usability « 360Photography

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘usability’

GoPro announces Hero10 Black with new chip, better performance and improved usability

16 Sep

Precisely one year ago, GoPro announced the Hero9 Black action camera. Today, GoPro has announced its successor, the Hero10 Black. While GoPro’s latest action camera looks familiar, a new GP2 chip inside results in significantly improved performance.

With its GP2 chip, the Hero10 Black features double the performance frame rates compared to 2020’s Hero9 Black. The increased processing power has other benefits. The Hero10 can upload a video to your phone or the cloud 30 percent faster than the Hero9. The Hero10 can plug directly into your smartphone for even faster uploads through GoPro’s Quik app, something not possible on the Hero9. The Hero9 introduced a front screen, although it was limited by poor framerate. Thanks to the GP2, the front display now runs at 30 frames per second despite being the same display.

Increased processing power gets more out of the 23.6MP image sensor. The Hero9 allowed users to pull 12MP still images from 4K 4:3 video. The Hero10 instead grabs 19.6MP stills from 5.3K 4:3 video. The Hero9 was limited to 5K 16:9 video, where the Hero10 records 5.3K 16:9 video, resulting in an additional megapixel when grabbing stills.

The GP2 chip helps with video framerates as well, which is perhaps the biggest boost offered by the increased processing power. The Hero10 Black records 5.3K/60p, 4K/120p and 2.7K/240p video. The Hero9 recorded 5K/30p, 4K/60p and FHD video at 240 frames per second.

Video is not only higher quality and faster, but it’s also more stable thanks to the inclusion of new HyperSmooth 4.0 stabilization software. The GoPro Hero10 includes three levels for its stabilization: off, standard, and boost. Boost results in cropping but promises the most stable footage possible. Standard doesn’t crop but won’t be quite as smooth as the boost setting.

The Hero10 uses the same batteries as the Hero9, but with higher-res video at faster frame rates, it does drain faster, per The Verge. During hands-on time, reviewer Becca Farsace investigated GoPro’s claims of improved tone mapping and noise reduction from the GP2 chip. Farsace found that low-light performance is improved.

While the GoPro Hero10 Black is available now for $ 499 ($ 399 with an annual GoPro subscription), some new features are being added on November 16, including Max lens mod support, additional resolutions, 24fps at all resolutions and GoPro’s SuperView lens at 5.3K at 30, 25 and 24fps. For more information, visit GoPro.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Rogue releases new FlashBender v3 with better compatibility and improved usability

28 Mar

Rogue Photographic Design has released a new version of its popular FlashBender shapeable reflectors and softboxes for speedlights. The FlashBender v3 (shown above in the large size) incorporates numerous new features and improvements when compared to the v2, including a new internal mesh structure, quick-release buckle and more.

While the FlashBender v2 was compatible with strobes and speedlights of many sizes, the new v3 has been designed for even more compatibility. With its new grippier attachment strap, the v3 can fit strobes as small as 17cm (6.7″) and as large as 43cm (17″). The v2 could fit flashes and strobes from 19cm (7.5″) to just under 25cm (9.75″).

Rogue lists a variety of compatible flashes on its website, including speedlights from Canon, Godox, Nikon, Nissin, Olympus, Profoto and Sony. The mount is incorporated into the FlashBender v3 itself, so there’s no need for additional accessories or mounts when attaching the v3 to your flash.

With its new internal mesh structure, the FlashBender v3 can be more easily shaped to your needs and is better at maintaining its position. Compared to the v2, the FlashBender v3 makes it easier to shape and direct light where you need it.

Compared to the Rogue FlashBender v2 (left), the FlashBender v3 (right) has an improved strap and quick-release buckle. The new v3 is also compatible with a wider range of flashes and strobes than its predecessor. With its new internal mesh structure, the FlashBender v3 allows for better control over the direction of light than the v2 as well.

The FlashBender v3 maintains the same compact form factor as its predecessor, ensuring that you can easily fold it in half to pack it away when transporting your gear. To make the FlashBender v3 even easier to use, it incorporates a new quick-release buckle. One minor tradeoff for the improved usability and design is that the FlashBender v3 weighs slightly more than its predecessor. For example, the FlashBender v3 Large Reflector weighs 170g (6oz), whereas the v2 weighs 135g (4.8oz).

For those unfamiliar with the Rogue FlashBender, it is available in various configurations, including a large reflector, large softbox, small reflector, small softbox and an XL pro lighting system. With the reflector kits, you can use the FlashBender v3 to reflect and soften the light from your speedlight or strobe, allowing you to easily set up main, background, accent or hair lights. You can also use the FlashBender to easily direct and bounce light off existing reflective surfaces, such as a white ceiling. Compared to a diffuser, the FlashBender allows for more control of where your light is directed, allowing the photographer to opt for lower power settings or be able to take better photos in direct outdoor sunlight.

