Nikon announced two new lenses this morning: the AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR and AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR lenses.

The AF-S DX Nikkor 18-300mm f/3.5-5.6G ED VR is designed for Nikon’s DX-series digital SLRs with APS-C sized image sensors. On a Nikon DX DSLR, the 18-300mm would become equivalent to a 27 to 450mm lens because of the APS-C chip’s 1.5x magnification factor.

Total zoom range of the new Nikkor 18-300mm would be 16.7x. The lens goes on sale in late June for $999.95.

When the 18-300mm lens is closed down, length is 3.3 inches by 4.7 inches. When zoomed out to the full 300mm, its becomes approximately double that size. Weight is 29.3 ounces.

“It’s the longest zoom ratio we’ve ever made,” said Steve Heiner, Nikon’s Senior Technical Manager. “It looks like Nikon’s 18-200mm lens on steroids.”

The AF-S Nikkor 24-85mm f/3.5-4.5G ED VR lens is designed for Nikon’s full-frame FX-format DSLRs. It will sell in late June for $599.95.

Read more of this story here.

Wil Hoffman (l.) and Julius Metoyer of Everynone accept the Grand Prize at last night's Vimeo Awards.

“Symmetry,” a visual tour de force of split screen juxtaposition, took the Grand Prize at last night’s Vimeo Video Awards in New York City. The short video was created by the directing collective Everynone, which includes Daniel Mercadante, Will Hoffman, and Julius Metoyer

In accepting the award, one of Symmetry’s creators described the on-the-fly, do-it-yourself aesthetic that was essential to making the prize-winning video.

“We often approached people on the street and asked that they do things that they might think are crazy (for the video),” Hoffman said. “I only hope that they see the work so they know how much they were a part of it.”

Symmetry, shown at the bottom of this story, also won the Lyrical Category in the Vimeo Awards. For winning the Grand Prize, the Everynone collective will receive $25,000 in addition to $5,000 for the Lyrical award.

“I hope Everynone is ready to be busy, because winning this award is going to change their lives,” said Eliot Rausch, who won the Vimeo Awards Grand Prize in 2010 for his movie, Last Minutes with Oden.

Rausch, who presented the Grand Prize to Everynone, said that he’s generated major video work from the attention he received after winning the 2012 Grand Prize award and is currently directing his first feature film.

Here’s a full breakdown of 2012 Vimeo Awards category winners with links to the videos:

1.    Action Sports: Dark Side of the Lens
2.    Advertising: K-Swiss Kenny Powers – MFCEO
3.    Animation: Umbra
4.    Captured: Sweatshoppe Video Painting Europe
5.    Documentary: Amar (All Great Achievements Require Time)
6.    Experimental: Prie Dieu
7.    Fashion: Skirt
8.    Lyrical: Symmetry
9.    Motion Graphics: A History of the Title Sequence
10.    Music Video: Manchester Orchestra: Simple Math
11.    Narrative: BLINKY™
12.    Series: Often Awesome The Series
13.    Remix: Rear Window Timelapse

Reggie Watts (l.) and Beardyman entertained the crowd at the Vimeo Awards with a live musical mashup.

Vimeo Awards judges included actor and director James Franco; Parks and Recreation star Aziz Ansari; 2012 Oscar Nominee Lucy Walker; Radiohead’s Colin Greenwood; Scott Pilgrim vs. the World director Edgar Wright; snowboarding star Travis Rice; Thierry Mugler and UNIQLO creative director Nicola Formichetti; Shelley Page of DreamWorks Animation; Barbara London of The Museum of Modern Art; advertising legend David Droga; and others.

Reggie Watts and Beardyman were the featured live performers at the awards, mashing up comedy, music, and spirited silliness.

Canon unveiled a new flagship Rebel digital SLR this morning, the EOS Rebel T4i (650D). The new Canon Rebel T4i uses an 18-megapixel CMOS (APS-C) sensor and DIGIC 5 Image Processor and can shoot up to five frames per second (fps).

According to Canon, the DIGIC 5 operates five times faster than the DIGIC 4 processor, providing an across-the-board speed jump in the Canon Rebel T4i.

The Rebel T4i ($849, body only) also features an extended ISO range of 100–12800 (expandable to 25,600 in H mode) and a new AF system similar to the one in the Canon 60D with a nine-point, all cross-type sensor array. The Rebel T4i adds what Canon calls a “new Hybrid CMOS AF” system, designed to achieve faster focus when shooting stills or video in Live View mode.

Also new to the Rebel line is the T4i’s new 3-inch Vari-angle, Touch Screen Clear View LCD monitor II with “fingertip” controls, touch-menu and touch still and video capabilities. The flip-out, side-swiveling vari-angle screen has 1.04 million dots resolution to create clear and crisp image and video playback and Live View.

Read more and see more photos of the new Rebel T4i here.

Sometimes Internet slang is the only thing that will suffice.

So…OMG. (See more here.)

Our favorite new comedy nails this “debate” pretty well.

(Via BoingBoing)

Leica launched its latest digital rangefinder in Berlin today with a special “monochrome” CCD sensor designed to shoot images in black and white. Called the Leica M Monochrome, the newly developed black-and-white-specific CCD has a native resolution of 18 million pixels.

“It has a sensor designed exclusively for black and white photography. It has no color filter,” said Dr. Andreas Kauffman, Leica’s Chairman at a special product unveiling event in Berlin today.

“This allows twice the amount of light to reach the sensor. So we combined this special sensor with our rangefinder system and we present you the M Monochrome with the maximized image quality available with Leica lenses.”

Kauffman later added that the new Leica M Monochrome “doesn’t mean the death of black-and-white film.”

Read more and see exclusive photos of the Leica M Monochrome digital rangefinder here.

PDN is currently in Berlin covering the launch and we’ll have more on Leica’s other announcements soon.

A fix for the exposure metering issue in the Canon 5D Mark III — which some have dubbed a “light leak” — appears to be in. And it seems as simple as Canon adding what looks like black electrical tape to the interior of the camera to prevent excessive light from the top LCD screen from throwing off metering.

Roger Cicala of Lens Rentals took apart a “new” 5D Mark III that arrived recently and noticed Canon appears to have added “very cool black tape they used to cover circuit boards” under the top LCD.

He knows the tape is a new addition because he took apart one of the early Canon 5D Mark IIIs a few weeks ago and there was no tape.

Below is a teardown of the original 5D Mark III without the tape and then the new camera with the tape. (Click to enlarge the photos.)

A simple fix but it seems effective.

Has this ever happened to you? We hope not.

Nikon announced a brand new entry-level digital SLR this morning and it comes in eye-catching candy apple red. The Nikon D3200, which will replace the D3100, has a whopping 24.2-megapixel APS-C size (DX-format) CMOS sensor and can shoot full 1080p HD video in 24p or 30p with full-time autofocus.

The small and lightweight Nikon D3200 can also shoot a snappy four frames per second in “high-speed” continuous mode. It’s also available in black and will go on sale in late April for $699.95 with a AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6G VR image stabilization kit lens.

To read the full story on the Nikon D3200 and the new Nikon accessories, click here.