360Photography

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  • Japan offers $2.2B to help domestic companies move production from China, but will it help the imaging industry?

    Fujifilm X-Pro2 cameras being moved along the production process inside Fujifilm’s Sendai, Japan factory.

    Last week, South China Morning Post (SCMP) reported that Japan is planning to set aside $ 2.2 billion of its $ 993 billion emergency COVID-19 stimulus package to help Japanese companies move production out of China, a move with potential ramifications for numerous Japanese camera and lens manufacturers.

    According to the report, the $ 2.2 billion would be split into two different funds. Roughly $ 2 billion will go towards assisting Japanese companies move operations back to Japan, while the remaining $ 200M will help companies move production into other countries, in what is likely an effort to help diversify supply chains that aren’t domestic.

    Rather than purely speculating on the matters, we decided to contact executives at a few Japanese camera and lens manufacturers to find out what their thoughts are on this facet of the emergency stimulus package.

    General Manager of Fujifilm’s Optical Device and Electronic Imaging Products Division, Toshihisa Iida, had the following to say when asked about the SCMP article and its potential impact on Fujifilm’s operations:

    ‘Manufacturing in China has changed a lot over the years. It faces many challenges such as parts and labor availability, increase in overall cost, [the] US-China trade issue, and most recently, COVID-19. We still depend heavily on China to source electronic and mechanical components, but we started sourcing from alternative vendors from outside China as well.

    [Business continuity planning] is always a very important agenda in our business strategy. We learned from disasters such as earthquakes and floods in the past, and keep our eyes open to prepare for any situations to secure the supply chain. COVID-19 is no exception.’

    As for its current production operations, Mr. Iida says ‘Fujifilm already owns factories outside China (e.g. Japan and the Philippines)’ and has also subcontracted factories. ‘Production quality in all of the factories [is] being monitored to achieve the same standard,’ he says. ‘We look at all the important elements for production, such as capacity, cost, lead time, and [allocation of] the products to the aforementioned factories in order to deliver the products efficiently.’

    Here, finished X-Pro2 bodies manufactured inside its Sendai, Japan factory await final checks before being boxed up for shipping.

    Despite the Japanese government’s record stimulus package, Mr. Iida remains unsure of its impact on Fujifilm’s production, saying ‘It’s too early to say whether we will move our production from China, and if we do, how much will be shifted to Japan or elsewhere, but we will continue to monitor the situation and take action if and when necessary.’

    All in all, it seems the production shift initiative might not have as much of an impact on the photography industry as some might’ve hoped. Aside from not being heavily publicized, the state of the industry even before the COVID-19 pandemic wasn’t great and investing in a contracting market isn’t exactly assuring, even with a convincing stimulus opportunity to make use of.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • I’m Back returns to Kickstarter with updated I’m Back 35 digital back for old 35mm SLRs

    Swiss company I’m Back has returned to Kickstarter with another digital back product, this one following the previous models it sought crowdfunding for in 2016, 2017 and 2018. The new I’m Back 35 will be, according to the company, the only digital back product that can be paired with ‘almost all the most famous analog cameras.’ The I’m Back 35 will feature manual and automatic recording modes, improved battery performance, a new ergonomic design and other new technology if it ends up being produced.

    The ‘I’m Back 35’ unit is designed to work with old analog SLR cameras that are still functional, yet obsolete. The digital back will replace the back cover on an old SLR to give it digital functionality and features, including a 2″ touch display, external microphone support, USB-C, WiFi, support for syncing flash and a Panasonic 34112 image sensor.

    The aluminum-based universal cover on I’m Back 35 supports 99 percent of existing 35mm analog cameras, according to the company. Should the I’m Back 35 see the light of day, its creators say the unit will have new software controls for the manual exposure function, an exclusive PCBA design and will use NP-F550 and NP-F570 batteries.

    I’m Back says it offers dedicated back covers that improve the I’m Back 35’s fit on customers’ preferred analog cameras, including models like the Canon EOS 300, Ricoh KR10, Olympus OM10, Nikon F100, Leica M7, Diana F, Pentax K1000 and Yashica FX3, among others. I’m Back 35 will also include a universal back cover that can be used with most other 35mm analog cameras.

