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DJI is now a camera company, and we should probably pay attention

14 Oct

When most people think of DJI, they think of drones – Phantoms, Mavics, and Sparks. Some may also know DJI for camera stabilization systems and gimbals, but it’s fair to say that most people probably think of DJI as a drone company.

Starting this week, DJI is also a camera company.

At an event in Hollywood, the company introduced its new Zenmuse X7 cinema camera, which includes some very impressive features including 6K Raw video. (You can find the full rundown of specs in our news story.) It’s a camera aimed primarily at the high-end motion picture market, but it sheds some light on DJI’s approach to the camera industry.

Part of what makes this interesting is the astounding rate at which DJI has been innovating over the past few years. I’m not suggesting that other companies haven’t innovated, but let’s be honest – at times the camera market can feel a little bit predictable.

“Starting this week, DJI is also a camera company.”

What sets DJI apart is that it seems to consistently push boundaries to create inventive products, which sometimes even surprise us a bit, as well as the rate at which they appear to be doing it. In fact, at the launch event for the X7 I felt a genuine sense of excitement about the new camera, not just from DJI employees but from those in attendance.

Although the X7 is undeniably aimed at cinematographers, it presents opportunities for photographers as well. It also illustrates that DJI is prepared to make its own imaging products if the company thinks it can build a better mousetrap than what’s currently out there.

A new system

DJI has built aerial systems with cameras for years, such as the Phantom series, and more recently, the Inspire series. Those models historically relied on either small sensor cameras with fixed gimbals, or adopted standards not originally developed for aerial use, such as Micro Four Thirds. (The original Phantom even used a GoPro camera.)

At the very high end of the market, however, photographers and filmmakers have largely been on their own to figure out how to rig pro-level cameras, such as DSLRs or cinema cams, on much larger drones like the S900 or Matrice 600, something that requires long set up times, provides less stability, and results in short flight times.

The Zenmuse X7 camera was designed specifically for aerial use, with a focus on small size and light weight. The short 16.84mm flange distance of the DL-mount allows lenses to remain small.

The X7 is primarily designed for this latter group, as well as users of the Inspire 2. By building its own camera, DJI had the freedom to engineer both camera and aircraft as a single, integrated system. The result is a very small Super 35 cinema camera that fits easily on an Inspire 2 drone without compromising the flight characteristics, and which can deliver professional cinema quality output. And, at a price point of $ 2699, it almost feels like a bargain.

Further, it’s not just a camera that DJI has introduced, but a full system that includes a new lens mount and lenses. The DL-mount has an extremely short 16.84mm flange distance, allowing for impressively small lenses that keep weight to a minimum. The four lenses available at launch are built from lightweight carbon fiber and have no external moving parts for improved durability. It’s a system that DJI can build on for the future.

In a sense, DJI designed the system because it needed to do so in order to continue innovating in other areas.

“In a sense, DJI designed the system because it needed to do so in order to continue innovating in other areas.”

In my brief hands-on time with the X7 and the new lenses I was impressed with the hardware. It’s remarkably small for what it is. The one thing that caught me off guard was the weight of the lenses; they’re so light that they feel like inexpensive kit lenses. But then you remember that they’re built from carbon fiber in order to be as light as possible and it all makes sense. If the camera and lenses can deliver the level of quality that DJI claims (and indications are that it probably can), the company has a real winner of a product. It’s a strong start for a new system.

The Zenmuse X7 is the first camera in DJI’s new system.

Why should photographers care?

Although the X7 is clearly aimed at the motion picture community, there’s reason for photographers to be excited about DJI’s new camera system as well.

All the press coverage describes the camera as having a Super 35 video sensor, which is a standard in the motion picture industry. That’s true, to a degree. It turns out that the X7’s sensor is actually a full APS-C sensor. When shooting video, the camera uses the full width of the sensor but not the full height, resulting in a cinematic aspect ratio.

When shooting photos, however, the camera uses the full area of its 24MP sensor, supports Raw capture in DNG format, and can even shoot continuously at 20fps. The result is that the X7 may be one of the most compelling options for aerial photographers available today. It’s a bit pricey once you include an Inspire 2 drone and a lens or two, but no more so than a Nikon D5 and a couple good lenses. If you’re serious about aerial work it’s inexpensive compared to helicopter time, and much easier to use than a homebrew system assembled from scratch.

