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Posts Tagged ‘Ever’

NASA and ESA Solar Orbiter spacecraft sends back closest ever images of the Sun

18 Jul

NASA and the ESA revealed the first images of the Sun from its Solar Orbiter joint mission, providing an unprecedented look at our star. The images have revealed a new mystery that scientists have named ‘campfires’ — this refers to miniature solar flares on the Sun described by ESA as ‘omnipresent.’

ESA says the early technical verification phase of the mission knowtn as commissioning has been completed, meaning Solar Orbiter is just getting started. Despite this early stage, the mission has already revealed new phenomena, underscoring the promising results the space agencies anticipate from their joint spacecraft.

Solar Orbiter was launched in February 2020 with the goal of, among other things, capturing images of the Sun at the closest distance thus far attainable. The mission includes half a dozen remote-sensing telescopes and four in situ monitoring instruments for studying the environment around Solar Orbiter.

Data gathered by both sets of instruments will, hopefully, provide scientists with new insights about the star and solar wind. Kicking things off are the ‘campfires’ featured in the first set of images above. Solar Orbiter used its Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument to capture the images — it includes an imager capable of capturing the entire Sun, plus two high-resolution telescopes.

It’s unknown at this time whether campfires are entirely different than big flares or simply miniature versions of them. Talking about the newly discovered phenomena is EUI instrument principal investigator David Berghmans, who said:

The campfires are little relatives of the solar flares that we can observe from Earth, million or billion times smaller. The Sun might look quiet at the first glance, but when we look in detail, we can see those miniature flares everywhere we look.

The EUI is only one of the imagers on Solar Orbiter; it is joined by the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) used to capture high-resolution measurements of the Sun’s magnetic field lines. The latter instrument has also provided scientists with another ‘first,’ having revealed a single active region on the Sun that is experiencing bursts of energetic particles that, until now, experts were unaware existed.

‘That is a first,’ said PHI principal investigator Sami Solanki. ‘We have never been able to measure the magnetic field at the back of the Sun.’

In time, Solar Orbiter will reach within 42 million kilometers (26 million miles) of the Sun, covering almost a full quarter of the distance between the star and our planet. This gradual change in distance will take place over the next two years, providing the space agencies with increasingly detailed close-up images of the Sun.

NASA Solar Orbiter project scientist Holly Gilbert said, ‘The first data are already demonstrating the power behind a successful collaboration between space agencies and the usefulness of a diverse set of images in unraveling some of the Sun’s mysteries.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CineStill’s new developer kits make it easier than ever to creatively control slide film development

20 May

CineStill has introduced a new 3-bath processing system for slide film users that allows photographers a choice of three color and contrast profiles for the same type of film. Users can opt for a straight development to bring out the default characteristics of the film, or choose a tungsten balanced look or one with a warm tone and lower contrast. The Cs6 Creative Slide 3-Bath processing system allows photographers to get three quite different looks from the same emulsion by using a different developing solution.

The developers are part of a new 3-bath system that comprises a first developer that determines the color and contrast profile of the end result, followed by a combined the second developer and reversal process, and then a third bath that contains the bleach and the fix. CineStill claims the chemicals are easy to use and that temperature control is not as critical as in normal E6 processes, so successful home processing is much more achievable.

The three choices for the first developer are D6 DaylightChrome, D9 DynamicChrome and T6 TungstenChrome. The DaylightChrome developer is said to produce a neutral result with slightly enhanced color saturation and a usable dynamic range of 6 stops.

DynamicChrome produces a warm tone with enhanced contrast and color saturation but at the same time preserves highlight and shadow detail to offer a useable DR of 9 stops and extended exposure latitude. The TungstenChrome developer shifts the film’s color to correct for the use of warm tungsten lights saving the bother and light-lose of using a color-correction filter over the lens.

