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Zeiss’ 37MP Lightroom-capable, full-frame ZX1 camera is here — and it costs $6K

30 Oct

Zeiss has announced the release of its long-awaited ZX1 mirrorless camera in the United States and Germany.

First announced back in September 2018, the Zeiss ZX1 full-frame Android-powered camera is designed, in Zeiss’ own words, to help users ‘Shoot. Edit. Share.’ all on one device thanks to the integration of hardware and software.

At the core of the ZX1 is a 37.4-megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor developed by Zeiss. In front of the sensor is a non-interchangeable Zeiss Distagon 35mm F2 T* lens with a focus and aperture ring (both of which appear to be electronically controlled). In addition to stills, the camera is capable of recording 4k (3,840 x 2,160 px) video at 30 frames per second (fps) and 1080p video at 60 fps in the H.264 codec. All images and video are stored on a 512GB internal SSD and can be transferred off the device using the USB-C port or the wireless connectivity (Wi-Fi 802.11b/g/n/ac, 2.4/5.0 GHz and Bluetooth 4.2 LE).

Other specifications include a shutter speed range of 1/2000th to 30s, an ISO range of 80 to 51,200 (1/3 EV increments), Hybrid AF that uses both contrast and phase detection, and a 0.7” OLED electronic viewfinder (EVF) with a 1920 x 1080px resolution. The camera uses a 3,190mAh 22.9Wh Li-ion battery, but Zeiss doesn’t mention how many shots the battery is rated for (likely because how much editing is done on-camera will greatly affect the battery life).

What makes the Zeiss ZX1 different than, say, the Leica Q2, is its massive 4.3” multitouch display on the rear that not only allows you to navigate the menu system, but also serves as a means of editing images directly on the camera with the Adobe Lightroom Mobile application. Zeiss said it’s worked alongside Adobe to ensure full compatibility and all buyers will receive a year’s worth of Adobe’s 1TB Photography Plan.

Despite clearly running on some version of Android, Zeiss no longer mentions the word ‘Android’ on any of its marketing material, so there’s no way of knowing what version it runs and what kind of support we can expect going forward.

The Zeiss ZX1 is available starting today for $ 6,000 at select dealers in the United States and Germany, including Adorama and B&H. You can read our initial hands-on with the ZX1 from CP+ 2019.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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‘Who am I and what am I doing here?’ Introducing Roger Cicala

18 Oct

I like big optics.

A fair number of you probably know me as the Roger who started Lensrentals.com, and some may know I used to be a physician before that. A few know I sold most of my share in Lensrentals.com years ago and since then I’ve hung out as their director of Quality Assurance, Lovely and Talented Spokesmodel, and a major contributor to the blog. Other than QA, I haven’t actually managed anything for years.

When I started Lensrentals I had a lot of conversations with service centers that went like this. Me: “That lens you repaired still sucks”. Person at service center: “No, it’s within specs”. Me: “What are the specs?” Service center: “We can’t tell you”. One day, after I raised hell with a factory service manager, he patted me on the head and said, “testing lenses is complicated; you don’t have the background to understand.”

Any of you who has ever seen a physician after someone says something like ‘you wouldn’t understand; it’s complicated’ knows what happened next. I had no option but to spend a couple of years buying testing equipment, offering internships to really smart optical engineering students, and developing a lens testing center and methodology that was as good as anything in the industry.

Pictured: A lens testing center and methodology that was as good as anything in the industry. This machine doesn’t give us numbers, it’s used to optically adjust lenses in real time.

That probably sounds ridiculous, but the reality is that in 2010, everybody (manufacturers included) was still doing metrology (lens testing) the same way that they’d done it with film cameras in the 60s and 70s. In my previous life I’d done clinical research, and my first hobby was writing medical books for non-medical people; putting complex medical terms in plain words. When I started Lensrentals, I started writing again, blogging about the stuff we were doing.

I ended up doing testing and consulting for several major manufacturers, and a fair number of specialty manufacturers

So a few years later, when a service center told me “it’s within spec” I could send them their specs (because we’d tested enough lenses to know them) and the results from the lens in question and say, “NOPE, it’s not.” If you look back to my blog posts in those days, you’ll see I even posted some examples of what service centers claimed was ‘in spec’ versus what was really happening as well as posting actual MTF (as opposed to computer generated) data. As you might expect, this made me rather unpopular with manufacturers.

We then entered the traditional ‘exchange of threats and legal posturing’ period. I managed to convince most manufacturers that we were just reporting facts (emphasis on most). Eventually they started sending engineers to look at our testing methods. I ended up doing testing and consulting for several major manufacturers, and a fair number of specialty manufacturers. I don’t do that much anymore, since we gave our software and methodology to any that were interested, and most then started doing it themselves.

Test results for a lens that isn’t as sharp as it should be in the center, which actually is unusual. Usually the problems are away from center.

I still have a lab in one of Lensrentals’ buildings, but I just do whatever interests me at the moment. They let me put stuff up on their blog but much of what I write only gets widely seen when DPReview reposts it. I’ve worked behind the scenes with the DPReview staff for years, so when Barney offered me the chance to write directly for DPR we sat down and negotiated. I think the terms are fair; they aren’t going to pay me anything, but they won’t tell me what to write about or to STFU [Editor’s note: we offered to pay Roger but he said ‘I already have enough money’ and I didn’t push the matter in case I misheard].

I expect you might see a disclaimer about ‘the opinions expressed in this article don’t necessarily reflect those of DPReview, anybody who works here, or anybody we even know’ every so often. But otherwise I’ll be writing op-ed pieces here when the mood strikes me and when DPReview has a slow news day.

Roger

The opinions expressed in this article don’t necessarily reflect those of DPReview, its parent company, affiliates, anybody who works here, or anybody we even know.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Here Is Why Mirrorless Cameras Have Shutters

21 Jul

Mirrorless cameras are becoming more and more popular not just with amateur photographers but with professional ones too. By doing away with the mirror system within the camera in favour of an electronic viewfinder and/or LCD screen the camera is able to be more compact, lighter and have smaller interchangeable lenses than its DSLR counterpart. Using a sensor system similar Continue Reading

The post Here Is Why Mirrorless Cameras Have Shutters appeared first on Photodoto.

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Slideshow: Here are the 2020 World Press Photo nominees

26 Feb

Slideshow: Here are the 2020 World Press Photo nominees

Today, the World Press Photo Foundation announced the nominees for its 63rd annual contest. 4,282 photographers from 125 countries entered 73,996 images for consideration as either singles or stories across 8 categories. The nominees are 44 professional photographers based in 24 countries: Algeria, Australia, Belarus, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Ethiopia, France, Germany, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Lithuania, Mexico, Poland, Peru, Russia, South Africa, South Korea, Spain, Turkey, United Kingdom, and the United States.

17 photography professionals, chaired by Lekgetho Makola, made up the jury. Protests, political uprisings, and environmental issues were especially prevalent this past year as reflected in the nominations. In 2019, a new category was introduced: the World Press Photo Story of the Year.

