You can get more info and order a free copy here: http://www.usa.canon.com/templatedata/pressrelease/03_jul_25_eosdigitalworkflow.html

"The purpose of this CD is to provide transitioning photographers with a practical overview of digital photography in a 'real-world' application — from capture to output," said Yukiaki Hashimoto, senior vice president and general manager of the Consumer Imaging Group at Canon U.S.A., Inc. "Through our explanations and the photographers' images and commentary, we hope to make viewers more comfortable with the virtually boundless imaging potential offered by the digital workflow process... The Digital Workflow Process section of the CD is where users can gain some perspective on the digital workflow process. The content is arranged in nine steps, Pre-Shoot; Shoot; Transfer; Process, Browse & Edit; Initial Back-Up; Optimization, Storage & Archiving; and Output... Canon engaged eleven highly accomplished photographers from a variety of fields and asked them to help create the most realistic workflow portrayal possible. In the Photographer Profiles section of the CD, viewers can access video clips, image samples and background information, including information about each photographer's personal workflow. These featured photographers include Barbara Bordnick; Greg Gorman; George Lepp; James Nachtwey; Denis Reggie; Seth Resnick; Michel Tcherevkoff; Stephen Wilkes; Scott Alexander; Rick Billings and Rod Evans."

This was truly a "road project" for us at noisybrain., we travelled to 9 different cities around the US over a course of two and a half months to interview the eleven EOL photographers featured in the "Digital Workflow" CD-ROM. All of the footage was captured with an XL1S and a GL2 as side angle camera. We utilized two Lowel light kits which also contained all of our grip equipment. We produced over 80 segments for Canon USA with FCP 3. All of the final segments chosen were encoded to FLASH with Sorenson Squeeze. The entire CD-ROM is built upon a FLASH interface, so it is pretty cool to see how well the footage holds up after being compressed down to a tiny .swf file.

- don

Thanks for the tip, Don. I ordered mine and the site says to expect it in 2 to 3 weeks.

Thanks Don, can't wait to see the fruits of your labor.

"Only available to residents of the United States" - I forgot the US is the only country in the world that uses Canon cameras. This sounds like another XL1 owners club deal.

Thanks, Don. I'm really looking forward to checking out your CD tuitorial. I just ordered one.

Wow, I got mine today. Some really good tips and interviews. One of the best (if not the best) CD's of this type I've ever seen. Well worth the time and effort to obtain a copy.

Yeah, received mine in the mail yesterday (September 18th). Thanks for the present!

i just ordered mine...hopefully they still have some! :(

Thank you for your input and comments!

When Canon debuted the footage this past year at PMA 2003, everyone who saw it expressed that it looked great and that they were surprised at how much of a documentary feel the footage has - rather than exhibiting that typical corporate video look and feel. Canon is distributing at least 150,000 copies, so you should be all set in receiving one.

So you know, all of the main interview shots and B-roll was shot on the XL1S with 16X Manual/ Servo lens. All of the side-angle interview cutaway shots were taken with a GL2.

A large majority of the footage was shot handheld by me. Interviews were shot on a Bogen 3283B/ 501 setup. This was truely run and gun style acquisition, many times we had just an hour or so to grab B-roll after capturing the interview. Then we would have to rush to Fed Ex to ship out our lighting/ grip kit so that we would have it at our next location in time for our next photographer interview in another city.

A good example of why I love the built-in ND of the 16X Manual/ Servo lens would be the George Lepp B-roll on Pismo Beach in Saint Louis Obispo, California. The light was so bright there that George Lepp was shooting his EOS 1DS images at 50 ISO and an iris setting of f/11, often times with an additional ND filter in front of his lens. Most of that B-roll had us on a very narrow and very steep cliff incline, with the ocean surf constantly crashing in right below us. We did a good job at proactively avoiding being sprayed from the crashing surf (or falling off the cliff) - but there was always a very fine mist from the surf that persisted. Despite the chaotic conditions, we remained a tight unit and came back with some awesome footage. George Lepp is amazing. His images look like paintings. George is like the "Yoda" of photography.

Another chaotic shooting condition was capturing the B-roll for Stephen Wilkes. We were in Connecticut on a very c-o-l-d winter day. We had only a half an hour or so of daylight left to capture the b-roll of Stephen taking images along the brook in the woods outside of his house. It was also extremely cold and snowing. I knew we would have little time to prepare for the outdoor transition, so I proactively left the XL1S in a camera bag on the porch as we prepared to go outside in the cold. By the time we were making our way out into the woods, the XL1S had already acclimated to the temperature change (between indoors and outdoors). Luckily I did not have to deal with any viewfinder fogging and such. The XL1S performed flawlessly outdoors in the cold winter snow.

- don

^ awesome don....i cant wait until i get my cd!!!! :D

i got my cd rom today. ill go check it out now!:D

Hi John,

I'm very glad to hear that Canon was able to get a copy over to you on the Big Island. I absolutely love Oahu, been there twice so far. Last time I was there on a shoot for WHOI, we stayed at the King Kamehameha Hotel on Kona Beach, right next to Diamondhead Mountain. What a view!

Have you had a chance to try any of the new digital EOS cameras yet? I'd be interested to know what you have been using and how it has worked for you so far.

Looking forward,

- don

Don,

Actually, I live on Oahu, right up the road from Diamond Head! :D

Ive stayed at the King Kam often on my business trips. Its great!

I actually just picked up the new Digital Rebel about a week ago. I wanted to get the 10D, but I couldnt afford the 1400 price tag for just the body alone, and being that this is my first DSLR, I wanted to try out the Rebel first and learn the SLR format before I invest in the "pro" 10D. I also thought it was a good idea because the accessories are all interchangable as far as batteries, flash and lenses go. I should be getting my first "L" series lens soon. Im trying to study up and prioritize which lenses I should invest in.

So far, the Digital Rebel is an awesome camera and I really like it. Im getting used to the SLR format and its much much better than my old Cybershot 707. Hopefully I can make some money off this camera, sell it and pick up the 10D soon.

Awesome job on the CD rom!!! Does canon have any other cd roms available out there? Let me know! Thanks again! :D

John