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January/February 2009

This Article Features Photo Zoom

SPEEDY ZOOM
Use a faster shutter speed in low light with Sigma’s 24-70mm F2.8 EX DG HSM lens, featuring a constant aperture of ƒ/2.8 throughout its zoom range. The compact lens delivers wide-angle to moderate-telephoto focal lengths, a minimum focusing distance of 15 inches, and a maximum magnification ratio of 1:5.3. Super Multi Layer Coating reduces flare and ghosting, and the Hyper Sonic Motor ensures quiet, high-speed autofocus (or the option to focus manually). List Price: TBA. Contact: Sigma, (800) 896-6858, www.sigma-photo.com.

ADVANCED STROBE
Upgrade your flash photography with the Nikon SB-900 Speedlight. Nikon’s newest flagship Speedlight offers an improved zoom range, with 17-200mm coverage for the FX-format (full-frame), or as wide as 12mm for DX-format SLRs, as well as some new technology. Distinguishing it from older Nikon Speedlights is the variety of three lighting distributions: Center-weighted, for a center-dominant-based flash; Standard, for the same distribution as the SB-800; and Even, which covers the entire frame, from the center to the edges. The SB-900 features wireless i-TTL technology to use off the camera or to sync multiple Speedlights. It also assists with autofocus using the AF assist beam that covers the D3, D700 and D300’s 51 focus points, when used with a 20-105mm focal-length range. Estimated Street Price: $499. Contact: Nikon, (800) NIKON-US, www.nikonusa.com.

DIGITAL PHOTO FILTERS
Replicate the effects of many popular optical filters or choose from more than 2,000 special effects with Tiffen Dfx v2.0 software. Some of the effects include Ambient Light, Close-Up Lens, Haze, High Contrast, Wide Angle Lens—and that’s just the start. Now available as a plug-in for Adobe Photoshop CS4, Dfx v2.0 has easy-to-use multimasking and layering capabilities that can be done without exiting Photoshop, for faster, more efficient processing. Available also as a stand-alone, the plug-in version additionally works for CS3, Elements, Aperture and more. List Price: $299 (plug-in), $99 (stand-alone). Contact: Tiffen, (800) 645-2522, www.tiffen.com.

EASY-ACCESS PACK
Get to your camera quickly during those surprise photo opportunities using the Tamrac Aero Speed Pack 85. When wearing the bag over your shoulder, you can bring it around to the front and use the convenient side-door entry to access your camera. Traditional front-panel access also is an option when the pack is removed. It fits a D-SLR with grip and attached zoom, two to three lenses, and accessories. A foam-padded laptop compartment holds most 17-inch notebooks. List Price: $149. Contact: Tamrac, (800) 662-0717, www.tamrac.com.

BIG TELEPHOTO RANGE
Shoot with the versatile smc Pentax DA* 60-250mm F4 ED[IF] SDM lens, a nice option for a variety of subjects from portraiture to fast-paced action. The zoom covers a 35mm-equivalent focal-length range of 92-383mm. With a maximum constant ƒ/4 aperture across the entire zoom range, the 60-250mm delivers fast shutter speeds, solid depth-of-field control, and extended capabilities for shooting in low light while in the field. List Price: $1,499. Contact: Pentax, (800) 877-0155, www.pentaximaging.com.

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