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Viral ‘Ice Throne’ photo captured as grandma on iceberg was swept out to sea

05 Mar

A casual photo session in Iceland resulted in a grandmother being swept out to sea while on her ‘Ice Throne,’ according to a recent news report. The incident, which resulted in a safe rescue and amusing image, involved Judith Streng, who was on Iceland’s Diamond Beach with her son when they spotted a throne-shaped piece of ice.

Streng was interviewed by ABC News after the images of her unexpected sea voyage went viral. During the interview, Streng explained that she spied the piece of ice, which was ‘shaped like an easy place to sit.’ Her son managed to take one image of Streng on her throne before the small iceberg began to ‘totter.’ Moments later, a wave dislodged the ice and pulled it — with Streng still seated atop — out to sea.

Fortunately, Randy Lacount, a boat captain with water rescue training from Florida, was nearby when the incident happened and was able to rescue Streng without trouble. Per her interview, Streng was able to joke about the moment, saying, ‘I’m always going to be queen. Come on, that was my chance.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Relio² is a second-gen light cube that comes with 3D-printable accessories

05 Mar

In 2014 Relio was among the first to launch an ultra-portable cube-shaped LED light. Now, the company has unveiled an updated version of its original product, the Relio². Like the original, the new model is designed and manufactured in Italy and comes in a wide range of calibrated colors.

The company says its light offer ‘extreme color fidelity’ (up to 98% native TLCI) and let’s you download spectral data for its lights, making them an interesting option for any color-critical lighting applications.

Relio² modular combinations

The Relio² also looks like a good ‘base light’ for anyone requiring a customized light solution. Relio says the internal electronics are programmable and hackable. The light is controlled via Bluetooth or can be interfaced with lab-gear, such as Arduino or Raspberry Pi components.

In addition a range of optional magnets, rods, bolts and anti-skid pads let you customize your light-setups in a many ways. For even more flexibility Relio also offers to download models of 3D-printable accessories, including a diffuser and barn doors, free of charge.

3D-printable accessories

Prices start at approximately $ 180 (159 Euros) for a light unit. More information, including spectral data and detailed specs, can be found on the Relio website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Jason Momoa, AKA Aquaman and Khal Drogo, is quite the Leica camera collector

05 Mar

Jason Momoa, better known as Aquaman and Khal Drogo from HBO’s Game of Thrones, is apparently an avid Leica camera collector and working alongside Leica and Red Digital for an upcoming project.

On his Instagram page, under the username prideofgypsies, Momoa shared the below post highlighting a ‘new project and film’ he’s working on. He doesn’t dive into the details of it, but says video is being shot on Red Digital cameras with Leica glass attached while stills are being shot with Leica cameras.

View this post on Instagram

Excited to start a new project and film. Shooting movies on the @reddigitalcinema @leitzcine and photos on @leicacamerausa #LeicaSummicronM. #M10. living on set I have learned from so many wonderful artists I want to thank Zack Synder @cruelfilms and @wfmft for starting my Leica obsession than @nicholasdominictalvola for always informing me and inspiring and @dennydenn @candytman for setting the bar. @lennykravitz always killing it. @johnson167 best gear. @kiran.karnani for making my dreams come true. Can’t wait to show everyone It’s gonna be a great couple years filled with art #theduneadventures. #pastandpresent #theroots #leicalover. Aloha j

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Based on Momoa’s post, he owns numerous Leicas, new and old, including a 1958 M2 and a newer M10-D with a limited-edition Noctilux lens.

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@leicacamerausa. @leitzcinewetzlar @on_the_roam LOVES YOU #mywifescoolwithit #hallpass #leicaohana mahalo @sethemmons aloha j

A post shared by Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies) on

In addition to his post, Leica has shared a number of posts on its various Instagram profiles across the globe highlighting Momoa shooting with Leica cameras. We’ve rounded up a few of them below:

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Happy birthday to our favorite Aquaman, @prideofgypsies! Photo: @dennydenn

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On the field with Frontier actor Jason Momoa and the Leica M Typ 240. In the frame: Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies) Photo by @dennydenn with #LeicaSL #LeicaCameraUSA @cinematicpix @frontier_book #LeicaSL #Leica #JasonMomoa #Photography

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Behind the scene fun with actor Jason Momoa and the Leica SL Photo: @dennydenn In the Frame: Jason Momoa (@prideofgypsies) Project: Shooting for the upcoming #FRONTIER coffee table book from @cinematicpix #LeicaCameraUSA #LeicaSL #Leica #JasonMomoa #Photography

A post shared by Leica Camera USA (@leicacamerausa) on

He also gives a few shoutout to fellow artists for informing and inspiring him along the way, including musician Lenny Kravitz, Nicholas Dominic Talvola and others.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Popular YouTube channel creates camera lens from scratch using sand and rocks

05 Mar

Popular YouTube channel ‘How to Make Everything’ has published a new video showing the creation of a camera lens from scratch. The project didn’t start with pre-made components, as many DIY projects do, but rather with the purely raw materials, including sand and rocks for the eventual lens glass and copper housing.