The X7’s Super 35 sensor is really an APS-C sized sensor (23.5mm x 15.7mm). When shooting photos the camera captures the sensor’s full 24MP resolution and supports Raw image capture.

What’s probably more important than the X7 camera, however, is that DJI now has its own camera platform, complete with lens mount, around which it can develop additional imaging products, lenses, and accessories. This could include non-aerial tools, such as gimbal-mounted cameras, and maybe even other products the company has up its sleeve. Additionally, users will be able to buy lenses knowing that they won’t be obsolete when the next camera is introduced, just as with any other system.

“…the X7 may be one of the most compelling options for aerial photographers available today.”

I’m not suggesting that DJI is going to radically shift focus and suddenly start making still cameras, but the company has shown an interest in the photography market, as demonstrated by its stake in Hasselblad. It’s not entirely clear where DJI is headed with this, but I suspect it goes beyond hanging a 100MP Hasselblad H6D off a M600 hexacopter with a Ronin gimbal. However, DJI does have the potential to be a disruptor in the imaging market, and now they have a camera platform with which to do it.

The wrap

It’s not often that we see the introduction of a completely new camera system, so DJI’s announcement this week is notable. What I find particularly exciting is that DJI has a tendency to introduce and iterate products quickly. It’s also in a unique position of not having a legacy system to support. DJI doesn’t have to worry about ‘the way it’s always been done’, or making sure its lenses work with decades-old products. That won’t be true forever, but for now it gives them the freedom to be very creative in their product design.

If you’re going to launch a new cinema camera, you might as well do it in Hollywood. The Inspire 2 and Zenmuse X7 camera.

I don’t imagine DJI is going to shift away from its core strength of aerial imaging, but if the company can keep up its current rate of innovation I believe we’re likely to see some very impressive imaging products coming our way, particularly now that it has committed to a full camera system with room to grow. If DJI can disrupt the market in the process, all the power to them.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony: ‘Our company has a vision which is more important than profit alone’

12 Sep

Recently, DPReview was invited to Japan to visit both the Sony headquarters in Tokyo and Sony’s image sensor factory in Kumamoto. The trip was an opportunity to gain some insight into both the philosophy and the technology that underpins the company.

We spoke to both Sony Semiconductor Solutions, the company making the imaging sensors in your cameras and smartphones, and Sony Digital Imaging (DI), the division of Sony Imaging Products and Solutions (SIPS) that makes everything from interchangeable lens cameras (ILCs) to action-cams and camcorders, and lenses. Sony Corporation itself, the umbrella above all these groups, has its hands in a number of sectors – from consumer electronics to smartphones to professional services and motion pictures. Sony Semiconductor, as we previously reported, is its own company, which has some interesting implications we learned about through the course of our conversations.

Be the guinea pig

“The electronics industry is constantly searching for new ideas and there are still many products for us to make. If the guinea pig spirit means developing innovative ideas and embodying them in new products, then I think this is an admirable spirit.” These are the words of Sony co-founder Masaru Ibuka.

At the Kumamoto sensor factory hangs an image of co-founders Ibuka and Akio Morita arm-wrestling in good spirit.

At the Kumamoto sensor factory hangs an image of a golden guinea pig right below a candid of co-founders Ibuka and Akio Morita arm-wrestling in good spirit. On it these words appear, along with one of the principles set out in the Founding Prospectus: “To establish an ideal factory that stresses a spirit of freedom and open-mindedness, and where engineers with sincere motivation can exercise their technological skills to the highest level.”

“If the guinea pig spirit means developing innovative ideas and embodying them in new products, then I think this is an admirable spirit”

More than 70 years later, the ethos of the co-founders still persists in the mindsets of Sony employees. It’s evident in everything from the philosophy of Sony Semiconductor and its relationship with other manufacturers to Sony’s new flagship: the a9.

Planning innovation: Sony a9

Our testing has shown the Sony a9 to be a formidable camera, not just for stills but also video. At Sony, a new camera like the a9 takes two to three years to develop, we were told. Therefore, the photographic technologies the a9 offers had to be planned for years in advance, not long after Sony introduced the world’s first full-frame mirrorless cameras a mere 3.5 years ago. And as we learned during our visit, most of the advancements in the a9 stem from new sensor technologies.

