<em>Virtual Reality, Character Animation, Sound Innovation Comes To Creative Cloud</em></p>
<p><strong>SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 13, 2016</strong> — The way consumers access and view content has undergone sweeping changes. Media and entertainment companies, along with creative professionals, are under increasing pressure to find new ways to create, deliver and monetize content. They must also adapt to rapidly evolving technology advancements, including high resolution capture, new delivery formats and virtual reality to name a few.  Also, enterprises are dealing with an explosion of content demands from constituencies and need to integrate high-impact content types, like video, into their communications strategies.</p>
<p>Ahead of the National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) Show next week, Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) has revealed new features across its Creative Cloud tools for video editing, motion graphics, audio and collaboration. Media and entertainment companies are combining these advanced content creation capabilities with Adobe Primetime to help deliver TV and video content across screens. With Adobe’s digital marketing tools TV networks and pay-TV providers can drive viewer acquisition, engagement and monetization as audiences embrace “over the top” (OTT) content via connected devices such as Apple TV, Sony PlayStation, Roku and Microsoft Xbox. At NAB, Adobe will demonstrate the updated tools and new workflows at booth #SL3910, South Hall (lower) in the Las Vegas Convention Center and at over 120 partner booths from April 18-21.</p>
<p>Adobe Creative Cloud video tools are becoming the go-to source for film editors of both award-winning Hollywood and indie films. The most recent example is Deadpool, the 20th Century FOX blockbuster which shattered box office records. The post-production team from Deadpool will discuss their state-of-the-art workflows and why they chose Adobe Premiere Pro CC in a Creative Master Series panel at NAB on April 19 from 4:15–5 p.m. PT.</p>
<p>Upcoming productions using Premiere Pro CC include Mindhunter, David Fincher’s new series for Netflix, and 6 Below directed by Scott Waugh and starring Josh Hartnett, which is currently shooting in 6K RED and will be edited natively in Premiere Pro.</p>
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<p>Creative Cloud video tools are also powering a new generation of content delivered via social channels like YouTube, Facebook and Instagram.</p>
<p>“The videos we make at RocketJump are pure entertainment,” said Freddie Wong, Founder of RocketJump, the hybrid studio/production company behind the popular RocketJump YouTube channel with nearly 8 million subscribers and 1.3 billion views. “We’ve been users of Adobe’s Creative Cloud for years and love the new features coming soon. In addition to editing native footage in Premiere Pro and creating awesome visual effects in After Effects, we use Photoshop for graphics, Audition to sweeten audio, Media Encoder to export content, and now Creative Cloud Libraries to share assets.”</p>
<p><strong>Immerse Yourself In Creativity </strong></p>
<p>Adobe continues to deliver technology that opens unimagined creative opportunities for video and film production, and now, immersive experiences. In the next release of Creative Cloud –- available in early summer — Premiere Pro CC will add new virtual reality capabilities, including “field of view” mode for spherical stitched media.  In addition, thanks to Adobe Stock integration into CC apps, customers are already experiencing productivity increases of 10 times, when adding stock content into creative projects, including video*. In the upcoming release, Adobe Stock will have enhanced connections with CC apps and new workflows will enable Adobe Bridge and Lightroom users to contribute to the Adobe Stock marketplace directly from within the application.</p>