The three nominees for the World Press Photo Story of the Year are:

‘Hong Kong Unrest’
Nicolas Asfouri (Denmark), Agence France-Presse
‘Ethiopian Airlines Flight 302 Crash Site’
Mulugeta Ayene (Ethiopia), Associated Press
‘Kho, the Genesis of a Revolt’
Romain Laurendeau (France)

The jury shortlisted six nominees for World Press Photo of the Year:

‘Relative Mourns Flight ET 302 Crash Victim’
Mulugeta Ayene (Ethiopia), Associated Press
‘Clash with the Police During Anti-Government Demonstration’
Farouk Batiche (Algeria), Deutsche Presse-Agentur
‘Straight Voice’
Yasuyoshi Chiba (Japan), Agence France-Presse
‘Awakening’
Tomek Kaczor (Poland), for Gazeta Wyborcza
‘Injured Kurdish Fighter Receives Hospital Visit’
Ivor Prickett (Ireland), for The New York Times
‘Nothing Personal – the Back Office of War’
Nikita Teryoshin (Russia)

The jury also nominated 3 single images and 3 stories across all eight categories: Contemporary Issues, General News, Environment, Nature, Long-Term Projects, Portraits, Spot News, and Sports. Winners will be announced at the Awards Show taking place on April 16th in Amsterdam. The World Press Photo Festival, featuring meetups and workshops, will follow on the 17th – 18th.

Starting April 18th, prize-winning entries will be exhibited throughout the year in 120 cities spanning 50 countries. The series of events is expected to draw at least 5 million people. A full calendar can be viewed here. For more information, visit www.worldpressphoto.org or follow the organization on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and YouTube.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee: ‘Injured Kurdish Fighter Receives Hospital Visit’ by Ivor Prickett (Ireland), for The New York Times

Caption: Ahmed Ibrahim (18), a badly burned SDF fighter, is visited by his girlfriend at a hospital in Al-Hasakah, Syria, on 20 October. She had at first been reluctant to enter the room, as she was horrified by his injuries, but a nurse persuaded her to go in to hold Ahmed’s hand and have a short conversation.

Story: By early 2019, the territory held by the Islamic State group (IS) in Syria had reduced to a four-square-kilometer patch in the southeast, centered on the village of Baghuz. The IS retreat from northern Syria had been under the onslaught of the combined militias of the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), led by the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) and supported by an international coalition of primarily US troops.

As IS drew back, tens of thousands of people emerged from the enclave, many of them the wives and children of foreign IS fighters. Numerous IS fighters themselves surrendered or were captured. The Kurds were left with the conundrum of what to do with so many prisoners, many of them under 18 and orphaned or separated from their families. Then, at the beginning of October, US president Donald Trump ordered US troops out of northern Syria.

On 9 October, Turkey—which had long seen Kurdish forces on its border as a security threat, given the decades-long Kurdish insurgency against Turkey—invaded northern Syria, aiming to end Kurdish control over the territory. As Kurdish forces refocused their attention on a new opponent, the fate of the many thousands of prisoners grew even more uncertain.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee: ‘Relative Mourns Flight ET 302 Crash Victim’ by Mulugeta Ayene (Ethiopia), Associated Press

Caption: A relative of a victim of the crash of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302 throws dirt in her face as she grieves at the crash site of Ethiopian Airlines Flight ET302, outside Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, on 14 March 2019.

Story: On 10 March, Ethiopian Airlines flight ET302, a Boeing 737 MAX, disappeared from the radar six minutes after take-off from Addis Ababa airport and crashed into a field, killing all 157 people on board. The impact was so great that both engines were buried in a crater 10 meters deep, and any human remains were almost impossible to identify.

On 14 November, eight months after the crash, the site of the impact was covered and the unidentified remains of victims buried in rows of identical coffins. Comparisons were made with the crash of a Lion Air aircraft, also a 737 MAX, 12 minutes after take-off from Jakarta in October 2018. Countries across the world, initially with the exception of the US, grounded the 737 MAX.

First reports showed that pilots had been unable to prevent the plane repeatedly nosediving, despite following procedures recommended by Boeing. It appeared that in both cases pilots were struggling to deal with an automated safety system designed to prevent stalling, which was repeatedly pushing the nose of the plane down. It seemed that the system was being activated, possibly due to a faulty sensor, even though nothing was wrong.

It later emerged that American Airlines pilots had confronted Boeing about potential safety issues with the MAX. Boeing had resisted their calls but promised a software fix, which had not been done by the time Flight ET302 crashed. Planes remained grounded into 2020.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee: ‘Clash with the Police During an Anti-Government Demonstration’ by Farouk Batiche (Algeria), Deutsche Presse-Agentur

Caption: Students scuffle with riot police during an anti-government demonstration in Algiers, Algeria, on 21 May.

Story: Algeria had been embroiled in protests since February. Initially, protests had been aimed at ousting long-time president, Abdelaziz Bouteflika, an 81-year-old veteran of Algeria’s independence struggle who had been in ill-health and not seen in public for some time. Bouteflika resigned in April, handing over to a military-backed caretaker government, but demonstrations continued.

Protesters demanded the cancellation of the presidential elections set to take place on 4 July and a return to civilian democracy. They also called for the departure of government officials associated with the Bouteflika administration, including the interim president and prime minister. Protests continued into 2020 without successful resolution.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee: ‘Straight Voice’ by Yasuyoshi Chiba (Japan), Agence France-Presse

Caption: A young man, illuminated by mobile phones, recites a poem while protestors chant slogans calling for civilian rule, during a blackout in Khartoum, Sudan, on 19 June.

Story: Protests had begun in the eastern city of Atbara in December 2018, reportedly against the tripling of the price of bread, but then broadened in focus and had spread rapidly throughout the country. By April 2019, protesters were staging a sit-in close to army headquarters in the capital Khartoum, and demanding an end to the 30-year rule of dictator Omar al-Bashir.

On 11 April, al-Bashir was removed from office in a military coup, and a transitional military government was established. Protests continued, calling for power to be handed to civilian groups. On 3 June, government forces opened fire on unarmed protesters. Scores of people were killed and many more subject to further violence. Three days later the African Union suspended Sudan, in the midst of widespread international condemnation of the attack.

The authorities sought to defuse protests by imposing blackouts, and shutting down the internet. Protesters communicated by text message, word of mouth and using megaphones, and resistance to military rule continued. Despite another severe crackdown on 30 June, the pro-democracy movement was eventually successful in signing a power-sharing agreement with the military, on 17 August.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee: ‘Awakening’ by Tomek Kaczor (Poland), for Du?y Format, Gazeta Wyborcza

Caption: A 15-year-old Armenian girl who has recently woken from catatonic state brought on by Resignation Syndrome, sits in a wheelchair, flanked by her parents, in a refugee reception center in Podkowa Le?na, Poland.

Story: Resignation Syndrome (RS) renders patients passive, immobile, mute, unable to eat and drink, incontinent and unresponsive to physical stimulus. It affects psychologically traumatized children in the midst of lengthy asylum processes, and seems most common in Roma and Yazidi children as well as those from the Balkans.

It was first noted in the late 1990s, and was thought to be confined to Sweden, though cases have since been reported in the offshore refugee detention center run by the Australian government in Nauru. Remission and gradual return to normal function occurs after life circumstances improve. The Armenian girl succumbed to RS while her family were trying for asylum in Sweden, but recovered eight months later after they had been deported to Poland.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee: ‘Nothing Personal – the Back Office of War’ by Nikita Teryoshin (Russia)

Caption: A businessman locks away a pair of anti-tank grenade launchers at the end of an exhibition day, at the International Defence Exhibition and Conference (IDEX) in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates, on 18 February.

