Elinchrom has introduced the Style 400 BX portable compact flash units. Two new
inexpensive kits, street priced at $995 and $1098, incorporate the latest innovations
in Multivoltage technology with all the accessories necessary to plug-in anywhere.



Featured in both kits, the EL 400 BXECON and EL 400 BX KIT, is the new Style BX
400 Multivoltage with automatic voltage detection from 90 V--260 V, a rapid
recycle time of 1 sec. in a lightweight monobloc weighing only 4.3 lbs.. Additionally,
both kits offer the new digitally stabilized 400BX monoblocs along with all the
lighting equipment and accessories necessary for capturing the most demanding
images while at the same time giving the photographer the ability to travel quick
and light. The EL 400BXKIT adds two Manfrotto light stands and a convenient Stand
Bag.



The new Style 400 BX Multivoltage compact flash unit features power ranges of
25 - 400 Ws and has the ability to work with 5 f-stops, ranging from 1/16 to 1/1.
The 400 BX is lightweight, weighing only 4.3 pounds (1.95 kg) and is compact for
in or out of studio use, with dimensions of 21 x 14cm (length x diameter). The
new head kit includes a plug-in omega flashtube precisely positioned 20 mm from
the internal reflector. The positioning helps avoid uneven illumination that often
results from non-concentric or U-shaped flashtubes.



Web: www.bogenimaging.us


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Every month in Shutterbug we publish photographs from readers based on an assignment
published in a previous month's issue. We get hundreds of photographs
from readers all around the world and unfortunately we are limited to publishing
just a small fraction of the work we receive. We've had topics including
"Black and White in Color", "Silhouettes" and "Historical
Reenactments." Our purpose in creating this section in the magazine is
to create a visual forum for readers and to challenge them to fulfill assignments.
It's always a delight to open the packages we receive. I know the thrill
I got when my fist photo was published, and my hope is that the same excitement
is shared by those whose images we select to publish each month.

...

While you can choose enhanced color saturation when using your digital camera
via the Menu, this choice generally adds saturation to all colors at once. This
might work fine for some subjects, but there are many ways to "juice up"
selective colors later in the software. We'll work with two controls here,
Hue/Saturation and Selective Color, both used as Adjustment Layers.

...

Backlight has been bedeviling photographers for years, particularly in landscape
pictures and those where you want to take a shot but simply showed up at your
location at the wrong time of day. Backlight in and of itself is not the problem;
it's how your meter behaves and how you make the reading that creates
it. Simply put, when the subject falls within its own shadow because the brightest
illumination is behind it the meter can be overwhelmed by the illumination and
"fooled" into thinking it has more light for the exposure than the
main subject dictates.

...