Vistek’s Third Annual Capture Canada contest has officially launched! And with over $20,000 in prizes to be won, you’re definitely going to want to take part.

What does Canada mean to you? Can you freeze-frame it one shot? We challenge you to try. And, with the entire country to work with, the possibilities are endless!

Capture Canada’s distinct personality in an awe-inspiring photo and you could walk away a winner!

One Grand Prize will be awarded to the best overall photograph, and that talented photographer will take home:

• Epson Stylus Pro 3880 Printer
• Nikon D90 Dual Kit with AF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 G VR DX and AF-S 55-200mm f/4.0-5. 6G VR DX IF-ED Telephoto Lens
• Nikon SB-900 Speedlight
• Elinchrom Ranger Quadra To Go Speed “A” Case Set
• Canson 13″x19″ Baryta Photographique 310gsm – 25 Sheets
• Canson 13″x19″ your choice
• UltraChrome Print 16″x24″

Category Prizes (First, Second & Third) will also be awarded to the most outstanding photographs submitted in the fields of Photojournalism, Fine Art, People, Sports & Black and White.

In addition to the sweet prize packages up for grabs, winners will have their work showcased in Vistek’s in-store galleries in January 2011 (bragging rights, anyone?!)

Photos are being accepted now and will be until December 10. Judging will start almost immediately after.

So don’t rest on your laurel, folks… there are a LOT of prizes up for grabs.  Don’t you want to claim a few for yourself?

Get all the details and enter TODAY!

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Why Capture? Create with the Samsung NX10

Touted as the next generation of compact cameras, Samsung’s NX10 is packed to the brim with features. The NX series of cameras offers the performance and image quality of a DSLR and the portability and convenience of a compact point-and-shoot. The camera is quite similar to Micro Four Thirds, only it uses the same APS-C sized sensor as most DSLR cameras.

This first of the NX series is small enough to take anywhere, the perfectly compacted NX10 is reduced in size to maximise portability and convenience, and is combined with a 18-55 mm interchangeable zoom lens for maximum versatility. With advanced features such as Fast and Precise AF (Auto Focus) to capture your moments instantly; and 3.0″ AMOLED display for outstanding colour reproduction, your moments can be captured and images can be created just as you imagine them.

Key features include:

• 15.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor (presumed to be close relation to Pentax K7 sensor)
• 14.6 million effective pixels
• New Samsung NX mount (25.5mm flange-back distance)
• 720P movie capture (H.264, 30 fps)
• Contrast-detect autofocus
• 3.0″ AMOLED screen (614,000 dots, PenTile RGB array)
• 921k dot Electronic Viewfinder

This bad boy is available on its own (with a standard NX 18-55mm  lens), or in three different Kit variations:  with NX 18-55 and NX 50-200mm lenses; with NX 18-55 and NX 30mm lenses; and with NX 18-55, NX 50-200mm and NX 30mm lenses.

Check one out!

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From July 23 – September 26, the exhibition will run in Ottawa City Hall’s Art Gallery – just steps from Parliament Hill!

The show will feature 25 images from  Beautiful Destruction – Alberta Tar Sands Aerial Photographs,  including five select images displayed as 40×60 prints.

Louis Helbig‘s aerial images teeter between documentary and abstract. The tension between their beauty and what they represent — the man-made alteration and destruction of a landscape — stimulates both thought and imagination. The Alberta Tar Sands are a place of superlatives where exaggeration of scale and proportion seems almost impossible. This exhibition is one outcome of a 2008 aerial cross-country journey the photographer and his partner Kristin Reimer embarked on in their antique aircraft, a 1946 Luscombe.

Exhibition runs July 23 to September 26.

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Attention all PAST AND PRESENT part time students!

The time has come for the third annual contest and exhibition of selected images from SPAO’s continuing education community. If you have taken a part time course or workshop at SPAO, you are eligible to enter your work for a chance to have it shown in the Red Wall Gallery as well as displayed on the SPAO website.

Entries for Ottawa’s A+3 Show are being accepted in two categories:

• Silver Gelatin/Alternative Processes
• Digital Imagery

Submission Deadline: 5pm Friday, Aug. 6, 2010
Exhibition Dates: Sept. 10 – 18
Opening & Awards Ceremony: 6 – 9pm | Sept. 10, 2010
Get full submission details HERE.

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Induro’s PHQ3 5-Way Head offers a completely new concept in camera positioning with Quintaxially adjustable movement. Providing dual tilt, base and top plate rotation, and an Arca-Swiss style quick release plate system this head offers photographers full repeatable indexing on five axis for maximum control and flexibility.

Other features include:

• 5 bubble levels, fully graduated scales
• Built-in variable direction Arca-Swiss style QR clamp
• Handles that fold in, for portability

The PHQ3 really has the best features of both a pan head and a ball head. And why adjust 3 ways when you can adjust FIVE? Seriously… 5 directions. That’s some serious precision and control for your tripod. But don’t just take our word – check out this video and see for yourself.

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Ever wished you could surf Hawaii’s Pipeline AND capture it on high def video at the same time? Having a hard time convincing your pals you really did execute that perfect motocross jump? Can’t convince your girlfriend to hold the camera in a tandem skydive jump?

Who needs ‘em? GoPro has launched a wicked line of HD wearable and gear-mountable cameras and accessories. Even better? They’re incredibly affordable. Developed for professional use, but at a consumer price, the HD HERO line of wearable cameras capture full HD video rivaling cameras costing 10x the price.

Not only do these cameras shoot pro quality 1080p / 960p / 720p HD resolutions & record at 30 and 60 frames per second (60 fps in 720p), they also automatically shoot 5MP photos at varying intervals – so you really won’t miss a thing!

So, whether your game is surfing, skiing, cycling, skydiving or just getting crazy, GoPro can kit you out so you can capture all the action.

Check out the full line at Vistek!

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