Story: IDEX is the biggest defense exhibition and conference in the Middle East, and one of the biggest arms trade-fairs in the world. No official attendance figures are released, but according to UAE state media the event drew 1,200 global defence specialists, 1,300 exhibitors and more than 105,000 visitors.

Attendees include defense ministers, military chiefs of staff and key government decision-makers, who interact in conference halls, social events and back-office meetings. War is staged in an artificial environment where mannequins and screen images take the place of real people, and with outdoor demonstrations and daily choreographed battle displays on water.

2020 World Press Photo Story of the Year Nominee: ‘Hong Kong Unrest’ by Nicolas Asfouri (Denmark), Agence France-Presse

Caption: A man holds a poster in Shatin, Hong Kong, as people gather to sing a protest song, on 11 September 2019.

Story: Protests began to be held in Hong Kong at the end of March in response to government proposals to amend existing legislation and allow extradition to mainland China. Anti-government demonstrations gathered momentum over the following weeks as pro-democracy groups united, with students playing a large role in protests and in human-chain rallies.

On 12 June, tens of thousands of demonstrators gathered around the Legislative Council building ahead of a debate on the extradition laws, and met with violent opposition from police. Protests continued to escalate, both in frequency and size, as did police counter-measures. The authorities banned the wearing of face masks, and at a demonstration on 1 October, the day marking the 70th anniversary of the declaration of the People’s Republic of China, police fired live ammunition at protesters for the first time.

After initially proposing postponements and amendments to legislation, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Carrie Lam eventually announced that she would withdraw the bill. This was done on 23 October, but protesters’ demands had broadened to include implementation of genuine universal suffrage and release of arrested protestors, and unrest continued into 2020.

2020 World Press Photo Story of the Year Nominee: ‘Hong Kong Unrest’ by Nicolas Asfouri (Denmark), Agence France-Presse

Caption: Students cross a road to school after participating in a human-chain rally, in Hong Kong, on 12 September 2019.

2020 World Press Photo Story of the Year Nominee: ‘Hong Kong Unrest’ by Nicolas Asfouri (Denmark), Agence France-Presse

Caption: A woman holds up an umbrella (a symbol of protest) during protests in the Causeway Bay district of Hong Kong, on 1 October 2019.

2020 World Press Photo Story of the Year Nominee: ‘Kho, the Genesis of a Revolt’ by Romain Laurendeau (France)

Caption: An old man sits on a staircase in Bab el-Oued, Algiers, Algeria, on 31 May 2014.

Story: Young people make up more than half of Algeria’s population, and according to a UNESCO report 72% of people under 30 in Algeria are unemployed. Pivotal moments in Algerian history, such as the ‘Black October’ revolt of 1988, have had angry youth at their core. Black October was harshly suppressed—more than 500 people were killed in five days—and was followed by a ‘black decade’ of violence and unrest. Thirty years on, the effects of that decade are still present. In a traumatized country, high unemployment leads to boredom and frustration in everyday life and many young people feel disassociated from the state and its institutions.

In neglected working-class neighbourhoods such as Bab el-Oued in Algiers, young people often seek refuge in diki—private places that are ‘bubbles of freedom’ away from the gaze of society and from conservative social values. But the sense of community and solidarity is often not enough to erase the trials of poor living conditions. In February 2019, thousands of young people from working-class neighbourhoods again took to the streets in what became a nationwide challenge to the reign of long-time president Abdelaziz Bouteflika.

Kho (the word means ‘brother’ in colloquial North-African Arabic) is about the genesis of a revolt. It is the story of the deep unease of youth, who, by daring to challenge authority, inspired the rest of the population to join their action, giving birth to the largest protest movement in Algeria in decades.

2020 World Press Photo Story of the Year Nominee: ‘Kho, the Genesis of a Revolt’ by Romain Laurendeau (France)

Caption: Football fans sing during a championship match in the 5 July 1962 Stadium in Algiers, Algeria, on 22 December 2015.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee, Nature Singles: ‘Roadrunner Approaching the Border Wall’ by Alejandro Prieto (Mexico)

Caption: A greater roadrunner approaches the border wall at Naco, Arizona, USA on 28 April.

Story: The wall along the US border with Mexico, championed by US president Donald Trump, will run through one of the most biologically rich and diverse regions of North America, disrupting animal corridors, their habitats and access to water and food. More than 1,000 km of the 3,100 km-long border is closed by such barricades, with the president proposing a further 800 km by early 2021. The US Fish and Wildlife Service has warned that the impermeable barrier, associated human activity, and all-night bright lights could negatively impact 23 endangered and at-risk species.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee, Contemporary Issues Singles: ‘Hitler’s Birthday / Easter Weekend’ by Mark Peterson (United States), Redux Images for New York

Caption: Members of the white supremacist group Shield Wall Network celebrate Hitler’s birthday, on Lake Dardanelle, Arkansas, USA, on 20 April.

Story: Right-wing extremist activity has grown in the US over the past decade, according to a study published by Washington-based think-tank the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). The study points to the rise in internet and social media use by far-right groups, connections between local and international groups, and political developments in the US as major contributing factors.

Although the rise began before Donald Trump began campaigning for the US presidency, the study suggests that individuals have been energized by his election. In September, US Homeland Security named white supremacy a leading terrorist threat. FBI director Christopher Wray later told the House Judiciary Committee that far-right activity posed a steady threat of violence to the US.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee, Sports Singles: ‘Liverpool Champions League Victory Parade’ by Oli Scarff (United Kingdom), Agence France-Presse

Caption: A trophy-shaped balloon floats over the crowd in Liverpool, England, as football fans line the streets on 2 June during the open-top bus parade celebrating Liverpool’s win against Tottenham Hotspur in the UEFA Champions League final.

Story: Some 750,000 fans turned out for the parade, according to Merseyside Police. The 2-0 win at the Metropolitano Stadium, Madrid, Spain, the day before, delivered the first trophy for Liverpool since winning the English Football League Cup in 2012, and the first win in seven finals for coach Jürgen Klopp. Liverpool last won the UEFA Champions League in 2005.

2020 World Press Photo of the Year Nominee, Environment Singles: Battling the Marsh Fire by Noah Berger (United States), for Associated Press

Caption: Firefighters battle the Marsh Complex Fire, near the town of Brentwood, California, USA on 3 August.

Story: The Marsh Complex Fire began near Marsh Creek Road in Contra Costa County on 3 August and burned until 7 August, laying waste to more than 300 hectares of land. Roughly 81,000 hectares (200,000 acres) burned state-wide in California in 2019, compared with 765,000 in 2018, and 525,000 in 2017. California usually has a fire season in the fall, when strong winds blow across forests and brushland that has dried out from summer heat and not yet experienced winter rains.

