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Posts Tagged ‘Visual’

From the T90 to the EOS R3 – a visual tour of Canon’s high-end cameras (photo gallery)

25 Sep

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Canon was a pioneer of electronic, multi-mode cameras, and some of the design decisions that the company made way back in the 1980s persist even now, in its high-end EF and RF cameras. From the T90 to the new EOS R3, high-end Canon cameras share a remarkable amount of DNA.

In this gallery, we’re taking a closer look at several Canon cameras, from the 1980s to the present day, to explore how the company’s approach to ergonomics has evolved (and when it hasn’t) over the years.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony adds AI-powered ‘Live Gallery’ feature to its Visual Story mobile app

31 Mar

Sony Electronics recently announced updates to its Visual Story, a cloud-based mobile application that works with various models of cameras the company produces. Built with event photographers in mind, ‘Visual Story’ Version 1.1 uses AI (artificial intelligence) to instantly recognize scenes and objects. The app will continuously select what it deems the best images for real-time gallery creation.

What this means, for these socially-distanced times, is that friends, family and colleagues can view the highlights of a wedding, conference or sporting match, while it’s happening, in the comfort of their own homes or offices. The ‘Live Gallery’ feature also applies presets to images as the photos upload, to maximize their visual appeal.

A newly-added object detection filter allows the photographer and viewers to locate a specific photo containing, for example, a wedding cake, soccer ball or table. The audience can also ‘like’ specific photos. This can aid the photographer in curating images for a final gallery before it’s delivered to the client.

Photographers can also add their own logo plus links to their website and social media profiles to galleries for branding purposes, not to mention increased exposure to the audiences.

Visual Story allows you to access photos from any specific time during the event. Photos are stored to the cloud for backup as well. Photographers can also add their own logo plus links to their website and social media profiles to galleries for branding purposes, not to mention increased exposure to the audiences.

Currently available for free on iOS, Visual Story is compatible with the following Sony cameras: a7C, a7R IV, a7S III, a9, a9 II, a1, a7 III (with updated firmware) and FX3.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Sony’s new Visual Story iOS app is designed for wedding and event photographers

02 Dec

Sony has announced Visual Story, a new iOS application for Sony camera users. The app has been designed with wedding and event photographers in mind and provides users with simplified gallery creation, cloud storage, and web delivery solutions.

Visual Story offers automated image transfer from compatible Sony Alpha cameras to the cloud. From there, users can edit and deliver curated digital albums directly to their clients. To speed up image selection and organization, the app also utilizes AI and reads the metadata of your images.

‘The voice of our customer is at the center of everything we do. Today’s professional photographers constantly challenge themselves to deliver higher quality content faster than ever to their clients,’ said Neal Manowitz, deputy president of Sony Imaging Products and Solutions Americas. ‘Visual Story allows them to streamline their workflow, ultimately giving them the ability to edit, select and send photo galleries to their clients on the day of the ceremony or event. Sony continues developing innovative hardware and software solutions empowering content creators to capture, communicate and share in ways never before possible.’

With Visual Story, photographers can quickly and easily create, edit, curate and deliver a photo gallery. When your camera is connected to the app, images are automatically transferred from the camera to the connected smartphone or tablet in addition to Sony’s cloud service. Images are automatically organized using AI and can be sorted based on metadata, star ratings, shooting timeframe, focus position and additional parameters.

AI can also sort based on different types of images from an event. For example, AI can detect cake and ring ceremony images from a wedding, identify photos of speeches and dances, and more. The app can also detect when a subject’s eyes are shut, reducing the number of images you must choose from when creating a gallery.

Visual Story includes auto presets as well. Photographers can automatically apply custom edit presets or utilize built-in fixed presets. You can register an edit preset prior to shooting, such that all transferred images are automatically applied as the images are transferred, ensuring a consistent look across all photos. Additionally, the app includes a variety of editing functions, including controls over exposure, white balance, contrast, hue, saturation, and luminance.

By utilizing cloud storage, images can be synchronized across multiple devices. Further, ‘Visual Story also allows wedding photographers to automatically create an online gallery for their clients, which can be delivered instantly on site. This can be offered to their client as an additional service, or complimentary and included in their wedding or event package.’ You can also embed a selected logo and social media information directly into the images in the photo gallery, making it easier to market your business when clients share images online.

