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What Do the Numbers on Your Camera Lens Mean?

12 Jul

The post What Do the Numbers on Your Camera Lens Mean? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darlene Hildebrandt.

Camera lenses include quite a few numbers – and many of these are often confusing or obscure, especially for beginners.

That’s why, in this article, I’m going to run through all the important camera lens numbers you’ll encounter. I’ll explain what the numbers actually mean, and I’ll also explain why they matter for your photography.

By the time you’re finished, you’ll be a lens number expert, and you’ll never find yourself confused by your lens markings again.

Let’s jump right in.

Common numbers on newer digital lenses

Depending on the age of your lens, you’ll run into different markings. In this section, I’ll discuss numbers frequently found on newer lenses (though note that many will apply to old lenses, as well!).

Focal length

Zoom lenses feature a zoom ring; twist it, and your lens will zoom in and out.

Next to this ring, you’ll generally find focal length numbers. For example, if your lens is a 70-200mm zoom like mine (below), you’ll see markings that span from 70mm to 200mm. I’m currently at around 100mm:

A lens will never display every focal length but will instead offer a few useful intervals, as you can see in the image above.

If you are using a prime or fixed lens, you won’t have a zoom ring. Your lens will simply indicate the focal length on its barrel, as you can see on my 85mm lens:

Maximum aperture

The maximum aperture is the largest aperture opening your lens is capable of achieving. Note that the larger the aperture opening, the smaller the f-number (so f/2.8 corresponds to a very wide aperture, while f/22 corresponds to a very small aperture).

Larger apertures like f/2.8 or even f/1.8 are highly desirable because they allow you to shoot in low-light conditions while maintaining a fast shutter speed. So the best lenses – and the most expensive lenses – tend to offer a very wide maximum aperture.

(Note that some zoom lenses have a variable maximum aperture, where the maximum aperture will change depending on the focal length; this is represented as a range of numbers, such as f/3.5-6.3.)

Now, pretty much every lens has the maximum aperture written somewhere on its body. You can usually find this information in one of two places (or perhaps even in both):

Right on the end of the lens barrel
On the front of the lens inside the filter ring area

In the photo below, you can see two different lenses: my Tamron 17-35mm and my Canon 85mm. On the Tamron, you should see “1:2.8-4,” and on the 85mm, you should see “1:1.8.”

What does this mean? It’s simple: the maximum aperture on the 85mm lens is f/1.8, and on the Tamron zoom, the maximum aperture changes from f/2.8 to f/4 as you zoom the lens. (At the lens’s widest, 17mm, I can open the aperture to f/2.8. But if I zoom all the way to 35mm, my maximum aperture becomes f/4.)

These variable maximum apertures are pretty common with kit lenses, and especially kit lenses with a large focal length range such as 28-300mm or 18-200mm.

Focusing range and distance scale

On some – but not all! – lenses, you will see a range of distances, usually marked in two scales, feet and meters. These lens numbers indicate the distance at which your lens is currently focused.

So at one end of the scale, you’ll find the infinity symbol, and at the other end, you’ll find the lens’s minimum focusing distance (i.e., the closest the lens can focus).

Check out the two lenses below. The distance scale on the 70-200mm (left) is under a cover, and you can see that the lens is focused somewhere between 10 meters and infinity. The distance scale on the 17-35mm (right) is on the lens’s focus ring, and you can see that the lens is focused quite close, at around 0.5 meters.

Note that, as you focus your lens, the distance scale will change to reflect your new point of focus.

Lens diameter (filter size)

Every lens has a diameter, the distance across the center of the lens. This diameter also corresponds to the filter size (if the filter’s diameter doesn’t match the lens diameter, it won’t properly screw onto the front of the lens).

You’ll find the lens diameter written on the end of your lens (often on the edge of the barrel), preceded by a symbol that looks like a zero with a strike through it:

So for the lens pictured above, the diameter is 77mm. And if I wanted to use a polarizing filter or a clear filter, I’d need to grab one with an equivalent diameter.

