Just two weeks ago it seemed to be a done deal: Fujifilm buys 50.1% of Xerox and gains control over the company.
But maybe the last word has not yet been spoken.
In fact, Xerox’s Nr.3 shareholder Darwin Deason sued the company trying to block the takeover, calling the deal “a one-sided transaction that leaves Xerox investors virtually powerless. […] He claims the agreement is the result of fraud and that directors breached their fiduciary duties.”
Also Xerox’s second-biggest investor, Carl Icahn, agrees that the deal “dramatically undervalues” Xerox.
As a consequence, Xerox shares fell 2.1 percent this morning.
Today, as everything in Shenzhen is coming to a shrieking halt, for Chinese New Year’s celebration, a DHL box arrived from China at my studio, containing the first actual production model of the much anticipated AD600 PRO.
Ever since it was announced first, on October 25th of last year, that a PRO version was rumored to be in the works, speculations on the internet about this new model have run wild.
If you have read my previous article, you know by now that I have been quite enamored with the H1200, the previous Godox flagship portable flash, powered by two AD600 units.
Now, seeing the new PRO version in person, it is a stunning achievement by Godox, and perhaps another nail in the coffin of the established European flash brands and their ill-fated battery powered products.
Make no mistake, the guys in Switzerland and Sweden still make some of the best studio units and special light shaping tools.
But in terms of portable battery flash, Godox has just crowned themselves as the undisputed king of the business!
The Pro is an incredibly well designed and highly efficient light and will be for sure the market leader for some time to come.
Lightroom has never been fast, especially not with X-Trans files. However, Adobe is working to make it faster and we reported already back in January 31, that the upcoming version of Lightroom CC will be 80% faster when it comes to import Fujifilm X-Trans files, as tested by dpreview.
Now Lightroom Classic CC 7.2 has been released, and it promises to be faster than ever before:
“Experience faster Lightroom Classic performance on machines with 12 GB of RAM or more, when you import and export photos, move between photos in Loupe view, or create HDR images and panoramas.”
Until that time, for most of my work, I used medium format cameras with leaf shutters, that provided sufficiently fast flash sync, up to 1/1600, with certain configurations.
But flash duration really was always my main concern, and I simply did not worry about needing to sync at any faster shutter speeds.
As I started to explore how High Speed Sync (HSS) and/or Hyper or Hi Sync (HS) could open up new creative possibilities, in conjunction with a medium format mirrorless camera, I looked at all available options, offered by the established companies such as Broncolor, Profoto and Elinchrom.
It is important to be very clear that there are basically only 2 different ways to sync at high shutter speeds: With HS, as used by Broncolor and Elinchrom, a very long flash duration is needed to provide a flash long enough, where a portion of that flash can be efficiently synced up with the shutter at high speeds. With HSS on the other hand, (the brands that use this method, such as Profoto, Godox, Jinbei and many speedlites), a rapid sequence of pulsating flashes, creates a very even and reliable solution. While HSS provides a smoother and more even exposure, it can lack the power of a ‘normal’ flash.
For almost all of my career, I exclusively used Broncolor, and even collaborated with the brand for about 10 years, for many marketing and promotional campaigns, including their launch campaign for the original Para 330, in 1999.
