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5 Camera Settings Every Bird Photographer Should Know

04 Jan

The post 5 Camera Settings Every Bird Photographer Should Know appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

If you want to capture amazing bird photos, you absolutely need to master your camera settings.

Because camera settings determine whether your bird photos look blurry or sharp, well-exposed or lacking details.

In other words, your camera settings can be the difference between a great photo and a mediocre photo.

Which is why this article is dedicated to giving you the five camera settings that every bird photographer should know.

That way, you’ll never struggle to choose the correct camera settings again.

Let’s get started.

5 Camera Settings Every Bird Photographer Should Know

1. Use Aperture Priority or Manual mode to set your exposure

First things first:

If you want to create beautiful bird photos, you have to make sure they’re well-exposed. This means that you need the right aperture and right shutter speed to create a bright, detailed photo.

How do you ensure that you capture a well-exposed bird photo?

You use Aperture Priority or Manual mode.

bird-photography-camera-settings-tips

Both of these modes are available via the Mode Dial on most cameras. Aperture Priority is the easier mode to use: It allows you to choose an aperture, while your camera selects a shutter speed based on its evaluation of the ambient light.

Manual mode forces you to choose both an aperture and a shutter speed. However, the camera viewfinder displays a bar that shows whether your choices will result in underexposure, overexposure, or an exposure that’s just right. If you use Manual mode, then you must carefully observe this bar to determine the best aperture and shutter speed for each photo.

If you’re a beginner, or if you’re shooting fast-paced scenes, Aperture Priority is generally the best choice. You can dial in a wide aperture (usually between f/5.6 and f/7.1), then allow your camera to choose a shutter speed. If the shutter speed is too low (more on that later!), then you can raise the ISO to compensate.

Manual mode is a bit trickier to use and takes some getting used to. Once you feel confident in your exposure skills, Manual mode might be the way to go. Manual mode is also a good choice if the background is changing rapidly, but the light on the bird remains the same (such as when you’re photographing a bird in flight). In such a situation, Manual mode will prevent the camera meter from changing your shutter speed in response to the changing background.

Here’s the bottom line:

To get a perfect exposure, you need to take control of your camera settings. And that starts by choosing a camera mode.

Both Aperture Priority and Manual will work. Start with Aperture Priority and, if you like, you can always work up to using Manual.

2. Use back-button focus to capture tack-sharp photos

Back-button focus is one of my favorite camera features because it’s just so amazingly useful.

Here’s why:

Back-button autofocus allows you to control your camera’s focus via a button on the camera’s back (sometimes labeled AF-ON). Rather than pressing the shutter button halfway to focus, then the rest of the way to capture a shot, back-button focus allows you to separate these two functions.

The shutter button is used for taking pictures.

And the AF-ON button is used for focusing.

This is invaluable if you want to focus and recompose, then track a moving subject, then focus and recompose again.

(You’ll want to make sure you’ve set your autofocus mode to AI-Servo, also known as AF-C.)

You see, if you press and hold the AF-ON button, it activates the continuous autofocus, which will track a moving subject.

But once you let go of the AF-ON button, the autofocus locks in place. Now the autofocus acts like one-shot AF, which locks focus and stays focused.

So if you come upon a bird that’s moving, you can track it via back-button focus. But as soon as the bird stops moving, you can let go of the AF-ON button, and test out different compositions, knowing that the focus won’t change.

The ibis in the photo below was moving along the water’s edge, but then stopped so I could grab this photo. I focused on the eye, but then reframed (a perfect situation for back-button focus!).

bird-photography-camera-settings-tips

Cool, right?

Plus, if you accidentally let go of the shutter button, you don’t have to deal with refocusing. Back-button focus stays locked in place.

That’s the power of back-button focus!

To set up back-button autofocus does take a bit of fiddling with camera settings, which is beyond the scope of this article. So take a look in your camera’s manual (or do a bit of Googling!). It’s worth it, I promise.

3. Use continuous shooting to nail the action shots

Bird photography often gives you the opportunity to capture amazing action shots. Photos of birds flying through the air, birds diving into the water, birds capturing fish.

But here’s the thing:

It’s easy to miss the action if you’re not prepared.

After all, birds move fast.

That’s why continuous shooting comes in handy.

Pretty much all cameras have a continuous shooting mode, these days. Continuous shooting allows you to fire off a burst of photos, generally between 5 frames per second and 15 frames per second.

So whenever you go out to do bird photography, switch your shooting mode to continuous shooting.

And then, when the action heats up, start shooting burst rather than single shots.

That’s what I did for this little blue heron shot. When the bird began to hunt, I started shooting in bursts, so I could be sure to get sharp shots with the beak near the water!

5 Camera Settings Every Bird Photographer Should Know

Will you get a lot of throwaway images? Sure.

But you’ll also have a much better chance of getting the perfect image. So it’s undoubtedly worth it!

You do want to be careful, however, because your camera’s buffer can fill up quickly. When that happens, you won’t be able to shoot bursts until the camera has processed some of the images.

Just be mindful of your camera’s buffer.

And you’ll get some shots of a lifetime.

4. Choose a shutter speed of at least 1/500s (and probably faster)

If you want to capture sharp bird photos, then you have to use a fast shutter speed.

Because the shutter speed is what determines whether you freeze the scene, or whether it turns into one unpleasant blur.

Now, there is no one ideal shutter speed. If the bird in your scene is stationary, you’ll need a much slower shutter speed than if the bird in your scene is flapping its wings wildly.

But I can give you some recommendations that should ensure you get sharp bird photos, consistently.

First, if you’re shooting a motionless bird (for instance, a bird that’s sleeping or standing still), I recommend using a shutter speed of at least 1/500th of a second. This is to compensate for the length of your lens because longer lenses result in more potential for camera shake.

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Second, if you’re shooting a bird that’s moving at a slow to medium speed, around 1/1000th of a second is a good choice. This will freeze the movement, but won’t force you to crank up the ISO to compensate for underexposure.

Third, if you’re shooting a fast-moving bird, you should choose a shutter speed of at least 1/2000th. If the bird is flying at high speeds, then 1/2500th, 1/3200th, or even 1/4000th is a good choice. Birds move fast, and you don’t want to end up with a blurry shot because your shutter speed was a hair too slow.

5. Use the lowest ISO you can afford for noise-free photos

In bird photography, shutter speed and ISO tend to balance one another out.

If you choose a slower shutter speed, you don’t need a high ISO; if you choose a high ISO, you don’t need a slow shutter speed.

