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9 Night Photography Tips for Nailing Your Exposure (Every Time)

06 Apr

The post 9 Night Photography Tips for Nailing Your Exposure (Every Time) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jim Hamel.

In this article, I’m going to tell you everything you need to know about getting beautiful night photography exposures.

As a longtime night photographer, I’m well-equipped to share with you the best night exposure techniques – so that you can create stunning shots every time you take out your camera.

Specifically, I’m going to discuss:

the best exposure mode for night photography
the best night photography shutter speed, aperture, and ISO settings
a quick way to check your night exposures
much, much more!

So if you’re ready to become a night photography master, then let’s get started!

Note: If you’re serious about night photography and want to really take your night photos to the next level, check out my night photography course. It offers easy-to-follow night photography tutorials with hours of helpful videos and case studies.

1. Work in Manual mode

Here’s your first night photography tip, and it’s a big one:

Make sure you’re shooting in Manual mode.

In Manual mode, you will set the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. This gives you complete control over your camera.

When shooting at night, your camera will be on a tripod, and you will be working slowly. So there is no need to use any automatic mode; even if you’re not totally comfortable with camera settings, you can take your time, carefully dialing in your aperture and shutter speed and checking your exposure.

Further, there might be a little trial and error with the exposure settings (the camera can be fooled by the large differences in bright and dark areas of the picture), and you want to make sure you have plenty of control over this process.

Manual mode gives you that control.

night photography tips exposure - Millenium Bridge example — 4s | f/5.6 | ISO 400

2. Make sure you are comfortable with Bulb mode

Manual mode only works for exposures up to 30 seconds.

So if you need a shutter speed that is longer than 30 seconds, the only option is Bulb mode. Therefore, while you should generally shoot in Manual, you should also get comfortable with Bulb.

In Bulb mode, the shutter stays open as long as you hold down the shutter button. When you hit the button, the shutter opens. When you release the button, the shutter closes.

(Of course, to avoid introducing any shake or movement into the exposure, you must use a remote shutter release when working in Bulb mode.)

With Bulb mode, you can make your exposure several minutes long. If your remote shutter release doesn’t have a built-in timer, make sure you keep another timer handy (e.g., on your phone).

Also, if your remote does not have a timer, make sure it has a locking feature, so you don’t have to hold the shutter button during the entire exposure.

Proper Exposure at Night - Pigeon Point example — 6s | f/5.6 | ISO 1600

3. Shoot in RAW

When shooting at night, it is particularly important to make sure you are shooting in RAW format.

RAW files coming out of most cameras are 14 bits, whereas JPEGS are only 8-bit files. The more bits, the higher the range of available colors and the smoother the transitions between them.

(In other words: RAW files look better.)

Plus, most of the colors a camera can capture are at the top (bright) end of the scale. The range of available colors at the low (dark) end of the scale is extremely limited. At night, your pictures will almost always include a large dark portion. A JPEG file, with its reduced color options, will likely display (very ugly) banding.

So always, always, always shoot in RAW.

4. Bring a flashlight

Knowing your camera controls pays off at night. You can make changes to the settings without being able to see everything.

Nevertheless, a small flashlight is tremendously useful. Keep one handy to make sure you can see everything on your camera and tripod.

(It occasionally comes in handy for lighting areas of your picture, as well!)

5. Choose proper settings

Proper settings will always depend on the situation. Nevertheless, there are some helpful guidelines for choosing settings at night:

Aperture: Open up your aperture more at night than you would during the day (i.e., use a lower f-number). Most night photographs tend to require less depth of field than shots during the day. Plus, the background and sky will be black. The larger aperture also has the benefit of letting more light into your camera.
ISO: Keep your ISO setting as low as you can. Night photography always has dark areas, and these dark areas inevitably lead to digital noise. Raising the ISO will compound the problem.
Shutter speed: Whereas shutter speed might be the first exposure setting you worry about during the day, it should generally be the last one you think about at night. Since you will be shooting from a tripod, you can let the shutter stay open as long as you need. If you have traffic (streaking lights), a fountain, or running water in your picture, the longer shutter speed will create a very cool effect. (Note, however, that if you’re shooting in high winds or if the ground is unstable, you’ll need to boost your shutter speed to prevent blur.)

One other setting to check is Long Exposure Noise Reduction, which will be in your camera’s menu. If you enable this option, the camera will take two exposures, one normal and one with the shutter closed. Your camera will then use the second image to filter out noise from the normal picture.

Of course, photos shot with this option enabled will take twice as long to expose, but they’ll also be less noisy.

6. Meter for the highlights

Determining the proper exposure level can be tricky at night, and each metering mode presents its own challenges.

If you use evaluative metering, the camera is likely to be confused. If you use spot or partial metering, the meter will jump around, depending on whether you’ve aimed at a bright light or a dark background.

One answer to this problem is to use spot metering and expose for the highlights. So meter off the highlights, then set your exposure between +1 and +2. The +1/+2 setting will keep your highlights looking bright but will also keep the highlights within the dynamic range of your camera.

Do not worry as much about the dark portions of your picture. If the dark areas happen to turn black, it is nighttime, so there is supposed to be some black. But you can always take test shots and adjust as necessary.

Dallas night photography — 5s | f/16 | ISO 400

7. Take a test shot at a high ISO

You should make liberal use of test shots when shooting at night.

However, you generally don’t want to sit around for 30 seconds, a minute, or even longer, just waiting to see if the test shot is going to work out.

So the best way to create a test file without wasting a lot of time is to take a shot at a much higher ISO than you would ordinarily use.

Let’s say you think the proper exposure settings for a given shot are 30 seconds at f/5.6 with an ISO of 400. Rather than taking that shot and waiting around 30 seconds for the exposure, just crank up the ISO, then boost the shutter speed by the same number of stops. The exposure will stay the same, but it will take much less time to capture the test picture.

For the above example, I would raise the ISO to 6400. Why? Well, raising the ISO by one stop takes it to ISO 800, two stops increases it to ISO 1600, three stops to ISO 3200, and four stops gets you to ISO 6400.

Once you’ve set your ISO to 6400, you can reduce your shutter speed by four stops to 2 seconds. After all, reducing the shutter speed by one stop shortens it to 15 seconds, two stops shortens it to 8 seconds, three stops to 4 seconds, and four stops takes the shutter speed down to 2 seconds.

Then, when you are satisfied with your exposure, just decrease the ISO and lengthen the shutter speed by a comparable amount to get back to the final settings.

8. Bracket your photos

Night photography is one area where you will want to bracket your photos. Blending and HDR can work wonders at night, but even if you don’t like to use those processes, bracket your photos anyway. Think of it as exposure insurance.

After all, if you overexpose or underexpose your file, having a bracket on hand will be the difference between a failed and a successful photoshoot.

San Antonio riverwalk night photography tips exposure — 30s | f/11 | ISO 200

9. Verify the exposure with the histogram

After you have taken your exposures, you should always check them on your camera’s rear LCD.