Many scientists attributed the early fires to the climate crisis, saying that a warmer atmosphere means that the vegetation is drying out more than it did a century ago. Old, faulty equipment belonging to the state’s largest electricity companies has also been blamed for sparking fires in windy weather. President Donald Trump accused the Californian state government of bad forest management, saying that was the cause of the fires.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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The Nikon D6: Here are the official specifications and image samples

12 Feb

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At long last, Nikon has released details of its newest flagship DSLR, the D6. As a camera that will find its way into the hands of sports and action photographers around the globe, it needs to live up to the speed, durability and quality of its predecessors – and though it doesn’t appear to break significant new ground, we expect the D6 will continue to serve the needs of demanding photographers very well indeed.

At the heart of the D6 is a 20.8MP sensor, offering the same resolution as the D5, but it’s now coupled with a new Expeed 6 processor and offers up to 14fps burst shooting with ‘E-type’ lenses (those with electromagnetically controlled diaphragms). Switch into live view, and the D6 will shoot silently at up to 10.5fps at full resolution – users can also opt for 30fps for 8MP files and 60fps for 2MP files if needed. The native ISO range covers values of 100 to 102,400, with an expansion up to 3.2 million.

The result is AF coverage that is 1.6x denser than that of the D5, and each point uses a ‘triple-sensor arrangement’

Perhaps the biggest change for end users, though, is an all-new autofocus system. Though the total number of points has gone down from 153 to 105, now all of those points are selectable and cross-type, and each uses a ‘triple-sensor arrangement,’ which we’ll be asking for more details about. The result is AF coverage that is ‘1.6x denser than that of the D5.’ Fifteen of the central points are F8 compatible, and the center point can focus down to -4.5EV. All other points are good down to -4EV. Nikon is also promising that the detection area for single points and groups is expanded, so focus can still be achieved even if the subject moves slightly outside the zone in use.

In terms of video, the D6 continues to offer 4K/30p recording, but now comes with focus peaking and an option for MP4 recording.

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The D6 makes do without any Compact Flash option, with Nikon offering a single version of the camera with dual XQD / CFExpress card slots. There have been some other tweaks as well, including a maximum shutter length of 30 minutes, the option to shoot different quality or sizes of JPEGs to different cards (basically a JPEG + JPEG shooting option), and Wi-Fi with Bluetooth as well as GPS capability are now built-in. The D6 has gigabit ethernet like the D5, but Nikon is promising 15% faster transfer speeds. Weight has gone up just slightly, from 1405g to 1440g including battery and memory cards.

Expect to see quite a few of these at the 2020 Tokyo Olympic Games! The Nikon D6 will be available April of 2020 with a suggested retail price of $ 6499.95 USD. Let us know what you think of Nikon’s newest DSLR in the comments.

Press release:

DECISIVE POWER. FASTER WORKFLOW. ABSOLUTE RELIABILITY: THE NEW NIKON D6 GIVES PROFESSIONALS THE EDGE WHEN IT MATTERS MOST

The New Nikon D6 Offers the Most Powerful AF System in Nikon’s History, and Continues the Brand Legacy of Professional Cameras That Deliver Connectivity, Dependability and Streamlined Workflow

MELVILLE, NY (February 11, 2020) –?Today, Nikon Inc. has unveiled the D6, a new professional-grade DSLR built for those in need of extreme reliability and ultimate performance. The D6 addresses the needs of professionals and press agencies and is faster and more powerful than ever before. Offering the most powerful AF system in Nikon’s history, this flagship DSLR camera delivers crucial improvements to modern workflow while also accelerating file transfer capabilities. Promising unparalleled low-light performance, powerful agility, advanced 4K UHD multimedia capabilities and a mechanical shutter frame rate boosted to a staggering 14fps, the D6 will redefine the way pros work.

“The D6 is purpose-built and inspired by the valuable feedback of professional users,” said Jay Vannatter, Executive Vice President of Nikon Inc. “The world relies on photojournalists and professionals to document every corner of the globe through impactful images; Nikon cameras are trusted to stand up to any job and help photographers capture the shot, time and time again.”

The Most Powerful AF in Nikon’s History: The D6 leaves nothing to chance. To maximize hit rate, it is equipped with a newly developed, densely packed 105-point AF system in which all the focus points utilize cross-type sensors and all points are selectable. Through the new focus point layout and the use of a triple-sensor arrangement for each focus point, the D6 achieves AF coverage that is approximately 1.6x denser than that of the D5. The D6 also sports an expanded focus detection range which increases the detection area for single point AF and dynamic area AF, making it easier to achieve focus on a subject even when slightly outside the focus point.

Improving upon Nikon’s popular Group AF mode, this function has evolved with support for 17 custom arrangements from which users can choose according to the scene or subject movement. The D6 also demonstrates superior low-light AF performance. The center focus point works down to -4.5 EV1 and the others to -4 EV, making autofocus possible even in dark situations or with low-contrast subjects.

Unparalleled Performance: The new EXPEED 6 engine’s superior image-processing capabilities combined with the vast amount of information provided by the new dedicated AF engine drives high-level performance in any situation. To help capture the decisive moment consistently, the D6 boasts a 14fps2 mechanical shutter with full AF and AE. The D6 can also shoot completely silent for sensitive situations, capturing full resolution at 10.5 fps. For faster frame rates, the Nikon D6 is able to take 2-megapixel images at approx. 60 fps and 8-megapixel images at 30 fps in Live View mode.

The D6 leverages a 20.8-megapixel FX-Format CMOS sensor, creating images that pop with stunning detail and true colors and exhibit incredible dynamic range. The ISO ranges from 100 to 102,400, which helps to preserve sharpness and subtle details in even the most challenging light. Additionally, ISO is expandable up to 3.2 million, giving photographers the ability to truly conquer the dark.

Concentration on Workflow: Building on Nikon’s history of serving professionals, the D6 is the most customizable Nikon DSLR yet, designed to speed up the workflow of any user during and after capture.

Recall shooting functions create combinations of settings that can be assigned to a specific button to get the perfect shot in a pinch
The D6 excels in connectivity and supports the same 1000BASE-T Ethernet standard as the D5, with an approximate 15% increase in transmission speed. The camera also supports a number of options for wireless networking, offering built-in 2.4- and 5-GHz*3 Wi-Fi®4 or traditional wireless transfer using the WT-6 Wireless Transmitter (optional)
Includes 14 customizable buttons, assignable to any of 46 unique function choices and a new intuitive menu system
Priority Image Transfer gives the ability to move an important image to the front of the queue when speed is of paramount priority, which can easily be done by swiping the touch LCD during playback
Security Lock compatibility supports connection of anti-theft cables to provide maximum security for remote applications or when the camera is unattended
Built in GPS5 gives accurate time, date and location information for just about anywhere on the planet
Dual CFexpress6 slots offer blazing fast read/write times and have the ability to overflow, copy or separate file types
JPEG functions allow for the simultaneous recording of two JPEG images with different image size and quality settings, which is convenient for separating images that will be transmitted from those that will be edited
Creativity options for multimedia creators including a new interval timer mode to retain the best resolution and enable in-camera time-lapse movie file recording providing professionals the ability to create exceptionally sharp 16:9 4K Ultra HD video

Absolute Reliability: Nikon’s flagship cameras remain trusted in the industry and have been proven on the sidelines, in the studio and even in outer space. With a magnesium alloy camera body and extensively weather-sealed design, the D6 is as tough as the professionals who use it, ready to take on the harshest shooting conditions. The camera offers long-lasting battery life, delivering the safety net and energy-saving performance that pros need on daylong outings. The D6 also employs a USB-Type C connector for faster direct-to-PC file transfer rates than previously possible with the D5.

