Vitec takes on exclusive distribution of Sekonic brand in Germany, UK and Amazon EU.

Vitec Imaging Solutions is pleased to announce that they are now the exclusive distributor of Sekonic for Germany, the UK and Amazon EU.

Founded over 60 years ago, Sekonic has become the leader in light measurement and exposure meters, which revolutionised the market. Providing the widest range of light measurement devices for photographers around the world, Sekonic produces tools such as light meters, color meters and illuminometer to help photographers and cinematographers measure and control light for the perfect exposure.

The addition of Sekonic to the portfolio of brands distributed by Vitec Imaging Solutions further strengthens and widens the range of accessories offered by the company. Furthermore, there are opportunities across Vitec's owned and Partner Brands to sell Sekonic products in conjunction with Manfrotto lighting, Avenger and broncolor in the UK.

Sekonic will be distributed within Vitec's Imaging Solutions Division, and the agreement is in line with Vitec's strategy to grow established Partner Brands into additional territories.

During its Q4 earnings call, Apple’s chief financial officer Luca Maestri announced that the company will no longer report unit sales of its main hardware divisions, including iPhone, iPad, and Mac.

As Apple promised Mac OS X will be first to go, merging with iOS codebase. Just look around for all leading developers and that they had been doing last year. Apple expect Mac sales to plummet in numbers next 2 years as they will continue series of price hikes.

Next - Apple will move all new iPhone models into elite niche (2019 models will start at $1399 for cheapest smartphone). iOS will be repositioned and will start to quickly loose market share. Apple also thinks about rising their share in app store up to 45%. In two years time it is expected that Apple app store will have around 35-40% app developers stopping further development and move to Android. iOS ecosystem will still keep most popular applications, Apple own products and set of products made by corporations with close relations to Apple.

Samsung Electronics Co., Ltd., a world leader in advanced semiconductor technology, today introduced two new 0.8-micrometer (μm) pixel image sensors – the 48-megapixel (Mp) Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1 and the 32Mp ISOCELL Bright GD1.

“Demand for ultra-small, high-resolution image sensors are growing as smartphones evolve to deliver new and more exciting camera experiences for users,” said Ben K. Hur, vice president of System LSI marketing at Samsung Electronics. “With the introduction of our cutting-edge 0.8μm-pixel Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1 and GD1 image sensors, we are committed to continue driving innovation in image sensor technologies.”

As cameras are becoming a key distinguishing feature in today’s mobile devices, smartphone makers are faced with the challenge to fit multiple cameras into the sleek designs of their latest flagships. At a reduced pixel size, the new sensors provide greater design flexibility, enabling camera module manufacturers to build smaller modules or pack more pixels into existing designs, and consequently allowing smartphone makers to maximize space utilization in slim, bezel-less smartphones.

The GM1 and the GD1 sensors are based on the company’s latest pixel isolation technology – the ISOCELL Plus* – which optimizes performance especially for smaller-dimension pixels, making them the ideal solution for today’s super-resolution cameras. In addition, thanks to Tetracell technology, where four pixels are merged to work as one to increase light sensitivity, the GM1 and GD1 can deliver light sensitivity equivalent to that of a 1.6μm-pixel image sensor at 12Mp and 8Mp resolution, respectively. The sensors also support Gyro-based electronic image stabilization (EIS) for fast and accurate image capture.

A real-time high dynamic range (HDR) feature is added to the GD1 to deliver more balanced exposure, richer color and detail when filming selfie-videos or streaming live video content even in low-light, high-contrast environments.

The Samsung ISOCELL Bright GM1 and GD1 are expected to be in mass production in the fourth quarter of this year.

IBM (NYSE:IBM) and Red Hat (NYSE:RHT), the world's leading provider of open source cloud software, announced today that the companies have reached a definitive agreement under which IBM will acquire all of the issued and outstanding common shares of Red Hat for $190.00 per share in cash, representing a total enterprise value of approximately $34 billion.

"The acquisition of Red Hat is a game-changer. It changes everything about the cloud market," said Ginni Rometty, IBM Chairman, President and Chief Executive Officer. "IBM will become the world's #1 hybrid cloud provider, offering companies the only open cloud solution that will unlock the full value of the cloud for their businesses.

"Most companies today are only 20 percent along their cloud journey, renting compute power to cut costs," she said. "The next 80 percent is about unlocking real business value and driving growth. This is the next chapter of the cloud. It requires shifting business applications to hybrid cloud, extracting more data and optimizing every part of the business, from supply chains to sales."

"Open source is the default choice for modern IT solutions, and I'm incredibly proud of the role Red Hat has played in making that a reality in the enterprise," said Jim Whitehurst, President and CEO, Red Hat. "Joining forces with IBM will provide us with a greater level of scale, resources and capabilities to accelerate the impact of open source as the basis for digital transformation and bring Red Hat to an even wider audience – all while preserving our unique culture and unwavering commitment to open source innovation."

This acquisition brings together the best-in-class hybrid cloud providers and will enable companies to securely move all business applications to the cloud. Companies today are already using multiple clouds. However, research shows that 80 percent of business workloads have yet to move to the cloud, held back by the proprietary nature of today's cloud market. This prevents portability of data and applications across multiple clouds, data security in a multi-cloud environment and consistent cloud management.

IBM and Red Hat will be strongly positioned to address this issue and accelerate hybrid multi-cloud adoption. Together, they will help clients create cloud-native business applications faster, drive greater portability and security of data and applications across multiple public and private clouds, all with consistent cloud management. In doing so, they will draw on their shared leadership in key technologies, such as Linux, containers, Kubernetes, multi-cloud management, and cloud management and automation.