However, while the picture on the LCD will show you if the exposure is close to correct, you should also check the histogram.

Why?

Because a histogram is more accurate than your camera’s LCD. You can use it to carefully determine whether the exposure is within your camera’s dynamic range.

Specifically, make sure to keep the highlights on the right side of the histogram, but avoid a spike on the far right. If the dark areas spike on the left side of the histogram, that’s okay; parts of your picture are supposed to be black.

In general, however, keep as much of the image as possible within the range of the histogram, though err on the side of keeping the highlights from blowing out.

night photography tips exposure - Louvre example — 4s | f/11 | ISO 400

Night photography exposure: final words

When you follow the night photography exposure tips I’ve given above, you are likely to get some great shots. Every city lights up its major attractions, bridges, and museums – often in colorful ways. So a scene that might be boring during the day can offer great photos at night.

Because of the effects of the lights, you’ll often be surprised by what you end up with (in a good way!). Taking your time and applying these tips to nail the exposure will help you maximize the experience.

And remember:

If you want to improve your night photography skills fast, then check out my night photography course. It’ll teach you everything you need to know about night photography through hours of helpful videos and case studies!

The post 9 Night Photography Tips for Nailing Your Exposure (Every Time) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jim Hamel.

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Is it Time to go Full Frame? Weigh These Pros and Cons Before You Decide

08 Feb

The post Is it Time to go Full Frame? Weigh These Pros and Cons Before You Decide appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Bruce Wunderlich.

Has anyone ever said to you, “That’s a nice photo; you must have an expensive camera”?

According to photography legend Ansel Adams, “The single most important component of a camera is the twelve inches behind it!”

Your camera is simply a tool, one that you use to create your vision of the scene in front of you. A camera can only do what you tell it to, so it’s not going to capture that “nice photo” all by itself.

But what if a camera doesn’t perform up to your expectations? Then it may be time for an upgrade – from APS-C to full frame.

Full frame photo of a forest at sunset — Captured at ISO 6400 on a full-frame Nikon D750, this image shows great tonal range with acceptable noise levels.

I recently made the jump from a crop sensor camera to a full-frame body (a Nikon D750, used in all the images below). For this article, I am not going to get into a technical discussion about the differences between a crop sensor camera and a full-frame camera.

Instead, I want to talk about if and when upgrading to a full-frame camera is desirable, especially if you’re on the fence about purchasing a full-frame body.

Now let’s discuss some important full-frame pros and cons:

Advantages of full frame

Enhanced low-light performance: The larger sensor of a full-frame camera has bigger pixels, which create less digital noise at higher ISOs. In most cases, you will get a one- or two-stop improvement in high-ISO noise over crop sensor cameras, which allows you to shoot with faster shutter speeds in low light.
More control over depth of field: This is a commonly misunderstood benefit of full-frame cameras, because the larger sensor does not really affect the depth of field of an image. However, with the larger sensor of a full-frame camera, you can move closer to the subject while using an equivalent focal length, and this causes the depth of field to become narrower. Ultimately, you get smoother background bokeh.
Improved dynamic range and color depth: A full-frame sensor can record more tonal range within shadows and highlights. Detail and color are much improved at both ends of the spectrum.

Disadvantages of full frame

Great Blue Heron in flight — This heron in flight was captured at a high ISO to achieve the fast shutter speed needed to get a sharp wildlife image.

Expense: Not only is the cost of a full-frame DSLR or mirrorless camera higher than crop sensor alternatives, but you may also need to invest in full-frame lenses.
Size and weight: The overall size and weight of full-frame cameras is greater than their crop sensor counterparts. Full-frame lenses are also larger and heavier. This may not matter to many photographers, but if you frequently carry gear for long distances, it could be a factor to consider.
No crop factor: The telephoto reach of a full-frame camera is lessened by not having a crop sensor. A 200mm lens on a full-frame camera reaches to 200mm; a 200mm lens on a 1.5x crop sensor camera reaches to 300mm.

If you’ve made it this far and you still like the sound of a full-frame camera, it’s time to ask yourself a few key questions:

How much will it cost?

As mentioned above, the cost of buying a full-frame camera is significantly more expensive than a crop sensor one, plus you’ll likely need to purchase new lenses. There isn’t much use in changing to full frame if you are not going to use high-quality lenses designed for full-frame cameras. So if you plan to make the jump to full frame, you may want to begin by upgrading your lenses to those compatible with full-frame cameras.

What type of photography do you enjoy shooting?

Boys sitting by a waterfall — Choosing a smaller aperture of f/22 produced enough depth of field to keep both the boys and the waterfalls in focus when using my full-frame Nikon D750.

Full-frame sensors offer advantages and disadvantages for different types of photography.

Landscape: Enhanced low-light performance and more detail are both key advantages of full-frame cameras for landscape photography. The only possible drawback here is the effectively shallower depth of field, but this can be compensated for by using a smaller f-stop.
Portraits: The larger size of a full-frame sensor will result in a shallower depth of field. For portraiture, this means the backgrounds can feature more blur and make the subjects stand out better.
Wildlife: A full-frame camera loses the telephoto reach that a crop sensor camera offers. Nevertheless, a lot of wildlife photography is shot in low-light situations, where a full-frame sensor gives a significant advantage.
Sports: As with wildlife photography, high-ISO capabilities are helpful for sports photography. However, the loss of increased reach may be a problem.

To summarize:

If you are a portrait or landscape shooter, there are many reasons to switch to full frame. But if you’re a sports or wildlife shooter, you’ll need to consider more carefully.

Architecture at sunset — This scene was captured at 24mm on a full-frame Nikon D750. The white line shows how much of this image would be captured on a crop sensor camera from the same shooting location.

Bald Eagles in a nest — This image was captured at 600mm with a full-frame camera. The white line shows the reach advantage that a crop sensor camera would provide. Still, capturing this image in low-light conditions with an ISO of 2000 is possible thanks to my full-frame sensor.

Is your current camera holding you back?

Every camera has a limited number of shutter releases, so if your camera is nearing the end of its life cycle, it might be time to consider an upgrade. If your older crop sensor model is limiting your results in low light, and you are constantly frustrated by high levels of noise, you might benefit from an upgrade to full frame.

However, keep in mind that it’s convenient to blame a camera for taking poor images, but it may not be the camera that’s holding you back.

Many times, photographers don’t get the results they expect from high-end equipment simply because they struggle with more fundamental techniques. No matter what type of camera you shoot with, get to know it and how all of its features work before moving on to a different one.

Cityscape at sunset — This cityscape was captured with a full-frame camera in low light by increasing the ISO.

What is your level of photography experience?

A full-frame camera is probably not the best option for beginners.

So if you are a beginner, I’d recommend starting with an entry-level camera and working up to a full-frame model. In fact, if you are looking for a camera to take photos of family and friends, a crop-sensor model is a great choice.

