RSS
 

Posts Tagged ‘massive’

Photokina Shuts Down Due to “Massive Decline in Markets”

30 Nov

The post Photokina Shuts Down Due to “Massive Decline in Markets” appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Photokina trade fair canceled sign

Photokina, the world’s most prominent photography trade show, will be closing its doors “until further notice.”

Photokina was first launched in 1950, before quickly becoming a biennial fair for exhibitors – including top imaging companies – to show off their latest photography equipment to the public. The event took place in Cologne, Germany, with vendors and visitors (often in the hundreds of thousands) flocking from around the world to view class-leading photography gear.

But enthusiasm for Photokina waned in recent years, with the rise of social media and smartphone photography relegating more traditional, higher-end photography equipment to the sidelines.

While the Photokina organizers sought to combat these problems by increasing the number of events (Photokina was to become a yearly trade show as of 2018) and by broadening the definition of the event so that less traditional vendors could take part, this did little to address Photokina’s fundamental problem: the overall decline of the camera market.

As the organizers explained in the press release announcing the suspension of Photokina:

In view of the further massive decline in markets for imaging products, Koelnmesse has decided to discontinue organizing Photokina at its Cologne location for the time being…The trend in this industry, with which we have always had a close and trusting partnership, is very painful for us to witness. But we are facing the situation with a clear, honest decision against continuing this event, a decision to which, unfortunately, we have no alternative.

They go on to explain that these problems were present long before the market’s COVID-19 downturn, and that “an event held in 2022 could not have met the expectations of the entire imaging community that those efforts were intended to serve.”

Hence the decision to shut down Photokina for the foreseeable future.

While this news is sad, especially for those who attended Photokina frequently in the past, it’s far from unexpected. As indicated by the initial adjustments to Photokina – changes began back in 2014 – the organizers were struggling to maintain interest. Then the 2019 event was dropped, and the 2020 event, scheduled for this past May, was canceled due to COVID-19.

Technically, Photokina could resume at some point in the future. But barring some sudden reversal to the camera market, Photokina is likely gone for good.

Now over to you:

What do you think about this news regarding Photokina’s suspension? Do you think the trade fair will ever come back? And are you worried about what this says regarding the overall decline of the imaging market? Share your thoughts in the comments!

The post Photokina Shuts Down Due to “Massive Decline in Markets” appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Photokina Shuts Down Due to “Massive Decline in Markets”

Posted in Photography

 

Unsplash releases massive open-source image dataset with 2M high-quality photos

07 Aug

Unsplash, a website that enables anyone to share high-quality images under a Creative Commons Zero license, has announced the release of what it says is the ‘most complete high-quality open image dataset ever.’ The dataset contains more than 2,000,000 images, according to Unsplash, which sourced the images from more than 200,000 photographers around the world.

An image dataset is a collection of images that can be downloaded as a full batch; they contain relevant details, such as EXIF data, location information and more. In this case, Unsplash says that its dataset includes data on AI- and community-generated keywords for the images, landmark details when relevant, image categories and subcategories, download stats, the number of image views, groupings of images, user-generated collections and ‘keyword-image conversions in search results.’

All data included with the dataset is anonymized and private, with the only exception being attribution to photographers. Unsplash says that it sourced the data from ‘hundreds of millions [of] searches across a nearly unlimited number of uses and contexts.’

The ‘complete’ nature of this dataset distinguishes it from other open-source image datasets, which Unsplash notes often have various issues, such as relying on mass image labeling from third-parties, the use of low-quality images, size limitations and other issues that may limit their usefulness.

In its present form, the dataset is 16GB in size, but Unsplash says that it will continue updating the dataset with additional images and fields as its online library grows.

The dataset is available to download from a dedicated portal on the Unsplash website, where two download options are available: the full high-quality 16GB dataset, which is offered only for non-commercial use, and a ‘Lite’ version that is only 550MB and available for both non-commercial and commercial use.

The full dataset contains more than 2,000,000 images, 5,000,000 keywords and 250,000,000 searches. The ‘Lite’ data is limited to 25,000 images and keywords, as well as 1,000,000 searches. Whereas the Lite dataset is available for anyone to download, the full dataset requires users to request permission to download.

The company requires certain details from the user as part of their request, including name, email and the intended use of the data. In addition to the dedicated download website, Unsplash has published the related documentation on Github.