Now, ISO comes with a big downside: The higher the ISO, the more noise you’ll get in your photos. And noise is pretty much always bad.

On the other hand, a high ISO increases the brightness of your photos, which allows you to use a lightning-fast shutter speed without worry.

5 Camera Settings Every Bird Photographer Should Know

So what do you do? How do you choose your ISO?

I recommend you start by determining an acceptable shutter speed. Use the guidelines in the previous tip if you’re struggling.

Then push your ISO up until you’ve reached your determined shutter speed – but don’t go any higher than you have to.

Because here’s the thing:

It’s better to get a noisy image than a blurry image. But the holy grail of photography is achieving sharp photos without noise.

So keep your ISO to a minimum.

And you’ll get the best possible shot.

5 camera settings every bird photographer should know: Conclusion

bird-photography-camera-settings-tips

Choosing the best settings for bird photography may seem difficult, but it doesn’t have to be.

Just remember the five camera settings that I’ve shared.

And you’ll be capturing amazing photos in no time!

If you have any other tips on bird photography camera settings, please share with us in the comments below, along with any photos you’d like to share.

The post 5 Camera Settings Every Bird Photographer Should Know appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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What you need to know about the Mavic Mini and drone regulations

13 Dec

DJI’s Mavic Mini weighs 249 grams, making it exempt for registration in the US and other countries with similar regulations.

DJI’s new Mavic Mini recently started shipping out to customers. When it was initially announced the Internet was ablaze with excitement about a drone that weighed under 250 grams, exempting it from registration with the Federal Aviation Administration (FAA) and government agencies in other countries where similar laws apply. Comments flooded into drone forums immediately, and a few were concerning.

Some people stated they felt there was no need to abide by airspace regulations and were free to fly anywhere, over people, and at night without a waiver amongst other violations. This, unfortunately, couldn’t be further from the truth. I called upon two of my respected friends and colleagues, one 30-year veteran, and one current employee of the FAA, and referenced a post from an industry expert, to help clear up any misconceptions.

What does ‘no registration’ really mean?

“Of course, sUAS under .55 lbs. (250 grams) do not require registration. However, if the sUAS is being used for commercial work in an effort to be compensated, the aircraft must be registered and FAA Part 107 regulations must be followed by the RPIC (Remote Pilot-in-Command),” said Samuel Nelson, who made it clear he wasn’t speaking on behalf of the FAA and was, instead, giving his personal opinion based on his understanding as the Boston regional FaastTeam STEAM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Applied Mathematics) Pro.

Some people stated they felt there was no need to abide by airspace regulations and were free to fly anywhere… this couldn’t be further from the truth.

Nelson adds “If flying as a hobbyist, you can avoid registration. However (remote pilots) still must abide to by FAA AC 91-57B AND Title 49 of the United States Code (49 U.S.C) § 44809. People must also remember DJI AeroScope systems can detect drones under .55 lbs. and the serial [number] can be identified to allow for a subpoena to identify the legal owner of the aircraft.”

Ryan LaTourette, who runs That Drone Blog and is and admin on the UAV Legal News & Discussion Facebook group pointed out the obvious: “The lesser weight does not negate that the Mavic Mini is still in the eyes of the FAA a drone, an aircraft… Mavic Mini operators are not given a free pass to fly wherever and whenever they wish. The only change at this point is the need to pay $ 5 to the FAA for a certificate of aircraft registration.”

Drones small enough to fit in the palm of your hand aren’t necessarily toys. They have a lot of beneficial uses.

What does this mean? A remote pilot flying recreationally must adhere to the following guidelines, including but not limited to:

The aircraft is flown within the visual line of sight of the person operating the aircraft or a visual observer co-located and in direct communication with the operator.
The aircraft is operated in a manner that does not interfere with and gives way to any manned aircraft.
In Class B, Class C, or Class D airspace or within the lateral boundaries of the surface area of Class E airspace designated for an airport, the operator obtains prior authorization from the Administrator or designee before operating and complies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions.
In Class G airspace, the aircraft is flown from the surface to not more than 400 feet above ground level and complies with all airspace restrictions and prohibitions.

Commercial use

While others, including myself, didn’t feel the Mavic Mini was appropriate for commercial use, LaTourette pointed out that people shouldn’t be so narrow minded. He explains that drones even smaller than the Mini, such as Verity’s Lucie micro drone, have been used in professional scenarios for the past few years. Ryze’s Tello drone has been an instrumental tool in getting folks, especially children, excited about STEAM education. Intel drones, weighing in at 68 grams, are responsible for putting on the world’s most elaborate fireworks displays.

Verity drones weigh a mere 50 grams and have completed over 150,000 autonomous flights safely over people at rock concerts and other live events.

If you plan on using the Mavic Mini for commercial purposes in the United States, meaning you plan to receive compensation for work conducted with your drone, you will need to register the drone plus have your Part 107 certification. I personally recommend Remote Pilot 101 for straightforward, affordable training. There is, of course, a conundrum that comes with following the rules.

Loretta Alkalay, an aviation attorney who spent 30+ years with the FAA as Regional Counsel, had the following to say: “As far as the weight issue, the FAA’s drone laws are not rationally related to the potential safety impact of very small drones. That results in people either intentionally ignoring the laws because they are overly restrictive or failing to even realize that laws apply. Coupled with the lack of FAA enforcement, the people most penalized are those who do know the regulations and choose to comply with them. Of course, those who violate the regulations and get caught could face serious consequences, depending on the violation and circumstances.”

The people most penalized are those who do know the regulations and choose to comply with them.

Speaking of impact, lower weight gives potential to the criteria for the FAA’s latest NPRM on easement of the §107.39 regulation for flight over people. Flying over people is currently prohibited under the §107.39 regulation. No one may operate a drone over people unless they are directly participating in the operation or are shielded under a covered structure such as a car.

So why make a lightweight drone?

DJI is certainly proud of themselves for fitting some of their most advanced features into a drone that weighs 249 grams upon takeoff. So why stuff all those features into a tiny package? Safety and the impending ruling for allowing flight over people are two top reasons.

According to a DJI Hub article that was shared by the company’s Vice President of Policy & Legal Affairs, Brendan Schulman, “regulators in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, continental Europe, Australia, and other regions have agreed that drones weighing less than 250 grams (0.55 pounds) are virtually harmless. In a fall or a collision, a sub-250g drone is just not going to cause the same kind of damage as a heavier drone.”

The Mavic Mini is tiny compared to other compact drones like the Mavic 2 Pro, but you still need to follow the normal rules when flying it.