Two to three years ago, how would it have been possible to predict sensor readout speeds that offer autofocus calculations at 60 fps and a fully electronic shutter that is only a stop behind the speed of mechanical shutters? The answer lies in the constant communication between Sony Semiconductor Solutions and Sony DI. And since Sony’s sensor foundry is one of the best in world, providing sensors for everything from cameras and smartphones to security and medical devices, this in-house knowledge and communication is a key advantage.

It takes 2 to 3 years to develop a camera like the Sony a9. Koji Hisamatsu, Mechanical Engineer of the a9, showed us its magnesium alloy body. It offers improved ergonomics and weather resistance over previous models.

Yasufumi Machitani, project leader on the a9, talked to us about the development of the camera. A number of its features, like blackout-free shooting and fast AF/AE calculation, require sensor readout speeds conventionally thought impossible. A stacked BSI-CMOS sensor with integral memory was necessary for these technologies, and the camera division’s awareness of such coming sensor technology years in advance allowed it to plan the a9.

Daisuke Miyakoshi, in charge of the image sensor portion of the product design division, elaborated on this cross-communication: his team is a bridge between Sony Semiconductor Solutions and SIPS (Sony Imaging Products and Solutions), the latter in charge of both product and system design and Sony DI’s parent company. The system design department sends new imager proposals to the product design teams making cameras, and together the teams evaluate success and pain points of actual sensor designs.

This information is then used to send new specification formulations to the image sensor development department at Sony Semiconductor. The communication between these three groups allows fine tuning of both sensor and camera.

Product strategy

Sony’s product strategy is simple. Imagine a pyramid with three customer types: at the top pros, in the middle high amateurs (‘enthusiasts’), and below that consumers. Products are intended to fall within one or span two of these segments.

Rice fields at dusk. Miyama Sansou, Kurokawa Onsen. Photo: Rishi Sanyal
Sony a7R II | 12-24 F4G @12mm | 1/30s, F4, ISO 5000.

Sony believes there is a growing market of pros and enthusiasts, with shrinking demand at the entry level (it’s hard to argue with that, given the death of the compacts and the rise of the smartphone). This brings a higher demand for better performing products, be it in terms of autofocus, speed, resolution or sensitivity. Therefore, Sony says its product strategy is to pack as much available technology into each product as possible, barring hardware limitations, to meet a certain price point. Machitani-san explicitly told us “there is no intention to limit functions of cameras to certain groups”. In fact, Sony claims it includes many of these functions – where others might remove them in an effort to segment products – just to see what creatives do with them.

It’s a strategy not always taken by other camera manufacturers, but one that makes sense in a post-smartphone era: target customers who want a dramatic step in quality and features from what smartphone imaging offers. It’s not entirely without its issues though. For one, some may find the user interfaces of some Sony cameras overwhelming due to the number of features. Sony is aware of this and constantly iterating – the a9 for example offers an encouraging ergonomic and usability refresh.

Of course, Sony’s own crowded camera lineup can sometimes be at odds with its intended strategy, since Sony is less afraid of cannibalizing itself than other camera companies. Take for instance the short product replacement cycles. Or the almost inevitable focus – since Sony believes in a growing pro and enthusiast market – on full-frame E-mount, which has left the impression among some that Sony is abandoning A-mount1 and APS-C.2 Or the appearance of advanced new technologies in more niche products before they find their way into other product lines. Many of these ‘issues’ stem from the pace of iteration and innovation at which Sony is moving, if not due simply to its relatively newcomer status. But Sony is actively learning, and recent market data suggest its strategy is working.

Vision over profit

You might think that Sony Corporation would like to keep the in-house knowledge of Sony Semiconductor Solutions for its own camera division, but that’s not the case. For one thing, the sales of the semiconductor division to third-parties is a large source of income for the corporation at large, but it goes beyond that.

Although Sony tends to hold its proprietary sensor technology for its own cameras for roughly two years,3 it publicly discloses sensors that are available for sale and their underlying technologies. This allows other manufacturers to integrate Sony sensors into their own products. And this is where it gets interesting: any manufacturer can approach Sony Semiconductor and ask for their own design requirements, often building on Sony’s own sensor advancements that are made public (take full-frame BSI-CMOS or dual-gain for example, two technologies found in the Nikon D850). But if an OEM does so, Sony Semiconductor is not allowed to communicate any intellectual property it gains to Sony’s camera division.