Unsplash remains as controversial as it is popular. The website has been integrated into a number of services, including Adobe, Trello, Wix, Medium, Facebook and thousands of other platforms. The service is distinguished from other free photo platforms by the high-quality nature of the images available to the public under a CC0 license, making them available for non-commercial and commercial use.

Professional photographers have criticized the platform as undermining the profession and photographers who contribute images as devaluing their work, among other things. Back in 2017, Unsplash founder Mikael Cho attempted to address these concerns in a blog post, stating, ‘We didn’t start Unsplash to reinvent an industry. We started Unsplash because we thought it might be useful.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on Unsplash releases massive open-source image dataset with 2M high-quality photos

Posted in Uncategorized

 

DIY large format camera ‘Bertha’ shoots massive 1.1 x 1.1-meter slides

03 Jan

The Branco Ottico team in Italy has showcased ‘Bertha,’ a giant large format camera that can be used to capture 1.1 x 1.1m (3.6ft) slides. A report about the camera’s creation, as well as some images of the assembly process, were recently shared over at DIY Photography. The team explains that Berta is designed to ‘create unique works’ using the ROBA APPOSTA inversion kit chemical process created by Branco Ottico.

Bertha features a modular aluminum frame, a bellows draft measuring around 4m (13.12ft) in length and a 1000mm F6.3 lens. The camera can be used to capture portraits in macro mode, according to the team, which says they also have a mobile darkroom for capturing portraits outdoors. The team will tune the camera in early 2020, then take it and the mobile darkroom on a tour to capture portraits of people on the road.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on DIY large format camera ‘Bertha’ shoots massive 1.1 x 1.1-meter slides

Posted in Uncategorized

 

This DIY ‘digiObscura’ digital camera features a massive 1-kilopixel image sensor

31 Dec

Creator Sean Hodgins has published a new video detailing his creation of ‘digiObscura,’ a large boxy digital camera that features his own 1-kilopixel image sensor. The camera’s creation involved 3D printing the camera body and soldering phototransistors on a custom printed circuit board alongside a pair of 32-bit analog multiplexers.

As you might expect, the 1KP images captured by digiObscura are very blocky and pixelated due to the camera’s very low resolution, but it’s an incredible look at what’s possible with enough time, patience and knowledge.

In addition to the video above, the project is detailed on Instructables, where tools and components are listed. More detailed information, as well as firmware and other files, are available on the project’s Github. Files for the 3D-printed components are available on Thingiverse.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on This DIY ‘digiObscura’ digital camera features a massive 1-kilopixel image sensor

Posted in Uncategorized

 

Save up to $100 on Massive dPS Lightroom Presets Bundle

21 Dec

The post Save up to $ 100 on Massive dPS Lightroom Presets Bundle appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

dPS Holiday Deals 9

It’s day 9 of dPS Holiday Deals and today we’re doing a mega deal on our dPS presets.

Save up to $ 100 now

You can now get any of our Lightroom Presets Bundles for just $ 19 each. That’s a massive 62% off the regular price, and 67% if you buy them all together.

Each bundle contains at least 101 presets:

  • 101 Lightroom Presets
  • 101 Landscape Lightroom Presets 
  • 101 Lightroom Portrait Presets 

There are no duplicate presets amongst these, so you can grab all three knowing that each preset is unique.

Save 62% on each set of presets or save $ 100 (67%) by buying the mega-set of all 303 presets.

Check it out before the next deal arrives in less than 24 hours.

 

PS – Don’t miss out on yesterday’s deal – learn how to “Capture Your Memories with Awesome Video” for just $ 39, save 60%. Check it out here.

The post Save up to $ 100 on Massive dPS Lightroom Presets Bundle appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Save up to $100 on Massive dPS Lightroom Presets Bundle

Posted in Photography

 

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.

amazon-prime-blooper

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.


Digital Photography School

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

Posted in Photography

 

Massive Decline in Digital Camera Sales, Plus Nikon Sees Market Share Decrease

11 Jul

The post Massive Decline in Digital Camera Sales, Plus Nikon Sees Market Share Decrease appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Earlier this week, Nikkei revealed the latest digital camera market trends.

And for camera manufacturers, things are looking dismal.

