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Posts Tagged ‘Number’

Sotheby’s Space Photography auction includes NASA ‘Red Number’ prints

28 Nov

Sotheby’s auction house is holding an online Space Photography auction that includes multiple NASA ‘Red Number’ photographs, as well as vintage silver gelatin and other chromogenic prints featuring spacecraft, astronauts, and more. Sotheby’s estimates the prints will sell for between around $ 600 and $ 9,000 each, depending on the print.

The Space Photography auction features more than 200 lots featuring vintage prints, some of which are signed by Jack Fletcher, Buzz Aldrin, LMP Fred Haise and others. A large percentage of the photos are original NASA ‘Red Number’ prints, which means they’re chromogenic color photographs that include unique NASA image ID numbers printed in red in the photo’s margin.

Some of the space prints include a watermark, such as ‘This Paper Manufacturered by Kodak,’ as well as press captions printed on the back of the prints in purple ink. NASA ‘Red Number’ prints include the launch of the Skylab 4/Saturn 1B space vehicle, pre-launch preparations, the launch of Space Shuttle Columbia (STS-1), various shots of the Space Shuttles Discovery, Atlantis, and Challenger, and more.

The auction includes other non-Red Number vintage space prints, including three that feature UFO sightings that happened in Switzerland in the 1970s, vintage large format prints of iconic NASA lunar photos, and more. The NASA ‘Red Number’ prints come from the collection of Philip Kulpa.

A total of 140 photographs are available as part of ‘The Vintage NASA Photo Collection of Philip Kulpa,’ and they’re joined by a selection of prints from the estate of Bill Taub, NASA’s first senior photographer who covered all major NASA missions from the launch of Mercury to the end of Apollo. The online auction is open to bids until December 3, 2019, at 12 PM EST, according to Sotheby’s.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Three is the magic number: LG V40 ThinQ sample gallery

16 Dec

When the V40 ThinQ was launched back in October it wasn’t the first triple-camera phone (that honor goes to the Huawei P20 Pro which combines a main camera with a tele and monochrome sensor), but it was the first to offer three different focal lengths.

Since then more triple-focal-length phones have arrived on the scene, such as the Samsung Galaxy Note 9 and Huawei’s 2018 flagship, the Mate 20 Pro, but you’re still looking at a pretty exclusive list if you’re after focal length flexibility.

LG V40 ThinQ sample gallery

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The V40 ThinQ’s camera combines a primary 27mm equiv. module, a super-wide-angle with 16mm equivalent focal length and a ‘tele’ lens that offers a 52mm equivalent focal length.

So does the triple-cam really offer a noticeable advantage over a phone with one or two lenses? In my experience using the phone on a week-long hiking trip and a few other occasions, I indeed found the added flexibility in terms of focal length to be a real benefit.

Key specifications:

  • Triple camera
  • 16MP Super Wide (1/3.1″-type, F1.9 / 16mm equiv, no AF)
  • 12MP Standard (1/2.6″-type F1.5 / 27mm equiv, OIS, dual-pixal PDAF)
  • 12MP Telephoto (1/3.4″-type F2.4 / 52mm equiv, OIS, PDAF)
  • Dual front-camera with 8MP Standard (1/4″-type F1.9 / 26mm equiv) and
    5MP Wide (1/5″-type F2.2 / 22mm equiv)
  • Qualcomm Snapdragon 845 chipset
  • 6.4-inch QHD+ OLED display (3120 x 1440 pixels)
  • 6GB RAM / 64GB or 128GB internal memory / microSD slot
  • 3300mAh battery

Using the V40 ThinQ is not to dissimilar to shooting with a DSLR and three prime lenses, but without the bulk. It is possible to zoom to intermediate positions between the native focal lengths but image quality suffers as digital zoom is applied and it’s simply more convenient to tap on the zoom icon of your choice than worry about pinch-zooming or using the zoom slider.

But even if you stick with the native equivalent focal lengths – 16, 27 and 52mm – they offer a higher level of creative freedom than we’ve ever seen on smartphones. At the press of a button you now have the ability to completely modify the way a scene is captured.

The three images below were captured from the same location, but the change in angle of view makes for very different image results between the three available focal lengths.

