9:02am is now permanently stuck in my memory.  After a recent trip through Oklahoma City, I had an opportunity for some sight-seeing after the work day was done, so my colleague and I stopped at the first place that came to mind – the site of the Oklahoma City bombing some 16 years ago.

It was a powerful memorial, and while I had always abstractly knew of the tragedy surrounding the events of OKC on that fateful day, seeing the memorial was quite a somber experience.  The site now consists of two walls, one oat each end of an infinity pool, and the marker on each wall with the time-stamp of 9:01 and 9:03, signifying the moment before and after the explosion.  The infinity pool represents the moment frozen in time.

In each wall, along with the time-stamp, is an opening leading to the skies beyond with light pouring through.  With evident symbolism, it was a quiet place where people come to pay their respects to the victims and to remember family and loved ones.  One gentleman I spoke with said that he comes to the site every day to remind him.
The other notable feature of the site is a series of high-backed chairs to the south side of the infinity pool.  With nearly 200 chairs in the chained-off area, there is one chair for each victim.  Taller chairs represented adults, and smaller chairs for children.  There were a lot of shorter chairs.  The whole scene was quite a bit to take in, and I had not expected such a rush of emotion after a day of training.  We left quietly, remembering the day anew.  Yet the residents and surviving friends and families likely remember every single day.  My heartfelt thoughts and prayers go out to those people.

Here are a few of the photos I was able to muster from the experience:

If you take one photo a day, it will take you 10,000 days to become fluent with photography, or 27 years!  One good photo a day means it will take you twenty seven years to become fluent in the field of photography.  Look at how that extrapolates out:

I don’t know about you, but the last time I took sixteen good photos in one day was…well, um, never really!  I could go into a long soliloquy about learning the craft encompassing more than just taking good photos.  And it’s true.  You learn when you take bade photos, because you’ve eliminated a process that doesn’t work.  You also learn from reading articles, books, attending seminars and workshops.  Learning a craft is much more than just one photo, but the math still holds true.  So, even if you spend four hours a day learning about photography, it will be a long time before you are fluent (at least 6 years anyway, right?).

The caveat now is that learning a trade or craft is more than just study and reading – it’s also doing.  So, in all of this, let’s say it breaks down to about 25-25-50 in percentages.  I say this primarily because you learn so much more from doing than studying and reading.  In the field of photography, this means taking pictures.  You have to take pictures (both good and bad) to become a good photographer.  Now comes the stickler – the question that I was asked and is the title of this post:  which photos count?

When learning, and studying your craft, does the crappy iPhone photo count?  The stupid cheesy grin shot you did with your “bff” at the beach?  My answer (surprise surprise) starts with “It depends…”  That’s the first part…the second part is:

What did you learn from that photo?

If the answer is – “I learned that on camera flash works with a portrait and the sun setting behind you”, then yes, it counts!  If the photo is “Well, I learned that on camera flash in a studio shot of a digital telephone doesn’t work too well because of excessive specular highlights”, then hell yeah, it counts!  The converse also holds though too.  If you take a snapshot during your vacation with yourself and your s.o (significant other) at Plymouth Rock, and it never sees the light of day past your refrigerator, then no, it does not count!  If you learn or gain nothing from a photo you took, it doesn’t count.  Here’s some shots from my history that I’ve learned from – can you tell which ones I shot at the beginning of my foray into the most recent?  (Don’t cheat and look at the meta data…which ones are first, middle, and last chronologically?)

This exercise also illustrates that you should never be afraid to also look at the shots you were taking one year ago, or two, or three or five, then compare them to your most recent work.  Do you see an improvement?  Has the gap narrowed between what you “saw” and what the image produced?  If the answer is yes, then who cares whether the photos in between count or not.  As long as you are striving to become better and to speak more fluently.  While trees do matter, it’s helpful to remember they are part of a forest.  Keep expanding the forest with the photos that count – the ones you learn from!

*****

Also, don’t forget the Louisville edition of the Worldwide Photowalk happens tomorrow – there’s still room for a couple more people, so if you wanna join us for walking, talking, shooting, and a beverage afterward – it’s free to join!  Register here by midnight tonight!

Nevertheless, since photos have not been at the forefront, I wanted to dedicate an entire post to sharing some photos from the trip here with you.  So, without further ado, some selects from the trip!