Photo by Sandy Phimester on Kodak E100 processed with CineStill Cs6 DynamicChrome

The one-liter kits contain enough chemistry to process 16 rolls or 100ft of film and are priced from $ 39 including all three baths, while the individual developers are available from $ 12.99. The chemicals are available now from the CineStill website, and from retailers in the USA and Europe from the summer.

Press release

Introducing: Cs6 “Creative Slide” 3-Bath process for color-timing E-6 reversal film at home

Chrome unlocked!

Want to shoot slide film? Want it to be quick and easy to process? Want to still have creative control over how your images look? Introducing the CineStill Cs6 “Creative Slide” 3-Bath Process for simple creative control of your E-6 film.

The reversal process is the purest of analog processes and it’s now more creative and accessible than ever! The colors of slide film are unrivaled and now you can color-time and control dynamic range with alternative 1st developers. For the first time ever, you can change the color profile of your slides. With limited slide film options available today, CineStill is tripling the choices available for slide film, and demystifying slide processing with only 3 baths to appreciate a beautiful photograph. Your slides should be superior to color-corrected negative scans, without sacrificing creative control.

For the past several years CineStill has been developing ways to bridge the gap between mail-order photo labs and instant photography. Whether it be a Monobath for B&W film, a simplified 2-Bath process for color negatives, a Temperature Control System for mixing and heating chemicals, or various partnerships to make daylight processing accessible… There’s no longer a need for a darkroom, professional lab or high-tech equipment to create analog photographs. You can now create beautiful color transparencies at home through one simple process.

With the Cs6 “Creative Slide” 3-Bath Process comes 5 new products

1. D6 “DaylightChrome” Neutral-tone 5500K 1st Developer
Renders approximately 6+ stops of usable dynamic-range* with bright whites and moderately enhanced color saturation, just like conventional E-6 processing. Daylight-balanced for conventional slides in daylight or with electronic flash. Single-use 1+1 dilution develops 8-16 rolls or 100ft of slide Film.
Kodak E100 DaylightChrome

2. D9 “DynamicChrome” Warm-tone 1st Developer
Renders approximately 9+ stops of usable dynamic-range*, while maintaining vibrant color-contrast and rich warm tones with preserved highlight and shadow detail (optimized for scanning) for a more cinematic look. Extended exposure latitude increases the usable dynamic-range* of slide film from 6 to 9+ stops! Conventional E-6 processing renders approximately 6 stops of usable dynamic-range*. Perfect for high contrast lighting or backlit subjects in daylight, shade or with electronic flash. Single-use 1+1 dilution develops 8-16 rolls or 100ft of slide Film.

3. T6 “TungstenChrome” Cool-tone 3200K 1st Developer
Renders approximately 6+ stops of usable dynamic-range* with cleaner whites, and moderately enhanced color saturation. Shoot in artificial light without sacrificing 2 stops of exposure to color filtering! Kodak’s published technical data sheet recommends exposing E100 at EI 25 with an 80A Filter in Tungsten (3200 K) light. Now you can expose at box speed in low-light or even push to EI 200 or 400, and color-time your slides in processing. With conventional E-6 processing this would require color filtration and a 2-4 stop exposure compensation. Single-use 1+1 dilution develops 8-16 rolls or 100ft of Ektachrome®.

4. Cr6 “Color&Reversal” 2-in-1 Slide Solution
Combines the reversal step with color development. 6min minimum process time for completion with flexible temperature range of 80-104°f (27-40°C)**. Reusable solution reverses 16+ rolls of developed slide film.

5. Bf6 “Bleaches&Fixer” 3-in-1 Slide Solution
Combines the bleach and conditioner steps with the fixing step. 6min minimum process time for completion with flexible temperature range of 75 -104°f (23-40°C)**. Reusable solution clears 24+ rolls of reversal Film.