    The new digital back will feature an ‘M’ button for switching between manual and automatic modes, a new focusing screen, new alignment and stability system, new clamps, micro HDMI and a microSD slot with support for cards up to 128GB capacity. The device, which is currently only shown as a prototype, captures images in JPEG and raw formats at 8MP to 14MP resolutions, plus video in MOV format at up to 4K/30fps.

    Other technical features will include a built-in speaker and microphone, support for a 7.4V-1A power source, 1.5mm sync cable, and 3.5mm microphones, as well as PCs running Windows 2000 or higher and Macs running macOS 10.3.6 or higher.

    The company notes that because its digital back uses a focusing screen, the images and video captured with I’m Back 35 won’t be at the same quality level as content captured with a dedicated digital camera, but rather will ‘resemble something between analog and digital.’ Below are a few sample photos shared by the I’m Back team, captured with the working prototype:

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    I’m Back 35 follows the I’m Back MF digital back, which is currently in its final prototype stages, according to the company.

    The new 35mm product is a bit cheaper at $ 349 retail price compared to the I’m Back MF’s $ 400 price tag. I’m Back is offering its 35mm model to Kickstarter backers in exchange for pledges starting at CHF 249 (approximately $ 258). The backer kits include the I’m Back 35 digital module, universal back cover, sync cable, USB-C cable, rechargeable battery and battery charger. Assuming everything goes according to plan, I’m Back anticipates shipping its product to backers starting in December 2020.

    You can find out more information and secure your pledge on the Kickstarter campaign.

    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)

  • BCN data shows mirrorless camera sales have dropped 50% YoY in Japan for March amidst COVID-19 pandemic

    An illustration from BCN Retail showing the unit sales percentage, by manufacturer, of Canon (Blue), Olympus (Green) and Sony (Red).

    It was only a matter of time before we started to see the effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on camera sales, and today we’re getting our first glimpse at just how brutal the global pandemic has been on the camera industry.

    BCN Retail, an analyst firm that collects daily sales data of mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras directly from online and in-person points of sale in the Japanese camera market, has shared the numbers from its March data, and it’s not pretty. While January and February saw a year-over-year (YoY) decline of 9.9 percent and 23.5 percent, respectively, March saw a decrease of 50.5 percent (compared to March 2019).

    This decrease is well above the relatively consistent 15–20 percent YoY decrease we’ve seen over the past few years and goes to show just how hard the coronavirus pandemic is affecting sales, even if BCN’s data is only a relatively small sample size.

    As far as sales volume goes, BCN says Canon, Olympus and Sony have all dropped YoY, while Fujifilm stands alone as the only manufacturer to increase its share of the market.

    A chart showing the most popular cameras in the Japanese market, based on BCN Retail’s data.

    BCN also shares what cameras have performed best, based on sales volume, with the Canon EOS M50 barely edging out the Olympus Pen E-PL9. Sony’s a6400 rounds out the top three, with the a6000 still coming in fifth, despite being six years old.

    It’s safe to assume these numbers are just the tip of the iceberg as near-global stay-at-home mandates and quarantines continue in an effort to #flattenthecurve of the COVID-19 pandemic. CIPA’s data won’t be here for a while, but it will likely tell a similar story at a much larger scale.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Video: How a video production company turned an ambulance into the ultimate grip truck

    What do you do if your average vehicle isn’t enough to safely transport all of your camera gear and other equipment? Well, if you’re the team behind North Dakota-based video production company Threefold.

    In the two-minute video recently posted to YouTube, Caleb from Threefold walks through the team’s custom grip truck, which is actually a 1995 diesel E350 box truck that was purchased for $ 7,000 and served as an ambulance in its previous life. From custom shelving and mounting solutions to 2000W inverters and custom charging solutions, the van has nearly everything you’d need for on-location storage, charging, repairing and more.

    Sure, it might be overkill for most, but when you need a purpose-built solution, DIY is the way to go. You can find more of Threefold’s work on their YouTube channel.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Create Sexier Portraits With These 5 Tips!