Having this wall (or more accurately, perhaps this two-way mirror) in place makes a lot of sense. After all, OEMs wouldn’t approach Sony about new designs if the sensor division leaked proprietary information to its own camera engineers. So, no folks, Sony’s camera team has not been aware of the Nikon D850’s sensor all along, prepping a response to it years in advance…

There are interesting implications of this wall between Sony Semiconductor and Sony DI: it means that newer, better technologies than those available in Sony’s own cameras may appear in any other manufacturer’s camera, despite using a ‘Sony’ sensor. Indeed, we’ve actually seen multiple examples of this: ISO 64 on the D810 and 16-bit analog-to-digital conversion on the Hasselblad X1D to name just two.

Could this threaten the growth of Sony’s own camera division?

Sony executive round-table. From left to right: Takashi Kondo, Chief Marketing Manager, Hiroshi Sakamoto, Senior General Manager of Marketing, Kenji Tanaka, Global Head of ILCs, and Masanori Kishi, Deputy General Manager of ILC lenses.

When we asked this question, the message from DI executives was clear: “Our focus is to increase the overall market”. Paraphrasing slightly, global head of ILCs Kenji Tanaka said: “Please think about vision. Our company has a vision, which is much more important than profit alone. Of course, if we cut our supply of sensors to other OEMs our camera market share might increase. But this is not our vision. Our vision is to grow the entire imaging market, and Sony alone cannot make every [imaging] product.”

While every manufacturer wants to be number one, no single company can make every product – even within a single sector. It is clear that Sony believes that competition is healthy, and that if Sony sensors help make better products, be it in a Sony device or other OEM device, the consumer wins. And ultimately, that is the purpose of the company.

“Our company has a vision, which is more important than profit alone”

It’s possible that the worst of the camera market collapse is over, but we do wonder whether Sony’s strategy might change if the market continues to shrink. Would the huge current investment in ILCs still pay off? Would sales of class-leading sensors to other OEMs still make sense? The answer from executives was “yes”.

Growing the market

Like every camera manufacturer, Sony wants to grow its market share. But it sees the gain of market share as a secondary effect, almost a byproduct, of growing the market overall. In fact, Sony admitted it doesn’t expect to continue to gain market share simply by getting users to switch systems. Tak Kondo, General Manager at Sony DI, remarked that “the industry is stagnated partly because of a lack of interesting products from camera manufacturers. It’s our obligation to increase the market size.”

We probed Sony about its strategy to move users away from smartphones, arguably the very cause for the declining camera industry. “We want to expand the photo-shooting culture” Tanaka-san told us. “By growing this culture, we hope to stimulate the desire for something [much] better than a smartphone”. Furthermore, Sony chooses to place its focus on mid- to high-end products, which show increased demand. The global decline in the industry is due to a drop in demand for low-end products – both DSLR and mirrorless – thanks to the smartphone.

By making versatile cameras that offer vast benefits over smartphones and more computational photography-oriented devices that widen its user-base, Sony hopes to reverse this trend. That is, grow the market through innovation, a message we’ve heard before.

Why Sony?

Sony believes that it is in a unique position to grow the imaging market. The communication between its image sensor development engineers at Sony Semiconductor and the camera teams at Sony DI give the company a unique advantage: an understanding of important sensor technologies to come two, five, or ten years down the line. The two-way communication between a cutting-edge sensor foundry and camera engineers that need sensor technologies to solve photographic problems is a unique advantage for Sony’s camera division. And Sony’s sensor design and fab group must stay cutting edge simply due to the number of sectors it has its hands in: from smartphones to the medical industry.

Shiraito Falls near Mount Fuji in Fujinomiya, Shizuoka Prefecture. It’s often said that Mt. Fuji is shy, rarely revealing herself. This day was no exception: the entire region was covered in thick mist and rainfall, and the spray from the waterfalls themselves was intense. Photo: Rishi Sanyal

Sony a7R II | 24-70 F2.8GM @46mm | 0.5s, F11, ISO 100

Mirrorless cameras are still in their infancy. However, Tanaka-san stressed that when you compare the development speed of mechanical products vs. semiconductor technology, the latter is far faster. Since much of the capability of mirrorless cameras is derived from the image sensor itself, its development speed is much faster than DSLR. So while mirrorless camera technology is a relative newcomer to the field, Sony’s insight into semiconductor advances puts its camera division in a unique position to innovate and iterate quickly, bringing greater speed and functionality to consumer products across shorter refresh cycles.