* ”Usable dynamic-range” is the amount of full stops of exposure value that renders acceptable detail and color. “Total dynamic-range” however, is the maximum range containing tonal separation rendering any detail, and is often twice the usable-dynamic range. The usable dynamic-range of conventional slide film is between 6-8 stops (total 14-16 stops). Color negative is between 9-13 stops (total 16-21 stops). Digital sensors are mostly between 7-10 stops (total 12-15 stops).

** Maintaining temperature is not essential beyond pouring in a 1st developer. When a temperature control bath is not available, simply preheat the 1st Developer +2ºF warmer, and the other baths will automatically process-to-completion as they cool down. Only the 1st developer is time and temperature critical because it controls contrast and color.

Cs6 “Creative Slide” 3-Bath Kits for Reversal and E-6 Film

CineStill Cs6 3-Bath Kits will be available from $ 39. The 1000ml/Quart Kits can process 16+ Rolls or 100ft of Slide Film and the 3-2-1 Chemical Reuse Kits processes 32+ Rolls of film.
Included In Cs6 3-Bath Kits:

  • D9 “DynamicChrome”, D6 “DaylightChrome”, or T6 “TungstenChrome” 1st Developer
  • Cr6 “Color&Reversal” 2-in-1 Slide Solution
  • Bf6 “Bleaches&Fixer” 3-in-1 Slide Solution

The CineStill Cs6 3-Bath Kits and separate components are available for purchase now at CineStillFilm.com, and throughout the U.S. and E.U. markets later this summer.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Fujifilm X100V review: The most capable prime-lens compact camera, ever

09 Apr

Introduction

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All product photography by Dan Bracaglia

Gold Award

86%
Overall score
Jump to conclusion

The X100V is Fujifilm’s fifth X100-series camera since the original model debuted almost a full decade ago. Through each successive iteration, Fujifilm has made its large-sensor, prime-lens compact camera more and more capable, and this latest model (officially pronounced Ex One Hundred Vee) takes the core bits of Fujifilm’s high-end interchangeable-lens X-Pro3 and slips them into a much smaller package.

This means you get the company’s latest 26MP X-Trans APS-C sensor and processor combo, the promise of much-improved autofocus and the best video feature set we’ve seen on a prime-lens compact camera. But it doesn’t stop there: the lens has been redesigned, the ergonomics refined, the viewfinder revisited, and a whole lot more.

Key specifications:

  • 26MP X-Trans sensor
  • Redesigned lens (still a 23mm F2 pancake, compatible with previous converters)
  • Built-in 4-stop ND filter
  • Tilting 1.62M-dot touchscreen LCD panel
  • Updated 3.69M-dot OLED EVF, redesigned OVF optics
  • Up to 4K/30p with Eterna film sim and F-Log internal capture (8-bit only)
  • 2.5mm mic port, headphones through USB-C with adapter
  • Weather-sealed, when filter adapter and filter are used
  • Single SD card slot
  • CIPA rated to 350 shots using the EVF, 420 using the OVF
Processed from Raw.
ISO 320 | 1/320 sec | F5.6
Photo by Barney Britton

The X100-series has always been a favorite among the DPReview staff, and for some good reasons; these cameras produce wonderful images, they’re beautifully designed and are engaging to use. For those that have been eyeing some or other version of X100 over the years but never taken the plunge, this latest model is arguably the one to get. But for owners of previous X100 models, should the V tempt you to upgrade? Let’s find out.

The X100V is expected to be available in late February 2020 at a suggested retail price of $ 1399, £1299 (inc VAT), €1500 (inc VAT) or $ 1799 CAD.

What’s new and how it compares

The X100V comes with some significant changes, but still follows the basic formula its predecessors have followed for the last decade.

Read more

Body, controls and handling

Out with the 4-way controller, in with the touchscreen. This and more have the potential to change the way you take control over the X100V.

Read more

First impressions

If Reviews Editor Carey Rose had the previous X100F, he’s not sure he’d upgrade – but he’s not sure he’d not upgrade, either.

Read more

Image and lens quality

The X100V has a familiar sensor with good performance and we take a close look at the new Color Chrome feature and the redesigned lens.