In spite of negative media coverage, drones have been proven to be safe while providing many benefits to numerous industries including healthcare, construction, mining, agriculture and more. As Samuel Nelson pointed out earlier, the Mavic Mini is also equipped with AeroScope for Remote Identification which allows safety and security officials to detect, identify, and locate the drone and its pilot during flight if necessary. Going lighter and more compact, to ensure safety when performing complex operations, is a logical trend that is taking hold of the industry.

To find out if a Mavic Mini is an ideal purchase for you, check out our comprehensive review.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Hands-on: What you need to know about the new Leica SL2

07 Nov

Hands-on with the new Leica SL2

It’s been four years since the launch of the SL – Leica’s first full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens camera (no, we’re not counting the M9). The new SL2 updates its predecessor in every important way.

We’ve been using one for a little while, and in this article we’ll give you a rundown of the most important features. Click through to learn all about the new Leica SL2.

New 47.3MP full-frame sensor and processor

The SL2 features a new 47MP full-frame sensor, and ‘Maestro III’ processor. One of the SL’s original selling points was a special microlens array, tweaked to deliver optimal image quality when shooting with adapted M-series lenses. The SL2’s sensor follows suit, making it potentially very appealing to M-series shooters looking for a practical mirrorless solution – especially for wide-angle lenses, which can vignette heavily when adapted to other systems.

Leica claims that the new sensor in the SL2 will feature 14 stops of Raw dynamic range. Assuming that performance will be similar to the sensor in the previously-tested Q2, this should mean that the SL2 is highly competitive with its full-frame peers, but around 1EV behind the absolute best of them. We certainly don’t have any complaints after our initial shooting, but we’ll be testing IQ in full once we receive a reviewable camera.

5-Axis in-body stabilization

As well as more pixels and those fancy microlenses, the SL2’s sensor is also mechanically stabilized – a first for the SL line. Leica claims a benefit of up to 5.5 stops (CIPA) which should greatly increase the SL2’s versatility in some shooting situations, particularly in poor light. This is in line with the figures quoted for Panasonic Lumix S1R, which it’s probably safe to assume features both a closely related sensor and suspension stabilization mechanism.

Redesigned body and ergonomics

The SL was a camera that probably looked great in a design program on someone’s computer screen, but which a lot of photographers found rather uncomfortable to shoot with, thanks to its preponderance of bare metal surfaces, its heavy weight and a lot of sharp edges. The SL2 looks enough like its predecessor not to represent a complete departure (and it’s not substantially smaller or lighter) but its an altogether more rounded, more comfortable camera, with a much nicer grip.

Leica has also refreshed the control logic of the SL2, to bring it closer to the Q2 and M10-series. As such, even though Leica has added several new customization options, the SL2 is a simpler camera to pick up and use straight out of the box. With an IP54 certification, it’s somewhat tougher than the original SL, too – at least on paper.

5.76M-dot EVF

Like its close cousin the Panasonic Lumix DC-S1R, the SL2 offers a high-resolution 5.76M-dot OLED viewfinder and a binoculars-style diopter control around the eyepiece. The EVF offers around a 25% linear resolution improvement over the 3.69M-dot panels used by most of its rivals, and in use it’s superb: bright, contrasty and very crisp.

3.2″ rear touchscreen

Another major upgrade compared to the original SL is the rear LCD, which has been increased in size and resolution. With a 3.2″ diagonal and an effective resolution of 2.1MP, the panel is a significant step up in terms of usability compared to the screen on the back of the original SL. Touch-sensitivity has also been improved over the SL, providing a fast and convenient means of adjusting settings during LCD shooting. During EVF shooting, you can quickly change your desired AF point using the small joystick at upper right.

Just like the SL, the SL2’s rear screen is fixed, something which is becoming increasingly rare among full-frame cameras, and which may bother some potential customers (especially videographers).

Twin UHS-II slots

The SL2 has two card slots, both of which support the UHS-II standard. As we’d expect, you can tell the camera to treat the second slot as overflow, backup, or split file types between the cards, recording stills on one and video files on the other.

Multishot mode

Leica has made use of that suspended sensor to add a ‘Multishot’ mode, which combines multiple exposures (up to eight) to create DNG files of up to 187MP. This feature will be added next year via a forthcoming firmware update.

In this picture you can see the small 1.3″, 128 x 128 pixel LCD status panel on the SL2’s top plate, which shows key shooting settings.

Continuous shooting and ‘Leica Object Detection’ AF

We’re not used to saying this about Leica’s cameras, but the SL2 is fast. While it probably won’t give the Sony a9 II or Canon EOS-1D X Mark III a run for their money, the SL2’s maximum continuous shooting rate of 20 fps in electronic shutter mode is very respectable, and 10 fps in mechanical shutter mode isn’t too shabby either. There are a couple of catches though: we’d expect image quality to take a hit in e-shutter mode under certain lighting conditions (specifically under some types of artificial lighting), and focus is locked in both 10 and 20 fps shooting. Autofocus tracking is available at 6 fps.

Leica Object Detection AF appears to be closely related to Panasonic’s face / eye / body-detection, and detects human subjects starting with their body shape, before narrowing down (if it can) to faces and eyes. There are a total of 225 autofocus points, and like previous Leica cameras (and the Panasonic S1-series), AF is contrast-detection.

Video

The Leica SL2 has a very respectable suite of video features, with a headline resolution of 4k/60p, captured from virtually the full width of its sensor. An even higher-resolution 5K/30p mode is available from a cropped region, but we’re still waiting for full details on exactly how much of a crop is employed.

Video can be shot in 8 or 10-bit modes straight to the memory card, or output as a 10-bit stream via the full-sized HDMI port. Three video gamma profiles are available: Rec. 709, L-Log Rec. 2020 and HLG Rec. 2020.

Meanwhile, the SL2 can of course also capture HD video, at up to 180fps. A new ‘Cine mode’ essentially switches the SL2 into fully manual operation (including focus) and translates key exposure settings into video-appropriate language: shutter angle, ASA and T-stop.

Ports, connectivity and battery

Alongside a full-size HDMI port, the SL2 also features a headphone socket and mic jack (both 3.5mm) as well as a USB-C 3.1 port. The SL2 can be charged over USB but cannot be powered solely by it.

Battery life from the included BP-SCL4 is a stated 370 images (CIPA) which is pretty standard for this class of camera (it’s actually a little better than the stated battery life of the Nikon Z7), but as usual we’d expect you’ll get a lot more shots per charge than that in normal shooting.