By the way, you can also find the lens diameter on the back of the lens cap, as displayed above.

Less common lens numbers (often seen on older, manual focus lenses)

Now that you’re familiar with all the common camera lens numbers, let’s take a look at some of the less common markings. These numbers are pretty rare on lenses designed for digital cameras, but you may come across them if you purchase older, manual focus glass.

Aperture ring

Most newer lenses set and control the aperture through the camera. But back in the days of film, you would set the shutter speed on your camera and the aperture on the lens (via an aperture ring).

So while newer lenses rarely include aperture rings, you’ll find them on plenty of older lenses. An aperture ring displays different aperture settings, like this:

And by rotating the ring, you widen or narrow the aperture.

Note that some modern lenses do include aperture rings; Fujifilm is known for this, as are other brands that offer manual focus lenses (e.g., Samyang).

Hyperfocal distance scale

A hyperfocal distance scale helps you determine the depth of field for a scene, given a particular focal length, point of focus, and aperture.

Most zoom lenses don’t offer hyperfocal distance scales (because depth of field varies with focal length). But if you have a prime lens – especially an older model – you may see an extra ring of numbers on the barrel, such as in the image below:

Note that, in the image, you can see three sets of numbers:

the distance scale
the hyperfocal distance scale
the aperture ring that actually sets the lens aperture

And this is by design. The hyperfocal distance scale uses the distance scale to display the expected depth of field. Here’s how it works:

First, focus your lens and set your aperture. Then look at the hyperfocal distance scale and find your chosen aperture on either side of the red line. Finally, look at the focusing distances that correspond to the apertures – these will be your near and far depth of field limit.

Make sense?

Camera lens numbers: final words

Well, that’s it for lens numbers! Hopefully, you now feel much more confident (and much less confused) when looking at your lens.

And if there are any lens numbers I missed, don’t worry – just share pictures in the comments below, and I’ll see what I can do to help out!

The post What Do the Numbers on Your Camera Lens Mean? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darlene Hildebrandt.

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How Joe Biden’s drone light show came together — and what it could mean for the industry

12 Nov

A composite of two of the formations seen in the drone show Saturday, following the announcement that Joe Biden was projected to become the next president of the United States.

This past Saturday, major news outlets announced former Vice President Joe Biden and his running mate and senator Kamala Harris as the projected winners of the 2020 presidential election. Biden and Harris addressed the world later that evening with speeches that concluded with a drone and fireworks light show.

The drone show especially excited many in the rapidly-growing industry, after years of negative media coverage and concerns about overregulation. Numerous unconfirmed sightings of drones near airports and aircraft, in addition to rulemaking proposed for Remote ID, reportedly set to be decided by year’s end, are a clear indicator that drones continue to be controversial.

Drones in a national security TFR isn’t a small deal. Someone slogged through a ton of paperwork. Kudos. https://t.co/pwSQUUtHkF

— Brendan Schulman (@dronelaws) November 8, 2020

That’s why it’s such a big deal that a formation of drones was used on Saturday night, so close to two people about to become among the most powerful (and most closely-guarded) in the world. After a bit of sleuthing, we were able to confirm that the company responsible for the light show was Verge Aero, based in Pennsylvania.

‘This event is certainly a first on many fronts,’ Nils Thorjussen, Verge Aero’s CEO, tells DPReview. ‘While I’m unable discuss the event in detail, there were many unique challenges we’ve never faced before, as you can imagine.’

Drone light shows have been around for several years, but they don’t come cheap. It takes anywhere from fifty to tens of thousands of drones to form illuminated shapes in the sky, and when the cost of setup, plus travel and accommodation for a staff of trained professionals is factored in, they’re typically very expensive.

And it raises awareness. Drones are becoming less and less seen as this really bad thing in the sky but are now seen as a tool; a tool to improve entertainment, science and research, public safety, agriculture, inspection and STEAM education. #UAVsForGood https://t.co/TD61rtIffP

— Romeo Durscher (@romeoch) November 8, 2020

Mass light shows with hundreds of drones might be beyond the means of most of us, but, says Thorjussen, ‘we’re developing the tools to make drone light shows more accessible.’

