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Take Time to Practice These Three Composition Skills Around Your Home

02 Apr

The post Take Time to Practice These Three Composition Skills Around Your Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Practice composition skills around your home featured image

Now is a good time to practice composition skills. With many people having to self-isolate, it means you may not be able to enjoy regular life. This will include being able to get out and photograph the subjects you typically take pictures of.

Make good use of the time to practice. This is not something photographers do as much as other artists. You can imagine that to play a song on a guitar or the piano, you must first practice it. It’s easy for a photographer to pick up a camera and get a pretty well-exposed photo without the need to practice. This can make you lazy, and not make time to work on aspects of your photography that need improving.

Take Time to Practice These Three Composition Skills Around Your Home — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/400 sec., f/10, ISO 400

In this article, I want to encourage you to think outside the subject. Consider taking photos only to work on improving one aspect of your craft – composition.

Find subject material in your environment. Things you would not normally consider taking pictures of. Aim to make interesting and varied compositions by exploring and experimenting.

Practice composition skills

When you practice anything at all, you will get better at it. When was the last time you engaged in improving your composition skills through practice? Have you ever picked up your camera with the sole aim of getting better at using the rule of thirds or any other aspect of composition?

Focus on using negative space for a day, or a week, and you’ll find you incorporate more of it into your photographs.

By repeating what you are doing, you can learn a skill so well that you don’t have to consciously think about it. It will take time and practice to reach this level, but it is quite natural. Whatever you set yourself to practice, in time, you will be able to use that skill without having to think much about it. This is one great way to build your intuition.

Pick two or three composition rules to work on. I’m writing about the rule of thirds, negative space and filling the frame. But you can work on any you like. The key is to not be so concerned about your subject or creating masterpiece photos, it is to practice and learn.

Consider yourself doing this to be like a musician practicing scales. Their aim is not to go out on stage and play scales, but they know that practicing them will help them play better when they do perform.

Yellow mango against blur glass for practice composition skills — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/320 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800

Practice the Rule of Thirds

Let’s start with the most well-known rule of composition in photography, the rule of thirds. This is one many people know and use. To put into practice composition skills, you need to concentrate on the rule, not the subject so much.

Don’t worry if you are not producing great photos. This exercise is designed to help you better understand when to use the rule of thirds.

You might like to use a single subject or various things around you to practice composition skills. For this exercise, I walked around my garden and in my house to create compositions using the rule of thirds.

Experiment with each subject you photograph. Compose it in different ways, but make sure to have it somewhere on one of the ‘thirds’. Don’t only take the first composition you think of. If you place your subject on the left for your first picture, place it on the right hand third for the second one. Then rotate your camera 90 degrees and place your subject on a lower third intersection.

Push yourself to try out compositions you normally wouldn’t. Don’t think about your results as right or wrong. Or even good or bad. The point of practice is to improve, so if you’re taking photos you don’t particularly like, think about them. Why don’t you like them? What can you do to improve?

Practice using the rule of thirds until you feel you’ve made some good progress with it. Do you have a better understanding of how to use it well?

Rose one a plain background for practice composition skills — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/400 sec., f/10, ISO 400

Using negative space to practice composition skills

Negative space is not a bad thing – at least not when it’s included in compositions intentionally. Negative space is the area of a photograph that is not the main center of attention.

Often there will be nothing at all in these areas – no shapes, lines, or texture.

At other times there will be some detail, but it will not draw attention away from the main subject at all.

Coffee pot in contrast for practice composition skills. — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/320 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800

During our photography workshops, one of the most common mistakes I see people make is to leave too much empty space above a person’s head. This is not usually well-composed negative space. It’s there because the photographer was not paying enough attention to what surrounded their subject.

Practice composition skills by creating photos with strong negative space. Use blank areas to help your main subject stand out. Use a blank wall, a shallow depth of field, or a light subject with a dark background.

There are many ways you can include negative space positively in your pictures.

Again, don’t aim to make masterpieces. Making ‘mistakes’ is healthy when you are practicing.

Experiment and try out various compositions, both horizontal and vertical. Leave space on the left, right, below and above the same subject. Study them together on your computer. Which one do you like the most?

Padlock on a grill — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/200 sec., f/4.5, ISO 800

Aim to fill the frame

Filling the frame is something I aim to do every time I take a photo. Sometimes this can mean much of my frame is filled with negative space. So long as it’s intentional and adds to the photo, that’s fine.

To fill the frame well it’s as much about what you leave out as to what you include. Most important is to be aware of what’s within the four edges of your composition and make sure that it’s relevant to the photo you’re taking.

Sometimes filling the frame can mean coming in ultra-close to your subject so you don’t include all of it. Other times you may choose to move back or zoom out to include some of the surroundings because they are relevant.

Always look around the edges of your frame. What’s in the corners? Are the background elements supporting your main subject? If not, move it, move yourself, or use another technique to eliminate the unwanted element.

Moving even a little can alter the perspective of how elements within your frame relate to each other. As an example of this, I photographed the same objects on my table. The plastic bottle behind my main setting is distracting.