Pricing and availability

Bluetooth and Wi-Fi connectivity are also built-in and Leica has updated its Fotos app, which also now comes in a ‘Made for iPad’ version. This offers Lightroom integration and extra pro features available for $ 50 per year.

The Leica SL2 will be available in Leica stores and Boutiques starting on November 21st for $ 5,995. Let us know what you think in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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What You Need to Know to do Successful Restaurant Photography

25 Oct

The post What You Need to Know to do Successful Restaurant Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

If you want to be a food photographer, you’ll likely start your career shooting restaurant photography. This is how most food photographers get their start. Restaurants have smaller budgets, so they’re open to working with new photographers.

However, photographing for restaurants isn’t that easy. Not only do you have to be skilled at shooting food, but you also need to be able to shoot interiors and portraits of the chef and other staff.

Restaurant photography can be a lot of work, and there are a lot of ins-and-outs you should know to make sure you don’t end up getting burned by this very specific type of shoot.

What You Need to Know to do Successful Restaurant Photography

Ask for a shot list

Before you can give a potential client an estimate, you need to know what you’ll be photographing in order to estimate how long the shoot will take you. For example, beverages can take longer to photograph than a plate of food, as managing reflections in glass can take time and be challenging.

You should base your estimates on the project scope. If you can’t estimate how long the shoot will take you, you can’t price your services accordingly. Get a breakdown of how many food images will be required, how many drinks etc.

Some restaurants want you to bring in your own surfaces, dishes, linens etc. for a more magazine editorial feel. In this case, note that it will take longer to shoot this type of scene than it will shooting their own dishes on the restaurant tables.

Scout for the location and light

Check out the location beforehand so you know what you’ll be up against in terms of lighting. You’ll also need to figure out where to set up your equipment and workspace. This should be done with agreement from the manager or proprietor.

It’s important that if the restaurant is open when you shoot, that you’re as unobtrusive to the patrons as possible. See if the client can close off a section of the restaurant where you can work without bothering anyone, and vice versa.

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Discuss styling the food

When shooting for restaurants, you should make clear on the outset that you’re not a food stylist and therefore are not responsible for how the food looks.

Food styling is a different occupation. It requires a separate skill set from photography. Your job is the lighting and image capture, not the plating of the food.

Of course, you should always be aware of garnishes and stray crumbs, and generally, make sure the food looks its best for the camera. I’ve been known to send back a sloppy looking burger or two.

The point is that clients need to make sure their chef is up to the task. Otherwise, they should hire a food stylist to guide them. A food stylist can be pricey and not feasible for an already tight budget. In the case that a client refuses to hire one, they should know that the look of the food on the plate ultimately falls on them.

Make sure you state this in your contract. You have a contract, right?

What You Need to Know to do Successful Restaurant Photography

Bring a food styling kit and some basic props

While you won’t be plating and styling the food, you should still bring along a basic food styling kit that includes items such as tweezers, cotton swabs, and small brushes to tame errant garnishes or clean unwanted crumbs and drips from the plate. You want to do the best job you can with what you’re given.

It’s a good idea to come prepared with some props as back up. Bring a stack of linens in various shapes, sizes, and colors, and maybe some cutlery. Sometimes clients want their own tables, flatware, and dishes shot as they are experienced by the patrons, but many have a branding direction in mind that requires a specific look or ambiance.

For example, when clients wanted me to create dark and moody images for them, I bring in small, dark dishes and vintage cutlery – the opposite of the large, white dishes you see in most restaurants.

successful-restaurant-photography

Use a tripod

If you shoot only in natural light, be aware that most restaurants are too dark for food photography.

You’ll need to shoot by a window and use a tripod so you can decrease your shutter speed and make a longer exposure. This won’t work for photographing people, however, as they will be blurry with a slow shutter speed.

If the images will only appear on the web or in social media, you can crank up the ISO and fix the noise in your images later in post-production.

When I scout the location, I try to take a few test shots and see how they look in Lightroom before making my lighting decisions.

successful-restaurant-photography

Shoot horizontally

Have a conversation with the client about how they would like the images shot. Most restaurants only need images for their website. Interactive web design often requires that images be shot in landscape orientation.

If the client will be printing some of the images on a menu, this may require a vertical format (and a higher resolution). Make sure to discuss the best picture orientation with the client. Make note that if they want both, it can take you up to twice as long to shoot the images, as not only will you have to adjust the camera, but you’ll have to recompose each image.

Shoot tethered

I always hook up my camera to a laptop so the client can view the images captured by my camera. Shooting tethered allows you to see a larger, more accurate rendition of your shot than you can get from the screen on the back of your camera. You can use Lightroom or Capture One Pro for tethering. Make sure you have a high-quality tethering cord.

What You Need to Know to do Successful Restaurant Photography

Work with the client

Ultimately, you want to produce good work that makes the client happy. For this, the client needs to be involved in the process. They must be present at the shoot to provide creative direction and approve the images that are captured. That way, they can’t come back and tell you they don’t like them, or that they don’t align with the branding or aesthetic they had in mind.

I have a clause in my contract stating that I will not begin a shoot without someone representing the restaurant present. Also that the client will forfeit the deposit if I need to pack up my things and leave. Believe me, you don’t want to get into this situation.

Collaborate with the chef

Involve the chef in the process as much as possible. When you make an appointment to scout the location, ask if you could meet the chef.

Making the chef feel like an important part of the process can make a big difference in the outcome of your shoot. The shoots that end up being the most easy and fun are the ones where the chef is enthusiastic about working with you and making the food look its best for its moment in the spotlight.

What You Need to Know to do Successful Restaurant Photography

In conclusion

One more thing. Before you set foot in the restaurant with your camera, make sure you have liability insurance. Many restaurants won’t always think about this, but bigger clients will often ask for proof of liability insurance. If someone trips over an extension or tethering cord and decides to sue the restaurant, you can be included in that lawsuit.

Shop around for the best insurance for you, and read the fine print carefully. You need insurance that is specific to the photography industry so you can make sure you’re covered in the types of situations you will be faced with.

You should also insure your equipment against theft, loss, and damage, including that from fire or flood.

Restaurant photography can be a great way to start building up your professional portfolio. Just make sure to do it right to avoid any headaches along the way, and to get your clients to hire you as their preferred photographer whenever they update their menu.

Do you have any other tips or experiences you’d like to share with us about Restaurant Photography? Do so in the comments!

The post What You Need to Know to do Successful Restaurant Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

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Why You Need to Know the History of Flowers in Art and Photography

03 Oct

The post Why You Need to Know the History of Flowers in Art and Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

Flowers have had a presence in art for millennia. In this article, we’ll have a look at the history of flowers and some photographic principals that can be drawn from the historical use of flowers in visual culture.

history-of-flowers-in-art-and-photography

Floral colors

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Over the course of visual arts, colors have become embedded with a rich symbolic history.

