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As DSLR cameras are becoming more popular so is the topic of lens selection. If you are like me and many other photographers and photography enthusiasts you probably started out with a single, versatile lens. Perhaps this lens came along with the camera in a “kit” or maybe you read some reviews and picked a good one separately. But then you realized that this just isn’t cutting it. After all, one of the main reasons for getting a DSLR is its ability to accept different types of lenses. Also, your existing lens may have some shortcomings. For example, the lens distortion is too noticeable; it doesn’t perform well in low light; it suffers from vignetting, etc. These are just some of the problems with many low-cost (and even some more expensive) lenses, but chances are that before you even start thinking about these specific problems you’re just looking for a greater focal range at your disposal.

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If you think things have been a little quiet on the Gallerama front, think again. After months of research, architecture and development we’re officially announcing that Gallerama is now fully integrated with Amazon’s Award-Winning S3 service. This means that not only are the images of our users safely stored at one of the world’s best and most sophisticated storage facilities, but Amazon S3 is also used for serving all photos from Gallerama member galleries as well.

And this is just the beginning. Stay tuned for the real benefits of this integration. To be announced here very soon.

One of Gallerama’s most popular layouts recently got a sweet update. To compliment the overall rounded look of the design, each of the thumbnails is now displayed with rounded edges. Same goes for the currently selected, large image. Additionally, the improved Zoom functionality is used to enhance the gallery viewing experience and provide greater photo details.

Click to view a gallery using this layout

Our latest (and quite possibly, greatest!) layout, appropriately named BRICK WALL is now available to all Gallerama members. We truly feel that this layout embodies the essence of Gallerama’s uniqueness and elegance in online photography presentations. Eliminating virtually all space around the photos, galleries displayed using the Brickwall layout waste no space on filler content, focusing instead entirely on the photos themselves by covering the entire page with them. To view each photo’s caption, visitors can simply mouse-over the photo.

The enhanced Zoom feature is used for detailed viewing of each photo. Click each photo for a large image which offers email, print (if enabled by photographer) and other links. Sound interesting? See it for yourself and lets us know if you agree.

Click to view a gallery using the Brick Wall layout

My latest (4th or 5th) tripod is certainly a keeper. Read the full report to find out why.

If you’ve ever used a Gitzo tripod – especially one of the modern, carbon fiber ones – you’ll almost certainly agree that its simply in a class of its own. The brilliant design and build quality are sure to please but not all of us can afford (or need) such expensive support gear. I’m guessing this was the thinking of Chinese brand BENRO which has managed to create very high quality near-replicas of the many Gitzo models and make them available at much lower prices. The model that is the topic of this report is the Benro M-028 n6 Carbon Fiber tripod which is a part of Benro’s Mountaineer line, named so after Gitzo’s own Mountaineer series.

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We liked our Zoom feature so much that we went ahead and enhanced it, making it not only more easy to use, but turning it into a much more capable gallery browsing tool! Each zoomed-in photo now has its title displayed, along with controls such as Email Link and Print (if you’ve enabled it). The Previous and Next links also benefited from this update as they now cover the entire image making flipping through the gallery a breeze. Check it out and let us know what you think.

Special thanks Scott Upton (http://www.couloir.org/) and Lokesh Dhakar (Lightbox JS) for the inspiration.

If you’ve read our review of Gary Fong’s Lightsphere flash diffuser, you’ll remember that I decided to return mine and set out to build a flash diffuser myself, one which would match the response of the Lightsphere while providing other features and all for a lot less money.

To recap, there were really only two things I disliked about the Lightsphere: its bulkiness and price. And just to clarify, its not that the $49 Mr. Fong charges for the Lightsphere is a lot of money for something that works well and will get plenty of use, but its that I felt that it was way too much for something that closely resembles the food container used by my local Indian food restaurant and also doesn’t fit into my camera bag. The bulkiness of the Lightsphere also led me to think that if such an instrument needs to be large, then it should have a purpose when packed away in my camera bag. That purpose, I realized, should be to protect my Nikon SB 800 flash unit.

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Gallerama visitors and members can now enjoy viewing all gallery slideshows while being able to control the speed and background color. In addition, controls for navigating through the gallery while in Slideshow mode have also been added and include pausing, starting over, skipping and reviewing previous photos. Give it a try and let us know what you think!

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My favorite local photo store – Adorama – recently sent me one of their email newsletters and this particular one happened to highlight an exciting product from the professional photographer and entrepreneur Gary Fong: Lightsphere.

An innovative flash diffuser, the Lightsphere II Inverted Dome System is claimed to produce results rivaling sophisticated studio-lighting setups at a fraction of the cost while being portable enough to carry around anywhere. On Gary’s website you’ll find a number of good videos showing the power of Lightsphere, its variety of applications and performance under different conditions. Gary himself made an appearance at Adorama recently and showcased his product receiving a great response. A member of the staff told me they sold about a hundred of these in a span of 2 hours during and after Gary’s visit!

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