"Skip the expensive photo shoot..." - What the #%^@ !

This section of a newsletter (at right) landed in my inbox lat night - 8/24 at 5:00:26 PM EDT because I am a past Modern Postcard client, and then at 9:23:16 PM EDT, my inbox gets the following below:



One of the sentences in it is:

we stated to "skip the expensive photo shoot" by using iStockphoto instead. We sincerely apologize as this miscommunicates our intentions and our feelings about professional photography...The two co-founders of Modern Postcard started their careers as photographers and are intensely loyal to the photography profession.

Sorry - someone "intensely loyal" wouldn't do that. Maybe someone "loyal" by accident, but intense? No.

(Continued after the Jump)

They go on to stand by the statement with the excuse:

The target audience of this service is small / home office businesses on a limited budget that have never been able to afford quality photography and therefore have never used it.

No, your "target" audience was the revenue that your photographer "friends" earn serving these businesses, and I got one, so the e-mail blast certainly wasn't targeted at all. Further, I have, in the last six months, done assignments that were portraits of home office business owners and other small businesses, and let me tell you, setting up a 9 foot seamless in someone's living room for a full length portrait isn't easy.

When you say:

We enjoy a strong relationship with the artistic community and will continue to do everything possible to help them promote their talent and grow their businesses.

you can start by firing the marketing person who allowed this nonsense to occur in the first place. This would fall into doing "everything possible." Your staff should be keenly aware of the landscape of it's clientele, and the challenges we face - and the problems with microstock are well publicized to be sure.

They invite comments, so send yours: customercare@modernpostcard.com.

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Getty Site - Site Down as Stock Is Down?

I happened to be headed to the Getty Images site at 8:14pm EST tonight, and found this: (click the graphic to see the screen grab full size (two screens long):

All the sites - United Kingdom - gettyimages.co.uk; Deutschland - gettyimages.de; España - web gettyimages.es; France - gettyimages.fr; Italia -gettyimages.it; Japan - gettyimages.co.jp; and, Brasil - gettyimages.pt, were listed, and the message included in their respective language:

The new gettyimages.com is temporarily unavailable as we are updating the site. Please visit us again -- we will be back online soon.

In the meantime, feel free to visit the previous version of our Editorial or Creative sites.

Thank you for your patience.

(Continued after the Jump)

Hmmm, it seems like a pretty bad time to have dumped the lead on your website, don't you think? I think I made that point in a previous post on the same subject. A read of the links that you are directed to are:

• {a href="http://legacyeditorial.gettyimages.com/ms_gins/source/home/home.aspx?pg=1"}Editorial{/a}
• {a href="http://creative.gettyimages.com/source/home/homecreative.aspx?country=usa"}Creative{/a}

(Note, the braces were used instead of the html formatting characters for formatting purposes here).

So, Getty is sending people to the "legacyeditorial" site? What gives? Note the blue "?" box -- that code is supposed to call:

• {img src="/spacer.gif" border="0" height="33" width="20" alt=""}

Heck, they can't even get a 'spacer.gif" graphic right! Really, what gives?

So, why was I headed to the Getty site? To look for the date of their next quarterly report. I thought it interesting to note that the last time I commented on their stock price, they were at $34.59, and it closed today at....drumroll please.....$31.13, or $3.46 down, exactly 20% down from 8/4, and today is....another drumroll.....8/24, or, 20 days. That's 20% down in 20 days, and that's not even 20 trading days! Heck, I guess I don't have to wait until the next quarterly report, at this rate, they'll be a penny-stock before you know it. Oh, wait, they already have "penny-stock" covered, it's called iStockphoto, with just pennies on the dollar going to the creative talent behind the images they proffer.

Shorters, start your engines!

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Update: When I checked back at 9:06, the site was back up.

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Throughout the Universe, In Perpetuity....Yuck!

Previously I wrote the introduction to Ed Greenbergs' missive (When Your Agent is Not Your Friend), which talked about the agency-photographer relationship, and was critical of organizations like Corbis.

