Thanks to everyone who participated in our inaugural Canadian Imaging Blog Photo Contest!

And congratulations to our winner, Stacy H, who brilliantly captured our theme – Back to School – with this fantastic shot, titled Thrilled to be Back!

A 24″ x 30″ print is being readied to be sent to your door, Stacy!

We hope to see even more of you jump in for our next round, which will launch October 17 and run until October 30. Our theme will be: Reflection. So get out there and shoot. No matter how you interpret this theme, we want to see your spin!

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We’re putting out the official call for submissions — to any and all interested in seeing their work featured in the Vistek Toronto or Vistek Mississauga Contact 2012 Galleries!

As you know, this annual Photography Festival runs during the month of May each year and offers up tremendous amounts of exposure to those artists displaying their work in one of the, literally, dozens of galleries around the GTA.

If you want to be one of those featured artists, submit up to 20 of your best web-resolution photos to Vistek via email no later than Friday, November 11, 2011. Be sure to include your contact info along with an Artist’s Statement* of approximately 100 words.

* (these are the deets required by the good folks at CONTACT)

• Exhibition Proposal: a concise one-page summary of your exhibition concept and content
• A corresponding list telling us the title and year of production of your work
• Your C.V. or any other pertinent bio info

Email entries to gallery@vistek.ca TODAY!

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Leading Canadian photography magazines, Photo Life and Photo Solution invite North American photographers to submit their best work to the 2011 The World We Live In photo contest.

You can submit your entry via a simple on-line interface until November 30. There is a participation fees are required, but they’re offering special rates for subscribers.

A portfolio of winning images will be published in the February/March editions of Photo Life and Photo Solution magazines. In addition, more than $35,000 in prizes will be dolled out. Don’t miss out!

You can enter in one of two categories: Pro or Amateur in one of the following themes: Humanity, The Environment, Our Interconnected World.

For complete details and to enter the contest, please visit www.photolife.com/twwli

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Have you submitted your Back to School entry yet? Have you voted for your favourite?

You still have FIVE days to do so. After that, we’ll be choosing our winner.  Remember, the photo with the most votes will receive a 24″ x 30″ print to go along with bragging rights!

And for those of you looking forward to next month – our October theme will be: Reflection.

It will, once again, be up to you to interpret our theme as you see fit and enter your best photo between October 17 and November 8.

In the meantime, though – get your entry in for THIS month & vote for your favourite: you’ve got 5 days to do so!

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The August edition of Market News features Vistek’s own— Product Manager, Gary Goldberg. Gary was interviewed for a piece spotlighting the importance of bags – of all sorts – for carrying & protecting your gear.

“With every DSLR purchase comes the need for something to carry it in. And for professionals and enthusiasts, they’ll be looking for sophisticated bags and backpacks to meet their particular needs and design preferences, and accommodate accessories” – Money Bags By Peter K. Burian.

Check out the full article here.

As well, Vistek’s Brian George recounts an interesting sales anecdote in the recurring Tales from the Floor. Check it out!

And, if you fancy taking a look at the entire issue, you can download it right here!

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Things are ramping up and plans are being set in motion for Exposure 2012: Calgary-Banff-Canmore Photography Festival. The event takes place in February and this year’s theme has been announced as: Insight.

Last year’s event saw an increase in attendance and, in fact, broke records in terms of galleries and venues who participated in the annual celebration of photographic arts. In addition to being part of the launch of the Gallery of Alberta Media Art (GAMA) at the EPCOR Centre for the Performing Arts, Exposure saw over 50 emerging artists from across Alberta apply to be part of the Vistek Emerging Photographer Showcase. From the Top Ten, Jeremy Fokkens was awarded a $500 gift certificate from Vistek as well as a feature on the Exposure website (which can be seen by clicking the Emerging Photographer Award section.)

Stay tuned and, as things are announced, we’ll be posting more information right here!

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Have you submitted your entry yet?

You have until October 9, 2011 to get that perfect shot. Simply interpret our theme for this month (Back to School) however you see fit and enter online below!

To the winner will go a 24″ x 30″ print of your photo!

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Photographer/Vistek Staffer Natasha Heredia was kind enough to take the new Samsung NX11 out for a test run. Have a gander at what she thought and check out some sample images!

I tried out the Samsung NX11 camera with the attachable flash and 20mm pancake lens.

Most of my time with it was late afternoon to late night.  I really liked the programmed modes, the light and exposure readings made some really nice results.  Even when using the manual setting it was great; the exposure value is numerical and easy to read in the view finder and you automatically see in the view finder the kind of shot you’re going to get with the current settings.  I also like that you always see what you’re doing on the back as well as through the viewfinder so you don’t have to worry about remembering which button to press to switch, or worse, what menu it’s in.

