DPReview has published their test results of the new Sigma 35mm f/1.4 prime lens, and it has increased my desire for this glass.

They conclude: "The Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM is a truly excellent lens, that performs as well in the field as its superb lab test results suggest. With fast silent focusing and solid build, its lower price makes it a compelling alternative to the camera manufacturers' equivalents if you don't need weather-sealing."

The Sigma 35mm f/1.4 is currently available for $899 for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Pentax, and Sigma lens mounts.

I have its older cousin, the Sigma 50mm f/1.4, and I love it. If the fates someday shine on me, would like to add the 35mm f/1.4 to my kit.

The Digital Story on Facebook -- discussion, outstanding images from the TDS community, and inside information. Join our celebration of great photography!

Happy Holidays to you, and thanks for being a member of our photography community. I'm honored to be part of your life. Looking forward to a bright and creative 2013.

Sincerely, Derrick

PS: No podcast this week. But I'll be back with a new show on New Year's Day. Until then, be safe and take photos!

Don't get me wrong. I love capturing good action shots during a sporting event. But the storyteller in me is interested in what happens off the hardwood too. Last night's Golden State Warriors vs the Los Angeles Lakers game was a perfect example.

Carl Landry (Warriors #7) hangs around after the game for a "chalk talk."

Often there are post game interviews, season ticket holder events, arena maintenance, bus departures, fan interactions, and more after the final buzzer.

First we stayed for the Carl Landry "chalk talk," which was very enjoyable. (Carl Landry is a terrific guy, BTW). Then the Lakers departed the locker room to board the team bus. That's also a good photo opp. I really enjoyed watching the fans line up along the railing with their cell phones held high trying to get the attention of their favorite player.

The point is, I recommend that you keep your camera out and look for good images after the game too. I mean, what the heck. The parking lot is jammed, and you're just going to be sitting in your car anyway. Why not grab a few more memorable photos instead?

You can see more shots from the game on the TDS Flickr page.

The Digital Story on Facebook -- discussion, outstanding images from the TDS community, and inside information. Join our celebration of great photography!

Lowepro and Adorama Camera have teamed up for a giveaway of an Olympus Tough TG-320 camera and Dashpoint 30 case. It's super easy to throw your lens cap in the ring: just go over to the Lowepro blog and comment there about the destination you'd like to photograph with that tandem. They will randomly pick one of those comments on Saturday, Dec. 22 and send them the gear.

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A mirrorless Nikon with Nikkor zoom for $299? Yes indeed. B&H Photo is offering the Nikon 1 V1 Mirrorless Digital Camera with 10-30mm Lens for $299 with free shipping. And for a very limited time, free overnight shipping.

The V1 features a 3.0" LCD display and a 100 percent view electronic viewfinder (with diopter adjustments). Other specs include:

• 10.1Mp 13.2 x 8.8mm CMOS CX Image Sensor
• EXPEED 3 Image Processor
• SD/SDHC/SDXC Card Slot
• Advanced Hybrid AF
• 100-3200 and 6400 ISO
• i-TTL Hot Shoe for Optional Speedlight
• 1920 x 1080/60i Movie Capture

This is the kit that recently sold for $800 before the V2 was released by Nikon. (According to DxOMark, the V1 actually has better image quality than the newer, more expensive V2.) Many photographers have purchased the V1 because of its advanced Hybrid AF, which has earned very good marks, super slo-mo video capture, mechanical and electronic shutter, and because it uses the same battery as the D7000.

Definitely the camera deal of the day.

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This week's stories: Lightroom 4.3 gets very Apple friendly, Flickr gets it together on the iPhone, and The Return of Drobo, Part 3.

Story Number One: Lightroom 4.3 was a hefty update for Adobe. There are 20 in new cameras supported in the application including the Canon 6D, the Nikon 1 version 2, the Nikon D600, Pentax K5 II, Sony RX1, and on and on. Plus there is a boatload of new lens profiles. Two that caught My eye were for the iPhone 4S and the iPhone 5.

And finally for those using the MacBook Pro Retina display, Adobe has added HiDPI support. I tested this on my MacBook Pro, and I've reported on the differences in a blog post.

Story Number Two: Flickr version 2.0 for the iPhone. What a terrific update! Not only is it easy to use my iPhone to take pictures and post them directly to my Flickr photo stream, it's also quite easy to manage all of my social activity with this new application. In fact I think it's easier to manage my Flickr account with this new iPhone app, than it is with the computer through the web browser.

Story Number Three: The Return of Drobo, Part 3. So I moved an Aperture library from another hard drive onto the Drobo. The library and its referenced masters took up 2 TB of space on the other drive. However, on the Drobo, it's only taking up about 1.3 TB. I am now using up 25% of the space that I have on the drive array.

What's interesting, is that I can run my Aperture library off the Drobo instead of having to have it on my MacBook Pro retina display. Performance has been very good. As I mentioned before, I'm connected via Thunderbolt, and I have the Hot Data Cache active on the Drobo unit.

