Canon End-of-Summer Rebate (20080831~20081013)

With the release of the 50D specs, Canon needs to clear out its current 40D stock. If you purchase a 40D + EF70-300mm f/4~5.6 IS USM now, you receive an $150 "instant" rebate. The 40D + EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM Kit lens combination currently goes for $1,145.00 on Amazon.com. Admittedly, the instant rebate isn't that great considering the price of the EF70-300mm f/4~5.6 IS USM ($541.47). You might do alot better just getting the kit and then hawking the EF 28-135mm f/3.5-5.6 IS USM on Ebay for ~ $305 or so (which should draw plenty of bids). Then you'll have a nice, sturdy 40D body for only $840 out of pocket.

If you purchase the newer Rebel XSi + EF75-300mm f/4-5.6 III, you get a $100 instant rebate. Right now the Rebel XSi + EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens goes for $699.98 on Amazon, which I think is actually a better deal than the 40D (DPreviews actually calls it a "mini 5D;" and it has a few features that the older 40D doesn't, such as contrast-detect live view). The EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS Lens is very nice, but you could sell it if you already have good glass on Ebay for ~$15 and have the body for $549.98. From what I've read though, this consumer IS len quite nice and magnificently flare-resistant, so you might just want to keep it for the little extra that you pay for it.

Canon usually has another rebate program around Christmas time. I think the previous rebate program before this one--which involved a Pixma printer--was actually the best. I purchased an EOS kit, got the rebates for the printer and the kit, then sold the printer, drastically bringing down my out-of-pocket prices for the EOS body and kit lense.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Saturday, August 30, 2008)

More and more, Asia the place to be to see the cutting edge of architecture. Every day subways stations, train depots, department stores, apartment buildings, and colossal corporate skyscrapers are being torn down to make way for newever, edgier 21-st century megaliths. One unfortunate side-effect of this is that some Asian governments are frenziedly tearing old buildings with much cultural and historical value. What they need is some kind of classical architecture conservation act, which re-tools and re-purposes old buildings for the next generation of use.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Friday, August 29, 2008)

Yesterday afternoon was absolutely beautiful with deep azure skies and fluffy white clouds. But Gustav is headed our way and the rain that was coming in at 45 degrees when I got off work was no joke. It's gonna' be rainy for the rest of the week and therefore I didn't bring my camera to work today.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Thursday, August 28, 2008)

There are quite a few abandoned buildings and ghetto neighborhoods in Houston. I avoid the more dangerous ones (one of my colleagues told me that crews were washing blood off the streets near one ghetto when she got off the bus this morning), but urban decay makes for fascinating photography. This particular photo features blue paint peeling from old wood from an abandoned warehouse that has been left to rot. I could spend all day shooting these patterns. This one is done at F9 and all the wood grain is in high detail even at 100% crop. Enjoy.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Wednesday, August 27, 2008)

I personally love details like this row of windows from a skyscraper in downtown Houston. And apparently, so do my buyers. I posted something similar several days ago and that particular photography has vaulted to the top of its Shutterstock category. Blogging seems to be working great for me.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Tuesday, August 26, 2008)

This bas-relief carving is at least 1,000 years old. Sometimes I wish my home country, the U.S., had stuff this old in terms of "Americana." It's a real trip when you're driving down a street in Asian and pass stuff that was there before America was even a nation.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Monday, August 25, 2008)

This is the Chinese character for "will," as in the "will to do something." Today is also the start of the Democratic Convention. Barack Obama has had the will to get this far, and certainly the potential to be one of our greatest presidents. I hope voters across the nation have the will to see him elected.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Sunday, August 24, 2008)

A close-up of the Wells Fargo Building downtown.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Saturday, August 23, 2008)

Someone punched a couple holes in this Asian paper window.

Microstock Photo of the Day (Friday, August 22, 2008)

Olympic-style torch attached to a building in downtown Houston.

Microstock Photo of the Day (August 20, 2008)

The lighting at the park was perfect on this day last week. Unfortunately, it has been raining this entire week.

Microstock Photo of the Day (August 19, 2008)

I like the windows on this building.

Microstock Photo of the Day (August 18, 2008)

This building is absolutely awesome: all glass and mirrors. Local architecture is one of Houston's saving graces.

Microstock Photo of the Day (August 17, 2008)

How many of you have an old but very nice bridge camera or digicam lying around? I shot this picture with a Nikon 5400, which was the second camera I ever owned. Sure, my Canon 30D blows the Nikon out of the water on almost every count (noise, sharpness, ISO range, dynamic range, etc.), but the Nikon is nicely pocketable and allows me to get shots I would have missed while getting my DSLR out of my bag.