Having a good handle on the exposure triangle (aperture, shutter speed, and ISO) and how its key components work together is essential if you’re going to take advantage of a full-frame sensor. You must also be comfortable shooting in Manual mode.

Do you make large prints?

A full-frame sensor has larger pixels, which will capture more light – and this results in high-quality large prints. If you never make any prints larger than 8×10″, then a full-frame model won’t help you much here.

Bare trees at sunrise — Captured with a full-frame Nikon D750, this sunrise image reveals a nice range of tones, without any of the digital noise in the shadows that is likely to be present with some crop-sensor cameras.

Will purchasing a full-frame camera make you a better photographer?

You may have heard this quote, “Skill in photography is acquired by practice, not by purchase.”

Do you need a full-frame camera to capture great images? No, of course not! Most new crop sensor cameras on the market today are engineered to take beautiful images!

But if you’re an experienced photographer, you may benefit from switching to full frame.

The bottom line

If you are thinking of upgrading from a crop sensor camera, be sure to consider the price, lens compatibility, and type of photography you do before you make the change to full frame. Jumping to a larger sensor can be intense – but if you’re ready for that big step, the results are often rewarding.

Now tell me:

Are you ready to go full frame? Please leave your answer in the comments below!

The post Is it Time to go Full Frame? Weigh These Pros and Cons Before You Decide appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Bruce Wunderlich.

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Bronine Volkit can change four different battery models at the same time

02 Dec

South Korean battery charger manufacturer Lycan has launched a Kickstarter campaign to help it introduce a single device that can simultaneously charge and manage up to four different types of camera battery. The idea of the proposed Bronine Volkit is that users will be able to save space, reduce waste and save money by using a single charger and a series of battery holders to deal with multiple batteries from most popular camera brands.

Up to four individual battery holders connect directly to the main charging station and the station’s screen displays information about the amount of charge in the battery, the voltage of the battery and a graphic that shows how much more power is needed. The station is able to determine the voltage required by each battery and is able to tailor its supply between 1 and 20V through each of the four ports. The charger itself can be powered via a QC or PD high-speed USB charging adapter indoors, via the cigar lighter in a car or when outside by a USB power bank.

Along with the charging unit Lycan has introduced what it calls Camera Kits which are holders for specific batteries. The company says it will have holders for Canon, Nikon, Sony, Olympus, Panasonic, Fujifilm and GoPro cameras as well as the ability to charge batteries from DJI drones and the sort of cylindrical lithium-ion batteries used in some gimbals. It is recommended that those thinking of backing the campaign check to ensure batteries from their camera are compatible, as not all models from all manufacturers are covered.

The Bronine Volkit chargers will come in two or four battery capacity options and will cost from $ 69 including two battery holders. The company says it already has working prototypes and it aims to begin shipping in March 2021. For more information see the Bronine Volkit Kickstarter page, or visit the Lycan website.

Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Interview: Keiji Oishi of Nikon – “It’s time to get excited”

09 Oct

Keiji Oishi – Department Manager of Nikon’s Imaging Business Unit, UX Planning Department. Picture courtesy of Nikon.

What a year it has been. We last spoke to Nikon executives at CES in January, before most people had even heard of COVID-19, but a lot has happened since then. Factories have been closed, planned releases delayed, and virtually every aspect of our lives disrupted. As 2020 (finally…) draws to a close and Nikon gears up for its final product releases of the year, we caught up with Keiji Oishi, Satoshi Yamazaki and Takeshi Suzuki to talk about the upcoming Z 6/7 II, and where the Z system goes from here.

Contributors:

Keiji Oishi [K.O.]- Department manager: Imaging Business Unit, UX Planning Department.
Satoshi Yamazaki [S.Y.]- Department manager: Optical Engineering Division/ 2nd Development Department.
Takeshi Suzuki [T.S.]- Department manager: Optical Engineering Division /3rd Designing Department.

The following interview was conducted over email and has been edited for clarity and flow.

What challenges has your business faced since we last spoke in January?

[K.O.] Little did we know when we spoke in Las Vegas earlier this year what we would go through in the months that were to follow.

Drops in consumer demand began in China and progressed rapidly throughout the rest of the world. The initial reaction [to COVID-19] from consumers was to halt purchasing. Since that time, there has been a surprisingly healthy return. We’re not yet back to normal levels, but much better than we anticipated in the beginning of the pandemic. Any manufacturer that sees demand wildly fluctuate like that will have a challenging time adapting due to the supply chain.

Fortunately, global demand is resuming, and it’s coming back strongly, since people have discovered their desire to create. We want to respond to such new-found creative needs.

In the very near future we will be coming out with Z 6II and Z 7II, and with the introduction of the two new bodies, the Z-mount system will consist of 6 cameras and 18 lenses [including two teleconverters].

Which products / product lines were most affected by the COVID-19 pandemic?

[K.O.] Higher price point cameras were the most impacted, probably due to an almost complete cessation of work for professional photographers, and a difficult economic climate where people were spending less, as well as restrictions on travel.

Some unexpected things happened as a result of the pandemic, though. We have found that customers at home want to create, and we also saw a demand for livestream capabilities, a spotlight topic this year for the entire industry. We have recently added the free Nikon Webcam Utility livestream beta software as a result.

Despite the challenges created by this year’s pandemic, Nikon brought the Z5 to market – an entry-level full-frame mirrorless model that has become a favorite in the DPReview office.

Read our in-depth review of the Nikon Z5

Nikon is recovering, and at a fast pace. We were recently able to bring the Z 5 to market as well as two extremely important lenses, the 14-24mm F2.8 and the 50mm F1.2, while the 70-200mm has also come to market. Furthermore, the Z 7II and Z 6II will be joining the lineup soon. These, as well as other items, will be shipping to our customers and retailers, and we are confident that their performance will drive additional customers to Nikon.

We have also added three major firmware updates to dramatically enhance performance of our existing models, including AF improvements, adding eye detection for humans and animals, functionality enhancements, ProRes RAW, CFExpress compatibility and more. We will continue to listen to customer feedback and continue to improve our current models via firmware.

Can you explain exactly why the 70-200mm F2.8 has been so severely delayed?

[K.O.] We sincerely apologize to our customers for the delay. The delay was due to a combination of factors, including COVID-19. The 70-200 is a top-class lens, requiring top-class performance. In the midst of the pandemic, our challenge was ensuring quality in the final adjustments of the product while our teams were restricted in travel, as was the supply chain of necessary components.

Nikon always takes the time to make sure our end-products exceed customer expectations and meet the standards of those users who depend on Nikon reliability and usability.

The Z 6 and Z 7 are more than two years old – what are your customers asking for as you prepared their replacements?

[K.O.] First and foremost, we have been concentrating on the expansion of the system as a whole. We have made a lot of promises with the Z-mount, because the format has so much potential due to its superior capabilities like the largest mount diameter for more light gathering ability.