The iFN option is a new feature; it allows the shooter to make most, if not all, required adjustments without taking their eye away from the viewfinder.  Just tap the iFN button on the side of the lens, use the scroll wheel at your right hand to choose aperture, shutter speed, ISO, scene mode, etc., then move the focus ring at the end of the lens to select f8, 1/125th, ISO200, etc.  It takes a minute or two to get used to, just because it’s habit to look at the digital readout at the top or back of your camera, but is a really handy feature and would be fast once you fully got used to it.  Setting up the entire shot could be quicker and simpler than choosing the right composition!

The camera has some difficulty focusing in low light but that being said, I got some night shots that I’m really very happy with and the little flash is really impressive and that’s just on the standard setting.  Even late at night in full blackness it threw plenty of light to capture the images I wanted without being blurry.

One other setting in particular I liked was the backlit setting in the Scenes menu.  I think that using manual and a couple of test shots I could come up with a better final result but in a pinch or for the amateur user it produces better results than usual.

I also liked the 20mm lens.  Its versatility made it perfect for pretty much all situations except for, of course, those that required zooming… but I could count on one hand with fingers left over the number of times I wished I’d had another lens with me.

There are still lots of things I’d like to play with but overall, I think I could recommend this as a great solo camera for amateurs/enthusiasts or travelers or as a second camera for the more serious shooter.

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That’s right – Vistek has jumped on the digital advertising bandwagon and now brings you flyers online!

Check out all the Summer Clearance Sale deals and savings in this, its inaugural digital-format flyer. Now you’re able to view full product specifications and details with the click of your mouse.  You can also  check out similar or related items, share on Twitter or Facebook as well as create your own personalised shopping list… all while browsing the flyer.

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Nikon introduced today the new J1 and V1 cameras along with four new ultra-portable lenses: the 1 NIKKOR VR 10-33mm f/3.5-5.6 kit lens, 1 NIKKOR 10mm f/2.8 pancake lens, 1 NIKKOR VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 zoom lens and 1 NIKKOR VR 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 power zoom lens.

The revolutionary Nikon 1 is an advanced camera system with interchangeable lenses built on a new set of innovative technologies: a remarkably fast new hybrid Autofocus (AF), Smart Photo Selector that will automatically capture the best possible image as well as tandem high-quality image &  full HD (1080p) movie capture. A new Motion Snapshot mode captures fleeting moments with a combination of moving and still imagery.

The V1 mount is fully electronic, allowing for amazing speed and response.  And while the  J1 features an electronic shutter,  the V1 also features an electronically-controlled vertical-travel focal plane mechanical shutter.

The 10.1 megapixel CX-format High Speed AF CMOS sensor has a 2.7x crop factor which means it’s  half the size of a micro four thirds sensor and only one third the size of the APS-C sensor found in most DSLRs (not to mention 4 times the size of those found in most compact cameras and 2.5 times the size of the 1/1.7″ type found in higher-priced enthusiast compacts.)

 
J1 Key Features

• Built-in flash
• Full HD MOVIE 1080/60i
• Smart Photo Selector mode ensures you will never miss those decisive moments
• Slow Motion Movie 400fps(640×240)/1,200fps(320×120)
• An optional mount adapter allows Nikon 1 cameras to be used with F mount NIKKOR lenses
• The camera is available in five colors, and color-coordinated lenses are bundled with the camera in lens kits
• The top face has a total of only three buttons, while the rear face features a simple mode dial
• LCD monitor with crystal clear resolution. 3-inch LCD monitor with protection glass and a wide viewing angle.(approx. 460k-dot)
• Easy-to-use movie editing software

 
V1 Key Features

• High-resolution, high-contrast electronic viewfinder
• Full HD MOVIE 1080/60i
• Smart Photo Selector mode ensures you’ll never miss those decisive moments
• An optional mount adapter allows Nikon 1 cameras to be used with F mount NIKKOR lenses
• Slow Motion Movie 400fps(640×240)/1,200fps(320×120)
• Available in very iconic color represents design philosophy, solid black and white.
• The top face has a total of only three buttons, while the rear face features a simple mode dial
• LCD monitor with crystal clear resolution. 3-inch LCD monitor with protection glass and a wide viewing angle.(approx. 920k-dot)
• Short motion Creator, Easy-to-use movie editing software

 
The Nikon 1 lineup will be available October 20, 2011
Nikon J1 MSRP: $649.95
Nikon 1 V1 MSRP: $899.95
1 NIKKOR 10mm f/2.8 pancake lens MSRP: $259.95
1 NIKKOR VR 30-110mm f/3.8-5.6 zoom lens MSRP: $259.95
1 NIKKOR VR 10-100mm f/4.5-5.6 power zoom lens MSRP: $779.95
SB-N5 compact speedlight MSRP: $159.95
GP-N100 GPS module MSRP: $159.95
 

View the Nikon 1 Brochure

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