To finish things off, a quick reminder that today is Webinar Wednesday!  Kerry Garrison (Camera Dojo) and I go live tonight at 7pm Mountain Time, 6pm Pacific.  If you’ve got time to stop in and check out the show, or even want to share the info with friends, it’s always free to join!  Here’s the sign-up page…see you tonight!

Did You Know…?

1.  Fog is about 1 stop brighter than what cameras detect as 18% gray?  To compensate for shots taken in foggy conditions, adjust your exposure settings up by about 1/2 – 1 1/2 stops to compensate, otherwise you’ll get underexposed shots.

2.  Cameras are designed for right-handed people…the ergonomics are made to grip and adjust controls with your right hand.  Left-handed shooters have it twice as hard as the rest of us so double kudos to you!

3.  Pentax was actually the first camera vendor slated to release a full-frame DSLR camera, not Canon or Nikon!

4.  As you move light away from your subject, the output drops off by a factor of almost 2 to 1?  (It’s actually technically “double the distance, 3/4ths the output…)  Which means if you move your subject away, you need twice as much light at double the distance to equal the same output…

5.   To shoot a picture of the moon, use the Moony 11 Rule, just like the Sunny 16, but use f/11 and match the ISO to shutter speed

And since I was in Tucson this past weekend, here’s a couple holiday photos to tickle your funny bone…Christmas Tucson-Style:

Santa Turtle

Cactus Cap

Got your own DYK tips or photo nuggets?  Share ‘em here on the blog.  I’ll likely start doing this as a monthly feature and would love to hear the ideas, tips and tricks that others have to share as well.  In the meantime, keep on shooting, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

1. Keep your shutter speed around 3-7 seconds.  Much longer than 7 seconds and the lights will start getting blown out, losing detail.  Much shorter than 3 seconds and your lights won’t have enough detail.
2. Shoot at twilight (or early morning if the lights are still on).  This avoids the problem of needing longer exposures in darker night shots, which can cause #1.  Also, the dark blues in twilight can add some real nice depth and appeal that would otherwise be lacking in darker sky photos.  If you time it right and get clear enough skies, you can also get stars in your images!
3. It should go without saying, but use a tripod – these long exposures are impossible without it.  To this end though, if you don’t have your tripod wrapped in foam, now is the time to do it.  Colder temps can make it downright painful to touch.
4. Don’t try to capture too much – you have a limited window of twilight, so once that’s gone, just enjoy the rest of the evening – most of your shots after twilight won’t be “keepers”
5. Try shooting low to get a different angle, or from above looking down – to get a better “aerial” approach.
6. For the starburst effect without the star filter, drop your aperture down to f16 or smaller – lights will start to exhibit the starburst effect at these smaller apertures.

There’s my 5 tips – but there’s always more where that came from.  What about the rest of the audience?  What tips, tricks, and advice do you have for shooting the holiday lights?  Share ‘em in the comments!  Here’s my sample (there’s more also up on my Flickr photo stream).  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Christmas Lights at Chatfield 1

Christmas Lights at Chatfield 2

Christmas Lights at Chatfield 3

Christmas Lights at Chatfield 4

Christmas Lights at Chatfield 5

Christmas Lights at Chatfield 6

Editor Note:  These were taken at Chatfield, part of the Denver Botanical Gardens, which are decorated every year.  A nice change of pace from shooting the downtown Denver area, and tickets go for $9.50 (adults) and $6.50 (kids).  With lots of lights and diversions for kids including hot chocolate, hay rides and more, it’s definitely worth the price of admission.  Maps, schedules, and additional information are available here.

The Back Story

Colleagues, mentors, tutors, and others in the field can be a hugely helpful influence, and one sage such associate recently told me to shoot more and talk less.  The whole idea of “shut up and shoot” had come back to haunt me!  This is advice I give to others when they approach me – how dare he suggest that.  But then I considered…and in all honesty, the last month or so of photo production had not been as productive as I had wished.  I had excuses of the new job, sure…but the bottom line was that my colleague was right!  I needed to get out and shoot more! So I did just that.  In doing so, I got a few good decent photos together, including one for the desktop download series…

