On the same day that Nikon announces the long-awaited 36.3 megapixel D800 SLR camera, Canon come out with a very disappointing update to its ancient 24-70mm f/2.8L lens.

Canon renews full-frame lenses with 24-70mm F2.8 II and stabilized wide-angle primes: Digital Photography Review

Features for the updated version of this staple lens include:

• no IS system
• a non-standard 82mm filter thread (instead of the standard 78mm on almost every other L lens)
• a lens hood that mounts to the end of the extending zoom portion of the lens
• a few other upgrades that actually make sense, cinluding lighter weight, more rugged build, and water tight seals

All of this can be yous for a whopping $2299 MSRP price tag.

Canon have clearly demonstrated that they have completely lost touch with what their customers want and need. Somebody seriously needs to be fired over this.

You can read more at the following links:

• Canon EF 24-70mm f/2.8 L II USM Lens Press Release
• Canon renews full-frame lenses with 24-70mm F2.8 II and stabilized wide-angle primes: Digital Photography Review

I sell digital images on DVD to many of my portrait photography clients and all of my commercial photography clients. I always provide those images on a printable DVD [ Amazon: Taiyo Yuden/JVC WaterShield DVD's ] that I print directly to with my Epson Artisan printer [ Amazon: Epson Artisan 835 Color Inkjet All-In-One ]. I am incredibly happy with the results and they look very professional.

The problem is that the CD / DVD printing software that comes with Epson printers is hokey (at best), and I’ve never been able to figure out how to print directly to the DVD from within Adobe Photoshop. It always ended up off center, too big, too small, or even completely off the disc. I finally took the time to figure it out. Yay!

It turns out that the Epson printer driver requires that you use an A4 (US Letter) size print template that has the disc image positioned in just the right place. And to further complicate it Epson uses “Type 1″ and “Type 2″ disc trays that require very different placement of the template on the page. I created Photoshop templates for both Tray types and have provided them here for free for you to use.

Please use the following link to download a zip file that contains templates for Epson Type 1 and Epson Type 2 CD/DVD printer trays in TIF format. I don’t guarantee that they are perfect for all Epson printers, but they work great for me.

Download the Free Photoshop Template

• OD Epson CD/DVD Print Templates for Adobe Photoshop (Photoshop Template)

For reference here is a link to a file that contains a list of Epson Printers and indicates what tray type they use.

In general older printers are Type 1 and newer printers are Type 2.

Introducing a brand new eBook from Craft & Vision

Your Creative Mix: Growing Your Photography Business Through Creativity & Collaboration by Corwin Hiebert

Your Creative Mix takes an in-depth look at the value of growing your passion for art, honing your creative skills, and finding new ways to connect and share with likeminded people as a way to grow your photography business. This eBook bridges the gap between creativity and commerce. It focuses on the unique business and marketing challenges faced by emerging and established vocational photographers. It provides new insights and ideas on how to generate demand for your photographs and for your creative services without employing cheap tricks or expensive advertising efforts. Through case studies, interviews, featured projects, and proven business practices you’ll learn how to attract fans, followers, and clients to your unique vision.

Buy Now

Special Offer on eBooks

For the first four days only, if you use the promotional code MIX4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Extreme Perspectives for only $4 OR use the code MIX20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST July 23, 2011. Click here to visit Craft & Vision

Introducing a brand new eBook from Craft & Vision

Extreme Perspectives: An Introduction to Mountain Photography by Alexandre Buisse

If you’re into sports and outdoor photography then this eBook is a must read for you. But if that’s not your cup of tea then it’s still worth reading just to see the glorious images from some amazing places that you’ll probably never get to see otherwise!

Buy Now

Although it’s focussed on photography at or near the peaks of some of the worlds highest mountains, there’s plenty of great information in this book to help any photographer get better images from different perspectives than they normally get. It’s important to change things up every once in awhile and to try to create images that are different than what “just anyone” can get, or more importantly, different than others will even bother to try to get.

In this book Alexandre starts off with a few pages to walk you through his thinking on gear selection and developing your own vision. But the best part is in the middle! There are pages and pages of stunning images from his collection with some very specific points about he, and why, he created each images. This stuff is absolute Gold, and it is all very applicable to any form of photography. My favorite part is when he talks about exactly what he was thinking as he created the images.

Special Offer on eBooks

For the first four days only, if you use the promotional code EXTREME4 when you checkout, you can have the PDF version of Extreme Perspectives for only $4 OR use the code EXTREME20 to get 20% off when you buy 5 or more PDF ebooks from the Craft & Vision collection. These codes expire at 11:59pm PST May 15, 2011. Click here to visit Craft & Vision

Photoshelter Promo Code: SE5PH32Y9C

I’ve had an account at Photoshelter for many years that I use to sell stock photography images. If you’re interested you can check out my collection of Landscape and Wildlife Photos from the Canadian Rocky Mountains and Prairies at www.Sean-Phillips.com. PhotoShelter is a great service that handles online sales, advertising, and high resolution file distribution. It’s a great way to attract new clients and it throws lots of Google juice towards my photography collection.

I just realized that Photoshelter has a referral system, and that can help both of us! If you’re planning to sign up with Photoshelter you can save some money by using this referral code. I will get a small kickback too, but the important thing is that you can save $5 to $30 on your Photoshelter seller account.

http://www.photoshelter.com/referral/SE5PH32Y9C

You can also just enter code SE5PH32Y9C when you sign up.