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The Leica M10-D is an M-10 with no rear screen. From an image quality standpoint there’s no difference between the two, but we thought it’d be fun to shoot and process a series of images with the ‘D’ anyway.
See our Leica M10-D gallery
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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The Leica M10-D is a rangefinder camera that provides a film-like shooting experience. It has no LCD, just two buttons and is set up almost entirely using the company’s FOTOS app.
The M10-D is the spiritual successor to the older M-D, but has much in common with the M10-P when it comes to both design and technology. In place of the M10-P’s LCD is a large dial, the inner ring of which adjusts exposure compensation while the outer switches between off, on (shooting mode) and on (Wi-Fi enabled). The camera features what looks like an old-style film advance lever, but in this case it’s merely a thumb rest. Like the M10-P there’s no red dot on the front plate, though it’s hard to miss the trademark white Leica script on the top.
Inside, the M10-D uses the same 24MP full-frame CMOS sensor and Maestro II processor as the M10 and M10-P, and saves images as DNG or JPEG. The camera has 2GB of built-in memory as well as an SD card slot hidden under the removable bottom plate. The M10-D supports Leica’s Visoflex electronic viewfinder, and automatically switches to live view mode when the finder is attached.
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What makes the M10-D different than other Leica rangefinders is its dependence on the company’s FOTOS app, which is available for iOS and Android. While you can adjust exposure compensation, ISO, aperture and shutter speed using the dials on the camera, for everything else, you use the app. The most obvious uses for the app are live view and image transfer (which includes DNG), and this is also where you’ll access less commonly-required settings. Pairing your camera and smartphone is impressively straightforward, and the one-time action merely requires scanning a QR code printed under the M10D’s bottom plate.
The Leica M10-D goes on sale today for $ 7995. The Visoflex EVF is priced at $ 575.
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Press Release
The Camera with a Digital Heart and an Analog Soul
October 24, 2018 – Leica Camera transports the analog experience into the world of digital photography with the introduction of the Leica M10-D. The Leica M10-D combines the benefits of a digital M camera with an unprecedented approach to rediscovering the magic of an analog photographic experience, now augmented with mobile connectivity.
The ultimate experiential camera, the Leica M10-D is inspired by the discreet M10-P. In addition to incorporating the M10-P’s signature near-silent mechanical shutter and classic script logo branding on the top plate, the Leica M10-D’s monitor screen has been purposefully omitted from the camera body, freeing photographers from all distractions and allowing them to always focus on capturing the moment, rather than the camera itself. In lieu of the screen on the back of the camera is a new control ring for switching the camera on and off, with a dedicated hardware setting for activating Wi-Fi – a key piece to modernizing the analog-inspired workflow of the M10-D. Within the rear control ring is a mechanical dial for exposure compensation adjustments, a first for digital M models, harkening back to the ISO film sensitivity dial seen on classic analog M-Cameras.
In keeping with the mechanical spirit, all essential exposure settings on the Leica M10-D are made with mechanical controls. To further enhance the analog look and experience of this camera, the Leica M10-D features an integrated fold-out thumb rest, reminiscent of a classic film advance lever, which aids in the ergonomics and handling of the camera – especially when shooting one-handed. The optional Visoflex electronic viewfinder can also be used with the Leica M10-D to bridge the gap between analog and digital experiences by way of live view capture, and for easier use of wide-angle and telephoto lenses. When paired with the camera’s improved rangefinder and larger field of view, an innovation from the Leica M10, the Leica M10-D and Visoflex allow photographers to truly see the bigger picture from any angle.
With the soul of an analog camera at its core, the M10-D combines perfectly with the brand new Leica FOTOS app to transcend a solely classic shooting style and provide many of the features and functions offered by a modern, high-performance digital camera. By quickly switching the camera to the on position with Wi-Fi, the M10-D can seamlessly connect to an iOS or Android device, making it the perfect hybrid of analog feel and digital connectivity. The Leica FOTOS app allows easy use of the camera when on the go by enabling streamlined portable viewing, sharing of images and the selection of core camera settings. The app can also provide exposure settings and can be used as a remote viewfinder and camera shutter in live view mode. All personalized settings made from the app are saved and stored in the camera, enabling photographers to configure and custom tailor the Leica M10-D to meet their specific needs. The Leica FOTOS app can also be used to transfer pictures to iOS and Android devices for sharing in social media channels and saving to a personal photostream. With the Leica M10-D and the Leica FOTOS app, photographers can choose how analog or how digital they want their photographic experience to be, ensuring they find the perfect balance for their everyday journey in photography.
