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Canon releases firmware to fix 5D Mk II Black Dot IssueYesterday

For Canon 5D Mk II owners, Canon has released a new firmware upgrade to fix the black dot issue and a banding issue that would occur in specific shooting configurations.

From Canon’s website:

Firmware Update Version 1.0.7 improves and mitigates the following two types of image quality phenomena that occur under certain shooting conditions.

1. “Black dot” phenomenon (the right side of point light sources become black)
2. Vertical banding noise

Firmware Version 1.0.7 is for EOS 5D Mark II cameras with firmware up to version 1.0.6. If the camera’s firmware is already version 1.0.7, it is not necessary to update the firmware.

For download information, please visit:
http://web.canon.jp/imaging/eosd/firm-e/eos5dmk2/firmware.html

Podcast #30 - Marc Fuller on SEO for your websiteJanuary 7

Kerry and David sit down with Marc Fuller to discuss search engine optimization and how it can generate traffic and build your brand credibility. Marc also offers a $50 discount on his Kertesz Wordpress theme with the discount code ‘cameradojo.

To check out the theme, go to http://www.thinklikeabride.com/theagency/kertesz/

Show Hosts

Kerry Garrison (http://L7Studios.com)
David Esquire (http://esquirephotography.com)

You can listen to this podcast now using our player widget in the right hand sidebar

This podcast is also available on iTunes.

Podcast #29 - Shooting the Zebra’s Butt with Roberto ValenzuelaDecember 31 2008

In this episode, Kerry and David sit down with Roberto Valenzuela from Beverly Hills, CA who is a remarkably skilled wedding photographer. Roberto talks about getting started and “finding his eye”. Roberto gives some helpful tips on how to practice different techniques to improve your skills.

Links from the show

Roberto’s website (http://www.robertovalenzuelaphotography.com)
WPPI Master Class (http://www.wppionline.com/tradeshow/show2009/speakers.taf?pgm=master)
WPPI Article (http://www.wppionline.com/newsletter/Dec08/member-month.tml)

More shots from Roberto

Lightroom 2.2 Camera ProfilesDecember 26 2008

With the release of Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 2.2, camera profiles are now built in by default. What are camera profiles? Well, let’s look start at the beginning and explain what happens to your images within Lightroom so we have a basis of reference when we get back to figuring out how to use these profiles.

Have you ever imported some RAW files and when you first open the image in Lightroom the image is vibrant and looks great and then all of a sudden the image switches to something that is less sharp and the colors are all bland? If you have seen this phenomenon, what you are seeing initially is the embedded JPEG image being displayed first and then the on-screen image changes to the RAW sensor data image. The reason why there is a difference is that the JPEG images have had your camera settings applied to them before being saved. With Canon camera, this is usually Standard, Faithful, Landscape , Neutral, and Portrait. Other camera brands have similar types of basic settings. Many people complained that the JPEG image was often very nice and it took a lot of work to get your RAW images to look as good as the JPEG image.

To solve this, Lightroom needed to have a way to

20 Best Photography Websites of 2008December 26 2008

2008 was certainly a banner year for photography enthusiasts when it comes to the number and quality of websites that you have to choose from. We certainly appreciate all the visitors here at cameradojo.com and hope we are doing a good job at bringing you good information and we are always thrilled to see our name on lists like this. Now it’s our turn to pay tribute to some of the best sites out there that we read on a regular basis. So here is our list of the 20 best photography sites from 2008 in no particular order.

1. DIY Photography
   (http://www.diyphotography.net)
   Udi does a terrific job at bringing alternative ways of lighting, shooting, and creating light modifiers to people without unlimited budgets.
2. John Nack’s Blog
   (http://blogs.adobe.com/jnack/)
   John is the product manager for Photoshop and almost every day has a new blog entry with something interesting or cool to look at.
3. Photo Business News
   (http://photobusinessforum.blogspot.com/)
   John Harrington writes several times a week with news and information relevant to the busine