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Posts Tagged ‘native’

Adobe apps not officially supported on Apple’s M1 chips using Rosetta 2, but native versions are coming

14 Nov

Earlier this week, Apple announced the first trio of Mac computers built using Apple’s own silicon. The new MacBook Air, 13″ MacBook Pro and Mac mini devices all use Apple’s new M1 chip. During the event, Apple announced that Adobe, among many other developers, is working on releasing new versions of its software that are compatible with the M1 chip.

As it turns out, these new M1-compatible versions will be critical for Adobe Lightroom users on the new Apple silicon Macs. On a dedicated page about Lightroom Classic compatibility with the upcoming macOS 11 operating system, Adobe warns that ‘Adobe apps run under Rosetta 2 emulation on Apple devices with Apple Silicon M1 processors is not officially supported.’ The company continues, ‘Native support is planned.’

Click to enlarge

Early adopters of the M1-powered Apple computers will have to do without official support for now. It is worth noting that at this point, Adobe hasn’t discovered any issues with running Lightroom Classic 10 under Rosetta 2 emulation, but as it is not officially supported, the user does assume non-zero risk. The MacBook Air, MacBook Pro and Mac mini computers powered by the M1 chip are all available for order now ahead of a November 17 release.

In Apple’s presentation, embedded below, Senior Vice President, Craig Federighi, said Adobe is bringing Lightroom CC to its M1 computers in December and following it up with Photoshop in early 2021 (around the 18:10 timestamp).

While Photoshop and Lightroom are the primary apps for photographers in the Adobe ecosystem, the company has many other heavily-used apps, such as Premiere, Dreamweaver, Illustrator, and much more. As of writing, Adobe has not offered a timeline for other Adobe apps built for the M1 chip.

In case you missed Apple’s event on Tuesday, you can watch a replay of the stream below:

The Apple M1 chip promises massive performance gains over prior Intel chips. In the case of the M1-powered MacBook Air, Apple promises up to 3.5 times faster CPU performance and up to 5 times faster graphics. The MacBook Air also ditches a fan, offering a ‘silent design.’ The 13″ MacBook Pro maintains an active cooling system, offers up to 2.8 times faster CPU performance and up to 5 times faster GPU performance. With the M1 chip, the new Mac mini also sees massive gains. Its CPU is up to 3 times faster and the GPU is 6 times faster. The new computers start at $ 999 USD, $ 1,300 and $ 699 respectively. For the full details on the new machines, check out coverage from earlier this week.

Adobe has been hard at work developing native versions of its applications, including Photoshop shown here during the Apple presentation on November 10. In the presentation, seen further above, Adobe states that it has observed massive performance gains on Apple silicon.

The move to Apple silicon is a major one for Apple. The promised performance gains are hugely impressive on paper, and the foundation being built appears to be a strong one. Of course, software must be designed to take full advantage of the new silicon. Adobe certainly has the talent and resources to do so.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Instagram updates iOS app with support for iOS 13’s native Dark Mode UI

09 Oct

Instagram is the latest app to add support for the newly introduced Dark Mode in iOS 13. The redesign features white and gray text on a black background, as well as simple black icons outlined in white. The brightest elements in the new UI are avatars and the content shared by users.

In addition to reducing eye strain, the new Dark Mode support will reduce battery drain on devices that feature OLED displays. Users are not able to manually turn this mode off or on in the app, however; it is tied to the iOS 13 settings, meaning Dark Mode must be enabled on the user’s phone. The update is rolling out on Instagram for iOS now.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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DaVinci Resolve 16 has new Neural Engine, native Frame.io integration and more

11 Apr

In addition to the new battery grip for the Pocket Cinema Camera 4K, Blackmagic has announced DaVinci Resolve 16, the latest version of its video editor that brings a massive collection of new and updated features.

The standout feature of DaVinci Resolve 16 is a new cut page designed specifically ‘for editors that need to work quickly and on tight deadlines.’ The updated cut page is an alternate edit page that features a streamlined interface and a new toolset that makes it easier to ingest, process and export footage.