The market share breakdown

First, let’s take a look at the market share breakdown:

  • Canon: 40.5% (an increase of 3.9% from 2017)
  • Nikon: 19.1% (a decrease of 2.7%)
  • Sony: 17.7% (a decrease of 0.7%)
  • Fujifilm: 5.1% (an increase of 1.3%)
  • Olympus: 2.8% (an increase of 0.1%)

Notice that Canon had the biggest gains, followed by Fujifilm and Olympus. Nikon’s market share took the biggest hit, with Sony seeing a decrease, as well.

For Nikon, these numbers are not encouraging. The 2.7% drop in market share suggests the company’s latest big move – its leap into the full-frame mirrorless market – hasn’t held up well against the competition.

In some ways, this might be expected. Nikon is a small company compared to competitors such as Canon and Sony, and this puts a clear cap on its resources for innovation. On the other hand, Nikon has remained a dominant player in the digital camera market for decades.

Which begs the question:

Are we about to see Nikon losing its footing?

Unfortunately for Nikon and the other camera manufacturers, the bigger problem has little to do with reshuffled market shares, and everything to do with surging smartphone camera technology.

Because, as Nikkei’s report revealed, digital camera unit sales are down 22% from 2017.

This may come as a surprise to some, who see mirrorless cameras representing the future of photography. After all, mirrorless camera innovation is at an all-time high, with Canon and Nikon just recently joining the fray.

But here’s the issue:

As impressive as mirrorless cameras have become, smartphone cameras are still far more attractive – at least for the casual photographer. They’re smaller than the smallest mirrorless body. You always have them with you. And the simple camera interface, bolstered by features such as ‘swipe to change the exposure,’ make smartphone photography an extremely enticing option.

So in the wake of smartphone camera improvements, would-be DSLR and mirrorless photographers are consistently turning to companies like Google and Apple to satisfy their photography needs.

And it’s a trend we’re likely to see into the future.

So now I’d love your input:

  • Do you think that smartphones will completely replace hobbyist digital cameras?
  • Could you see yourself using a smartphone camera instead of a DSLR or mirrorless body?
  • What do you think about Nikon’s decline and Canon’s rise?

POLL

Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

The post Massive Decline in Digital Camera Sales, Plus Nikon Sees Market Share Decrease appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.


Digital Photography School

 
Comments Off on Massive Decline in Digital Camera Sales, Plus Nikon Sees Market Share Decrease

Posted in Photography

 

No Joke: Fujifilm paper and film products to get massive price increase on April 1st

26 Feb

Fujifilm plans to increase its prices substantially on a day when customers are least likely to believe it: April Fool’s Day. The price increase will affect the company’s film and paper products globally starting on April 1, Fujifilm announced on Monday. Though price increases will vary based on market, photographers can expect a minimum 30% increase in film cost and ‘double-digit percentage’ photographic paper price increases.

In the company’s announcement, Fujifilm President Kenji Sukeno explained:

Over the past several years, Fujifilm has faced the rising cost of raw materials and logistics. In the past Fujifilm has absorbed some of the costs by undertaking intensive structural reforms and communalization of production facilities, but as a responsible manufacturing company and to provide the high-quality products our customers expect, the company will institute a price increase.

The price increase will impact Fujifilm’s color negative, color reversal, quick snap, and control strips film products, as well as all of its photographic paper products.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on No Joke: Fujifilm paper and film products to get massive price increase on April 1st

Posted in Uncategorized

 

The New York Times’ massive photo archive is being digitized with Google’s help

13 Nov

The New York Times has millions of printed photographs stored in an underground archive nicknamed “the morgue,” and it has begun the arduous task of digitizing this collection. Google is part of the project, according to a post on one of the company’s blogs, where it explains that its machine learning and cloud technologies will help The New York Times store, process, and search its archive.

The morgue houses between 5 and 7 million photographs dating back to the late 19th century, all of them stored in folders within file cabinets. Many of the photos haven’t been viewed in decades and all of them are at risk of damage. In 2015, for example, the morgue experienced minor damage after water leaked in from a broken pipe.

The New York Times‘ CTO Nick Rockwell said in a statement to Google:

The morgue is a treasure trove of perishable documents that are a priceless chronicle of not just The Times’s history, but of nearly more than a century of global events that have shaped our modern world … Staff members across the photo department and on the business side have been exploring possible avenues for digitizing the morgue’s photos for years. But as recently as last year, the idea of a digitized archive still seemed out of reach.