<p>Other feature highlights coming soon to Creative Cloud include:</p>
<ul>
<li><strong>Edit immediately during ingest</strong> allows Premiere Pro CC users to get straight to work, while importing their video and audio files in the background.</li>
<li><strong>Powerful proxy workflows</strong> in Premiere Pro CC and Adobe Media Encoder CC enable users to easily work with heavy 8K, HDR and HFR media, so editors can switch between native and proxy formats freely – even on lightweight machines.</li>
<li><strong>Enhanced Lumetri™ Color tools</strong> within Premiere Pro CC adds HSL Secondaries to expand the editor’s toolkit for making color correction and adjustment easier for all filmmakers.</li>
<li><strong>New video and audio preview engine</strong> in After Effects CC delivers superior playback of cached frames for a smooth experience.</li>
<li><strong>Easier and more efficient Character Animator</strong> includes a simplified puppet creation process that enables users to easily tag puppet layers easily and record multiple takes of a character’s movement. Users can animate puppets to respond to motion and trigger animation accordingly.</li>
<li><strong>New Essential Sound panel</strong> in Audition CC enables anyone to mix audio content with professional results.</li>
<li><strong>Quickly find Adobe Stock assets</strong> with new filtered search in Creative Cloud Libraries. Licensed assets in your library are now badged for easy identification, videos are displayed with duration and format information, and saved videos are linked to video previews on the Adobe Stock site.</li>
</ul>
<p>“There’s rapid change happening in the digital landscape with video now the fastest growing media type across social media platforms and OTT shaking up broadcast and film,” said Bryan Lamkin, executive vice president and general manager, Digital Media at Adobe. “Adobe is transforming the industry with Creative Cloud and Primetime by helping customers create beautiful content to engage viewers and technologies that monetize content that audiences care about.”</p>
<p>Pricing and Availability</p>
<p>At NAB, Adobe is previewing the next major updates to Creative Cloud. These updates are expected to ship in the coming months. The company is offering Adobe Creative Cloud for US $49.99 a month. For more information, visit<a href="http://www.adobe.com/go/video">http://www.adobe.com/go/video</a>.</p>
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<em>Company’s love of old lenses inspires new creativity with classic image elements optimized for full frame photographers</em></p>
<p><strong>Portland, OR – April 12th, 2016 </strong>– Lensbaby, makers of award-winning creative effects lenses, optics and accessories, today announced the availability of the Twist 60 lens. Twist 60 helps creative photographers find their visual voice by seeing the world differently.</p>
<p>This metal-bodied 60mm f/2.5 lens with gold anodized accents creates powerful portraits, spotlighting subjects by freeing them from their background and surrounding them with swirly blur and enhanced vignette. The brighter the aperture, the greater the swirl and the greater the vignette.</p>
<p>“Twist 60 embodies our love of old lenses and their unique ways of helping photographers discover creative possibilities,” said Craig Strong, Lensbaby Co-Founder & Chief Creative Officer. “True to an 1840 design by Joseph Petzval, this lens reveals striking separation between subjects and their background, a quality that modern lens designs lack.”</p>
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<strong>Twist 60 Lens specs:</strong>