He predicts that ‘soon enough, as with other technologies in the past, they’ll become more affordable and mainstream.’ Good news for an industry that all too often is on the wrong side of the headlines.

To learn more about all the components that go into a drone light show, head over to Verge Aero’s blog.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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8K and then some: what the Canon EOS R5’s video specs mean

23 Apr

Introduction

Canon kickstarted the success of the stills/video hybrid ILC with the introduction of the EOS 5D Mark II in 2008. Since then it appears to have focused most of its video efforts on its Cinema EOS line of professional video cameras.

However, as part of its drip-feed of EOS R5 specs, Canon has spelled out a lot more about its video capabilities. And, from what’s been said, it looks like the biggest leap forward in video for Canon’s main EOS line since that launch 12 years ago.

We already knew that the EOS R5 was going to be able to shoot at 12 fps with its mechanical shutter and 20 in e-shutter mode and that it was going to shoot 8K, but the more detailed video specs are worth digesting…

8K video capture

The most eye-catching spec is one that Canon’s previously announced. The EOS R5 will become the first consumer ILC to offer 8K video capture. That’s a huge deal, in part because of what it tells us about the camera’s processing power.

8K is usually taken to mean a resolution of 7680 x 4320 pixels, which is exactly four times the size of UHD 4K (also meaning it’s the theoretical perfect capture resolution if you wish to correctly represent all the spatial frequencies that can be conveyed in a 4K image).

However, Canon has previously tended to prefer the wider 1.90:1 DCI format to the 16:9 of UHD for its high end cameras. Canon also says that it’s both the 8K and DCI 4K modes that use the full width of the sensor, which could imply the use of a 8192 x 4230 region. This would require a 44.7MP sensor, rather than the ~40MP chip needed for 16:9 8K.

Even though 8K displays aren’t exactly widespread, yet, there are plenty of reasons it can still be useful. Whether it’s to provide greater compositional flexibility in the edit, to provide better quality 4K footage, or to future-proof your next project, 8K capability will have its uses.

8K Raw

And, as if 8K video weren’t impressive enough (and just a reminder, that’s at least four times the data demand that causes some cameras to struggle), Canon says the EOS R5 will capture Raw video data.

Internal Raw video capture is scarce enough in the 4K realm, being almost the sole preserve of the EOS-1D X Mark III, with just a handful of cameras having to hand-off much of the heavy lifting to Atomos’ external recorders. But Canon says the EOS R5 will handle 8K 30p in Raw: that’s like shooting thirty 32MP images per second.

Given the 1D X III shoots 5.5K Raw in 12-bit, we’d assume a similar setup here. Canon hasn’t specified the data rates yet. The R5’s 8K is a little more than twice the number of pixels as the 1D X III’s video, so we’d expect its 8K/30p to be anywhere from a bit above the 2600 Mbps that the 1D X III uses to store 5.5K/60p to somewhere in the high 3000 Mbps range, if the compression ratio is closer to that of the 1D X III’s 5.5K/30p data rate.

Unlike the 1D X III, it’ll be able to output its maximum rate while maintaining Dual Pixel AF.

10-bit C-Log

For those of us without cooled server farms and infinite storage, the EOS R5 will be able to shoot C-Log footage. Like the 1D X Mark III, this is output as 10-bit 4:2:2 H.265 footage.

This is likely to be the Canon Log response that incorporates around 12 stops of dynamic range, giving a good degree of flexibility in when post-processing. LUTs for the Canon Log response are already widely available, for both SDR and HDR output, making it easy to incorporate the R5 into an existing workflow.

10-bit HDR PQ

As an alternative option, the camera will output footage encoded using the PQ (perceptual quantizer) curve used in several of the most sophisticated HDR TV standards.

