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Posts Tagged ‘‘The’

Canon teases September 14 launch event, calls is ‘the most exciting announcement of the year’

07 Sep

It looks like September 14, 2021 is going to be a busy day. First, Apple announced it will be hosting a livestream event. Now, Canon has announced that it too will be hosting a livestreamed event on YouTube at 12pm CEST (+2 UTC).

Canon doesn’t say what we can expect to see at the event, but the animated graphic in the teaser video shows an illustration of an RF camera mount. Make of that what you will.

You can click through on the video to set a reminder on YouTube to be notified when the event goes live.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony to Announce “the One Never Seen” on January 26th

25 Jan

The post Sony to Announce “the One Never Seen” on January 26th appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Sony a9 model

Last week, Sony offered a mysterious announcement, displaying only the words, “The one never seen,” as well as a date, January 26th, 2021, 10 AM EST.

The title of the YouTube countdown reads, “New product announcement on January 26th, 2021.” And the caption simply states to “be ready for the announcement of the new Alpha.”

In other words:

We should have a new Sony Alpha mirrorless model – and our first compelling camera reveal of 2021 – before the week is out. 

But what camera is this new Alpha, the “one never seen”? What model is Sony teasing?

Unfortunately, we have no official knowledge, and Sony will undoubtedly stay silent until 10 AM on January 26th. But the internet has been abuzz with speculation, and plenty of suggestions have been thrown around regarding the identity of the new camera, including:

  • A Sony a9 III
  • A Sony a7 IV
  • A medium format camera

According to SonyAlphaRumors, the new kit is most likely the A9 III, which will potentially offer 8K/30p – hence the “one never seen” designation, because up until this point, Sony has restricted their Alpha models to 4K (with even the video-centric Sony a7S III maxing out at 4K/120p). 

8K capabilities do come with significant resolution requirements. The Canon EOS R5, for instance, sits at 45 MP, and the Sony a9 III may overshoot this by a few megapixels (SonyAlphaRumors suggests a possible 50 MP sensor).

The Sony a9 and a9 II are action photography cameras through and through, offering blazing-fast autofocus and exceptional continuous shooting speeds, but at the cost of resolution. Both cameras sit at an “average” 24 megapixels, so a jump to 8K might even call for a doubling of the current resolution count.

Regardless, a 50-megapixel camera with professional-level action chops will certainly satisfy some photographers, assuming they can afford the (likely exorbitant) price. 

So make sure you check out Sony’s announcement on January 26th at 10 EST. Whatever Sony unveils, it’s bound to be exciting – and only the start of a thrilling 2021!

Now over to you:

What do you think about Sony’s announcement? What camera will the company reveal? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

The post Sony to Announce “the One Never Seen” on January 26th appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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The first trailer for the Pete Souza documentary, ‘The Way I See It,’ has been released

08 Aug

The first trailer for the forthcoming Pete Souza documentary, The Way I See It, has been released, providing a glimpse into what we can expect from the feature-length documentary.

Pete Souza has served as Chief Official White House Photographer under two presidents, Ronald Reagan and Barack Obama. Between his tenure at those positions, as well as his time as a photojournalist, he’s captured some of the most iconic shots of life in and beyond the Oval Office, with unrivaled access to two of the most iconic presidents from either party.

The official movie poster for The Way I See It

The Way I See It documentary is based on the New York Times #1 bestseller book of the same name. It provides ‘an unprecedented look behind the scenes of two of the most iconic Presidents in American History, Barack Obama and Ronald Reagan, as seen through the eyes of renowned photographer Pete Souza,’ as shared in the trailer’s description. ‘As Official White House Photographer, Souza was an eyewitness to the unique and tremendous responsibilities of being the most powerful person on Earth. The movie reveals how Souza transforms from a respected photojournalist to a searing commentator on the issues we face as a country and a people.’

The film is due out in theaters September 2020, but we’ll see if that comes to fruition amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. You can find out more about the film by visiting The Way I See It website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Editorial: ‘The world is ending, why are you still writing about cameras?’

18 Mar
Office mascot and all-round Good Boy, Belvedere. Pictured in October, before we all had to pack up and work from home. Good times.

Well, here we are. It seems like a year ago that I was pulling alarming statistics together about the economic impact of the novel coronavirus outbreak, but in fact it’s only been two weeks.

