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It is no surprise that professional photographers and snap-happy amateurs require the highest quality, longest life batteries possible. If you are an aficionado of the hobby, or it happens to be your profession – that’s exactly what you get with the Canon LP-E6 Battery Pack.

This battery pack is a must have for heavy shooters. For those familiar with Canon’s very popular EOS 5D Mark II and its long-running BP-511 series battery, on the surface this battery pack may look the same – but the new lithium-ion LP-E6 battery pack is approximately 30% more powerful than the previous BP-511A – with 1800 milliamp-hours capacity, vs. 1390 mAh for the previous-generation BP-511A.

Far from just a more powerful power supply, this new battery teams up with the EOS 5D Mark II camera in new ways to give photographers a precise outlook on remaining strength of a battery, as well as managing multiple batteries.

It’s a fact that today’s digital SLR users almost always have at least one, and often multiple, spare battery packs for their cameras. But with more than one battery pack, it can sometimes be hard to keep track of whether all batteries are being used fairly evenly (in other words, that one or more aren’t languishing at the bottom of your camera bag), and to have an idea of when you’ve last charged each one.

Using the battery pack with the Mark II, you can actually “register” or memorize each LP-E6 battery pack you own, and keep track of up to six separate batteries right on the camera’s LCD screen. Each LP-E6 battery pack has a microchip with a unique, 8-character serial number. You don’t see this number on the outside of the battery, as it is embedded in the battery’s information source but once the battery pack is installed in the camera, you can register it using a menu command.

The Battery Information displays the information which is extremely useful to the working photographer on location. At a glance, he or she can immediately tell how much remaining battery power is available, and furthermore get information to assist in managing this and other LP-E6 battery packs:

1. Charge Remaining: Special circuits and a memory chip in the battery communicate the precise percentage of charge remaining in the battery, in 1% increments.

2. Shots Taken: At a glance, you can see how many times the shutter has fired using this particular battery, since it was last charged-up. (Please note – this display will never show the total number of times the camera’s shutter itself has fired; it only displays the number of shots taken on this battery charge).

3. Battery Performance: It’s a fact that rechargeable batteries have a finite number of charge-discharge-charge cycles they can go through, after which they can begin to lose their ability to hold a charge. While the LP-E6 should allow photographers hundreds of charge-discharge cycles, it’s useful for the working photographer to know whether a battery pack is nearing the end of its useful life after several years of use. The Battery Performance indicator does just that, with a 4-stage icon.

With 30% added life over previous versions and ‘smart’ features that separate it from the competition, it is not hard to recommend the Canon LP-E6 Battery Pack, available from WarehouseExpress.com and other fine retailers.

SOURCE: WarehouseExpress.com | Canon

Until recently, one quick glance at any movie and you could instantly tell whether or not it had been shot with a ‘professional’ camera, or a store bought camera. A fact made more obvious by the Hi-Definition (HDTV) capabilities of all modern television sets.

But thanks to technological innovation, what was once a truism of the film world happily is no longer the case. Until recently, amateur filmmakers had to grin and bear the fact that the equipment they used would never achieve the same quality, or ‘look’, of the big boys in Hollywood. To achieve the ‘pro look’ on your home movies you had two choices, either spend huge money on a professional grade video camera (which more than a few did), or accept the fact that, as a mere mortal with pockets that do not reach into the many thousands, you simply did the best you could with the equipment at your disposal.

Then, Canon’s Legria HF S100 came onto the market, and the rules of the game changed overnight.

Canon’s Legria HF S100 combines the latest in Hi-Definition technology and User Creativity with the convenience of SD Memory for unlimited expansion. All the expected features are there from 25p Cinema Mode to Custom Key and Dual Shot to Video Snapshot. The Canon Legria HF S100 High Definition Camcorder is the perfect camera for enthusiasts looking for a step up without the professional budgets.

As with many of its products, with the S100 Canon has exclusivity and patents on many of its components and features that make it not only a product leader, but a true innovator as well.

Let’s take a closer look at a few of these:

Canon Exclusive: 1/2.6-inch, 8.59-megapixel Full HD CMOS Image Sensor

The S100 captures 1920 x 1080 High Definition video through its Canon designed and manufactured 1/2.6-inch, 8.59-megapixel HD CMOS image sensor, similar to the CMOS image sensors made famous in Canon’s EOS Series Digital SLR cameras.