This provides a means of shooting footage directly for use on HDR displays. It’s interesting to see Canon plump for the PQ response, rather than the simpler and SDR-compatible HLG system adopted by Panasonic, Fujifilm and Sony.

4K/120

As if the promise of 8K video weren’t impressive enough, Canon says the EOS R5 will be able to shoot 4K footage from the full width of its sensor at up to 120p. While maintaining full Dual Pixel AF.

In an era when most of the handful of cameras that can shoot 4K/60 have to crop or sub-sample their sensors to do so, the idea of shooting 120p (119.94) is a big step forward.

It’s likely that both this and the 60p footage will be sub-sampled in some manner (if it could read and process that entire sensor region 120 times a second, it could presumably offer 8K/120, too!).

But played back as 24p, it can be used as 1/5th speed slow-mo, or 1/4th speed for 30p playback, which is a useful creative option in 4K workflows.

IBIS

Like the Nikon Z7, the EOS R5 will have in-body image stabilization.

Another key capability is the inclusion of in-body image stabilization. Canon has pretty well-established digital stabilization in many of its cameras but the EOS R5 will be the first instance of a Canon ILC with a moving sensor providing stabilization, too.

No details were given about whether the in-body system shares the stabilization duties when an IS lens is mounted (passing off pitch and yaw correction to the lens), or whether they both work together, simultaneously.

This feature, combined with dual pixel AF and internal capture of even the highest-quality footage make the EOS R5 an effectively self-contained video package, able to turn its hand to a wide range of shooting styles and situations, including run-and-gun operation.

Potential limitations

There are a couple of details that are still unknown. Many current cameras’ maximum recording times are limited by the heat build-up, especially at their highest resolution modes. The EOS R5 promises to juggle tremendous amounts of data, which is likely to generate a lot of heat, so it’s not clear how long it will be able to run continuously, in its more technically impressive modes.

Also, although it’s a two-slot camera, Canon has opted for one of these to be UHS-II. At present, the fastest SD card standards only guarantee 90 MB/s write speeds (no matter what the peak speeds quoted on the card say). At ‘only’ 720 Mbps, it’s unlikely most of the R5’s highest video rates can be dependably written to the SD card slot, potentially making it a single card slot camera from a high-end video perspective.

Unless data can be channelled to an external SSD across USB-C, the capacity of your CFexpress card might another bottleneck that limits the camera’s shooting duration.

Battery life is the other potential limitation for a camera doing so much hard work. The mockups and computer renderings Canon has shown so far suggest there won’t be room for a battery much bigger than in existing models, so that’s another potential limit (though again, one that clever use of the USB socket might alleviate.

Summary

Canon has let its main EOS line fall significantly behind its rivals (the EOS 5D IV’s cropped video was off the pace when it was launched, so looked even more tired by the time it appeared in the EOS R, two years later), whereas the EOS R5 is not so much a case of catching up as establishing a significant lead.

Canon’s latest spec disclosure was solely focused on video but we’d expect it to be as much a camera for stills shooters as it is a video tool. When more details become available, we look forward to learning what all this processing power will mean for AF and stills shooting, too.

We’ve looked into the implication of the R5’s video specs a bit more detail, in this article, but even if you’re not interested in video, this is a camera worth watching.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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8K and then some: what the Canon EOS R5’s video specs mean

21 Apr

Introduction

Canon kickstarted the idea of the stills/video hybrid ILC with the introduction of the EOS 5D Mark II in 2008. Since then it appears to have focused most of its video efforts on its Cinema EOS line of professional video cameras.

8K video capture

However, Canon has previous tended to prefer the wider 1.90:1 DCI format to the 16:9 of UHD for its high end cameras. Canon also says that it’s both the 8K and DCI 4K modes that use the full width of the sensor, which could imply the use of a 8192 x 4230 region. This would require a 44.7MP sensor, rather than the ~40MP chip needed for 16:9 8K.

8K Raw

And, as if 8K video weren’t impressive enough (as we say, it’s at least four times the data demand that still causes many cameras to get hot under the collar dealing with), Canon says the EOS R5 will capture Raw video data.

