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Capture One 21 Has Been Released, a Powerful Alternative to Lightroom

14 Dec

The post Capture One 21 Has Been Released, a Powerful Alternative to Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Just last week, Phase One launched the latest version of their Capture One software:

Capture One 21, which offers several powerful new features, plus all the tools that made the post-processing program so compelling in the first place.

While Capture One is often pitched as a Lightroom alternative, it’s known among photographers as the “advanced” all-in-one photo editor, geared toward serious hobbyists and professionals looking for extensive editing capabilities in a single package.

In other words:

Compared to Lightroom, Capture One is more difficult to learn – but also the better program, once you get the hang of it. In nearly every area, Capture One (including Capture One 21) matches Lightroom edit for edit. But the program also outperforms Lightroom in a few key ways, which is why more and more serious photographers have been making the conversion to Capture One.

So what does Capture One 21 offer?

First, the new features:

Capture One 21 now boasts a Dehaze slider, which removes haze from your photos for a crisp, contrasty look.

You also get improved color profiles for certain cameras, including Sony’s high-end mirrorless models, plus a handful of Nikon and Canon DSLRs and MILCs.

Phase One has also promised performance upgrades, claiming that with Capture One 21 it’ll be “faster than ever to search and browse photos.” There’s also a brand-new “Speed Edit” feature, which lets you quickly edit images without using sliders; instead, you can make changes with a few hotkeys and the scroll wheel.

Additional new features include Capture One’s support of 8-bit HEIC files, so you can edit your HEIC smartphone photos directly in Capture One, and a set of integrated tips and tutorials for mastering Capture One 21 as quickly as possible.

Of course, Capture One 21 also packs its usual standout features. First, there’s the class-leading color tools, which allow you to take your photos to the next level with selective color adjustments and precise color grading.

Then there’s the powerful digital asset management capabilities, which allow for both session-based and catalog-based organization, plus keywording, comprehensive export options, and seamless Photoshop integration.

Finally, there’s a suite of powerful adjustment tools, including layers, luminosity masking, levels, curves, and more.

For advanced photographers looking for a comprehensive alternative to Lightroom, Capture One 21 is the way to go. You can grab it here starting at $ 129 USD for a one-time license, or you can purchase a subscription starting at $ 9.99 USD per month. Alternatively, you can download a 30-day free trial right here.

Now over to you:

Have you tried Capture One software? Are you a fan? And which do you prefer, Capture One or Adobe Lightroom? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post Capture One 21 Has Been Released, a Powerful Alternative to Lightroom appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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Darktable: Is This Free Lightroom Alternative Right for You?

11 Nov

The post Darktable: Is This Free Lightroom Alternative Right for You? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

When most people think about software for managing and editing their photographs, the most prominent program that comes to mind is Adobe Lightroom.

And while there are other options, such as Capture One and Apple Photos, there’s another program worth considering:

Darktable.

Darktable is an open-source alternative to the mainstream options, and while it might not have every single feature of its counterparts, it does have one enormous advantage: it’s free. That alone makes it worth checking out, but is it the right solution for you?

Read on to find out.

What is Darktable?

Darktable might be a new name for you, but it has been around since 2009 and has been steadily growing in popularity ever since. In an era where software costs are skyrocketing and more programs are moving to a subscription model, Darktable’s approach seems almost quaint.

Anyone can use Darktable for free – with no worries about contracts, upgrades, or missing features. This alone makes it a highly compelling editing solution, and certainly one worth considering for photographers without an unlimited budget.

There are some important tradeoffs with Darktable, especially if you are used to using Lightroom or another commercial program. Keep your expectations in check, and remember that the phrase “You get what you pay for” is popular for a reason.

That’s not to say you should ignore Darktable, but just be aware of what you are getting into.

Darktable overview

At its core, Darktable is similar to other programs you might already use. It’s a non-destructive image editor (it can handle RAW, JPEG, and many other formats) with a bevy of tools and options to edit your images.

Darktable has two central modes:

Lighttable and Darkroom.

These function much like the Library and Develop modules in Lightroom. Darktable lets you import, categorize, sort, rate, flag, and tag images just like most other programs. Even the name Darktable is a play on the word Lightroom.

That said, there is a bit of a learning curve to Darktable because the features it offers are so overwhelming. Some new users are put off by this at first, but it doesn’t take much time to pick up the basics and start editing.

One additional thing worth noting:

I have found Darktable to be noticeably slower than Lightroom. Edits are shown in real time, but there is just a bit of lag as you drag sliders and change values. It’s not a dealbreaker, but something to be aware of.

highly detailed Darktable editing tools — Many of the editing tools in Darktable are highly detailed and quite powerful.

In order to find out if Darktable is right for you, it’s helpful to understand precisely how its two main components, Lighttable and Darkroom, function.

Lighttable

In a broad sense, the Lighttable mode is similar to Lightroom’s Library module. You use Lighttable for importing images as well as tagging, rating, sorting, and general organizing.

The Import dialog lets you select files or a folder of images from your computer that is then loaded into the application. You can select multiple files and perform batch operations such as adding keywords, assigning color labels, and even applying GPX files for location data.

The sheer number of options is a bit overwhelming at first, but like any program, the more you use it the more it makes sense. Much of the Lighttable interface will be familiar to longtime Lightroom users, though the program does not strive for 1:1 feature parity. Instead, Darktable presents a logical series of actions and options designed to help photographers manage and import images.

Note also that the Export panel is in the Lighttable module, which is one way in which Darktable differentiates itself from Lightroom and other programs. In the screenshot below, you can see some of the many options available for exporting, which gives you a sense of the sheer depth offered by Darktable:

Darktable export — You can customize many different elements of the export process.

While things seem great up to this point, I do need to temper your expectations a bit. My biggest issue with Darktable is evident just from using the Lighttable module: overall responsiveness is not great. Scrolling through images, selecting pictures, editing metadata information, and other simple operations take far longer than other programs. Not that Lightroom and Capture One are speed demons – but comparing them to Darktable is like comparing a Ferrari to a Toyota Corolla. The latter will get the job done, but the former will do it way faster.

That’s not necessarily the only peg to hang your editing hat on, though. While speed is important, it’s not everything, and many quibbles with Darktable are mitigated by its price.

After all, despite my issues with Darktable’s user interface and lack of polish, it’s impossible to overlook the cost. I am still kind of amazed that all these features are in a free program that continues to be actively developed. For frugal photographers, it would be difficult not to recommend Darktable, and for everyone else, it just helps to have some patience.

The Lighttable feature — Lighttable allows you to assign color labels, star ratings, flags, and more.

One note for more technical users: Darktable doesn’t operate with a catalog like Lightroom.