IBM's and Red Hat's partnership has spanned 20 years, with IBM serving as an early supporter of Linux, collaborating with Red Hat to help develop and grow enterprise-grade Linux and more recently to bring enterprise Kubernetes and hybrid cloud solutions to customers. These innovations have become core technologies within IBM's $19 billion hybrid cloud business. Between them, IBM and Red Hat have contributed more to the open source community than any other organization.

"Today's announcement is the evolution of our long-standing partnership," said Rometty. "This includes our joint Hybrid Cloud collaboration announcement in May, a key precursor in our journey to this day."

With this acquisition, IBM will remain committed to Red Hat's open governance, open source contributions, participation in the open source community and development model, and fostering its widespread developer ecosystem. In addition, IBM and Red Hat will remain committed to the continued freedom of open source, via such efforts as Patent Promise, GPL Cooperation Commitment, the Open Invention Network and the LOT Network.

IBM and Red Hat also will continue to build and enhance Red Hat partnerships, including those with major cloud providers, such as Amazon Web Services, Microsoft Azure, Google Cloud, Alibaba and more, in addition to the IBM Cloud. At the same time, Red Hat will benefit from IBM's hybrid cloud and enterprise IT scale in helping expand their open source technology portfolio to businesses globally.

"IBM is committed to being an authentic multi-cloud provider, and we will prioritize the use of Red Hat technology across multiple clouds" said Arvind Krishna, Senior Vice President, IBM Hybrid Cloud. "In doing so, IBM will support open source technology wherever it runs, allowing it to scale significantly within commercial settings around the world."

Upon closing of the acquisition, Red Hat will join IBM's Hybrid Cloud team as a distinct unit, preserving the independence and neutrality of Red Hat's open source development heritage and commitment, current product portfolio and go-to-market strategy, and unique development culture. Red Hat will continue to be led by Jim Whitehurst and Red Hat's current management team. Jim Whitehurst also will join IBM's senior management team and report to Ginni Rometty. IBM intends to maintain Red Hat's headquarters, facilities, brands and practices.

"IBM's commitment to keeping the things that have made Red Hat successful - always thinking about the customer and the open source community first – make this a tremendous opportunity for not only Red Hat but also open source more broadly," said Paul Cormier, President, Products and Technologies, Red Hat. "Since the day we decided to bring open source to the enterprise, our mission has remained unchanged. And now, one of the biggest enterprise technology companies on the planet has agreed to partner with us to scale and accelerate our efforts, bringing open source innovation to an even greater swath of the enterprise."

Financial Details

The acquisition of Red Hat reinforces IBM's high-value model. It will accelerate IBM's revenue growth, gross margin and free cash flow within 12 months of closing. It also will support a solid and growing dividend.

The company will continue with a disciplined financial policy and is committed to maintaining strong investment grade credit ratings. The company will target a leverage profile consistent with a mid to high single A credit rating. The company intends to suspend its share repurchase program in 2020 and 2021.

At signing, the company has ample cash, credit and bridge lines to secure the transaction financing. The company intends to close the transaction through a combination of cash and debt.

The acquisition has been approved by the boards of directors of both IBM and Red Hat. It is subject to Red Hat shareholder approval. It also is subject to regulatory approvals and other customary closing conditions. It is expected to close in the latter half of 2019.

“While Lexar is eager to pursue the XQD technology, the product availability of XQD has been held up by multiple parties including Sony (who owns the IP) which is preventing us from moving forward. In addition, we are diligently working on future standard of CFexpress through our efforts in the Compact Flash Association and partnerships with key camera manufacturers.”

It is all same again

Burbank, CA -- October 23, 2018 -- Sigma Corporation of America, a leading still photo and cinema lens, camera, flash and accessory manufacturer, is pleased to announce the opening of its brand new west coast showcase in Burbank, California. A modern space for its world-class products, services and support, visitors can experience first-hand the popular Sigma Cine and Global Vision lenses through product demonstrations, seminars and special events. "Having a physical presence in the greater Los Angeles area has long been a vision of ours. The new west coast Sigma center has been years in the making and to finally open it to the public is very exciting," said Kazuto Yamaki, CEO of Sigma Corporation. "We are thrilled to be a part of this creative community, and we look forward to the new relationships Sigma will develop with filmmakers and cinematographers, right in their backyard."

Join Sigma at Its Grand Opening Event!

To celebrate the opening of the Sigma west coast office, Los Angeles area cinematographers and filmmakers are invited to attend the special reception hosted by Sigma Corporation of America on Saturday, November 3rd from 5-8pm PDT. In addition to the open bar with rare sake tasting, scrumptious food from local food trucks, Sigma swag and giveaways, attendees will have a chance to see product demos and a special work showcase by DP Timur Civan as the first official Sigma Cine Pro. As a Sigma Cine Pro, Timur will become a valuable resource to filmmakers, presenting informative lectures, seminars and workshops to cinematographers across the US. He has worked with clients as diverse as Louis Vuitton, Pepsi, Samsung, Toyota, Home Shopping Network, Vox Media and many more. His unique approach and technique are at the cutting edge of visual storytelling, and Sigma Cine lenses are always there to help bring his creative vision to life. Timur will be in attendance and available to answer any questions about Sigma lenses and how they facilitate his creative expression.

Sigma Burbank is located at 148 S. Victory Blvd., Burbank, CA 91502. All interested in attending the Grand Opening reception should RSVP via this link: https://sigmaburbank.eventbrite.com. Space is limited; spots on the guest list are available on a first-come, first-served basis.