Read more

Autofocus

The X100V gets pretty much all of the same autofocus features as the X-Pro3, making it very capable for a camera of its type.

Read more

Video

In terms of video, there’s really no better-specced fixed-lens, large-sensor option on the market today.

Read more

Conclusion

The X100V is (predictably) the best X100 yet, and frankly, leads its market segment in terms of overall capability.

Read more

Sample galleries

Our pre-production camera gallery started out with a dark, gray January, and our full-production gallery ends with quarantine. But we did get some nice photos here and there.

Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Video: Mathieu Stern says LomoMod No.1 is the ‘worst camera’ he’s ever tested

24 Feb

Photographer Mathieu Stern, the creator of the Weird Lens Museum and unique DIY lenses like the ice lens, has published a review of Lomography’s LomoMod No.1 featuring the Liquid Lens. The review is not kind, with Stern stating bluntly that LomoMod No.1 is the ‘worst camera’ he has ever tested.

The LomoMod No.1 is a build-it-yourself medium format cardboard camera that features a unique liquid-filled lens. Photographers can inject their own preferred liquid into the lens, such as tea, in order to create the effects they’re seeking. The DIY nature of the camera makes it seem like it would be a good fit for Stern given his lens projects.

Stern explains that though he likes to create his own lenses, building the LomoMod No.1 was ‘not a fun moment,’ and that the entire process took around two hours because some of the pieces didn’t fit properly. Among other issues, Stern shows in the video that his cardboard camera’s back wouldn’t close properly.

He had more luck assembling a second camera kit but encountered other issues. In addition to producing poor image quality, the film advance wheel — which is made of cardboard — broke, leaving him unable to use the device. ‘I was really p*ssed for spending two hours building a camera and only [getting] 10 minutes [to use] it,’ Stern explains in the video.

The reviewer was able to replace the broken wheel with the wheel from the first camera kit, but it, too, broke in a short period of time. Ultimately, Stern explains that while he liked some of the images shot with the liquid lens, the camera itself was ‘one of the worst things I [have] ever used.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Fujifilm X100V initial review: The most capable fixed-lens compact camera, ever

05 Feb

Introduction

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Sample photoSample photoSample photoSample photoSample photo

The X100V is Fujifilm’s fifth X100-series camera since the original model debuted almost a full decade ago. Through each successive iteration, Fujifilm has made its large-sensor, prime-lens compact camera more and more capable, and this latest model (officially pronounced Ex One Hundred Vee) takes the core bits of Fujifilm’s high-end interchangeable-lens X-Pro3 and slips them into a much smaller package.

This means you get the company’s latest 26MP X-Trans APS-C sensor and processor combo, the promise of much-improved autofocus and the best video feature set we’ve seen on a prime-lens compact camera. But they didn’t stop there: the lens has been redesigned, the ergonomics refined, the viewfinder revisited, and a whole lot more.

Key specifications:

  • 26MP X-Trans sensor
  • Redesigned lens (but still a 23mm F2 pancake)
  • Built-in 4-stop ND filter, compatible with previous lens converters
  • Tilting 1.62M-dot touchscreen LCD panel
  • Updated 3.69M-dot OLED EVF, redesigned OVF optics
  • Up to 4K/30p with Eterna film sim and F-Log internal capture (8-bit only)
  • 2.5mm mic port, headphones through USB-C with adapter
  • Weather-sealed, when filter adapter and filter are used
  • Single SD card slot
  • CIPA rated to 350 shots using the EVF, 420 using the OVF

The X100-series has always been a favorite among the DPReview staff, and for some good reasons; these cameras produce wonderful images, are beautifully designed and are engaging to use. For those that have been eyeing some or other version of X100 over the years but never taken the plunge, this latest model is arguably the one to get. But for owners of previous X100 models, should the V tempt you to upgrade? Let’s find out.

