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Posts Tagged ‘concerns’

CES is going all-digital for 2021 due to COVID-19 health concerns

29 Jul

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA), the organizer behind the annual Consumer Entertainment Show (CES), has announced its 2021 show is going all-digital, due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

CES usually takes place in Las Vegas, Nevada, United States every January. But ‘with the growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it is not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people,’ says CTA in its announcement post (embedded below). In place of the in-person event, which typically hosts over 180,000 attendees, CES 2021 will offer a ‘unique’ online experience.

Specifically, the CTA says there will be media events where ‘the world’s leading brands [will host] exclusive digital press events,’ product showcases where live demos and product showcases will show off new tech, as well as livestreamed keynotes and conferences for the latest announcements from technology companies from around the world.

While CES 2021 isn’t the first trade show affected by the COVID-19, it is one of the largest and longest-running, and is the first trade show, to our knowledge, of 2021 that’s been altered due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In addition to photography accessories, camera makers have been known to show off prototypes and offer hands-on at CES events in the past. Time will tell what photo companies have a presence at the all-digital event in 2021.

Announcement:

CES 2021 is All-Digital

The Consumer Technology Association (CTA)® is reimagining how to connect exhibitors, customers, thought leaders and media from around the world while prioritizing health and safety. We are excited to share that CES® 2021 will be an all-digital experience.

For more than 50 years, CES has been the global stage for innovation. And CES 2021 will continue to be a platform to launch products, engage with global brands and define the future of the tech industry.

With the growing global health concerns about the spread of COVID-19, it is not possible to safely convene tens of thousands of people in Las Vegas in early January 2021 to meet and do business in person.

An all-digital CES 2021 will allow the entire tech community to safely share ideas and introduce the products that will shape our future. You’ll be able to participate in all the awe-inspiring moments of CES wherever you are in the world. We are designing a unique experience for the tech industry.

CES 2021 will offer a highly personalized experience:

  • Keynotes and conferences. Now you’ll have a front-row seat for groundbreaking announcements and insights from the world’s tech leaders completely online.

  • Product showcase. With this digital evolution of the CES show floor, you’ll be able to explore products and services, based on your interests and business, through dynamic product showcases or live demos.

  • Meetings and networking. You’ll be able to engage with the brands, thought leaders and business connections you care about with live interactions, meetups or roundtable discussions.

Technology has helped us all work, learn and connect during the coronavirus pandemic, and it has presented real solutions to help solve complex global challenges. We recognize that, particularly in these uncertain times, it is the partnerships of some of the most creative minds that bring the best solutions to life.

We’re looking forward to welcoming the global tech industry, from international brands to budding startups, to kick off the year with the world’s most influential digital technology event.

Mark your calendars for the first week in January and be on the lookout for more exciting news about CES 2021. We plan to return to Las Vegas for CES 2022, combining the best elements of a physical and digital show.

Thank you for your continued support. Please stay healthy and safe.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Cinema5D’s real-world experience raises concerns about EOS R6 overheating

25 Jul

Canon has made it known that heating issues place limitations on video recording with its new EOS R5 and R6. However, as Johnnie Behiri of Cinema5D has pointed out in his new ‘First Look’ video, the practical impact is ‘completely different’ than you might expect, from seeing an estimated capture time on paper.

To test out his pre-production EOS R6 camera, Behiri shot a mini-documentary in Japan titled ‘Never Say No.’ While the mini-doc, which is sandwiched inside the ‘First Look’ video, looks fantastic, capturing it wasn’t nearly as great an experience as Behiri was hoping.

A screenshot from the video showing what the camera’s display looks like after the unit overheats.

Behiri starts the video by saying that he had hoped to report back on the in-body image stabilization (IBIS) and autofocus capabilities of the EOS R6, but that those features ended up taking a backseat to the limitations created by overheating while shooting.