Instead, the program stores all metadata in sidecar XMP files that reside next to your images on your computer. That means any information, such as keywords, star ratings, color tags, and edits, can be transferred along with your images just by copying the XMP files.

Some people find this more freeing than the catalog system in Lightroom, and while I have never had any issues with a catalog system, I do see the benefits of this approach.

Darkroom

While the Lighttable module is used for sorting and organizing your images, Darkroom is designed for the type of in-depth editing you would expect from a program that caters to the most demanding photo editors.

In fact, in terms of sheer editing prowess, Darktable blows Lightroom clear out of the water.

Darkroom in Darktable — The Darkroom interface is where you edit your photos, much like the Develop module in Lightroom.

On the left side of the Darkroom interface, you will find elements that operate similarly to Lightroom and other editors. Darkroom contains a history panel, a system for managing duplicate images, a snapshot browser, and more. Across the bottom is a series of thumbnails for selecting images. The right side shows a histogram and a series of modules for editing things such as white balance, tone curves, sharpness, lens imperfections, and more.

The final two words of the previous paragraph hide the true strength of Darkroom: the sheer quantity of editing options available is absolutely stunning. Whereas Lightroom has nine modules to choose from, Darktable has dozens. So many, in fact, that most of them aren’t even shown by default and are instead kept tucked away under a module called “More Modules.”

Beneath the histogram are icons that let you choose from a default set of modules most photographers find particularly useful: Basic, Tone, Color, Correction, and Effects. Click any of these to load modules that correspond to that type of edit.

For instance, click the Basic Group icon to access modules such as Base Curve, Tone Equalizer, Crop and Rotate, Exposure, and White Balance. You can also create your own custom set of editing modules and use the “Search Module” feature to locate a particular module just by typing its name.

histogram in Darktable — Below the histogram is a row of icons that let you switch between sets of commonly-used editing modules. The search bar helps you find a particular editing module quickly.

Click any of the module titles to open its editing parameters, and you will see a familiar set of sliders and numerical values. The key difference with Darktable is the sheer quantity of sliders, values, and editing options at your disposal.

For instance, the Color Balance module contains sliders such as Input Saturation, Output Saturation, Contrast Fulcrum, and Contrast. In addition, there are three separate values (Factor, Hue, and Saturation) for Shadows, Midtones, and Highlights.

Compare this to the options in Lightroom, and you’ll quickly see that Darktable clearly pulls ahead in terms of editing efficacy. And Color Balance is just one of the editing modules available to you. Some of the modules are so technical that Darktable lets you adjust their parameters but actively discourages you from doing so:

Another powerful feature in Darktable is its implementation of custom masks. Most of the editing options can be combined with masks that can be accessed in the Mask Manager on the left side.

This lets you use common shapes, such as a brush or a circle, to create masks. However, Darktable goes one step further by letting you draw custom masks. This is helpful for anyone whose editing has been stymied by the comparatively limited options available in Lightroom.

the Pen tool — You can create masks of all shapes and sizes in Darktable, which are useful for applying edits in specific image locations.

Again, I need to temper expectations. Performing many of the editing maneuvers is an exercise in patience, even on a newer computer. Drawing a mask, moving a slider, or even cropping an image often involves precious seconds of wait time, which can really add up when going through hundreds of images.

There is also no mobile support, meaning photographers who rely on tablets or phones as essential components of their editing workflow will be left out in the cold.

Proceed with caution

At this point, you might be ready to cancel all your editing software subscriptions and jump on the Darktable bandwagon.

But before you take the leap, I need to offer a few words of caution. This article is not meant to be a review of Darktable, but rather a tool to help you decide if this program is right for you. And while there is no doubt that Darktable can handle any image editing tasks you throw at it, including more advanced options such as tethered shooting, slideshows, and printing, there are a host of drawbacks, as well.

As much as I want to like Darktable, I just can’t get around its overall sluggishness and lack of polish. Implementing edits is slow, and drawing custom masks can be a patience-draining exercise. Odd interface quirks abound, like truncated slider names and weird thumbnail resizing when switching in and out of the Lighttable mode.

Darktable glitches — Glitches like this show up far more than I’d prefer. Here, the Lighttable interface is unusable until all the thumbnails can be properly re-loaded by the program.

The sheer level of complexity can also be a significant detriment. It takes a great deal of experimentation, trial and error, and online searching to figure out all the tools at your disposal. While this is true of any image editing program, the relatively small Darktable user base means that there just aren’t as many resources available to aspiring users compared to Lightroom and others.

Is Darktable right for you?

The best person to answer that question is you, and since Darktable is free for anyone to download, I recommend you give it a shot and see what you think.

However, if you want a bit more guidance, the following information might help.

I recommend Darktable for:

Photographers on a budget who still want powerful editing software
Highly technical editors who enjoy really digging into the editing process and don’t mind some software quirks
Users who are unsatisfied with current offerings from Adobe, Capture One, and others, and want to try something different

I do not recommend Darktable for some people, including:

Photographers who value speed and efficiency in their workflow
Editors who want robust software that gets regular, substantive updates to fix bugs and add new features
Casual users who value simplicity and user-friendliness over sheer editing power
Mobile-centric photographers who prefer solutions that work on phones and tablets

Children whispering — For many photographers, Darktable is the best-kept secret in image editing.

Where you fall along this spectrum is up to you to decide. You can’t lose anything just by downloading Darktable and taking it for a test drive.

You might very well be surprised by what it can do for you!

You can download the latest version of Darktable here.

The post Darktable: Is This Free Lightroom Alternative Right for You? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

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Review: The Autel EVO II is a solid drone and an alternative to DJI

24 Oct

Autel Robotics announced its long-awaited EVO II series drone at CES 2020 in January, promising vast improvements over the original EVO model launched back in 2018. Its most notable feature is a modular camera system, offering three models that cover a range of features that meet different users’ needs, from consumers to professionals.

The camera on the standard EVO II uses a 1/2″ 48MP Quad Bayer sensor and is the first consumer drone to offer 8K video. The EVO II Pro uses a larger 1″-type 20MP sensor that gives 6K recording, and the EVO II Dual features both an optical and a thermal camera in a single unit and also maxes out at 6K recording. The modular system allows users to switch cameras if needed on a single drone.

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Key specifications (not including camera)

3-axis gimbal
Support for H.264 and H.265 codecs at 120 Mbps
HDR video at up to 4K resolution
10-bit A-Log gamma
40-minute battery life (35 minutes hovering)
12 computer vision sensors for omnidirectional obstacle avoidance
Controller with built-in color screen
9km video transmission
No geofencing
Online login not required to fly

These shared specifications suggest a capable drone. The lack of geofencing will certainly appeal to some, and the 40-minute flight time is impressive. However, there are key differences between models depending on which camera you intend to use.