While red can denote love and passion, blue can imbue a sense of calm.

The pairing of colors and flowers in both nature and art has influenced the reading of floral imagery throughout history. For example, the Ancient Egyptians often painted artistic renderings of the blue and the white lotus. However, the blue lotus was used as symbol of rebirth whereas the while lotus represented innocence and modesty.

In Renaissance artworks, a red carnation was symbolic of love. A pink carnation, on the other hand, stood as a symbol of marriage or betrothal, while in Japan, yellow chrysanthemums have historically signified the Emperor and Imperial family whereas white chrysanthemums indicate purity, truth or grief.

Melding color psychology with floral symbolism touches on our perceptions of visual art history. This is especially relevant if you are presenting your images as a conceptual artwork or as a gift with a heartfelt message layered in meaning. If you are looking to convey peace or emotional depth, try photographing blue flowers.

Incorporating yellow flowers into a photograph stimulates an energetic reading and sympathy is conveyed with white floral blooms.

You can also alter the color of flowers completely in post production, or strip it of its colorful meaning by working in black and white. This draws greater attention to a flower’s form rather than its biological pigmentation.

history-of-flowers-in-art-and-photography

The language of flowers

Why You Need to Know the History of Flowers in Art and Photography

Over time, cultures have linked flowers with specific ideas as a means of communication. Flowers like the lily and rose are used as symbols in the Hebrew Bible. This is especially the case in the Song of Solomon.

An age-old art form in Japan, the practice of Hanakotoba involves the pairing of flowers with meaning in the hopes of conveying emotion without the use of words. And for the first half of the 19th century, floriography was hugely popular in France, Britain and in the United States. Although many floriography dictionaries differed in meaning, some consensus on particular floral associations has prevailed in Western popular culture today.

Red roses (and their thorns), for example, continue to symbolize the duality of pain and pleasure in romantic love. The red poppy has become a symbol of remembrance of the fallen in war and white lilies, often used at funerals, signify sympathy and purity.

By utilizing the popular associations of flowers in a given culture, you can communicate ideas to a viewer through the photography of floral blooms.

Physicality

history-of-flowers-in-art-and-photography

Physicality defines the physical features that make up a floral bloom. For example, the textural qualities of a bloom influence our ability to visually feel the make-up of a flower. Aspects like the heaviness of a flower head can add visual weight to an image and the direction of a bloom can convey movement.

Varying dimensions of the flowers in Still Life With Flowers by Ambrosius Bosschaert cultivate energy and directionality, while the whimsical dimensions of the iris petals in Vincent Van Gogh’s Irises burst with movement and spontaneity. The repetition of Renoir’s Bouquet of Roses reinforces the soft quality of the rose heads, each vying for a place within the artist’s rendering, while Imogen Cunningham’s Magnolia Blossom features a single magnolia, emphasizing the delicate membrane of a lone flower.

Research into flower usage in art history will help you to achieve the right balance of physical characteristics within a floral photograph.

Abstraction

Why You Need to Know the History of Flowers in Art and Photography

According to Tate.org “abstract art is art that does not attempt to represent an accurate depiction of a visual reality but instead use shapes, colors, forms and gestural marks to achieve its effect.”

Abstract flowers in art are exemplified by the paintings of Georgia O’Keeffe. A leading figure in American Modernism, O’Keeffe pushed the boundaries of art by combining abstraction and representation. O’Keeffe’s close-up paintings of flowers allowed viewers to appreciate intimate forms from a fresh perspective.

In the same way, photographing abstracted flowers cultivates a sense of intimacy. Abstraction provides the opportunity for viewers to experience the properties of flowers through the eyes of the photographer.

You can achieve floral abstraction through the use of various photographic techniques. Camera movement, cropping or creative macro photography are some of the ways a photographer can create intriguing abstracted floral imagery.

Conclusion

With thousands of types of floral blooms spread around the globe, flowers have caught the eye of artists for millennia. Familiarizing yourself with the history of flowers in art can be beneficial in a number of ways. A knowledge of colors and their use in conjunction with flowers is a useful tool in conveying emotional depth.

Knowing the history of flowers in art and culture can open more channels of communication between the photographer and the viewer. Training the eye to assess the physicality of different flowers allows for well-considered image-making.

And abstraction can introduce a unique perspective to your floral photography.

The post Why You Need to Know the History of Flowers in Art and Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

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Everything You Need to Know About Photographing Cars

06 Sep

Car photography is every bit as exciting as photographing people. Each car is unique and has its own beautiful traits that translate perfectly into a photo. Whether you are taking photographs of vehicles on an F1 circuit or a full-on photoshoot of the most beautiful antique cars at an exhibition, your ultimate goal is to portray the personality and uniqueness Continue Reading

The post Everything You Need to Know About Photographing Cars appeared first on Photodoto.

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Did You Score Any Gear From This Massive Amazon Prime Blooper? Need to Know How to Use It?

23 Jul

The post Did You Score Any Gear From This Massive Amazon Prime Blooper? Need to Know How to Use It? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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This week, people flocked to Amazon for some annual Prime Day deals.

But a select few got a bit more than they were expecting:

Gear that normally costs thousands of dollars…

…on sale for just $ 94.50 USD.

It all began when an observant Amazon shopper saw that a Sony a6000 bundle was on sale for $ 94.50. They shared this bargain on Slickdeals, and other photographers immediately began to take notice.

Slickdeals users raced to grab the bargain, but it soon became apparent that the Sony a6000 bundle wasn’t the only thing on sale.

Consider the Canon 800mm f/5.6L, which normally comes for $ 13,000 USD. One Amazon customer reportedly managed to snap it up for just $ 94.50 USD.

The same story is true for a number of other pieces of camera kit: the Fujifilm X100F, the Sony a7III, and the Canon EOS R, all of which normally go for over $ 1000 USD, all marked down to $ 94.50.

This was a mistake on Amazon’s part. First, it’s highly unlikely they would offer these items at such laughably low prices. And the deals weren’t seen by all customers; only some folks were able to view the bargain prices.

Many have claimed that Amazon will cancel any orders made for these products. And this might make sense – if it weren’t for the fact that many items have already shipped. Some customers have even received their items.

(Though it remains to be seen whether Amazon will honor the slashed prices for backordered items.)

Unfortunately, this deal-of-a-lifetime is long gone. And only a few Amazon customers managed to grab professional-grade gear for under a hundred dollars.