When creating a photo gallery in the app, your ratings and selections can be saved as an XMP file as well, meaning you can transfer your ratings/selections to your computer for easier processing later.

Visual Story is available now for iOS in the Apple App Store. It is a free download. Your iOS device must be running iOS 13 or newer. Visual Story is compatible with select Sony cameras, including A7C, A7R IV, A7S III, A9, and A9 II. The Sony A7 III will be supported in a planned firmware update in Spring 2021.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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A visual and auditory journey through the shutter sounds of vintage film cameras

28 Oct

Photographer Ace Noguera has published a video highlighting not only the great style of vintage cameras but also their distinct shutter sounds. It’s a satisfying watch and listen.

Of his video, Noguera told DPReview, ‘The video came from an idea I’ve had for a while, to simply showcase how shutter sounds and technology has changed over the years. I thought it would be cool and entertaining to put it in a visual format and share with others how not only designs have changed over the years, but how we’ve been able to integrate electronics to help automate how we take photos.’

In total, the video below showcases the look and sound of nine cameras, dating back to the 1940s. The cameras come from Noguera’s collection with some additions from his friend, Patch Agan. It’s fascinating to hear how shutter sounds have changed over the years. There’s something particularly satisfying about the Olympus Trip XB3 from 1996.

While the video isn’t overly comprehensive in the cameras it covers, Noguera assures us there are more shutter sounds on the way, telling us, ‘I do plan on making another video that will also include some digital cameras as well as just further show the advancement in the tech and design of cameras. I plan to somewhat pick up where this video left off and showcase the next 20 years of sounds and cameras.’

Noguera hopes to record medium format cameras as well. He continues, ‘I think it would be awesome to be able to record some medium format cameras like the iconic Pentax 67 or even the modern medium format like Hasselblads as well.’ Hopefully, some photographers near Noguera in Atlanta will be able to help him out.

To see more from Noguera, follow him on Instagram and check out his YouTube channel. On his YouTube channel, you will find tutorials, lens reviews and much more.

Do you have a favorite camera shutter sound? Do you miss the physical shutter sound when using an electronic shutter in many modern cameras? Let us know in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The Associated Press partners with Sony to exclusively provide its visual journalists with Sony camera gear

24 Jul

The Associated Press (AP) has announced it’s partnering with Sony to make the Japanese electronics manufacturer the sole supplier of photo and video equipment for its visual journalists around the globe.

This massive undertaking will see visual journalists in more than 250 locations across 100 countries supplied with Sony cameras, lenses and accessories to capture the more than 3,000 photos and 200 videos submitted every day. AP says ‘A wide variety of Sony’s imaging solutions products will begin delivery immediately, including the full-frame mirrorless Alpha cameras, FS series professional video cameras and an assortment of Sony’s 57 E-mount lenses including G Master models.’

To find out more about the collaboration, we had a conversation with AP’s Director of Photography, J. David Ake. In the interview, he explains why the partnership happened now, how long it’s taken to get this collaboration together and what it means for the hundreds of AP visual journalists around the world.

Our interview with AP’s Director of Photography

Press release:

AP to Equip all Visual Journalists Globally with Sony Imaging Products

Sony Electronics to become AP’s exclusive global imaging provider for photo and video journalism

July 23, 2020 – SAN DIEGO, CA – Sony Electronics Inc. a global leader in imaging, and The Associated Press, the trusted global news organization, announced today a new collaboration that will make Sony the exclusive imaging products and support provider for AP news photographers and video journalists around the world.

With journalists in nearly 250 locations in 100 countries, AP provides factual, compelling journalism in all formats, including 3,000 photos and 200 videos each day. The news agency has a distinguished history of powerful visual journalism, winning the 2020 Pulitzer Prize for Feature Photography — AP’s 54th Pulitzer and 32nd for photography — and garnering recognition from the Royal Television Society for excellence in video.

A wide variety of Sony’s imaging solutions products will begin delivery immediately, including the full-frame mirrorless Alpha™ cameras, FS series professional video cameras and an assortment of Sony’s 57 E-mount lenses including G Master™ models.

