Getty Images Sochi Olympics image workflow..Wow!

[Northstar]

From the article link below...

At the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics in Russia, Getty Images has set up a state-of-the-art fibre optic network in conjunction with the AP, AFP, Reuters and EPA wire agencies to deliver these gold medal moments in record time. Consisting of 20 kilometres of cable, the 100Mbps network allows Getty to deliver images from gold medal moments direct to publications within 180 seconds.

Pushing through an image from capture to distribution in such a short period of time is a massive undertaking — and it's not just the photographer who is doing all the work. Behind the scenes, Getty has a team of editors, captioning specialists and Photoshop experts who are preparing the image for delivery in record time.

Once the images arrive from the photographer, basic metadata is already embedded in the photo. Then, there are three editors who select the best images to send through to the Photoshop experts who colour correct and crop images based on the best composition. They may also adjust saturation and contrast. From here, the images get sent through to the caption team who identify any names and send the images through to the Getty website and feeds.

Link to article...

http://m.cnet.com.au/photographing-the-sochi-winter-olympics-with-getty-339346598.htm?redir=1

 

[Grumbaki]

Cool stuff but 180 seconds including PP and caption? Captions are to be ready before (watching the event live, prepare 3 or 4 captions for leaders of the event) and PP is probably set on auto + crop.

Very cool none the less, specially since this sense of emergency brings us back to a somewhat straight of the camera approach and thus photog skills.

 

[Maximilian]

very interesting. Thanks for sharing, Northstar.

 

[Sella174]

... a state-of-the-art fibre optic network ... the 100Mbps network ...

Huh?

 

[Maximilian]

Interesting statement from this article:
"We have about 20-25 per cent of our guys on the sports side here using Nikon."
Honestly, I would have expected more...
OTOH this means...

 

[leGreve]

... a state-of-the-art fibre optic network ... the 100Mbps network ...

Huh?

Surely they mean mbit? 100mb/s would be 800mbit/s, which is pretty damn fast...... My own connection is only 60mbit/12mbit hehe.

 

[bseitz234]

... a state-of-the-art fibre optic network ... the 100Mbps network ...

Huh?

Surely they mean mbit? 100mb/s would be 800mbit/s, which is pretty damn fast...... My own connection is only 60mbit/12mbit hehe.

You're confusing bits and bytes. Lower case b (as in Mbps) is bits- so this is 100mbit. If it was 100MBps, that would be 100 megabytes, which is 800Mbps. Regardless, I'd expect them to have more speed within a lot of their network, but to maintain that 100Mbps all over the venues is pretty good. Especially because I bet the photogs get pretty far from wireless access points at times....

 

[Sella174]

Especially because I bet the photogs get pretty far from wireless access points at times....

Well, I'd think they would have the place covered, especially since all current professional cameras are WiFi enabled.

 

[Random Orbits]

Especially because I bet the photogs get pretty far from wireless access points at times....

Well, I'd think they would have the place covered, especially since all current professional cameras are WiFi enabled.

The linked article states that the photogs covering the ski races (i.e. cross country) don't have access because they set up along the course to get the shots of the athletes along the route, and that they try to dump the images at access points a few times a day.

 

[Chris Burch]

Especially because I bet the photogs get pretty far from wireless access points at times....

Well, I'd think they would have the place covered, especially since all current professional cameras are WiFi enabled.

What "pro" does Canon have that's WiFi enabled. The closest you can get is a 6D, which is not really something I would be using for sports. None of the 1-series or even 5-series have WiFi.

 

[Zv]

Especially because I bet the photogs get pretty far from wireless access points at times....

Well, I'd think they would have the place covered, especially since all current professional cameras are WiFi enabled.

What "pro" does Canon have that's WiFi enabled. The closest you can get is a 6D, which is not really something I would be using for sports. None of the 1-series or even 5-series have WiFi.

I think he meant the Wireless File Transmitter?

http://www.usa.canon.com/cusa/consumer/products/cameras/consumer_cameras_wft/wireless_transmitter_wft_e6a

 

[Sella174]

What "pro" does Canon have that's WiFi enabled. The closest you can get is a 6D, which is not really something I would be using for sports. None of the 1-series or even 5-series have WiFi.

I think he meant the Wireless File Transmitter?

No, I really meant built-in WiFi. It was a sarcastic remark. (For the why, read my other posts.)

 

[justawriter]

Don't know if this has been posted elsewhere on the forums, but since we are talking about Getty, here is what you can pick up for $425 grand at the Canon Store ... http://petapixel.com/2014/02/06/getty-images-sports-photographer-robert-cianflone-reporting-sochi/

 

[joemod]

... a state-of-the-art fibre optic network ... the 100Mbps network ...

Huh?

With normal cat5 cables you can achieve that speed, but not constantly and not more that few meters (~100 if I recall correctly) due to noise . To have constant 100Mbps for 20km, that's amazing and you can achieve it only with fibre optic.

Offtopic: Does canonrumors wipe members who haven't logged in for sometime?

 

[Northstar]

What "pro" does Canon have that's WiFi enabled. The closest you can get is a 6D, which is not really something I would be using for sports. None of the 1-series or even 5-series have WiFi.

I think he meant the Wireless File Transmitter?

No, I really meant built-in WiFi. It was a sarcastic remark. (For the why, read my other posts.)

Regarding the WiFi enabled...with the way the world is so quickly going (gone) digital and online I'd bet that the next Canon 1D series has WiFi capabilities. I know for my own use in sports photography, it would come in handy.

 

[Northstar]

... a state-of-the-art fibre optic network ... the 100Mbps network ...

Huh?

With normal cat5 cables you can achieve that speed, but not constantly and not more that few meters (~100 if I recall correctly) due to noise . To have constant 100Mbps for 20km, that's amazing and you can achieve it only with fibre optic.

Offtopic: Does canonrumors wipe members who haven't logged in for sometime?

yes...I remember that they did a huge purge several months ago.

 

[Sella174]

... I'd bet that the next Canon 1D series has WiFi capabilities.

Yes, but when is the next 1D camera due?

 

[Northstar]

I also found this article pretty interesting regarding preparing for a trip to photograph the olympics in Sochi.

http://www.sportsshooter.com/news_story.html?id=2733

 

[JaxPhotographer]

Interesting and understandable that the wire services want to control their own workflow including the network transport. However, to call it state of the art is quite a reach. The Olympic network is state of the art.

54 Terabit backbone
2,000 Ethernet switches
50,000 Ethernet ports
2,500 wireless access points
36 HD channels
1,500 IPTV screens
6,500 VoIP phones

The network needs to support the following venues and individuals:
11 competition venues
2 data centers
2 operation centers
3 Olympic villages
2 media centers
2 celebration centers
Approximately 50,000 network users not including fans in attendance including 5,500 athletes, 14,000 media and 25,000 volunteers

http://www.networkworld.com/community/node/84794

 

[Northstar]

... I'd bet that the next Canon 1D series has WiFi capabilities.

Yes, but when is the next 1D camera due?

If I was a betting man I'd say 2015....they'll probably keep upgrading through firmware updates for another couple years before the 1Dxii.

But it does tend to make you wonder considering that the D4s is about to start selling any day now.