Will Sony’s ‘guinea pig’ approach pay off? The latest U.S. dollar-based statistics from NPD are certainly encouraging: the first 6 months of 2017 showed a 36% growth in mirrorless camera sales compared to an 11% decline in DSLR sales. In the same period, Sony’s sales of full-frame ILCs grew 42% compared to a decline of 5% for all other manufacturers. It also maintained a #2 position in sales of full-frame ILCs (likely helped by the release of a flagship camera), while growing 26% in mirrorless ILC sales year-on-year. Sony is now at the top in mirrorless ILC sales in the U.S.

While these sales figures are all dollar-based, with many Sony products retailing at relatively high prices, they’re significant – especially when you consider the impact the Kumamoto earthquake must have had on the company.

Challenges

Despite these encouraging figures, Sony’s path will not be a smooth one. Canon and Nikon have been making cameras for a long time and are widely viewed as photography companies, as opposed to consumer electronics companies. Part of the reason the a9 is being targeted so aggressively at pros, and why Sony is working so hard on expanding pro support, is to overcome the perception of the company as a manufacturer of TVs, Walkmans and PlayStations.

At the opposite end of the pyramid, smartphone cameras offer something that most, if not all, standalone cameras to-date lack: convenience of image ingestion, curation and sharing. While Sony PlayMemories apps offer some solutions,4 they leave much to be desired. Thankfully, Sony is well aware of the importance of integrating with cloud services and smartphones.

The hillsides near the Kuju Mountain Range in Kumamoto prefecture provide endless vistas. I shot this through a window of a moving bus on the way to Kurokawa Onsen. The volcanic region offers many hot springs and resorts within Kurokawa’s ‘enchanted’ forest. Photo: Rishi Sanyal

Sony a9 | 24-70 F2.8GM @35mm | 1/1000s, F2.8, ISO 1250

And then there’s video. Increasingly, cameras that do both stills and video well are more attractive than those that can’t. Sony is on the right track here, offering cameras that are highly capable at both, but there’s still work to be done. The Sony a9 offers some of the sharpest video around thanks to the fact it oversamples a full-frame sensor, yet it lacks a Log profile or an intuitive autofocus interface in video.5

Meanwhile of course, competitors aren’t standing still. Canon’s Dual Pixel AF in video offers a clear user benefit in combining performance and UI/UX. Four Thirds cameras offer 4K video with compelling (mechanical + digital) stabilization. The Panasonic GH5 offers 6K Photo, pre-capture, and effectively simultaneous video and stills capture in its high-resolution anamorphic mode. RED Cinema cameras – albeit in a very different price bracket – can capture at 120 fps for stills extraction or for 24p video.6

But theoretically, these are all challenges that Sony is well placed to face. Sony’s executives see the relationship between Sony Semiconductor and Sony DI as being key to planning for the future, and they assure us that the founders’ spirit of innovation will continue to bring compelling products to the market.

Footnotes:

1 Tanaka-san assured us that ‘the A-mount customer base is small, but loyal, and we need to serve them.’ While Sony does not intend A-mount users to transition to E-mount, it does see the a9 as a potential body for A-mount lenses, via adaption. To that end Sony assures us the disadvantages associated with adapters – like the lack of proper subject tracking – are addressable, though it won’t officially support or offer a solution for Canon lenses natively.

2 Expressing very frank surprise at the idea that some of our readers feel Sony is less committed to APS-C, Sony DI executives assured us that, on the contrary, they are fully committed to APS-C. They pointed in particular to its potential to increase business by its adoption as a second camera for pros (a6300/6500) or a first-time camera for casual users (a5100/6000).

3 While we weren’t explicitly told this, one might surmise it from the fact that the sensor in the a7R II has not appeared in any other manufacturer’s camera since its launch over 2 years ago.

4 For example, ‘Sync to Smartphone’ ensures all my JPEGs from my a7R II end up on Google Photos via my Google Pixel in full resolution original quality without me moving a finger.