“We are extremely honored to announce this collaboration with The Associated Press, an organization with an incredible history in journalism that continues to raise the bar for global news reporting and delivery,” said Neal Manowitz, deputy president for Imaging Products and Solutions Americas at Sony Electronics. “The Associated Press is a universally trusted brand for news information in the world. We are honored to equip AP’s journalists with our technology and support, giving them the opportunity to capture, transmit and deliver imagery in ways they never could before.”

“Sony’s history of innovation aligns well with AP’s, and with our vision for the future of visual journalism,” said Derl McCrudden, AP deputy managing editor for visual and digital journalism. “AP is committed to providing the best imagery to our member news organizations and customers across the globe. Adopting Sony’s cutting-edge equipment and technology allows us to do that, by enabling our photographers and video journalists to be faster and more flexible, ultimately creating better visual journalism.”

When the transition to Sony is complete, AP’s video journalists and photographers will for the first time be equipped with the same brand of cameras, allowing for seamless collaboration among the news agency’s journalists as they tell the world’s stories in whatever medium is right for the moment.

AP visual journalists will be able to share Sony cameras and lenses, as well as the images they capture, to produce a news report unhindered by technical limitations.

“The new mirrorless technology in Sony’s cameras allows for a completely silent operation, meaning our photojournalists can work in environments without interrupting the scene around them,” said AP Director of Photography J. David Ake. “This is a huge leap forward in photojournalism.”

In addition to delivery of product, AP and Sony will work together to improve workflow and efficiency of field operations, including testing of 5G capabilities.

Sony offers 5G through its Xperia™ product line, which uses technology from its professional monitors, cameras and audio devices.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Adobe tweaks Creative Residency program to launch $1M support fund for visual creatives

01 May

Adobe has announced the latest iteration of its Adobe Creative Resident program, one that has changed substantially in light of the coronavirus pandemic. This year, Adobe says that it will only select two Creative Residents, but that it will also launch a $ 1 million Creative Residency Community Fund intended to support creators during the economic downturn.

Adobe explains that this fund will be open globally and will be used to hire creatives for projects commissioned by Adobe over the next year, as well as personal projects. Creatives who get support from Adobe for personal and commissioned projects will also receive career guidance workshops, Creative Cloud memberships and other unspecified support.

Visual creatives interested in the fund will need to apply on Adobe’s website here. Applicants have the choice of applying for a creative project grant, which will range from $ 500 to $ 5,000, or for Adobe project commissions, which will also be valued at $ 500 to $ 5,000. Applicants aren’t required to propose a project when applying for commissioned work.

Adobe plans to run its fund for 12 months from May 1, 2020, to April 30, 2021. Recipients will be notified about their inclusion in the program 30 to 60 days after submitting their application; the grants are issued on a monthly basis.

Adobe says that creatives can apply for the Community Fund even if they already applied for the Creative Residency this year but weren’t selected. The company is accepting applications from a variety of visual creatives, including professionals who work with 3D, graphic design, short-form online videos, photography, digital painting and drawing, motion design and UX/UI/VX/XD design.

As far as commissioned work goes, professionals who are selected for projects will receive work based on their portfolio, skills and what Adobe happens to need at the time. This could include artwork for social media or use in applications, or something like creating a video, writing an article or developing a tutorial, according to the company.

Beyond this, Adobe announced that Christina Poku and Maddy Beard are its two Creative Residents for the 2020-2021 year. It’s yet to be seen whether the coronavirus pandemic is over by the start of Adobe’s next residency period and what kind of impact that may have on the company’s future plans for its program.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Visual Flow’s new presets are custom made based on lighting conditions in an image

31 Oct

Visual Flow, the company launched by DVLP and SLR Lounge, has introduced ‘The Modern Pack,’ a series of 10 presets for Lightroom and Adobe Camera Raw. The Modern Pack stands out from competitors, according to Visual Flow, because it is ‘lighting condition-based,’ meaning that it does not require the ‘perfect lighting and weather conditions’ for which other presets are designed.

According to Visual Flow, its new lighting condition-based presets use a Color Engine and camera profile technology to unify the color variations between camera manufacturers and to create the look of the selected preset regardless of the lighting conditions in the input image.

The Modern Pack presets include Black & White, Hard Light, Soft Light, Backlit, HDR Natural, Over Saturated, Tungsten, Tungsten Mix and Green Tint; further comparison examples of each preset can be found on the Visual Flow website here. According to the company, the work it put into its Color Engine means users will enjoy 1-click presets without the need for extensive manual tweaking.