We have a variety of requests from the market. On one hand, we have received positive feedback regarding the improvement of our products via continual firmware updates. On October 14th, you’ll see that these new cameras have addressed several points with hardware updates, that cannot be resolved with firmware alone. While it’s true that the Z-mount system is built to evolve, firmware updates are only capable of so much. At some point, you need to create new hardware upgrades and the latest innovations.

The next chapter is very exciting for us, because of the breadth of the lenses now available

These bodies will exhibit Nikon quality – outstanding reliability and usability as a tool, enhanced with feedback from professionals from the first generation. The next chapter is very exciting for us, because of the breadth of the lenses now available, and we have listened to the market and customers extensively.

The single card slot of the Z 6 and Z 7 attracted a lot of criticism when they were released in 2018. It is a very safe bet that the forthcoming Z 6/7 II will feature dual card slots.

Read our predictions for the upcoming Nikon Z 6/7 II

How many years will it be before your top-end ILC is a mirrorless model?

[K.O.] We cannot provide details about future product planning. For a camera company like Nikon, which is renowned for its commitment to imaging, a flagship camera is an extremely important statement, as well as being a model for which the newest and most innovative technology is developed.

Has the cancelation of the 2020 Olympics affected your business at all?

[K.O.] While business itself has not been significantly affected, we were deeply saddened that the Tokyo Olympics were postponed this year. However, safety needs to be the primary concern.

Earlier in 2020 we released imaging equipment that was designed to meet the demanding needs of professionals capturing the games, including the D6 and the 120-300mm lens. We hope they will be used when the games resumes.

What are you hoping for in 2021?

[K.O.] We are excited for 2021 and what it will bring. Already we have committed so much energy and passion to making the Z-mount system a powerful platform, and we are looking forward to continuing that and bringing out the additions for the NIKKOR Z lens lineup, as well as other exciting products to make the system more complete.

We came to market later than our competitors did, and from a business perspective, one of the biggest challenges we have had to overcome is that when we launched the Z-mount system, it was hard to communicate the advantages of optical performance and design with a system at launch that was not yet complete.

We now have the most important lenses, and a system that covers both full-frame (Nikon FX format) and Nikon DX formats, and with the arrival of the next chapter of Z, we have cameras that will satisfy users need for photography and video.

The Z 6 is Nikon’s most convincing ‘multimedia’ ILC yet, and with a paid update it can record ProRes Raw video footage to an external Atomos recorder.

Now that we have released the key lenses, and momentum is building for the Z-mount system, it’s time to get excited. We plan to have more than 24 lenses by the end of 2021 to meet the needs of all types of creators.

The Z 6 has been well received among video enthusiasts and filmmakers, and its successor promises even more. We hope that more video professionals will discover Nikon due to our innovative features for creators.

Can you tell us how many people have opted for the paid firmware for the Z 6?

[K.O.] While I can’t give a specific number, the number does vary per region. I can tell you that it did exceed expectations, and we are excited to see so many people wanting to use the Z 6 as a professional tool.

There has been enough interest in the Z 6 ProRes Raw firmware to tell us that we should continue to develop cameras with a focus on the multimedia creator.

Will you commit to producing more enthusiast-friendly DX-format lenses?

[K.O.] We always evaluate the needs of the market and respond accordingly, and we recognize that there is demand for more DX-format lenses. Our lens lineup strategy is constantly evolving, and we do have more DX format lenses planned, with more possibly in the future, as well.

Forthcoming FX lenses like the 40mm and 28mm were designed with DX users in mind as well

But also, one of the benefits to Nikon cameras has always been lens interchangeability. All Z-mount lenses work perfectly on the Z 50. Forthcoming FX lenses like the 40mm and 28mm were actually designed with DX users in mind as well. This is a distinctive advantage of the Z-mount: the same lenses can be used even if the customer opts to change their camera.

How has the reception been for the Z 50?

[K.O.] So far, the reception from consumers has been very good. They appreciate the small form factor and the advanced functions that respond to casual to advanced shooting needs. They also enjoy the extremely compact kit lens, the NIKKOR Z DX 16-50mm F3.5-6.3 VR, and the resulting colors and image quality.

The Z 50 has proved to be many users’ first mirrorless camera, and we are happy they have chosen to be a part of the Nikon ecosystem. We were also happy to find that the Z 50 was chosen by many Nikon full-frame camera users as their second camera.

What is your APS-C strategy for Z-mount?

[K.O.] We will continue to watch the market and deliver products that meet consumer’s needs.

The Z50 is Nikon’s first attempt at an APS-C format mirrorless camera, and it’s aimed at first-time camera buyers and casual photographers. All Z-mount lenses are compatible with all Z-series cameras (although the DX zoom lenses for the Z50 will impose an APS-C crop when used on the Z 6/7).

Read our review of the Nikon Z50

What do you shoot with personally?

[K.O.] Currently, my two main cameras are the Z 6 and D850. The D850 is in my opinion a nearly perfect DSLR and is highly reliable. I mostly shoot it with a AF 85mm f1.4 D which I bought when I was a student. At the time, it seemed out of my league. I recall that when I looked at this lens at the store, I was mesmerized by the size of the front of the lens – it felt as though it was drawing me in. I truly loved the bokeh it produced (back then, with a film camera). Since then, though newer lenses with better rendering capabilities have been released, I still use the 85mm even after switching to the D850.

When we launched the Z system I was torn between the Z 6 and the Z 7, but since I already had the D850 for high resolution use, I purchased the Z 6, because it’s convenient for multiple purposes. At the same time I purchase a Z 50mm F1.8 S. It pairs perfectly with the Z 6, which is ideal also for video, and it is often that I use them as a set. Also, I still actively use the D5500, which I oversaw the planning of when I was a Product Manager in the past.

Each of us at Nikon does our best to improve our cameras and lenses so that they feel just right in your hands

[T.S] Since I enjoy travel, I enjoy the compact, portable, and high-power zoom lens, AF-S DX NIKKOR 18-200mm F3.5-5.6G ED VR II. This is also a lens that I was in charge of designing, alongside my colleague Satoshi Yamazaki. We oversaw its optical and mechanical design. Additionally, I have to say that I will be buying the new NIKKOR Z 14-24mm F2.8 S, to replace my AF-S NIKKOR 14-24mm F2.8G ED.

[S.Y.] As a person who has been involved in lens design, it’s hard for me to choose. I love all lenses, as they each have unique features. At the moment, I might choose the AI AF-S Zoom-Nikkor 17-35mm F2.8D IF-ED. For its time, it was a remarkable lens in the level of compactness and performance it achieved. It’s a lens I oversaw at the time, as well. It was an inspiration for me when developing the NIKKOR Z 14-24mm F2.8 S, in balancing high-performance and lightweight portability.