Back then we were still working from our main office here in Seattle, and still mostly going about our normal lives. One of us was on vacation in New York, and one of us was preparing for a short holiday outside of the country. One of us was planning a wedding, in May. I can’t remember what I was doing, but I’m sure it was trivial – it normally is.

At the risk of adding more mud to the landslide of hyperbole that has so far characterized 2020, all of that now feels like a different world.

A couple of weeks ago, I was writing about how – whatever the long-term health impacts of COVID-19 on the global population turned out to be – the virus was ‘already’ having a devastating economic impact. On the photography industry specifically, but across the board. Things have moved quickly. With countries around the globe counting the human cost in terms of suspected cases, confirmed cases, and (sadly – inevitably) deaths, it’s obvious that we’re living in a changed reality.

Here on the west coast, we have the unwelcome distinction of being right in the middle of things in the USA at the moment. As a team, we’ve been working from home and for about two weeks now we’ve been virtually self-isolating. We’re following the guidance of WA state officials and our parent company, keeping ourselves to ourselves, and updating the site remotely from laptops and home computers.

You can expect to see current events reflected in our editorial coverage to some extent, but we’re not going to be plastering our homepage with articles about infection rates

We’re very lucky. We’re not among the thousands of hourly employees in the catering, travel and hospitality industries who are looking at multiple weeks stretching ahead without an income. We review cameras, not ocean cruises. But of course we all have friends and family who are out of work, and others that are employed in health and social care. Still others who are caring for vulnerable relatives. All of them are making sacrifices right now that hopefully the lucky ones among us will never have to fully understand.

We’re working. We can afford to pay our freelance writers, we’re still having the usual daily meetings, and thanks to the impressively high-resolution cameras in our computers and phones (they’re the future, if you hadn’t heard…) we all know a lot more about the state of each others’ respective ‘home offices’ than we’d probably like to. We’re writing, and editing, moderating comments and taking photos. Just like always. As I said, we’re lucky.

We’re doing these things because that’s what you expect us to do. Unlike many ‘tech’ sites, we have a fairly focused editorial remit. You can expect to see current events reflected in our editorial coverage to some extent, as they pertain to the world of photography, but we’re not going to be plastering our homepage with multiple articles about infection rates, death rates, emergency measures or vaccine research. It’s not what we’re good at, and it’s not why you come to our site. It’s not what we do.

Life will get back to normal, eventually, for most of us. Until it does (and with any luck long after it does) we’ll keep on working to bring you the best and most relevant news, analysis, opinion and of course in-depth reviews that we can. Without our daily readers, we wouldn’t be able to do what we’re doing. We need you, and we’re going to make sure that whatever else is going on, there will be plenty to distract you (and yes – if you must – plenty to argue about) on DPReview.

Stay safe, and stay in touch.

Barnaby Britton, Senior Editor, DPReview.com

On behalf of every member of the DPReview team:

Editorial:

Allison
Barney
Carey
Dan
Dale
Gannon
Jeff
Richard (B)
Rishi

DPRTV:

Chris
Jordan

Development:

Ram
Richard (L)
Vlad

Business:

Eugene
Scott

And of course, Belvedere.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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UK’s ‘The Photography Show’ has been postponed due to COVID-19, is still on course for a 2020 show

10 Mar

The organizers behind The Photography Show and The Video Show, have announced the event is being postponed due to ongoing concerns regarding COVID-19 (the coronavirus). Originally set to take place from March 14 through March 17 at the National Exhibition Centre in Birmingham, England, the event will now take place at a later time in 2020, if all goes according to plan.

In the statement shared on The Photography Show website, organizers say they have ‘taken the extremely difficult decision to postpone The Photography Show & The Video Show until later in the year, when we will be able to deliver the show you deserve.’

The organizers note any current ticket-holders will be able to use their tickets for the future event, whenever the dates are established. In the event attendees aren’t able to attend at the future date, they will have the option to receive a refund, including any ‘Extras’ purchased alongside the main ticket.