‘When you see [the time limitations] on paper and experience it in the field, it’s completely different,’ says Behiri. While he shot most of the mini-doc at 4K/24p, he at times had to resort to shooting footage at 1080/24p so he could get the footage he needed after his EOS R6 unit overheated. He even went so far as having to use fans and bags of ice to cool his camera down.

A still image Behiri shares in the video showing his attempt to cool off the camera using a household fan.

Wrapping up his experience with the pre-production EOS R6, Behiri says ’It’s a tool [and] on one hand it has a lot of useful features and really nice features [but] on the other hand, [those features are] a bit meaningless because you can’t work with the camera and execute what you want.’ He effectively summarizes his experience with the camera saying that ‘instead of controlling the camera […] the camera controls you.’ He says ‘it will overheat badly and you don’t know how long it will be until you can shoot again.’

‘Instead of controlling the camera […] the camera controls you.’

Behiri shared an accompanying blog post on Cinema5D that further dives into his experience with the camera. While he was happy to report that its autofocus ‘worked like a treat’ most of the time and he appreciated the camera’s articulating screen, that’s where the positives end. He notes rolling shutter was ‘horrendous’ during his time filming and ultimately concludes that the camera is ‘not working for [him].’

Even a bag of ice (which we don’t suggest you use on your unit) failed to keep the camera shooting, even at 4K/24p.

While this was a pre-production unit, Behiri notes Canon representatives told him it was ‘almost final.’ He was also shooting pretty much the exact type of assignment you’d expect the EOS R6 to be perfect for and the weather in Japan, although warm at around 82 degrees F, was far from extreme.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Canon issues ‘media alert’ clarifying overheating concerns of its EOS R5, R6 cameras

15 Jul

This morning, Canon sent out a ‘media alert’ to press to clarify overheating concerns regarding its new EOS R5 and R6 cameras. In it, Canon reiterates estimated shooting time limits, explains why it opted to add an internal fan and shares a few tips on how to keep the heat down when shooting 4K and 8K video.

Canon starts off the notice laying out the steps it’s taken to ‘manage the potential for overheating’ in its EOS R5 and EOS R6 camera. Two bullet points in the notice read:

  • Magnesium alloy was used in the body to dissipate heat away from internal components
  • An “overheat control” function [is included] to reduce heat generation when the camera is in standby.

Canon addresses the lack of a fan — such as the one found on Panasonic’s S1H camera — saying it decided to not include a fan within the body of the camera to maintain the ‘compact size, lightweight construction and weather resistance’ of the EOS R5 and EOS R6.

Both the EOS R5 and EOS R6 will display an estimated time it expects to be able to record based on the recording mode and current camera temperature, but in addition to the on-camera information, Canon has also shared a more detailed breakdown of roughly how much time you can expect both cameras to be able to record based on resolution, frame rate and shooting mode (click for full resolution):

Canon has also shared a small chart showing the estimated time you can expect to wait before recording after the camera overheats:

As for what you can do to help minimize the time it takes for the EOS R5 and EOS R6 to overheat, Canon shared the following bullet list:

Set Overheat Control function to “ON” (default). When the overheat control function is enabled, the movie size and frame rate are automatically changed while the camera is in standby mode to suppress the rise of the internal temperature Between recordings, it is recommended to turn off the camera Position the camera out of direct sunlight Use an external fan to dissipate heat

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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OnePlus is disabling the near-infrared ‘Color Filter’ camera on its 8Pro smartphone over privacy concerns

23 May

OnePlus has announced it’s working on an update for its OnePlus 8 Pro smartphone that will disable the 5MP near-infrared camera that was able to see through certain materials, including some clothing, when used with a ‘Photochrom’ mode in the native camera app.

The Color Filter camera onboard the 8 Pro has been known since the smartphone’s announcement back in April. However, not much was shared about the particular camera module at the time. It wasn’t until 8 Pro units started hitting the front doors of reviewers when it became clear what the 5MP near-infrared camera could see.

