Canon GEAR GUIDE 2005 - Manual (Page 7)

Nikon
SB-800
Speedlight
$ 334 street
www.nikonusa.com
800-645-6687
With Nikon’s D2 H SLR, the SB-800
communicates the exact color tempera-
ture of its output (which changes with
flash duration) to ensure accurate auto
white balancing; the SB-800’s high-
speed FP mode allows sync speeds of
up to 1/8000 sec; a modeling flash fea-
ture helps confirm lighting; FV-Lock
(Flash Value Lock) lets you preset a flash
exposure, recompose, and maintain
proper exposure of your subject.
Canon Speedlite
580EX
$ 480 street
www.canoneos.com
800-652-2666
Canon’s recently introduced flagship
flash, the Speedlite 580EX, has more
features and additional power, but is
both smaller and lighter than its pred-
ecessor, the 550EX. New capabilities
include wider coverage (to 14mm), full
180-degree swivel in either direction,
seven new custom functions, 25 per-
cent faster recycling times, more
even center-to-edge coverage, and a
broader AF-assist beam that covers
all the AF sensors of every EOS SLR.
Konica Minolta
5600 HS
$ 299 street
www.konicaminolta.us
866-515-0330
Fully compatible with Konica Minolta’s
Maxxum film and hot-shoed DiMAGE
digital cameras, the line-topping 5600
HS offers pros and serious amateurs
unusually weather-resistant construc-
tion that protects against moisture and
dust; high-speed syncing at all possible
shutter speeds; a control lock to pre-
vent inadvertent missettings; a strobo-
scopic modeling light that lets you pre-
view strobe effects—and Konica Minolta
includes a stand to help you take
advantage of the 5600 HS’s TTL-con-
trolled, wireless off-camera capabilities.
Pro-Level Flash Units
slave. Put the AF-500 on-camera as your
main light, or take it off-camera, using its
optical slave for more advanced lighting
setups. (Your SLR’s built-in flash would
be the main light—all Pentax AF SLRs
have one.) Other features to like: a stro-
boscopic modeling light and 2-fps motor-
drive mode (to 20 consecutive pops).
WELCOME THE WACOM
Pentax AF-500 FTX
$ 299 street
www.pentaximaging.com
800-877-0155
Pentax’s top-of-the-line unit
works in either film or digital
arenas, and offers something absent from
most pro-grade flashes: a built-in optical
$
PRO-LEVEL FLASH UNITS: PUT MORE POWER IN YOUR POPS
✚
What “extras” do pros get
for the $300, $350, or $400
they drop on a high-end hot-
shoe flash? More power, for
starters. Nikon’s line-topping
SB-800 Speedlight provides a
Guide Number (GN) of 125
(at 35mm and ISO 100), while
its nearest neighbor in the
Nikon catalog, the SB-600,
tops out at GN 98. In practical
terms, you get more throw,
and/or the ability to shoot at
smaller apertures. The SB-800
also supports full i-TTL wire-
less control of up to three
groups of remote SB-800s
(plus the Master Unit attached
to the camera); each group can
contain an unlimited number of
flash units. How’s that for get-
ting your money’s worth?
No matter how much mousing we do, palming a flat
lump to move a pointer will never be as natural as
using a pen. That’s why a tablet can make such a dif-
ference during retouching. Just like in real life, the harder you press,
the larger and darker your mark, and, unlike the mouse’s relative
relationship to the screen, each point on the tablet corresponds pre-
cisely to a point on the monitor.
Wacom is the ruler of the tablet world. They are the technology’s
innovators, with competing tablets few and far between. Two of their
lines are relevant to photographers: the Graphire3 for enthusiasts,
and the Intuos3 for the serious retoucher. The tablets connect to your
computer via USB, and provide a surface like a super smooth mouse
pad upon which the included wireless mouse and pen tools require
no batteries. The pressure sensitivity of the Intuos is twice that of the
Graphire (1,024 levels vs. 512), but this difference will probably
be imperceptible to the average user. The big differences are
the new ExpressKeys and Touch Strip on the Intuos3. So
conveniently located and programmable, you
might find yourself eliminating the key-
board altogether and doing all your
work from the tablet itself.
● GRAPHIRE3: $100–$200;
INTUOS3: $200–$750; 800-922-9348;
www.wacom.com
★
BEST
BUY
>
GEAR GUIDE 2005
REALLY INTO IT! ▲
GEAR GUIDE CONTINUED FROM PAGE 78
PP12.GEARGUIDE(3).lo 10/18/04 1:01 PM Page 7