In this particular library, I have 60,000 photos, most of them raw files. I've done image-editing, organization, and I did a big printing job earlier today. Performance again has been very good. I feel very confident running my Aperture library on the Drobo unit.

The Gift Guide for Photographers features 12 tempting goodies for the photographer in your life. Each item includes a background article about it and a direct link for the best price.

Listen to the Podcast

You can also download the podcast here (30 minutes). Or better yet, subscribe to the podcast in iTunes. You can support this podcast by purchasing the TDS iPhone App for only $2.99 from the Apple App Store.

Monthly Photo Assignment

Long Exposure is the Dec. 2012 Photo Assignment. You can read more about how to submit on our Member Participation page. Deadline for entry is Dec. 31, 2012.

More Ways to Participate

Want to share photos and talk with other members in our virtual camera club? Check out our Flickr Public Group. And from those images, I choose the TDS Member Photo of the Day.

Podcast Sponsors

Red River Paper -- Keep up with the world of inkjet printing, and win free paper, by liking Red River Paper on Facebook.

Make Your Photos Sizzle with Color! -- SizzlPix is like High Definition TV for your photography. Special this month, order one SizzlPix and get the second one for 50 percent. Buy just one SizzlPix and get a 25 percent discount. Put "TDS" in the comments field of your order.

Need a New Photo Bag? Check out the Lowepro Specialty Store on The Digital Story and use discount code LP20 to saven 20% at check out.

With the current holiday sale of 50 percent off a second SizzlPix or 25 percent off a single order, lots of photographers from the TDS community are trying their first SizzlPix. And as a result, a few of you might have a question or two about preparing your images.

"Baltimore Harbor" by Fred S. Brundick. This was Fred's first SizzlPix. He writes, "It should come as no surprise that everyone who sees my SizzlPix loves it. :-)"

I have a few tips here to get you started. But feel free to post additional questions too.

"What format do I need to use?" You can use JPEG or TIFF. I've used regular JPEGs with great results. Even images from my iPhone 4S have Sizzled up well.

"Do I need to do anything special in post production?" You don't. If you image looks good to your eye, then it will Sizzle up well. Don't over-sharpen! Let the SizzlPix secret sauce do its thing.

"The SizzlPix site seems a little homespun." It is indeed. All I can say is that the product is far better than the web site.

"How do I get the holiday discount?" All you have to do is enter "TDS" or "The Digital Story" in the comments field of your order. They will apply the discount (which is valid until Dec. 31, 2012).

If you have further questions, just post them here, and I will get an answer for you.

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Congratulations to StillMike who was randomly selected to win the Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS Digital Camera as part of the The Olympus Tough TG-1 iHS Digital Camera Giveaway. Mike published this image on Instagram with the hash tags #DerrickStory and #FavoriteCamera to participate.

StillMike

And just for fun, here are some of the other entries that I thought were terrific.

Jeff Doot

richii67

Mike Sage

Oliver Gunasekara

Thanks to everyone who joined in the fun. I loved looking at your images. And I'm now following each of you on Instagram. It's just another way that we can stay in touch with each other.

As for our winner, Mike please send me your shipping information and phone number (for the shipper), and I will get that new Olympus camera out to you right away.

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The recent Lightroom 4.3 release addresses a number of bug fixes, adds RAW profiles for the latest cameras, additional lens profiles including for iPhone 4S and 5, plus for Mac users who have Retina displays, HiDPI support in the Library and Develop modules.

Lightroom 4.3 Develop module (above). Click on image for full size version.

Lightroom 4.2 Develop module (previous version). Click on picture for full size image.

If you do use a Retina display, you might want to go to Lightroom > Catalog Settings > File Handling and set the Standard Preview Size to 2048 or 2880 pixels to see the most detail in your images in version 4.3.

Version 4.3 Develop model with Standard Preview set to 2880 pixels and iPhone 4S lens profile applied. Click on picture for full size image.

Lightroom 4.3 is a welcome update with its new RAW profiles, bug fixes, and plenty of goodies for photographers who use Apple products.

The Gift Guide for Photographers features 12 tempting goodies for the photographer in your life. Each item includes a background article about it and a direct link for the best price.

The Mac App Store has released its Best of 2012 list with five entries in the Photo category. Leading the way is CameraBag 2, which is runner up for App of the Year (behind Day One).

"Redesigned from the ground up, CameraBag 2's Analog Engine pairs a full suite of photographic tools with the high quality filters and vintage simulations we're known for. Its key innovation is a stunningly straightforward approach to layering, rearranging, and endlessly tweaking all of these effects in realtime. The 100+ fully-adjustable filters and 25+ professional controls CameraBag 2 ships with are only the beginning, forming the palette from which you can find, and create, your own styles." CameraBag is available for $14.99.

Four other notable photography mentions included Snapheal and Adobe Photoshop Lightroom 4, which now features Retina Display support in the Develop module. Rounding out the list of top photo apps were Snapseed for the Desktop and Diptic.

Even though I listed URLs here for the software, I recommend that you purchase through the Mac App Store where updates are handled quite elegantly.

Congratulations to each of these excellent imaging applications for their recognition on the Mac platform.

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