To eliminate it from my composition, I moved lower and to the right a little. In this situation, I could have also moved the bottle.

coffee set up for practicing composition skills — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/80 sec., f/5, ISO 800

coffee set up — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/80 sec., f/5, ISO 800

Conclusion

Taking time to practice composition skills may sound a bit boring – just as someone learning the piano might get bored practicing scales.

Try it and see. You may find you enjoy it after a while. Like anything, it takes time for the practice to pay off, so don’t give up easily.

Do you have any other tips you’d like to add? Please share them with us in the comments.

The post Take Time to Practice These Three Composition Skills Around Your Home appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

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A Photographer’s Guide to Buying a Drone – Getting it Right the First Time

05 Mar

The post A Photographer’s Guide to Buying a Drone – Getting it Right the First Time appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Matt Murray.

In this photographer’s guide to buying a drone, I’ll share with you some invaluable tips for buying a drone for the first time.

Seven years ago, my employer wanted a photo of a local lighthouse from an elevated viewpoint. It sounds ridiculous now, but very early on a winter’s morning, I was loaded into a cherry picker with two cameras and hoisted 15 meters in the air to take photos. I’m a little bit scared of heights, so I really had to concentrate on getting the images and not looking down!

With the introduction in the last few years of many relatively low-cost good quality drones (also known as UAVs – unmanned aerial vehicles), that whole scenario seems laughable.

So why should you think about buying a drone if you haven’t already?

Here are some of the key considerations.

Image: By chance, I saw this boat sailing past when I was taking aerial images of fishing boats in Y...

By chance, I saw this boat sailing past when I was taking aerial images of fishing boats in Yamba. Taken with the DJI Mavic.

A photographer’s guide to buying a drone

Why buy a drone?

The main reason for buying a drone is the unique viewpoints that it will bring to your photography that you couldn’t achieve easily otherwise.

Sure, you can take elevated images from buildings, planes, helicopters – or even a cherry picker. However, those options are unlikely to be suitable or cost-efficient, depending on what you’d like to photograph. Having a drone in your kit opens up new possibilities and viewpoints like never before.

How else would you be able to take images from viewpoints like this? Boats at the seaside taken with the DJI Mavic Pro 2.

What kind of photographers would benefit from having a drone?

The short answer is – all kinds of photographers. I’ve seen or heard of aerial images from UAVs used in many industries.

Travel

Aerial images have been a stable of Instagram travel accounts for years now. Many Instagrammers take a compact drone with them on their travels to add to the range of shots they can take at a destination. They can use the images for both posting on social media or as deliverables for clients.

These images are often featured by large national and regional travel accounts to showcase destinations.

A Photographer's Guide to Buying a Drone

Real estate photographers

Drones are widely used amongst real estate photographers and seem to be essential kits these days.

Aerial images are common on many listings here in Australia to show the boundaries and layout of a property and its location to nearby landmarks and amenities.

Fine art

This is a small but very well paid niche. Some photographers make thousands of dollars for breathtaking fine art aerial images taken with UAVs.

Stock photographers

There’s been an increasing number of aerial images and videos sold on stock photography sites recently. Using a drone is one way to add to the range of images you have for sale in your portfolio.

A Photographer's Guide to Buying a Drone

A stock photography library I shoot for had a call out for images to illustrate bad parking. This is an image I sold them for the campaign.

Wedding and portrait photography

Aerial images are becoming increasingly popular for weddings, engagement shoots, and portrait sessions.

Images for your family archive

When I’m out and about taking photos for stock or travel, my family often accompanies me. I love taking aerial images of them; it certainly makes for a different type of shot in the family photo archive.

Tips before buying a drone

If you’re thinking about buying a drone, it pays to do your research first. Take a look at photos taken by drones on Instagram using hashtags such as #dronephotography, #dronestagram, and #droneoftheday.

Which make and model of UAV took these images? Looking at the photos will give you a good indication of the quality you can expect from each model.

Join some drone-related Facebook groups. Have a read through the discussions and ask questions. People will often be happy to share how they took a photo, what equipment they used, and what post-processing they did on the image.

My daughter taking her board out for a surf in northern New South Wales, Australia.

Try before you buy

Do you know a friend who has a drone? Ask if you can go along with them next time they fly it and learn the basics. You could also see if a local drone Facebook Group has meetups where you can learn the ropes. Maybe you’ll love it, but maybe you’ll hate it. Handy to know before you shell out for such a high cost.

Buy cheap, buy twice

I’ve heard many people buy a cheap toy drone to see if they’ll like it. The truth is, many of those cheaper drones are a complete nightmare to fly, and people are put off when it crashes. Typically, the more expensive a UAV, the easier it is to fly.

I’d recommend the “try before you buy” approach over this.

Which drone should I buy?

Ultimately, this is down to two different factors: the first is your budget, the second is what you want to do with your aerial images.

If you want to sell your images for stock, weddings, or fine art, go with the drone with the best image quality. However, if you want to travel with your drone, take family photos or only post to social media, perhaps you’d value a compact, lighter offering.

Pros and cons of some popular drone models

Below are some of the pros and cons of popular drones.

The Mavic Pro

The Mavic Pro is one of the best-selling drones of all time. It’s capable of taking photos in both horizontal and landscape orientations, which I found very handy when I owned it. The 12-megapixel camera has a fixed f/2.2 aperture, which compared to newer offerings, is a bit limiting. The good news is, you should be able to pick up one for a good price secondhand.