About the Sigma Burbank Showcase

The new Burbank facility reflects Sigma's commitment to the filmmaking community with a significant presence in the heart of the US film & television production scene. It offers a modern showroom where filmmakers can test out specific lenses to determine what fits their workflow best and connect with other industry professionals through engaging presentations and workshops. It will bring together Hollywood professionals and the next generation of cinematographers through student filmmaking group mixers, screenings of films shot with Sigma glass, and educational programs from Sigma and its partners. "Our high-end Cine and Art lenses are compatible with the latest full-frame camera sensors and can support workflows up to 8K. As the industry adopts new and advanced standards in image resolution, our technical team will always be available onsite and in the neighborhood to support filmmaker needs," said Mark Amir-Hamzeh, president of Sigma Corporation of America.

Sigma's presence on the west coast is a significant milestone for the company, its Authorized Dealer network and Sigma customers. For the first time its unrivaled service and support can be offered with more convenience for west coast cine and still photo dealers, order fulfilment will be faster than ever, and service appointments can be scheduled immediately with technical representatives available right onsite.

Coverage: EU Team, lead - Igor Drozdovdky

Putting things in proper historical price perspective, these pricepoints on new or slightly older new FF bodies is groundbreaking, what a wonderful time when you can buy a new retail FF Photography bundle for $999 or less...

Is anyone thinking of buying one of the new $999 FF Camera Bodies or bundles, which is way cheaper than newer premium M43 Hybrid or APS-C Hybrid models, to simply have a second body for hmmmm... Photography?

$999 Canon EOS-6D DSLR Camera Body, - Bundle With Shure VP83 LensHopper Camera-Mount Condenser Microphone

https://www.adorama.com/ica6ds.html

$798 Sony Alpha a7 Mirrorless Digital Camera w/Rode Microphones VideoMic Pro R Mic

https://www.adorama.com/isoa7rd.html

The Federal Communications Commission adopted new rules to let television broadcasters use the Next Generation broadcast television transmission standard, also called ATSC 3.0, on a voluntary, market-driven basis.

The Next Generation TV standard will let broadcasters provide consumers with more vivid pictures and sound, including Ultra High Definition television and superior reception, mobile viewing capabilities, advanced emergency alerts, better accessibility features, localized content, and interactive educational children’s content.

Action adopts rules that will allow broadcasters the flexibility to deploy Next Generation TV service while minimizing the impact on consumers and industry stakeholders. The upgraded technology will merge the capabilities of over-the-air broadcasting with the broadband viewing and information delivery methods of the Internet using the same 6 MHz channels presently allocated for digital television (DTV).

Among other things, the Report & Order:

• Requires broadcasters that use Next Generation TV to partner with another local station in their market to simulcast their programming in the current DTV standard, called ATSC 1.0, so that viewers can continue to receive their existing broadcast service without having to purchase new equipment;
• Subjects Next Gen TV signals to the public interest obligations that currently apply to television broadcasters; and
• Requires broadcasters to provide advance on-air notifications to educate consumers about Next Generation TV service deployment and simulcasting.

Today’s ruling comes after several field tests of the technology were conducted in the Cleveland media market. Last year, the Next Generation TV transmission standard was tested during Major League Baseball’s 2016 World Series.

Action by the Commission November 16, 2017 by Report and Order and Further Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (FCC 17-158). Chairman Pai, Commissioners O’Rielly and Carr approving. Commissioners Clyburn and Rosenworcel dissenting. Chairman Pai, Commissioners Clyburn, O’Rielly, Carr and Rosenworcel issuing separate statements.

ATSC 3.0 will require from TV build in feature so broadcaster will be able to turn it on remotely.

Project Smooth Operator

Fantastic Fold

Project Waltz

Fontphoria

Project Fast Mask

Project Model Morph

Project Kazoo

Moving Stills

Project Good Bones

President Trump plans to withdraw from a 144-year-old postal treaty that has allowed Chinese companies to ship small packages to the United States at a steeply discounted rate, undercutting American competitors and flooding the market with cheap consumer goods.

May be he want to talk about absolutely nuts USPS international rates that they hiked almost each year.
Actually logic they used is that "bad international buyers" get all the good stuff.

The U.S. Postal Service says that it now costs less to ship small packages (4.4 pounds or less) from China to the United States than it would cost to ship them between many domestic destinations.

And who constantly increased domestic rates? Btw - to kill small competing business in favor to Amazon who does not pay even any taxes and lives on investors money for almost 20 years.

The withdrawal, announced by the White House on Wednesday, is part of a concerted push by Mr. Trump to counter China’s dominance and punish it for what the administration says is a pattern of unfair trade practices. The White House, in a statement, said “sufficient progress has not been made on reforming terms” of the postal treaty and that it would begin the withdrawal process while seeking to “negotiate bilateral and multilateral agreements that resolve the problems.”

Only result will be big inflation on consumer goods followed by big hikes of prices by large business who won't have competition anymore.

Thing we see unwinding now is part of second stage of such "cheap" monopolies as Amazon. Investors want their money back, fast and with good margin.

While the lower rates were intended to foster development in Asia and Africa, Chinese companies now make up about 60 percent of packages shipped into the country, taking advantage of the lower rates to ship clothing, household gadgets and consumer electronics. Many websites now offer free shipping from China, in part because of the cheap postal rates, administration officials say.

So, actually it is horrible measure made to close the hole that forms after 25% fees.

Note that it'll also impact non Chinese rates and goods. This guys won't stop, they have you by the balls.