Last week in particular, a number of high-profile reviewers and pundits shared examples of just how much the Color Filter camera onboard the 8 Pro could reveal. Most notably, the below video, shared by YouTube channel Unbox Therapy, showed that beyond being able to see through the plastic IR shields built into numerous electronics, it could also see, at least to some degree, underneath certain clothing when stretched unusually thin.

Unsurprisingly, the see-through capability of the 8 Pro brought up privacy concerns, not unlike those that led to Sony recalling more than 700,000 ‘HandyCam’ camcorders back in 1998 when it was revealed the ‘Nightshot’ mode on its TRV 615 XR camcorders was revealing more than the general public was comfortable with.

OnePlus heard the response loud and clear and in an effort to get ahead of any further controversy, OnePlus announced, via Weibo, that it is temporarily disabling the Color Filter camera via a software update within the next week. In the post, OnePlus writes (machine-translated, edited with brackets for clarity):

‘When planning the [color] filter lens of OnePlus 8 Pro, we hope[d] to use this lens to perceive the characteristics of infrared light to provide users with a unique texture photography style effect. But recently, based on user feedback, we have found that under very specific environmental conditions, the filter lens may have a slight perspective effect on special materials at very close distances […] In order to eliminate the impact on user privacy under possible extreme circumstances and eliminate everyone’s concerns, we decided to temporarily disable the filter function through software upgrades.’

OnePlus doesn’t elaborate on how temporary this solution is or what the long-term fix will be, but it’s a start. It’s also unknown whether this will be a forced update or something optional users can opt out of to keep the near-infrared capabilities.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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World Press Photo cancels 2020 Photo Contest award show, festival due to COVID-19 concerns

13 Mar

The World Press Photo Foundation has announced it is canceling its awards show and festival, originally planned to take place in Amsterdam from April 16–18, due to COVID-19 (the coronavirus).

The decision comes after following the assessments of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control and coming to the conclusion that World Press Photo ‘can not hold events where international guests are invited to join local participants in a mass gathering.’ Due to ‘on-going uncertainty about the scale of the COVID-19 virus,’ World Press Photo has decided to altogether cancel the event rather than postpone it until later in the year.

Despite the two events being cancelled, the show will go on. The winners of the 2020 Photo Contest and the 2020 Digital Storytelling Contest will still be announced on April 16, 2020, and shared online for the world to view. The nominees will also continue to be shown as part of World Press Photo’s worldwide exhibition tour, with the next exhibition set for a showing at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam on April 18, 2020.

To see the nominees for the 2020 World Press Photo awards, visit our previous gallery.

Email:

World Press Photo Foundation cancels the Awards Show and Festival because of COVID-19

We have decided, after intense deliberations, that the global situation surrounding the COVID-19 virus, requires us to cancel the World Press Photo Awards Show 2020 and the World Press Photo Festival 2020, due to be held in Amsterdam on 16-18 April.

We are devastated that we will not be holding two of our major events that honor and showcase this year’s contest winners in person. Both events have become pivotal occasions for the visual journalism community to come together and we are all going to miss this moment.

We were well advanced with the planning for these events and to bring that to a stop is not an easy decision. Combined with the on-going uncertainty about the scale of the COVID-19 virus, this means it is not possible for us to postpone the events until later in the year.

However, the safety of our community, staff and society outweighs all other considerations.

We have been following the assessments of trustworthy sources such as the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control, and they report that in the coming weeks there is a moderate to high risk of more countries reporting more cases and clusters. ‘Social distancing’ is the way the risk of the COVID-19 virus is being managed, and we have concluded we can not hold events where international guests are invited to join local participants in a mass gathering.

The winners of the 2020 Photo Contest and the 2020 Digital Storytelling Contest – including the winner of the World Press Photo of the Year and the three other major awards – will be announced on the evening of 16 April 2020 (under embargo until 22:00 CET) and presented to our global audience through a wide range of online and media channels.