ASMP wrote back in 2001, about the Conde Nast contract, in part:

" This contract gives Condé Nast the right to license virtually unlimited additional use, in both conventional and digital media, of the images that were purchased initially for editorial use in their magazines. Condé Nast also reserves the right to prevent the photographer or illustrator from licensing any commercial or advertising use of the image, even long after Condé Nast's license is no longer exclusive...With the impressive list of titles that Condé Nast publishes (Glamour, Mademoiselle, GQ, Gourmet, Vogue, Vanity Fair, Architectural Digest, The New Yorker, Traveler, House & Garden, Brides, Self, etc.),"

and so many photoragraphers were still signing up, with a contract that included the granting of rights to the assignment images "throughout the universe", and "in perpetuity". Imagine the gall! Yet, it clearly didn't offend a lot of people who were more than willing to sign off on such offensive contract language.

(Continued after the Jump)

So, what does Conde Nast pay? $350 a day for an assignment. The photographers I know who have signed this justify it by suggesting that it gets them other jobs and exposure, or that $350 plus the fact that you can bill for every little thing under the sun from camera rentals of your own equipment to each individual sand bag, to a cup of coffee, helps you to make it all up in the end. I don't think so, really. I find it absolutely insulting that I am told what I am to be paid regardless of my skill set, and then I must scramble around and bill for each and every C47, gel sheet, quarter-in-the-meter, cell phone call, and so forth.

Back in July, "Keri", over at the PDN forums wrote:

I photographed for a Conde Naste publication over 2 years ago, now they are recalling the film to run the story again. Shouldn't they pay a page rate fee again? or at least a research fee? When i asked on the phone they said they didn't pay anything.

And then, after two responses, wrote back on the thread:

After some research, i think i may not have any right to payments from out takes from my shoot due to the shady and tricky wording of the Conde Nast contract i signed. Aparently it is the worst contract for photographers out there. I guess i can just refuse to send the photos. It's a lesson out there for photographers to read their editorial contracts thoroughly.

Keri continues:

The problem is this, in the Conde Nast contract it has wording that essentially gives them first publication rights on all images made during the shoot indefinitely, so of course they are not going to run the same image but an out-take from the shoot.

and then, at last:

I even read somewhere how Conde Nast was trying to sell photo's as stock and not compensating the photographers. don't know if that really happened though.

Indeed, Keri. And thus, you are required to re-serve the client, at no additional charge to them, and a significant outlay of time and energy on your part. This point is worth re-stating. You don't get a research fee paid to you, nor anything else for your troubles when they recall an assignment. Nothing.

Enter Corbis. Today in my inbox lands this:


And the text reads:

Corbis now offers images from Conde Nast's Women's Wear Daily feed for news and editorial use. So when you need front row runway shots from the latest shows, red carpet portraits from today's top celebrities or luxury lifestyle images like these, you can count on the unmatched quality and access of Conde Nast.

Nice!

This is what happens when you sign a contract which grants them all rights "...throughout the unverse, in perpetuity...". And don't worry, if it's just Womens Wear Daily now, soon it'll be every other one in the stable of publications. WWD is probably just a soft launch to see who will complain - not that they have any standing to do so.

From a business standpoint, part of me wants to applaud Corbis for securing the rights to this archive. To them, it's like walking out your doorstep in the morning and finding a lottery ticket worth millions just staring you in the face. Yet, I am sure that the Corbis-Conde Nast negotiations were brutal, arguing over such things as percentage domestic, international, and, of course, the uses off-planet that the photographer has just given away. I can't wait to see the moonscape dotted with billboards using images from the Conde Nast library!

So, when that mousepad, poster, or limited edition signed print by the subject is out there being sold, because a deal was cut with those depicted, you, dear contract signer are left twiddling your thumbs, and, if you wanted one of these items, get in line to buy it, you're SOL otherwise.

Oh, and remember Apple Computer using the images for their "Think Different" campaign, of people like John Lennon, Albert Einstein, and others? Those types of uses will continue, with artists (or their estates), Corbis, and Conde Nast getting paid, but again, start twiddling your thumbs, you'll get zero. This alone should get you, dear reader, to start "thinking different" about signing this contract.

To the photographers who signed these deals, don't complain, you knew better. If you got a call from a Conde Nast publication, it was because you were good and talented, with experience. Atleast most of you were smart enough to know about the industry-wide criticism by ASMP, and others, about just how bad this contract was. You knew what you were getting yourself into, and giving away - dare I say, selling your soul?

If you're not complaining so be it, pretend that you never read the above, carry on, nothing to see here, move along. If you are, well, don't waste your breath, unless it's telling the Conde Nast family of publications that you won't work under terms like you have been now that you see they are relicensing (and recalling) your assignment work, to sell your work as stock, the next time they come a callin'.