Endless Lens Choices: By pairing the D6 with Nikon’s extremely diverse selection of F-Mount NIKKOR telephoto lenses, professionals have the most advanced imaging solution in Nikon’s history. No matter the job, the client or the location, there’s a NIKKOR lens, from the ultra-wide to the super-telephoto. The D6 is also compatible with Nikon’s line of creative Speedlights, offering extra creative freedom to enhance natural light and add artistry and drama to any scene.

Pricing and Availability

The new Nikon D6 will be available in April 2020 for a suggested retail price (SRP) of $ 6,499.95* for the body only configuration. For more information on the latest Nikon products, please visit www.nikonusa.com.

###

1. At ISO 100, 20°C/68°F.
2. With continuous-servo AF (AF-C), manual (M) or shutter-priority auto exposure (S), a shutter speed of 1/250 s or faster, and other settings at default values are trademarks owned by Bluetooth SIG, Inc. and any use of such marks by Nikon Corporation and its Affiliates is under license.
3. Available in station mode; not available in some countries or regions.
4. Wi-Fi® and the Wi-Fi® logo are trademarks or registered trademarks of the Wi-Fi Alliance.
5. GPS function is not available in some countries or regions.
6. CFexpress is a trademark of the CompactFlash Association in the United States and other countries.
*SRP (Suggested Retail Price) listed only as a suggestion. Actual prices are set by dealers and are subject to change at any time.
Specifications, equipment and release dates are subject to change without any notice or obligation on the part of the manufacturer.
All Nikon products include Nikon Inc. limited warranty. Images are for illustrative purposes only. All Nikon trademarks are trademarks of Nikon Corporation. Nikon Authorized Dealers set their own selling prices, which may vary. Nikon is not responsible for typographical errors.
All other trade names mentioned in this document are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Here are the winners for Red Bull Illume’s Image Quest 2019 competition

28 Nov

Red Bull Illume Image Quest 2019 Winners

At the beginning of this month, 260 semi-finalists were selected out of nearly 60,000 entries for Red Bull Illume’s photography and videography contest. The 5 finalists for each category attended the Winner Award Ceremony hosted at the LUMEN – Museum of Mountain Photography on November 20th. The Overall Winner, 11 Category Winners, and Top 60 finalist images were revealed at the ceremony hosted by Italian sports journalist Zoran Filicic.

Ben Thouard was this year’s Overall Winner.

This year’s Overall Winner is Ben Thouard for his underwater image of surfer Ace Buchan riding a massive wave in Teahupo’o, Tahiti. Here is Thouard’s story behind his winning image: ‘I‘ve dedicated the last few years to shooting underwater, looking for new angles and a new way to shoot surfing and waves. Shooting surfing from underwater is a whole new world and I love it! Tahiti has some of the clearest water in the world so it was easy for me to take advantage of it and explore it as much as I could. This photo was shot during a freesurf session right before the WCT event in Teahupo‘o. This is Ace Buchan kicking out from the barrel through the wave, a technique to escape a close-out wave.’

He continues, ‘luckily I was right below, breathless with my [underwater housing] waiting for this moment and I was able to capture the whole sequence of it; this frame from the beginning of the sequence is the most powerful one because of the water around his face and body.’ Thouard was a Red Bull Illume semi-finalist in 2013 and a finalist in 2016 before becoming the Overall Winner this year.

60 finalist images were on display outside the LUMEN.

Once all the winners and finalists were announced, attendees were able to view the 60 finalist photos illuminated with 2mx2m lightboxes outside the LUMEN. The winners for each category are:

Overall Winner 2019: Ben Thouard, French Polynesia

Category Winners 2019

Best of Instagram by SanDisk: Baptiste Fauchille, France
Creative by Skylum: Denis Klero, Russia
Emerging by Red Bull Photography: JB Liautard, France
Energy: Ben Thouard, French Polynesia
Innovation by Sony: Laurence Crossman-Emms, United Kingdom
Lifestyle: Alexander Wick, Germany
Masterpiece by EyeEm: Lorenz Holder, Germany
Moving Image: Rupert Walker, Canada
Playground: Lorenz Holder, Germany
RAW: Noah Wetzel, USA
Wings: Philip Platzer, Austria
Best Mountain Sports Image by Salewa: Kamil Sustiak, Australia
SanDisk Extreme Award: Philip Platzer, Austria

For those interested, a Limited Edition Red Bull Illume Photobook featuring 260 semi-finalist action and adventure sports images submitted to the competition is now available to order. 4,000 copies were made, each individually numbered and stamped, and they come with a SanDisk Ultra SD Memory Card containing the Moving Image Category videos plus the full Luminar 4: Creative Photo Editor suite from Skylum.

Energy & Overall Winner: Ben Thouard, France

About this photo: As the quotes in the introduction to this series illustrate, Thouard was in the right place at the right time, underwater, when he captured athlete Ace Buchan kicking out from the barrel through the wave in Teahupo’o, Tahiti.

Category Winner, Best of Instagram by SanDisk: Baptiste Fauchille, France

About this photo: This is a shot from a buddies trip with a business goal showing biker Alex Bibollet’s shadow in the bowl of Fillinges, France. In Fauchille’s words, ‘We were a team of riders, photographers, and videographers, leaving for the very first trip of the new BMX clothing brand linked to the BMX: ‘Unicorn, we are legends’. We travelled for 5 days in the middle of summer, through different spots in different cities; it was a buddies trip with a business goal.

This photo was taken at the bowl of Fillinges. I remember the heat was insane like it rarely had been in the Alps. When I arrived on the spot the first thought I had in mind was to make a top- shot video with the drone: a fixed plan with a rider who makes his line with the intention of creating a loop. Then I realized that the bowl was really clean: no tags, no dust. I was able to have the rider and his shadow to come out well. I asked Alex Bibollet — one of the riders — to do what he did best, and I immortalized this moment!’

Category Winner, Creative by Skylum: Denis Klero, Russia

About this photo: In Klero’s own words,’last year‘s trend reports have shown that as soon as the first snow starts falling the social media community bursts in excitement and instantly shares videos and photos showing the first flakes of the year. I didn‘t want to miss out on the trend and started working on a concept to show the change of seasons. To attract the attention of the social media world it had to be something that would make one stop and stare. Consequently, I developed an idea of a series of three main pictures with some supporting detail shots, which had to be visually strong and inherent to the world of Red Bull. This picture with Pavel (Alekhin, the athlete in this photo) is one of those.’

Category winner, Emerging by Red Bull Photography: Jean-Baptiste Liautard, France

About this photo: ‘Two things that I love when it comes to photography are silhouettes and reflections and I wanted to use both in a single frame for a long time. After a lot of drawings, I knew what I wanted but it took me six months to get the perfect conditions and final ideas.
Jeremy‘s trail is a piece of art and this jump is definitely a highlight. I knew I wanted to shoot it from the side and get that reflection but it was really dry at this time of the year and of course there was no water around,’ says Liautard.