DJI Mavic Pro

Mavic Pro 2

I sold my Mavic Pro when they released the Mavic Pro 2. It has a significantly better 20-megapixel camera with a 1-inch sensor, which suited me better for taking larger images for stock libraries.

It also has an f/2.8-11 variable aperture, which gives you the potential to be more creative with your aerial images.

The one potential downside is that when facing the horizon, the gimbal doesn’t rotate the camera so you can capture vertical images like you can with the Mavic.

Read a full review of the Mavic Pro 2 here.

The Mavic 2 drone.

Mavic 2 Zoom

The Mavic 2 Zoom came out at the same time as the Mavic Pro. Its main advantage over the Pro 2 is the ability to zoom the camera. Combined with movement, you can use this to achieve the dolly zoom effect. The downside is that its camera is only 12-megapixel, and the aperture is f2.8-3.8.

Read a review of the Mavic 2 Zoom here.

DJI Mavic 2 Zoom

Mavic Mini

The Mavic Mini is a very small and light drone with impressive specifications. The Mavic Mini is the cheapest I’ve covered and would be ideal for many people wanting to take aerial images as they travel. It has a 12-megapixel camera. Unlike the others listed, it is only capable of taking images in JPG format for stills.

DJI Mavic Mini

Also, read a review of the DJI Spark here, and the Mavic Air here.

What else do I need to consider?

Is your device up to scratch? To fly a DJI drone, you’ll need the DJI GO app on your smartphone or on a tablet.

Is your device good enough to support the latest app? You’ll need to look into this before you get started.

Make sure your phone or tablet is powerful enough to run the drone app.

How will you edit your image?

If you’re a dPS regular reader, no doubt you’ll know all about the various ways you can post-process your images. I use Adobe Lightroom and occasionally Adobe Photoshop to edit my JPG and DNG drone images.

Insurance

UAVs are an expensive investment. Make sure that your camera insurance or home contents insurance adequately covers your new kit.

DJI have their own insurance product – DJI care. Whichever option you go for, make sure you understand the limits of the policies, so you don’t get caught out.

Flying legally

This is very important. You don’t want to find yourself on the wrong side of the law, especially if you take your drone overseas.

It’s good to learn all the rules when you’re considering buying one or while you’re waiting for it to arrive.

Rules differ from country to country, region to region, so always make sure you know the correct laws to fly at your destination.

For example, in Australia, you’ll need permission to fly a drone in a National Park in the state of New South Wales, but over the border in Queensland, you do not.

Early morning view of South Stradbroke Island, Queensland. DJI Mavic.

Flying safely

Investing time learning the rules and regulations is just one part of things. You also need to learn to fly safely.

A major part of this is learning to identify hazards, whether they be trees, powerlines, buildings, weather, or as I found out once, a swooping bird in my local park.

It’s always a good idea to have a pre-flight and post-flight-check routine in place.

Conclusion

Buying a drone is a fantastic way of adding new viewpoints to your photography. The latest offerings from companies such as DJI have given photographers the ability to capture scenes that were not possible a few years ago without chartering a plane or helicopter.

However, there are many things to consider before you dive in. Consider what you want to use the images for, which model to buy, and how to edit your images. You also need to learn how to fly safely and legally.

I hope this photographer’s guide to buying a drone has been helpful if you are currently looking at adding a drone to your photography kit.

What other considerations do you think are important when considering buying a drone? Tell us below.

The post A Photographer’s Guide to Buying a Drone – Getting it Right the First Time appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Matt Murray.

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Meyer Optik Görlitz will return once again, this time at Photokina 2020

29 Feb

OPC OPTICS announced on Tuesday that it will revive the Meyer Optik Görlitz brand it acquired in late 2018 with a debut at Photokina 2020 in Germany later this year. The company will bring half a dozen new lenses with it, including the Trioplan 100, Trioplan 50, Trioplan 35, Primoplan 75, Primoplan 58 and the Lydith 30.

The Meyer Optik Görlitz saga is a long one. The brand returned from the dead in 2014 when it was acquired by Net SE, which revived the lenses by using Kickstarter campaigns. Fast-forward to 2018 and Net SE was revealed to be insolvent; Kickstarter backers didn’t get their lenses and weren’t able to get refunds, either.

That led to the brand’s acquisition by OPC Optics in late 2018, something that soon resulted in a frustrating revelation: Meyer Optik Görlitz Nocturnus and Somnium lenses produced under Net SE were modified versions of Chinese and Russian lenses. OPC Optics disclosed the findings, saying that it would temporarily discontinue both of those ranges.

In the company’s most recent announcement this week, OPC Optics Managing Director Timo Heinze discussed the upcoming Photokina plans and the lenses that will premiere there, saying:

‘All lenses are completely developed and manufactured in Germany with the utmost care and attention to detail. The exclusive image design features of Meyer Optik Görlitz lenses enable the user to stand out from the crowd with an individual image language. We are proud of the high-quality realization of our product developments, but even more proud of all the impressive and unique results that photographers have created so far and will create with the new versions of Meyer Optik Görlitz’s lenses.’

