registration go to www.santafeworkshops.com/lightroom    

Current Training Schedule

Make sure you are getting the most out of your time and software. Hone your skills at Team Digital's Training Centre. Click on a course to register.

JUNE
Adobe InDesign - Advanced Tips and Tricks	June 22
Photoshop for Photographers
ProSeries: Raw to Proof (1 Day)	June 16
MasterClass: Photo Effects (1 Day)	June 17
JULY
Adobe InDesign Novice to Intermediate	2nd-3rd
*Please note that there will be no Photoshop courses available until late August 2009

 

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The Canon Flash day held on the 28th May 2009 was the first of what is to be a series of free educational programs presented for the benefit of members of our Digital Village. The Digital Village is our virtual community of I.T and photographic professionals and enthusiast who join to take advantage of discounts on a range of services such as hire, training and technical support. Members of the village are also kept up to date with the latest technology via our regular newsletter and of course can attend our various events free of charge. Membership of the village is itself free and carries with it no obligations whatsoever.

Topics under consideration for the next twelve months include:

Experimenting with print materials Colour managed workflow Location photography An introduction to studio lighting Image security and storage An introduction to Photoshop Nikon flash day

Feedback from readers on preferred topics of interest would be most welcome.

If you would like to become a member of the Digital Village please email Jenny at jenny@teamdigital.com.au , she will be delighted to send you a brochure which includes the application form.

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Bargains Galore

In order to freshen up our inventory we have taken the sharp pencil to a range of equipment that is surplus to our requirements. Serious savings for anyone who finds what they are looking for in our bargains list at www.teamdigital.com.au
If anything takes your fancy give either Ben, Trevor, Peter or Pat a ring and see if you can twist their arm even further.

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Catch You at PMA

Ben Walton and Trevor Donetta will be carrying the flag for Team Digital at this years PMA convention in Sydney from the 25th to the 28th June. They look forward to catching up with all the West Aussies whilst over there. For those of you not going we will have a special PMA round-up newsletter with all the latest and greatest which should hit the airwaves late July.