Landscape shot, 16mm equivalent
Landscape shot, 27mm equivalent
Landscape shot, 52mm equivalent

The ability to choose between focal lengths is also very useful when shooting portraits. In the past mobile photographers had to get used to being limited to wide-angle portraits when shooting people pictures.

With devices like the V40 ThinQ you now have the option to go super-wide and capture even more of the background and the subject-surrounding scenery, or use the phone’s tele-lens and produce something more similar to a ‘traditional’ portrait.

Unfortunately even at the LG’s longest focal length and relatively short subject distances there isn’t much bokeh to speak of, though, and the background is still almost entirely in focus.

The background-blurring Portrait Mode can produce nice results with very good background-segmentation but it uses the main camera’s 27mm equivalent focal length, so you can’t combine the DSLR-like background blur with the camera’s longest focal length. That’s a shame, since it would arguably be the lens most suited to portrait photography.

Portrait, 16mm equivalent
Portrait, 52mm equivalent
Portrait, 27mm equivalent, Portrait Mode

In low light the usefulness of the triple-cam is unfortunately a little more limited than in bright conditions. In low light both the super-wide-angle and wide-angle show noise increases and the levels of detail are reduced. That’s only really noticeable when zooming in to a 100% view, however. Color and exposure remain solid down to very low light levels. The 27mm equiv camera, with its bigger sensor and brighter aperture is the stronger option as the light levels drop.

The tele-lens on the other hand is completely deactivated in dim conditions. Instead, the camera uses the main sensor to capture the image and applies digital zoom to keep the exposure bright enough and control noise to some degree. The resulting images show very low levels of detail.

The LG is not the only device doing this – we’ve seen the same behavior on the first iPhones with tele-lens and some other Android devices. It means however that low-light tele shots are best avoided if you are planning to view or display them at larger sizes.

Night Shot, 16mm equivalent
Night shot, 27mm equivalent
Night shot, tele setting (shot with 27mm equivalent camera and with digital zoom)

The different image output sizes (16MP for the super-wide-angle, 12MP for the other two cameras) are slightly unusual but not really a problem. The same can be said for the fixed focus of the super-wide-angle camera. With virtually unlimited depth-of-field there isn’t really a need for an autofocus system.

On all three cameras image detail capture is only average and many images show pretty strong chromatic aberration but again, these flaws are only visible at larger magnifications and most smartphone images are never viewed at full size. Other than that there isn’t much to criticize about the V40 ThinQ’s triple-cam general image quality. Color and exposure tend to be very good in most shooting conditions.

Conclusion

Did I like shooting with the LG V40 ThinQ triple-cam then? The answer is a resounding yes! The iPhone 7 Plus was my first tele-cam-equipped smartphone and I remember how incredibly useful I found that longer lens while shooting on a tourist trip to New York, despite its shortcomings in low light.

The LG V40 ThinQ takes things one step further by adding a super-wide-angle to the mix. Gone are the days of difficult decisions between longer reach or a wider angle of view when buying a new smartphone. Now you can have it all in one device that easily fits into your pocket, and also gives you the ability to instantly edit and share.

Triple-cam-smartphones really are the final nail in the compact camera’s coffin

Is there still room for improvement? Of course there is. The tele-lens could perform better in low light and an even longer focal length would be nice (the Huawei Mate 20 Pro already offers a 3x optical zoom) but the additional creative freedom offered by the V40 ThinQ and similar devices is already a huge leap forward when compared to conventional single-lens smartphones.

If we still needed one, triple-cam-smartphones really are the final nail in the compact camera’s coffin, and we can be pretty certain device manufacturers won’t stop here. New hardware developments in combination with computational imaging techniques are likely to lead to even longer focal lengths and wider zoom ranges on smartphones in the very near future.

Gallery

There are 52 images in our LG V40 ThinQ sample gallery. Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter / magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review), we do so in good faith, please don’t abuse it.

Unless otherwise noted images taken with no particular settings at full resolution.

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony announces new flagship guide number 60 HVL-F60RM wireless flash

23 Feb

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Sony just released a new flagship radio-triggered wireless flash for its full-frame E-Mount cameras. The HVL-F60RM has a built in radio receiver, which means it can be triggered simply via a FA-WRC1M Wireless Radio Commander attached to your E-mount body. It’s a powerful unit with a guide number 60m at 200mm, ISO 100. The flash covers a zoom range of 20-200mm and promises to provide “uniform wide-range zoom coverage without shading with continuous shooting up to 220 flashes.”