5 We asked Sony about the omission of S-Log2 and PlayMemories on the a9. We suggested it ostensibly appeared like forced product segmentation, uncharacteristic of Sony’s product strategy. While it still appears that may indeed have been the case, we were assured that Sony takes our negative feedback about these omissions seriously.

6 Some RED cinema cameras are capable of assembling 24p footage from 120p capture by frame averaging, which removes the stutter that would otherwise result from the higher shutter speeds you’d likely shoot 120p footage at. It’s quite clever.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Polaroid teasers suggest company has a big film announcement planned

08 Sep

Visitors to Polaroid.com are being greeted with a pop-up that teases a big announcement scheduled for September 13th. Though the company hasn’t revealed what exactly it has planned, the various teaser messages heavily hint that the announcement will involve film.

Speculation abounds at the moment—including everything from expectations that Polaroid will begin producing its own chemical instant film again, to a possible announcement that Impossible Project’s film will be sold under the Polaroid name—and not without cause. The pop-up scrolls through several statements, including one that reads, “The most complex set of man-made chemical reactions ever. Coming September 13.”

Yet another states, “Analog Dreams,” and another, “SX-70. OS. 600. Spectra. 8×10. Join the dots on September 13.”

Earlier this year, Polaroid announced that Wiaczeslaw Smolokowski, The Impossible Project’s majority shareholder, had acquired its owner PLR IP Holdings, giving the Smolokowski family both the Polaroid brand and intellectual property. The Impossible Project has been working on bringing analog film back from the dead for years, and it’s hard to imagine the timing of Polaroid’s teaser is a coincidence.

The Impossible Project currently offers a few different types of film under the Impossible brand through its website, including SX-70, Spectra, and 600. It is possible we could see this film being sold under the Polaroid name in the near future… or a whole new type of film may be announced by Polaroid itself.

The cards do indicate that something bigger than just film is in the works, though, possibly hinting at big changes in how the two companies do business.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The Lily Drone is back: Gets a makeover, better features and a new parent company

01 Sep

The Ill-fated Lily Drone has returned from the grave courtesy of Mota Group, a company that acquired the Lily Drone assets after its original company, Lily Robotics, announced back in January that it was shutting down and then promptly got sued. The new version of Lily drone sports a different design and several new features versus the original model, including quick charging, 4K video recording, support for geo-fences, and the ability to ‘smart hover.’

Lily drone’s initial launch under startup Lily Robotics had caught consumer attention due to its autonomous technology, which supposedly enabled it to follow its operator while recording video after being thrown into the air. Though that type of feature is no longer atypical among camera drones (the autonomous following, that is), it was enough of a novelty at the time that it earned the company millions in investment dollars and pre-order sales.

By the time Lily Robotics closed up shop earlier this year, it was being sued by the San Francisco district attorney over claims that it had faked its promotional video for the drone. The company’s assets were sold off at auction and ultimately acquired by Mota Group for $ 750,000.

That brings us up to today and the launch of ‘Lily Next-Gen,’ an updated version of the Lily Drone that increases the original’s 1080p recording resolution to 4K, its still picture resolution from 12MP to 13MP, and trims its weight down from more than a kilogram to 385 grams/0.8lbs.

Some sacrifices were made to the drone, at least in comparison to what the original was purported to offer. It is no longer waterproof, and its flight time is now 18 minutes instead of 20 minutes. However, Lily Next-Gen supports an external battery, making it possible to increase that time to 36 minutes and content is stored on an included 16GB memory card.

Mota Group is currently offering two different bundles for its Lily drone via its online store: the Standard Package for $ 500 USD and the Fully Loaded Package for $ 800 USD. Shipping is available globally.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Bye bye Bowens: The 94-year-old lighting company is going into liquidation

17 Jul

Lighting giant Bowens, a company with 94 years of history and millions of customers under its belt, has entered liquidation. The news has not been officially confirmed by Bowens or Aurelius, the investment firm that acquired the company one year ago, but several independent sources have corroborated the story.

Initial reports of Bowens’ downfall appeared on DIYPhotography, who heard from one inside source and confirmed with two others on Friday that the company has indeed entered liquidation. On Sunday, photography blog PetaPixel confirmed the news a fourth time, after they received an email from another “source familiar with the situation.”

“All UK staff (including China factory) were informed that the company is going into liquidation,” the source told PetaPixel. “We were aware the company was facing problems and have all been working long days to pull company through a hard time, but we never thought it would end.”