The HF S100’s powerful CMOS image sensor provides high color resolution and advanced color reproduction for brilliant results. It is also unique in featuring Canon’s proprietary noise reduction technologies for crisp, sharp images. Low noise technology also means that even in dimly lit scenes, the signal from each pixel is as pure as possible, with minimal noise or other aberrations. It’s the ideal sensor for HD.

1920 x 1080 Full HD Recording

The Canon HF S100 not only captures images in Full HD, but records and outputs at 1920 x 1080 as well, so you get Full HD from lens to screen. Your memories are preserved in stunning clarity, and ready for playback on your HDTV. With the advanced codec in the HF S100, you can also record at the highest AVCHD bitrate of 24Mbps.

Canon Exclusive: SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization

The high-resolution images of HD video demand a steady hand. It’s easier to get those clear, steady images with the HF S100, thanks to Canon’s innovative SuperRange Optical Image Stabilization. It combines gyro- and image-sensors to give image stabilization through a wider range of camera motions. Some image stabilization systems correct one type of camera motion or vibration better than another. But Canon’s SuperRange OIS corrects for a wide range of camcorder motion: the fast vibration you’d experience while recording from a moving car; the medium-speed motion of hand-held recording; and the slower motion of body sway. No matter what you’re recording and how you’re recording it, the HF S100’s stabilization design corrects camcorder shake instantly.

Direct to SDHC Memory Recording

As major manufacturers push headlong in the direction of truly solid-state digital recording of not only standard definition video but the very latest high definition formats, too, we’re seeing an ever-increasing tide of models that offer recording to memory cards (such as SDHC and Memory Stick) and also to flash memory that’s actually hard-wired in to the camcorders themselves. If you’ve been studying the market for any length of time you’ll be aware that it is rapidly killing off other traditional recording media such as DVD and tape; even HDD (hard disc drive) is singing its swansong as a recording/playback medium. If you’re keen to acquire a camcorder which is more future-proof than others, the Legria HF S100 records directly to high capacity SDHC memory cards – a 32GB card can store over 12 hours of HD movies at the most efficient setting.

So for the aspiring Spielberg’s out there, your time has finally come. If you fancy having the ‘pro look’ on your home movies at an affordable starting price of less than £1100, these features and many more come standard on the Canon Legria HF S100 AVCHD Camcorder. Order yours online today!

SOURCE: Canon | WarehouseExpress.com

That IS the question isn’t it?

Sure you’ve been looking at new Graphic Tablets for awhile now, but for some reason never pulled the trigger. Or, you did lay out good money a few years back only to find that the technology was fiddly & lacked durability.

This spring, industry leaders Wacom changed all that with their newest release, the Intuos4. Built for creative professionals, in four different sizes, S, M, L and XL, it delivers probably the most natural drawing experience you can imagine.

The Wacom Intuos4 range takes graphic tablets to the next level with features you will wonder how you ever worked without. The new Intuos 4 OLED display shows you immediately what each customisable ExpressKey does, whilst the ambidextrous design allows the OLEDs to flip their display to match your preferences. At the same time, the Touch ring in the centre lets you scroll menus, zoom and select additional programmeable functions and shortcuts.

Overall, the ability to customise the ExpressKeys and TouchRing are vastly improved and your workflow will instantly find great improvement with graphic editing programmes like PhotoShop CS, Lightroom, Aperture 2 and others. Add to that the increased sensitivity with 2048 levels of pressure and you will be able to edit photos down to the smallest pixel with super fine control. The ability to modify the TouchRing with your favourite shortcuts with a radial menu function will make Intuos4 a pleasure to use on all sides.

Available in 4 different sizes ranging from the Small/A6, Med/A5 and Large/A4 to the professional XLarge/A3 unit, and, in wide format 16:10 to match most screens and software windows.

Discover for yourself where it all begins: Discover the world of Intuos4. Head to WarehouseExpress.com to see the entire Wacom Intuos4 Graphic Tablet product range.

So you bought your first telescope. Welcome to the world of astronomy! Now, what are you going to see with it?