Given the 1D X III shoots 5.5K Raw in 12-bit, we’d assume a similar setup here. Canon hasn’t specified the data rates yet. The R5’s 8K is a bit more than twice the number of pixels as the 1D X III’s video, so we’d expect its 8K/30p to be anywhere from a bit above the 2600 Mbps that the 1D X III uses to store 5.5K/60p to somewhere in the high 3000 Mbps range, if the compression ratio is closer to that of the 1D X III’s 5.5K/30p data rate.

Unlike the 1D X III, it’ll be able to output its maximum rate while maintaining Dual Pixel AF.

10-bit C-Log

For those of us without cooled server farms and infinite storage, the EOS R5 will be able to shoot C-Log footage. Like the 1D X Mark III, this is output as 10-bit 4:2:2 H.265 footage.

10-bit HDR PQ

Alternatively, the camera will output footage encoded using the PQ (perceptual quantizer) curve used in several of the most sophisticated HDR TV standards.

4K/120

In an era when most of the handful of cameras that can shoot 4K/60 have to crop or sub-sample their sensors to do so, the idea of shooting 120p (119.94) is a big step forward.

But played back as 24p, it can be used as 1/5th speed slow-mo, or 1/4th speed for 30p playback, which is a useful creative option in 4K workflows.

IBIS

Like the Nikon Z7, the EOS R5 will have in-body image stabilization.

Potential limitations

There are a couple of details that are unknown, though. Many current cameras’ maximum recording times are limited by the heat build-up, especially when shot at their highest resolution modes. The EOS R5 promises to juggle tremendous amounts of data, which is likely to generate a lot of heat, so it’s not clear how long it will be able to run for, in its more technically impressive modes.

Unless data can be channelled to an external SSD across USB-C, the capacity of your CFexpress card might another bottleneck that limits the camera’s shooting duration.

Summary

Canon’s latest spec disclosure was solely focused on video but we’d expect it to be as much a camera for stills shooters as it is a video tool. We look forward to seeing what all this processing power will mean for AF and stills shooting, too.

Dale Baskin has looked into the implication of these video specs a bit more detail, but even if you’re not interested in video, the EOS R5 is a camera worth watching.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Sony Is Now Beating Nikon in Camera Sales. What Does This Mean for the Industry?

03 Dec

The post Sony Is Now Beating Nikon in Camera Sales. What Does This Mean for the Industry? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Sony-beating-Nikon

According to Nikkei, Nikon has now dropped behind Sony on overall camera sales, leaving the market with these adjusted rankings:

Canon, #1.

Sony, #2.

And Nikon, #3.

This hardly comes as a surprise, given recent market trends in digital camera sales, along with Nikon’s recently forecasted loss in imaging products (instead of an originally predicted profit).

The truth is that digital camera sales are bleeding across the board, not just for Nikon. In recent years, sales have dropped for Canon, Nikon, and Sony, but Nikon’s poor performance has allowed Sony to creep past them in the rankings.

Note that Sony was already leading the industry in full-frame camera market share, and was also leading Nikon in interchangeable lens camera sales.

In other words: Sony’s success is simply another step on the road to its digital camera dominance.

For Nikon shooters, this is far from good news. As of right now, Nikon’s full-frame mirrorless lineup is in its early stages, with only two cameras and a handful of lenses. But if Nikon decides that its imaging business is costing too much money, the leadership may decide to head into the safer waters of its precision equipment business (where Nikon is performing well and profits are steadier).

If this happens, we could see a decline in both the number and quality of Nikon products.

And then, assuming that digital camera sales continue in the downward direction, and assuming that Canon and Sony continue to push for market dominance, we might see the end of Nikon’s imaging business, period.

Is speculating about the end of Nikon cameras a bit alarmist?

Maybe.

But reports regarding camera sales have been nothing but alarming in recent years, defying expectations and suggesting that things are changing faster than anyone could have predicted. And with recent speculation about Olympus’s camera business shutting down, well, it’s hard not to wonder.