For non-Nikon lenses, while not an interchangeable lens, I personally enjoy the Rollei 35. Film cameras have their distinctive appeal, and I love the feeling of shooting film.

What is your greatest priority over the next year in terms of new products?

[K.O.] Our priority is to continue to make products that inspire creativity, and push the limits of what’s technically possible, especially from an optical standpoint. While we cannot provide details regarding future product planning, we aim to increase the joy of shooting with enhanced ease of use and reliability, all while improving on the hardware’s sophistication, without compromise. Specifically, we are looking to focus on improvements across the board by adding more powerful multimedia features, enhanced performance, and extended capabilities.

Each of us at Nikon does our best to improve our cameras and lenses so that they feel just right in your hands, thereby enhancing the joy of shooting.

A lot of our readers are hoping for a ‘Z8’ or ‘Z9’ model above the Z6/7-series. Is there anything you can tell them?

[K.O.] We are continuing to expand the Z mount system, which is still in the process of growing. While we are working hard to consider future products that will exceed the expectations of users, including professionals, I cannot comment further on the development of particular future products.


Takeshi Suzuki (Department manager: Optical Engineering Division / 3rd Designing Department)	Satoshi Yamazaki (Department manager: Optical Engineering Division / 2nd Development Department).

What is your biggest priority over the next year in terms of lenses?

[T.S] We just released the Z 50mm F1.2 S as the beginning of our lineup of fast lenses, while the addition of the Z 14-24mm F2.8 S completes the ‘Holy Trinity’ of F2.8 lenses (alongside the Z 24-70mm F2.8 S and Z 70-200mm F2.8 VR S). Our next priority is to provide lenses that appeal to wide audiences, such as lenses with a focus on thinness and entry point lenses like the standard zoom lens Z 24-50mm F4-6.3, as well as some unique lenses.

Our goal is to further expand the market by appealing to a wide variety of creators, with lenses such as the planned 40mm. This is, of course, without compromising our commitment to excellence. With the Z-mount system, we have the advantage of the largest mount, and the greatest potential. The large-diameter Z-mount really is our greatest advantage, and we want people to experience first-hand the ultimate imaging experience it allows.

What advantages does the new Z 50mm F1.2 have, optically?

[T.S] This kind of lens is what the Z-mount was made for: It’s super-fast and super-sharp. We are very proud of this lens, as it is the perfect balance of gorgeous, smooth bokeh and amazing sharpness.

It contains a symmetrical lens formula that minimizes the bending of light that occurs as it goes through. This creates the purest, cleanest image. The biggest impact of the largest-diameter mount upon this lens is that we were able to position the focus unit towards the rear, guaranteeing AF performance.

It’s the first lens of its kind to include twin STM motors driving the AF. The adoption of two STM motors has enabled superior AF speed.

What Nikon calls a ‘symmetrical’ construction, in the new Z 50mm F1.2 S. The large rear element helps keep light rays perpendicular to the sensor, which should greatly improve corner resolution and rendition of point light sources at the edges of the frame (as well as vignetting).

Learn more about the Nikon Z 50mm F1.2 S

Can you explain the difference in optical design between a fast 50mm for F-mount, and a comparable lens for mirrorless Z-mount?

[S.Y.] This lens design would be impossible with the F-mount. The wider lens mount of Z allows for innovative optical formulas that our engineers can use to push the limits. With the F-mount, conventionally, we would have needed to add lens VR. With the Z-mount system, Z-series camera bodies include in-camera VR, which in combination with the largest-diameter Z-mount and short flange back distance, has freed up space in the lens.

Some users will want the ultimate, no-compromise image quality, while others will need portability. The Z-mount allows for both kinds of lenses

This enabled us to incorporate two focus units, thus enabling the multi-focusing system, resulting in superior optical performance at short distances, for sharp and clear images as well as AF speed.

How do you decide the cost / weight tradeoff when designing high-performance lenses for Z-mount?

[S.Y.] That is the challenge in lens design. To truly understand the customer needs while also delivering on the potential of superior image quality. Some users will want the ultimate, no-compromise image quality, while others will need portability. The advantage that we have is that the Z-mount allows for both kinds of lenses: small and portable when you need that, and superlative Image quality for those that demand it.

When it comes to our decision-making, the biggest factor in determining this balance is feedback from our users.

As a lens designer, does designing lenses for Z-mount give you more freedom? (and if so, can you explain how?)

[T.S.] Yes, designing lenses for the Z-mount does give us more freedom. This is an exciting time for optics. Because the lens mount is wider, we can be more creative with designs and make faster lenses. With in-camera VR, the limitations surrounding VR for wide-angle lenses have been minimized, enabling higher-performance AF. Additionally, a crucial mission of ours with the Z-mount system is consideration for video. By driving a large focus unit with STM, we are able to drive the focus unit more quietly, accurately, and fast, in pursuit of lenses that are also ideal for video. Additionally, minimal focus breathing has been achieved.

All of these are things that have been enabled by the increased freedom provided by the Z-mount. The Z-mount was created from scratch to deliver the ultimate image quality on a full frame sensor. When we determined what the mount should be, we were careful to design it in a way that would give us the most freedom from an optical design standpoint, so today we feel much more able to create new types of designs and lenses because of the flexibility of the Z platform.

Any excuse to re-use this image, to be honest. Here’s a Z7 (on the left, in case you couldn’t tell) alongside the very first F-mount camera, the Nikon F, on the right. The Z-mount is the largest of the current mirrorless mounts (albeit only just), whereas the F-mount is very narrow, and was even back in its day. This image illustrates the mount diameter difference, and helps visualize the additional flexibility allowed to a lens designer when developing lenses for the Z-mount.

Optically, what are the main differences between the AF-S 14-24mm F2.8 for F-mount and the new Z 14-24mm F2.8 S?

[S.Y.] When designing the Z 14-24mm F2.8 S, our priority was to achieve a lens that balances high-performance and lightweight portability. This is the biggest point of difference compared to the iconic AF-S 14-24mm F2.8G ED. When evaluating how to improve at this proven formula, we considered customer feedback and recognized that we could make it even sharper, and at the same time lighter and with faster AF because of the benefit of the Z-mount.

Additionally, in comparison to the AF-S 14-24mm F2.8G ED, point-image reproduction of point-light sources, as well as backlight resistance which effectively suppresses ghost and flare even under harsh lighting conditions, have both improved drastically. This new design also had an added benefit, which was the ability to use conventional filters, something that our customers have requested for many years.

What is the benefit of the new optical construction with a larger rear element?

[T.S.] There is no need to forcibly bend light to get it onto the sensor. Other companies, on the other hand, with smaller mounts, do need to forcibly bend light, which can reduce image quality. Additionally, with the short flange back distance, we are able to reduce lens size, while further contributing to performance.

Does the new Z 14-24mm F2.8 use any in-camera digital correction for distortion?