Were you one of them?

And even if you weren’t able to lock in any of these accidental bargains, did you get any new photography equipment for Prime Day? Let me know in the comments!

Also, for those who did get their hands on some exciting new photography gear, I’d like to take a minute to mention our course, which is only open for a limited time:

31 Days to Become a Better Photographer.

In it, you’ll discover how to use your new gear – so you can take stunning photos, consistently!

Don’t miss out! Sign up here:

31 Days to Become a Better Photographer

The post Did You Score Any Gear From This Massive Amazon Prime Blooper? Need to Know How to Use It? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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6 Great Lightroom Tricks You Probably Didn’t Know About

18 Jul

The post 6 Great Lightroom Tricks You Probably Didn’t Know About appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.

Adobe Lightroom is an essential tool for any photographer. Whether you are a professional or amateur, Lightroom can make your workflow faster and more efficient. But there are also a whole host of editing tools available. Some of which you may not even know existed. So here are 6 great lightroom tricks that you probably didn’t know about.

Crop overlay options

Cropping your photos can sometimes mean the difference between a good photo and a great one. You can access the Lightroom crop tool by pressing R on your keyboard in the Develop module. Perhaps you already knew that, but what you may not have known is that when your cropping tool is open, you can change the overlay that shows on your image.

By pressing “O,” you will be able to get a whole host of different overlays on the image to help you crop effectively. Everything from the “Rule of Thirds” to the “Fibonacci Rule” can be accessed to help turn an okay photo into a great one.

Lights Off Mode

Sometimes when you are editing a photo, it is easy to get distracted by all of the side panels and options available. A great way to really see your photo is by looking at it in the “Lights Out” mode. By pressing the “L” key once on your keyboard, everything dims except your image. Pressing it one more time, you will see just the image on a black background without the distracting side panels. Press it a third time to make the side panels re-appear.

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Full-Screen Mode

Another useful trick, especially when working on smaller screens such as laptops, is to view your image at full screen. Because of the screen size, naturally the actual photo you are working on looks pretty small on a laptop screen.

To get a better view hit “F” on your keyboard and you’ll get to see the image as big as possible on the screen.

To come out of full-screen mode press Esc on your keyboard.

Know if your image is clipped

One of the key elements of taking a photo or post-processing it is to ensure that your highlights and shadows are not overexposed or underexposed to the point where there is no detail in those areas. This is a term that is known as clipping.

It can be difficult to judge by eye if any areas of your photo suffer from this. Thankfully, Lightroom’s clever tool can make it much easier to see where this occurs.

Click the little triangles on the corners of your histogram, and if there are clipped areas in your photo, they will show in red for highlights and blue for shadows. You can then tweak the different sliders to correct these issues. You can also access the clipping highlights by pressing “J” whilst in the Develop module.

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Please note that on older versions of Lightroom these sliders might be different.

Pick and organise

I have over 100,000 photos in my collection. They are for a variety of assignments and clients, and they need organizing in a way that makes it easy for me to access them. One of the most useful aspects of Lightroom is being able to organize and flag your photos effectively. The three easy ways to organize your photos are 1) flagging them (i.e., putting a flag on the ones you want to), 2) adding 1 to 5 stars, 3) color-coding them in red, yellow, green, blue and purple.

You can access these by using the following shortcuts:

“P” flags a photo (to unflag a photo press “U”). You can also reject a photo by pressing “X”
Add stars by using the relevant number key between 1 – 5 (press zero to remove stars)
Color code your image by pressing 6 – 9

How you use these ultimately depends on your workflow. However, for example, you may decide to utilize the colors like a traffic light system (i.e., Green for the ones that you love, yellow for the okay ones and red for rejects). Alternatively, you may simply star the ones you really like with 5 stars. The choice is yours.

Speed up your editing

Often whenever you are at a location, you will take multiple photos. Sometimes you may even take a set of photos from the same scene. When it comes to editing them, it wouldn’t be very efficient to edit each one individually as the light and conditions won’t change much in a few seconds. Lightroom has a couple of great options to help.

Whilst in the Develop module, if you click on the “Previous” button (at the bottom of the right-hand panel), Lightroom pastes the same settings as the last image you were on to the selected image.

If you select multiple images on the film strip in the Develop module, you’ll notice that the “Previous” button changes to “Sync.” Press this and whichever image is selected will be used as a basis to paste the adjustment from to all images you’ve selected.

Once you have clicked on “Sync,” you’ll get a pop up where you can select which settings you want to add. This is a great option when, for example, you shot a scene in burst mode where all the conditions are similar from one photo to the next. You can always make further adjustments to a photo if needed.

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Conclusion

These are just some of the simple yet effective editing tools that you may not have known about in Lightroom. There is so much more Lightroom can do. If you learn how to use it, it will become an invaluable software in your workflow.

Don’t forget to let us know your great Lightroom tricks below.

The post 6 Great Lightroom Tricks You Probably Didn’t Know About appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kav Dadfar.

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The 7 Nature Photography Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making

19 Jun

The post The 7 Nature Photography Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Do you like to do nature photography?

Then you might be making these 7 mistakes.

And here’s the thing:

These nature photography mistakes are the kind that you don’t even know you’re making. They’re the type of mistakes that are easy to miss, but they’re absolutely critical to your photography.

To discover these mistakes (and to ensure you never make them again!), read on!

1. Shooting under bad lighting

I’m going to start with the single most critical, most common mistake I see nature photographers making:

Shooting in poor lighting conditions.

Because good light is absolutely essential to good nature photography.

In fact, I’d go so far as to say that without good light, you cannot get a good photo. It’s so easy to have the perfect setup, the perfect composition, and the perfect settings…

…only to ruin the shot with bad light.

So what counts as bad light?

Two main situations.

First, shooting under the harsh, midday sun will pretty much always ruin your shots. The midday sun just isn’t good for nature photography!

And second, shooting in low light, at any time of the day. Unless you’re shooting with a tripod, your shots will end up grainy or blurry, which you definitely don’t want.

Which begs the question:

What is good light?

I recommend that you do nature photography at two main times.

First, you can capture some great nature photography under cloudy skies. Cloudy light is especially great for photography that involves color because the clouds diffuse the light and saturate the colors.

Second, you can always rely on the golden hours, which are the two hours after sunrise and before sunset. Golden-hour light is warm, wonderful and, well, golden. It’s perfect for capturing that stunning, once-in-a-lifetime shot.

In fact, most of the best nature photography you’ve seen was probably taken during golden hour. It’s just that amazing!