The FlashBender v3 softbox kits come with a FlashBender v3 reflector and also includes a diffusion panel, allowing you to create even softer light and eliminate bounce flash if you are working in an area with off-color ceilings. When using FlashBender v3, either attached to an on-camera flash or when using off-camera remote flash, you can shape it to create a reflector/gobo, snoot (tube) or softbox.

The Rogue FlashBender v3 is available in an XL Pro Lighting System kit (shown here) for $ 119.95. This kit comes with an extra-large Pro Reflector v3, extra-large Pro Diffuser v3 and Rogue’s Pro Strip Grid v3.

The Rogue FlashBender v3 is available in the following kits: Large Reflector ($ 44.95 USD), Large Soft Box Kit ($ 59.95), Small Reflector ($ 39.95), Small Soft Box Kit ($ 49.95) and XL Pro Lighting System ($ 119.95). The softbox kits include a reflector plus a diffusion panel. The XL Pro Lighting System includes an extra-large Pro Reflector v3, Pro Diffusion Panel v3 and Pro Strip Grid v3. For owners of the FlashBender or FlashBender v2, it is worth noting that existing versions of Rogue Diffusion Panels are not compatible with the new hook and loop modifications on the FlashBender v3.

For more information on the new Rogue FlashBender v3, visit the Rogue Photographic Design website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

New firmware brings improved AF usability: Read our updated Nikon Z6 and Z7 reviews

13 Mar

Nikon’s release of firmware 3.0 for its Z6 and Z7 cameras is significant. Not just for the changes it brings, but the significance of those changes in the context of the company’s history. Like Canon, Nikon has historically brought DSLR cameras to market that you could be sure would work exactly the same in ten years as the day you bought it. There simply wasn’t any expectation that you would gain additional features, refinements or enhancements over the life of the product.

But times have changed, and with the Z6 and Z7, Nikon has clearly taken industry feedback to heart. Of course, this isn’t the first major firmware update for these cameras – firmware 2.0 brought us eye detect autofocus – but 3.0 changes some of the autofocus system’s fundamental operation in an attempt to make it more familiar to users of the company’s DSLR cameras.

Alright, enough with the pontificating. Here’s what firmware 3.0 brings to the table.

Refined autofocus tracking implementation

The most significant change in FW 3.0 (to us, anyway) is the refinement in the behavior of the Z6 and Z7’s tracking autofocus. Up until now, you had to hit the ‘OK’ button while in the Auto AF area mode to bring up the tracking box. You could place that over your subject and initiate autofocus, and it would track around the frame. But when you released the shutter button (or AF On button), the box would continue to track your subject until you canceled it with the ‘OK’ button, and then the tracking box would reset to the center of the frame, regardless of whether you’d moved it around before initiating autofocus. You then exited tracking with the ‘Zoom out’ button.

You can now have either the Fn1 or Fn2 buttons initiate tracking AF. Our opinions on staff differ, but I personally find these buttons fall naturally under my middle and ring fingers, and are easy to press.

Now, with FW 3.0, you have the option to assign Tracking mode to one of the Fn buttons on the front of the camera, which are easier to manipulate with the camera to your eye. And once you’ve initiated tracking, releasing the shutter or AF On buttons will see the camera cease tracking, and the box return to wherever it was when you initiated tracking.

It actually makes a remarkable difference in everyday shooting, and we’ve found that we can use the Z6 and Z7 more comfortably, and in a similar way to how we’re used to shooting with Nikon’s DSLRs.

It’s not quite perfect though. Firstly, if you enter playback or menus, or power-cycle the camera, you’re back into non-tracking Auto area AF mode. We’d love to see it remember your chosen mode or, better still, be offered as a distinct AF area mode. Secondly, initiating tracking on a face does not switch to face and eye-detection, as it does on Sony and Canon cameras with the latest firmware.

But on the whole, it’s a welcome improvement and makes the Z6 and Z7 much more usable, further improving on cameras that already had great ergonomics and handling. We discuss how this new behavior interacts with the cameras’ other AF features in our Nikon Z7 review.

Pet eye detection and CFExpress

Firmware 3.0 also brings the ability to focus on the eyes of pets, for all you pet portraitists out there. Depending on the pet (in essence, on how similar their eyes looked to human eyes) some Z6 and Z7 users with the old firmware might have found that their cameras already did a decent job of this, but now it’s official. With Firmware 3.0 you get more reliable and stable pet detection tracking, when you enable the requisite menu function.

Lastly, the Z6 and Z7 cameras are now compatible with CFExpress cards. This won’t impact you too much if you already have a bunch of XQD cards laying around, but CFExpress is the future, and broader compatibility is always a plus.

The reviews

Our reviews of both the Z6 and Z7 now have updated autofocus sections, updated conclusions, and we made tweaks to the scoring. Neither received a higher overall numerical score – they both scored very highly to begin with – but the ‘metering and focus’ category of the scoring widget has received a noticeable boost on both. We’ve also updated our Pros and Cons lists at the top of the conclusion pages to reflect the changes.

To see all the changes for yourself, hop on over to our full Nikon Z6 and Z7 full reviews.

360Photography