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The Associated Press and Commercial Assignment Work

So, a colleague forwarded me a promotional e-mailing for commercial photography services, promoting a case study of their "83 locations one week" project for UPS. From the mailing:

Assignment: UPS 100th Anniversary Tour
For the Centennial Global Tour, UPS marketing agency The Spark needed photographs from around the globe for a traveling exhibit showcasing exceptional employees who embody UPS values.

With a one week deadline, The Spark and UPS turned to AP Images to capture the spirit of these celebrated individuals in over 80 UPS locations around the world.

Locations: 83 locations
Deadline: 1 week

Results: By utilizing our global network of photographers and AP bureaus, AP Images quickly assigned photographers in the designated locations. Each photographer was able to capture the employee at their UPS location and quickly transmit the photos. The assignment was completed on time and on budget.

The photographs are the centerpiece of the UPS Centennial Global Tour, which will travel to UPS locations around the world and will also be made accessible to the general public throughout 2007.

(Continued after the Jump)

It then goes on to talk about "AP Images", which is a division of the AP that not only has the library, but is not being aggressive in their outreach to produce commercial photography:

About AP Images
AP Images, a division of The Associated Press, is one of the world’s largest collections of historical and contemporary imagery. As an essential source of photographs and graphics for professional image buyers, AP Images strives to meet the needs of today’s global customer through superior image quality, selection and service. For more than a century, AP photographers have captured the greatest moments in history, news, sports and entertainment, receiving 30 Pulitzers and numerous other awards in honor of their contribution to the images that shape our world.

Below is the actual e-mailed graphics, which shows some of the assignments commissioned for the ad agency's client, UPS.


I can't image that they'd send out their $200 a day all rights all expenses included photographers to shoot these types of assignments, but who knows, maybe they did. If so, and if each commercial portrait assignment was priced appropriately (i.e. at the low end, $1,500 or so), that's one hell of a markup for the AP, and if they are paying their assigned photographers an appropriately negotiated assignment rate, and taking an appropriate comission and then further representing those images in their library for future licensing with a traditional photographer/agency split, then I think that's a good thing.

One concern I have, is it says "...By utilizing our global network of photographers and AP bureaus...", so, the AP bureaus, which are news bureaus, are now serving as commericial photography assignment offices? Are the AP staffers being used? Is this a violation of their guild/union agreement? How are they being additionally compensated if they are being used? Or, are the bureaus calling upon their stringers to do this work? Lastly, could these commercial endeavors risk any non-profit status that the AP enjoys?

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It Seems My Name Isn't So Unique

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Speedlinks 08/21/07

Today's Speedlinks.

• Top Ten Lies Told to Naive Photographers - "Well, the job isn't CANCELED, just delayed. Keep the account open and we'll continue in a month or two", and 9 more! (Plus insights/responses!


• This is Just Getting Stupid - Daryl Lang's Take on "Retouching" of Celebrities, over at PDNPulse


• Jimmy D's PrettyGirlShooter - This *NSFW* site has remarkably lit images of, what else? If you were the type of person who said 'I just read Playboy/Playgirl for the articles', this will make you say 'I just read PrettyGirlShooter for the amazingly well lit subjects and the breakdown of each shoot.'


• Michael Fischer's Cashflow Counsel - Michael Fischer's insights on why it's a bad idea to take student loan money (and loans in general) to be used to purchase expendable photo equipment.


• Sam Abell's Wisdom - NGS photographer Sam Abell has several wise words quoted here, well worth contemplating!

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Digital Railroad – All Aboard?

With Digital Railroad launching their Marketplace in beta 9 months or so ago, and entering v1.0 back in April, I thought I’d take a look at how they’re doing, based upon my own experiences, client experiences, and so on. I’ve broken down the piece into several pieces, as it’s rather lengthy.