Each lens will be presented at Photokina 2020 alongside 10 large format prints captured with the product. As of the latest report, the trade show is still set to go and will take place in Cologne, Germany, from May 27 to May 30.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Video: Making cyanotype prints from 120-year-old glass negatives found inside a time capsule

26 Feb

Photographer, YouTuber and self-proclaimed weird lens aficionado Mathieu Stern is back at it again, this time with an interesting new video showing how he developed a number of 120-year-old photographs he found hidden within a time capsule in a family home.

In speaking with DPReview, Mathieu says he ‘found a box dating from around 1900 judging by the objects and the technic of the photos found inside.’ To help bring the negatives to life, Mathieu decided to develop the images using a time-appropriate method of making prints, cyanotype.

The six-minute video first walks through the discovery process of the time capsule and the items within. From there, Mathieu shows the process he used to create the cyanotype prints and concludes the video with an overview of all the images he found.

It’s an unassumingly touching video that shows how seemingly simple snapshots can oftentimes have some of the most profound emotions behind them.

You can find more of Mathieu’s work on his YouTube channel.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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A recent survey reveals wedding photographers spend only 4% of their time taking photos

22 Feb

A recent survey revealed wedding photographers spend roughly 4% of their time actually taking photos.

UK-based company Your Perfect Wedding Photographer recently conducted its fourth annual industry survey. Although more than 300 full-time wedding photographers participated in the survey, it’s important to remember that the findings reflect a small segment of local wedding photographers and the results may be more typical for a specific region rather than the industry as a whole. That said, there are a few interesting tidbits from the data.

Here are some key takeaways:

The average number of weddings captured a year is 28, down by 1 from 29 in 2018.
The average cost of a full day starting package is £1,590 ($ 2,063 USD), up by £30 from £1,560 ($ 2,023 USD) in 2018.
The average yearly marketing cost is £1,253 ($ 1,625 USD), down by £21 from £1,274 ($ 1,652 USD) in 2018.
40% of Photographers use a Canon Camera, 31% Nikon, 22% Sony, 7% Fuji.
The average age of those surveyed is 39 years old, up 1 year from 38 in 2018.
44% of respondents were women and 56% are men.

According to the survey, Instagram has become the leading social source for bookings – surpassing Facebook from last year.

Note that the above info only represents a fraction of the information revealed in the survey. Statistics on important items such as biggest expenses, average editing time, and percentage of wedding photographers that partake in online awards is also included.

Participants also shared their thoughts on this industry. ‘It’s getting more competitive with more people charging less. I would love for photographers to charge properly so the average moves from £1500. It has been this for so many years and hasn’t moved with inflation or other external costs increasing. My rate reflects my experience and the level of service but at a glance, it can be harder when someone is comparing primarily on price,’ laments one commenter.

On a more positive note, others elaborated on what they love about being a wedding photographer. ‘The wedding photography industry is more exciting than ever at the moment with amazing new talents shining through all the time. There is also a growing movement away from the staged, fake “traditional” wedding photography towards the documentary style, real and genuine moments that weddings are really all about. Artistic storytelling is becoming more mainstream and expected at last and not just a slogan on photographers’ websites,’ exclaimed another participant.

You can find the entire survey here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Blackmagic Camera Setup 6.8 improves start time and performance for 4K, 6K Pocket Cinema Cameras

04 Feb

Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

Blackmagic has released an update for its Blackmagic Camera models that adds a number of new features, bug fixes and other improvements to the systems.

On both the Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K (BMPCC4K) and Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K (BMPCC6K), Blackmagic Camera Setup 6.8 improves startup time, improves the USB PTP control performance and fixes an issue with ‘slow mounting of media containing a large number of clips.’

The update also increases 4K 2.40:1 recording pixel height from 1712 to 1720 pixels on the BMPCC4K and fixes an ‘issue where EF lens stabilization cannot be turned on if the camera is started with lens IS turned off’ on the BMPCC6K.

The update also includes Blackmagic RAW 1.6.1, which adds support for Blackmagic’s URSA Broadcast. Other ‘general performance and stability improvements have been made for Blackmagic’s RAW plugin for Avid Media Composer and Adobe Premiere Pro.

You can download the latest update through Blackmagic’s support page.

Update details:

Blackmagic Camera Setup 6.8

Welcome to the Blackmagic Camera Setup!

This software package allows you to update your Blackmagic Camera to the latest software release for new features, bug fixes and other enhancements.

The software installer no longer installs the Desktop Video or UltraScope applications and they will need to be downloaded separately from the Blackmagic Design website: https://www.blackmagicdesign.com/support

To use UltraScope via Thunderbolt with Blackmagic Cinema Camera or Production Camera 4K, download and install the Blackmagic UltraScope software. If you want to use Media Express with the supported cameras, download and install the Blackmagic Desktop Video software.

Please ensure that your device is plugged into mains power before running the software update. To update Blackmagic Camera Fiber Converter you will need to ensure that the unit is powered from the camera using the URSA 12V power supply rather than SMPTE fiber during the update.

Please update your camera before attaching the Blackmagic Camera Battery Grip.

For updating Blackmagic Cameras from Camera 4.0 or above it is advisable to export your presets and LUTs onto a card as they will be removed during this update.