Then, another industry association (although I use that term lightly), is none other than Mr. David DuChemin.  You may recall he paid a visit to the podcast a while back, and occasionally we have had a few exchanges on Twitter, but it’s definitely a one-sided relationship where I learn from him and not vice-versa!   (There I go again with the self-deprecation – someone needs to shock me so I stop doing that!)  Anyway, he reminded me that the whole point of our craft is to share our vision and work with others.  It came through a Twitter exchange when I was giving a compliment to his work by also using my well-known tactic of self-deprecation.  It stuck with me so much, that I’d rather just share his exact words:

Sage Advice from David DuChemin

- and that is exactly what I had not been doing photographically.  Oh sure, test shots from lens reviews, a few sample photos here and there…but nothing really from the inner core that had apparently been needing some voice.  So, with that I decided to go ahead full force – not only with capturing more images, but completing the last of the Desktop Downloads for the year!

The 2010 Desktop Downloads

What’s that?  You don’t know about the Desktop Downloads?  Of course not, because I had been neglecting to share the information with everyone on the regular monthly basis that a new photo for inspiration and enjoyment had been uploaded.  For many months of the year, I was capturing photos and  content to share, and not sharing it!  The legwork behind it was lost in the business.  So, I owe the audience an apology and 12 downloads for the year!  No worries though – you know why?  Because I met my goal for the year!  In going back through each month for the image I had selected, I realized that this was also tied to a “project” I gave myself for 2010 – to shoot more often, and take on more projects.  The goal was one a month, and I did it!  With my personal success finally realized, it’s high time to share that success with everyone else.  For the monthly desktop image for December, you can get click the appropriate link and download for your own inspiration and enjoyment!

Colorado Sunset

1280×1024 px

1024×768 px

To get the rest, simply hit the Downloads page and save for your own desktop wallpaper or screen saver as you prefer… As an aside, there are a couple months I had done the download as a calendar, thinking it would be more functional (May and June), but after toying with the idea for 2 months, decided it detracted too much from the image for my tastes (all due respect to Jeffrey Friedl and his PS plugin that helped produce those months though.).  Nevertheless, with the year far from over (most of December is left for us), I can officially say I met my goal for the year with 12 photo projects.  Already, I’ve shot nearly 20% more than I did last year, because of directed projects and diligence.  Have you met yours?  There’s still time, so get out there and shoot!  Happy shooting and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow…

Editor Note: (Who am I kidding, that’s still me…)  I know the Monthly Newsletter is still not out as promised and I expect that to be out tomorrow as well, so if you’d like to still sign up for that, there’s still time!

This year I had the chance to attend (I missed a few years due to work), and with a new generation of men-in-training to initiate, it was quite the sojurn!  We also dealt with survival skills in the wild – land navigation/compass courses, intentionally over-turning canoes and kayaks to recover, and all sorts of hair-raising experiences for the single-digit aged crowd.  They learned quite a bit!

In all the ruckus, I did manage to sneak my SLR into the forest for what I anticipated to be some possible chances at some nice scenery.  I was not disappointed…here’s a few sample shots from said trip:

In addition to spending some good quality time with family, some “man-bonding” and such, a few decent shots came out of the trip too!  Plus, with my packing list, and preparations for keeping everything dry, as well as some other trip-specific details, a few posts worth of content will likely be coming down the road later this week too!

In the meantime, don’t forget to set your alerts for the first free webinar that Kerry Garrison and I are hosting tomorrow night from our joint venture with Lightroom Dudes.  That starts tomorrow at 6:30pm Pacific, 7:30pm Mountain, and 9:30pm Eastern(More are coming after that for only $20 a session…)  The Denver workshop is also fast approaching , and there are still seats available.  You can register for only $79 here: 

Hope you enjoy the pics, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

May, We Salute You

Brad Lackey

Brittany Jones

KBTImages

moises cervantes

Paul Prior

scrapgeek

SarahinArizona

Travel Photography

whalenmdw

I’m pretty sure the artist name matches with the description and caption, so be sure to stop by not only the LDP pool, but check out these great folks threads and photostreams on Flickr too – lots of great vision and talent out there.  Thanks to everyone for sharing your images with the crowd – it’s always a lot of fun to see new takes on things.

For those interested in seeing your photos “up in lights”, be sure to add them to the group pool over at LDP.  I usually remember to check at or near the beginning of every month for some of the highlight images from the previous month…in this case May!  All were a great thrill to see, so thanks to everyone!  Keep ‘em coming!