Digital Railroad – All Aboard?
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Overview
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Getting the Word Out
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Client Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Photographer Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Summary

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Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Overview

Back when DRR launched their Marketplace, I wrote about it on April 11th, 2007 (The Marketplace is now Open). I had previously uploaded a collection of my archives to them – all analog scans from my film days, as well as some of my more current digital imagery, Keyworded, properly captioned, and so forth. I did this prior to the Marketplace launch, and the images were not exclusive to them. For instance, you can find them as web galleries here on my site, which are search-engine-friendly, and, for example, some of my White House work from an assignment for National Geographic’s television channel as their unit photographer can be seen here on PhotoShelter. I didn’t know what to make of the Marketplace, beyond the standard hype that accompanies any corporate product launch. Will it succeed in general? Will it serve itself, or photographers? And, the proverbial “if you build it, will they {clients} come?" I don’t care how great an archive there is, if prospective clients can’t find you or your images, there’s no sale. So, how do freelancers feel about it? Are they making money? And, how do clients feel about it? Are they getting the imagery they need, and are they paying fairly for it?

Following are a few client and photographer experiences that should be insightful, as well as insights into how they’re getting the word out (on their photographer’s behalf), and my summary thoughts.

Digital Railroad – All Aboard?
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Overview
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Getting the Word Out
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Client Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Photographer Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Summary

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Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Getting the Word Out

So, how do those buyers know that the Digital Railroad Marketplace even exists? They, of course, have a blog. They also are making outreach to photo editors with stories of fresh/unique content via their marketing resources which go out multiple times a month – their August Buyer Newsletter can be seen here. They also have a Buyer Benefits section of the site so that buyers know how the Marketplace can work for them.

In addition, their Railmail gets you “a quick overview of a recent selection of requests”, including:

• Caribbean Islands: Martinique and Trinidad/Tobago
• Las Vegas
• Pench India Tiger Reserve
• Editorial images: Cairo people and location
• Winter and Christmas images; contemporary and vintage (for French agency)
• Health Care: Adult in hospital bed with grieving family

…and so on.

This is a similar type of list I used to get from my agency which let me know where holes were in the library that I could fill, if my creativity so inspired me.

What hasn't, heretofore been known (atleast it's not been promoted as a marketing channel by them) is, for example, this search for the search term "/drr.net" yields some interesting results about their marketing strategy. They're investing in Google Adwords, not on specific Google page return results, but rather, on content-relevant pages. Definately stealth marketing of images. So, for example, on "Les Celebrites.fr", a French site about celebrities, their index for "Michelle Yeoh" contains Google Adwords for images of Michelle Yeoh at Cannes, as noted at right.

On this cached page of Liens de ma Ville, for "MAILLY LA VILLE" yields the results below:


On a much more public note is their sponsorship of the Aperture Users Professional Network Road Tour, which sold out in NYC a few weeks ago, has been to Boston, just wrapped here in DC, and is enroute to San Diego, For Lauderdale, LA, New Orleans, SF, Chicago, Dallas, and Seattle.

So, it is working? Check the client and photographer experiences for more on results.

Digital Railroad – All Aboard?
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Overview
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Getting the Word Out
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Client Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Photographer Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Summary

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Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Client Experience

I wrote previously about Digital Railroad being the provider of the back end capabilities for the New York Times digital archive in my article on July 30th ("Reelin’ in the Big Fish”), and that trend seems to be continuing.

For nearly 60 years, DDB has been at the forefront of the advertising game, and I have had the privilege of working with them on a couple of the Milk Moustache campaign pieces, and they are also responsible for the “Hey, let’s get Mikey to try it. He’ll eat anything” cereal ads; The infamous Gorilla with Tourister luggage ads that lead to our common notion of today that airline baggage handlers are gorilla-esque; and the “Did Somebody Say McDonalds” campaign. You get the point – they’re the real deal, and, as one of the bigger ad agencies, they’re one of the many clients that peruse and license from the DRR Marketplace. Tracy Guza is a manager in their Seattle office. Tracy says, of her initial licensing from DRR “…We have been asked to use more varied and unique imagery in our direct mail and Digital Railroad is one vendor that offers an alternative to the norm…”.

Frommers, the highly regarded travel guides (which have safely guided me on assignments around the world over the years), also has hopped aboard Marketplace. One of their Senior Photo Editors, Ricard Fox, said of DRR, “ I look at thousands of photos that are used on book covers and interior photos, for over 200 books a year. Digital Railroad appealed to me for their edgy and fresh imagery… having this resource in my arsenal is a huge bonus.”

So, it seems that clients are happy and satisfied, and, more importantly, now that it's built, they are coming. While DRR is closed-lipped about how fast and how much exactly (and that's the million dollar question - literally) the answer remains to be seen.