Adobe Announces Next Generation of Creative Cloud at MAX 2018

Major Updates to Flagship Apps, Launch of Premiere Rush CC for Social Video and Previews of Photoshop CC and Project Gemini on iPad Accelerate Creative Cloud Innovation and Value

Los Angeles, Calif. --- Oct. 15, 2018 --- Today at Adobe MAX, the Creativity Conference, Adobe announced major updates to Creative Cloud applications including Photoshop CC, Lightroom CC, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC, Premiere Pro CC and Adobe XD. Adobe also introduced Adobe Premiere Rush CC, the first all-in-one, easy-to-use video editing app for social media creators, simplifying video creation and sharing on platforms including YouTube and Instagram. Adobe previewed new iPad versions of Adobe Photoshop CC and Project Gemini, a drawing app, reinforcing the company's commitment to delivering high-performance apps that work seamlessly across surfaces. 

"Today, we unveiled a portfolio of next-generation creative apps that deliver meaningful value to our community by transforming creative workflows across devices and platforms," said Scott Belsky, chief product officer and executive vice president, Creative Cloud at Adobe.   "By continuing to innovate in our flagship apps, extending into exploding segments like experience design and social video content creation, and pioneering in emerging mediums like touch, voice, 3D and augmented reality, Adobe Creative Cloud has truly become the creativity platform for all."

Expanding Innovation Across Creative Cloud Applications and Services

Adobe introduced major updates to its desktop applications, including: a new Content-Aware Fill workspace in Photoshop CC; performance and workflow improvements across Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic; the ability to design with photorealistic, Freeform gradients in Illustrator CC; a powerful Content-Aware Fit in InDesign CC; the power to instantly create and animate unique, stylised puppets using a webcam and reference artwork with Character Animator's new Characterizer; a new rendering engine for improved render preview performance in Dimension CC; and new Sensei powered search features and exclusive content in Adobe Stock, including a new library of clips from GoPro. In addition, Adobe announced it is addressing the needs of the video animation industry with new workflows and integrations across apps including Animate to After Effects, Animate to Character Animator and Adobe XD to After Effects.

Adobe XD, the all-in-one UX/UI solution for designing websites and mobile apps, now features new capabilities leveraging recently acquired Sayspring technology to empower designers to prototype experiences and apps for voice-powered devices like Amazon Echo. New voice capabilities, including voice triggers and speech playback, enable designers to create powerful experience with screen and voice prototyping now in one application. In addition, developers can now leverage Adobe XD APIs to build plug-ins and app integrations that add new features, automate workflows and connect XD to the tools and services designers use every day.

Unleashing Social Video Content Creators with Premiere Rush CC

Designed specifically for online video creators, Premiere Rush CC integrates capture, intuitive editing, simplified colour, audio, and motion graphics with seamless publishing to leading social platforms like YouTube and Instagram, all together in one easy-to-use solution. With Premiere Rush CC, content creators do not have to be video, colour or audio experts to publish professional-quality videos. Premiere Rush CC harnesses the power of Premiere Pro CC and After Effects CC, offers built-in access to professionally designed Motion Graphics templates in Adobe Stock to get started quickly, and features a Sensei-powered, one-click auto-duck feature to adjust music and normalise sound. It also allows access anywhere, enabling users to create compelling video projects -- optimized for social distribution -- on one device and publish from another with a consistent user experience across desktop and mobile. 

Previewing High-Performance Creative Imaging and Drawing Apps Across Devices

Adobe previewed two future mobile apps designed to usher in a new era of multi-surface creation while complementing workflows across Adobe's existing flagship desktop applications:

• Photoshop CC on iPad: Redesigned for a modern touch experience, Photoshop CC on iPad delivers the power and precision of its desktop counterpart. Photoshop CC on iPad will let users open and edit native PSD files using Photoshop's industry-standard image-editing tools and will feature the familiar Photoshop layers panel. With Photoshop CC across devices, coming first to iPad in 2019, you can start your work on an iPad and seamlessly roundtrip all of your edits with Photoshop CC on the desktop via Creative Cloud.
• Project Gemini: A new app designed to accelerate drawing and painting workflows across devices, Project Gemini, coming first to iPad in 2019, combines raster, vector and new dynamic brushes into a single app experience built for drawing. Project Gemini enables artists to use and sync their favorite Photoshop brushes and works seamlessly with Photoshop CC.

Unparalleled Productivity Enhancements with Adobe Sensei

The 2019 release of Creative Cloud delivers over a dozen new Adobe Sensei-powered features and productivity enhancements -- building on dozens of existing Sensei-powered features already available to Adobe Creative Cloud, Document Cloud and Experience Cloud customers. Sensei-powered features in the 2019 release include: 

• An expanded Content-Aware Fill workspace in Photoshop CC that offers greater precision and control to save editors valuable time when working with their images.
• A new Content-Aware Fit feature in InDesign CC that intelligently detects an image and crops or fits it to an image frame automatically.
• New Freeform Gradients in Illustrator CC that enable the creation of natural gradients. 
• A new tool in Character Animator CC, Characterizer, that transforms any style of portrait into a vivid, animated character. 

Designed to make creatives more successful and supercharge their productivity, the 2019 Creative Cloud release delivers significant performance and usability improvements, greater cross-application integration, intuitive collaboration features and faster access to file assets and services. Among the new capabilities, Adobe is optimizing the in-app Start experience to accelerate customer on-boarding with new apps and improve discoverability of new features and product capabilities. 

