Sunday 22 April 2012

Cineform Neoscene V5 for Canon 600D - No Sound on AVI Files

I've found that although the MOV files produced from the Canon 600D can be processed with Cineform Neoscene in the same workflow that I use for files from the Canon 5D Mark 2 once processed the AVI files produced have no sound in them.

It appears that the older version of Neoscene is not compatible with later Canon MOV files and an upgrade is needed from v1.6 to v5. Fortunately this upgrade is substantially less than the basic software price of $129 and comes in at $49 which at current exchange rates works out about £36.

Neoscene Activation Fails

Having downloaded & installed V5 of Neoscene the next challenge was to activate it. The screens for activation are different from most other software and unhelpfully are not the same as the website. There are two hardware codes given on the Neoscene activation and the activation gives no clue as to which to use. Typically the one chosen was incorrect so for reference the code to use for Activating Neoscene is the ENH code not the STD code.

Firstly you need to go to the Cineform website  www.cineform.com/activate.aspx which
which will allow you to enter your hardware code from above (ENH value) along with your serial number and name. This will generate an email to you with your activation code that needs to be entered into Neoscene to use it once the trial period is over.

Using Neoscene to convert Canon 600D MOV files into AVI resolves the problem of jumpy/jerky video when playing Canon 600D MOV files on your PC and also allows you to edit Canon 600D video footage with Windows Movie Maker.

Saturday 21 April 2012

A Missed Opportunity in Case of Mistaken Identity - Britain's worst wedding photos

The papers today have been full of a story of "the worst wedding photos ever" by a photography company known as Westgate Photography run by Ian McCloskey. Despite the hype that the papers have put on it there are plenty of worse wedding photos when some of the ones shown could have been rescued with some basic editing. Thomas and Anneka Geary paid £750 for their wedding photos which probably gives some idea of the likely quality to expect. The type of story is nothing new and we covered something very similar in our blog about choosing your wedding photographer carefully back in 2010.
Hopefully not the worst wedding photography ever - from one of our weddings

Unfortunately another wedding photographer also trades under the name Westgate Photography and appear at number 1 in Google if you search for Westgate Photography. They appear to have realised the connection and placed a banner stating they are not linked.

However with this perfect opportunity to promote their wedding photography and the benefits of hiring a professional with the right kit, experience and insurance they seem to have totally missed the mark. The most recent post on their blog is 15 February 2012, blogs are so easy to update at very short notice there is no excuse not to react to the latest news if it could benefit your business. With social media and promotion the key is to move fast while the traffic is searching for the story. Wait even 24 or 48 hours and the story is old news and in newpaper terms will be wrapping someones fish & chips.

With the human canonball tragedy that happened a year ago this week the spike in traffic was amazing. Our YouTube channel had over 400,000 hits in just over 24 hours and our daily blog traffic increased 10 times overnight. With a story like the "the worst wedding photos ever" that has been so widely covered across both print media, online and social networks such as Facebook and Twitter the potential promotion loss to Westgate Photography has been huge.

So the moral of the story is - if you see the potential for a story - act fast and make the most of the aspects of the news to promote yourself even if the original aspect could have been negative.

Sunday 15 April 2012

All 3 Canon 5D High ISO Compared - All Three Versions of the Canon 5D Compared Mark 1 - 2 -3

This review gives a comparison of the high ISO noise performance across all 3 versions of the Canon 5D from Canon Mark 1 through Canon 5D Mark 2 and Canon 5D Mark 3.

The Canon 5D went to ISO 1600 as standard and 3200 in Hi
The Canon 5D Mark II went to ISO 6400 and then 12800/25600 in Hi1/Hi2
The Canon 5D Mark 3 goes to ISO 25600 then to ISO 51200 and 102400 in Hi1/Hi2 extended ISO mode

This comparison between ISO performance at ISO 200, ISO 800, ISO 1600, ISO 6400 and ISO 25600. Other ISO values to follow. Where the Canon 5D does not reach the ISO level of the Canon 5D Mark II or Canon 5D Mark III the image from the highest ISO available (ISO3200)

Canon 5D ISO Comparison ISO 200
Canon 5D 1/2/3 ISO Comparison ISO 800
 
Canon 5D ISO Comparison ISO 25600


Leucistic Mottled Blackbird White Feathers

We recently spotted a mottled blackbird in our garden with white feathers. It appears that this is a leucistic Blackbird with the White feathers, similar to albino but with distinct differences such as the eyes not being red.
Leucistic Blackbird  Black White feather blackbird






Leucistic Blackbird - Leucistic Blackbird

Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story Musical at Hazlitt Theatre Maidstone

Airbrush Productions performed Buddy - The Buddy Holly Story Musical at Hazlitt Theatre Maidstone in April 2012. This video was shot during the final show featuring Maybe Baby/Peggy Sue/Heartbeat.


Monday 9 April 2012

Casting for New Series of The Batchelor

THE BACHELOR
Following the success of Channel 5’s hit show we are currently casting for the second series.

Last year, one of the country’s most eligible bachelors, Gavin Henson found love after dating 25 of the most desirable women in the UK, from beautiful models to ambitious career women.

This year there will be a new eligible Bachelor and we’re looking for single ladies who want to find love to take part in the series.  This glamorous dating show involves international travel and a once in a lifetime opportunity to meet the man of your dreams.

We are looking for a variety of single ladies in various professions. If you are ready to meet your Mr right and would like to take part or know of anyone who might be interested please contact us by emailingthebachelor@ricochet.co.uk  or call us on 01273 224 813 now.  We’re looking forward to hearing from you.

Wednesday 4 April 2012

Kodak Digital GEM Airbrush - Won't Load with Adobe Photoshop CS4 Error

For many years I've used Kodak Digital GEM Airbrush as a great tool for smoothing skin on photos following shoots but since I upgraded to Adobe Photoshop CS4 I have been unable to use the plugin as it is not visible in the Filter list. This is being used on Windows Vista 64 bit.

Kodak Digital GEM Airbrush software error working on Photoshop CS4
There was no error message shown and the Kodak Digital GEM Airbrush software installed as normal. Looking online there were various posts that suggested adding the Kodak folder to the Additional filters in Adobe Photoshop CS4 preferences but this made no difference, the Kodak Digital GEM Airbrush was still not available in the list of filters in Photoshop.

Finally I found a post online that reminded me that there were two versions of Adobe Photoshop CS4 that install on your PC when you load the software, the 32bit and also the 64bit version. As I use Windows Vista 64 bit I have only used the 64bit version of Adobe Photoshop CS4.


Kodak Digital GEM Airbrush software working on Photoshop CS4

As soon as I launched the 32bit version of Adobe Photoshop CS4 and checked the filters the Kodak GEM Airbrush was available again. An easy fix and now I don't need to run CS3 in a virtual PC in order to use the Airbrush plug in.

For most editing I will still want to use Adobe Photoshop CS4 to make use of the 8Gb RAM that my PC has but at least the mystery of Kodak Digital GEM Airbrush software is now resolved.