With pressure from fast-growing lighting brands like Godox, and big-name brands in the photo world going out of business at regular intervals, the disappointing news is not, alas, surprising. But no amount of regularity ever makes this kind of news easier to report on or read. If anything, it only gets harder.

At the time of this writing, Bowens International’s contact form is no longer accepting submissions. We will update this post if and when we are able to reach someone at Bowens for official confirmation.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Company wins $900k in damages after competitor steals images

17 May

In 2015, Oregon-based company Under a Foot Plant Co. filed a lawsuit against Maryland-based competitor Exterior Design Inc. over the latter company’s alleged copyright infringement. According to the lawsuit, Exterior Design used 24 of Under a Foot Plant Co.’s copyrighted photographs without permission, resulting in 133 instances of copyright infringement. Under a Foot Plant Co. had created the photos to market a product line called Stepables, while Exterior Design used them to market a competing product called Treadwell Plants.

According to the lawsuit, Exterior Design’s infringement of Under a Foot Plant’s copyrighted images began in 2011 and continued through 2014. The legal document claimed that Exterior Design was engaging in ‘copyright infringement, unfair and deceptive trade practices, and unjust enrichment.’ Though Exterior Design denied the allegations, the legal matter proceeded and, after the better part of two years, has reached its conclusion in Under a Foot Plant Co.’s favor. 

Per the jury’s decision, Under a Foot Plant Co. can choose to be awarded either $ 300,000 in statutory damages or $ 900,000 in actual damages, but isn’t allowed to receive both.

Via: PDN

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Company behind Lily drone shuts down despite $34m worth of pre-orders

13 Jan

When the Lily camera drone was announced in May 2015 it garnered a lot of attention for being one of the first drones capable of flying itself and tracking a user while capturing video footage for up to 20 minutes. As a consequence the company managed to secure $ 15 million in investment and an additional $ 34 million in pre-orders.

However, today the founders of Lily have announced in a letter and email to customers that the start-up is shutting down operations because it failed to raise additional funding to start production of its drone. The founders promise to reimburse all pre-order customers within the next 60 days.

“We have been racing against a clock of ever-diminishing funds,” wrote the company’s co-founders, Henry Bradlow and Antoine Balaresque. “Over the past few months, we have tried to secure financing in order to unlock our manufacturing line and ship our first units – but have been unable to do this. As a result, we are deeply saddened to say that we are planning to wind down the company and offer refunds to customers.” 

The Lily drone was launched with a pre-order price tag of $ 499 and scheduled to ship in February 2016. Shipping was later delayed until summer and then again to early 2017. In the same time frame tracking drones from DJI, Zero Zero Robotics and Yuneec have all been brought to market successfully.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Kodak CMO says the company is ‘looking into’ reviving Kodachrome

11 Jan
Photo by pittaya via Flickr. Used under CC license

During CES 2017, Kodak announced it would revive the film stock it discontinued in 2012, Ektachrome. The announcement was well received, and was itself the result of an uptick in professional film sales, something that has also spurred Kodak toward another possible revival: Kodachrome. Eastman Kodak’s President of Consumer Film division and Chief Marketing Office Steve Overman confirmed as much during a recent The Kodakery podcast.

The Kodakery team spoke with Overman from the Kodak booth during CES, and near the end of the discussion they mentioned the Ektachrome revival. That topic snowballed into a confirmation from Overman that Kodak is likewise looking into bringing Kodachrome back, but plans to do so haven’t been finalized at this time.

Overman works for US-based Eastman Kodak but it seems likely the company would follow the pattern seen with its recent Ektachrome announcement, and work with UK-based company Kodak Alaris to release a stills version of the film to photographic markets.

It took less effort and time to bring Ektachrome film back, Overman explained, which is why it was given precedence. He went on to say, though, that ‘people love Kodak’s heritage products and I feel, personally, that we have a responsibility to deliver on that love.’ 

Via: PetaPixel

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Three’s company: Lensbaby launches Trio 28 for mirrorless cameras

06 Oct

Lensbaby has announced the Trio 28, a unique creative lens designed specifically for mirrorless camera users. The Trio 28 is three lenses in one, offering the creative effects of Lensbaby’s Twist, Velvet and Sweet optics in one compact lens. A simple rotation of the lens lets you switch between the three effects, and the 28mm focal length makes it a useful all-around lens for mirrorless photographers. We are interested in how the fixed F3.5 aperture will work since aperture is a key part of controlling the creative effect in Lensbaby’s other lenses and optics, but we are excited to try it out!