What’s new in Blackmagic Camera Setup 6.8

New features for Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K

Improve camera startup time.
Improved USB PTP control performance.
Increase 4K 2.40:1 recording pixel height from 1712 to 1720.
Fixed issue with slow mounting of media containing large number of clips.

New features for Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 6K

Improve camera startup time.
Improved USB PTP control performance.
Fixed issue with slow mounting of media containing large number of clips.
Fixed issue where EF lens stabilization cannot be turned on if camera is started with lens IS turned off.

No new features in 6.8 for other camera models.

What’s new in Blackmagic RAW 1.6.1

Added Blackmagic URSA Broadcast support.
Blackmagic RAW Avid Media Composer plugin general performance and stability improvements.
Blackmagic RAW Adobe Premiere Pro plugin general performance and stability improvements.

Minimum system requirements for Blackmagic Camera Setup on macOS

macOS Catalina 10.15 or later
macOS Mojave 10.14 or later
A suitable USB 2.0 port

Minimum system requirements for Blackmagic RAW on macOS

macOS Catalina 10.15 or later
macOS Mojave 10.14 or later
AVX, AVX2, or SSE compatible chipset
Adobe CC 2019 or later for Adobe Premiere Pro plug-ins
Avid Media Composer 2018 for Avid Media Composer AMA plug-in

Minimum system requirements for Blackmagic Camera Setup on Windows

Microsoft Windows 10 64-bit or later
A suitable USB 2.0 port

Minimum system requirements for Blackmagic RAW on Windows

Windows 10 or later
AVX, AVX2, or SSE compatible chipset
Adobe CC 2019 or later for Adobe Premiere Pro plug-ins
Avid Media Composer 2018 for Avid Media Composer AMA plug-in

Installing Blackmagic Camera Utility

Before installing the software, we recommend that you run “Uninstall Blackmagic Camera Setup” first.

While installing Camera Update on URSA Mini and URSA Mini Pro you may notice a pause around the 10% mark in the install process, this is normal and will continue installing after around 20 seconds.

While installing Camera Update on Pocket Cinema Camera 4K you may notice a pause around the 70% mark in the install process, this is normal. Please do not power off the camera as it may still be in the middle of the update process. When the update is completed, the camera will restart into its normal operating state.

After loading the software on the Blackmagic Cinema Camera PL, EF or MFT, you may notice a slight flickering on the built-in LCD screen. This is normal and expected behavior. The flickering will go away after a few minutes of operation.

The Blackmagic Camera Installer package installs:

Blackmagic Camera Setup
Blackmagic RAW SDK
Blackmagic RAW Player
Blackmagic RAW Speed Test
Blackmagic RAW plugin for Adobe Premiere Pro
Blackmagic RAW plugin for Avid Media Composer
Uninstall Blackmagic Camera Setup
User Manuals

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Filmic’s Double Take iOS app records with two cameras at the same time

29 Jan

Under iOS 13 more recent Apple iPhones are capable of simultaneously recording video with several cameras. This feature was first demonstrated by the people behind the popular Filmic Pro video app at the iPhone 11 launch event.

Now Filmic Pro has made multi-camera recording available in an app, but it’s not Filmic Pro. Instead, the company has created a new stand-alone app called Double Take.

Double Take is a simpler app than Filmic Pro, aimed at users who don’t want to fight their way through a jungle of options. Filmic calls it a tool for everything from ‘professional broadcast-style news interviews to YouTubers capturing multiple angles during live events.’ Still, it comes with a variety of shooting modes that allow you to shoot either with front and rear cam at the same time or shoot with two different focal lengths on the rear cam (iPhone 11 Pro Max, 11 Pro and 11 only).

In Shot/Reverse Shot mode you can record two full size 1080p clips with the front and rear cameras. This will create A/B tracks that you can switch between in editing. This mode is useful for capturing the interaction between two actors or an interviewer and their subject, for example.

In Varied Rear Lenses mode you can record with any two available rear cameras at the same time and create a Picture-in-Picture (PiP) view. The PiP can be moved around inside the main video and its size is adjustable.

Splitscreen Composite Mode lets you record side-by-side footage using any two cameras. The final output footage shows a 50/50 split-screen effect and is saved as a single composite video. More information is available on the Filmic website. You can download Double Take from the App Store for free.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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DPReview TV: The most important Pentax cameras of all time

18 Jan

Pentax week continues! In this video, Chris takes us for a ride on the wayback machine to look at the most important Pentax cameras in history.

Have your own favorite Pentax model? Tell us in the comments.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.

Introduction
Pentax K1000
Asahi Pentax 6X7
Pentax LX
Pentax Auto 110
Pentax K10D
Pentax 645Z
Conclusion

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Capture One 20 Review: Time to Make the Switch from Lightroom?

11 Jan

The post Capture One 20 Review: Time to Make the Switch from Lightroom? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.

It’s that time of year – time for a Capture One 20 review.

In a huge change to the schedule, Phase One took the bold step of renaming it Capture One 20 instead of the unlucky for some Capture One 13. Let me know your thoughts on this bombshell below!

Okay, I admit it. That is simply an excuse to get you to read on. But is there more than a simple name change to this update? A coat of polish if you will?