‘When I saw a wheelbarrow hanging around by the jumps, I had the idea to fill it up with water to create a mirror. We didn‘t have any water hose that day, so I had to do round trips with water cans to a little ditch by the road. After spending a lot of time adjusting the wheelbarrow and cleaning the water in the afternoon, my mirror was finally ready for the evening shoot.’

We were lucky enough to have a few friends helping us with the fire that night and adjusting the smoke just as we needed. The hardest job was Jeremy‘s as he had to ride the trail almost blind. Riding bikes at night is so scary and I can‘t thank the athletes enough when they are in these kinds of conditions. After a few attempts, we got this one, just as I imagined it at the very beginning, and it was a great feeling to finally see the image I had in my head for months, displayed on the back of my camera.

Category Winner, Innovation by Sony: Laurence Crossman-Emms, United Kingdom

About this photo: In Laurence’s own words, ‘Blaenau Ffestiniog was once described as the wettest place in Wales, this is no lie. Even when the sun shines, the puddles are plentiful. I’ve always been attracted to their animations when struck by a bicycle at full steep. The tyres of Katy Winton making the perfect parting of this muddy sea. The combination of dynamic action and the silk-like curtains made me try each time more determined. There are always challenges when shooting bikes and water close up … don’t get run over and don’t get wet.

This concept had always been in the back of my mind but finding the perfect location and it aligning with both the weather and sufficient puddle depth was tough. This breathless day at Antur Stiniog with Katy proved ideal. You can never guess how water reacts when you hit it with force, sometimes the results exceed your expectations … this was one of those times.’

Category Winner, Lifestyle: Alexander Wick, Germany

About this photo: In Wick’s words, ‘Together with my boys Phil and Chris I went on a US West-Coast climbing trip. Obviously Yosemite is a must and so we tested our very humble European crack climbing skills right away on El Capitan‘s Salathé Wall. A climb I‘ve been dreaming of for quite a while.

The first Ascent of this line was a master piece way ahead of its time. Climber and photographer Tom Frost was part of the three man team back then. His photography of the same climb is just breathtaking. The picture of Royal Robbins napping on a rock atop El Cap Spire with loads of exposure is one of my favorites, so of course I planned on getting a tribute shot to the old masters once we reached the spot. As we got stuck behind another climbing party just up on El Cap spire I used the moment, aided my way up the next pitch and took the shot as the boys and our new friend Luke actually took a nap.

No old hemp ropes and linen haul bags like in 1961 but modern nylon and Dyneema this time. No uncharted terrain but a well known and established route. Having a rest amidst a sea of granite: probably almost as amazing as back in the days.’

Category Winner, Masterpiece by EyeEm: Lorenz Holder, Germany

About this photo: ‘The first time I saw this location was when I was watching Game of Thrones and I was blown away by the pure magic this road generated in me. First, I thought that it‘s of course a CGI composition, but after a little research I found out that this place is actually real and located in Northern Ireland. A year later I was actually standing there with Senad Grosic and trying to get a bunny-hop-tailwhip on camera.

It was early in the morning with the first sun rays hitting the road and we managed to get a pretty cool shot, but somehow I knew that there was pure potential in the spot. So, we decided to stay a couple days longer and waited for some kind of rain, fog or other particles in the air, so I could use one flash from behind and create a white background to make Senad stand out a bit more and get the focus a bit more on the action. The rain came on our last day and I still remember the goose-bumps I had when I saw the image appearing on the screen of the camera. That‘s when I felt the same magical feeling I got when I watched Game of Thrones for the first time.’

Category Winner, Moving Image: Rupert Walker, Canada

About this photo: This is a still from Walker’s award-winning video. Here’s his explanation for getting all the key shots: ‘It was particularly challenging because it required extreme precision from the FPV drone pilot, Jonny Durst, and during this shoot, we experienced very heavy rains, which caused the track to be nearly unrideable. From the moisture, the track was riding much slower than anticipated and caused the athletes to struggle at performing their best. The dig crew was all hands-on deck with tiger torches and shovels to dry up any wet spots and dig out any soft spots. With hard work from all, a solid shot plan, and great coordination between the drone pilot and the athletes, the shot was accomplished.’

Category Winner, Playground: Lorenz Holder, Germany

About this photo: Lorenz Holder’s reputation as a stellar location scout continues (he was a winner in this year’s Masterpiece by EyeEm category). Holder talks about his latest find: ‘The Ouse Valley Viaduct is pretty cool old railway bridge in the South of England. When you approach it from the side, you can‘t really see the secret this bridge has to offer, but once you get underneath of one of the arches you can‘t believe your eyes. You are caught in a place that could easily be in the movie Inception. The arches create a very surreal visual effect – when you are taking a picture, you don‘t understand if you are looking down into something or at least you get very confused about what you‘re actually seeing. I was blown away by this fact, but also blown away that this looked like a pretty good spot for skateboarding.

When I showed Vladic an image of the viaduct, he was on fire to try it out. To be honest it was super hard to ride and Vladic‘s quote that got stuck in my mind was: “This is so hard, when my brain is going down in the transition, my body is already going up again – this will be difficult to get something done here.“ A couple of hours later, when his brain and body came together, he landed this kickflip while the sun was just at the perfect angle as well.’

Category Winner, RAW: Noah Wetzel, USA

About this photo: ‘After weeks of preparation and creative conception, I loaded my Subaru and headed North to Wyoming for the Total Solar Eclipse in August of 2017. Arriving a couple days before the eclipse, I linked up with athletes Chris Brule, Evan Grott, and Blake Sommer. The imagery goal was to capture the Eclipse and showcase mountain biking utilizing an in-camera double exposure – a very complex process.

The morning of, we loaded our packs well before sunrise with light stands, powerful flashes, extra camera gear, and two magnum bottles of champagne to celebrate. After capturing the first image successfully during two minutes of totality, all we had to do was endure the midday sun, waiting for twilight and the attempt at the second frame.

Unfortunately, I was unaware I had damaged the hot shoe connection on my camera four weeks prior while shooting fly fishing, preventing me from triggering my flashes.
Our only option required athlete Chris Brule to hit the feature in near darkness at 9pm, allowing me to set the camera to a 2.5 second exposure, manually firing the flashes and freezing Chris mid-air. Nearly escaping complete failure, we hiked out in darkness while sipping on champagne, truly in awe of the total solar eclipse and thankful we were able to capture something special.’

Category Winner, Wings: Philip Platzer, Austria

About this photo: Here is how Platzer captured athlete Marco Fürst flying hot air balloon swing in Austria: ‘Together with the Red Bull Skydive Team, I did this crazy Project called Megaswing back in 2016. After my assignment I already knew this had to be a tricky one: Two hot air balloons, one with a long rope attached and the other one to jump out with the swing, and of course the skydiver with his parachute.

After the first couple of jumps I realized that I wouldn’t get the perfect shot by simply shooting from the inside of the basket they where jumping out of. Lucky me, I had my monopod in the car as well as a pair of radio-triggers. My solution to get the right angle was to hold the camera, that I had attached to my monopod, as deep under the basket and just hope to get the perfect framing.