The new project follows one involving the creation of a pinhole camera from scratch that the channel published in September 2018. This time around, the channel’s Andy George spends nearly half an hour walking viewers through the lens creation process, including many failed attempts.

Producing clear glass presented one of the project’s most time-consuming challenges, though casting the copper lens housing introduced its own difficulties. After weeks of work, however, the end result was a decently clear, though sadly ill-fated, camera lens with zoom functionality.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The Canon EOS R in New Zealand

04 Mar

Debuting in September last year, the Canon EOS R is the company’s first full frame mirrorless camera. It uses the brand new RF mount, and offers a 30MP sensor with Dual Pixel autofocus.

It’s a feature set that commercial photographer Morgan Phillips was eager to try out in one of the most stunningly photogenic places on the planet: New Zealand. Friend and fellow photographer Alexandra Ford Hamilton recently joined him on a trip to the country’s Milford Sound region. Watch as they travel by land, sea and air, putting the EOS R to work in some breathtaking locations.

This is sponsored content, created with the support of Amazon and Canon. What does this mean?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CP+ 2019: Nikon Z7 Eye AF side-by-side with Sony a7R III

04 Mar

Nikon’s booth at CP+ includes Z6 and Z7 cameras running firmware with Eye AF. We tried it out, side-by-side with the Sony a7R III, to see how they compare.

Both cameras do a good job of recognizing the subject’s eye and sticking with it, even when she covers her face for a period of time. They’re similarly fast to find the eye again, afterward. This recognition (and how quickly it requires the eye) is key to the performance of eye-detect AF, as we’re already pretty confident about the Z7’s ability to focus when requested.

We weren’t able to keep the images from the Nikon but will put it to the test as soon as we have the new firmware.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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DPTH app applies simulated bokeh effect to any image

04 Mar

Artificial bokeh modes in smartphone camera apps that simulate a shallow depth of field are getting better and better, but there are still a lot of older devices around that don’t offer the feature. Equally, the users of bokeh-mode-equipped phones might have images on their camera roll that were captured in standard mode and could benefit from a simulated depth treatment.

In both cases the new DPTH app should be worth a closer look. Its makers promise the app can add adjustable depth of field and 3D photo effects to any image, whether taken on a single lens device or captured on a triple-cam high-end smartphone. The app uses artificial intelligence to detect foreground and background elements in an image and create a depth map which is then used for creating the effects.

The makers of the app don’t provide much information about how exactly how the process works but the demo video below gives you an idea of what the final results can look like. The app is available for iOS and Android devices and uses a subscription model, either $ 1.49 per month or $ 7.49 per year. A free trial is available. Head over to the DPTH website for app store links.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CP+ 2019: Hands-on with Tokina Opera 16-28mm F2.8 FF

03 Mar

CP+ 2019: Hands-on with Tokina Opera 16-28mm F2.8 FF

The second lens in Tokina’s new ‘Opera’ range is the 16-28mm F2.8 FF for full-frame Nikon and Canon DSLRs. We saw a mockup of this lens in late 2019, but we just got our hands on a working sample at the CP+ show in Yokohama, Japan. Click through for a closer look.

High-quality wideangle zoom

Described by Tokina as ‘next generation, premium full-frame lenses’, the Opera range is designed to deliver optimal results on modern high-resolution Canon and Nikon DSLRs. Optical construction comprises 15 elements in 13 groups, three of which are of aspherical, and three are made of Low Dispersion glass.

Automatic / manual focus switch

A long-standing feature of Tokina lenses is a direct manual/automatic focus switch. To select manual focus, simply pull the entire focus ring towards the camera. This shot also shows off the large focus distance scale, marked in feet and inches.

Fast continuous maximum aperture

As one of two premium Opera lenses in Tokina’s lineup, the 16-28mm F2.8 is an appropriately solid lens, and balances nicely on the Canon EOS 5D Mark III that we tried it on in Yokohama. The zoom and focus rings operate smoothly, with no play, and the overall impression we got was of a very well-constructed lens.