I took this picture before a cloudburst several months ago and it has already sold several times since I uploaded it to Shutterstock. So keep shooting with that DSLR, but be sure to keep your digicam in a pocket or purse for the unexpected.

Microstock Photo of the Day (August 16, 2008)

In Asia, people have such appreciation for the colors of spring that they even have a name for beautiful burnt colors of the foliage during this season. In Korean, it is t'anp'ung, and in Japanese, koyou. I was lucky to get this backlit photo of these leaves this spring, and evoke what I saw a few years ago in Asia in spring.

Microstock Photo of the Day (August 15, 2008)

This photo I did of a Red Cardinal fledgling is still one of my favorite. This little bird was trying to fly. I kept following it around and shooting exposures, while its 2 parents chirped both encouragement and panic to the little bird.

Microstock Photo of the day (August 14, 2008)

Just a simple picture of a building. It just got downloaded at Shutterstock.

Microstock Photo of the Day (August 13, 2008)

As you can see, all the buildings seem to lean inward in this photo. Some photographers don't like this effect, and try to straighten the buildings with Photoshop. I actually prefer it--as long as its not overdone--and intentionally perspective distortion in mind when composing my shots.

Microstock Photo of the Day (August 12, 2008): Making $1.88 from $1

This image sold under the "Shutterstock On Demand" License for $1.88 last night, so I'm real happy about that.

Shutterstock Earnings Update for 20080811: Yesterday was BDE (Best Day Ever) with 27 downloads.

Microstock Image of the Day (August 11, 2008)

One of the first images I took with my 30D and 18-55mm lense a year and a half ago. Just goes to show you that you don't always need to bring out the "L artillery" to shoot microstock if the lighting is right.

Microstock Image of the Day (August 10, 2008)

I love long lenses. This was taken at 300mm in downtown Houston. When you go to this length, all kinds of compositions start popping up that you wouldn't have even considered before.

Microstock Image of the Day (August 9, 2008)

I love subway stations in Asia. Asians have take post-modern art and architecture and run with it.

Microstock Image of the Day (August 8, 2008)

Flowers.

Shoot video... with your Canon DSLR

See this really cool story about Roman Kuhn and who he stitches together JPEG captures from EOS 1D series DSLRs to make commercial videos.

I've never dabbled in footage, and I doubt microstock companies like Shutterstock would accept stitched-together DSLR JPEG capture sequences, but it'd still be fun just to do.

Press here for the link.

Microstock Image of the Day (August 7, 2008)

The paintings from this Buddhist temple were incredible.

Shutterstock 500 Microstock Derby (May, June, and July 2008)

Welcome to the first installment of the Shutterstock 500 Microstock Derby, a competition among former Lucky Oliver contributors to be the first to earn $500 on Shutterstock!

Today we will be tracking the performance of Lucid_Exposure, AnnOverboard, and P-Squared. Let’s have a round of applause!



AnnOverboard got off to a good start in May with 24 downloads and earnings of $6.14, beating P-Squared, and leaving Lucid_Exposure in the dust. However, in June Lucid_Exposure sped by his competitors with 259 downloads and $65 in earnings! With a small but lethal portfolio, AnnOverboard exhibited strong staying power with 151 downloads and $37.87 in earnings. P-squared carried the rear with 28 downloads and $12.00 in earnings. In July, Lucid_Exposure continued to hit the nitro, and came in first again with 417 downloads and $104.25 in earnings! It was BME for the two other competitors as well, with AnnOverboard coming in second with 179 downloads and $88.92 in earnings and P-Squared with 62 downloads and $31.75 in earnings.

Lucid Exposure is 34.5% towards the $500 finish line, AnnOverboard 17.78% there, and P-Squared 6.35%. At this point in the race, everything is up in the air. Will AnnOverboard pull ahead with a lean but mean portfolio? Or will Lucid_Exposure continue with strong and steady earnings? Will P-Squared come from behind and leapfrog them both? Stay tuned for next month’s update to the Shutterstock 500 Microstock Derby!

Shutterstock adds new subscription type: "Shutterstock on Demand"

Shutterstock announced a new kind of subscription today: Shutterstock On Demand. Up until now, buyers had to purchase a subscription plan under which they could download up to 25 images per day. However, if a buyer only downloaded 18 images on a certain day, then he or she would have lost out on 7 images. Shutterstock On Demand allows buyers to download images anytime during a one-year period after paying a fee of $49 or $229. The earnings schedule for contributors has been modified to reflect this new subscription type:

http://submit.shutterstock.com/earnings_schedule.mhtml

I’m quite interested in seeing what Shutterstock can do with this. I used to be a contributor at Lucky Oliver, which targeted the blogger crowd and offered subscription packages starting at a low $20. While there seemed to be great potential for masses of people wanting cheap, legal images, it never took off and Lucky Oliver floundered and went bust. Part of the reason may have been due to faulty marketing and lack of brand recognition.