Digital Railroad – All Aboard?
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Overview
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Getting the Word Out
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Client Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Photographer Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Summary

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Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Photographer Experience

When they launched, I was a believer in the concept of paying a monthly fee to have my images online, and downloadable. As with my website, which was originally designed not “to be found”, but rather, as a URL I could provide to prospective clients to look at my work, rather than ship my portfolio. It worked great, and I got many a job from that. It wasn’t until later, that my site began ranking on the search engines, which brought in a huge amount of unanticipated assignments. As with my website, I kicked off my subscription to DRR before the Marketplace launched, to be able to serve my clients who wanted downloadable, secure access to the images I had shot on assignment for them. It is also important to note that at the same time, I also signed up with PhotoShelter, which I maintain today, as well. Whenever I was asked if I was making money off of having my images on DRR, I’d respond that that wasn’t where my sights were set – I was using them to service client review needs, and that was working great, and since that service is a part of my billable post-production workflow, the costs were covered and it was a profit center for me. Yes, there was a learning curve for the clients (and to some degree, there still is), however, it does work, and they are learning. As I was trying to get away from my aging transparencies and negatives, I began the arduous task of scanning and keywording them. I bought David Riecks’ Controlled Vocabulary’s software, which worked great, and made keywording not only so much faster and more efficient, but also, through the process, taught me to think in keywording terms. However, I just didn’t have the time or staffing, to scan in medium format images, so I outsourced that, as well as the keywording and analog-to-metadata caption transfer to Jaincotech’s Gautam Pai, who’s team did a fine job, and for a remarkably good price (which, by the way, is actually much lower now than what I paid even 9 months ago!). I uploaded those results, as well as the in-house produced 35mm imagery, which I could justify doing myself. When Marketplace launched, I had a solid collection of images, but I had no idea as to potential buyers. Sure, there were promises about a broad buyer base by DRR, but would the press release even come close to reality?

Enter Stephanie. One of DRR’s sales team members. It was 9:12 am east coast time a while back, and an e-mail hit my inbox from her looking for a variation on the image that I had shot for a magazine cover of Jamie Rubin (the one image I had was the one at left), at the time, the spokesman for the Department of State. Who knows what he’s up to now, but apparently, a newspaper in the United Kingdom was interested in what I had, and if I had any more. According to the email from Stephanie, the client “…is really after something more casual / less posed, do you have any other more casual shots…”. Sadly, I had two things working against me – 1) I did not have any casual shots, as it was a very time limited cover shoot, and this was all I had, and 2) the UK was on a tight deadline, and to make matters worse, I was on the west coast packing the family into a minivan for a trek up I-5 enroute middle-Oregon during my vacation. By the time I had called Stephanie to close the loop and tell her that I didn’t have more imagery I could upload, the deadline had passed without a sale. Yet, the effort she made while I was sleeping on the west coast at 6:12 am, was most appreciative, knowing further that at about 4am my local time, someone in the UK was perusing my archive and considering licensing my work while I slept. Nice.

Then, it also cuts in my favor. An image of mine at the end of last week was licensed for $150 for a small use in an educational video – probably not while I was snoozing away this time, but certainly without any additional effort on my part. Double nice!

Here’s a link to some examples of other photographers who’s’ images that have generated licensing revenues.

In addition, here's examples of the images from Marketplace turning up online, here's Clairy Moustafellou's RR credit, for one.

Another is Michele Westmorland's underwater image of a young boy, as the DRR credit is shown here.

The proof is in the credits (or the checks arriving in the mail), and that's happening.

Digital Railroad – All Aboard?
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Overview
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Getting the Word Out
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Client Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Photographer Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Summary

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Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Summary

Digital railroad of course, must serve it self (and it's investors). However, that turns out to be a byproduct of serving up images (mine, and many others) that generate revenue for photographers. And we, in turn, get to serve up services that meet client access needs, as well as serving the secondary market for these images, post-assignment, that is rights-managed stock.

Back in the analog days, I used to consider that whenever I was sending my agent, Black Star, my images, it would be at least six months before I actually saw any revenue from them, sort of like priming a pump. Yet, that point would be arriving in October with an April “opening”, yet it’s months before that and checks are arriving - out of the gate no-less. Controlling which of my images goes on my branded site, as well as out to the Marketplace is important to me.