	EVO II	EVO II Pro	EVO II Dual
MSRP	$ 1495	$ 1795	$ 9998
Sensor size	1/2″ CMOS	1″-type CMOS	1/2″ CMOS (optical) FLIR BOSON sensor (thermal)*
Sensor resolution	48MP Quad Bayer	20MP	20MP (optical) 640 x 512 (thermal)
Max photo resolution	48MP	20MP	20MP
ISO range	Video: 100-6400 Photo: 100-3200	Video: 100-6400 Photo: 100-12,800	Video: 100-6400 Photo: 100-12,800
Max video resolution	8K/25p, 6K/30p, 4K/60p	6K/30p, 4K/60p, HD/120p	6K/30p, 4K/60p, HD/120p
Lens	26mm equiv. (F1.8 fixed)	29mm equiv. (F2.8-11)	29mm equiv. (F2.8-11)
Zoom	8x (up to 4x lossless)	8x (up to 3x lossless)	8x (up to 3x lossless)
Takeoff weight	1150g (2.5 lbs.)	1191g (2.6 lbs.)	1150g (2.5 lbs.)

*FLIR sensor size not specified

When buying an EVO II, you can choose the model with the camera that best fits your needs. If you want to switch cameras at some point, you can do it without buying a whole new drone.

The EVO II was released in June following several delays, beginning with a software bug and supply chain shortages. Has the company ironed out the glitches that delayed its launch for a few months? And, how does it compare to similar models from DJI? We’ll explore both questions in this review.

We tested the standard EVO II, thanks to our friends at Drone-Works. Chicago-based professional Antoine Tissier lent us his EVO II Pro model for some additional tests. We did not test the EVO II Dual.

Aircraft and controller

The EVO II bears a strong resemblance to DJI’s folding Mavic series of drones, though its body is substantially larger, and it doesn’t quite fit in your palm. One thing that’s a bit perplexing is that the bottom propellers don’t fold neatly under. They jut out slightly, making it more difficult to carry the drone in-hand.

Aircraft

The EVO II features a total of 12 computer vision sensors located on the front, rear, top, bottom, left, and right side of the aircraft for omnidirectional obstacle avoidance. There are also two ultrasonic sensors located on the bottom of the drone for precision hovering.

The Owner’s Manual points out that there are blind spots on all 4 corners of the drone. When I flew the EVO II in diagonal directions, I noticed that obstacle avoidance didn’t activate at times. You should always fly your drone within visual line of sight, regardless.

The bottom of the Autel EVO II aircraft is equipped with 2 Ultrasonic sensors (closest to the camera) followed by the Downward Vision System (in the middle and back) and the Downward Vision Lighting LED (middle-right).

Autel claims a 40-minute battery life while flying and 35 minutes when hovering without wind. I found this figure extremely accurate. For comparison, the Mavic Air 2 clocks in at 34 minutes while the Mavic 2 Pro tops out around 30 minutes. That extra 6–10 minutes of battery life will matter if you’re performing an inspection or mapping a site.

The battery is huge at 7,100 mAH and slides in and out easily. According to Autel, a ‘patented Battlock system’ prevents the battery from ejecting during fast flights or crashes.

8GB of onboard storage is available if you’re without a memory card or as back up if you run out of space while capturing imagery. Media stored on the drone can be accessed through a USB-C port located on the right-hand side. On the opposite side is a microSD slot that can house a card up to 256GB.

Controls and flight modes

The EVO II is powered by the same type of remote as the original EVO, which is disappointing for several reasons. Because you’re using it to maneuver your drone, the remote should be ergonomically friendly. Unfortunately, that’s not the case with this particular design. Two rather awkward handles fold out from the bottom that are made of slick plastic. While I didn’t fly in hot weather, I couldn’t help but wonder how challenging it might be to hold on to the remote should my palms sweat.

Your mobile device clamps in on top of the remote, and you don’t need to remove your smartphone case. Much like the original EVO or competing Mavic models, tablets will not fit. The main part of the controller features a built-in 3.3–inch OLED display.

The controller’s 3.3–inch built-in OLED display gives you critical flight information.

It’s possible to operate the EVO II using the remote controller on its own. This works for taking photographs or video clips on the fly. However, Autel recommends using its Explorer app on a smartphone to access all of the drone’s features.

Unlike recent Mavic controllers, there isn’t a simple routing solution for connecting your mobile device if you’re using Apple’s iPhone. Instead, a USB Type-A port can be found at the bottom of the remote. This means you need to supply your own connecting cable, much like the DJI Phantom 4 models of 2016. For all other smartphones, a USB Type-C connector is included.

Another issue stems from two buttons labeled ‘A’ and ‘B’ on the remote’s backside. They’re way too easy to accidentally press while flying and activating, for example, the Voice Assistant or an Intelligent Flight mode. It’s possible to program the buttons to perform different functions, but you’re likely to activate a feature unintentionally at least once per flight, and it’s distracting at best.

Poorly placed buttons on the backside of the remote make it much too easy to activate features like Autel’s Voice Assistant accidentally.

I can’t help but wonder why Autel didn’t take a cue from DJI, who made it incredibly simple to switch flight modes by featuring them front–and–center on their Mavic Air 2 remote. For example, to activate ‘Ludicrous’ mode, the equivalent of Autel’s Sport mode, which allows the drone to travel at its top speed of almost 45 mph, you need to go into the app’s settings menu to switch over.

The sticks on the remote are easy to maneuver with just the right amount of resistance. When powering on, you’ll have to press down on the drone battery button for three or more seconds before it powers up or down, a bit different for DJI users accustomed to a quick tap followed by a two-second hold.

Odds and ends

Drone-Works sent me the EVO II ‘Rugged Bundle,’ which includes a hard case designed specifically for this product by GPC. It also has two extra sets of propellers and an additional flight battery. The case is rather large for what is fundamentally a compact drone and will be a hassle, especially with airport security, once air travel becomes commonplace again.

On the right is a Mavic 2 case I purchased for myself. Though the drone isn’t too much smaller than the EVO II, the case that comes with the ‘Rugged Bundle’ is overwhelmingly large for a foldable drone.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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First impressions: ON1 360 is a cloud-based alternative to Lightroom’s ecosystem

12 Jul

Smartphones not only introduced the ability to capture photos anywhere, they also opened us to the idea of accessing our photo libraries on any device we’re carrying. Apple’s Photos and Adobe’s Lightroom ecosystems enable you to view and edit images that have been uploaded to their respective cloud services.