The HVL-F60RM does not replace the HVL-F60M flash, which remains in Sony’s lineup for A-mount cameras. The RM version is designed specifically for E-mount (though it will work with A-mount, but without AF Assist), but even for A-mount it has the added benefit of not requiring a separate radio receiver mounted to the flash to be triggered wirelessly.

Several improvements have been made to make the RM version worth your money. First, you don’t need a separate radio receiver attached to your flash. Also, heat resistance has been increased by “as much as” 4x, recycle time has been reduced to 1.7 seconds, and a new External Battery Adaptor (the FA-EBA1 seen in the gallery above) can drop that recycle time even further to just 0.6 seconds.

Additional features include non-directional wireless radio communication from up to 30 meters away, support for up to 15 flash units (assigned to up to 5 groups) when the flash is mounted to a compatible camera and used as a transmitter, an LED Light and AF Illuminator, and a dust and moisture resistant design that “allows flash shooting even in challenging environments.” But there’s one important thing to keep in mind…

No truly usable AF Assist

Sony removed the AF assist beam from the original HVL-F60M that projects a red grid upon your subject to quickly help the AF system achieve focus on subject in total darkness, say, on the dance floor at a wedding. This is a huge omission and sad oversight. We have yet to see if any light is triggered – Sony’s claim that there’s an AF illuminator indicates that at least some AF assist light is triggered. But a blinding LED is not what subjects at events in the dark want thrown in their faces. Instead, Sony should’ve built in a an AF assist grid that’s projected onto nearby subjects for quick AF in low light. Since Sony’s AF pixels on most modern a7/a9 bodies actually use blue color filters, a blue AF assist grid would be ideal, and wouldn’t even bother subjects you’re focusing on significant.

We hope Sony develops a radio transmitter that projects a blue grid for AF-assist in the future, for fast AF in total darkness

Sadly, all Sony E-mount cameras will do with this flash is project a bright LED on your subject for focus, making it difficult to shoot professional events in low light. That’s a huge shame, and our last remaining hope is that Sony develops a radio transmitter to be mounted on-camera that projects this AF grid to help achieve focus quickly.

Here’s a quick video intro to this new flash:

To learn more, head over to the Sony product page for either the HVL-F60RM flash or the FA-EBA1 external battery. The HVL-F60RM costs $ 600 USD (€700), while the FA-EBA1 External Battery Adaptor will run you $ 250 USD (€300). Both products will begin shipping in April.

Press Release

Sony Launches New Flagship Guide Number 60 Flash

New HVL-F60RM Combines Overwhelming Continuous Flash Performance with Advanced Operability and Wireless Control

SAN DIEGO, Feb. 22, 2018 – Sony Electronics, a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer, has today announced a new flagship addition to its digital imaging range with the launch of the HVL-F60RM Flash.

Addressing the needs of the increasing numbers of professional photographers adopting the Sony ? system, the HVL-F60RM offers high-power flash output, reliable continuous performance and advanced control features with integrated radio control options.

The HVL-F60RM has a guide number of 60[i] and covers illumination angles from 20mm[ii] to 200mm[iii] providing uniform wide-range zoom coverage without shading with continuous shooting up to 220[v] flashes. The use of heat resistant materials and the deployment of new advanced algorithms means that heat resistance has been increased by as much as 4x[iv] compared to the previous model, HVL-F60M.

Further improvements have been made to the recycle time which has been reduced to 1.7 seconds[v] or just 0.6 seconds[v] with the new External Battery Adaptor, product code FA-EBA1. A unique benefit of previous Sony flashes, Quick Shift Bounce is included, allowing the photographers to quickly shift from horizontal to vertical orientation, 90 degrees left or right, upward by up to 150 degrees, and downward by 8 degrees for flexible positioning and optimum lighting for a wide range of scenes.

Independent light output level (LEVEL -/+) buttons allow direct control of output or compensation, supporting an efficient workflow. A comprehensive display facilitates adjustments and flash output level confirmation, and also provides intuitive access to flash output settings for paired wireless flashes.