Am I pleased that DRR also is providing a vehicle for Royalty-free images? No. However, I think that they have to at least say that they offer that, but I hardly think that they will be able to sustain themselves on their 20% revenues from the nominal, one time revenues that RF would bring them.

It seems like this train has left the station and is full steam ahead. If you’re not aboard now, DRR and Marketplace is worth a serious look. I'd expect that, in short order, whether via additional image licensing, or as a mark-up-able service to clients, both the Marketplace and Digital Railroad's services could be a profit center for you too.

Digital Railroad – All Aboard?
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Overview
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Getting the Word Out
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Client Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Photographer Experience
Digital Railroad’s Marketplace - Summary

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Au Contrare Mon Frere! Or, Tip for Microstockers: Don't Quit Your Day Jobs

I have great respect for my colleague Jim Pickerell. So much so that almost about a decade ago, I hired him as an expert witness. Yet, I'm going to have to disagree with his example of a microstock success - Erik Reis: Microstock Success Story, over on Black Star Rising.

I responded, in parts:

• "microstock photographer Erik Reis is happy with his results." You cannot equate this individual's being "happy" with their results, as someone who's an example of a success story. Just as people can be successful and not happy, so to, can people - especially hobbyists - be happy and not successful.
• Jim then writes about Reis, that he "acknowledges that only about 10 percent are good sellers." Ok, so, out of 1,338, only 133 are good sellers. That's not so good for a year's work. Even worse for two year's work. My advise to Reis - don't quit your day job.
• Then Jim goes on to reveal "As is the case with the majority of the more than 70,000 microstock photographers, he has chosen to put the same images on many different sites."...Every stock agency (including Getty and Corbis) specifically preclude you by contract from placing the same images with them, because it's been proven to be bad for the agencies, and, as noted by clients - it's been proven to upset clients when they find the same images in searches at many different places.
• The one shining point is the insight that iStockPhoto is not a satisfactory revenue producer, and that other smaller sites are better for them.

(Continue Reading At Black Star Rising)

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Thanks for the Tip Amazon - But Where the Hell is Nikon?!?

Amazon.com let slip the details of the latest Canon, which thanks to this thread over at Fred Miranda, we can now peruse:

Canon EOS 1Ds Mark III 21.1MP Digital SLR Camera (Body Only)
Price: $7,999.99

Product Features and Technical Details
Product Features

* 21.1-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor
* Large 3.0-inch LCD display with Live View and seven brightness settings
* 5 fps at shutter speeds 1/500 second or faster (for bursts of up to 45 Large/Fine JPEGs or 15 RAW images)
* sRAW mode; 35-zone metering system; 45-point AF; integrated Self-Cleaning Sensor Unit
* Powered by LP-E4 lithium-ion battery pack; stores images on CF, SD, or some SDHC memory cards