In Blackmagic’s own words, ‘The [new] cut page isn’t about simplification, it’s about removing the things customers don’t need and building powerful, professional tools that help customers work more quickly. And, sometimes, it means borrowing the things that were great about the past and bringing them into the future.’

These new and improved tools include source tape, a new feature that brings all of the clips in a users bin into the viewer as a single long tape so it’s easier to scrub though, select the in/out points and bring the needed footage into the timeline. Another updated tool within the interface is a dual timeline arrangement that makes it possible to see both detailed sections of footage, as well as the whole timeline at once. This makes it easier to get both a macro and micro look at the work, rather than having to zoom in and out constantly.

DaVinci Resolve 16’s Neural Engine at work picking out faces from various clips.

Blackmagic Design has also added its new DaVinci Neural Engine, which uses ‘state of the art deep neural networks and learning, along with artificial intelligence to power new features such as speed warp motion estimation for retiming, super scale for up-scaling footage, auto color and color matching, facial recognition and more.’

The DaVinci Neural Engine is cross-platform and uses the latest GPU technologies to provide improved performance when working on footage and help to streamline the editing process. Blackmagic Design specifically references the DaVinci Neural Engine’s ability to use facial recognition to automatically sort through footage and add individual clips to folders based on who is in the shot.

ResolveFX has also been updated in DaVinci Resolve 16. You can now add vignettes, drop shadows, analog noise/damage, chromatic aberration, video stylization and even remove objects. Blackmagic Design says there have also been improvements to the scalene, beauty, face refinement, blanking fill, warper, dead pixel fixer and colorspace transformation plugins.

Additional features added and improved upon in DaVinci Resolve 16 include new adjustment clips to help add effects and grades to clips in the timeline, a new quick export tool for uploading videos to YouTube and Vimeo from anywhere inside the app and GPU-accelerated scopes to help keep an eye on the technical side of things. Blackmagic has also partnered up with remote collaboration tool Frame.io to add native support in DaVinci Resolve 16. Now, Frame.io is baked right into the software, rather than working as an iteration.

Below is a 25-minute video of Blackmagic Design walking through all of the changes found inside DaVinci Resolve 16:

DaVinci Resolve 16 public beta is available to download from the Blackmagic Design website, where you will also find additional details.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CopyTrans brings native HEIC support to Windows with free plugin

19 Dec

CopyTrans has launched a free piece of software that brings High Efficiency Image Format (HEIC / HEIF) image support to Windows, enabling PC owners to view the popular new image format that has replaced JPEGs in iOS 11.

Windows doesn’t natively support HEIC images at this time, instead receiving JPEG versions of HEIC images when they’re transferred from an iOS 11 device. And while we’ve seen other programs build HEIC support into their own Windows versions, CopyTrans’ program is the first to bring native support.

In other words, as CopyTrans software developer Niki Minkov explained to us over email:

That is, when you browse your files with Windows, HEIC files will display thumbnails just as JPEGs, double clicking will display them full size with Windows Picture Viewer, and the right-click-on-file context menu will now include a “Convert to JPEG” feature.

In fact, our plugin is using the same integration technology that Nikon and Canon used to make Windows compatible with their respective RAW formats.

CopyTrans HEIC for Windows also supports Microsoft Office, and it retains the images’ original EXIF data.

The HEIC format allows for much smaller file sizes than their JPEG counterparts, enabling a greater number of photos to be saved to a device’s built-in storage. Other advantages of the format include the ability to store burst photos, focal stacks, and exposure stacks in a single file, the ability to store image editing operations, and more. Thanks to CopyTrans HEIC, you don’t have to give those advantages up just because you own a PC.