Well, honestly, yes and no.

The best thing is that, unlike last year, they have added Catalina support in version 12. This means that Mac owners don’t have to upgrade this year unless they want to. I (and may others) appreciate things like this, bravo Phase One, bravo.

Capture One themselves said that this update aimed to make the software more accessible and easier to use. Simply put, they are after Lightroom users who are unhappy with Adobe.

This update does make Capture One 20 feel more Lightroomesque (yeah, I made that word up). It improves the workflow for existing users as well as adding some useful tool updates.

Another Year, Another Capture One release. Could this be the one that makes you change?

Overview

So let’s start with the list of new features list.

New user interface
Faster culling of images
New HDR tools
New color editor
New crop tool
Improved copying of layers
Improved noise reduction
Improved support for DNG files

Now, these all seem to be small changes when taken individually, but do they add up to a whole package that makes it worth the upgrade? Or perhaps more importantly for many of you, is this the upgrade to make Lightroom users make the jump?

Let’s look at these upgrades individually.

New user interface

You can tweak the layout until you find your perfect workspace. The new scrolling area makes a huge difference.

This is one of the little things many users of Capture One have been asking for what feels like forever. (Finally, Capture One!)

Actually, it even has a scrollable section. Better than that, you have a pinned area, where you can keep tools you always need, along with a scrollable area. That means you no longer need to keep minimizing and maximizing tools.

However, this does mean there is a workflow change for regular users of Capture One. You can no longer simply scroll on a tool to change sliders. Now you need to hold down the alt key to alter tools.

To me, this is great as it stops any mistakes when editing. However, you can alter this in the preferences and use the Alt/Option key to scroll through tools instead.

I do love this update – it means you can customize it to exactly how you want your tools and not have the hassle of minimizing tools. I am sure there are Lightroom users who are thinking, “What the hell! You call this an update?”

Well, yes. This is one of the features that will make moving across from Lightroom easier and more intuitive.

Faster culling of images

Culling of images in Capture One 20 is now much faster. As a wedding photographer, it makes a world of difference to my workflow. You can set the software to automatically move to the next image once you rate it, either by star rating, color rating, or both. This simple tool saves a lot of time.

A new color editor

The color tool redesign is a welcome addition.

Well, they say it is new. In reality, it is another user interface update that makes the tools more user-friendly. Along with full layer support, it is more useable.

Capture One 20 has reduced the real estate that the basic color editor takes up. You now have 8 color segments with sliders for Hue, Saturation and Lightness. These are customizable, so if you are looking to isolate a specific range, and the standard segment just doesn’t work, you can simply customize it.

Direct color editor

This is a nice touch that again helps speed up workflow (sensing a theme yet?).

When selecting a color within a photograph, if you continue to hold your mouse button down, you can alter the settings of the selected color range with your mouse (and the alt key).

By sliding your mouse vertically, you alter the saturation. Move it horizontally, and you change the hue. Finally, hold down the Alt/Option key whilst moving horizontally to change the lightness of the color.

New crop tool

So many upgrades this year make Capture One 20 smoother to use. The crop tool is a perfect example of this.

I’m beginning to sound like a broken record. This is by no means groundbreaking – it should have been fixed several versions ago – but cropping is faster and easier than ever before.

When you hit the Crop tool, the first thing you notice is the bold handles. This means it is much easier for you to grab the handles and crop the image. These handles also disappear when you are cropping in or out of the image, which is a nice touch.

Capture One 20 also allows cropping to the center of the image by holding down the Alt/Option key. It also freezes crop ratios when using the unconstrained option by holding down the shift key.

Lastly, it is easier to switch to the rotation of the image. Instead of having to change to the Rotate tool, you simply move outside of the crop area, and it becomes active. It is also noticeably smoother (on my computer at least) and easier to fine-tune than ever before.

Improved support for DNG files

Capture One 20 also offers better color profiling for DNG files. The improvements are subtle, but they are there. If you use DNG files, you will see a slight improvement in the rendering of colors, with them appearing more natural. However, how much of an improvement will depend on the camera the DNG comes from.

Improved copying of Layers

The ability to choose which layers to copy across is a great improvement in this current version.

There are three really great improvements to working with layers in Capture One 20.

Firstly, it is the ability to decide which of the layers you want to copy across. This is great for when you want to have layers that do not want copying across, such as specific retouching layers, or you want to copy your color edits across to a series of images, but not everything else.

This brings me to perhaps the biggest improvement, it pastes copied layers on top of any existing layers. This is huge and removes one of the previous frustrations when using layers in Capture One.

Lastly, you can now easily copy layers between cameras. This can be useful if you have two photographers on a shoot using different cameras. This is a tool that, if you need it, is great. But for many users, this won’t be a deal-breaker.

Improved noise reduction

A small but noticeable improvement to the way the software handles noise is seen in Capture One 20

Okay, it’s time to bring out the big ones – the two new feature updates aimed at getting existing users to upgrade.

First is the improved noise reduction.

They have changed the noise reduction algorithm in Capture One 20. There is definitely an increase in performance here, both in the standard reduction applied at import and when using the tools. The colors in high ISO images tend to look nicer (especially skin colors), and you can reduce more noise than in the previous version.