Here’s a compiled (hopefully obvious) list of what’s out there to discover, and what you should expect to find when you do:

- The Moon: The Moon is a target that will show tremendous detail in an decent small scope. Even a telescope as small as 2.4 inches (60mm) will reveal a wealth of detail. You’ll be able to see craters, mountains, “seas”, and a number of other fine details. The Moon rarely disappoints a first-time viewer – as you begin your sweep of the heavens, get used to the functions of your telescope by using the moon as a reference.

- Mercury: Mercury is hard to see because it never gets far enough away from the Sun. If you do manage to locate it, at best you will only see the phase (no surface detail can be seen even with large telescopes).

- Venus: Venus is also is also fairly close to the Sun and harder to see. When you do see it expect only to see its phase in a telescope; no surface detail will be seen since the planet’s surface is permanently hidden by a thick, white atmosphere.

Mars: Mars is easily seen in a small telescope, but often a big disappointment to first time viewers. It only reveals subtle detail when it is close to Earth (and this occurs for a period of about 2 months every few years). When Mars is close to Earth, you might see a white polar cap, and perhaps some surface markings.

- Jupiter: Jupiter is the planet that consistently shows the most detail in amateur telescopes. However, even at high magnification Jupiter will only look about the size of some of the medium sized craters on the Moon. On any given night you’d be able to see cloud bands, the 4 Galilean Moons, and maybe the Great Red Spot.

- Saturn: Saturn will show its glorious rings, but the planet will not look too large even at magnification of around 100x. Keen eyed people (with good viewing conditions) might also spot some subtle cloud bands. Saturn’s largest moon Titan will also be visible nearby but only as a moderately bright dot.

- Uranus: You’ll need to know exactly where to look to find Uranus. At best it will look like a small green dot. Even in large telescopes Uranus shows only as a small, featureless disk.

- Neptune: Like Uranus, you’ll need to know exactly where to look, and at best Neptune will look like a somewhat dim small blue dot (it won’t really look any different than a star). No amateur scope can see any detail on Neptune.

- Pluto: Pluto is out of the question for a small telescope; it generally requires an experienced observer using at least an 8 inch telescope (in a dark sky with a highly detailed finder chart) just to see it as a very faint dot!

- The Sun: You can look at the Sun with a small telescope. However, you MUST USE A SPECIAL FILTER FOR OBSERVING THE SUN WITH ANY TELESCOPE. Failure to do so will result in permanent blindness. DO NOT attempt solar observation unless you are sure you have the correct special equipment AND you know proper procedures. Please adhere to the golden rule when looking at the sun with a any telescope: when in doubt, don’t.

- Stars: Stars will look brighter in a telescope but they will not look any larger. No amateur telescope has anything close to the power required to make a star look larger. They are simply too far away.

- Deep Sky Objects: In addition to planets and the Moon, there are a number of other objects within the reach of a small telescope. These are the so called “deep sky” objects. These include galaxies, star clusters, nebulae, and double stars. However, the quality of the view you will have on these kinds of objects depends to a very large degree on how much light pollution you have in your area. To locate most of these objects you’ll have to use a star atlas (first you’ll have to learn the basic constellations in order to find your way around the sky).

Don’t own a telescope yet? If you know the right brand names to look for, you can find great value at online Astronomy specialist vendors like WarehouseExpress.com.

Quality Telescopes to choose from at WarehouseExpress.com:

The range of telescopes currently in the market is enormous. All shapes, sizes, features and retail prices are well accounted for. We’ve picked three that stand out from the crowd:

The Sky-Watcher Astrolux 3”: A great beginner telescope. An easy to operate reflector telescope which is ideal for the first-time buyer or younger user. Perfect for all-round use, the 76mm aperture gathers 18% more light than a 70mm aperture, making the telescope suitable for simple study of star clusters and nebulas.

Sky-Watcher Explorer-130P (f/650) 5.1”: This telescope offers the true astronomy buff a great package. Highly recommended for the beginner or experienced observer wanting excellent results, from a telescope of decent aperture and of manageable proportions. Whether your interest is Deep-Sky, the Moon and Planets, or a combination of both, the Explorer-130P offers excellent all-round diffraction-limited performance.