Joining The Modern Pack is the non-destructive Retouching Toolkit for Lightroom and ACR, which features 26 tools and 47 retouching brushes for dodging and burning, retouching, scene enhancements,and more.

The Modern Preset Pack and the Retouching Kit are available for $ 95 each; there’s also a bundle of the two for $ 165.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Unreal Engine’s Project Spotlight uses LED walls for real-time in-camera visual effects

24 Aug

Epic Games has showcased Project Spotlight, an Unreal Engine-powered way to capture real-time visual effects in-camera. The company has detailed the work in a new video showing off the system, including its ability to track the camera’s position in space in real-time for a realistic and customizable background.

Rather than filming in front of a blue or green screen for post-production later on, the Project Spotlight system enables filmmakers to shoot in front of LED walls showing the virtual environment in real-time. Creators can digitally manipulate this 3D virtual scene when necessary and the LED walls adjust the on-set lighting for realistic ambient light.

‘No matter what the project is,’ Lux Machina chief technology officer Philip Galler said, ‘creatives always want to see the closest representation to the final product as early on in the creative process [as possible].’

Experts featured in the video explain that because the virtual environment can be adjusted in real-time, the project saves critical time that may otherwise be wasted waiting for changes. As well, people from different departments can work together to determine how the virtual world is portrayed.

The technology was demonstrated at SIGGRAPH 2019 by Epic Games in partnership with Magnopus, Lux Machina, Quixel, Profile Studios, DP Matt Workman and ARRI. Future plans for the system are unclear at this time.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Report: Reuters to merge photography, video teams under unified ‘visual journalist’ team

24 Nov

A report from The Baron, an independent website dedicated to sharing news and information about Reuters, says Reuters is speeding up the process of merging its picture and video news departments into a single team of ‘visual journalists’ while at the same time making cuts to the number of jobs within the organization.

According to The Baron report, in an internal message to Reuters staff, John Pullman, global head of visuals at Reuters, said ‘In Visuals we will accelerate the moves already underway to create a single unified team of visual journalists […] Many of our photographers already shoot video – and videographers produce pictures. This mode of working is becoming normal throughout the industry as video and photo technologies grow closer. We will be taking a structured approach to merge our pictures and video teams. We will look at technology, training and workflow – and introduce single leadership where appropriate.’

The Baron reports the internal memo goes on to say ‘We aim to align our teams with the needs of our customers by extending our footprint, improving our efficiency and increasing our flexibility.’

According to the referenced memo, Pullman said the changes, which come as part of the reorganization as a separate business under the Thomson Reuters umbrella, will take place over the coming months. Unsurprisingly, the homogenization isn’t going over to well with Reuters staff.

A Reuters employee, who spoke under the condition of anonymity to The Baron, said ‘This is essentially the end of Reuters Pictures, going down the tubes in a very sad way. Pix has won a score of Pulitzers and other prestigious awards under Reuters but it seems that is not enough to save it from what appears to be the terrible end of what was a great run over more than 30 years which brought the world some of the best photojournalism it has ever seen.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Moment Pro adds HDR+ with support for Pixel 2’s Visual Core hardware

03 Aug

Moment has released an update for its Moment Pro camera app that gives Pixel 2 smartphone owners access to the same HDR+ shooting mode available in the Google Camera app. The third-party shooting mode utilizes the Pixel Visual Core co-processor hardware Google built into the Pixel 2 smartphones, which Google activated for third-party apps via a software update issue in February.

Moment Pro’s new HDR+ feature takes advantage of the Pixel 2’s image processing hardware to rapidly capture high dynamic range images

As with Instagram, Snapchat, and WhatsApp, Moment Pro’s new HDR+ feature takes advantage of the Pixel 2’s image processing hardware to rapidly capture high dynamic range images, which are processed in the background. As Google previously explained, the Pixel Visual Core efficiently uses power to reduce battery drain while processing the HDR+ content.

In addition to the Pixel 2 HDR+ support, Moment Pro’s update adds a map with location data in detailed view, assuming location info is available, as well as the option to make Motion Pro the device’s default camera, performance improvements, and bug fixes. The camera app is available from Google Play Store for $ 1.99 USD.

Via: Engadget

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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