Functions can be freely assigned to the unit’s four-way controller, center button, and control wheel for easy access when required. Furthermore, TTL flash output can be memorized and recalled in manual mode when needed for immediate use or use after minor adjustment. This is another feature that can simplify manual workflow and save time.

The dust and moisture resistant design[vi] of the HVL-F60RM allows flash shooting even in challenging environments and a new optional Rain Guard[vii], product code FA-RG1, provides added protection to the connection between the flash and camera[viii]. Another example of the complete attention to detail that has gone into the design of the HVL-F60RM, is the metal foot of the Multi Interface Shoe™ connection which has been re-designed for increased rigidity and reliability.

A pre-requisite for leading-edge studio set-ups, the wireless radio communication is non-directional so receiver flash units can be positioned anywhere up to approximately 30 meters[iii] away from the camera, even in situations where reflectors or other obstacles would interfere with optical communication. A HVL-F60RM mounted on a compatible camera[ix] functioning as transmitter can be paired with off-camera units functioning as receivers. Multiple flashes are supported with the user able to use up to 15 flash units, assigned in to up to 5 groups[x] or wireless flash control and the use of a pairing system effectively prevents interference from other electronic devices.

Pricing and Availability

The new HVL-F60RM will be available in North America in April, 2018 priced at approximately $ 600 US or $ 730 CA.

The new FA-EBA1 will be available in North America in April, 2018 priced at approximately $ 250 US or $ 330 CA.

The new FA-RG1 will be available in North America in April, 2018 priced at approximately $ 25 US or $ 30 CA.


[i] 200mm at ISO100 in metres

[ii] 14mm with wide panel

[iii] 35mm full-frame equivalent

[iv] Sony test conditions

[v] With Ni-MH batteries, Sony test conditions

[vi] Not guaranteed to be 100% dust and moisture proof

[vii] Not to completely protect against water ingress. When the camera is held in the portrait orientation or at a tilt for photographing, in particular, it may fail to protect water ingress

[viii] With this unit attached, the camera may fail to record audio during video shooting, depending on the model. For the camera models to which this precaution applies, visit http://www.sony.net/acc/rg1/.

[ix] Refer to the Sony support page for camera compatibility information. http://www.sony.net/flash/f60rm/

[x] In the Group flash mode. Up to 3 groups in the TTL or Manual flash mode

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Raw bit depth is about dynamic range, not the number of colors you get to capture

03 Sep
Shooting this image in 14-bit helped retain the full dynamic range captured by the sensor. Most of the time, with most cameras, 12-bit is enough.

Raw bit depth is often discussed as if it improves image quality and that more is better, but that’s not really the case. In fact, if your camera doesn’t need greater bit depth then you’ll just end up using hard drive space to record noise.

In fairness, it does sound as if bit depth is about the subtlety of color you can capture. After all, a 12-bit Raw file can record each pixel brightness with 4096 steps of subtlety, whereas a 14-bit one can capture tonal information with 16,384 levels of precision. But, as it turns out, that’s not really what ends up mattering. Instead, bit depth is primarily about how much of your camera’s captured dynamic range can be retained.

Much of this comes down to one factor: unlike our perception of brightness, Raw files are linear, not logarithmic. Let me explain why this matters.

Half the values in your Raw file are devoted to the brightest stop of light you captured

The human visual system (which includes the brain’s processing of the signals it gets from the eyes), interprets light in a non-linear manner: double the brightness of a light source by, say, turning on a second, identical light, and the perceptual difference isn’t that things have got twice as bright. Similarly, we’re much better as distinguishing between subtle differences in midtones than we are vast differences in bright ones. This is part of the way we’re able to cope with the high dynamic ranges in the scenes we encounter.

Digital sensors are different in this respect: double the light and you’ll get double the number of electrons released by the sensor, which results in double the value generated by the analogue-to-digital conversion process.

This diagram shows how the linear response of a digital sensor maps to the number of EV you can potentially capture. Note how the brightest stop of light takes up 1/2 of the available values of your Raw file.

Why does this matter? Because it means that half the values in your Raw file (the values between 2048 and 4096 in a 12-bit Raw file) are devoted to the brightest stop of light you captured. Which, with most typical tone curves, ends up translating to a series of near-indistinguishably bright tones in the final image. The next stop of light takes up the next 1024 values, and the third stop is recorded with the next 512, taking half of the remaining values each time.