Meade ETX 125PE: Two of the biggest challenges when trying to look at the night sky are aligning the telescopes and finding objects. The Meade ETX-125 Premier Edition telescope eliminates these two challenges and makes astronomy as easy as pushing a button right out of the box.

SOURCE: WarehouseExpress.com | astronomy.com

Lighting is a difficult thing to get right without the proper equipment. Even the amateur photographer will be familiar with the annoyances of on-camera flash; washed-out images and a lack of control over the quality or direction of the light is enough to destroy the best-composed image.

To get around that in a professional portrait environment, the experts use ‘studio lighting’. Studio lighting can be broken down into two categories, continuous lighting and flash. Continuous lighting has two main advantages, and there are many disadvantages to its use.

The good points of continuous light:

- It’s inexpensive, and makes a good starting point for anyone on a small budget.

- You can see what the light is doing and where the shadows and highlights are.

The main disadvantages of continuous light:

- It generally produces more heat than light, very uncomfortable!

- The light that it produces is not balanced to daylight.

OK, so what does this mean in practical terms? The heat produced by continuous light in a studio can make both you and your subject uncomfortable. Also, because of the very bright light, it will also have the effect of closing down the iris in your model’s eyes, which it is generally accepted, doesn’t make a good portrait. The photos below show the effect of continuous lighting on the eyes.

Every photographer has taken photos in artificial light and ended up with yellow pictures. To your eyes, the light from a tungsten bulb looks white, but it isn’t. Colour temperature (the colour of the light) is measured in degrees Kelvin, daylight is around 5,600K and a tungsten bulb is more like 3,200K and therefore records on daylight balanced film as yellow.

This can be overcome in three ways: Firstly, you can use tungsten balanced colour film. Secondly, you can put a filter on your lens, which will enable you to use any daylight film. The big problem with these two solutions is that as the tungsten filament in the bulb burns it leaves a small residue on the inside of the glass envelope. This means that the colour of the light gradually becomes more yellow as the bulb ages.

This brings us to the third way to overcome lighting issues: flash.

With a normal on-camera flash there is no way of knowing what the lighting effect will be, other than it will be predictably unpredictable.

Modeling Lamp

In the professional studio, flash units are fitted with a continuous lamp, which can be seen on the photograph below sitting in the centre of the circular flash tube. Because of its position it gives a very accurate indication of the angle and quality that the flash will produce when fired. This makes your lighting easy to set-up, because’what-you-see-is-what-you-get.

As this lamp is relatively low powered you don’t get the heat or brightness problem we talked about with continuous light. The only thing to remember is that the flash will be a much stronger light, so the shadows will be darker and the highlights will be lighter. To trick your eye/brain built-in compensation device when setting up lighting, first close one eye (a camera only has one) then squint through your lashes.

The key to successful studio lighting is, of course, experimentation (no two subjects will ever be the same). There are many ways in which you can light a subject – the options are countless. Once you have acquired some more light sources you can begin to experiment with multiple-bulb lighting, which can produce even more complex, interesting effects.

Experimentation is the key!

SOURCE:  Wikipedia | WarehouseExpress.com

Last year, the Nokia Music Almighty Headset Competition, inviting entrants to design a Nokia bluetooth headset, inspired by their favourite piece of music. They have now been created into fully functional (and semi-wearable) headsets.

The competition attracted almost 8,000 entries in just three months. The winning designs were chosen by a panel of judges including Dick Powell and Basement Jaxx’s Felix Buxton.

All will be on display at the Nokia Regent Street Flagship store in London in April. Check out 3 of the 5 winning designs below -

Inspired by R Kelly’s I Believe I Can Fly by Rodshakur

Inspired by Michael Jackson’s Thriller by Johnny Lighthands

Inspired by Daft Punk's Robot Rock by G Smith

Remember the Polaroid camera? Ok, the author accepts that some (maybe most) of you won’t. But it was super-duper-popular in its day. Like Twitter is now. Ok, not like Twitter. More like Facebook. No that’s too much. Let’s say it was MySpace popular. A lot more useful though.