The petal-shaped lens hood is integral to the lens, which unfortunately means that screw-in filters cannot be used.

No rear-mounted filter support

While some wideangle zoom lenses of this type offer support for rear-mounted drop-in filters, unfortunately that’s not an option on the Tokina Opera 16-28mm F2.8, either. While some photographers won’t care, dedicated landscape shooters might find this limiting.

On the plus side, the 16-28mm does feature sealing against dust and moisture incursion. You can just make out the black rubber gasket around the lens mount in this image.

Upgraded AF system

The Tokina Opera 16-28mm F2.8 weighs 940g (~2lb) and measures 89 x 133.5mm. It offers a nine-bladed iris for improved rendering of out-of-focus highlights and an upgraded AF system that is claimed to be both faster and more accurate than the original AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 PRO FX. Although we only had a few minutes with the lens at CP+, automatic focus on a Canon EOS 5D III seemed reasonably fast for a lens of this type, albeit not entirely silent.

The Tokina Opera 16-28mm F2.8 is shipping this month, for a very reasonable $ 699.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CP+ 2019: Olympus shows super-tele zoom and 2.0 TC under glass

03 Mar

Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm 1:4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO

Olympus announced its intent to make a 150-400mm F4.5 zoom back in January. There was a demonstration sample on show at CP+ in Yokohama. The Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 150-400mm 1:4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO has a name that matches its considerable size.

Features (of some sort) galore

The side of the lens shows five switches, which we’d expect to give direct access to AF/MF, IS, focus limiting and two other things. Possibly including the control to engage and disengage the 1.25x teleconveter that’s built in. Bringing the TC into the optical path turns the lens into a 187.5-500mm F5.6. That’s 375-1000mm F11 equivalent, if those numbers aren’t already big enough for you.

Sensibly sized

Considering the range it covers it’s a relatively compact lens. While it’s easy to point out that it’s an F9 or F11 equivalent, it’s worth remembering that there aren’t many 300-800mm/375-1000mm lenses for other formats. If you need that impressive reach in a lens that you can actually pick up, this will be one of the only options.

There’s a predictably large lens hood/bucket to go with it.

Who’s it for?

Olympus says the lens will be available in 2020 and is intended for sport, wildlife and bird photographers.

M.Zuiko Digital 2x Teleconverter MC-20

Also on show was a non-built-in teleconverter: the MC-20, which will be available in Summer 2019. This doubles the focal length of a lens it’s attached to, but at the cost of 2 stops of light. The MC-20 can be used with 150-400mm F4.5 TC1.25x IS PRO as well as the existing M.Zuiko Digital ED 300mm F4.0 IS PRO and M.Zuiko Digital ED 40-150mm F2.8 PRO.

Combined with the forthcoming zoom and its internal teleconverter, we believe you’d get a 375-1000mm F11 lens (equivalent to a 750-2000mm F22 lens on full frame). Though the combination seems rather specialist.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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CP+ 2019: Panasonic shows 10-25mm F1.7 mockup

03 Mar

Panasonic Leica Vario-Summilux 10-25mm F1.7

Panasonic announced that it would be building a 10-25mm F1.7 zoom back at Photokina in later 2018 and has a mockup on show at CP+ in Yokohama. The red box on the label says ‘Development Announcement’ in Japanese. If nothing else, it’s a striking way to confirm the company’s commitment to the Micro Four Thirds system as a high-end format.

Scarce details

Very little additional information has been given, but the mockup shows it will have a dedicated aperture ring like the Panasonic Leica 15mm F1.7 prime. The mockup also makes clear just how much larger it’s going to be than the 12-60mm F2.8-4.0.

Five primes in a tube

Panasonic seems committed to its ‘five primes in one lens’ concept, by marking the 10, 12, 14, 18 and 25mm focal lengths on the zoom ring, representing 20, 24, 28, 35 and 50mm equivalent focal lengths that are popular choices for prime lenses. This shouldn’t be taken to mean the lens will only offer these focal lengths, though.

For video, as well as stills

While the ‘five primes’ idea is a great way of appealing to photographers, we suspect plenty of videographers will also be interested in the idea of a lens that gives them a wide-angle to normal field of view with a constant F1.7 aperture, meaning no need to change lenses (or change any rigging built around the camera), between shots. Sadly there are still no details of either price or availability.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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