In a typical out-of-camera JPEG rendering, the first ~3.5EV are captured above middle grey, and the first three of these stops of highlights have used up 7/8th of your available Raw values. The remaining Raw values are used to capture tones from just above middle grey all the way down to black.

Using the D750’s default JPEG tone curve as an example, you can see that around 3.5EV of the camera’s dynamic range is used for tones above middle grey. 1/2 the Raw values are used to capture the tones that end up being JPEG values of roughly 240 upwards, and more than 7/8ths of the available values on tones about middle grey.

Follow this logic onwards and you’ll see that the difference between 12 and 14-bit Raw has less to do with subtle transitions (after all, even in the example I describe, the tones around middle brightness would be encoded using 256 levels: the same number of steps used for the entire dynamic range of the image if saved as a JPEG or viewed on most, 8-bit monitors). Instead it has much more to do with having enough Raw values left to encode shadow detail.

By the time you’ve created a JPEG, the brightest stop of your image is likely to be made up from the tones in this image. Half of your Raw file was used for storing just these near-white tones.

Since every additional ‘bit’ of data doubles the number of available Raw values, but the brightest stop of light takes up half of your Raw values, you can see that all of those additional values increase the capacity of your Raw file by 1EV. Which, assuming neither you nor your camera’s exposure calibration are completely mad, ends up meaning an extra stop in the shadows.*

A 14-bit Raw file won’t generally give extra highlight capture, it’ll mean having sufficient Raw numbers left to be able to capture detail in the shadows. And if your camera is swamped by noise before you get to 14EV (most are), all this extra data will effectively be used to record shadow noise.

In other words, 12-bits provides enough room to encode roughly 12 stops of dynamic range, while 14 bits gives the extra space to capture up to around 14EV. Or to look at it from the opposite perspective: if your camera is overwhelmed by noise before you get to 12 stops of DR, you don’t benefit from more bit depth: all you’d be doing is capturing the shadow noise in your image in greater detail.

Bit depth in video

It’s a similar story in video. Because video capture is so data intensive, it’s not usually practical to try to save all the captured data, which usually means crushing everything down to just 8 or 10 bits.

Log gamma is a way of taking the linear data captured by the sensor and reformatting it so that each stop of captured light is given the same amount of values in the smaller file. This makes more sensible use of the file space and retains as much processing flexibility as possible.

And, even if you own, say, a Sony a7S (one of the few cameras we’ve encountered that has sufficiently large/clean pixels that it doesn’t have enough bit depth to capture its full dynamic range at base ISO), you need to remember that you only get the camera’s full DR at base ISO. As soon as you increase the ISO setting, you’ll amplify the brightest stop of captured data beyond clipping, such that you very quickly get to the stage where you’re losing 1EV of DR for every 1EV increase in ISO.

If your camera doesn’t capture more than 12 stops of DR, you probably shouldn’t clamor for 14-bit Raw

So, even though you started with a camera whose DR outstrips its bit depth, that stops being true as soon as you hike up the ISO: instead you just go back to encoding shadow noise with tremendous precision.

Consequently, if your camera doesn’t capture more than 12 stops of DR, you probably shouldn’t clamor for 14-bit Raw: it’s not going to increase the subtlety of gradation in your final images (especially not if you’re viewing them as 8-bit). All those extra bits would do is increase the amount of storage you’re using by around 16% with all of that space being devoted to an archive of noise.


Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CP+ 2017 Canon interview: ‘We want to be number one in the overall ILC market’

28 Feb
Mr. Mizoguchi and Mr. Tokura took the time at CP+ 2017 to discuss Canon’s future with us. 

Just prior to CP+ 2017, Canon announced three new consumer cameras in the mirrorless EOS M6, the DSLR EOS 77D and EOS Rebel T7i . We had the chance to catch up with Canon while in Japan covering CP+ and discussed the company’s current state of affairs, as well as its future (in relation to mirrorless).

Specifically, we spoke with Go Tokura, Executive Officer and Chief Executive for Image Communication Business Operation and Yoshiyuki Mizoguchi, Group Executive of ICB Products Group, Image Communication Business Operation.