To learn more or download the software for yourself, head over to the CopyTrans website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Photographer uses ‘antique’ photo technique to illustrate struggles of Native Americans

17 Jun

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During the Dakota War of 1862, the United States government hung 38 members of the Dakota Indian Tribe in Mankato, Minnesota – the largest single-day mass execution in US history. A day after Shane Balkowitsch learned about this event – something most Americans have never heard of – he made the plate ‘Death by Oil’ (pictured above) using an antique photo process called wet plate collodion, which was first developed (no pun intended) in 1848.

The oil in the photo links the struggles of Native Americans in 1862 to the present time, in which they are again standing up to the US Government to protect their homeland. In this case, it is from the proposed Dakota Access Pipeline.

Wet plate photography requires subjects to sit still for long exposures, sometimes as long as 30 seconds. It involves applying a collodion emulsion onto a glass plate and sensitizing the plate for 3 minutes in a bath of silver nitrate, then taking the photo while the plate is still wet (which requires a portable darkroom). According to Balkowitsch, while the photos come out black and white, ‘they capture real life more beautifully and romantically’ and they will last for hundreds of years, unlike more traditional modern photographic prints. Balkowitsch is one of a very small group of photographers still using the collodion wet plate process and has made over 2300 plates since 2012.

Balkowitsch’s full collection of wet plate photos is available for viewing online.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Metabones unlocks native Sony focus modes for Canon-mount adapters

24 Jun

Updated firmware allows Sony users to use all their AF modes when shooting Canon EF-mount lenses with Metabones adapters. It does so by emulating a native Sony lens, much like the recent Sigma MC-11 adapter. This update to the Metabones line of Smart Adapters and Speed Boosters enables the use of modes such as continuous Eye-AF and Direct Manual Focus. Updated firmware also brings smoother aperture control to most of Metabones’ adapters. And though the company doesn’t make any claims as to video focusing, if the adapters do truly emulate native E-mount lenses, we’d expect full phase-detect AF functionality during video.

The Metabones is only the second E-mount adapter to offer ‘native’ lens functionality with adapted lenses, with the Sigma being the first.* However, in practice the Sigma MC-11 has had many issues, too often reverting to contrast-detect AF off-center, and constantly hunting back and forth in minute increments in AF-C.

It’s not surprising, then, that Metabones lists a series of caveats and exceptions, most of which reflect the range and diversity of EF lenses that people might use. There are also warnings of increased battery usage and of poor continuous AF performance from lenses that aren’t designed to be driven in the pattern required for fast contrast-detection AF. Finally, Metabones mentions potential problems when shooting stopped down, undoubtedly a result of Sony’s ‘stop-down focusing’ that cripples the AF system if you shoot at smaller apertures by depriving the AF system of light, and literally shutting off phase-detection altogether at apertures smaller than F8.

Firmware for the latest adapters can be downloaded from the Metabones website. Owners of Mark I, II or III Smart Adapters and original Speed Boosters will need to return their adapters to the factory, where they will be updated free-of-charge. We’ll keep you apprised of actual performance once we’ve had an opportunity to try out the new firmware with a variety of lenses.

Press Release:

Metabones® Adds “Native” AF and Smooth Iris to EF Mount Speed Boosters® and Smart Adapters™ by Firmware Upgrade

Vancouver, Canada, June 23, 2016: Metabones® releases Metabones App 2.3, a major firmware update with the following additional features.

  • Eye-AF (A6300/A7series).
  • Fast contrast detect AF for all E-Mount cameras.
  • DMF (direct manual focus) for E-Mount cameras, where the camera switches to MF as soon as AF completes. This is useful for checking AF accuracy when used with focus peaking.
  • Smooth iris for Sony E-Mount and FZ-Mount cameras and Blackmagic, JVC and Panasonic Micro Four Thirds Mount cameras.

Metabones® has already added fast EF lens autofocus to its Micro Four Thirds Mount Speed Boosters® and Smart Adapters™ last year. With this speedy advantage now extended to E-Mount, EF-Mount lenses are now capable of focusing quickly across the widest variety of mirrorless cameras with trusted Metabones precision and reliability.