This is one of those tools that suddenly make this upgrade a no-brainer if you shoot a lot at high ISO.

New HDR tools

The New HDR Tools allow fine-tuning that has been missing from Capture One for years. This has several users excited. Those looking to move from Lightroom will feel much more at home.

Again, this is more of a “finally!” moment than a “WOW” moment.

The new HDR tools include a black and white point slider. This makes things so much easier in a practical sense and especially if you are moving from Lightroom. Also, the redesign of the sliders mean you can darken shadows rather than just recover them and the same with highlights.

It is great to have this feature, but it should have been developed a while ago. It makes working with shadows and highlights in Capture One 20 so much better.

This finally means no more tweaking the levels just to get the right black point. Again, this is something that Lightroom users have had forever, which brings me nicely to my conclusion.

So, Is it Worth The Upgrade?

This is one of those upgrades that really isn’t exciting. Just like when Apple revealed IOS12, this is not going to be full of new features. Instead, it’s about making the workflow better and making it much more intuitive for Lightroom users to move across.

I think the fact that Phase One updated Capture One 12 to run on Catalina OSX says a lot. In the past, you needed to upgrade to the newest version to use the latest operating system.

As someone who uses the software constantly, the updates are worth the price tag. It really makes editing quicker and easier.

I no longer find myself wishing for fixes to tools quite as much. The new user interface is much nicer than previous versions too. The addition of a black point and white point in HDR tools is great, while the big plus is the noise reduction improvements.

But is it worth the $ 159 to upgrade?

It is going to be hard to justify for a lot of people. The best advice, as always, is to try it for 30 days and see. There may be features that either individually or collectively make it worth your while. However, you may be able to invest that money more wisely.

Should I move from Lightroom?

No Capture One 20 review is complete without the Lightroom question. This is the bigger question and, in my opinion, the main point of this upgrade from Phase One’s perspective.

They have made the software much more user-friendly. The UI tweaks really are good. They are very Lightroom-like, meaning that you will find it much easier to come over to this software.

I have never got on with Lightroom. I tried it briefly when Apple stopped supporting Aperture but found myself preferring Capture One. To me, it is a better piece of software.

Phase One is definitely trying to persuade you to switch over to them, with this upgrade more likely to push more people to Capture One. It gives a more polished performance than ever and fixes some UI issues that long term users have wanted for a while. They even have a monthly subscription model if you don’t want to pay upfront.
It may seem like an expensive outlay at $ 299, but if you are a Fuji or Sony shooter, you can purchase Capture One 20 for $ 129. At that price, it really should be something you look into.

So, if this version can’t persuade you to switch from Lightroom, nothing will.

Have you tried Capture One 20? What are your thoughts? Are you looking to make the switch from Lightroom? Share with us in the comments.

The post Capture One 20 Review: Time to Make the Switch from Lightroom? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Carl Spring.

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LG’s G8X ThinQ Dual Screen might just be a killer feature ahead of its time

17 Nov

The LG G8X ThinQ is the South Korean brand’s latest high-end smartphone and was launched at IFA in September. It’s powered by Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 855 top-of-the-line chipset and features a 6.4-inch AMOLED display with FullHD+ resolution, 6GB RAM and an under-display fingerprint reader.

On the camera side of things the new model relies on similar hardware as previous LG devices but has to make do without the dedicated tele lens that could be found on the G8 ThinQ. The X-model’s dual-camera setup combines a primary camera using a 12MP 1/2.55″ sensor and F1.8 27mm equivalent lens with an ultra-wide camera that offers a 13MP resolution, F2.4 aperture and 16mm equivalent field of view. The primary camera also features OIS and PDAF.

The device’s standout feature is an attachable dual-screen case, though. It allows you to double the overall screen size and resolution, similar to other recent dual-screen devices, such as the Huawei Mate X or Samsung Galaxy Fold.

We’ve had the chance to use the LG G8X ThinQ with Dual-Screen accessory for a few weeks now. Read on to find out what the Dual Screen has to offer for mobile photographers.

The Dual Screen accessory

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The G8X ThinQ’s dual-screen solution is different from other dual-screen devices in that the secondary screen can be removed when not needed. This means you have a very visible border between the two displays, but you can also leave the secondary display at home when not needed – which is a good thing as it adds quite a bit of bulk and weight.

The secondary display is embedded into a case that the G8X can be inserted in, and connects to via its USB-C port. This means you need an accessory dongle for connecting a USB-cable when the Dual Screen is attached. This is not a major issue but, like any small accessory item, the dongle is quite easily lost if you’re not careful. The G8X is capable of wireless charging as well, though.

There’s no need to open the case to check the time or to see if you have any new notifications

The Dual Screen case does not have its own battery and instead draws power from the phone’s. LG claims the Dual Screen increases power consumption, depending on use, by between 20 and 30 percent, which is line with our experience.

The secondary display itself is the same P-OLED type, size and resolution as the primary one and we also found the color rendering to be identical. The hinges of the case allow for 360-degree movement, and at the front there’s a 2.1″ monochrome OLED cover display that shows app notifications as well as time and date. This means there’s no need to open the case to check the time or to see if you have any new notifications.

The rear portion of the case comes with a cutout, allowing you to use the phone’s camera while it’s in the case.