Speaking of Flickr, don’t forget the June Contest is underway – and the winner will enjoy the generosity of Lexar’s latest line of CF cards – they contributed 2 4GB Lexar Pro 300X cards to the monthly giveaway, so thanks to them.  These retail for around $70 a piece, so this is almost $150 in prize values!  The theme is FAST because these cards sure are fast at 300x!  Be sure to share your images in the contest thread, and consider Lexar for your memory needs.  B&H is having some pretty good deals these days too, so you may want to check them out for about half off the regular retail price at $44.99!  Check them out here:  Lexar Pro 4GB 300X CF Cards

And finally, with the start of June – we have the image of the month set to a desktop calendar for the most popular screen resolutions – laptops, large monitors and regular monitors.  If you don’t see your resolution listed, send me an email or post in the comments so I can get that size entered and uploaded!. Happy shooting all, and we’ll see you back here again tomorrow!

Desktop  Calendars

• 1600×1200
• 1280×1024
• 1024×768

Additionally, you can also create contextual appeal by the use of negative space too.  See something standing all by itsef, or away from other things?  That’s a picture possibility!  Conversely, something that is amidst other things could be a cue for creative expression.  What if you saw a plastic water bottle among some glass beer bottles?  That could be cool…or what if you had a computer mouse sitting in a mousetrap?  You can create subject and background contextual associations in your own environment too ya know.  Photographers that make good money do it all the time.  (Hint:  that’s called stock photography! )

Here’s a few examples to give you a springboard for creativity.  Find something you like?  Tell me below!  (I love to get feedback on photos just like everyone else…)  Got your own ideas?  Share those below too!  Sound off in the comments, and don’t forget to keep on shooting!  (That Flickr Contest thread is still alive and kicking you know – great chance to win $500 of gear, including a Thinktank bag System and a copy of the Topaz Labs PS Plugin Bundle!)

Trapped Bicycle

Hidden Planter

Hidden Planter

Alcohol Plumbing

Grab the feed

Santa Fe Church

At the Rail Yard

Santa Fe Parking Garage

As you can see, we had a good time.  I wasn’t exactly “focused” on photography as these shots are works in progress, but regardless, I did get the chance to practice a little.  As the old saying goes though, we are always our own worst critic, so I’ll throw the critique doors open to the reading audience too.  Do you like the processing?  Composition?  Technique?  Etc.?  Since some will likely ask, all of these HDR composites were done by pulling into Lightroom, then using the new Photomatix software from HDR Soft.  (Be on the lookout for a review coming up on this latest incarnation too as it’s got some nice advancements and feature additions.)

In other news, keep in mind the latest Giveaway is underway over at the Flickr Group.  You can win the Thinktank Photo Multimedia bag system and a Topaz Labs Photoshop Plugin bundle with a combined retail value of $500 just by submitting your favorite “Think in Color” photo to the Flickr thread!  Until tomorrow, hope all your shots are fun ones!  Happy Shooting!

Also up today, a little shout out to Dave Zarzacki, who owns a like new Canon XSi in mint condition, but just doesn’t need it in his gear bag (he’s trying to round out his collection with an SLR that will take all his current lenses).  It’s a great deal which includes the following:

• XSi body (black) – $640 value from B&H
• Canon 18-55 IS lens – $60 value as part of above kit from B&H
• Tiffen UV filter – $7 value from B&H
• 2 4GB SDHC cards – $25 value from Amazon
• Gary Fong Puffer flash diffuser – $20 value from B&H
• M-Rock Yellowstone bag ($54 value)

Individually, this would sell for over $800 easily, and Dave is only asking for $650 plus shipping.  I know the guy personally and can say that he knows how to take care of gear – this stuff will not have a scratch or scuff and will work as though new.  A great deal for someone starting out!  Any takers?  Drop me a line to get his email address and information.

Finally, for today, the Sigma lenses are in, and I can’t wait to start the review process on these this weekend!  Already found a few features that are just too cool for school!  Some other gear review items are on deck too – but I want to hear from you!  What do you want to learn more about in the way of products, gear, accessories, and such?  Sound off in the comments or with me via email!