ON1 360 is a cloud-based service that links the ON1 Photo RAW desktop software with a new ON1 Photo Mobile app

Now, add ON1 to the any-device club. ON1 360 is a cloud-based service that links the ON1 Photo RAW desktop software with a new ON1 Photo Mobile app on iOS or Android devices. (I tested the macOS and iOS versions on a 2019 16-inch MacBook Pro, 2019 iPad Pro, and iPhone 11 Pro.)

System requirements:

iOS: iPhone or iPad with iOS 12.3 or higher
- Recommended: iOS 13 or higher
Android: Phone or tablet with Android 7 (Nougat) or later with current maintenance releases (64-bit only)
- Recommended: 64-bit Android 9 (Pie) or later

Sync Infrastructure

The cloud approach taken by Apple and Adobe is to automatically upload everything added to Photos and Lightroom. ON1 360 isn’t as aggressive, leaving it up to you to decide what gets synchronized between devices. (Lightroom Classic also takes this approach.)

In ON1 Photo RAW on the desktop, image sources can come from any folder, connected drive, or mountable network volume, and the software leaves the originals in place. To publish photos to ON1 360, you specify a folder as a Cataloged Folder, create an album, or add existing cataloged folders or albums.

Choose which cataloged folders or albums to sync with the ON1 360 service.

The images can be uploaded in their original formats or using ON1’s Editable Preview format, a compressed Raw format that is smaller in size but retains the same tonal information. In the ON1 Photo Mobile app, there’s no indication that you’re working with a format other than the original; the filename appears the same. A setting also lets you choose to upload only the Raw portion of Raw+JPEG pairs.

This photo was uploaded using ON1’s Editable Preview format, but it retains the same .RAF file name extension as if it was in its original Fujifilm raw format.

In the ON1 Photo Mobile app, images you import or capture using the app’s Camera feature are automatically uploaded (in their original formats) and made available to your other devices.

This structure is designed to differentiate all of the sources. Tapping the 360 icon in the mobile app displays the other devices sharing your account; in the desktop app, the other sources appear in a list under My Catalogs.

ON1 360 leaves it up to you to decide what gets synchronized between devices

What’s missing is the ability to view all shared images at once. If your goal is to keep the desktop app as the primary photo source, the approach transitions well. But if, say, you leave the computer at home and import lots of photos onto your tablet, soon you need to maintain a mental model of where images are stored; they’re all there, but you may still end up hunting and pecking to locate the ones you want to edit. Lightroom and Photos prioritize that everyone-in-the-pool approach, which can often feel crowded, which is why ON1’s more targeted approach will probably prove a refreshing change for some photographers. Having the option to switch between views would be a helpful addition in the future.

What’s missing is the ability to view all shared images at once

Syncing, for the most part, happens quickly among devices. Your internet speed is a huge factor when initially uploading images, but edits transfer as small instructions and are quite limited in terms of bandwidth. In my testing, thumbnails sometimes didn’t update correctly and images occasionally came up blank, so there are still some rough edges.

As for the infrastructure itself, ON1 is securely distributing the online storage among large providers (Microsoft Azure and Backblaze S2). Unlike Adobe’s CreativeCloud approach, ON1 is not using users’ images to feed its machine learning algorithms.

Editing and Metadata

The editing features of the ON1 Photo Mobile app cover the basics of tone, color, and detail adjustments, plus a single-slider AI tool for one-stop improvement. A handful of effects are also included, such as adding a vignette and converting to black and white.


Editing a photo in ON1 Photo Mobile on an iPad Pro.	Editing a photo in ON1 Photo Mobile on an iPhone 11 Pro.

Not everything in ON1 Photo RAW is represented, which isn’t a surprise for a first release. There’s no histogram, for instance. In one area, though, you have to be careful: If you apply any edit in the desktop app that isn’t supported on mobile, you’re locked out of all edits. For example, the Vignette effect in both versions let you set opacity, brightness, size, feather, and roundness attributes. In the desktop version, you can also click a shortcut such as ‘Subtle’ that applies preset values for those sliders.


If you apply an adjustment control in ON1 Photo RAW that isn’t supported on mobile…	… you’re locked out of all edits (ON1 Photo Mobile on iPad Pro shown here).

However, when you try to edit that in mobile, a message says, “This photo has settings applied in ON1 Photo RAW that are not supported in the app yet.” The only option is to tap OK; you’re not able to edit supported adjustments, such as any of the tone tools.

Be careful: If you apply any edit in the desktop app that isn’t supported on mobile, you’re locked out of all edits

As for metadata, the only visible information is an image’s filename, star rating, and like/dislike flag. That also means there’s no way to filter images based on rating or even see, in the thumbnail view, which ones you’ve marked to work on later. It would be nice to sort the images, too, since by default the photos are listed based on file names.

ON1 Camera

The advantage of incorporating a camera into the mobile app is twofold: first, the images you capture are automatically added to ON1 360, bypassing the need to import them into ON1 Photo RAW; and second, it records photos in raw format by default, with the option to invoke manual control over shutter speed, ISO, focus, and white balance. (You can also choose to shoot in JPEG or, in the iOS version, HEIC formats.)

Adjusting manual focus in the camera feature of ON1 Photo Mobile.

Dragging up or down on the screen adjusts the exposure compensation, but if you leave your finger on the screen too long, the app assumes you want to use that spot as auto-focus and auto-exposure. Another annoyance is that if you’ve set manual settings such as shutter speed or ISO, tapping the screen to set focus reverts everything back to automatic.

Pricing

ON1 360 is a subscription add-on for existing owners of ON1 Photo RAW, or the two can be bundled as a subscription. For 200 GB of cloud storage, the service add-on costs $ 5.99 per month or $ 59.99 per year. The service/software bundle costs $ 7.99 per month or $ 89.99 per year.

A no-subscription perpetual license for just ON1 Photo RAW is also available for $ 99.9

The next tier up is 1 TB of storage, which costs $ 9.99 per month or $ 109.99 per year for the add-on plan, or $ 15.99 per month or $ 179.99 per year for the service/software bundle.

A no-subscription perpetual license for just ON1 Photo RAW is also available for $ 99.99. The ON1 Photo Mobile app for iOS or Android is free.

Conclusion

When you look back at the first mobile steps taken by Apple and Adobe’s photo offerings, they started basic and broadened their features over time; the mobile version of Lightroom is close to being in parity with the desktop version (though still not comparable with Lightroom Classic).


Sometimes a thumbnail doesn’t accurately reflect the edit (though the underlying image adjustments are intact).	The ON1 360 sync status says everything is up to date, but a few thumbnails are lagging.