Additional workflow improvements include a contextually aware Properties Panel in InDesign CC to display options based on the object selected, expanded Undo and auto-resizing in Photoshop CC, a customizable toolbar in Illustrator CC and a modern UI in Bridge CC with support for bulk uploads of libraries. Creative Cloud members also get the all new Adobe Acrobat DC, which provides a completely reimagined way to share work and get it reviewed and approved without sending email attachments or managing version control.

Previewing the Future of Immersive Design

Adobe previewed Project Aero, a new cross-device AR authoring tool that enables creators to design augmented reality experiences. Project Aero is the first AR app built for designers and artists and was first sneaked on-stage at Apple's Worldwide Developer Conference earlier this year. Project Aero enables optimal delivery of AR experiences, empowering creatives to place digital content in the real world. At Adobe MAX, Adobe showcased an AR-powered retail store of the future revealing the exciting possibilities of immersive design experiences.

Empowering Enterprise Customers

Adobe announced deeper integrations between Creative Cloud and Adobe Experience Cloud that unify creative and marketer workflows. With these integrations, brands can now easily access assets in Experience Manager within Creative Cloud apps, Adobe Stock images can be leveraged in Experience Manager, and 3D content designed with Dimension CC can be adjusted in Experience Manager and published as marketing assets. 

For a comprehensive feature summary and overview of Creative Cloud innovation and new features visit: 

• Digital and Creative Imaging: including Photoshop CC, Photoshop CC on iPad, Dimension CC, Project Aero and Project Gemini
• Photography: including Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic   
• Digital Video and Audio: including Premiere Rush CC, Premiere Pro CC, After Effects CC, Audition CC and Character Animator
• Design and Visual Storytelling: including Adobe XD, Illustrator CC, InDesign CC and Adobe Spark
• Services: including Adobe Stock, Adobe Portfolio and Adobe Fonts

Pricing and Availability

Updates to Creative Cloud desktop software are now available to all Creative Cloud subscribers, including membership plans for individuals, students, teams, educational institutions, government agencies and enterprises. Adobe's mobile apps are available for download from the iOS App Store and Google Play.

Photoshop CC on iPad, Project Aero and Project Gemini on iPad will be available in 2019. Spark Post on Android, previously available as a public beta, is now available as a 1.0 app in the Google Play store. 

The all-new Premiere Rush CC, available now on Windows and macOS and via the iOS App Store (Google Play store availability coming in 2019), is offered across a series of plans tailored for customers' unique needs. 

https://joinpeertube.org/en/

https://github.com/Chocobozzz/PeerTube

Sony’s “Alpha Female” Program Launches

“Alpha Female” will feature a Creator-in-Residence program that will award five women photographers and filmmakers a six-month grant to fund projects and activities to help take their careers to the next level. The grant will include $25,000 in funds, $5,000 in product allowance, an additional $5,000 in product loans and a mentorship pairing with one of Sony’s high-profile Artisans of Imagery. These five grantees will also have their work presented at headline exhibits in both the New York and Los Angeles markets.

With the launch of the Alpha Female program, Sony aims to create meaningful change and "elevate diversity in thought and creation." The Alpha Female initiative features a Creator-in-Residence program which will award $25,000 grants (and an additional $5,000 product allowance and $5,000 in product loans) to five women. Applications are now open for the grants which can be used to fund projects and activities that will help the grantees take their careers to the next level. See more details in the press release below and see how to apply at alphauniverse.com/alphafemale.

“Alpha Female” will feature a Creator-in-Residence program that will award five women photographers and filmmakers a six-month grant to fund projects and activities to help take their careers to the next level.

Sony Electronics, Inc. – a global leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer – has today released details regarding their new “Alpha Female” program, the company’s thoughtful response to the imaging industry’s well-known challenges with diversity.

“Sony has been a leader in the industry as it relates to driving diversity and inclusion in our workforce,” said Jennifer Geddy, head of digital marketing at Sony Electronics. “We are bringing that same energy to customers via programs such as Alpha Female. We acknowledge that more work can always be done when it comes to elevating diversity in thought and creation. We win and consumers win when all voices have equal weight.”

A critical component of their newly launched “Be Alpha” campaign, the “Alpha Female” initiative will focus on providing opportunities for creators in the imaging industry to advance their careers, while also generating extensive chances for women professional photographers and videographers of all experience levels to meet, connect and collaborate.

“Alpha Female” will feature a Creator-in-Residence program that will award five women photographers and filmmakers a six-month grant to fund projects and activities to help take their careers to the next level. The grant will include $25,000 in funds, $5,000 in product allowance, an additional $5,000 in product loans and a mentorship pairing with one of Sony’s high-profile Artisans of Imagery. These five grantees will also have their work presented at headline exhibits in both the New York and Los Angeles markets.

In addition to the grant program, Sony will support several female-backed and focused events that aim to push progress for diversity in photography and filmmaking. The company will also fund several projects by female members of their Artisans of Imagery and Alpha Imaging Collective organizations, showcasing the amazing talent and creativity of their brand.

Neal Manowitz, vice president of Imaging Products and Solutions at Sony Electronics, added “Diversity and inclusion are core principles of our company, and we would not be where we are today without this focus. ‘Alpha Female’ gives us the chance to open some very important doors for female creators, while also highlighting the impressive work of our existing roster of ambassadors. It’s a program that we are very proud to stand behind.”

The Alpha Female Creator-in-Residence program will open applications today, and the program’s first-ever class will be announced in early October. For more information visit www.alphauniverse.com/alphafemale.

A variety of additional content related to Sony’s “Be Alpha” campaign, including articles, videos and events, can be found at www.alphauniverse.com/BeAlpha.