The smooth iris feature slows down the movement of the electromagnetic aperture diaphragm so that video footage transitions smoothly when the aperture changes, with reduced tick noise from the lens. The latest Canon and Tamron SP lenses have special support for this feature and Metabones® makes use of it if the lens supports it.

Limitations:

  • E-Mount “native” autofocus features may not work with all lenses.
  • “Native” autofocus may be lesser in performance and/or accuracy compared to the original “Green” mode phase-detect autofocus for A6300, A7 Mark II and A7R Mark II.
  • AF-C and video autofocus may have unsatisfactory AF performance and/or accuracy. This is a limitation inherent in DSLR lenses, which lack the low latency required for making many fine movements in rapid succession during AF-C and video focusing.
  • Excessive hunting may occur if a small aperture is used with AF-C, video or “Liveview Display Setting Effect” turned on.
  • The first few autofocus attempts may result in false positives where the camera gives focus confirmation but the subject is not in focus. This issue goes away on its own after a few trials with most lenses.
  • No support for in-camera correction such as peripheral shading, CA and distortion.
  • Power consumption may increase compared to the original “Green” mode autofocus. We recommend turning off the “Pre-AF” option to conserve battery power. On A7 series cameras and A6300 the option is on page 3 under the “gear” tab.
  • Actuations of the electromagnetic aperture diaphragm and/or the focus motor of the lens result in noises which may be picked up by the camera’s internal microphone during video recording. Use of an appropriately placed external microphone is required for video work.
  • The aperture moves in 1/3 stop steps with most Panasonic cameras and 1/8 stop steps with other cameras, which may be noticeable in video recordings. Programmed exposure mode and shutter priority exposure mode should not be used for video. Lenses supporting “smooth iris” smooth out the transition but do not increase iris resolution.

The following lenses have been tested for “native” AF. Refer to Metabones’ web site for the most up-to-date list. Lenses equipped with smooth iris support are marked with asterisks. APS-C lenses are not compatible with Speed Booster®.

  • Canon EF 8-15mm f/4L USM Fisheye*
  • Canon EF-S 17-55mm f/2.8 IS USM
  • Canon EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS II*
  • Canon EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM
  • Canon EF 28-80mm f/3.5-5.6 II
  • Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM*
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.4 USM
  • Canon EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM*
  • Canon EF 70-200mm f/4L USM (non-IS)
  • Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6L IS USM*
  • Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
  • Canon EF 100mm f/2.8L IS USM Macro*
  • Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS USM (I)
  • Canon EF 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM*
  • Canon EF 200mm f/2.8L II USM
  • Canon EF 300mm f/4L IS USM
  • Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art 013
  • Sigma 24-105mm f/4 DG OS HSM Art 013
  • Sigma 50mm f/1.4 EX DG HSM
  • Tamron SP 24-70mm f/2.8 Di VC USD A007
  • Tamron SP 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD F013*
  • Tamron SP 70-200mm f/2.8 Di VC USD A009*

Incompatible lenses: (“Green” mode PDAF is still supported on A6300, A7 Mark II and A7R Mark II.)

  • Canon EF 50mm f/1.8 II
  • Canon EF 100mm f/2.8 USM Macro
  • Canon EF 135mm f/2L USM
  • Contax N lenses modified to EF mount by Conurus Canada
  • Sigma 18-125mm DC OS HSM
  • Tamron SP 17-50mm f/2.8 Di II VC B005
  • Tamron 28-300mm f/3.5-6.3 (IF) Macro A20

OSX and Windows versions of the firmware updater are available for download from Metabones’ web site. The same download updates Speed Booster® ULTRA, Smart Adapter™ Mark IV, EF to FZ Mount Smart Adapter and all EF Mount to Micro Four Third mount products. Updates to earlier Smart Adapters™ (I, II and III) and the original Speed Booster® are by factory only and are free of charge except for shipping.

* A TechArt adapter was technically the first to offer native lens functionality, but it was so highly unreliable that we never considered it a viable option.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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