To help preserve this visual history, Google has stepped in to provide The New York Times with its cloud storage product for storing high-resolution digital copies of the photographs. The New York Times has developed a processing pipeline for the digitization project that includes resizing images using Google Kubernetes Engine and storing metadata using PostgreSQL, in addition to the open source command-line software ExifTool and ImageMagick.

Google’s machine learning technology augments the system to offer insights into the digitized content. The company’s Cloud Vision API is used to detect text, logos, objects, and more within photographs, while the Cloud Natural Language API uses the detected text to categorize the images. This data makes it possible to search the digitized collection for specific images that would otherwise be lost in the vast archive.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on The New York Times’ massive photo archive is being digitized with Google’s help

Posted in Uncategorized

 

ON1 reveals Photo RAW 2018.5 with ‘massive performance boost’, LUTs and more

12 May

ON1 has released a major update to its ON1 Photo RAW photo editor. Version 2018.5 will be available in June and boasts, “a massive boost in overall performance” in addition to bug fixes and two major feature additions: a new LUTs filter in the effects panel, and the ability to select brand-specific in-camera profiles, including Fujifilm’s much-loved film simulations.

There are also some other new features like the ability to collapse RAW + JPEG frames into a single image to de-clutter your library, nested albums, background export, and more. But the big three additions are performance, LUTs, and Camera Profiles.

Performance Boost

ON1 says Photo RAW 2018.5 comes with a “massive overall performance boost,” which should be noticeable across Browse, Develop, and Effects. This is particularly obvious when you flip through photos in the filmstrip view, regardless of module. You should see practically no lag at all.

In addition to culling images, brushing performance, switching between modules, and exporting/sharing photos have all benefitted noticeably from this performance boost.

LUTs Filter in Effects

A much-requested feature, LUTs (or Look-Up Tables) are a popular way to add various color grading looks to your images. This feature is now available inside the Effects module in ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5, which will launch with “a ton” of LUTs, alongside packs you can purchase from professional photographers like Matt Kloskowski and Tamara Lackey. You can also import both the .3DL and .CUBE LUT formats into Photo RAW if you have LUTs of your own.

Applying a LUT will work like all of the current filters available in the Effects module, meaning you’ll be able to “stack them, mask them and control the blending options.”

Camera Profiles

The final feature update coming in 2018.5 is the ability to apply brand-specific camera profiles to your pictures. If you shoot Canon or Nikon, that means your Natural, Landscape, Portrait, etc. profiles will all be available. If you shoot Fuji, that means your film simulations.

Additionally, you’ll have some built-in ON1 profiles—in addition to ON1 Standard, you now have ON1 Faithful, ON1 Landscape, ON1 Portrait, and ON1 Vivid—that can be applied across brands, just like the recently-announced Adobe RAW profiles in Lightroom.

$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_8405143667″,”galleryId”:”8405143667″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });

ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5 is scheduled to arrive officially in June. It’ll be a free upgrade for owners of ON1 Photo RAW 2018, but if you’re not part of the ON1 ecosystem yet, there are some discounts to be had before launch.

Owners of previous versions of ON1 Photo RAW can upgrade for just $ 80 (usually $ 100) and new users can purchase ON1 Photo RAW 2018.1 for $ 100 (usually $ 120). Each license of ON1 Photo RAW includes both Windows and Mac installers, and can be activated on up to five devices.

To learn more about ON1 Photo RAW, visit the ON1 website. And if you want to learn more about 2018.5, the company has set up a landing page where they’ll be demoing new features every week before the official release goes live.

Press Release

ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5 – Coming this June

Portland, OR – May 10, 2018 – Today, ON1, Inc. announces the new ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5, a significant update to Photo RAW 2018. Version 2018.5 will include a massive boost in overall performance, fixes for user reported issues, and new key features such as LUTs and camera profiles.

“We’re incredibly excited to unveil the new features in ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5 over the next several weeks. We plan on showcasing the new features and improvements through weekly videos leading up to the June release,” says ON1 President, Craig Keudell.