Technical Details

* Effective resolution: Approximately 21.1 million pixels (total pixels: approximately 21.9 million)
* Recording pixels: 5616 x 3744
* Sensor type: Full-frame CMOS sensor, with primary R-G-B filtration (28 x 18.7 millimeters)
* Pixel size: 6.4 microns square
* Lens focal length factor: None (1x)
* Imaging processor: Dual DIGIC III image processors
* Maximum frames per second: 5 frames per second (fps) at shutter speeds 1/500 second or faster, in all recording modes
* Drive modes: Single; silent (single-frame); high-speed continuous (5 fps; adjustable 5 to 2 fps); low-speed continuous (3 fps; adjustable 4 to 1 fps)
* Maximum number of frames / burst: JPEG: 45 (full-resolution, Level-8 fine compression); RAW: 15; RAW plus JPEG: TBA
* Flash sync speed: Up to 1/250, with EX-series Speedlites
* Shutter "lag" time: Approximately 55 milliseconds (from half-way to fully depressing shutter button)
* Start-up time: 0.15 seconds
* Image type: JPEG, RAW (14 bit); improved A/D conversion to 14-bit processing for 16,384 individual tones
* Highlight tone priority: Improve tonal range in highlight areas by approximately 1 stop (C.Fn II-2)
* Noise reduction: Long exposures 1 second and longer (C.Fn II-1); high-speed ISO images (C.Fn II-2)
* Storage media: Compatible with two card slots and external storage media; CompactFlash (Type I or II, including MicroDrives); SD card slot (SDHC-compatible for 2GB higher SD cards); USB external hard drives (requires optional WFT-E2A wireless transmitter)
* Recording options: Multiple media recording options: record to only one memory card; record the same image to both SD and CF card; record RAW image to a CF card and JPEG image to a SD card
* New additional features: Files can be automatically written to another media if card beomes full; select different image sizes and save to different media (example: different JPEG sizes); record same image using all three media options, including external hard drive; copy files manually from one card to another, or to connected USB hard drive
* Image format options: JPEG (compression adjustable in 10 steps on menu); RAW ("CR2" RAW file format); RAW + JPEG (selectable on rear LCD panel); sRAW ("CR2" small RAW file format; 1 /4 file size of full-resolution RAW, approximately 5.2 megapixels)
* Resolution options: Large: 5616 x 3744 (approximately 21.0 million pixels); "Medium 1": 4992 x 3328 (approximately 16.6 million pixels); "Medium 2": 4080 x 2720 (approximately 11.0 million pixels); "Small": 2784 x 1856 (approximately 5.2 million pixels); "RAW": 5616 x 3744 (approximately 21.0 million pixels); "sRAW": 2784 x 1856 (approximately 5.2 million pixels)
* Data recording format: DCF 2.0 and EXIF 2.21; EXIF 2.21--applies "Adobe 1998 RGB" color space tag to images
* Sound recording: Maximum 30 seconds per sound clip (more than one clip can be assigned to each image)
* Folder settings: Create new folder and select on memory card
* 3-part approach to dust reduction: EOS Integrated Cleaning System; self-cleaning sensor unit--low pass filter in front of the sensor vibrates at a very high frequency for about four seconds to "shake" off loose dust and dirt; occurs on start-up and shut down--can also be activated by user or totally disabled; Dust Delete Data: a test shot is taken and any dust spots are "mapped" and added to each image's text data; automatic removal possible in Canon DPP software; manual: user can lock up mirror to blow off any dust or have service technician wipe sensor clean
* LCD monitor: 3.0-inch (diagonal) TFT color; approximately 100% coverage; approximately 230,000 pixels
* Playback options: Single image; single image with info and histogram; 4-index or 9-index image; magnified zoom display
* Live View type: Electronic viewing of scene, directly off imaging sensor, on LCD monitor
* Coverage: Approximately 100%
* Metering: Real-time evaluative metering (off CMOS imaging sensor)
* Grid display: Two vertical and two horizontal lines; can be turned on or off by user
* Aspect ratio: Masking for 6:6, 3:4, 4:5, 6:7, 10:12, and 5:7
* PC live view: Enabled using EOS Utility (v.2.0) (use computer monitor as viewfinder)
* Shutter speed range: 30 seconds to 1/8000, plus bulb (1/3, 1/2, or full-stop increments when user-set)
* Maximum flash sync speed: 1/250 second
* Anticipated shutter durability: 300,000 exposures
* ISO range: 100 to 1600, in 1/3-stop increments; ISO 50 and 3200 can be added via ISO extension on menu; new ISO safety shift (camera shifts ISO in Tv or Av mode if needed to preserve exposure)
* Exposure modes: Manual, Aperture-priority, Shutter-priority, Program, Bulb
* Metering: 63-zone metering linked to 19 AF points; Evaluative metering (63-zone, linked to active AF point); Center-weighted metering; Partial metering (approximately 8.5% of the picture area); Spot metering (approximately 2.4% of the picture area); Options: Center only; linked to any of 19 AF points; and Multi-spot metering up to 8 readings
* Metering range: EV 0 to 20 (all patterns; at normal temperatures)
* Exposure compensation: Possible in any Auto exposure mode; up to +/- 3 stops, in 1/3-stop increments