Another thing, I asked the athlete Marco Fürst to turn a little bit towards my direction to avoid getting an ass-shot and to get this playful mood in the image. In the end it was the very last try which gave us the moneyshot.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Adobe fulfills its promise: Photoshop on iPad is officially here

05 Nov

In keeping its promise, Adobe has announced Photoshop on iPad is officially here.

It’s been over a year since Photoshop on iPad was officially confirmed by Adobe, but the Creative Cloud giant fulfilled its promise to deliver the program before the end of 2019.

As noted in the initial announcement, Photoshop on iPad relies largely on the same underlying code, but tweaks a few things to account for the more touch-based input method the iPad offers. Like the desktop version of Photoshop, Photoshop on iPad offers full PSD support so working on projects between multiple devices shouldn’t be a problem and new projects created on Photoshop on iPad will automatically be saved to Adobe Creative Cloud so you can pick back up on your computer if need be.

As previous reports from beta testers noted, not all of Photoshop’s features are present in the current version of Photoshop on iPad. In Adobe’s own words, it focused on bringing ‘common tasks and workflows that we know will be useful for most Photoshop users.’ Specifically, Adobe has included basic adjustments, brushes, cloning, spot healing, cropping, eyedropper, masking, layers and a few other features.

More powerful features, such as Select Subject, Refine Edge, canvas rotation and improved brush options will be added over time as Adobe learns ‘more about how customers use Photoshop on a mobile device.’

Photoshop on iPad will run on iPadOS 13.1 or newer on the following devices:

• iPad Pro (Wi-Fi, Wi-Fi and Cellular)
• iPad Pro (12.9-inch) and 2nd generation
• iPad Pro (10.5-inch)
• iPad Pro (9.7-inch)
• iPad 5th Generation
• iPad Mini 4
• iPad Air 2

Adobe is offering a free 30-day trial for Photoshop on iPad. After that, pricing gets a little confusing. If you currently have Adobe’s 20GB Photography Creative Cloud plan (or purchase it before January 31, 2020), iPad on Photoshop will be included alongside Lightroom, Lightroom Classic and Photoshop on desktop.

If you wait until after the cutoff date, you will have four more expensive options: subscribe to the Photoshop single app subscription (which includes Photoshop on desktop and iPad) for $ 20.99 per month, subscribe to the 100GB Photography plan for $ 20.99 per month, subscribe to the Adobe All Apps plan for $ 52.99 per month or make an in-app purchase on your iPad for a recurring $ 9.99 per month subscription to use just Photoshop on iPad.

Below is a little hands-on The Verge did with Photoshop on iPad a month back.

Photoshop on iPad is currently available to download on compatible devices in the iOS App Store. You can find out more about Photoshop on iPad on Adobe’s product page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Here are our first samples from the Nikon Z 58mm 0.95 ‘Noct’

26 Oct

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We’re on the ground at the Photoplus trade show in New York City, where we’ve had the chance to shoot a few samples with a working version of Nikon’s $ 8000 58mm F0.95 ‘Noct’ lens, while on the show floor. Check them out above – we’ll add more the first chance we get. And don’t forget to read our hands-on here.

See our initial Nikon Z 58mm 0.95 ‘Noct’ samples

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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So You Have No Model? Here are Ways to Practice Your Portrait Lighting With Toys

01 Apr

The post So You Have No Model? Here are Ways to Practice Your Portrait Lighting With Toys appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

Portrait lighting can be tricky to learn.

After reading articles and watching tutorials about light, you’ll excitedly look for a person to practice on. Although, once you finally have a person in front of your camera your mind goes blank and nothing is as easy as those tutorials made it seem. You forget all that information you’ve been overloaded with and feel foolish in front of your ‘model.’ Worst case scenario, you’ll become discouraged and give up.

Superman was always my favorite.

But there is a way to practice basic portrait lighting techniques and build your confidence before photographing people. You can practice portrait lighting with toys until you feel comfortable enough to experiment with people.

You’ll learn how to position your subject and light source without the stress of working with a real person.

Once you understand the basic principles of portrait lighting your confidence will grow and you can keep learning new techniques and refining your skills.

Also, who doesn’t want an excuse to play with toys again?

Choosing the right toy

Choose a toy with a human figure so that what you learn can transfer easily when you photograph real people. Try to find one with pronounced facial features so that there will be realistic shadows created.

Your toy should have some texture too. This is important because it helps you to see how the light affects your subject. As light skims across a textured surface, it will create highlights and shadows, which will help your portrait to pop. Everybody who sits in front of your camera will be textured (hair, skin, and clothes).

This Superman toy has lots of texture and muscular looking features. His face has pronounced features that mimic a real person’s face.

Using a flashlight (hard light source)

Quality of light refers to the hardness or softness of the light.

A general rule is that the smaller the light source, the harder the light will be. This means that there will be deep, crisp shadows. The larger the light source, the softer the light will be. The difference between the shadows and highlights will be much less intense.

I’ll begin by using a flashlight as a hard light source. The basic lighting patterns will be easier to see with hard light.

In each of these sample photos, we’ll focus on the direction of light and what happens as we move the light around.

Front
Rembrandt
Side/split
Edge
Back/silhouette
Uplighting

I kept my Superman figure in one place and simply moved the light around it.

The first image is the lighting set up and the second image is the portrait.

Front light

The light is placed directly in front of your subject. It’s a little higher than his eye level.

You can see that he is evenly lit with a crisp shadow under his neck created by his jawline.

Rembrandt light

This is a classic lighting pattern named after the painter, Rembrandt. Reposition the light so that it hits your subject on a 45-degree angle. It’s still a little above eye level.

The left side of his face becomes shadowy, but there is a triangle of light under his eye.

Side light/Split light

The light has now been positioned directly beside him.

The light now only illuminates one side of him. His face is split between shadow and highlight.

Edge light

Swing the light around so that it shines over his shoulder.

The only light that we can see now is the edge of his face, shoulder, and arm.

Backlight

Put the light right behind your subject.

This is similar to the edge light effect except that the light is directly behind him now. If the light source were larger (perhaps a sunset sky) there would be more of a silhouette effect. But the dark background has created a very mysterious look for this low key portrait.

This is the exact same lighting situation except that I increased my ISO to make a brighter exposure.

Uplight

To achieve this dramatic looking portrait I placed the light at his feet and shone it up toward his face. Uplighting is sometimes referred to as ‘monster lighting.’

Using a window (soft light source)

Now that we’ve seen how light can be used with a harsh source, let’s look at the same techniques with more subtle soft lighting.

In this case, we can’t move our light source, so we’ll have to move the subject in relation to the window.

We’ll cover:

Front
Rembrandt
Side/split
Edge
Back/silhouette

Front light

The window is right behind me, shining directly on Superman.

Rembrandt light

The window is beside him, but notice that I place him back from the window a bit.

The right side of his face becomes shadowy except for that triangular patch of light under his eye.

Side light

I’ve now moved him forward so that the window is directly beside him.

The light splits his face and body into a highlight on one side and shadow on the other.

Edge light

You can see the window behind him on the left side of the photo. It’s behind him but off to the side so that it illuminates the edge of his head, shoulder, and arm.

Backlight/silhouette

The window is directly behind him. Because it is such a large, bright light source the portrait has become a silhouette.