[S.Y.] There are proprietary algorithms that are implemented for almost every lens. As technology evolves, we are able to harness both optical, technological and computational innovations with the end result being the best image quality. Compared to NIKKOR F lenses, we have been able to achieve higher resolution.

To further benefit image quality, we have advanced coating technologies that minimize ghosting, such as the ARNEO Coat and Nano-Crystal Coat. The contrast is incredible, achieving better color reproduction beyond what is possible with MTF. The Z-mount system ensures that ghosting both on the mechanical side and lens side are minimized.

Editor’s note: Barnaby Britton

Reading back over my interview with Mr Oishi at CES earlier this year (which feels like several lifetimes ago at this point) I was struck by the total absence of any mention of COVID-19. We spoke in early January, when news of what became the pandemic was just starting to trickle out. We might not have been talking about it, but unbeknownst to either of us, COVID-19 had already gone global – in fact, it may even have been circulating among attendees at the tradeshow itself.

With so much of Nikon’s manufacturing now based in China (the new Z 70-200mm F2.8 S is made there, and the country’s factories are a major source of components across the photo industry) the company got hit pretty hard by the Jan/Feb 2020 shutdown and subsequent supply chain disruption. The Z 70-200mm F2.8 S was meant to be available in February, but even now, in early October, it’s hard to find stock. The reason for such a lengthy delay, according to Mr Oishi, was primarily the difficulty of ensuring quality control during a period when travel (for engineers moving between China and Japan, presumably) was impossible.

Nothing has gone quite to plan in 2020, but Mr Oishi is proud that his company has been able to launch two new Z-mount mirrorless cameras this year, with two more on the way, and a number of Z-mount lenses, including the new flagship Z 50mm F1.2 S and Z 14-24mm F2.8 S. The message from Japan is clear – in Mr Oishi’s words: ‘Nikon is recovering, and at a fast pace’.

When we spoke in January, I asked Mr Oishi what his customers had requested in models to replace the then 18 month-old Z 6 and Z 7. This is what he told me:

“The number of card slots was one of the [most common] pieces of feedback. Also, we have received requests for a vertical control grip.”

At the time of writing (Oct 6th), all I know about the Z 6 II and Z 7 II is their names, and when they’ll be released. But Mr Oishi’s comments earlier this year (and a raft of more or less credible rumors in the months since) point to sensible, fairly incremental upgrades, aimed at maintaining Nikon’s competitive edge in the prosumer mirrorless market before some kind of true ‘flagship’ professional mirrorless camera comes along.

Whatever the Z 6 II and Z 7 II bring to the table, Nikon regards them as essential tools in the ongoing challenge of communicating the Z-mount’s benefits

It’s safe to assume that both cameras will offer dual card slots (probably CFExpress/XQD and SD) and they’ll be sold alongside a real vertical grip. I’ve been using a Z 7 as my main personal camera for two years, and while I’m not sure that I would upgrade just for the sake of these two improvements, I’d definitely be interested in a refined AF system (hopefully getting a bit closer to the experience of using the D850) and a refreshed UI: Specifically, a less obtrusive electronic level, and the option to toggle features like silent shooting via Fn buttons. Improved VR and faster continuous shooting would be nice too.

Whatever the Z 6 II and Z 7 II will ultimately bring to the table, there’s no doubt that Nikon regards them as essential tools in the ongoing challenge (as the company sees it) of communicating the Z-mount’s benefits. Mr Oishi is hoping that with new, more competitive cameras, and a much more complete lens lineup now becoming available, that the Z system can ‘build momentum’ and win over first-time buyers and experienced photographers alike. Back in January, Mr Oishi told us that Nikon was in ‘a transitional stage’ but now, he insists, ‘it’s time to get excited’.

The wide mount of the Z system certainly seems to be a boon for lens designers, at least according to Mr Yamazaki and Mr Suzuki. More space for larger rear elements, ‘symmetrical’ lens designs and no need to pack optical VR systems into lenses like the new Z 50mm F1.2 S. Compared to designing optics for the comparatively tight F-mount, it must be quite liberating.

We’ll bring you more news about the Z 6 II and Z 7 II when we have it, and sample images from Nikon’s new lenses as soon as we can.

Skylum shows how new Templates feature in upcoming Luminar AI update can save you time

01 Oct

Ahead of Luminar AI’s release this holiday season, Skylum Software has shared additional information about how Templates will work in the upcoming all-in-one photo editing software and how Templates can be used to save photographers a lot of time and energy when processing many images.

In many traditional photo editors, users must adjust different sliders to get the desired results when processing images. There are often available presets, which will speed up the editing process, but presets have limitations, and photographers are often left feeling like their creativity has been removed from the editing process. Ideally, many of us want to save time without sacrificing creative control. Skylum believes that Luminar AI’s Templates will remove the frustration and overcome the limitations of presets in other photo editors.

Photo credit: Elia Locardi

The artificial intelligence in Luminar AI has been integrated throughout the entire editing process and has been trained with ‘expert input from artists, photographers, colorists and scientists.’ Alex Tsepko, Skylum’s CEO, says, ‘With Luminar AI, we wanted to ensure that AI not only was easy to use, but that it also provided creatives a way to express themselves. Through our unique 3D depth-mapping and segmentation technologies, we’re able to recognize the contents of a photo, recommended edits and then allow creatives to refine every aspect of that recommendation. Doing this lets creatives retain their unique style in their edits without tedious, manual work. Professional results, but in a fraction of the time.’

Artificial intelligence starts operating as soon as you open an image in Luminar AI. The software identifies the contents of an image, analyzes potential problem spots, and evaluates the depth of the image. Luminar AI then offers a list of carefully selected Templates for users to select from.

Users can test out different Templates and see how they impact their image. Skylum states that a preview is created in less than a second. When you evaluate a specific Template you can even see which AI tools were utilized in the Template. For beginners, it should prove useful to see which tools are used to create different images and how each tool changes the look and feel of a photo.

Photo credit: Javier Pardina

Templates will offer novices a variety of ideas to help choose the direction they want to take an image. For advanced photographers with more editing experience, they can choose when and how they want more advanced manual control over their image edits. They can pick and choose which AI tools they want to utilize and then create their own templates for future use on single images or when batch editing. Skylum states that utilizing templates will allow photographers to save ‘up to 90% of their time spent editing.’

You can learn more about Luminar AI here. For a list of Frequently Asked Questions about Luminar AI, click here. Luminar AI is available for preorder at a special price, which you can learn more about here. As the release of Luminar AI approaches this holiday, stay tuned for more information, including a planned hands-on preview ahead of the full public release of Luminar AI.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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The two most-produced 35mm cameras of all time? You’ve probably never heard of them

28 Aug

Photo: Stephen Dowling

What were the most-produced 35mm cameras of all time, you ask? Perhaps the Kodak Brownie, or the Argus C3, the Olympus Trip 35, or maybe the Nikon F? Nope, those cameras didn’t even come close the the number of Soviet-era Smena-8’s and Smena 8M’s that rolled off the assembly line; a combined 21 million in total. The next closest of the cameras mentioned is the Olympus Trip 35 with 5.4 million units made.