Before: Editing a photo on the iPad.	After: Bizarre streaks appeared when activating the AI Auto adjustment.

ON1 360 is taking its own first steps. I did run into a few glitches, ranging from inconsistent thumbnails to images sometimes showing up blank and one instance of odd streaking when applying the Auto adjustment on mobile. However, the basic infrastructure is in place and extends the ecosystem beyond the desktop for photographers who use ON1 Photo RAW.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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NAB Show cancelled due to COVID-19, but alternative options are being considered

12 Mar

National Association of Broadcasters (NAB) President and CEO Gordon Smith has confirmed the NAB Show has been called off, at least for the time being, due to ongoing concerns surrounding COVID-19 (the coronavirus).

In the announcement shared on the NAB Show website, Smith says:

‘In the interest of addressing the health and safety concerns of our stakeholders and in consultation with partners throughout the media and entertainment industry, we have decided not to move forward with NAB Show in April. We are currently considering a number of potential alternatives to create the best possible experience for our community.’

Later on in the post, Smith notes NAB is ‘still weighing the best potential path forward’ and is ‘committed to exploring all possible alternatives.’

The five-day event was set to take place in Las Vegas, Nevada starting April 18, 2020. In addition to CP+ and The Photography Show being canceled or postponed, Adobe, AJA and Nikon all confirmed they wouldn’t be attending the NAB Show, putting a damper on the already doubtful event.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Arcane Photos is a decentralized, blockchain-based Google Photos alternative

17 Aug

A new blockchain-based service called Arcane Photos has launched as an alternative to Google Photos and other cloud-based options for uploading and storing images. The new service is a server-free decentralized solution offering users encryption to protect images from potential data breaches and other privacy issues.

Arcane Photos utilizes the Blockstack decentralized computing network to provide users with access to the new photo-storing service. In a post on Product Hunt, the product’s creator Walterion explained:

‘The most challenging part for us was designing a blockchain app that doesn’t look like a blockchain app! We wanted to make the transition from centralized to decentralized solutions as smoothly as possible. That is where Blockstack comes in to help us with a secure and decentralized authentication service, working on Bitcoin blockchain.Æ

Arcane Photos can be used in any modern web browser and is joined by free office products similarly based on blockchain tech. The service’s primary downside at this time appears to be a lack of options for purchasing more storage; 10GB won’t last long for users who store large full-resolution images.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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3 Alternative Post-Processing Applications that Challenge the Adobe Throne

01 Aug

The post 3 Alternative Post-Processing Applications that Challenge the Adobe Throne appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Herb Paynter.

Image: Adjusting color, recovering highlights, and salvaging shadow detail are just some of the capa...

Adjusting color, recovering highlights, and salvaging shadow detail are just some of the capabilities that make these three software packages powerful challenger to the Adobe dynasty.

alternative-post-processing-applications

ON1 Photo RAW 2019, Alien Skin Exposure X4.5, and Capture One 12

Apples, oranges, and bananas

Yes, they are all fruits, all are natural, and they all taste sweet, but there are differences between each that appeal to different pallets. When comparing these three alternative post-processing applications to the revered Adobe offerings of Photoshop, Lightroom, and Camera RAW, the differences are as noticeable as the similarities.

A little background

When it all began, Photoshop offered digital photographers a simple collection of imaging tools that allowed them to adjust the colors, tones, and sharpness of their pictures. It was all nice and simple.

However, that simplicity got more complicated.

The ’90s was an era that awakened a new generation of photographers. The taste of blood was in the public waters, and it attracted all forms of predators. As users became more sophisticated, demanding more power and software magic, Silicon Valley awoke to the smell of profits. Computer technology companies sprung up everywhere, developing new and faster processors, higher resolution monitors and larger storage devices.

The door to the digital darkroom swung wide open, and the Adobe marketing machine began rolling out yearly updates for their breakthrough photo editing software. Cha-Ching.

Adobe not only started a new industry – they owned it. For the first ten years or so, Adobe wisely kept any imaging software challengers at bay by enlisting them to develop supporting software (called plugins) that added functionality to Photoshop without challenging its command directly. Dozens of very cleaver plug-in technology companies were welcomed to demonstrate their products (and their allegiance) to Adobe within their mammoth booth at all the trade shows.

Adobe Systems became a very extended family and quickly established themselves as the Goliath that nobody dared to provoke.

Adobe booth at MacWorld show in San Francisco.

The Adobe scientists invested in the digital camera manufacturers and Silicon Valley chip wizards. Every year these developers delivered smaller and more powerful image sensors and processors able to capture and deliver incredible levels of detail from digital camera images. Adobe introduced a powerful plug-in package of their own called Camera Raw, able to mine and manipulate the vast amounts of RAW data captured by the sensors.

Image: Early Panasonic PV-SD4090 PalmCam digital camera and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 4K Mirrorless, 20...

Early Panasonic PV-SD4090 PalmCam digital camera and Panasonic Lumix DMC-G7 4K Mirrorless, 2018.

When first introduced, digital cameras were only able to capture 256 levels (8-bits) of color. However, the sensors and processors for the new generation of cameras upped the ante by delivering up to 4 trillion (14-bits) color.

The Photoshop dreadnaught continued to grow and dominate the market. For that first decade, Photoshop was not only the digital imaging Sheriff – it was the law!

However, as it happens with many other products, Photoshop eventually became so gorged with various tools and appliances intended to address every need of photographers and artists, that it began to resemble a cramped and crowded commercial kitchen; pots, pans, and ladles hanging from every conceivable hook. The once swift, svelte and powerful software buckled under its own excesses, eventually being tagged by one industry pundit as bloatware.

But nobody has ever accused Goliath of being either daft or deaf. Adobe listened and learned from its more sophisticated photographer base who demanded a software package streamlined and focused specifically on the professional user. This new software would include filing and database features allowing professional photographers to catalog, label, sort, and shape their images in one arena, and free of most of the fluffy and artsy features of Photoshop. Adobe crowned this new pro-focused software Lightroom. Pretty cleaver… Photo Shop and Light Room. Hmm-m.

Goliath and the David class

All this time, quietly in the background, several talented Photoshop plug-in developers were busy developing their own image-altering software. Software consisting of mostly specialty filters and visual effects tools that worked within both Photoshop and Lightroom as plug-ins. In addition, they operated as standalone software editing applications.

Behind the scenes, a silent revolution existed that would someday rise up and directly challenge Goliath. These same “deep-bit” RAW processing tools once only available in Camera Raw and Lightroom were now available from these independent developers who had quietly amassed millions of faithful followers. The “David” class of software emerged, with the battle lines now drawn. Goliath had some worthy opponents to contend with and some new battles to fight.

