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Barack Obama's election to U.S. president has already brought a string of firsts, and on Wednesday there came another. The official presidential portrait was shot on a digital camera for the first time.
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The picture was taken by the White House's new official photographer, Pete Souza, and issued by The Office of the President Elect through its Web site. It was taken on Tuesday evening at 5:38 p.m. using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, according to the metadata embedded in the image file.
The switch to digital isn't a surprise. In the eight years since George W. Bush became U.S. president, the digital camera market has progressed in leaps and bounds.
In early 2001, Nikon's D1 was typical of the digital SLR cameras professionals were using. The 2.6-megapixel camera debuted in 1999 and cost about $5,000 for the body alone. In contrast, the EOS 5D used for Obama's portrait has a 12.8-megapixel resolution and costs about $2,000.
Consumer-class digital cameras have progressed at a similar pace, with competition so intense among vendors that low-end digital SLRs are now within the grasp of many shoppers.
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Comments (15)
5D MkII ResolutionBy Anonymous on January 15, 2009, 9:31 am"In contrast, the EOS 5D used for Obama's portrait has a 12.8-megapixel resolution and costs about $2,000. " That sounds like the original 5D. The MkII has a 21.1-megapixel...
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5dmkiiBy Anonymous on January 15, 2009, 9:38 amThe 5DmkII is actually a 21MP camera...
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Are these images in public domainBy Anonymous on January 15, 2009, 1:36 pmAnything image commissioned by the federal government is in public domain. Does this apply to this image too?
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EOS 5D Mark IIBy Anonymous on January 15, 2009, 1:42 pm"It was taken on Tuesday evening at 5:38 p.m. using a Canon EOS 5D Mark II, according to the metadata embedded in the image file. "
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5d mk ii priceBy Anonymous on January 15, 2009, 2:28 pmnot only the resolution is 21 megapixel the price is also not $2000 it's 2699 for the body only. the author confusing the mk ii with the older 5d
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Where is the Picture?By Anonymous on January 15, 2009, 2:38 pmA link would be wonderful.
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