Microstock Image of the Day (August 6, 2008)

"Caught"

Earnings update for Shutterstock: 17 DLs for both 20080804 and 20080905. Not bad.

Rob Galbraith's update on EOS-1D Mark III autofocus problems

Rob Galbraith has updated his evaluation of the EOS-1D Mark III autofocus. Galbraith says that despite 14 months of hard work, Canon has not managed to make autofocus of moving subjects any more reliable. I wonder if the white-lense photog crowd at the Beijing Olympics will be a little thinner this year? More interesting to me was Galbraith’s comment that the EOS 40D was NOT suited to sports shooting.

Olympus announces new “Micro Four Thirds” system

2008 has been an exciting year for DSLRs and the digital camera industry. While members of the Canon crowd like myself have been disappointed with Canon’s lack of offerings, we’ve been beyond ourselves with excitement at what all the other camera makers have put on the market. Nikon slammed Canon with a triple whammy of the D300, D3, and then the D700, with rumors suggesting that Nikon may continue the assault with even better offering(s) before year’s end. Pentax put out the K200D and K20D. Sony spawned a whole range of sub-$1000-to-pro-level cameras. Sigma put out their DSLR-in-a-digicam-body DP-1. It’s a war out there.

In the middle of all this, Olympus announces its new “Micro Four Thirds” system. They’ve kept the sensor the same size at 18 x 13.5 mm, but excised the mirror, decreased the flange back distance from 40mm to 20mm, and reduced the lens mount diameter from 50mm to 40mm. What does this all mean? Mainly, achieving what the original Four Thirds system should have: smaller camera bodies. Olympus has also said that it will provide adapters so that legacy Four Thirds users do not have to discard their collection of old lenses. Canon: take a hint here and be sure to guarantee backward compatibility next time your upgrade your system. Some former FD-mount users are still pretty angry at you.

See the company’s press release below:

PRESS RELEASE:

Olympus Imaging and Panasonic announce new Micro Four Thirds System standard

Olympus Imaging Corporation (Olympus Imaging) and Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., Ltd. (Panasonic) today announced joint development of technologies and devices for the "Micro Four Thirds System standard," a new standard that extends the benefits of the Four Thirds System standard for interchangeable lens type digital camera systems by enabling dramatic reductions in size and weight. Under the terms of an agreement between the two companies, they will work jointly toward commercial production of significantly lighter and more compact interchangeable lens type digital camera systems.

The global market for interchangeable lens type digital SLR cameras is growing steadily, but still only accounts for a 7% share of the total digital camera market. Considering the much larger share held by interchangeable lens type SLR camera systems when film was the dominant imaging medium, it seems that there is still ample room for sales growth in the category. But compact digital cameras continue to offer an expanding range of features and performance, and market surveys indicate that customers choose compact models because they find digital SLR cameras to be "big, heavy, and difficult to operate."

Recognizing this market trend, Olympus Imaging and Panasonic have introduced products based on the Four Thirds System standard, and have led the industry in bringing features such as Live View and contrast-detection autofocusing systems to interchangeable lens type digital camera systems.

Now, Olympus Imaging and Panasonic are expanding the potential of the Four Thirds System standard even further, enabling the development of radically more compact and lightweight interchangeable lens type digital camera systems based on the Micro Four Thirds System standard. Together with the existing range of Four Thirds System products, the new range of Micro Four Thirds System products will enable customers to enjoy true interchangeable lens type digital camera system performance.

When compared to the Four Thirds System standard, the primary distinguishing characteristics of the Micro Four Thirds System standard are:
1) Approximately 50% shorter flangeback distance (mount-to-sensor distance)
2) 6mm smaller lens mount outer diameter
3) Electrical contacts in mount increased from 9 to 11
*Image sensor diagonal dimensions are the same for both Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards.

The Micro Four Thirds System enables users to enjoy the high image quality benefits of the Four Thirds System's 4/3-type image sensor in a much more compact camera body, and also take advantage of significantly more compact lenses, particularly in the wide-angle and high-power zoom range. The Four Thirds System offers compact, lightweight performance, and the new Micro Four Thirds System will take this even further by making it possible to develop ultra-compact interchangeable lens type digital camera systems unlike anything seen before. The new Micro Four Thirds System also incorporates a greater number of lens-mount electrical contacts, enabling support for new features and increased system functionality in the future.