Happy shooting all and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Grab the feed

One of my favorites though, is how Adobe integrated a certain type of web gallery – those from Airtight Interactive.  Not sure what the deal was, but the delivery of images via these methods is just amazing!  So amazing, that I had to visit the website of the developer a while back just to see for myself.  The best part is that this guy developed even more than what’s in Lightroom.  I literally could get lost in these viewers, and as a fan of imagery – cannot imagine anyone similarly inclined that would not just love these displays.  Easy to install, a snap to finish, and Adobe Lightroom integration – what’s not to love.  Rather than go into the nitty gritty details, I’d rather just let the products speak for themselves in a few web galleries I put together.  There are four main ones, with three having Lightroom integration:  Simple Viewer, Tilt Viewer, Auto Viewer, and Postcard Viewer.  Each holds appeal for me, and depending on the imagery I am delivering, I can see where each may be the one of choice.

Airtight Simple Viewer

For me, the go-to one is the Simple Viewer though.  Clean, simple, easy lines, and somewhat traditionalist, the simple viewer allows for intuitive and easy navigation while delivering your images with precision and clarity.  This type of display option is great for people who enjoy looking at images, but also don’t want to have to think about how to do anything.  Just click and serve up the next image.  Clean, simple,and to the point.  Artistic types and non-artistic types alike will enjoy this for the ability to rapidly peruse many images fluidly and easily.  No muss, no fuss, just photos!

Here’s a sample gallery from a little photo project I did over the weekend.

Airtight Tilt Viewer

A little tricker to manipulate for the one viewing the show, I can see why Adobe didn’t want to incorporate this one into their web presentation.  Where the Simple Viewer is easy to manipulate for even the most simple-minded, you   actually have to have a little acuity and dexterity to maneuver your mouse to control this slideshow.  I think portfolios that would work well with the Tilt Viewer are ones that are are more edgy and off the beaten path.  The grunge type look is pretty popular right now and these galleries work well in this kind of display because the viewer that comes here is more artistically inclined to begin with, so they probably enjoy the “tilted view”.

Here’s another sample gallery from that photo project I did over the weekend, as well as the preview of it in a browser:

Airtight Auto Viewer

By its own definition, the auto viewer is  “designed to display a linear sequence of images and captions”.  Photo journalists may find the chronological characteristics of their work to fit well in this viewer, as would sequential types of shots.  Event photographers would find some appeal in this also because it delivers up a single image at a time, which gest every image some “face time”, whereas the Simple Viewer is more of a mass display where the viewer can just pick out their favorites to view closer.

Here’s that same gallery viewed in this style.  Because of the nature of this project, it actually may look a little disjointed, but only because I purged out some less than desirable shots before creating each gallery, so there could appear to be gaps.  When approached from a more journalistic approach, that element could easily be managed with more inclusion.  For RSS readers, here’s a snapshot of the gallery in a web browser:

Airtight Postcard Viewer

Here, the gallery has a great blend of classic photo gallery look and feel, while also incorporating a more “regular” sense to it.  The very name “postcard” suggests that anyone could look through this album and feel like they were a part of it.  Journalistic styles and event work would find appeal here again, but this style also lends itself toward the enthusiast or “prosumer” who wants to share their works with family and friends, but wants to do it with panache or style.  My only nit is that you only get one page of photos in either the LR or PS versions so images will extend above or below your page limit.  So, with this in mind, keep your galleries under the 20 count or keep the images smaller.

And finally, the photo gallery from this perspective, and a quick view:

*****

Having seen and read about each flavor, it’s your turn now.  What do you think of this approach toward web galleries?  Any particular favorites out there?  What about other web gallery options?  Any alternative approaches that people find unique or that offer an interesting way to display images?  Sound off in the comments, and let me know what you think – one may just end up getting reviewed!

In the meantime, happy shooting, and we’ll see you back here tomorrow!

Grab the Feed

First off, I’ve done some further tweaking to give a little more consistency and structure to the show for your listening pleasure.  The three segments that I am going to try to regularly stick to will be:

1. News, Events, and Information from around the community and industry – here I’ll share nuggets, information, and other useful snippets from the most recent days and weeks of activity within the photography community.  Sometimes I’ll share information that’s available elsewhere, and other times I’ll offer my own perspectives on the news and events that shape the industry.
2. Authors and Artists from within and related to the industry of photography are also an area I would like to devote some time to since the Thursday Thoughts series has not seen much attention lately (not that I am planning to either – I think it’s just on sabbatical!), and I had the good fortune of actually sitting down with an area professional recently which provided a source of inspiration for this weeks show.
3. Sources of Inspiration – As artists I think we are always searching for and discovering new sources of inspiration.  Often these can come from well known venues such as photography magazines, galleries, and the like, but I am not adverse to featuring unusual or new sources either.  This week, I will be featuring an unusual source of inspiration, so make sure you stop in for this segment too!