2. Shooting your subject from a standing height

Here’s another common nature photography mistake:

Not paying attention to your angle!

(More specifically, photographing from a standing height, so that you’re shooting down toward your subject.)

This is especially problematic in wildlife and macro photography, where shooting downward conveys a sense of dominance and separation.

Instead of shooting downward, try to get on a level with your subject. That way, the viewer will feel much more connected, like they’re in the same world as your subject.

And don’t just shoot from a single angle. Try to experiment with different possibilities, and take note of the way a different angle results in a different nature photo.

This is a great way to get out of a creative rut: Force yourself to shoot a subject from an angle you’ve never used before. Get on the ground and shoot upward!

3. Using a (slightly) messy background

In nature photography, the background is absolutely essential.

If you don’t include the perfect background, then your photos just won’t stun the viewer.

And one of the easiest mistakes to make is using a messy background.

You’ve got to do everything you can to avoid the mess. You must avoid chaos. Instead, you need to produce a background that’s as simple as possible:

Uniform in color
No additional subjects
No lines or shapes

Your goal is to make your subject stand out. And to do that, you have to eliminate everything that’s unnecessary in the background. Only include the essentials.

4. Photographing low-quality subjects

Once you’ve found a subject…

…do you check to make sure that it’s not damaged, dirty, or poor quality?

It’s so easy to forget this step. And yet it’s critical to capturing a stunning nature photo.

I recommend you always do a quick evaluation of your subject.

If it’s a flower, then you’ll want to ask yourself:

Are there any blemishes or holes?
Are there any spots of dirt or mud?
Are there any insects in the center of the flower?

If it’s a landscape, then think about:

Whether there’s any litter or human-made items
Whether your foreground subject is damaged

Your evaluation doesn’t need to be in-depth. You should just spend enough time to be certain your subject is in good shape.

5. Not including a point of focus in your compositions

This is another quick way to ruin a great nature photo.

Because basically, every composition must have a point of focus.

By this, I mean that you must include a subject. Something that viewers can latch onto. The subject can be whatever you like (as long as it’s there!).

If you’re shooting landscapes, then try to include a subject in both the foreground and the background. Ideally, the foreground subject will lead the eye to the background.

If you’re shooting wildlife, then your subject is pretty much guaranteed. Just make sure that you emphasize the wildlife in your photo!

And if you’re shooting macro photos, then make sure that an aspect of your subject is tack-sharp, so that your viewer’s eyes go straight to it.

6. Shooting low-contrast scenes

This mistake is a bit more advanced, but still important to keep in mind.

When you’re doing nature photography, you should strive to avoid ultra-low contrast scenes.

By ‘low-contrast scenes,’ I’m referring to those with very little variation in tone (that is, lights and darks) and color.

A low-contrast scene might be almost entirely white.

Or it might be entirely red, or blue, or black.

What’s the problem with low-contrast scenes?

The lack of contrast makes every element blend in. So no single element stands out, and the photo becomes boring.

Which is exactly what you want to avoid.

Instead, look for scenes where the subject pops off the background. And look for scenes where you have some nice shadows and nice highlights.

I should note: It is possible to use low-contrast scenes for an artistic effect. But you have to do it deliberately, and it’s extremely easy to mess it up.

So I recommend you stick to high-contrast scenes. That’s how you’ll avoid low-contrast issues!

7. Not post-processing your nature photos

There are three fundamental aspects of every nature photo. They are:

Light
Composition
Post-Processing

If you can nail all three of these things, then you’re set. Your photos will be stunning. And we’ve already talked about light, and how you should shoot during the golden hours. We’ve already talked about composition, and how you must include a point of focus.

But we haven’t talked about post-processing. And here’s the thing:

Without post-processing, your nature photos just won’t stand out. Because editing is what adds that finishing touch, that last bit of shine, to your nature photography.

Now, you don’t have to do much editing. But there are a few things I recommend you do to every photo:

Check the exposure. It’s especially common to let your photos remain underexposed. So make sure that the shadows in your photo still look nice and detailed.
Check the contrast. In general, I recommend boosting the contrast of your nature photos. This gives an extra bit of punch and will help your images stand out.
Check the saturation. While it’s easy to overdo this step, a little bit of saturation goes a long way. You want your colors to look deep, but natural.

If you can just follow these three steps, then your nature photography will look so much better.

Nature photography mistakes: conclusion

Now you should know all about these seven deadly nature photography mistakes.

And you’re prepared to avoid them!

The key is to just keep a lookout. Maybe even create a checklist.

Then, when you’re shooting in the field, you’ll make sure that none of these happens, and your photography will turn out better than ever.

Have any nature photography mistakes that I didn’t discuss? Share them in the comments!

The post The 7 Nature Photography Mistakes You Don’t Know You’re Making appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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Panasonic S1H: What we know so far, and what we think’s likely

01 Jun

What do we know about the Panasonic S1H?

Panasonic has announced the development of the S1H: a full-frame counterpart to its video-focused GH series.

The company has revealed a handful of specs about the forthcoming camera (due in the second half of 2019 for around $ 4000), from which we can draw some interesting conclusions.

Published specs:

6K 3:2 capture at 24p
16:9 5.9K capture at up to 30p
‘Multi aspect’ recording including anamorphic 4:3 capture
10-bit DCI and UHD 4K capture at up to 60p
Unlimited recording times
14+ stop V-Log/V-Gamut capture
Color reproduction to match Cinema VariCam series

It’s essentially a full-frame ‘GH’

In addition to this, Panasonic has said the ‘H’ in the name represents the same qualities as the one in the GH models: a stills/video hybrid with high quality. And, if we look at the specifications, there’s a lot of overlap with the capabilities of the company’s GH5.

Panasonic says it will combine aspects from the GH-series, the full-frame S-series and its pro-level Cinema Varicam series.

It’ll almost certainly be 24MP

The most likely implication of these specs is that the camera has a 24MP sensor. While it’s theoretically possible that the chip has more than 6000 horizontal pixels and these are then downsampled to the quoted ‘6K’ resolution, this would be a challenging both in terms of computation and readout speed. It’s far more likely that it’ll be a 6000 x 4000 pixel sensor achieving the 6K 3:2 figure given.

It probably won’t be ‘multi-aspect’ in the same sense as the GH5S

Panasonic talks about the S1H offering ‘multi-aspect’ shooting, including 4:3 anamorphic shooting. But we’re not taking this as proof that it has an multi-aspect sensor, in the same way the GH2 and GH5S have.