    Jake Garn Photography

  • Updated: Fujifilm X100V sample gallery

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    The Fujifilm X100V is a camera designed to tag along on adventures large and small. We brought it along on plenty of excursions during the course of testing – back when we were able to do that sort of thing – from trips to the coast to walks around the block. Take a look at all of the shooting we were able to do with this award-worthy camera, from a time before quarantine.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Affordable anamorphic: hands-on with the Sirui 50mm F1.8 1.33x

    Affordable anamorphic: hands-on with the Sirui 50mm F1.8 1.33x

    The Sirui 50mm F1.8 1.33x Anamorphic is interesting for more than a couple of reasons, but the thing that makes it immediately attractive is that at $ 700/£660 it’s a lot more affordable than almost all other proper anamorphic lenses for filmmakers using interchangeable lens camera systems.

    The lens is designed for APS-C and Super 35mm sensor sizes and comes in mounts for Sony E cameras, Fujifilm X and for Micro Four Thirds models. When used with a Super 35-sized sensor we get the equivalent of a 56mm horizontal field of view, while on a Micro Four Thirds camera this converts to an approximate 75mm horizontal field of view.

    On E mount

    The a7R IV may not be the ideal Sony camera for shooting all types of video, but it does include an APS-C/Super 35 crop mode, which is where it produces its best quality 4K video. This cropping might be a bug bear for some videographers, but it makes the camera a good match for this lens. It’s possible to use crop mode with FHD resolution as well, but since the camera produces better FHD footage in full sensor mode, we’d recommend sticking with 4K.

    However, to see the footage de-squeezed live it’s necessary to use an external monitor with that capability since the feature isn’t built into the camera.

    On X mount

    Offering this lens in X mount makes a lot more sense now than it would have just a year ago – Fujifilm has upped its video game considerably with the X-H1, X-T4 and new firmware for the X-T3. The Eterna mode makes nice video straight out of the camera, but we also have F-Log and decent data rates too.

    The Fujifilm X-T3 doesn’t technically need the grip to shoot video, as the body had both mic and headphone ports, but the grip makes the system easier to hold with the weight of the lens on the front. As with the Sony, you’ll need an external display with an anamorphic preview feature to see the de-squeezed image in real time.

    On Micro Four Thirds

    Users of the Panasonic GH5 have a couple of choices over the way they use this lens. It has an Anamorphic Mode that uses the 4:3 sensor area to capture video for de-squeezing in software afterwards. As this mode uses almost the whole sensor, the final image contains 18+MP of data to work with.

    When you use this mode with the Sirui 1.33x anamorphic lens the wide aspect gets de-squeezed to a 16:9 format with a higher resolution than you’d get shooting in the normal 16:9 video mode, while the in-camera de-squeeze preview feature allows us to see what we are shooting via the rear screen.

    To get the wide, cinematic anamorphic look that most will be expecting you need to shoot in the normal 16:9 mode, with Anamorphic Mode switched off. Even with Anamorphic Mode off you can still use the de-squeeze preview on the rear screen and inform the IS system that you have a 1.33x anamorphic lens attached.

    The GH5S can also capture anamorphic footage using its 4:3 region, however, due to the nature of its multi-aspect sensor, the resolution isn’t quite as a high as the GH5 in this mode. Like the GH5, it can also show a de-sqeezed preview of the anamorphic image in-camera.

    Fit and finish

    The lens is constructed from 11 elements arranged in 8 groups, and features a 10-bladed iris. It certainly isn’t big but is long and thin, and weighs more than you might expect. It feels very solidly made and is nicely finished in a semi-matte black paint.

    The focus and aperture markings are shown only on the top of the lens, and distances are indicated in both feet and meters with paint sunk into engraved characters.

    Front element

    The front element of the lens has that characteristic square baffle opening that we often see on anamorphic lenses. As with many single focal length anamorphic lenses the squeezing element is mounted onto the front of the basic optical design of the lens.

    Front element

    When viewed from the front, the circular iris of the lens appears elongated into an upright oval shape. This is because we are viewing it through the anamorphic element mounted on the front of the construction. When viewed through the rear the iris is shown to be round – well, a nearly round decagon at least.