According to The Photography Show website, over 300 brands and 32,000 visitors show up annually to see the latest products and attend over 270 talks, demos and galleries over the course of the four-day show. Canon, Epson, Fujifilm, Nikon, Panasonic, Rode, Sony, and Westcott are just a few of the featured exhibitors who are planning to attend the event. The organizers say they will ‘aim to keep the programme the same where possible, subject to speakers being available for the new dates [and] hope that the exhibitor list will remain much the same.’

You can visit The Photography Show’s website to view more details.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: Three types of photographers, illustrated by the ‘The Grand Tour’ trio

28 Feb

During an episode in season three of The Grand Tour, hosts Jeremy Clarkson, Richard Hammond and James May take a moment to sit down and discuss the photography equipment they plan to bring to photograph wildlife in Columbia.

The exchange from the trio is right on course with what you’d expect from Jeremy, Richard and James, if you know them from their Top Gear days; the guys poke fun at three different kinds of photographers and the gear they bring along for photoshoots in a way only they can.

Richard opts for the full suite of Canon prime lenses and camera bodies, complete with strobes, filters, a ThinkTank photo belt and BlackRapid camera strap to carry it all. Jeremy, on the other hand, keeps it simple with what appears to be a Canon 5DS R attached to an EF 600mm f/4L IS II. James eschews the weight and debate by further streamlining his gear with a single Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II.

All in all, the two-minute segment makes for a few good laughs.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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PBS showcases MIT’s ‘The Polaroid Project’ on the history of instant photography

25 Jan

PBS affiliate WGBH recently took viewers into The Polaroid Project, a new exhibition at the MIT Museum. Described as ‘being at the intersection of art and technology,’ Polaroid revolutionized photography with the launch of its first instant camera in 1947.

The exhibit showcases notable Polaroid photography from past decades, as well as a number of Polaroid instant cameras and instant film packs. Curator Willian Ewing in talking about the technology told WGBH correspondent Jared Bowen:

It was a very small thing you could hold in the hand, but you had to participate in the making of the picture. The thing whirred and clicked. The picture came out and developed slowly. And that was described as magic.

The Polaroid Project Part I will be live until February 23 followed by Part II from March 9 to June 21.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Photography podcast ‘The Group Chat’ launches with critical look at the preset market

08 Dec

Editor’s note: There is strong language aplenty in this video that is NSFW. Proceed with caution.


A new photography podcast called ‘The Group Chat’ has published its first episode: ‘Presets and Why They Suck.’ The episode is free to watch on YouTube, where hosts Christian Gideon and Nick Goodwin discuss why presents ‘are so detrimental’ to the photography industry.

In a statement to PetaPixel, The Group Chat co-creator Gideon explains, ‘Our first episode is a hard-hitting look at why the industry of selling presets to photographers is mostly BS.’ As the comment indicates, the podcast episode contains adult language and may not be suitable for certain environments.

Additional information about the show, its creators, and their workshops can be found on The Group Chat website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CP+ 2019: Tamron interview – ‘the full-frame market is expanding, so we’re looking at that market first’

28 Apr

At the CP+ show in Yokohama last month, we talked with senior executives from several major camera and lens manufacturers including Tamron. In our conversation with Mr Takashi Sawao, Mr Kenji Nakagawa and Mr Minoru Ando, we discussed various topics including the 40th anniversary of the ‘SP’ series, Tamron’s plans for mirrorless, and the shrinking APS-C market.

Participants:

  • Takashi Sawao, Executive Officer, General Manager, Imaging Products Business Unit
  • Kenji Nakagawa, Product Manager, Product Planning Dept., Imaging Products Business Unit
  • Minoru Ando, General Manager, Optical Design & Engineering R&D Unit

Please note that this interview has been edited for clarity and flow.


Why did you decide to make a premium F1.4 35mm?

‘SP’ stands for superior performance, and this year we’re celebrating 40 years since we first introduced ‘SP’. We had the F1.8 35mm and 45mm, and for those lenses the concept was compact prime lenses and ‘good balance’. F1.8 turned out to provide an optimal balance, having weighed various design criteria to deliver the highest possible performance and practical functionality including the VC feature. For the 35mm F1.4, we thought particularly about optical performance.

Since other manufacturers already have high-performance 35mm F1.4 lenses we wanted to achieve a very high-level prime lens. The MTF shows [better performance] than other lenses in this category.