Please note that this interview was conducted through an interpreter, and has been edited slightly for clarity and flow.


What is Canon’s main strategic focus going forward into the next product cycle?

We can break down our focus into two areas: improving our network connectivity and video. We still have a lot of room to grow in the video area in terms of what we can offer. And in terms of customer strategy, we want to continue to build new users, specifically enticing more entry-level users.

Where do you see most demand for 4K, and are you beginning to see beginners ask for 4K video?

Whether you’re a professional or at the entry-level, you likely want high-quality video. And we think there is potential for the entry-level to grow. So we will obviously be looking at introducing our 4K technologies down to the entry-levels at some point.

But introducing 4K to the entry-level is linked to the 4K TV market. How quickly that takes off and penetrates will tell us how and when we should introduce 4K to more affordable cameras. 

Looking at 4K TV saturation, what kind of time-frame does that suggest and when do you think it will be necessary to have 4K in every part of your product line?

We obviously have to look at the technical feasibility of it, cost-wise, as well as [the challenge of power consumption]. Those factors will tell us how we will introduce 4K technologies going forward.

We will continue to challenge and overcome these technical hurdles that we are seeing at moment in introducing 4K into our entire product lineup. But it is important to keep in mind that we don’t want to harm the original inherent concept of these products. 4K should compliment, rather than hinder.

The Canon EOS Rebel T7i was announced earlier this month. It shoots 1080/60p. Will we ever see a Rebel with 4K video? Probably, it’s just a matter of when.  

Does Canon have any ambitions to become a manufacturer of high quality monitor displays for enthusiasts and consumers?

We don’t have any plans to enter the consumer display panel market.

We’ve seen companies creating affordable cine lenses for mirrorless videographers. Do you see an opportunity in that market segment?

The Cinema Lens market, including for mirrorless, is a great market. When it comes to cinema lenses you have demand for everything from the professional to the affordable. Overall we’d like to increase the breadth of our share of the market on the affordable end. So we will continue to spend our efforts on that.

The EOS M series continues to expand. What is the long term goal of the M series in terms of market share?

That is a difficult question to respond to with a simple answer because we don’t have a particular number set in terms of getting the market share for the mirrorless market. This is because we are a company that produces [both mirrorless and DSLR], as a total package.

Our intention is to become number one in the overall ILC market: mirrorless and SLR. Different regions would have different penetration and different market share of mirrorless products.

The EOS M5 is Canon’s flagship mirrorless camera. 

Specifically, which markets are leaning more toward mirrorless and which more toward SLR?

In the Southeast Asian market we’re seeing a real high demand for mirrorless, while the US has the least mirrorless penetration. In terms of the Japanese market we’re seeing a slight majority [of] mirrorless at this time. But having said that, compared to two years ago we’re now seeing a slowing down of mirrorless taking over. We were expecting to see more mirrorless taking off, keeping that momentum, but that has not happened.

Do you think there could be a professional-level EOS M model sometime in the future?

Obviously we think it could be possible, there is a potential, but we do not want to put a time frame on that.

Do you think in a similar way, we may begin to see the L-series lens line expand into EF-M?

The demand for that is still quite limited and so we won’t be able to say. But obviously as people start to look for more professional-level quality and performance, we will extend our lens line to respond to what the customer is looking for.

Canon has yet to introduce a Dual I.S. system into its mirrorless cameras for fear the stabilized sensor will increase the size and weight.

If the EOS M series begins to eat away at sales of Rebel DSLRs, do you regard that as a good thing or a bad thing, or is it just inevitable?

We’re letting the customer, market and demand tell us how we should go about approaching different regions. Because if you’re looking at a market with a high level of mirrorless penetration, we would obviously look to push forward with the EOS M series in that region. And we will watch and see: are Rebel users moving on to the EOS M? Frankly, if that becomes inevitable, it is something we will support. Having said that, overall we are looking to simply be number one the combined SLR and mirrorless market, offering a total package.

Has there been any demand from customers to introduce something like Dual IS into Canon’s mirrorless cameras?

We do get customers saying they want more and better IS. However, in the mirrorless market for us, it’s all about satisfying the desire for a small, light-weight camera. In terms of introducing sensor-based stabilization into our EOS-M series, I think it will add weight, which might deter some of our mirrorless customers. Which is why we think optical IS is the way to go for us.