    The size of the front element, and its flat design, makes it a magnet to the flare so many film makers love. The flare appears in oval rings accompanied by thin blue lines that shoot horizontally across the frame. The blue tint seen in the front element appears to be designed to enhance the blue-ness of that line.

    It is easy to overdo this effect so that the flare becomes the subject rather than whatever you are shooting, so caution is advised.

    Aperture and focus rings

    The aperture range on offer spans F1.8-16, while the closest focus is 0.85m / 33″ which is just close enough to get a decent tight head shot. Of course the aperture ring is clickless so exposures can be adjusted during recording without disturbing the audio track. The aperture ring turns smoothly with plenty of resistance to prevent accidental rotation, and you can get from one extreme to the other via a twist of about 90°.

    The focusing ring takes a twist of 143.6° and must be turned to the left to reach infinity. The ring is quite stiff and the fine ribbing on the barrel may not always be enough to get a firm grip.

    Image format on APS-C

    When used with a camera recording in 16:9 mode the de-squeed image works out to a ratio of about 2.35:1, similar to the classic CinemaScope look. The black letterboxes above and below help illustrate the difference between this aspect ratio and the standard 16:9 video format.

    Image format on Micro Four Thirds

    This is a grab from footage recorded in Anamorphic Mode on the Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5. In this mode the camera records from the whole 4:3 sensor, so the 1.33x anamorphic effect only de-squeezes to 16:9, but it is a higher resolution 16:9 format image than you’d get recording in 16:9 with a normal lens.

    Shooting in 16:9 with this lens on a Micro Four Thirds camera will also result in a 2.35:1 CinemaScope aspect ratio, albeit with a longer apparent focal length than on an APS-C/Super 35 sensor.

    Trademark blue flare

    Here’s an example of the blue-line flare that is a characteristic of this lens when aimed close to a light source. Some people will love it, and others will find it a distraction. As with most things, moderation might be the best policy.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • DPReview TV: Fujifilm Acros 100 II film review (and samples)

    We shot Fujifilm’s new Acros II black and white film in both 35mm and 120 medium format, developing it ourselves. We also tried pushing a roll to ISO 400. But wait, there’s more! We even compared it to Fujifilm’s Acros film simulation.

    The verdict? We like this film! Make sure to check out the sample gallery below, which includes many Raw files from the digitizing process.

    Make sure to check out our Film Photography forum – it’s a great place to talk about Acros II with your fellow photographers!

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

    • Introduction
    • The camera and lenses we used
    • Sample photos
    • Developing: chemistry used
    • Developing: timing
    • The results!
    • Compared to the original Acros 100 film
    • Compared to Fujifilm's Acros film simulation
    • Acros 100 II pushed to ISO 400
    • Who is this film for?

    Sample photos from this episode

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    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Film Fridays: How to set up a darkroom and get printing for cheap

    Photo: 35mmc.com

    We’ve recently shared with you our complete guide to developing film at home, but what happens after your negatives dry? Sure you could scan/digitize them, but why not instead try your hands at the lost art of darkroom printing? Setting up a fully-functional B&W darkroom is way easier and cheaper than you may think – and it’s a ton of fun.

    Our pals over at 35mmc.com have put together a complete and practical guide to get you set up in the darkroom and printing, all for around $ 100.

    Read: How to setup a darkroom for cheap

    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 35mmc.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Lensrentals wants to know if the COVID-19 pandemic has impacted your professional photography work

    Our friends over at Lensrentals has created a survey to help determine what kind of impact the COVID-19 pandemic is having on the livelihood of professional photographers and to better learn how Lensrentals can assist the photography community.

    We’re pleased to support Lensrentals in their effort to gather this information and if you’re a professional photographer, below is a link where you can participate:

    Lensrentals Survey

    As a disclaimer, the survey starts out by asking whether or not you’re a professional photographer; if you answer no, the survey will immediately end. In keep the integrity of the data intact, we ask that you refrain from taking the survey if you do not earn an income from photography.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)