The X100V is expected to be available in late February 2020 at a suggested retail price of $ 1399, £1299 (inc VAT) or $ 1799 CAD.

What’s new and how it compares

The X100V comes with some significant changes, but still follows the basic formula its predecessors have followed for the last decade.

Read more

Body, controls and handling

Out with the 4-way controller, in with the touchscreen. This and more have the potential to change the way you take control over the X100V.

Read more

First impressions

If Reviews Editor Carey Rose had the previous X100F, he’s not sure he’d upgrade – but he’s not sure he’d not upgrade, either.

Read more

Sample gallery

It’s a dark, gray, wet January in Seattle, but we did try to take advantage of a couple of sunny days to see what our pre-production X100V can do.

Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon Announces the Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, it’s fastest lens ever!

11 Oct

The post Nikon Announces the Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, it’s fastest lens ever! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 NoctNikon has just announced its latest Z-mount lens:

The Nikkor Z 58mm S Noct lens, which includes a whopping f/0.95 maximum aperture. The lens is slated to hit the shelves on October 31st, and it will debut with considerable hype, having snagged the designation as the fastest Nikkor lens ever made.

For those of us who have been waiting for Nikon to make good on its claims that the Z-mount’s 55mm diameter allows for the production of better optics, this new lens should give us a hint of what’s to come. But while the f/0.95 maximum aperture is eye-catching, is it actually useful? And will photographers actually be interested in this lens?

Let’s take a closer look.

While lenses with ultra-wide apertures are rarely small, the Nikkor 58mm f/0.95 sits on the other extreme, with a weight of nearly 4.5 lbs (2 kg). This comes from its aperture, the 17 lens elements, and a magnesium alloy construction. Of course, there are real benefits to all these features, such as higher optical quality and increased ruggedness. But is it worth the cost? For many, a huge benefit of mirrorless setups is the decreased size and weight. Yet this lens won’t be at all convenient to carry around. Plus, all that glass takes up a lot of space, which is why it’s packed into a 6-inch (15.3 cm) body.

Note also that an f/0.95 aperture will provide a very small plane of focus. And given that this lens only focuses manually to begin with, you may struggle somewhat to lock onto your subjects with speed.

The lens is primarily designed for astrophotographers and other night shooters (hence the ‘Noct’ designation). And for astrophotographers, the shallow depth of field won’t be a problem, as they rarely need to think about depth of field anyway. But ambitious portrait photographers may find themselves frustrated by the combination of a shallow plane of focus at f/0.95 and a manual focus lens, and anyone who tries to lock on subjects other than the night sky may come away from shoots without much luck.

Now, don’t get me wrong:

The Nikon 58mm f/0.95 is most likely an incredible lens, optically speaking. Nikon is promising amazing sharpness, and I expect this will be borne out in tests. I’m also impressed by the wide aperture, which will allow for unprecedented shooting in low light and at night. Astrophotographers, in particular, will like this lens, regardless of its size.

But at the same time, it’s hard not to wonder whether many other photographers will be interested. Especially because Nikon’s MSRP for this new lens is an incredible $ 7999.95 USD.

So now I’d like to ask you:

What do you think? Would you be interested in this lens? Will anyone buy it? Is there anything you would’ve preferred Nikon scrap or modify?

Let me know in the comments!

The post Nikon Announces the Nikkor Z 58mm f/0.95 S Noct, it’s fastest lens ever! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


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Adobe Lightroom is now available on Apple’s Mac App Store for the first time ever

21 Jun

Starting today, Adobe Lightroom is available in the Mac App Store. This marks the first time one of Adobe’s flagship Creative Cloud apps is available within Apple’s redesigned desktop app market.

Adobe lists two in-app purchases within the Adobe Lightroom listing: a $ 9.99 monthly subscription option and a $ 118.99 annual subscription option.

A screenshot of the Adobe Lightroom app listing in the Mac App Store.