To find out why these links are all up and on the blog, make sure to stop over to Personal Life Media and grab this weeks show! For the link grabbers, here you are:

• TWIP on the Panasonic
• The Online Photography on the Panasonic
• PhotoJoJo
• Photographic Dictionary
• Canon Firmware
• Adobe Updates
• One Million Faces
• Peggy Dyer
• One Million Faces Photo Galleries (The first 5 are kinda cool! )
• Sunny 16
• David Ziser

That’s it for today all! Enjoy the show, and we’ll see you back here bright and early tomorrow (well, maybe not so early, as I still have an on-going problem with the sandman! LOL) Happy shooting!

P.S. I am still including a copy of the show locally, so you can grab it from here if you like too. Don’t forget, we still have a poll going on re: Twitter and Blogging, so if you’ve not voted yet, vote here!

The meat segment (aka middle segment) I talk about some new sources of inspiration – specifically the grocery store and in a restaurant. The next time you are at a restaurant, take your camera because the table makes for a great tripod, and you can get some really cool shots. Case in point, is the new gallery I have set up here at the blog, titled Tabletop Photography. I’m also sharing a few sources of inspiration from the grocery store too (tune in tomorrow for those).

The listener questions were really good ones from Meredith and Jason, where I take a look at the value of carbon fiber and the issue of when and where are we permitted to photograph. Last but not least, the photo tip of the week concerns copyright and registering your work, so make sure you stay tuned for that.

Lots of photo goodness to share, so make sure you tune in for the audio, and stop by the blog to pick up the link for the photo gallery. Photos, podcasts, and questions galore. Enjoy the day and we’ll see you back here tomorrow! Happy Shooting!

This year, CB is setting everyone up to succeed…in taking more photos!  Instead of a generic goal, I’ve come up with a way to not only achieve those ends, but also to reward those that do!  Every month, CB will host a new “assignment”.  You can upload your photos to the CB Flickr Group any time you like within that month.  At the end of the month, I will compile a montage of 10 or so images and give accolades here on the blog.  To get things started, I’ve set the themes for the first four months.  Feel free to chime in with your own ideas in that thread, or just start contributing pics!

As always, because Flickr is its own entity, I cannot help protect your images there, so make sure to keep your images at web-friendly resolutions and sizes to protect your copyright (Flickr strips out meta data).

Here’s the nuts and bolts of all the specs:

• HD Video @ 1920×1080 and 30 fps
• SD Video @ 640×480 and 30 fps
• video capture up to 4 GB or 29min, 59 sec
• Video recorded in .MOV format
• Input terminal for microphones
• HDMI output
• 3 Live View Modes
• Peripheral Illumination Correction
• Two Small raw formats
• Silent shooting in Live View
• Integrated Cleaning System
• 21.1 MP
• ISO from 50-25,600 (not a typo!)
• 3.9 fps
• UDMA card compliant
• 15 point auto-focus
• 3″ LCD (920,000 dot resolution VGA)
• 150,000 shutter count cycle
• Price: $2699!!!!!

I guess the only thing that surprises me is the frames per second for still captures.  Yeah okay, it’s capturing 21.1 megapixels and at a full frame, but it is also able to capture 30 fps in HD video!  Why is the still frame rate so slow comparatively speaking (at 3.9 fps)?

That being said, the video features are astonishing, as is the low price point!  I would expect the older Canon 5D’s to drop into the $1000 range shortly…start checking the auction sites!  For the full story that gives all the hype and glamour of Canon news announcements, check out the press release here with all the above shots also in high resolution:

Canon Announces 5D Mark II

Anyone else want to salivate over it with me?  What are your thoughts on this new release?  Will this answer the gauntlet of the D3 that Nikon threw down a short while ago?  I would tentatively say yes – but only time will tell!

Video clips:

http://www.canon-ci.co.kr/product/smov/pop01.html

http://www.canon-ci.co.kr/product/smov/pop02.html

http://www.canon-ci.co.kr/product/smov/pop03.html

http://www.canon-ci.co.kr/product/smov/pop04.html