Made by Alpha Idiots.

http://www.birtv.com/2018/

Check more photos from exhibition at our Telegram Channel: https://t.me/personal_view

Make sure to support us at - https://www.patreon.com/personal_view

Coverage by our main US Team - Alan Halfhill.

https://www.olympus-global.com/ir/data/pdf/investor_day_2018e_02.pdf?page=ir

The Vitec Group plc ("Vitec" or the "Group"), the international provider of products and solutions to the Broadcast and Photographic markets, announces that it has acquired Rycote Microphone Holdings Ltd. ("Rycote"), for up to £8.5 million in cash.

Based in Stroud, UK, Rycote is a highly respected, market-leading brand, trusted by creative professionals, and a manufacturer of advanced noise reduction equipment for the audio capture market. Audio capture is an integral element in the creation of high quality videos and Vitec's existing customers, whether Broadcasters, Videographers or Independent Content Creators, already buy audio products. There are opportunities across all three of Vitec's divisions to sell Rycote products in conjunction with SmallHD monitors, Teradek transmitters, Flowtech tripods, Anton/Bauer batteries, JOBY GorillaPods and Manfrotto products.

Rycote's unaudited results for the year to 30 April 2018 recorded £3.1 million revenue, with adjusted EBITDA of £0.8 million.

Rycote will become part of Vitec's Creative Solutions Division, led by Nicol Verheem. Simon Davies, Rycote's Managing Director, will remain with the company post acquisition. The acquisition is in line with Vitec's strategy to enter adjacent markets.

Under the terms of the acquisition, the initial cash consideration is £6.0 million on a debt/cash free basis, including deal costs. Up to a further £2.5 million cash consideration will be payable dependent on post-acquisition performance.

Note that it is 10% fees starting October 1 and 25% fees since January 1st.

I hope I'm not making this an unnecessary post.

a nice thought though, I can dream can I?

Apple also warned that OS update after this one can have all of this APIs fully removed.

It seems like preparation to move to iOS based OS and their own ARM based CPUs. It also means that many plugins authors can stop making Mac versions if they do not sell well enough to pay for full algorithms rewrite (this considers OpenCL).

• Oct. 24-25th
• Crowne Plaza DIA, Denver
• 125 manufacturers with direct access to industry experts and local professionals
• Free if you register before Oct. 19th
• http://www.avxpo.biz

For SA lenses they will keep producing few and selling remaining stock.

Note that similar announcement for m43 can appear during 2019.

Fujitsu has developed an image-compression technology that allows it to reduce images to 0.1% of their original size, which will help increase the precision of self-driving systems.

The new algorithm, which draws on Fujitsu's know-how in 4K and 8K video broadcasts, compresses data at a ratio of 1,000-to-1 compared to the more typical 80-to-1. By significantly reducing the volume of data, moving cars will be able to send high-resolution images over the internet to data centers in real time.

In addition, data centers will be able to request specific images when the cars approach signals and intersections.

Compiling big data requires advanced algorithms to trim and compress the data. It is hard for self-driving cars to transmit the data in real time using existing technologies on the market, so it is stored on board instead to be collected later by automakers and others.

But 5G mobile networks, set for commercialization in 2020, will be able to handle far greater data traffic than existing networks and could provide a major boon to self-driving systems. With that in mind, Fujitsu hopes to have a commercial version of its algorithm ready in three years to be marketed to automakers and other companies.

Of course push is on the driverless cars (that won't happen in the long time). But real goal is normal cars.

Olympus opens Perspective Playground at photokina 2018 with commitment to delivering the most mobile camera system

Olympus invites photokina visitors to experience the benefits of their interchangeable lens cameras at the Perspective Playground.

Cologne, 25 September 2018 - In a press conference at photokina 2018, Olympus today emphasized their role as innovation leader in the mirrorless camera segment. Olympus confirmed their commitment to support the personal mobility and spontaneity of photographers with a professional camera system boasting great image quality while still being compact and featuring light weight.

Olympus management members Shigemi Sugimoto and Stefan Kaufmann explained the Micro Four Thirds sensor standard to deliver the best platform for this value proposition and invited all photokina visitors to experience the benefits at the Olympus Perspective Playground at photokina 2018.

For more information on the Olympus Perspective Playground and Olympus' photokina 2018 presence please refer to www.perspectiveplayground.de.

An unauthenticated attacker can exploit this vulnerability to authenticate as an admin user without needing to provide a password, thereby gaining full control of the My Cloud device.

Whenever an admin authenticates, a server-side session is created that is bound to the user's IP address. After the session is created it is possible to call authenticated CGI modules by sending the cookie username=admin in the HTTP request. The invoked CGI will check if a valid session is present and bound to the user's IP address.

Company refused to fix such stupid hole for 15 months!

https://www.securify.nl/advisory/SFY20180102/authentication-bypass-vulnerability-in-western-digital-my-cloud-allows-escalation-to-admin-privileges.html

Venus Optics have unveil 8 new and unique Laowa lenses, including the 25-100 T/2.9 Professional Cine lens, the first professional cinema style zoom lens offered by the company. Together with the 4 new lenses showed earlier in Beijing P&E, a total of 12 new Laowa lenses will make their European debut at Photokina next week.

All 12 new lenses will make their European debut in Venus Optics’ booth (Hall 2.1, D-040) at Photokina, Cologne during 26th-29th Sept. Pricing and ship date are to be confirmed.