So what do you think? Will Nikon remain competitive in the camera industry? Or will the company decide to focus on other areas and drop its image business entirely?

Let me know your thoughts in the comments!

The post Sony Is Now Beating Nikon in Camera Sales. What Does This Mean for the Industry? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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HEIF Files: Do They Mean the End of the JPEG Format?

07 Nov

The post HEIF Files: Do They Mean the End of the JPEG Format? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

HEIF files

During a recent meeting about the recently announced Canon 1D X Mark III with Digital Camera World, Canon product intelligence specialist David Parry dropped a bombshell:

“We’ve moved on to HEIF files,” Parry said.

While Canon later walked back the statement, claiming that they “have no plans to abandon JPEGs,” but instead wish to “give users a new image option” in the Canon 1D X Mark III, the comment got plenty of people talking. And the reason is clear: If Canon is adopting HEIF files alongside its JPEGs, might we soon see the company scrap JPEGs entirely? And what about Nikon, Sony, Fujifilm, and Olympus?

In other words, does Canon’s move to HEIF files signal the end of JPEGs?

For photographers who have been using JPEGs for decades, this might come as a shock. While HEIF files have been in the media for the past couple of years, ever since Apple added them to their iOS devices and Macs, no major camera manufacturer has adopted HEIF files – until now.

And while some users may dismiss HEIF files as another overhyped “JPEG killer” which will disappear in a few years, there is reason to believe that HEIF files are here to stay.

To understand why, let’s take a closer look at HEIF files and what they offer over JPEGs.

HEIF files vs JPEGs

The biggest difference between HEIF files and JPEGs is their respective file sizes:

JPEGs are small, but HEIF files are tiny.

In fact, HEIF files are often billed as half the size of JPEGs, but with the same (or better) quality. This means that you can store far more HEIF files on a device than you can JPEGs, without a loss in quality.

How is this possible?

Simply put, compression has improved. JPEG files debuted way back in the 1990s, whereas HEIF is a relatively new image file format. So when it comes to compression, what a JPEG can do, a HEIF file can do better.

And this results in smaller files with limited quality loss.

Compression isn’t the only area where HEIF files shine. HEIF files can also store more color information than JPEGs, which means that your HEIF photos will look better, and can avoid the unpleasant color-banding effects that sometimes come with JPEGs.

And what about compatibility? Surely JPEGs are far more established than HEIF files, given their universal popularity?

Back in 2017, when Apple adopted HEIF files, this was a real discussion. Some applications couldn’t deal with HEIF files, and that was a problem.

But now, two years later…

HEIF files can be used by pretty much any program you’d need. The compatibility issues are gone, and we’re left with a file format that just seems all-around superior to JPEGs.

So while JPEGs are the file format of the present and the past, HEIF files are likely the format of the future.

Now I’d like to know your thoughts:

Do you think HEIF files will replace JPEGs? And how do you feel about this change? Share your thoughts in the comments below! And respond to our poll regarding whether you’re happy about the shift to HEIF files:

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

The post HEIF Files: Do They Mean the End of the JPEG Format? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

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You mean they made cameras, too? A tribute to the Samsung NX10

06 Jul

When Samsung left, it left quietly. I was reminded recently by a senior executive that the company never announced that it was officially exiting the camera industry, but even so, right now the chances of us ever seeing an NX2 seem pretty slim. Which is a shame, because the NX1 was a great camera, and a rumored full-frame NX2 might have been just the shot in the arm that the camera industry badly needs.

But there’s no point wishing on what might have been. Samsung may only have been in the mirrorless interchangeable lens camera business for a little over five years, but it achieved a lot in that short time. And it all started with the NX10.

Traditionally, the camera industry has been a bit dismissive of Samsung. Even after the premium-priced NX1, the company never entirely managed to shed its ‘they make fridges, don’t they?’ image. A slight hint of cynicism towards Samsung’s attempts to be taken seriously as a camera maker can even be detected in DPReview’s coverage of its first mirrorless model, the NX10. In retrospect, that tone is hard to justify.