Adobe says the first week of using Lightroom, which comes with 1TB of cloud-based storage, is free. After the first week, the recurring monthly payment is automatically charged to your iTunes account. As with other macOS subscriptions, you can turn off auto-renew in your ‘Account Settings’ within 24 hours before the end of your billing period and you won’t be charged for the renewal.

Alternatively, if you already have an Adobe Creative Cloud subscription that includes Lightroom, you can also log into your account after downloading Lightroom from the Mac App Store.

The $ 9.99 monthly subscription is the same price in the Mac App Store as it is on Adobe’s own website while the $ 118.99 annual subscription option is just shy of a dollar cheaper than the annual prepaid plan Adobe offers on its Creative Cloud website.1

Adobe’s decision to keep the prices the same is an interesting one considering Apple is known to take a 30% cut of in-app purchases made within its desktop and mobile app stores for the first year and 15% cut for each year after that. Even with the decrease in revenue though, it’s safe to say Adobe isn’t hurting, considering its stock is at an all-time high after a record-breaking Q2.

1 Adobe has the annual Lightroom prepaid plan listed for $ 119.88

Update (June 20, 2019): Added text to clarify that you can log into your existing Creative Cloud membership even when downloading Lightroom through the Mac App Store.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Tamron says its new SP 35mm F1.4 is ‘its finest lens ever’

06 Jun

Tamron has released details of a new lens it claims is the finest it has ever produced. Made to celebrate 40 years of the SP range, the SP 35mm F1.4 Di USD will be the ‘embodiment of all the optical technology and manufacturing know-how Tamron has developed to date,’ a sentiment Tamron shared with us in an interview back in April.

The lens will use 14 elements in 10 groups, including four LD (Low Dispersion) and three GM (Glass Molded Aspherical) lens elements. Tamron notes this combination will limit chromatic aberration and will produce high-resolution across the frame as well as ‘beautiful, appealing background bokeh’.

The lens will also feature a new coating called BBAR-G2 (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection Generation 2). Tamron says this reduces reflections, minimizes flare and allows it to achieve better levels of contrast. Powering the focus mechanism inside the lens is Tamron’s Ultrasonic Silent Drive, and a new Dynamic Rolling-cam mechanism has been added to reduce the drive load on the main focusing group to allow the large elements to move more quickly in all operating conditions.

The lens will be available in Nikon F mount first at the end of June, and then for Canon EF at the end of July. It will cost $ 899 / £929.99. it’s available to pre-order from both Adorama and B&H.

Press release:

The “ultimate” lens to commemorate the 40th anniversary of Tamron SP Series lenses

Fast fixed focal SP 35mm F/1.4 Di USD (Model F045) that boldly demonstrates
Tamron’s lens-making expertise.

Tamron launches the finest lens in its history with the new fixed focal lens, the SP 35mm F/1.4 Di USD (Model F045), for full-frame DSLR cameras.

Tamron’s SP (Superior Performance) lens series was born in 1979, based on the concept of delivering lenses for taking the perfect picture for those who love photography. This year marks the 40th anniversary of the series. In celebration, Tamron has developed the 35mm F/1.4 (Model F045), the distillation of Tamron’s accumulated lens-making expertise and craftsmanship. This orthodox fixed focal lens, which some consider the most desirable of all interchangeable lenses, is the embodiment of all the optical technology and manufacturing knowhow Tamron has developed to date.

The 35mm F1.4’s (Model F045) unprecedented high-resolution image quality and beautiful, appealing background bokeh let photographers capture any scene down to the finest details. The external lens barrel was developed through tireless pursuit of operability and durability, focusing constantly on the needs of photographers. This lens is equipped with a large F/1.4 aperture and high-speed, high-precision AF functionality offering exceptional reliability, plus various other features for increased convenience, making it the perfect everyday lens for your creative pursuits. It is ideally suited for nearly every photographic genre, including photojournalism, landscape, sports, street life, wedding groups and family snapshots.