Many of the software developers in this “David class” were long-term seasoned veterans in the image editing field with their own stable of brilliant young engineers. They had initially opened their doors for business in the early nineties, just a couple of years after the introduction of Photoshop.

These companies included Extensis, Alien Skin, and Phase One Camera Systems. My own software company, ImageXpress, introduced our Scanprep plug-in product in 1993, so I have known and respected these companies for over twenty-five years. They each offer unique products and have earned long and distinguished records in the industry.

3 Alternative Post-Processing Applications that Challenge the Adobe Throne

Extensis, Alienskin and Eye Candy

Extensis, founded in Portland, Oregon in 1993, offered several products, including Intellihance. At that time, Craig Keudell was the company’s VP of Sales and Operations and would later become President. Originally developed as a plug-in for Photoshop, Intellihance offered simple image corrections.

Craig went on to found ON1, Inc in 2005. ON1 is the developer of Photo RAW 2019, a dead-serious Lightroom contender sporting a powerful Raw processor, image editor, and DAM (digital asset management) system.

Alien Skin Software was also founded in 1993 by Jeff Butterworth (joined soon thereafter by Finley Lee), on the other side of the country in Raleigh, North Carolina. This company’s first software product was called Eye Candy, an image interpreter that gave users the ability to produce attractive (and sometimes bazaar) special effects from digital images. Alien Skin’s current flagship software, Exposure X4.5, provides RAW processing, image editing, and a nearly exhaustive collection of pre-set filters. These filters simulate the look of just about every film-age photo paper, film emulsion, and toning process.

Phase One – Capture One 12

Phase One Camera A/S is a Danish company founded that very same year (1993). It produced a unique medium format digital camera system for the professional market. The Copenhagen-based camera manufacturer’s latest hardware offering is the XF IQ4 Camera System, now in its fourth generation. Phase One’s precision camera systems require a very sophisticated software product to exploit the massive amounts of spectral data delivered by their cameras.

In 2003, Capture One software first began to support 35mm DSLR cameras from third-party manufacturers such as Canon, Nikon, and Fuji. The software now supports 500+ cameras. Capture One 12 is the current version of this advanced editing software.

Products and uses

Most users of Lightroom operate the software for similar reasons – cataloging, organizing, and the basic editing of digital images. In that respect, all of the challengers offer similar services and features.

But not all users have the same needs with their software.

Digital photographers come in all sizes with diverse desires. Many users don’t get beyond the simple primping stages of brightening, straitening, and cleaning up their images – the basic processes that all began thirty years ago with Photoshop. Others are either professional photographers or dead-serious enthusiasts who utilize very advanced features of the software.

With the variety of software available in this field, there is something for everyone.

The Adobe alternatives

Just as these original three “David class” developers focused on different areas of the imaging industry with their initial products back in the ‘90s, each of their current products has established turf in today’s market. While offering the same basic editing and non-destructive RAW adjustment tools as Camera Raw and Lightroom, each product maintains its own personality.

There are similarities with these post-processing applications in the initial “sliders” appearance and the operation of each application, but beyond the basic tonal and color adjustments, the individual strengths become more evident.

Depending on your needs and personal preference, you may find that one of these products appeal to you and draw you away from your Adobe subscription addiction.

Let’s take a look at the strengths and personalities of the software products.

ON1 Photo RAW 2019.5

Purchase price $ 100 (upgrade from the previous version: $ 80)

ON1 Photo RAW 2019.5 will give you the features photographers use the most from the Lightroom and Photoshop worlds in a single application. With Photo RAW, you can quickly browse, organize, manage, and catalog photos in your photo editing workflow. The ultra-fast photo browser and organizer are perfect for rapidly viewing and culling through photos without waiting on previews to generate or an import process.

Importing images is not necessary with Photo RAW. You don’t create libraries or catalogs with this software. Instead, you view the images where they reside on your computer. If you want easy access to specific images within specific folders, use the indexing feature. Indexing these folders in Photo RAW keeps track of all thumbnails in each folder. Photo RAW actually moves the image files to a folder that you specify.

Photo RAW key features: HDR, Noise Reduction, Versions (Virtual Copies), Photo Stitching (Merge to Panorama), Keywords, Tethered Shooting, Portrait Retouching, and Layers.

With the addition of layers, ON1 ups the ante by allowing you to blend, mask, replace backgrounds, and more. ON1 Photo RAW also provides 27 unique filters, LUTs, and textures, delivering ample interpretations of each image.

ON1 also includes a Lightroom Migration assistant that utilizes AI-powered algorithms to transfer Lightroom edited photos, keep the non-destructive settings, and move them into ON1 Photo RAW.

Alien Skin Exposure X4.5

Purchase price: $ 119, (upgrade from previous versions $ 79-$ 89), and bundled with Blow up and Snap Art for $ 149.

Exposure X4.5 offers powerful organizing tools, fast performance, an intuitive design, and a subscription-free approach. With this one piece of software, you can handle all your photo editing work. Exposure X4.5 is best known for its selection of beautiful customizable presets, which span the entire history of film and beyond.

With Exposure X4.5, you choose the image folders you want to organize by adding them as “bookmarks.” Once a folder is ‘bookmarked,’ you can browse the subfolders as indexed and cataloged folders, searching for photos using keywords or image metadata.

Exposure X4.5 key features: Extensive browsing, search, and cataloguing tools (Smart Collections and Bookmarks), Light Effects and Textures, analog film effects, ample LUTs (lookup tables for instant tone and color shifts), Virtual Copies, sophisticated Bokeh effects, transform tools to straighten and correct perspective shots and watched folders.

Phase One Camera Systems Capture One 12.03

Perpetual license: $ 299, subscription $ 15/mo.

Capture One offers a lot of everything for just about every level of interest. Delving into its inner workings allows one to tinker with color on a near-molecular level. While it is not a particularly intuitive tool for the beginner, it is a pure delight for those who want infinite control over their adjustments. New users can go to learn.captureone.com to get started. Capture One offers a very logical and exhaustive array of tools and controls, leaving little need for a wishlist. The learning curve is steep, but the control provided is nearly exhaustive.

Capture One offers two ways to access and file images:

Catalog – a full DAM (digital asset management) system which works very similar to Lightroom, and
Session – a per project-based image access process.

The Session choice works by clicking on the small folder icon in the upper left-hand part of the original open window and accessing a very simple Mac/finder-type search dialogue. You indicate your image folder and then view the images inside that folder stacked vertically on the right-hand side of the Capture One window. Double-click an image and start working.