While it’s theoretically possible the camera will have a larger-than-full-frame sensor, with the different aspect ratios cropped out to the edges of the image circle, we think it’s pretty unlikely for three reasons:

1) 24MP full-frame chips already exist and would make sense with all the other details given. 2) it would be expensive to develop or commission a dedicated oversized sensor for a relatively niche product. 3) If the 3:2 region is 6000 pixels wide, then a multi-aspect design would lead you to expect a 16:9 region with nearly 6.3K resolution, not the 5.9K quoted.

It’s not impossible, but we think it’s pretty unlikely.

The 60p video will probably come from a Super35 crop

If the camera can only shoot 5.9K (ie full-sensor width), video at up to 30p, then it must either pixel bin, line skip or crop to achieve a rate faster than this. A roughly 6000 x 4000 pixel sensor would yield a roughly 4000 x 2250 APS-C region, which would make sense (this is what the S1 does).

The S1 video upgrade (SFU2) raises the bar

The DMW-SFU2 upgrade for the S1 raises the expectations of what the S1H will be able to do.

Panasonic had already said that the $ 200 SFU2 upgrade would add 10-bit, 4:2:2 150Mbps full-width 4K capture and full V-Log implementation, but the announced specs go further than this. It not only lifts the 29:59 recording limits and enables 10-bit 4:2:2 output of the camera’s 4K 60p footage, over HDMI.

More than this, it adds GH5-like video features such as waveform display, the ability to upload LUTs for a corrected preview, and the ability to limit the recording to industry-recognized ‘safe’ output (giving a choice of 0-1023, 64-940 or 64-1023, to match different workflows).

These additions are likely to hint at the minimum capabilities of the S1H: with it being safe to assume the inclusion of waveforms. Given the S1H’s anamorphic capture capabilities, it’s also likely that it’ll gain the GH5’s ability to present ‘de-squeezed’ playback of anamorphic footage as well as on-screen indicators of the output dimensions.

The body will resemble, but not be shared with, the S1 and S1R

Panasonic says the S1H will look similar to the S1 and S1R but won’t share the same body Instead the company implied it would be slightly larger. The early imagery shows a camera that’s slightly taller than the existing bodies.

This raises the likelihood that the S1H is essentially an S1 will more processing power and the improved heat dissipation that this would need.

But beyond that, the capabilities look remarkably similar:

	Panasonic S1 (with paid SFU2 upgrade)	Panasonic S1H
Pixel Count	24MP	24MP*
30p capture	Full-width 4K downscaled from 6K	Full-width 6K
60p capture	UHD from Super35 region	DCI or UHD from Super35 region*
Other aspect ratios	–	3:2 6K at up to 24p
In-body stabilization	Yes	Unknown

*logical assumptions, based on information provided.

What will the S1H offer over an upgraded S1?

The limited details we have of the S1H suggest it may be based on similar hardware to the S1, though perhaps with a more powerful processor (or the same processor running faster, with some means to cool it).

What is clear is that Panasonic thinks these differences will be worth at least a $ 1300 premium over the cost of the S1 and SFU2 upgrade. The company says it’ll be a product aimed at pro videographers and cinematographers, rather than the S1, which is described as being a good fit for wedding photographers who are also looking to deliver video.

So, what might the S1H offer to justify this price-hike (and the creation of a whole new model)?

Full resolution output

The Panasonic S1 creates its 4K footage from 5.9K capture, but we’re assuming Panasonic means that the S1H won’t downsample to 4K, when it says the S1H will shoot 5.9K.

The camera’s 6K 3:2 mode is likely to essentially an ‘open gate’ mode, shooting a larger area than the final shot, giving scope for cropping, re-positioning, rotating or stabilizing the footage. To achieve the full benefit of this, the camera would need to output its 6K capture at 6K.

Likewise, we’d expect the camera’s ‘5.9K 16:9’ footage to be retained at full resolution. For a professional workflow, this greater detail would provide some flexibility to crop in post while still maintaining true 4K resolution could be the difference between a primary camera and a secondary ‘B’ camera, and a major selling point over the S1.

Higher bitrates?

Even with the paid video upgrade, the Panasonic S1 can only shoot video at up to 150Mbps: a long way short of the 400Mbps capabilities of the GH5 and GH5S. This seems like the most obvious added extra to include in the camera.

The GH5 and GH5S already show that Panasonic can write 400Mbps (50 MB/s) to the latest V90-rated SD cards, which is not necessarily utilized in the S1.

There’s also the possibility that the S1H will support the Micro P2 standard of cards, used elsewhere in Panasonic’s VariCam range. These look like standard SD cards but use a different write method with greater data integrity. Adding P2 support would boost cross-compatibility with VariCam cameras.

Regardless of memory format, we think higher bitrate capture is a near certainty.

ProRes-compatible Raw output?

Also possible is that Panasonic has been working on a way to deliver the sensor’s Raw output (in a manageable bit-depth) across the HDMI port, to allow the potential for ProRes Raw or CinemaDNG Raw capture using an external recorder.

Nikon has rather stolen a march on the rest of the photo industry by promising Raw video output from the Z6. Raw video hasn’t been universally adopted, as a result of the storage and processing demands that it imposes on the workflow. However, the ProRes Raw format offers clever-enough compression options that it becomes easier to adopt. Panasonic may already looking ahead to Raw becoming format of choice in the industry. We’d rate this as 50/50.

Industry-standard connectors

The hint of a slightly larger body makes SDI, micro XLR or more pro-friendly connectors a possibility. However, historically Panasonic has preferred to offer these through a series of adapter add-ons (such as the XLR-1 adapter) that can be compatible with a number of cameras, so we think this is pretty unlikely.

Fixed sensor?

The company was distinctly tight-lipped when we asked whether the S1H would be image stabilized. At the time of the GH5S launch, the company claimed that a fixed sensor works better with external stabilization system (though it’s equally true that the GH5S’s sensor is so big that there’s limited scope for moving it around within the image circle of Micro Four Thirds lenses).

It’s possible that this greater gimbal and steadicam friendliness, combined with the improved heat management of being able to attach the sensor to a heat sync would push the S1H towards using a fixed sensor. That would also explain its existence as a distinct model, since most photographers would prefer to have in-body IS.

We’d rate this one as 50/50, too.

It’ll be fascinating to find out

At this point we can only speculate but, if Panasonic thinks it can charge an extra $ 1300 for the S1H, then they must be pretty confident about the value proposition it’ll offer.

We’d expect Panasonic to hold onto the precise details of the S1H until nearer its autumn/fall release. We’d also expect them to hold some surprises back, to really catch the industry’s attention.

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