The Trio 28 is available for pre-order starting on October 26, 2016. It is priced at $ 279.95 and is available in Sony E, Micro 4/3, and Fuji X mounts.

Press release:

Lensbaby Launches One-of-a-Kind Lens for Mirrorless Camera Shooters

Convenience meets creativity with unique, compact 3-in-1 lens design

Portland, OR – October 5, 2016 – Lensbaby — makers of award-winning creative effects lenses, optics and accessories — announces the launch of their most versatile lens yet, Trio 28. Designed specifically for mirrorless camera users, Trio 28 features three selective focus optics in one compact lens and will be available for purchase on October 26, 2016.

By simply rotating a dial to switch between Lensbaby’s most popular optical effects – Twist, Velvet or Sweet – the Trio 28 empowers photographers to shape their vision in the moment through the limitless creative options offered by the lens:

  • Twist gives you a large sharp central area of focus surrounding by twisty, swirling bokeh
  • Velvet has a sharp yet dreamy central area of focus with delicate glow from edge-to-edge
  • Sweet creates a sharp central sweet spot of focus surrounded by gradually increasing blur

“Trio 28 offers a revolutionary shooting experience for mirrorless shooters,” said Lensbaby Co-Founder and CEO Craig Strong. “This is the first lens we’ve designed specifically with the mirrorless camera’s small form factor in mind. With mirrorless camera sales continuing to grow, this was a natural next step for Lensbaby.”

“Our goal is to help photographers discover their unique visual voice through the creative freedom our lenses offer,” Strong continued. “With a variety of selective focus effects in a compact lens designed for the small form factor of mirrorless cameras, Trio 28 goes above and beyond, helping us reach this goal. We can’t wait to see what photographers create with it.”

The wide 28mm focal length, as well as the small and compact form to match the size of mirrorless cameras, makes the Trio 28 an ideal lens for on-the-go adventure and will help photographers uniquely capture the soul of street scenes, landscapes, environmental portraits and more.

Trio 28 Specs:

  • Focal Length: 28mm
  • Aperture: fixed f/3.5
  • 3 Optics for 3 effects – Twist, Velvet, Sweet
  • Minimum focus distance: 8”
  • Maximum focusing distance: Infinity
  • Focus Type: Manual
  • Size/Weight: 4.9oz, 2.75” x2.75” x2”
  • Twist Optic: 4 multi-coated elements in 3 groups
  • Velvet Optic: 3 multi-coated elements in 2 groups
  • Sweet Optic: 3 multi-coated elements in 3 groups
  • 46mm front threads
  • When shooting on full frame cameras, Twist will produce a subtle vignette

The Trio 28 is designed for the following mirrorless cameras: Sony E, Micro 4/3 and FujiX. It retails for $ 279.95 and will be available for purchase at Lensbaby.com and other Lensbaby-authorized retailers on October 26, 2016.

For more information please contact Keri Friedman at keri@lensbaby.com or Ally Hopper with Groundswell PR at ally@groundswellpr.com.

About Lensbaby

For over a decade, photographers have relied on Portland, Oregon-based Lensbaby to help them break free of routine, tinker, and open themselves up to unexpected results—dancing, playing and delighting in what’s possible with a creative lens and their imagination.

Lensbaby makes award-winning creative effects lenses, optics and accessories that follow this philosophy, including the Velvet 56, a versatile portrait and macro lens; their unique Optic Swap System, which lets photographers swap their optic and tilt their lens for limitless effects; and mobile lenses that transform everyday smartphone photography. Lensbaby products are sold and distributed worldwide. For more information, visit www.lensbaby.com

Lensbaby Trio 28 specifications

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony spins off image sensor division to form its own company

08 Oct

Sony Corporation is to split the part of its business that makes imaging sensors away from the Devices segment that it currently comes under, to form its own company called Sony Semiconductor Solutions Corporation. Sony has said that the degree of autonomy that the new company will enjoy will allow it to react more quickly to changing market forces and will encourage the business to grow more quickly. Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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