Capture One key features: Near-infinite masking tools for Basic, Advanced, and Skin Tone colors, including Hue, Saturation, Lightness, and Smoothness (feathered edges), Color Balance for Highlight, Midtone, Shadow, 3-Way (overall), color channel controlled B/W conversions, Layers (up to 16, each with individual chroma/luma range assignments), and dynamic Histogram readouts that track every adjustment.

Capture One’s extensive masking tools provide unparalleled control over both color and tonal shape with each mask creating its own layer. The variety of masks include Luminosity, Linear Gradient, and Radial Gradients. Each mask is infinitely adjustable and can be tweaked and finessed at any time. You can also purchase additional Styles Packs (essentially, presets that don’t alter the exposure or white balance).

The goal of any image editing software is a successful result. Each of the software packages mentioned herein is capable of delivering just that. I’ll leave it to you to predict which software I chose to rescue and produce this example.

Conclusion

I’ve made no attempt to declare a winner in this article, but most assuredly these alternative post-processing applications are very valid and capable challengers to the Adobe dynasty.

You certainly owe it to yourself to download a trial to each one of these packages and experiment with the possibilities. The alternatives are both diverse and similar in their offerings.

Each of these three packages requires a bit of habit remapping, and you should afford the time needed to draw your conclusions. Your personal requirements and tastes will ultimately deliver your answer.

I should note that no one piece of software; neither the Adobe family nor the challengers, provides a single comprehensive solution for all needs. Whichever addresses your particular needs best will become the backbone of your post-production work.

Fortunately for me, I own (and use) all of these alternative post-processing applications.

Have you used these any of these alternative post-processing applications? What are your thoughts?

The post 3 Alternative Post-Processing Applications that Challenge the Adobe Throne appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Herb Paynter.

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Alternative Automotive Photography: Capturing the Details

16 Jul

The post Alternative Automotive Photography: Capturing the Details appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

Cars and photography often seem to go hand in hand. Whether you’re a car owner with a camera or a photographer with a passion for the classics, the perfect automotive photo can often seem just out of reach.

Automotive photography can be both tricky and expensive. To get catalog-ready images of cars, the top commercial photographers often utilize huge specialist studios with large banks of powerful lights and massive pieces of equipment to block or reflect light. Each shot can take days to set up even with a team of assistants.

Realistically, most car enthusiasts don’t have this kind of space or equipment at their disposal. Instead, we seek out opportunities to photograph cars at racetracks or other gatherings. These events rarely offer “perfect” conditions to create flawless images of cars, so a bit of creative thinking is usually required!

The Rallye Monte Carlo Historique stops in Banbury every year so that enthusiasts can see these classic cars up close. But the backdrop is far from ideal for beautiful photos!

Car meets can often be busy affairs with cars parked close together, uninspiring backdrops, and lots of people milling around. Concentrating on the details is one way to get around some of these problems and still come away with shots that you love and can feel proud adding to a portfolio. Detail shots often do well on platforms like Instagram too where the small format allows close-up images to shine.

So with that in mind, here are some ideas for bagging great pictures of the cars you see on your travels if you can’t shoot them in a location of your choice.

Get up close… closer than you think!

By getting in close you eliminate many of the problems that would otherwise sneak into your picture; other cars in the background, or people in the corner of your shot. Focussing on just one small part of a car can remove all of those distractions.

Alternative-Automotive-Photography-1

Not having to take into consideration the background also frees you up to concentrate more on composition. No more worrying about if the backdrop will compliment the car, or what the sky is doing!

You can also use a shallow depth of field to blur out distracting elements in your photographs. Use just enough depth to highlight the detail that you’re photographing. Everything else will then melt away into the background, keeping your viewer looking just where you want them to.

Pick a theme

At some point over the years, I’ve picked up a habit of shooting the wing mirrors on cars. I don’t know which one was my first, but I soon started noticing the way that they were all different. Each mirror was only a small part of the car, but they pack a big punch when it comes to design! Now I can’t seem to walk past a classic car without taking a photograph of its mirrors!

Alternative-Automotive-Photography-2

By picking a theme, it will challenge you to go looking for shots that are different from what everyone else is shooting. Also, you’ll start to notice other details as you train your creativity. Before long, you will seek out creative and different images without even really having to think about it.

Shoot iconic details

Pick out just one detail to highlight and then try to take the perfect shot of just that part. Perhaps it’s a classic Cadillac fin or an elegant Rolls Royce grid that catches your eye. Whatever it is that you love most about a car, or is most iconic and well-known, use that as your starting point when you’re working out what pictures you want to take.

Alternative-Automotive-Photography-3

Cars are more than just machines that get us from A to B. The most iconic are beautiful and remarkable pieces of design that the original designer has spent hundreds of hours perfecting. Nothing on a great car is an accident; everything was designed to be exactly how you see it.

The good thing about iconic details is that they’re often instantly recognizable. It tells people what the photograph is of, even though it might be an abstracted close-up.

Portray the luxury

Beautiful cars are a luxury; there’s no debate to be had there. So challenge yourself to convey the luxury through your photographs.

Alternative-Automotive-Photography-4

Lifestyle photography with shallow depth of field, out of focus foregrounds, and toned colors are really in vogue right now for luxury brands. Now is the time to try this style out if you can get up close and personal with some top of the range machines!

Make sure that your focus is right on the nail if you’re attempting shots with a shallow depth of field. If you miss the focus even slightly, the shot won’t be worth keeping.

Stick to a neutral focal length

Extreme wide-angle photographs can look cool, there’s no doubt about it. And I know every car photographer has, at least once, got down at the front corner of a car with a wide-angle lens to try and make it look more imposing and dramatic.

But wide-angle focal lengths distort cars and change the carefully designed, and often iconic lines and features. Instead of grabbing the easy (and predictable) win when it comes to creating a dramatic image, try sticking to a neutral focal length and challenging yourself.

Keeping to a focal length like 50mm means shooting images that are much closer to how the human eye naturally sees the world. Using a focal length around 50mm means that you keep the cars much closer to the designer’s original vision when you photograph them.

This might mean that you have to work harder to look for different ways to produce impact with your photographs. However, it also means that you represent the cars in the way that they’re meant to be seen. It gives an element of authenticity to your images.

I’ve never been one for believing that photography is simply about recording the world around you exactly how it is. But when it comes to the design of cars, I’m pretty sure that the original designer knows more about how the car looks best than I do. So distorting it with wide-angle lenses is rarely high on my priority list!

Embrace reflections… and wear black

In ideal conditions, you’d be able to use black and white cards, and lights, to block and place reflections exactly where you want them on a car before you took a photograph. Realistically, though, you’re rarely going to get the opportunity to work with this kind of precision in the great outdoors.