So what’s the deal with these apparently ubiquitous cameras, produced by Leningradskoye Optiko-Mekhanicheskoye Obyedinenie (Lomo), which many of us have probably never seen/heard of? Our good friends over at Kosmo Foto have the full scoop and more. Click the link and read on!

Read: Kosmo Foto – These are the most produced 35mm cameras of all time

About Film Fridays: We recently launched an analog forum and in a continuing effort to promote the fun of the medium, we’ll be sharing film-related content on Fridays, including articles from our friends at KosmoFoto and 35mmc.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Canon releases FW 1.1 for EOS R5, with bug fixes and improvements to video shooting time

27 Aug

Canon has released firmware 1.1 for the EOS R5. Alongside a flurry of minor bug fixes, the new firmware also promises to improve video shooting times. We’ve had the new firmware for a few days, and prepared a test.

Check out Jordan’s take on the new firmware in the video, above, and see below for Canon’s official description of the changes in FW 1.1 and a link to download it.

Download firmware 1.1.0 for the Canon EOS R5 (Canon USA)

Press release:

Firmware Version 1.1.0 incorporates the following fixes and enhancements:

Useful messaging is now displayed when [HDMI display?Camera+External monitor] and [Overheat control: on] settings are enabled.
When using certain RF lenses for movie shooting, the in-lens image stabilization mechanism has been improved.
Fixes a phenomenon in which the “Slow Synchro” setting screen is not accurately displayed, when the language is set to English.
Fixes a typo displayed on the communication setting screen, when the language is set to Korean.
Connectivity during FTP transmission has been improved.
Fixes a phenomenon, in which the card access time may take longer, when using certain CF express cards.
Temperature detection and shooting time control in video shooting have been improved. In addition, the total shooting time when the short-time recording and power-on/off are performed repeatedly at room temperature is improved.
The phenomenon in which the movie recording time available is not correctly displayed when the Date/Time/Zone is not set has been corrected.

*The firmware scheduled for release in early September will incorporate the following improvements for the RF100-500mm F4.5-7.1 L IS USM.
-Supports 6-stop image stabilization. (CIPA-compliant)
-Improves IS capabilities when performing continuous shooting under specific conditions.

Firmware Version 1.1.0 is for cameras with firmware up to Version 1.0.0. If the camera’s firmware is already Version 1.1.0, it is not necessary to update the firmware.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Dealer’s Choice: It’s new card time. Is that such a bad thing?

23 Aug

If you buy a new high-end camera, you’ll probably have to stock up on new memory cards. And card readers. CFexpress Type A is one of the options, but will it take off, or remain an expensive outlier?

It’s sometimes hard to recognize when life’s been treating you well until things take a turn for the worse. Like it or not, we’re not returning to the halcyon days you may have taken for granted at the time.

I’m talking, of course, about memory card formats. But you knew that, right?

For much of the last ten years, the SD card has held sway over most cameras’ card slots. Its dominance has never been absolute, Compact Flash held on in the higher end until the short-lived CFast and XQD formats usurped them, but the chances are that the camera you had ten or fifteen years ago took SD cards and the one you use now does, too. The days of xD, Memory Stick and multiple flavors of Smart Media seemed to be in the past.

An interesting side-effect of this hegemony is that many of us have forgotten what it’s like to have to buy new memory cards (and readers) every time we buy a camera. As if picking a brand (or, more sensibly, a lens system) wasn’t hard enough, the next time you upgrade you may also have to commit to a new media format, with no guarantee that the format will last beyond that next camera body.

A comparatively short life: neither XQD and CFast (the latter mostly used in pro video cameras) have shown much longevity compared to the venerable SD and CF formats.

New cameras, new formats

But change does appear to be here, with both Canon and Nikon settling on the same high-end media format (CFexpress Type B) for the first time in eight years. Meanwhile, in its latest camera, Sony has opted for the similar-sounding but physically incompatible CFexpress Type A.

There are advantages to this: CFexpress is based on a much faster interface than current SD cards, and the cards themselves are more physically durable. But, as is usual with electronics, ‘faster’ plus ‘new’ does not equal ‘cheap.’

Oddly unnecessary

What’s interesting (and I may be using that word entirely inappropriately), is that the move to CFexpress isn’t strictly necessary.

CFexpress is based around the use of PCIe 3.0 NVMe technology, an interface used for computer SSDs. But the Secure Digital Association has set out a version of SD based on the same technology. It’s even mapped out a PCIe 4.0 version which could theoretically hit 4 GB/s (the maximum currently promised by CFexpress).

However, SD Express is two generations ahead of the UHS-II cards and slots that are only now becoming common on cameras, and would only be backward compatible at UHS-I speeds. It’ll be interesting to see whether brands such as Fujifilm, Leica and Olympus will skip UHS-III entirely to adopt SD Express, or whether they too will jump aboard one of the CFexpress trains.

A little legacy support

All of the manufacturers using these cards seem keen to accommodate existing card owners: Canon by providing an SD card slot alongside CFexpress B, Nikon and Panasonic by continuing to support XQD as well as CFexpress B and Sony by designing slots that can accept either SD or CFexpress A cards. But in all instances, you need to adopt the newer format to squeeze the most out of the new cameras (in many instances, it’s video modes that require the faster card types, perhaps the one concrete example of video features adding to photographers’ costs).

No more making do

On the plus side, the move toward new card formats reduces the temptation to try to make-do with those older, slower cards you’d already bought. No more winging it to see if your particular U3 card can reliably maintain the sustained 90MB/s read/write of an actual V90 card, just because it says ‘300MB/s’ on the front. No more hiccoughing continuous bursts because you grabbed a 10-year old Class 1 ‘Extreme’ card as you left the house.

So yes, there’s every chance you’re going to have to dig a bit deeper next time you buy a fancy new camera. New cards, new card readers, perhaps at rather inflated prices if you jump in too soon. But think about it, how much have you spent during the lifetime of your camera on SD cards you’ve lost, that have become corrupted or have broken just enough that they won’t eject properly anymore?

What’s holding you back?

Look at it this way: it’s a great way of being certain your camera is able to work to its full potential, and aren’t a lot of us buying more camera than we need, to ensure it’s never the factor holding us back? And with the three biggest camera makers settling on variants of CFexpress, there’s only a slight risk that you’re investing heavily in the next xD or Memory Stick.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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A decade of sun: NASA captured 425 million photos of the sun and made a time lapse

30 Jun

NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory (SDO) has been very busy capturing images of the sun over the last decade. From June 2, 2010 through June 1, 2020, the SDO captured 425 million images of the sun. Per NASA, the team amassed about 20 million gigabytes of images of the sun in the past decade and with that data, NASA compiled 10 years’ worth of images into the amazing timelapse video above.