A bastion of the 60s, 70s and 80s if there ever was; Polaroid created the first ‘instant’ camera (actually invented in 1947) that became ubiquitous with holidays, birthdays and everydays in between for 20 to 25 years, minimum. To get the ‘instant’ picture to develop, as soon as it was ejected out of the camera you shook it as violently as you could for 10-15 seconds. When you were done, hopefully (not always), you had a medium-to-low quality picture captured ‘instantly’ for posterity.

It was seriously high tech in its day.

Guaranteed, there is a Polaroid camera at your parent’s place, somewhere. Unfortunately in 2008 Polaroid discontinued the film used in the camera so there’s no chance you can live the dream and play out your 1979 fantasies for kicks. The Polaroid camera came along at a time when the world was waking up to the potential of technology and everything that ‘new technology’ meant at the time.

Remember the Polavision? Not so much. That’s ok, because no one does either. Not only did Polaroid make instant still-image cameras, but in 1977 they also manufactured a type of little-known instant movie camera, called Polavision. The kit included a camera, film, and a movie viewer. When the movie was shot, it would be taken out of the camera and then inserted into the viewer for development, then viewed after development.

It was awful. Poorly thought out, poorly designed, weighed a ton and was constricted by that rather important ‘space / memory / processing power’ limitation thing that still burdens other technology makers 30+ years later.

But ‘A’ for effort.

In the 90s things changed. Or did they? As the first Digital Cameras came on the scene, the process did get more ‘instant’. You could even ‘see’ the picture you took. Wow. Good luck trying to delete a picture from memory though, as the interface of the first digital cameras were Atari-like in visual extravagance (the author does NOT accept that you do not remember Atari – immediately go buy one on Ebay).

At the dawn of the digital camera era, cameras (again) started out microwave in size, with poor-to-medium quality pictures and still more than a little awkward to use. Things really hadn’t changed much after all.

But that was 15 years ago.

Now, even the most basic digital cameras look like spy cameras from 1977 Bond movies. Size isn’t the issue. For the layman photographer, quality isn’t an issue anymore either. Your average digital camera can pull off decent enough looking photos. Functionality on the other hand, combined with the ability to do double duty with HD video, is the consideration when looking for a new camera now. Why shouldn’t you have both – when for the first time – you CAN have both, without compromise?

You should, because for the first time you affordably can. If you are in the market for a new camera this spring there are a couple new offerings on the market that tick both boxes at a reasonable price.

Canon’s hot off the press EOS 500D certainly fits the bill.

The new EOS 500D features a 15.1 Megapixel APS-C CMOS sensor – ideal for large detailed prints or enormous cropping possibilities. For shooting in near-dark conditions, the EOS 500D offers a high ISO sensitivity up to 3200 which is expandable to 12800, giving photographers the power to shoot in the dimmest light conditions.

Oh, and it’s a brilliant HD video camera as well.

The EOS 500D introduces a new way for photography enthusiasts to get their HD video on. It pairs outstanding still image capture with Full HD 1080P video recording. For longer video shoots, users can also choose lower shooting resolutions of 720P or VGA. A built-in HDMI connection allows easy and instant review of images and movie clips on any compatible HDTV.

Straight up awesomeness. Available at quality retailers in late March.

The Nikon D90 SLR will also rock your world, if you let it. The D90’s 12.3 effective megapixels provides unreal resolution, delivering images with extraordinarily defined detail and expanded enlargement capacity. The extremely wide sensitivity range of ISO 200 to 3200 delivers incredibly low-noise pictures. As long as you don’t shake it violently.

Best of all, the D90 is the world’s first digital SLR camera with a movie shooting function that delivers genuine cinematic results. This is further refined by the optical quality and broad selection of NIKKOR lenses — the same lenses relied upon by professional photographers the world over. Thanks to the D90’s large image sensor, digital movie images exhibit less noise than those of a typical camcorder, especially in low-light situations.

These two lovelies from Canon and Nikon prove beyond any doubt that rumours of the digital camera’s demise are greatly exaggerated. If the era of the Polaroid camera gives any indication of longevity, looks like we have another 10 good years of digital picture taking left in the tank.

No ice age just yet. With HD video coming into play now – we’re just getting warm, actually.

Agree? Disagree? Your thoughts are welcome below.