Carry a 5-in-1 reflector in your kit by all means. Sometimes you just need to lift a shadow on a bit of paintwork or cut out a reflection in some chrome. But instead of trying to eliminate every reflection you dislike, try embracing them instead!

Reflections of the sky or foliage around you can make some interesting patterns when they reflect in the glass of a car. In the right conditions, with a well-polished car, they can even reflect in the bodywork. Use the reflections to add interest to your shots. They can focus the viewer’s attention exactly where you want them to look. Also, a well-placed reflection can blank out something messy that you don’t want to distract.

On that note, wear black when you go out with your camera to photograph cars! Too often have I ruined my own photographs by shooting the perfect image and then noticing afterward my own reflection while wearing a bright colored jacket. Wearing black won’t remove you from the image completely, but it will make you an awful lot less distracting when you do manage to capture yourself in a reflective surface.

Next time you head out to a car show to take some pictures, think smaller and capture the details for alternative automotive photography! And share them with us in the comments below.

Do you have any other tips you’d like to share?

The post Alternative Automotive Photography: Capturing the Details appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Charlie Moss.

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Manfrotto Super Clamp: More than a Tripod Alternative

11 Apr

The post Manfrotto Super Clamp: More than a Tripod Alternative appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Joey J.

As a cityscape enthusiast photographer primarily shooting long exposures at blue hour (twilight and dusk), tripods are something I can’t live without. That said, we occasionally come across places where a full-size tripod is prohibited or there is no appropriate space to set one up.

In such situations, I used to rely on a mini tripod like Gorillapod (I own the “5K Stand”, their top end model with a load capacity of 5kg). However, mini tripods are a bit shaky and don’t always hold the camera weight too well. This is especially problematic when using it for long exposures, where the images end up with somewhat “soft” (i.e., not sharp enough).

How to set the Super Clamp up

LEFT: Plug a camera mounting platform adapter into a Super Clamp socket and secure it with a double-lock system. RIGHT: Mount a tripod head with the camera on the mounting platform adapter, just like you do with your regular tripod.

This is where a clamp tripod like Manfrotto Super Clamp comes in very handy. I own the Manfrotto 035 Super Clamp without the Stud and use it with the separately-sold Manfrotto 208HEX 3/8-Inch Camera Mounting Platform Adapter, as described below.

Avoid standard stud

By the way, Manfrotto also has a Super Clamp that comes with a so-called standard stud (Manfrotto 035RL Super Clamp with 2908 Standard Stud), but I recommend avoiding it because the standard stud is a bit too long. Thus, the tripod head sits about an inch out of the clamp, making the setup vulnerable for heavier camera/lens combos.

Besides, the standard stud only comes with 1/4″ screw. If your tripod head uses 3/8″ screw (most tripod heads do), you’ll need a screw adapter to convert 1/4″ screw into 3/8″ in order to screw your tripod head in.

LEFT: The Super Clamp with the standard stud inserted (a silver screw adapter is attached to convert the default 1/4″ screw into 3/8″). RIGHT: Due to the standard stud being too long, a tripod head doesn’t sit flush with the Super Clamp, leaving the camera setup rather unstable.

Reversible Short Stud

Therefore, I recommend photographers get the aforementioned Manfrotto 208HEX 3/8-Inch Camera Mounting Platform Adapter, or opt for Manfrotto 037 Reversible Short Stud (cheaper alternative). In fact, this reversible short stud is handy as it comes with both 1/4″ and 3/8″ screws. Like the mounting platform adapter, this short stud also allows a tripod head to sit flush with the Super Clamp, giving much better stability to mount a camera.

LEFT: The reversible short stud comes with both 3/8″ (top) and 1/4″ (bottom) screws. RIGHT: The reversible short stud fits perfectly into the Super Clamp (3/8″ screw on top).

With the short stud used, a tripod head sits flush with the Super Clamp. This setup can be as strong as the Super Clamp + Manfrotto 208HEX 3/8-Inch Camera Mounting Platform Adapter mentioned earlier.

Super Clamp in action

Note that a clamp tripod cannot be used anywhere you like, as it needs a rail or something similiar to be clamped onto. However, where possible, this setup is rock solid (with a load capacity of whopping 15kg), and the resulting long exposure photos are appreciably sharper than those photographed using a mini tripod or even a regular tripod.

Clamping onto a road railing.

Here we have clamping onto a thick tempered glass (clamping from the top).

You can also clamp onto things like a footbridge railing (by using short stud, instead of camera mounting platform adapter).

In addition, a clamp tripod also comes in handy at crowded photography spots that attract a lot of tourists. Setting a regular tripod up at such locations takes space on the ground and always has a risk of someone accidentally kicking tripod legs. It’ll be a catastrophe if that happens in the midst of a long exposure. With a clamp tripod that takes no space on the ground, there is no such worry.

Conclusion

I hope this post helps you consider a clamp tripod as a tripod alternative. Indeed, Super Clamp is like a game changer and more than just a mere alternative to a mini tripod, etc. Last but not least, be extra vigilant and tighten wherever must be tightened when using a clamp tripod somewhere high up. If the camera or any part is dropped, it could seriously injure people or break your gear.

The post Manfrotto Super Clamp: More than a Tripod Alternative appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Joey J.

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InukTech will launch Inuk, a carbon fiber tripod alternative, on Kickstarter next month

23 Feb

On March 1st, InukTech will launch a Kickstarter campaign for Inuk, a portable folding camera tripod alternative. Unlike traditional tripods, Inuk features flat carbon fiber arms and legs joined by reinforced technopolymer hinges and soft rubber feet. The rig’s three legs and two arms can be folded flat against the device’s carbon fiber plate for compact storage.

Inuk supports payload weights up to 1.5kg / 3.3lbs and features a ¼” -20 universal screw for connecting cameras and mounts. In addition to supporting cameras and smartphones, Inuk can accommodate accessories like microphones, flashes, and lights.

Though the support can be used like a tripod, Inuk’s legs can also be folded for uneven surfaces, and accessories will be available for connecting the support to different structures. At this time, InukTech says its connection accessories include a magnet, suction cups, super suction cups, straps, and clamps.

When folded, Inuk measures 17 x 9 x 2.5cm / 6.7 x 3.5 x 0.98in and weighs 160g / 0.35lbs. The model can extend up to 12cm / 4.3in in height with a 30cm / 11.8in footprint and 42cm / 16.5in arm width.

InukTech hasn’t revealed any other information about the model, but plans to officially launch it on Kickstarter next month. Consumers will have the opportunity to ‘pre-order’ the camera support at up to 50% off the expected retail price with prices starting at $ 39.95 for the basic ‘Starter Kit’ and going up to $ 56.95 for the ‘Video Maniac’ kit.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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