* Exposure bracketing: 2, 3, 5, or 7 shots (selectable with C.Fn I-6); up to +/- 3 stops, in 1/3-stop increments; Standard Auto bracketing, via aperture and/or shutter speed
* Compatible flashes: Canon EX-series Speedlites (TTL flash not possible with non-EX speedlites)
* E-TTL II: 63-zone metering with EX-series speedlites; evaluative E-TTL flash metering (can be averaged over all 63 metering zones); distance information now used from compatible Canon EF lenses for flash calculations
* Flash metered manual: Possible with flash in Manual mode, via FEL button
* Flash exposure lock: 2.4% Spot metering of pre-flash illumination
* Flash exposure compensation: Possible on body for certain speedlites (up to +/- 3 stops, in 1/3-stop increments)
* Flash exposure bracketing: Possible with 580EX II, 580EX, 550EX, MR-14EX, and MT-24EX (set on Speedlite)
* Hi-speed flash speed: Possible with EX-series Speedlites, up to 1/8000 second , normal maximum x-sync is 1/300
* PC socket: Standard; sync line voltages up to 250v are OK through PC socket or hot shoe
* Number of AF points: 45 (inside of ellipse area of focus screen); 19 high-precision cross-type points (require f2.8 or faster lens for cross-type coverage); 26 assists points (require f5.6 or faster lens)
* Number of cross-type points: 19 points--any of these can be user-selected with manual AF point selection (high-precision type points; require a f2.8 or faster lens; center point requires f4 or faster)
* Focus modes: One-Shot AF (for stationary subjects); AI Servo AF (for tracking moving subjects)
* Manual AF point selection: 19 AF points ( default); inner 9 AF points (via C.Fn III 9-1); outer 9 AF points ( via C.Fn III 9-2)
* Automatic AF point selection: Possible in both One-shot and AI Servo AF modes
* AF On button: AF button on rear of body executes AF and metering; AE Lock button can switch functions with AF On button via C.Fn IV-2-1
* Viewfinder coverage: 100%, vertically and horizontally
* Eyepoint: 20 millimeters
* Magnification: 0.75x
* Focusing screen: Ec-C IV (new standard focusing screen); interchangeable with Ec-series screens from all previous EOS-1 series cameras
* Diopter: -3 to +1.0 (user-adjustable); further adjustment possible with Eg series diopter lenses
* Mirror lock-up: Possible via C.Fn III-14; new: option to have mirror remain up for multiple pictures, until SET button is pressed
* Eyepiece shutter: Built-in; activated by lever to right of eyepiece
* White Balance modes: Auto (WB is read off of CMOS imaging sensor only); Pre-set (Daylight, Shade, Cloudy Tungsten, Fluorescent, Flash); Custom (reading taken off 18% gray card or white object; up to 5 custom readings can be stored); Color Temperature (range 2500k to 10,000k; 100k increments); Personal WB settings--PC-1 to PC-5 (up to five, created in computer and uploaded into camera)
* White Balance compensation: Alter white balance in amber-blue direction, and/or magenta-green direction +/- 9 levels
* White Balance bracketing: Alter White Balance in amber-blue direction or magenta-green direction, up to 15 mireds
* Picture Style: Allows user to easily adjust the "look" of JPEG images, or RAW files processed with Canon software; six presets: Standard, Portrait, Landscape, Neutral, Monochrome, Faithful; adjustable settings: Sharpening, Contrast, Color Saturation, and Color Tone
* Digital terminal: USB 2.0 Hi-speed (Type B port)
* Video output terminal: NTSC/PAL
* System extension terminal: 15-pin terminal (connects new wireless file transmitter WFT-E2A)
* Remote control terminal: N3-type terminal
* Custom functions: 57 Custom Functions (personal functions built into Custom Functions)
* My Menu: Up to six menu settings can be stored separately for quick access
* Battery: Lightweight LP-E4 lithium-ion battery pack
* Battery information: Current power source in use (battery, AC adapter, etc.); remaining capacity (displayed in 1% increments, on camera's LCD monitor); current shutter count on this battery charge; recharge performance (displays when battery should be discarded; 3 levels)
* Main switch: Three settings: Off, On, and On with Quick Control Dial active
* Camera body exterior material: Magnesium alloy
* Chassis material: Magnesium alloy, including mirror box
* Operating temperature range: 32 degrees to 113 degrees F (0 degrees to 45 degrees C); 85% or lower relative humidity
* Dimensions (W x H x D): 6.1 x 6.2 x 3.1 inches (156 x 160 x 80 millimeters)
* Weight (without battery or CF card): 41.3 ounces (1205 grams)

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What I want to know is - Where the HELL is Nikon's D3 annoucement?!?! It's been promised and rumored for some time, and I am going to be excited to see it's specs, but what the hell? How can Canon produce the Mark II, and then the !d Mark III, and now the 1Ds Mark III, and you boys at Nikon are still seeminly asleep at the switch!

While I am a dual system shop right now, using Canon and Nikon systems, I am looking forward to the new D3, but it should have atleast been announced by now. Grrrrr.

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