That said, we are aware that our competitors have already introduced this style of sensor-based stabilization. And we do see the merits of having optical and sensor based IS working together. What we’re looking at is trying to evolve ourselves in terms of developing technology so that we can downsize and reduce the weight of a sensor-based IS system.

You’d mentioned Wi-Fi capability being an area of focus in the future. Is that a result of user feedback? If so, what kind of feedback have users given?

Yes that is the result of direct user feedback, like that from our customer service centers. Most responses are regarding “how to use” Wi-Fi, which implies that many customers find it difficult to use. Overall, we can summarize what customers are looking for, regarding connectivity, is overall ease-of-use. To respond to that demand, we’re working to make connecting simpler and have incorporated Bluetooth technology into some of our cameras.

Do you have any plans to enter the VR or 360 markets?

We’re always looking to see what sorts of new visual means of expression we can offer to our customers, 360 imaging included. So, yes, we are considering how we can leverage 360 technology.

That said, we’re already seeing a lot of 360 cameras out there in the market. There are many players at the moment, but none have actually achieved big, great success. I think that’s telling, [and suggests that] that there is something lacking. In other words, if we were to come out with a Canon 360 camera, we would need to have Canon-like added value, ideas and concepts. Unless we do that I think there’s no meaning.

Do you think 360 is going to become the next 3D, where people talk about it for a few years, then it just goes away?

There is a lot of hype at the moment. But in terms of new visual expression, I think there is a value 360 technology adds to the visual world. i don’t think it will die out as 3D did.

Another way to look at it is 360 technology is not just about taking the photo, or the satisfaction of making an image , but how to display it, and how to leverage what you’ve actually taken. I think there has to be a total package for 360 technology to advance into the future. 

Will Canon introduce a VR camera like Nikon did with the KeyMission 360? Only if they see it adding value to the market.

We’ve seen several brands put out retro-style cameras in recent years. Canon has a long history in the analog camera market. Has there been any talk of launching a product that is a throwback to Canon’s film heritage?

I can’t give a detailed answer to this question, but we do have these customer demands and we’re hearing them. But it’s not to say we’ll be shifting a lot of focus onto such a product, but its rather we are feeling out of what the customer is looking for at the moment.

However I don’t think making such a camera is just about the retro design, it’s about having a retro look and feel, but with the evolution of features Canon currently has to offer.

Tokyo Olympics are coming up in 2020, obviously we’ll see Canon and Nikon DSLR lenses on the sidelines. but how long do you think it will be before we see mirrorless cameras shooting major sporting events?

It’s difficult to project into the future. Looking at mirrorless and it’s current state at the moment, and the timeframe between now and 2020, I don’t think I can envisage mirrorless at the Olympic games.

People [like Reuters, AP etc.] who come as press to something like the Olympics and bring their own gear, obviously they can’t make mistakes – its a once in lifetime opportunity. So my guess is the majority will still be using the cameras they are used to for the time being. In other words, DSLRs.

Film sales are up in 2017. Has there been any talk of perhaps introducing a new Canon film camera? Like an EOS 1V Mark II?

I can say in terms of new products: doubtful. But there are people who still love film and we still offer the EOS-1v from our existing line of film cameras.


Editor’s note:

We’ve interviewed Mr Tokura on several previous occasions, and we were pleasantly surprised with the responses what we received to a lot of questions. 

Specifically, it is encouraging to hear just how much Canon values the feedback of its customers. It seems like a lot of decisions about the future are based, at least in part, on customer feedback. All the more reason to be a vocal consumer!

On the same point, it’s exciting to hear that Canon is beginning to regard 4K video capture as something that perhaps it needs to offer in all ILC products, regardless of price. I just hope it makes its way to the Rebel series soon. 

Canon’s response to our question about a potential entry in the VR realm was interesting. Essentially, they feel that it is something they will only commit to if they truly feel like they can launch a 360 product that will do right by their customers. 

On a similar note, though we may never see an a digital reincarnation of the AE-1, it’s pretty cool to hear that Canon is aware of a customer desire for a retro-designed Canon camera, but (unsurprisingly) won’t make one unless it marries current tech with old-school design principles. 