We will be working hard to give those winners the recognition they deserve. The nominees for those awards can be seen now at worldpressphoto.org, the worldwide exhibition tour continues, and we are also looking forward to finding new ways of fulfilling our mission: connecting the world to the stories that matter.

Important dates

  • 16 April 2020 22:00 CET: 2020 Contests winners announced
  • 18 April 2020: World Press Photo Exhibition 2020 starts its worldwide tour at De Nieuwe Kerk in Amsterdam. See all confirmed exhibition locations at worldpressphoto.org/calendar. More locations are added regularly.

Connecting the world to the stories that matter.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Organizers say Photokina 2020 is still set to go according to schedule, despite growing COVID-19 concerns

29 Feb

This week, representatives from Koelnmesse, the organization behind Photokina 2020, sat down for a press conference in Cologne, Germany to address, amongst other details, concerns surrounding whether or not Photokina 2020 will take place as cases of COVID-19 continues to spread across the globe.

At the press conference, Koelnmesse Vice President, Christoph Werner, said ‘At this time, there is no reason to halt a large-scale event like [Photokina 2020],’ according to translated text from DC Watch. This statement was made even after consulting with the World Health Organization (WHO), the German Federal Ministry of Health and local authorities, according to Werner.

‘At this time, there is no reason to halt a large-scale event like [Photokina 2020]’

Kai Hillebrand, Chairman of the German Association of Photography, further elaborated at the press conference, saying ‘As long as the health authorities do not announce that trade fairs should be stopped in Europe, [the decision to participate] will be at the discretion of the exhibitors.’

In mid-September, well before the rise of the COVID-19 virus, Leica, Nikon and Olympus were confirmed to have dropped out of the tradeshow. Three months later, on December 6, Photokina confirmed Canon, Panasonic and Sony would be present for the 2020 event. No more than ten days later it was confirmed by PetaPixel that Fujifilm, too, would be absent from the show.

Between the departure of four major brands and the ongoing Coronavirus concerns, it doesn’t look promising for the Photokina 2020, despite being three months out. That said, until further notice, it seems as though everything is still set to go according to schedule, even as WHO raises the global risk of COVID-19 from ‘high’ to ‘very high’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Breaking: CP+ 2020 cancelled amid Coronavirus concerns

14 Feb

Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has announced it’s canceling the CP+ 2020 trade show, citing concerns surrounding the Coronavirus.

In a post shared on its website, CIPA says the annual tradeshow, which was supposed to take place from February 27th through March 1st in Yokohama, Japan, has been canceled ‘given there is no effective treatment or containment measures to deal with the novel coronavirus (COVID-19).’

A screenshot of the note on the CP+ 2020 website.

Mobile World Conference (MWC), the world’s largest smartphone exhibition, was canceled earlier this week, leaving many wondering if CP+ was next. As now evident, those concerns were valid. Below is a tweet from the official CP+ Twitter account confirming the cancellation:

According to CIPA’s website, CP+ drew in exhibitors from 120 countries and nearly 70,000 visitors last year. No further information has been given at this time and as of publishing this no manufacturers have commented on the cancellation. We will continue to update this story as more details are revealed.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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US Interior Department grounds Chinese-made drones in its fleet citing ongoing security concerns

31 Jan

Yesterday, the United States Interior Department signed an order to ground its fleet of more than 800 drones for non-emergency operations following ongoing concerns of cybersecurity threats.

As reported by NPR, Interior Secretary David Bernhardt didn’t specifically say the fleet of drones were capable of being hacked in the order, but did note that information collected by the drones could potentially be ‘valuable to foreign entities, organizations and governments.’

This new order cements a ‘pause’ Bernhardt ordered roughly three months ago to cease the use of Chinese-manufactured drones for Interior Department business, with the exception of emergency use-cases. In a statement given to The Verge at that time, Interior spokesperson Melissa Brown said ‘the Secretary has directed that drones manufactured in China or made from Chinese components be grounded unless they are currently being utilized for emergency purposes, such as fighting wildfires, search and rescue, and dealing with natural disasters that may threaten life or property.’