Key Features and Improvements

  • Camera Profiles – Select the same looks you see on the back of your camera in ON1 Photo RAW. Select from Natural, Portrait, Landscape, etc. depending on what your camera offers. These are not presets as they don’t adjust any of the sliders, and are non-destructive. These will include popular cameras like Fujifilm®.
  • LUTs in Effects – LUTs or Look-Up Tables are a favorite way to add matte, vintage or cinematic color grading looks. These will be available inside Effects in version 2018.5. A ton of LUTs will be available in the release along with individual packs from Matt Kloskowski, Tamara Lackey, and Hudson Henry. The common .3DL and .CUBE formats found online can be imported into Photo RAW. LUTs will work like any of the current filters in Effects. You can stack them, mask them and control the blending options.
  • RAW+JPG – If you shoot RAW and JPG at the same time, you will be able to collapse and hide the JPG copy, so your library isn’t cluttered. Any metadata or file changes you make are mirrored to the JPG seamlessly.
  • Faster Film Strip for Culling – Using the Filmstrip in Develop and Effects will be just as fast as in Browse. You will be able to switch photos instantly! You can even perform your editing and culling tasks, like ratings, labels, rotate and delete, while you are adjusting your raw processing.
  • Transform Enhancements – The Transform pane in Develop will include new tools to correct perspective and rotation issues along with a new grid will make it easier to visualize results.
  • Nested Presets – Ability to better organize presets into a nested category structure will be added along with the ability to move, rename, delete, and nest presets and categories.
  • Nested Albums – Nest albums or photos inside of other albums. If you are migrating from Lightroom®, your nested collections are brought over by the Lightroom migration assistant.
  • Improved Brushing Performance – Brushing with the Masking Brush will be more fluid and responsive, especially on Windows computers with large or high-dpi displays.
  • Export Improvements – Exporting will be processed in the background so customers can continue to work on another job without having to wait for the export to finish. You can even stack multiple export jobs and continue working on your photos.
  • Performance Boost & Increased Stability – Significant under the hood speed and stability improvements are coming in 2018.5. These include speedier switching of modules between Browse, Develop, and Effects along with switching and culling photos using the film strip in Develop and Effects.
  • New Cameras & Lenses – Each update includes new cameras and lenses. The list is continuously updated, and we will share the final details when version 2018.5 is released.

ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5 Exposed

Each week ON1 will be adding videos showcasing the new features and improvements available in version 2018.5. Get a sneak peek of the new camera profiles, new LUTs, and overall performance improvements at www.on1.com/exposed.

Price and Availability

ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5 will be available this June. New customers can purchase version 2018.1 today and receive 2018.5 as a free update once it becomes available. ON1 is running an introductory price of $ 99.99 for new customers for a limited time (Reg: $ 119.99). Owners of previous versions of ON1 can also upgrade at an introductory price of $ 79.99 (Reg: $ 99.99). Version 2018.5 is a free update for all owners of ON1 Photo RAW 2018. A single purchase of ON1 Photo RAW will include both Mac and Windows installers and activation for up to five computers. It comes with a 30-day money-back guarantee, world-class customer support, hundreds of free video tutorials, and free ON1 Loyalty Rewards every month.

About ON1 Photo RAW

ON1 Photo RAW is the only photo editor designed by photographers for photographers. ON1’s unique community-driven development approach via The Photo RAW Project gives customers a voice in how it’s designed, allowing users to submit ideas and vote on new features. The majority of new features and updates in version 2018.5 have come as a result of the Photo RAW Project. With fast photo organizing, hundreds of customizable photo effects, powerful masking tools, LUTs, Camera Profiles, HDR, panos, layers, and other Lightroom and Photoshop®-like features, Photo RAW is the ultimate all-in-one photo editor and raw processor with no subscription.

ON1 Photo RAW 2018.5 isn’t just for raw files. It also supports JPEG, TIF, PSD, PSB, PNG, and DNG are supported and benefit from the speed, performance, and abundance of editing tools in the app. Photo RAW 2018.5 will continue to work seamlessly within current photography workflows. The app will integrate as a plug-in for Adobe® Lightroom Classic CC and Photoshop CC. Like the current version, Photo RAW 2018.5 will integrate with the major cloud services to allow for uploading, managing, and editing photos across multiple computers. This enables users to sync photos and their edits across multiple computers or in a studio setting.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
Comments Off on ON1 reveals Photo RAW 2018.5 with ‘massive performance boost’, LUTs and more

Posted in Uncategorized

 
« Older Entries