Venus Optics Press Release

Venus Optics unveil 8 new & unique Laowa lenses in Photokina, including the 25-100 T/2.9 Professional Cine Lens

Together with the 4 new lenses showed earlier in Beijing P&E, a total of 12 new Laowa lenses will make their Europe debut in Venus Optics' booth in Photokina (Hall 2.1, D-040)

Anhui China, Sept 21, 2018 -- Venus Optics, the camera lenses manufacturer who had previously launched a number of unique Laowa camera lenses, is proud to unveil 8 new and unique lenses in Photokina.

• Laowa OOOM 25-100mm t/2.9 Cine Lightweight Zoom
• Laowa 17mm f/1.8 MFT
• Laowa 12mm f/1.8 MFT
• Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D (DJI DL)
• Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D MFT
• Laowa 7.5mm t/2.1 Cine
• Laowa 9mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine
• Laowa 12mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine
• Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom
• Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO
• Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX Zero-D
• Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye MFT

Laowa OOOM 25-100 t/2.9 Cine Lightweight Zoom

Laowa OOOM Cine lightweight zoom is the first professional cinema style zoom lens offered by Venus Optics. The lens features a wide 25-100mm zoom range, making it a one-size-fits-all lens for different types of productions.

Unlike some cine lens in the market which were re-engineered from a photo zoom lens, Laowa OOOM Cine lens is designed for digital cinematography in the first place. It is truly parfocal, meaning the focus will never shift when you zoom in or zoom back out. It is designed to have nearly zero focus breathing throughout the whole zoom range. The aperture remains fixed at t/2.9 at all focal lengths. 

It is built with the true cinema level mechanics. It comes with a stepless, t-stop independent aperture ring with an industry standard 0.8 mod /32 pitch gears.  The 270° rotation flow provides room or precise focus pulls and the iris is clickless, enabling smooth iris pulls. The lens weighs only 2.16 pounds, which is fairly light for a cinema zoom that holds focus and aperture throughout the focal length range.

Laowa 17mm f/1.8 MFT

Laowa 17mm f/1.8 is a new compact, standard prime designed for Micro Four Thirds cameras and it gives a 35mm-equivalent field of view. The lens houses 9 elements in 7 groups and have a 5-blade aperture for the best sunstar rendering. The lens is extremely compact and lightweight, weighs only 160g (0.36lbs) and is 5cm (2") long. A 46cm filter thread is included and the 15cm minimal focus distance make it a perfect lens for videography.

Laowa 12mm f/1.8 MFT

Laowa 12mm f/1.8 is a new compact, wide-angle prime for Micro Four Thirds cameras and it gives a 24mm-equivalent field of view. The ultra-fast f/1.8 aperture allows photographers to take astro photos with ease. The lens houses 13 elements in 10 groups and a 5-blade aperture. The lens can focus as close as 14cm (5.5") and takes 46mm screw-in filters which gives extra convenience to videographers. It weighs only 165g (0.4 lbs) and its 5cm long (2").

Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D (DJI DL)

Following the successful launch of the super compact and lightweight 7.5mm f/2 MFT lens for DJI Inspire drones (X5 gimbals) during 2017, Venus Optics is proud to introduce another ultra-wide option, Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D DL, to use on DJI Inspire 2 (X7 gimbals). 

Featuring an effective 118° angle of view, the Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D DJI DL is currently the widest available option for DJI Inspire 2 drones with Zenmuse X7 gimbals. The bigger image circle can cover the size of Super35 sensors and the native DL mount allows an easy lens switching. The lens weighs only 215g and it is super tiny and compact. It comes with a 49mm filter thread and features a close-to-zero optical distortion.

Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D MFT

Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D (Micro Four Thirds mount) is the 4th variant added to the existing Fuji X, Sony E and EOS-M mounts. The 9mm lens provides a 18mm equivalent angle of view on the Micro Four Thirds sensor. It also has a better vignetting control over the other variants of the same lens. The close-to-zero distortion will remain unchanged.

Laowa 7.5mm t/2.1 Cine / Laowa 9mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine

The new Laowa 7.5mm and 9mm Cine lenses are the cine-mod version of the existing photo version of Venus Optics best-selling models. Both lenses were re-housed with a step-less aperture rings and focus rings with standard 0.8 mod gears which give videographers extra convenience to use with follow-focus systems. Both of the lenses are the widest available in the market in its class and only weigh 180g (0.4lbs) & 250g (0.55lbs) respectively. Closest focusing distance is both 12cm (0.4 feet). The wide perspective and lightweight makes them the perfect companion for gimbal shooting. MFT mount is available for 7.5mm t/2.1 Cine and Sony E mount is available for 9mm t/2.9 Cine.

Laowa 12mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine (PL)

The new Laowa 12mm t/2.9 Zero-D Cine in PL mount is the cine-mod version of the existing 12mm f/2.8 Zero-D lens. The lens was rehoused with a step-less, t-stop aperture rings and focus rings with standard 0.8 mod gears for iris and focus pulls. It successfully covers the 35mm Vista Vision sensor size and offers an ultra-wide 122° angle of view, making it one of the world's widest and fastest available option for shooting with large sensors.  Despite the ultra-wide field of view, it is perfectly rectilinear and features a close-to-zero distortion rate. The focus flow is extended to 270° for cinematographers to also take advantage of the 0.6 feet (18cm) closest focusing distance. The super lightweight (650g, 1.4lbs) is also an added benefit for cinematographers.

Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom

This lens is currently the widest zoom lens available for Sony full frame E-mount cameras. Designed primarily for travel photography, Venus optics have managed to compress the size to smallest in its class, less than 4 inch (<10cm) and only 1.1 pounds (<500g). The 102° (18mm) to 130° (10mm) angle of view provides flexibility for photographers to compose landscape or architecture photos with ease. The lens houses with 14 elements in 10 groups with 2 aspherical elements & 1 extra-low dispersion element to deliver exceptional performance. It can focus as close as 15cm for some mini-macro shooting. A rear filter slot is included to fit with 37mm filter. A dedicated filter holder is being developed to fit 100mm-wide filters. Click/clickless aperture can be toggled by the switch on the lens barrel. A 5-blade aperture design ensures a pleasing and clean sunstar rendering.

Multiple samples will be available for free rental during Photokina period.

Laowa 100mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO

Followed by the success of the Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro, the 100mm f/2.8 2:1 Macro is the 2nd member of Laowa 2:1 macro line-up. This new 100mm lens can cover full frame sensor size and focus from 2:1 magnification to infinity. The wide magnification range allows macro photographers to capture subject at any sizes. This 100mm portrait lens also features an apochromatic (APO) characteristic that no chromatic aberration can be found.  The 12 elements in 10 groups optics design delivers a crystal sharpness image in both macro and tele distances. Automatic aperture control feature is available for Canon EF version and Aperture coupling is available for Nikon F mount version. 

Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX Zero-D

This is currently the widest available native lens option for Fujifilm G-mount cameras. The new Laowa 17mm f/4 GFX has a field of view equivalent to 13mm in 35mm format (113°). Featuring a close-to-zero distortion and 86mm filter thread, this lens is ideally suited for landscape, architecture & interior photography. The 21 elements in 14 groups design with 2pcs of aspherical & 3pcs of Extra-low dispersion elements successfully help to control the distortion & chromatic aberrations to the minimal. 

Laowa 4mm f/2.8 Fisheye MFT

Featuring a 210° angle of view, this lens delivers unique circular fisheye field of view on Micro four thirds cameras. The ultra-wide angle view allows photographers to create 360° panorama with ease. Despite the unique & ultra-wide perspective, the lens only weighs 0.3 pounds (135g).

Specifications can be found in separate email attachment.

Free Rental Programme

Venus Optics have prepared some copies of the Laowa 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 FE Zoom and Laowa 24mm f/14 Probe lens (Canon) for free rental during Photokina period. For reservations, please contact Venus Optics via contact@venuslens.net.

Availability

All 12 new lenses will make its Europe debut in Venus Optics’ booth (Hall 2.1, D-040) in Photokina, Cologne during 26th-29th Sept. Pricing and ship date are to be confirmed.

Samsung is going to make FF and APSC sensor for Japanese companies.
FF might be manufactured soon for one company and it might be Panasonic.

APSC sensors were already developed and sent to Fuji and Pentax. The sensor is similar to NX1 but improved version. Fuji will get only sensors and Pentax will get ISP package too. Also, both Samsung and Fuji developed a new sensor together(There is an article)

For APSC Samsung sensor, it has…

• 28,2mp
• 6k video
• 10 bit 120fps
• H. 265 codec

The price will be 70% of Sony sensor.

• https://www.clien.net/service/board/park/12582399
• https://www.clien.net/service/board/park/11753895?po=0&od=T31&sk=title&sv=nx&category=&groupCd=&articlePeriod=default&pt=0
• https://www.clien.net/service/board/park/12597328?po=0&od=T31&sk=&sv=&category=&groupCd=&articlePeriod=default&pt=0
• http://www.slrclub.com/bbs/vx2.php?id=samsung_forum&no=331609
• http://www.slrclub.com/bbs/vx2.php?id=newproduct_pentax&no=5026

It is certainly some foundation under this. And it can be related to something happening in the mobile sensors industry.
May be agreement time is ending in 2019.

I do not believe Panasonic will use non-Sony sensor for now, but if they will do it in future models we can safely say that they are doomed.
Knowing Samsung management, they are not Sony and do not respect Japanese intricate dealings too much.

A Nikon do Brasil comunica o encerramento de todas as suas atividades no país.

Em relação à Nikon Instruments no Brasil, as linhas completas de produtos de microscopia, bem como de acessórios e assistência técnica, continuarão a ser oferecidas no país pela empresa BioLab Brasil. Os outros distribuidores para microscópios educacionais e clínicos, Spectrun, Hoven e PMH, permanecerão inalterados e continuarão a atender seus clientes normalmente[1].

Para produtos fotográficos com garantias válidas, é importante enfatizar que os reparos continuarão sendo honrados pelo Grupo Nikon. A assistência técnica e as solicitações de reparo de produtos em garantia deverão ser realizadas pelo site da Nikon do Brasil por meio de formulário online². Equipamentos fotográficos e acessórios que estejam fora de garantia terão os serviços de assistência técnica assumidos diretamente pela marca nos Estados Unidos.

Caso tenha questionamentos corporativos e de imprensa, entre em contato por meio do e-mail: comunicacao.br@nikon.com

Many people look at this like small episode, I suggest to look at this in broader way.

it is big chance that Brazil will be going deeper into energy crisis in coming years, and elites will be able to buy cameras anyway.

Intel intends to give priority to its high-margin products mainly server-use processors and chipsets amid its tight 14nm process capacity, and therefore plans to outsource the production of its entry-level H310 and several other 300 series desktop processors to TSMC, the sources indicated.

Intel has seen its overall 14nm chip supply fall short of demand by as much as 50%, the sources said. Outsourcing has become the only and appropriate choice for Intel since the company is unlikely to build additional 14nm process capacity, the sources noted.

After 10nm process failed miserably management don't know that to do.

Yet we can see here forming of new cartel and foundation for rising CPU prices. We already have cartel agreements in HDDs, RAM and NAND.