Because this year is the 40th anniversary of SP, our engineers really tried to get the best optical performance with this F1.4 model. We really wanted to achieve high-quality, high-resolution images. Superior performance.

So the SP 35mm F1.4 is a 40th anniversary lens, in effect?

Yes, and we believe it’s performance is better than other brands. We have a lot of confidence in it.

The Tamron SP 35mm F1.4 Di USD should – according to Tamron’s executives – offer superior performance to competitive lenses from the other major manufacturers.

It feels very well-constructed – what does ‘SP’ mean in terms of build and design?

Tamron always tries to make unique lenses making a lens as compact as possible, or as lightweight as possible – and sometimes we trade off certain specifications to achieve that such as focal length, aperture range, or image quality. But with SP lenses we don’t do that. We just want to make a really high-performance lens with superior performance. We don’t want any compromises.

Is the weather-resistance different?

It is the same as other lenses described as having ‘Moisture-Resistant Construction’.

35-150mm is an unusual focal length range – can you explain this decision?

We see a lot of demand from portrait and wedding photographers, and wedding photographers. Especially in the US and Asia. They mostly use prime lenses like 85mm, 105mm or 135mm – single focal lengths. We wanted to make a very convenient lens that could cover from 35 to 150mm, which is the range mostly used for portraiture.

Effectively, this is six prime lenses in one

There are two popular focal length ranges – 24-70mm and 70-200mm, and usually people will take those two lenses when they shoot. We wanted to only make one lens. So while 200mm is maybe too long [for portrait photographers] and 24mm is too wide, 35-150mm allowed us to make the lens as compact as possible. Effectively, this is six prime lenses in one.

On an APS-C camera this lens will cover 56-240mm, do you anticipate that a lot of APS-C shooters will buy this lens?

Our primary goal is to cover the most popular focal lengths for full-frame. And by having 85mm in the middle of the range, which is the most popular focal length for portraiture, [that’s where] MTF is highest.

What is the maximum aperture at 85mm?

F3.5.

The Tamron 35-150mm F2.8-4 Di VC OSD offers an unusual focal length range, intended to incorporated the major prime lens focal lengths used by portrait photographers.

Are you confident that performance is a match for high quality primes?

Yes. And the bokeh effect is really soft and natural.

When you design a lens that you intend to be used for portraiture, what does that mean from an optical design standpoint?

When we make portrait lenses, we focus on very natural bokeh together with high resolution. Those factors are really difficult to achieve at the same time, but with this lens we’re really concentrating on that. Sharp, high contrast from the center to the edge together with a very natural bokeh effect. Those two factors are really important.

The 17-28mm F2.8 Di III RXD is the second of your full-frame Sony E-mount lenses – do you have plans for more?

Yes of course. People really want a telephoto zoom to cover focal lengths longer than 75mm. We’re looking [into] that.

Do you have plans to create lenses for Canon RF and Nikon Z?

Yes, we’re also looking at that area. We have to do a lot of research and development into the reverse engineering, because they don’t disclose the details of their systems, so it’s a really hard job for us.

There are now four main full-frame mirrorless systems with different mount dimensions. Will you make completely different designs for the different mounts?

Each system has a different flange back distance and diameter. We need to do more research to see if we can use the same optical designs for the different mounts. But basically our approach will be the same as it is for DSLR. When we launch DSLR lenses we have the same optical design, and we customize for the different mounts. Even if the systems are totally different we’ll try to make a unified optical design.

If we design optics for a long flange back, we can adapt them for short flange back systems. It doesn’t work the other way around.

Tamron’s new 17-28mm F2.8 Di III RXD is the second of the company’s lenses designed for Sony’s full-frame mirrorless cameras. Slated to be available in the coming weeks, it will be joined by a third FE lens, covering the 75mm+ range, at some point in the future.

How important is APS-C to Tamron?

APS-C is still important to us, but when we think about the [industry], the full-frame market is expanding, so we’re looking at that market first – that’s the first priority. So gradually we’ll create a [full-frame] line and then at another time we can launch more APS-C lenses. The APS-C market is shrinking quite fast.

Do you think that will change?

It might stop shrinking, but we’re looking at customers who buy APS-C cameras, and they tend to have a single zoom kit and they don’t [tend to] invest in additional lenses.

What do you think differentiates Tamron from other lens manufacturers?