● 12 blade f/2.5-22 aperture

● 60mm focal length

● Twisty, swirly blur

● Recommended for use on full frame cameras

● Available in Canon EF, Nikon F, and Sony E mounts

● 4 elements in 3 groups

● Filter threads: 46mm

● Black anodized body with gold anodized aperture ring

● Minimum focus distance – 18”</p>
<p><strong>Availability</strong>

Twist 60 lens retails for $279.95 and is available via pre-order beginning April 12, 2016 (shipping May 5th, 2016). Twist 60 Optic will also be sold separately for use with other Lensbaby Optic Swap System-compatible lenses. It retails for $179.95. For best results, when using it in a tilting Lensbaby such as the Composer Pro, photographers should shoot with Twist 60 pointed straight ahead. Lensbaby products are available at lensbaby.com, <a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1243826-REG/lensbaby_lbt60c_twist_60_for_canon.html/BI/2466/KBID/3296/DFF/d10-v21-t1-x726541" target="_blank">B&H Photo</a>, Adorama, and from select specialty photo stores worldwide.</p>
<p><strong>About Lensbaby</strong>

For over a decade, photographers have relied on Portland, Oregon based Lensbaby to help them break free of routine, tinker, and open themselves up to unexpected results – dancing, playing and delighting in what’s possible with a creative lens and their imagination.</p>
<p>Lensbaby makes award-winning creative effects lenses, optics and accessories that follow this philosophy, including the Velvet 56, a versatile portrait and macro lens; their unique Optic Swap System, which lets photographers swap their optic and tilt their lens for limitless effects; and mobile lenses that transform everyday smartphone photography. Lensbaby products are sold and distributed worldwide. For more information, visit <a href="http://www.lensbaby.com">www.lensbaby.com</a></p>
<p><strong><a href="http://www.bhphotovideo.com/c/product/1243826-REG/lensbaby_lbt60c_twist_60_for_canon.html/BI/2466/KBID/3296/DFF/d10-v21-t1-x726541" target="_blank">Lensbaby Twist 60 Optic for Canon EF at B&H Photo $279</a></strong></p>
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Lost in the anticipation of the EOS 5D Mark IV announcement in August, is the likelihood of new EOS M camera(s) in the fall for Photokina. We’ve been told that there will definitely be 2 ILC EOS M cameras announced before the end of 2016.</p>
<p>One of the cameras that will be announced is a follow-up to the EOS M3 which was announced in February of 2015 and didn’t make its way to North America until October of 2015. The new camera we’re told will be equipped with the new sensor from the EOS 80D and will see “minor” ergonomic changes.</p>
<p>The second camera, which may actually be announced first will be Canon’s first “prosumer” focused mirrorless camera. Two sources have said that the camera will use a newly designed 24mp full frame image sensor. This camera will be designed to use EF lenses, but how that’s going to be done is presently unknown to us. Details beyond that are quite fuzzy, but we’re pressing for more.</p>
<p>We haven’t heard anything more about a fixed lens full frame camera from Canon, but we hope that’s coming as well.</p>
<p>Expect 3 to 5 new EF-M lenses to be announced before the close of the year. There will be faster prime lenses along with new zooms, but nothing beyond 300mm.</p>
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It looks like Sigma is developing a competitor to one of my favourite Canon lenses, the EF 200mm f/2L IS. This is one of those lenses that once you try one, you never want to put it down. It’s a very versatile focal length and is especially magical for portrait work.</p>
<p>Patent Publication No. 2016-45314 (Google Translated)</p>
<ul>
<li>Published 2016.4.4</li>
<li>Filing date 2014.8.21</li>
</ul>
<p>Sigma 200mm f/2 DG OS</p>
<ul>
<li>Focal length 194.93</li>
<li>F-number 2.05</li>
<li>Full angle of view 2ω 12.70</li>
<li>The image height Y 21.63</li>
<li>Overall length of the lens 231.33</li>
<li>BF 60.2233</li>
</ul>
<p>Sigma 1.4x TC</p>
<ul>
<li>Focal length 274.52</li>
<li>F-number 2.89</li>
<li>Full angle of view 2ω 9.06</li>
<li>The image height Y 21.63</li>
<li>Overall length of the lens 252.18</li>
<li>BF 39.5088</li>
</ul>
<p>Along with the optical formula patent for a 200mm f/2 OS, it looks like Sigma is developing a dedicated 1.4x teleconverter for the lens.</p>
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<strong>Press release:

</strong>Traditionally, neutral-density graduated filters have been available exclusively in hard and soft versions. However, because all neutral-density grads in the LEE Filters range are made by hand, it is possible to be extremely precise with the depth of the transition between the coated and clear sections of the filter. As a result, LEE Filters has the capabilities to manufacture ND grads in medium and very hard versions. In the past, these were available exclusively as custom-made filters for professional photographers. Now, however, they have been made available to all those who use the Seven5, 100mm and SW150 systems.</p>
<p>The medium and very hard grads not only expand a photographer’s creative options, they also allow for even more exact control when balancing lighter and darker areas of the frame. The very hard grad (available for the 100mm & SW150 systems) is perfect for seascapes that feature a completely flat horizon line, while the medium grad (available for the Seven5, 100mm and SW150 systems) is that perfect ‘in-between’ strength that is ideal for any scene in which an element of the composition – a mountain or a building, for example – protrudes into the sky.</p>
<p>Both ND grads are available in 0.3ND (1 stop), 0.45ND (1½ stops), 0.6ND (2 stops), 0.75ND (2½ stops), 0.9ND (3 stops) and 1.2ND (4 stops) strengths.</p>
<p>For further information, contact LEE Filters on 01264 366245; <a href="mailto:[email protected]" target="_blank">[email protected]</a>; <a href="http://www.leefilters.com" target="_blank">www.leefilters.com</a></p>
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