The NX10 was the first mirrorless model from any manufacturer to offer an APS-C sensor (Sony’s NEX system was launched later the same year), and the ~50% increase in sensor area compared to Micro Four Thirds was a pretty significant technical achievement. The NX10 also offered a fairly high resolution (for the time) electronic viewfinder, a fixed OLED rear screen, and excellent build quality. This – ahem – ‘little Korean camera’ (in the words of our announcement coverage) packed a lot of technology into its impressively compact body.

Samsung NX10 Samples Gallery (2010)

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The NX10 was announced immediately before CES 2010, and we took a working sample to the show. I had recently joined the DPReview team, and Richard, Lars and I added a couple of days of vacation in LA’s Koreatown to the trip.¹

Our plan was to get some sunshine, enjoy some of the area’s famous food, and shoot enough images on the NX10 to create a samples gallery.² During that time, the NX10 was mostly in my possession, and I ended up really liking it. Samsung’s lens lineup was paltry at the point of announcement, but the tiny 30mm F2 pancake was (and remains) a lovely lens for casual everyday shooting with such a small camera.

The Getty Center, in the hills overlooking Los Angeles. It’s worth visiting LA for the Getty Center alone. I certainly wouldn’t go back for the breakfasts.

Flashback to the mid 2000s: Back when it was still rebadging Pentax DSLRs, Samsung used to run private brainstorming sessions in the UK (and I assume elsewhere) with technologists and industry journalists to come up with ideas for the future of camera design over dinner. It also used to sponsor competitions in design schools, to the same end. Possibly as a result of the prodigious consumption of free booze³ the results of these consultations and design experiments invariably ended up looking something like the famous Luigi Colani concepts for Canon, which eventually became the delightfully curvy (but still basically SLR-shaped) T90 in the early 1980s.

Another shot from the Getty Center. I really like the Getty Center.

Having attended a couple of those brainstorming sessions in 2007/8 (hey – I enjoy a free dinner as much as anyone) I remember being a bit surprised that the NX10 ended up looking so conventional. Like the contemporary Panasonic Lumix DMC-G2, it looked and handled like an unusually small DSLR. That said, the NX10 was a perfectly pleasant camera to use, with very few significant frustrations.

Overall, the NX10 offered very good image quality, fast, responsive AF (‘DSLR-speed’ as we admitted in our review) and for the time, an excellent rear display. We complained about its Auto ISO implementation and aggressive noise-reduction⁴ and the video mode had some kinks that needed to be worked out, but for a first attempt, it must be said that Samsung got a lot right.

In pretty short order, the NX10 became the NX20, which became the NX30. Then in 2015 came the NX1. And the rest is (sadly) history.

Read our Samsung NX10 review (2010)

1. I’m pretty sure the location was just a coincidence, but Richard’s boundless enthusiasm for puns may have extended to the trip planning – my memory is unclear on this point.

2. Barring one memorably unpleasant Denny’s breakfast, we succeeded in all three aims, despite what sounded like a near riot in the early hours of the morning at our very cheap and not at all secure hotel.

3. On the part of the industry insiders, I mean, not the design students. Although let’s be honest, we’re talking about design students here – they were probably even more hammered than we were.

4. Remember that we’re talking about DPReview in 2010 – when complaining about Auto ISO systems and noise reduction represented a large portion of our total site output.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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5 Tips to Take Less Photos of Everything and Take More Photos That Mean Something

22 Jun

How many photos do you have from a recent holiday, that you just haven’t had time to organize? Or, have you come back from a dream vacation and your photos just don’t seem to match up with your memories? You are not alone, as this is an all too common issue, and both of these questions have their roots in a simple and easy to fix problem.

Take fewer photos, not more!

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I mean this literally, but also figuratively. Yes, overall take fewer photos. But, in reality this is a lesson in becoming more conscious of your photography. What is the point of the photo? Why are you clicking the shutter at that moment?