Our target is those photographers who really want to enjoy photography with a lightweight and compact [package]. We introduced the FE 28-75mm f2.8 for Sony E-mount, which is really compact and matches the Sony cameras really nicely for size and weight. This lens is selling quite well, and we’re backordered for six months.

Tamron always tries to give photographers another solution

Other manufacturers are making very big lenses with high resolution and wide apertures, but people are struggling to carry such heavy lenses. They can’t take a lot of them when they’re out shooting. Tamron always tries to give photographers another solution. Lenses that are compact, with very high quality, but maybe a slightly different spec. Like this 17-28mm F2.8 Di III RXD, it’s a different solution – you can see the really compact size of this lens. Our aim is to provide another solution to our customers.

In a compact lens of this kind, how much are you relying on software correction?

We utilize software corrections in the camera body, but even without correction this lens will still give good performance. Of course this lens will let a Sony camera correct some things, but it offers a very high level of quality. We checked pictures from the lens, without any corrections, and the picture quality is very good. The quality only gets better with corrections from the camera body. We’re very confident [in its performance].


Editors’ note: Barnaby Britton

The ‘SP’ lineup is 40 years old, and even if you forgot its birthday, Tamron’s engineers didn’t. According to the executives that I spoke to, the new SP 35mm F1.4 is, to all intents and purposes, a special 40th anniversary lens. A ‘no compromise’ design intended to take on, and beat, the best that the company’s competitors can offer.

Although I’ve only spent a few minutes handling a pre-production sample, that was enough to whet my appetite. We’re hoping to get hold of a final copy soon, so watch out for some sample images the minute we do. The large, heavyweight SP 35mm F1.4 doesn’t seem to quite fit with the company’s ‘compact’ lenses philosophy, but we’ll let Tamron’s engineers off this time – it is a birthday, after all.

Also coming soon is the 35-150mm F2.8-4, at first glance a somewhat odd lens that I, like a lot of people, I suspect, originally assumed was designed for APS-C when it was announced earlier this year. On the contrary, this is a full-frame lens, specifically designed to replace the most common focal lengths for portrait photographers. We’re told that in the middle of its range, around 85mm, it should deliver an optimal combination of sharpness and attractive bokeh for portraiture. Tamron has made lenses of this kind before – the ancient Adaptall-2 35-135mm F3.5-4.5 and its subsequent variants was pretty well-regarded, but the 35-150mm appears to be a much more specialized lens.

The APS-C market is shrinking, and Tamron would be irresponsible to pour resources into a contracting market

My question about whether Tamron expected APS-C users to be interested in its 56-240mm equivalent focal length was given polite consideration, but it was obvious from this conversation that the company is focused elsewhere: on full-frame. The APS-C market is shrinking, and Tamron would be irresponsible to pour significant resources into developing lenses for a contracting market. The audience for lenses designed for full-frame mirrorless, on the other hand, is guaranteed to grow over the coming years. With two FE lenses for Sony already on the market, it was reassuring to hear from Tamron’s executives that longer focal lengths are being planned, to round out the lineup.

Next, of course, will be reverse-engineering lenses for the Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts (it seems unlikely that Tamron will bother with L-mount given Sigma’s head start as a member of the alliance). In our conversation, Tamron’s executives reinforced what we’ve been told by other optical engineers (including Sigma’s Kazuto Yamaki) that designing for a longer flange back distance and adapting that design to shorter mounts is the only practical way to create one optical formula for several mounts. As such, it seems possible that before too long, the popular Sony FE-mount 28-75mm F2.8 might form the basis of new standard zooms for Canon and Nikon mirrorless.

Read more interviews from CP+ 2019 and beyond

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: ‘The completely bonafide and entirely unfalsified history of the camera’

14 Apr

YouTube channel ‘The Royal Ocean Film Society’ by filmmaker Andrew Saladino has published a tongue-in-cheek video detailing ‘the completely bonafide and entirely unfalsified history of the camera.’ Viewers are greeted with an amusing, biting narrative about human nature and how it supposedly contributed to the creation of photography.

The Royal Ocean Film Society channel is known for its animated video essays covering a variety of topics. According to Saladino, this video was ‘partially inspired’ by the short film ‘A Lecture on Man’ from Richard Williams.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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