Product Development Background

“To commemorate the 40th Anniversary of Tamron’s renowned SP series lenses that are designed and constructed to deliver the highest levels of performance, we drew upon our accumulated expertise and technologies to create the ‘ultimate lens’ — the Model F045,” said the person responsible for product planning. “Our goal was to achieve high resolution, fidelity of point light source and beautiful bokeh,” he continued. “We deployed existing skills, like our highly regarded knowhow for producing bokeh, and combined them with new innovations like BBAR-G2 (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection Generation 2) Coating for anti-reflection performance. Today we announce with sincere pride that the Model F045 embodies Tamron’s philosophy for manufacturing and is the finest lens in Tamron’s history.”

PRODUCT HIGLIGHTS

1. Consummate image quality across the entire frame from edge-to-edge
The optical construction (14 elements in 10 groups) leverages the best of Tamron technology and features a generous arrangement of special glass materials including four LD (Low Dispersion) and three GM (Glass Molded Aspherical) lens elements. This combination of components successfully eliminates the effects of chromatic aberrations (which are particularly perilous for high-speed lenses) as well as other optical aberrations to the greatest extent possible. Even at its maximum aperture of F/1.4, high resolution performance is achieved from the center of the frame to the edges, providing superior aberration correction to maintain perfect fidelity of point shapes. The result is ultimate ultra-high image quality. This exceptional optical performance extends to the quality of defocused bokeh areas. With this lens, photographers can capture dramatic images that neatly sculpt their subjects against large and beautifully appealing background bokeh.

2. Next-generation BBAR-G2 Coating
To maximize the optical performance and ultra-high image quality of this lens, special measures are in place for optimal correction against ghosting and flare. Tamron has developed BBAR-G2 Coating through continued research into the coating technologies they have developed over many years. This new BBAR-G2 Coating vastly exceeds the performance of the original BBAR (Broad-Band Anti-Reflection) Coating that enjoys a long and well-established reputation in its own right. In addition to minimizing ghosting and flare, BBAR-G2 Coating enables clear images with stunning, unprecedented contrast.

3. Exceptionally reliable, fast and accurate AF
The AF drive is equipped with Tamron’s proprietary USD (Ultrasonic Silent Drive). This technology affords an autofocusing system with high speed, precision and quiet operation—even in a large aperture lens, which is typically bigger and heavier. Additionally, thanks to the Dynamic Rolling-cam mechanism that has been newly developed specifically for this lens, Tamron has succeeded in minimizing the drive load placed on the focus lens component. This breakthrough ensures stable AF operating performance and improves reliability even under the harsh shooting conditions of professional use, including high and low temperature extremes. This exceptional lens is also equipped with a Full-Time Manual Focus override system so photographers can instantly make fine adjustments to the point of focus, even when using the AF mode.

4. Vastly improved highly durable Fluorine Coating
The front surface of the lens element is coated with a Fluorine Coating based on a newly developed fluorine compound with high water- and oil-repellent properties. The lens surface is easier to wipe clean and is less vulnerable to the damaging effects of dirt, dust, moisture, and fingerprints, and enabling your important lenses to be continually protected on a long-term basis.

5. Moisture-Resistant Construction
Seals are located at the lens mount area and other critical locations to prevent infiltration of moisture and/or rain to provide Moisture-Resistant Construction. This feature affords an additional layer of protection when shooting outdoors under adverse weather conditions.

6. Compatible with TAMRON TAP-in ConsoleTM, an optional accessory
The Model F045 is compatible with the TAMRON TAP-in Console, an optional accessory product that provides a USB connection to a personal computer, enabling users to easily update a lens’s firmware as well as customize features including fine adjustments to the AF.

7. Locking lens hood for precise positioning
The included lens hood is equipped with a locking mechanism. Being able to reliably attach the hood prevents it from unintentionally shifting position or coming off at the wrong time.