SOURCE: WarehouseExpress.com | Polaroid

With the integration of wireless Internet on such devices as the iPhone, Blackberry and Google’s Android phone, the past few years have seen an emerging phenomenon of 24/7 connectivity. However, research suggests those who choose to correspond via email, text messages or social networks are prone to health problems and diminished professionalism, as a rush to get a message across supersedes the need for human interaction. The key is to decipher in what circumstances technological advances are necessary and in which we’re better off without them.

Short Text, Long History:

Though the phrase ‘text me’ is now part of the lexicon of modern life, Short Message Service (SMS) actually languished in technological obscurity for more than a decade after the concept was initially developed in the early 1980’s. It was not until 1992 that the first SMS was sent over a UK network and only by the end of 2000 did SMS texts become a regular commercial feature for the majority of contracted users. As SMS quickly became an ever more relevant method of communication with the average Joe, entrepreneurs and professionals were presented with a toy of their own, the Blackberry. Combining the latest mobile phone with a hand held computer, the blackberry gave workaholics access to their emails, office networks and documents, and made it possible to conduct business from anywhere.

Health Risk:

A disturbing side effect of this increasing connectivity has been its effect on face-to-face interaction. It has now become possible to complete your commute without looking at another human being, or attend a dinner party having had fifteen simultaneous conversations with friends who were not actually there. Professor Gayle Porter of Rutgers University led research that signified the health risks of such behaviour, outlining that ‘addiction to technology can be as equally damaging [as chemical or substance addictions] to a worker’s mental health’.

Talkers vs. Texters:

Brand new mobile phones that include a plethora of socially interactive technologies may also be contributing to the higher levels of anxiety and depression amongst teenagers and young adults. In research conducted at the University of Plymouth, Reid & Reid (2004) split an experimental group into ‘talkers’ or ‘texters’ based on a qualitative analysis. They discovered that although the majority of both texters and talkers preferred face-to-face communication, over a quarter of the texters preferred texting – 4 times the number of talkers who preferred texting. Texters were also found to be more socially anxious and lonely than the talkers.

Embellish vs. Displace:

“Social networking sites should allow us to embellish our social lives, but what we find is very different. The tail is wagging the dog. These are not tools that enhance, they are tools that displace.” Dr. Aric Sigman, a biologist, has warned that a lack of human interaction paralleled with innovations in technology could result in a range of health problems, such as upset immune responses, altered hormone levels, malfunction of arteries and a decrease in mental performance.

In the BBC article, Dr. Sigman also cited research in which face-to-face interaction has fallen dramatically since 1987, signifying that modern technologies are hindering the way we interact with other human beings. Advancements in technology should enhance rather than diminish our social lives.

Ease of access vs. Professionalism:

The appeal of email and instant messaging still boasts an obvious answer – It’s free and it’s instant. To avoid busy signals and high phone bills, the internet provides a more cost-effective way to interact with workmates, clients and within a personal context. However, these mediums simply cannot replace real phone conversations or face-to-face meetings in the workplace. A poll on Edutopia has also expressed the concern of social media within an educational environment: “As more and more students immerse themselves in Textspeak over their cell phones and computers, educators worry that their writing skills are suffering. [...] There is concern that students who frequently express themselves in abbreviations and smiley faces may lose the capacity for more nuanced, grammatically correct writing.”

Put simply, a level of formality is needed to gain trust in all three businesses, educational establishments and in individuals. Where businesses cut corners on formal conversations, carelessness in quick correspondence could hinder progress in both our social and professional lives.

Along with popular Nokia mobile phones such as the N95 and E71, the Nokia 5800 Xpress Music has been hailed by consumers as the best handset launched by the Finnish phone giants. Here are three reasons why:

The 5800 became an instant icon, selling 1 million handsets across the globe in the first two months of going on sale.

Blog posts and tweets have also been plentiful, where approximately 11 million articles, reviews and photos have been indexed by Google in the past 3 months. This is almost a third of what the N95 produced in over 2 years, demonstrating just how much of a talking point this phone is.

Finally, a recent poll by the good folks at Nokia asking ‘which new Nokia music phone is your favourite?’ the 5800 captured 56% of the vote, more than double the vote of other new music phones in Nokia’s Xpress Music range, such as the 5730 Xpress Music.

So, is it the best? Have your say here…