Creative

Because I wasn’t working with a real person, I felt comfortable experimenting with some creative lighting. The more I relaxed and the longer I practiced, the more I began to notice interesting lighting situations.

The glare on the table acted as a backlight source, creating a silhouette. The light from the window became an edge light source, tracing his upper body and making it stand out from the dark background.

This is the window edge light photo from above. I cropped the window out and used a radial filter in Lightroom to make that subtle burst of warm light in the top left corner of the photo.

Two light sources

Let’s look at a three-step progression from one light to two.

The glare on the desk is from a window in the background. It’s a backlight source that has created a silhouette.

I decided to set up my flashlight again to add some light on his face.

Finally, I turned his body more toward the flashlight to illuminate his chest but turned his face back toward the camera to create a split light effect across his face.

More advanced

The leap from practicing with toys to photographing real people may still be a little uncomfortable, but at least you’ll have some success behind you. Just focus on one thing at a time. Use a window to make a soft Rembrandt light portrait of a friend. Or try a dramatic split light photo using off-camera flash.

Once you feel comfortable with the basic lighting techniques we’ve covered you can practice these more advanced techniques using real people:

Clamshell
Butterfly, loop, Rembrandt
1, 2, 3, or 4 lights

And when you’re seriously ready to go pro with your lighting you’ll need to read, How to Create Awesome Portrait Lighting with a Paper Bag an Elastic Band and a Chocolate Donut.

The post So You Have No Model? Here are Ways to Practice Your Portrait Lighting With Toys appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Mat Coker.

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Create a Backup Today! Here is Why and How

30 Mar

The post Create a Backup Today! Here is Why and How appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ian Johnson.

Are your files protected?

Insurance policies. We deal in them every day – car, home, life, renters, medical and more. The list goes on and on, but what are you doing to ensure your photos are insured against loss? The loss comes in many ways entirely out of your control – hardware failure, theft, or calamity. This article is your wake up call to consistently backup your work.

I am writing it because 5 months ago when my house burned I had my wake-up call. Don’t worry, my wife and I are fine, and there was no loss of life – only property. Why am I telling you this very personal bit of my life? Simple. Catastrophe can come in any form and at any time. Learn from my mistakes and back up as soon as you complete this article.

This picture of my house burning is meant to convey reality. Calamity can happen at any time. Do you have a backup solution to protect your files in the face of disaster?

Let me take you back to six months ago because it is likely my backup strategy may reflect your own. I am a pretty serious photographer and create much content of professional and family-related photos. I had a 24tb server backing up my files with redundancy. From the server, I kept an off-site backup of files by copying to a hard drive and then storing it. As I’ll highlight later, that way of doing a backup is adequate as long as you stay up on it.

Unfortunately, I had not completed an offsite backup for two years! Consequently, ALL of my professional work and memories during that time were vulnerable as my living room went up in flames and the water from fire hoses quenched them. One of the first things I thought when I arrived to see my house spurting 20-foot flames from the roof was, “what about my server?”

Your computer is fragile, but yet we trust them to hold a lot of incredibly important information. Whether its fire, theft, water, or failure, be sure your backup solution protects you. Establish one today!

Backup strategies

It may seem intimidating to back up your work, but thanks to the advances of high-capacity, affordable hard drives there has never been an easier time to do it! Once you have a system in place it becomes even easier. Digital Photography School has published several articles on the subject and most advocate for the “3-2-1” strategy.

This means :

3: Have three copies of your data.

2: Keep them in two separate places.

1: At least one must be offsite.

If this sounds like it is too hard, fear not, and do not tune out yet! I’ll outline three strategies to back up your work in easy to understand ways that serve both beginner and professional photographers. To help show off the strategies I’ve created some schematics (hopefully entertaining and fun ones) to show you how each system works.

Back up to a hard drive

Hard drives are cheap. A quick search shows you can purchase a 6TB (terabyte) hard drive for $ 125! Before you think to yourself “I can’t afford $ 125,” consider it is cheaper than any insurance policy you currently pay for, and if your photos are like my photos, it is an insurance policy protecting your memories and business.

Purchasing and rotating two hard drives consistently allows you to keep a backup of your work current. You may want to consult these guidelines for purchasing a hard drive.

Most major hard drive brands come with built-in software to automatically backup your files for you. This makes it incredibly convenient to back up your work. You can use two hard drives (“#1” and “#2) to adhere to the 3-2-1 rule by:

keeping a copy of your files on your computer
using the hard drive’s software to back up to hard drive #1
taking #1 offsite to a place such as your office or your extended family’s house
setting up a new backup on #2
rotating hardrives #1 and #2 periodically. Your backup software will update the files each time you re-attach the hard drive. I recommend doing this at least every two weeks, but you can choose an interval that works for you. Once you choose an interval set up a repeating reminder for yourself on your phone.

Use these easy steps to establish a back-up system using two hard drives.

This solution is your cheapest option and requires the most work on your part. As long as you set up the backup using your hard drive’s software, it will automatically backup your files to hard drives #1 and #2 as you rotate them on and off-site. This system will FAIL if you do not adhere to rotating the hard drives consistently!

Backup to the cloud

Cloud services have become relatively cheap (about $ 100/year or less) and perform backups of your images with the caveat that you have a regular internet connection. Most cloud services can back up local files and files on attached external hard drives. You can adhere to the 3-2-1 rule by:

Keeping a local copy of files on your computer
Using the backup service provided by the hard drive to back up to a hard drive
Using a cloud service to back up the hard drive
Storing a hard drive off site

Use this simple system to backup your files to a hard drive and to the cloud.

This is a pretty good option depending on how much content you are creating. If you are generating hundreds of gigabytes of content regularly or if you live in an area of slow internet this may not be feasible for you. Cloud services work best if the file structure doesn’t change. Moving files to new folders create a duplicate and the need to upload more data to the cloud. This option is middle-of-the-road for the expense. It is necessary to pay for a hard drive (or two) and a cloud service for a total of ~$ 300 annually.

Maintain a server

Servers (refer to NAS Servers) are arrays of hard drive that give you redundancy in case of hard drive failure. Housing all of your images on a server and backing them up from there is a great way to establish a relatively low-maintenance backup of your files. To adhere to the 3-2-1 rule:

Have a copy of your images on a server
Backup the server to the cloud, a hard drive for off-site storage, or mirror the server to an offsite storage site.

Backup, solutions, nas, hard drive, cloud

Having a server may seem complex, but can be the backbone of the rest of your backup system. This is the system I advocate for your if you are able to afford it!

This is the most expensive solution, and will likely cost $ 1,000 or more to set up. However, that cost becomes distributed over several years since you no longer need to purchase several individual hard drives. This system is overall the most reliable and requires the least amount of work on your part once set up.

Backup now!

I hope my story of personal loss is compelling enough for you to start researching backup solutions immediately. Do you have a story of image loss you are comfortable sharing? Leave it below to add to the mounting evidence of the need for future readers. My story has a surprising ending because my server survived and I was able to recover the files. There is almost no chance I’ll ever be that lucky again. As I always say, “Pixels are cheap.” I say that at the end of all of my articles. However, just because they are cheap, doesn’t mean they are not emotionally or economically valuable. Please back your pixels up today!

The post Create a Backup Today! Here is Why and How appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ian Johnson.

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