No specific companies were mentioned in the initial order, nor yesterday’s, but it’s clear Chinese drone manufacturer DJI is in the crosshairs.

Following yesterday’s order from Bernhardt, Chinese drone manufacturer DJI issued a statement on its website, saying:

‘[DJI] is extremely disappointed by the U.S. Department of the Interior (DOI) order released today which inappropriately treats a technology’s country of origin as a litmus test for its performance, security and reliability […] We are opposed to the politically-motivated country of origin restrictions masquerading as cybersecurity concerns and call for policymakers and industry stakeholders to create clear standards that will give commercial and government drone operators the assurance they need to confidently evaluate drone technology on the merits of performance, security and reliability, no matter where it is made.’

DJI manufactures specific ‘government edition’ versions of its Matrice 600 Pro and Mavic Pro drones, both of which are currently listed in the Interior Department’s fleet. These specific models use special firmware and software to fit the needs of the Interior Department and were previously signed off for use by the Interior Department following a 15-month testing period that concluded with a 53-page report. Other drones in the U.S. agency’s fleet include the Autel Evo, Parrot Anafi, FireFLY Pro/S, 3DR Solo Quadcopter and Pulse Vapor 55TM Helicopter.

DJI’s Matrice 600 Pro drone is just one of the half-a-dozen different drone models in the Interior Department’s drone fleet.

This new order will, like the pause announced back in October 2019, will remain in effect until a subsequent order overturns it, as there is no end-date mentioned. Like the pause back in October, emergency use-cases ‘will continue to be allowed in approved situations for emergency purposes, such as fighting wildfires, search and rescue, and dealing with natural disasters that may threaten life or property,’ according to an Interior Department spokesperson.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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GoPro moving production of U.S.-bound action cameras out of China, cites concerns over tariffs

11 Dec

GoPro announced today it will be moving camera production out of China for cameras destined for the U.S. market.

In a press release shared this morning, GoPro stated that while its cameras bound for the international market will continue to be made in China, gear destined for the United States will be moved elsewhere by summer 2019, citing concern over the recent tariffs put in place as a part of the trade war that’s been brewing between the U.S. and China.

‘Today’s geopolitical business environment requires agility, and we’re proactively addressing tariff concerns by moving most of our US-bound camera production out of China,’ says Brian McGee, executive vice president and CFO of GoPro in the press release. ‘We believe this diversified approach to production can benefit our business regardless of tariff implications.’

McGee assured consumers and investors alike the move will have little impact on GoPro’s financials, saying ‘It’s important to note that we own our own production equipment while our manufacturing partner provides the facilities, so we expect to make this move at a relatively low cost.’

As of writing this article at 10:10am on Monday, December 10th, 2018, GoPro is priced at $ 4.82 USD per share, down 2.82% on the day on the NASDAQ stock exchange.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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AT&T won’t sell the Huawei Mate 10 in the US over political concerns

12 Jan

Chinese device manufacturer Huawei was widely expected to announce its first distribution partnership for a flagship smartphone in the US with carrier AT&T at CES this week. However, the carrier pulled out of the agreement at the last minute for reasons that are not entirely clear, though there is some interesting speculation.

According to a report by the New York Times, it appears Huawei’s strong ties with the Chinese government and a fear of espionage have played an important role in the decision. This means that Huawei yet again won’t have an opportunity to compete eye-to-eye with its main rivals Apple and Samsung in the US, as its flagship device Mate 10 Pro will only be available to buy online, through retailers such as Amazon or Best Buy.

If you live in the US and are not so concerned about Chinese espionage, the Mate 10 Pro is definitely worth a closer look. With a 6-inch 18:9 OLED screen, Kirin 970 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and its Leica-branded 12MP dual camera setup, it’s firmly placed in the high-end bracket of the market. That’s a lot smartphone for the $ 800 retail price.

Oh, and its camera is also one of the best among the current crop of flagship phones.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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