Dual-Screen controls

Once the Dual Screen is connected a control button appears on the right edge of the main display. A tap opens up the controls which let you swap the content of the two screens or turn the secondary display off.

The Dual Screen has its own app drawer and you can place app shortcuts and widgets on it in exactly the same way as the main display. In the Dual Screen settings you can adjust brightness of the secondary display (or set it to be the same as the main screen), turn off the cover display and Dual Screen control button, and set an app to open when the Dual Screen is turned on among other options.

Multi-tasking

Multi-tasking is the Dual Screen’s main purpose. For example, you can watch a video on one display while writing and sending a message on the other, or use Google Maps for navigation at a holiday destination while browsing a travel app.

In terms of use for imaging purposes, the options are (still) slightly limited. You could have the camera or an image editing app on one screen while browsing Instagram or another image sharing app on the other, but overall workflow efficiency gains are fairly small. At this point the Dual Screen is mostly about convenience: you can continue your Whatsapp-chat while preparing an Instagram-upload or editing an image.

Mirror Mode in the Camera app

App support for the Dual Screen is currently still quite limited but fortunately the LG Camera is one of the few apps that makes use of the secondary screen. With the Dual Screen attached you can turn on Mirror Mode. As the name suggests, it mirrors the camera’s preview image on the secondary display.

Combined with the ability to angle the latter any way you like, this feature can be really handy when shooting overhead or at low height, just like a tilting display on a regular camera. You can also use the secondary screen like a waist-level viewfinder which is particularly helpful for holding the device in a stable fashion when recording video.

It’s worth noting though that the mirrored display only comes with a shutter/video button. For all other controls you’ll still have to go back to the main screen. You can however swap the display content using the Dual Screen controls.

Wide Mode

Wide-view expands an app across both screens, offering an overall display size of 12.8 inches. This can be great for reading websites, viewing images and watching video but in many cases, especially when consuming multi-media content, the 15mm combined bezel between the two screens somewhat limits the experience.

The fact that the feature currently only works with websites viewed in the Chrome browser is another downside. Still, Wide Mode can be useful for viewing websites in desktop mode or on those occasions when additional real estate increases usability, for example when viewing and navigating a map.

Extended View

In Extended View mode an app is divided into two screens. Unfortunately this feature is currently only supported by two apps – the LG Gallery and the Naver Whale browser – but LG says it is expecting support to be expanded to additional apps in the future.

In the Gallery app you can tap on the Dual Screen button to expand the view. This allows you to browse thumbnails on one screen and open the full image on the other. You can zoom into the full image as well as share or delete it in this viewing mode. However, if you want to add a memo or edit, you’ll have to go back to the main screen, so the Dual Screen’s added value is somewhat limited in this instance.

LG’s Naver Whale is a web browser and allows you to view websites in Wide Mode, just like Chrome. However, it also lets you open links on the secondary screen by double-tapping them. This can be useful when browsing shopping websites for example, when you don’t have to jump back and forth between your list of search results and product pages. You simply keep the list open on one screen and open product pages on the other.

In a similar manner, when browsing Instagram or equivalent sites you can keep a user’s profile page open on the main screen and open individual posts on the secondary display. All this has to happen in the browser, though.

Virtual Game Pad and Keyboard

This Dual Screen use case is arguably the one that LG has implemented best so far. The Dual Screen can be used to display a virtual gaming pad. Android recognizes the app as connected bluetooth hardware which makes it compatible with any game that supports this kind of hardware. The pad is also customizable.

We’re no gamers but after a few trial runs on Asphalt 9 it’s fair to say the pad works quite well. A hardware pad is arguably a better option, but this virtual implementation isn’t far off.

The LG keyboard offers a very similar function. You can display a soft-keyboard on the main screen while having the app you are writing in, for example Gmail or Instagram, open on the secondary screen. The keys are larger than they’d be on a usual split-screen style keyboard and allow for more comfortable typing. We would not recommend it for writing your next novel but shorter pieces of text are absolutely manageable in this setup.

Conclusion

LG is a smartphone manufacturer who does not shy away from risky development decisions. Some years ago the company introduced a modular system with its G5 model which was very innovative but ultimately proved commercially unsuccessful. It was also among the first to introduce ultra-wide angle cameras to smartphone photography which today are pretty much ubiquitous.

The Dual Screen follows in this tradition but at the current stage it’s still too soon to say if it will go the way of the G5 modules or become a success like the ultra-wide camera. It’s fair to say that for the latter to happen more apps will probably need to support the secondary screen.

The most useful feature for photographers is Mirror Mode in the camera app which helps when shooting at awkward angles

Right now it provides the most obvious benefits to those users who like to multi-task, letting you work in two apps at the same time. The ability to consume content across two screens or separate app controls from the main screen are great but unfortunately only work with a very limited number of apps. Currently, the most useful feature for photographers is Mirror Mode in the camera app which helps when shooting at awkward angles.

For everybody else, and especially those who write a lot on their smartphones, the virtual keyboard on its own might be an argument to purchase a G8X ThinQ with Dual Screen. If that doesn’t quite convince you yet it’s probably a good idea to wait and see if the Dual Screen will get more support from app developers.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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