That said, we were a little disappointed to see Canon continue to view mirrorless as a consumer technology and not as something with a potential, in the near future, to be something pro sports and photojournalists reach for.

Canon is a brand with a strong identity, and while we at DPReview may feel like perhaps they entered the mirrorless market a little on the late side, Canon’s caution into jumping into industry trends too quickly doesn’t seem to have done the company any obvious harm. But please, give us 4K at the consumer level. 

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Panasonic Lumix GH5 shipments may be delayed due to high number of pre-orders

08 Feb

Update: Panasonic US has clarified that this announcement is intended for customers in Japan, and availability will vary by country. The GH5 is slated for March 30th availability in the US.

Panasonic Japan has announced that customers who have ordered a Lumix GH5 may face a longer wait due to the high number of pre-orders. The camera is scheduled for release on March 23, and Panasonic is prioritizing pre-order shipments. The GH5 was officially announced at the beginning of January, and Panasonic targeted a ‘late March’ shipping timeframe in its initial announcement.

Via: Photo Rumors

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nissin releases i60A flash unit with a guide number of 60m

24 Feb

Flash manufacturer Nissin has announced a hotshoe flash unit that features a guide number of 60m and the company’s NAS 2.4GHz radio wireless control system. The Nissin i60A can control three groups of flashes in its role as a commander, or it can be controlled via another Nissin flash unit (only the Di700A at the moment) equipped with the NAS system or by the company’s Air 1 commander unit. Although each unit will have a TTL system dedicated to the mount it is designed for, the i60A also comes with multiple control systems built-in. This means that every flash can be used off-camera in an optically connected network of Canon, Nikon and Sony TTL flashes, no matter the mount. The i60A is equipped with 8 channels.

The zoom head covers focal lengths of 24-200mm, and it is at the 200mm that the quoted GN60m@100 ISO has been measured. The unit has been designed to be small so that it will be attractive to owners of compact system cameras – it measures 98x73x112mm and weighs 300g without batteries. Manual control allows 1/3-stop increments from full power to 1/256th, and auto exposure compensation is available up to +/-2EV.

The head rotates 180° and tilts directly upwards, and the unit is powered by 4AA cells, that Nissin says will provide 220 full power bursts, or via an external battery pack.

The Nissin i60A will be available for Nikon, Canon cameras in May 2016, and Micro Four Thirds, Sony and Fujifilm cameras in the future. No pricing information has been released yet. Nissin doesn’t have any English information posted yet, but there is a Japanese press release PDF on the website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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PIX 2015 – Limited number of FREE Expo tickets and discounted re:FRAME VIP Passes now available

26 Aug

Pre-registration has opened for our photography expo, PIX 2015 – the photo interactive experience in Seattle on October 6&7. A limited number of FREE passes are available for the main hall, where you’ll find photography experiences, educational programming, product demos, panel discussions, and brand and partner booths. For a limited time we’re also offering an early bird special on PIX VIP All-Access Passes, which includes Hall Pass plus all re:FRAME talks and galleries at McCaw Hall, and the exclusive PIX awards and cocktail party. Learn more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Venus Optics offers hotshoe Macro Twin Flash KX-800 with guide number of 190ft/58m

09 Apr

Chinese flash manufacturer Venus Optics has launched a double headed macro flash unit, claiming that it has the highest guide number in the world for such a device. The Kuangren Macro Twin Flash KX-800 uses a pair of flash heads on extending flexible arms that can be positioned in front of the lens for extreme close-up work. Another arm houses an LED light to help with focusing. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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[MODIFIED] Google Search Engine – Reverse Phone Number Lookup Alternatives

31 Jul

A list of services you can use to attempt to reverse lookup a business or person by their phone number.

Did you write down a phone number and forget for whom it was for? Receive a phone call and don’t recognize the number on Caller ID? While typing a phone number into Google sometimes results in useful web results, the ability to directly query white and yellow page results just by typing in a phone number has been removed.

However, various Internet services still offer reverse number lookup, each with varying results. While these may work for persons and businesses that can be found in the phone book, you may not have much luck finding telemarketers. Nevertheless, a list of a few services is below:…

Read more at MalekTips.
New Computer and Technology Help and Tips – MalekTips.Com

 
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