You may have heard many times, that in the era of digital cameras, you can shoot your heart’s desire (a.k.a. until your SD or CF card is full), unlike with film which needed to be developed and only had a limited number of photos on each roll. While that is true, it is not true that more photos equals better photos. Well, you may have also heard that professional photographers shoot hundreds, or thousands, of photos just to get one or several good ones. That is also true, but they are first and foremost shooting with a purpose. Literally shooting less will allow you to discover your point of view, and thus figuratively you will shoot less of everything, and more of something.

Here are five tips on how to take less quantity of photos but more compelling ones

Tell more stories

The story could be your personal story or could be of something else, but most important is that you communicate with your photos. If you are always shooting, you cannot create; you simply react. Creating a balance between creating and reacting will give you storytelling abilities. Be proactive by finding a place with good leading lines and waiting, not by rushing and hoping that one of your clicks is a keeper. Think about a beginning, middle, and an end. This can be easily depicted with shots at different focal lengths like a wide-angle (image above), a close-up (below), and finally a full-frame scene. The process of storytelling is something we have all grown up with – get back to it. Remember, the more simple the story, the more universal it can be.

Close-up gives direction.

Full-frame concludes the events.

Give yourself some time to write (in a travelogue or in a diary)

This gives you an opportunity to reflect, which gives meaning and helps you find purpose. Looking at your own writing helps you realize your patterns day by day, or travel experience by travel experience. Identifying structure will help you select moments and behaviours that lend themselves to your style of photography. You may see yourself getting up late despite your desire to have better golden hour photos, or that you feel more creative in the afternoon so you can set aside time to create your photographic stories when others are resting. You will also love reading what you write in 10 years!

Curb your fleeting feeling

Time is limited and you might just miss the moment. For a photographer, this manifests itself in too many photos, and too little purpose. The reality is you are always going to miss something, you can’t be in two places at the same time, and you definitely can’t turn back the clock. But that doesn’t mean that you must give in to the fleeting feeling. Let the event occur, or the scene develop, and visualize what you want from it. Be selective about your vision and then get it, not all of it. Three meaningful photos outweigh thirty so-so snapshots. You have worked hard for your days off and money saved for leisure; enjoy it and enjoy being productive with your photography.

Create a concept and stick to it. Resist pulling out your camera immediately.

This can be an exercise in patience and restraint. Buildings are not going anywhere, rivers will stay their course, and the coffee shop will always have another interesting customer. Find your concept in a developing scene, whether it is the arches of a building, reflections of the water, or a pair of hearty hands sipping a hot beverage. Know that your vision is attainable. Your concept can be simple or complicated, modern or traditional, but only needs to be defined and pursued by you. Just do it with conviction and don’t measure your concept against others. Go for it!

Creating a concept.

Slight variation of shooting through a window and making it B&W.

Going back to the concept and color to provide continuity.

Philosophically you will never find what you are looking for…

There is an old Chinese proverb that says, “If it will happen, it will no matter your actions; if it will not happen, it will not no matter what you do.”. There are many circumstances which seem to be too peculiar to be a coincidence, and as a photographer these are the moments of pure brilliance. Be present for them; don’t chase after them. There is a whole world of events that are unfolding in front of us at each moment. Your awareness of them is subject to your willingness to be aware of them, not the existence of them.

Photography and traveling have always gone hand in hand. Both have ways of opening up new horizons and being in touch with new possibilities. Both are essential. Spend some time with an ethos of travel, a perspective of photography, and a philosophy of life – and watch your photos tell a story that speaks to the hearts and minds of more than just a few close friends. Instead of having photos sitting unedited, unorganized, and undiscovered; take less photos of everything and take more photos of something. Create a convergence between your photos and your ideas. Less really is more, especially when a photo is worth a thousand words.

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The post 5 Tips to Take Less Photos of Everything and Take More Photos That Mean Something by Branson Quenzer appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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