8. Consistent with Tamron’s sophisticated design concepts
The smoothly contoured body and the texture of fine details reinforce simple operation and ensure intuitive use. The shape boasts a high-grade feel worthy of a next-generation model that’s packed with advanced technologies. The form snugly houses the internal components, while the carefully finished Luminous Gold brand ring and painstakingly precise construction speak loudly of the extreme high quality of the lens. Combined with the ergonomic switch box shape, highly legible distance-scale window and sturdy metal mount, the lens boasts a finely-finished rugged and functional design.

Price and Availability
The SP 35mm F1.4Di USD lens will be available in both Canon and Nikon mounts with a UK Suggested retail price of £929.99.

It is expected to be available in the UK as follows:
Nikon mount: End of June 2019
Canon Mount End of July 2019

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Timelapse+ Studio makes it easier than ever to create timelapses directly in Lightroom

02 May

Timelapse+ has introduced a new plug-in for Adobe Lightroom that promises to make editing and constructing timelapse videos significantly easier. Timelapse+ Studio can identify timelapse sequences in your library and form them into collections. It will then automatically mark what it thinks are key frames in the sequence and allow users to edit those key frames in Lightroom as normal. Users can add more key frames and then have the software blend transitions to balance for adjustments across all the images in the sequence.

The software also allows users to zoom in to areas of the scene and to pan across the frame to create a sense of camera movement even in situations in which the camera and lens were stationary during recording.

Exposure differences between frames, or different parts of the sequence, can be ironed out to avoid abrupt changes, and the result can be previewed in a window within Lightroom once the sequence is complete. The company says all the automated tasks the software performs can be undone and redone by those that need manual control of the way the timelapse is created.

The astro timelapse below was created by Adrien Mauduit using Timelapse+ Studio.

Timelapse+ Studio is available now and costs $ 49. For more information see the Timelapse+ website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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This is the first ever photograph of a black hole

10 Apr

Credit: Event Horizon Telescope Collaboration

Editor’s note: It appears the National Science Foundation has taken down the link to the full-resolution image, likely due to the ridiculous bandwidth required to load a 183.3MB image. We will leave the original link in its place for the time being until we can find an officially mirrored image to put in its place.

As promised a week ago, the results of the Event Horizon Telescope (EHT) project have been unveiled to the world, showing the first ever photograph of a supermassive black hole.

The picture above, which you can find a full-resolution version of on the National Science Foundation’s (NSF) website (183.3MB TIF), shows a black hole at the center of the galaxy Messier 87 (M87). The black hole, located 55 million light years from Earth, is 6 billion times more massive than our Sun and 1,500 times more massive than Sagittarius A* (Sgr A*), the black hole at the center of our own galaxy, the Milky Way.

The black disk at the center of the image is a shadow of the event horizon. Surrounding it is an orange glow made up of hot gas that’s managed to escape the strong gravitational pull of the black hole. In the words of the NSF, who helped to fund the EHT Project, the image is ‘not simulation or conjecture, but chaotic photons surrounding an unimaginable void.’

The data used to create the image was captured in a week’s time back in April 2017 with the help of eight different radio telescopes across five continents, but it’s taken until now to gather, process and review that data. As noted by The Verge, Davide Castelvecchi of Nature News wrote back in 2017 that ‘A typical night will yield about as much data as a year’s worth of experiments at the Large Hadron Collider outside Geneva, Switzerland.’

Below is a video explainer of the EHT project and its mission.

Once all of the data was captured from the eight telescopes across the globe, the data had to be physically sent to centralized locations where it was parsed through by a supercomputer for months on end to create the image we’ve been shown today.

In addition to processing the data, the final image and accompanying information was stringently peer-reviewed ahead of today’s release, ‘as a part of the standard process of peer-review required for any scientific publication.’

Update (April 10, 2019): This article has been updated to clarify that the black center of the image is not the event horizon itself, but a shadow caused by the activity at the event horizon.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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