In addition, users will be able to mount their existing Four Thirds System lenses on Micro Four Thirds System bodies via an adapter.

Moving forward, Olympus Imaging and Panasonic will jointly develop relevant technologies and devices for both Four Thirds System and Micro Four Thirds System standards, and will develop and introduce standards-compliant products in accordance with their respective business strategies.

While continuing to develop Four Thirds System interchangeable lens type digital camera system products, Olympus Imaging will also develop a range of Micro Four Thirds System lenses and accessories, and Micro Four Thirds System camera bodies that are even smaller and slimmer than the light, compact, and widely acclaimed Olympus E-410 and E420.

While continuing to develop Four Thirds System interchangeable lens type digital camera system products, Panasonic will also develop a new generation of compact, lightweight, interchangeable lens type digital camera system products, including ultra-portable camera bodies, interchangeable lenses, and related system accessories.

About the Four Thirds System Standard

The Four Thirds System standard defines design and development standards for interchangeable lens type digital camera systems that fully realize the performance potential of digital technology. Four Thirds System cameras utilize a 4/3-type image sensor that delivers the high image quality expected of interchangeable lens type digital camera systems in a form factor that assures outstanding mobility. The Four Thirds System standard is an open standard that enables bodies and lenses produced by participating manufacturers to exchange information and be used interchangeably with one another.

Image of the Day (August 5, 2008)

If you live in Texas, April 26 of every year is a great way to get a load of free editorial photos for your microstock portfolio. That's when a bunch of clubs and organizations put together the re-enactment of the Battle of San Jacinto, when the Texas militia went medieval on Santa Anna.

Deal Alert: Get 1 FREE roll of film developed on Wednesday at Walgreen's (August 6, 2008)

Have any film laying around? Well, you had better load it into your old film camera and start shooting away.

Walgreen's is offering free development of 1 roll of film this Wednesday.

http://www.walgreens.com/hotbuys/default.jsp?ec=hn574_trouble

Walgreen's has freebies like this several times a year. I'll keep you posted if any more pop up.

Image of the Day (August 4, 2008)

I shot this swatch of primary colors in Houston's Chinatown.

Image of the Day (August 3, 2008)

The George R. Brown Convention Center in Houston, Texas.

Shutterstock earnings update for 20080801: 18 downloads. Average for Fridays.
Shutterstock earnings update for 20080802: 5 downloads, 2 CD back-ups. Saturdays are usually slow.
Shutterstock earnings update for 20080802: 6 downloads, 1 CD back-up. Sundays are usually pretty sluggish, too.

Well, things haven't been too bad for August, considering that this is a traditional slow period for the microstock industry. If I maintain this rate of earnings, I should probably see payout at the end of this month as well.

Image of the Day (August 2, 2008)

The reflections in this scene intrigued me.

Image of the Day (August 1, 2008)

Tall buildings are cool.

Earnings Schedule for July 2008

Earnings kicked booty for July 2008. Whereas, I had been unable to meet the minimum payout threshold of $75.00 at Shutterstock in June 2008 (reaching only $68.57), I easily topped it with $107.88 in earnings for July 2008. If I am able to sustain this rate of earnings, I’ll be seeing payout from Shutterstock every single month here on out, and hopefully that EF 100-400 L that I’ve been eyeing will come within striking range after a year or so. I expanded my portfolio on Shutterstock from 207 to 326 photos, a growth of 57% m-m. Currently, my goal is to add 100 new images to my Shutterstock portfolio per month. Even though the number of images in my portfolio increased, that did not dilute my earnings. In fact, average return per image grew from $.25/image to $.32/image.

I haven’t done anything with Fotolia, and the earnings have been minimal. Sales were certainly better when I had images accepted by Fotolia on a daily basis half a year ago, but I don’t feel that I’m getting a good ROI from this agency. As I had mentioned before, FTP often botches up when I try uploading to Fotolia, resulting in hundreds of duplicate images. I got tired to trying to delete them one by one, and asked the Fotolia support team to mass delete them. They simply said they couldn’t and didn’t try to resolve the problem.

Check back after August 5, 2008, for a first look at the “Shutterstock 500 Derby,” a competition sponsored by Mastering Microstock for the Lost Boys and Gals of Lucky Oliver to see who can reach $500 in earnings on Shutterstock first!

Well, that’s all for today, folks. I wish you a Happy Friday and speedy downloads at all of your microstock sites.