Using three primary instruments, the SDO captures an image of the sun every 0.75 seconds. One of these instruments, the Atmospheric Imaging Assembly (AIA), captures images every 12 seconds at 10 different wavelengths of light. In the timelapse video published by NASA, we see photos of the sun captured at the extreme ultraviolet wavelength of 17.1 nanometers. This wavelength allows us to view the sun’s outermost layer, called the corona.

Generally, the hour-long timelapse video features a compiled image from each hour of every day for the past 10 years. Although, there are a few exceptions. There are dark frames caused by the Earth or moon eclipsing SDO as they pass between the spacecraft and the sun. There was also a week-long outage of the AIA instrument in 2016. Any off-center images of the sun are due to periodic instrument calibration.

As you can imagine, the SDO has witnessed many interesting events during its period of observation. In the video above, at 6:20, you can see a prominence eruption from the lower right area of the sun from June 7, 2011. At 12:24, you can see the transit of Venus across the face of the sun on June 5, 2012. This event won’t occur again until the year 2117. On July 19, 2012, a brilliant display of looping plasma showed a complex event in the sun’s magnetic field, this can be seen at 13:06. About six weeks later, on August 31, 2012, the ‘most iconic eruption of this solar cycle’ occurred, witnessed at 13:50 in the video.

Jumping ahead to 36:18, you can view Mercury as it transits across the face of the sun on May 9, 2016. It is more difficult to spot than Venus, but you can learn more about it here. Mercury appears again at 57:38, as it transited the sun again on November 11, 2019. This will Mercury’s last transit until 2032. A full list of interesting events you can witness in the video can be found in the description on YouTube.

‘An X8.2 class solar flare flashes in the edge of the Sun on Sept. 10, 2017. This image was captured by NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory and shows a blend of light from the 171 and 304 angstrom wavelengths.’ Image and text credit: NASA/GSFC/SDO

Scott Wiessinger (USRA) was the lead producer on the video above. Tom Bridgman (GST) was the lead data visualizer. Leading scientific writing was Mara Johnson-Groh (Wyle Information Systems). The music, ‘Solar Observer,’ was written and produced by Lars Leonhard.

If you’d like to learn more about NASA’s Solar Dynamics Observatory, you can find a wealth of fascinating information by clicking here.

Earlier this year, NASA published a shorter video that covered 10 of the most important things scientists have learned during SDO’s first decade in space. You can check that out below.

Image credit: Images via NASA/GSFC/SDO

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Casio: the innovator that time forgot

24 May

When most people think of Casio, they think of watches (calculator and G-Shock, most likely) and keyboards of the musical type. What people probably don’t remember is that Casio was a huge innovator in digital photography, creating features that would become standard on cameras introduced years later.

Casio stopped selling cameras in the US several years ago, and it threw in the towel globally in 2018. In this article we’ll take a look back at the innovations that Casio came up with, going all the way back to the mid 1990s.

The story begins in 1994, when Casio introduced the 0.25 Megapixel QV-10, the first consumer digital camera with an LCD and live view (the QV-10A, a variation, is pictured above). It also had a rotating lens that would not only reappear on several other Casio cameras, but on several Nikon and Sony models, as well.

The QV-700 showing off Casio’s trademark rotating lens and low-res LCD. That F2 lens had a focal length equivalent to 38mm. The tiny sensor size combined with the F19-equivalent lens allowed the QV-700 to be fixed focus.

Image courtesy of www.digicammuseum.de, Boris Jakubaschk

The real innovations occurred in 1998 with the release of the QV-700. It offered pre- and post-shot buffering, similar to what Olympus calls Pro Capture today. While it didn’t take many shots, the QV-700 let you save a few images before or after you pressed the shutter release.

Not long after the QV-700 came the QV-7000SX, which brought with it a sort-of movie mode (32 frames at 160 x 120, with no audio) and in-camera panorama stitching (something some cameras still don’t have). It also created an HTML page on your memory card that you could load up in Netscape to browse through your photos.

Note the large IR transmitter/receiver on the front of the QV-7000SX. It could beam photos to the small number of devices that supported the IrTran-P protocol.

Image courtesy of www.digicammuseum.de, Boris Jakubaschk

The QV-7000SX also offered support for infrared image transfer (later called IrDA), which was a very slow way of wirelessly beaming photos to compatible devices. Both Sony and Sharp were involved in IrDA, with the former offering a camera and printer with this feature.


Two of the more conventional Best Shot modes

Casio was a pioneer of scene modes, which it called Best Shot modes. And Casio really loved Best Shot modes, with 2001’s QV-4000 including one hundred of them on an included CD-ROM. Some personal favorites include ‘photo at hotel’, ‘photo of a toadstool’, and ‘photo of a fishing catch’.


Step 2 in the Coupling Shot feature: We’ve already taken the photo of the first person, so now you can line up the second in the right spot.	And we’re done.

One feature from that era that did not catch on was ‘coupling shot’. Essentially a multiple exposure mode for taking photos of yourself and another person without giving the camera to a stranger to take the photo for you, you took a photo of one person, whose ‘ghost’ was shown on the LCD. You then put the other person in the frame, making sure they were in the right spot, and took the ‘second half’ of the photo.

A few years later, the Exilim EX-ZR400 offered a green screen feature that let you paste a subject you’ve photographed onto a different background.

Something more helpful than self-portraits and green screens that Casio pioneered were guide modes (Casio called this Manual Assist), which are on some – but not nearly enough – modern cameras. As shown above, visual aids showed the effect of changing aperture and shutter speed.

The Exilim EX-F1 Pro could shoot at 60 fps and also had in-body image stabilization and 1080/60p video capture.

One final way in which Casio really separated itself from the pack was the sheer speed of its cameras. The company’s cameras were lightning fast, whether when shooting bursts, navigating menus or reviewing photos. One standout was 2008’s Exilim Pro EX-F1, which could take full resolution (6MP) images at 60 fps (for one second) and 1200 fps if you dropped the resolution (way) down.

After setting up the three lines, the camera will capture video of your swing, which you can view later in slow motion.

Casio used that speed for a unique use case on its EX-FC500S: analyzing golf swings. The camera could capture your swing from the front, back and side (and yes, it asked if you were a lefty or a righty). By lining yourself up with a virtual golfer on the display, the FC500S would automatically start and stop recording during your swing. All of this was captured at up to 240 fps and could be started by pressing a button, using a smartphone or waving your hand at the camera. The FC500S was never sold in the U.S., but you can find it on eBay once in a while.

Once 2010 or so arrived, other companies had surpassed Casio in most respects. Maybe not in terms of innovative features and speed, but certainly technology and image quality. The company made unremarkable compacts for a few more years (including the very awkward TRYX), until finally fading away. I do miss Casio cameras, not because they took amazing photos, but because they broke the mold and were fun to use. RIP, Casio: gone, but not forgotten.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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