The Leica M10-D will be on sale beginning today at Leica Stores, Boutiques and Dealers for $ 7,995. The Leica FOTOS App will also be available as a free download from the Google Play Store™ and the Apple App Store™ on the same date.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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The Nikon Z7 is the company’s first full frame mirrorless camera and its first mirrorless ILC to be aimed at high-end enthusiast and professional photographers. There’s a lot to like: it combines many of the strengths of the D850 with some of the advantages unique to mirrorless cameras, such as seamless video shooting, a silent shutter option, and phase-detection autofocus array that covers almost the entire frame.
But as our review has progressed, we’ve found some areas where we believe the Z7 could use some improvement. Here’s what we’d like to see fixed…
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Put simply, the Z7’s autofocus algorithms just aren’t on par with those of Nikon DSLRs. Focus isn’t as decisive, with the camera sometimes hunting in the wrong direction long enough that you’re better off simply re-initiating AF.
Meanwhile, Auto Area AF with face detection doesn’t always select the right subject: it often mistakes non-human objects as faces, everything from balloons to chair legs and UPS labels. Quite frequently ‘Auto’ doesn’t prioritize nearer objects over distant ones, which is the opposite behavior of nearly every DSLR we’ve tested. The lack of Eye AF is increasingly egregious: Sony Eye AF is nearly infallible and even allows you to target desired faces on-the-fly. Less sophisticated but capable continuous eye detection is also available on Olympus, Panasonic and Fujifilm cameras so you can maintain focus on brides walking down the aisle or running toddlers.
Subject tracking isn’t as reliable as Nikon’s industry leading ‘3D Tracking’ mode
Lack of Eye AF might be forgivable if subject tracking – the ability of the camera to maintain focus on your subject no matter where it moves in the frame – worked as well as Nikon DSLRs’ industry leading ‘3D Tracking’ mode. A D850 is capable of sticking to the eye of a subject as long as you initiated focus on it. But on the Z7 subject tracking is unreliable and imprecise, with a subject recognition area so large that quite often you can’t target your specific subject precisely.
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Another issue we’ve encountered is how quickly the Z7’s AF system begins to struggle in low light. In our shooting we’ve found it to be considerably lacking compared to immediate mirrorless peers. In fact from our testing, the Z7 begins hunting in light levels two to four stops brighter than comparable cameras from Sony and Canon. The ‘Low Light AF’ mode barely improves things. It only activates in extremely low light levels and slows down focus so much as to be impractical unless you’re taking tripod-mounted shots of static subjects.
We’d love to see Nikon create a proper flashgun-based AF assist system
There might not be much that Nikon can do about this in the current-generation Z7, but we’d love to see the company create a proper flashgun-based AF assist system. This might require a new set of flashes and radio transmitters that project an appropriately colored grid pattern for the Z7’s on-sensor PDAF system to lock on to in dim situations. This would be of particular benefit for wedding and event photography, where fast low-light focus acquisition is critical.
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It’s not just low light situations where the Z7 AF system struggles. If you try to shoot a severely backlit portrait, particularly where your subject isn’t well-lit, the Z7 often hunts and never achieves focus. This is compared to Nikon’s recent DSLRs with cross-type AF points across the frame, which usually nail focus even in the most challenging conditions (as do Sony’s current-generation a9 and a7-series ILCs).
The Z7 isn’t alone here – the Dual Pixel AF system in Canon’s EOS R also struggles with backlighting, but it’s a shame that a pro-grade camera like the Z7 is unable to acquire focus in situations where even some pocket compacts can achieve focus instantly.
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In addition to autofocus performance improvements, we’d love to see some changes to the way that the Z7’s autofocus modes operate. At present, the camera’s subject tracking mode is ‘tacked on’ to Auto area AF, with the result that it’s slower to select and activate than if it were its own area mode.
Ideally, the Z7’s subject tracking mode would work exactly like the industry-leading ‘3D tracking’ mode on Nikon DSLRs, at least from a usability standpoint. That is, initiate tracking of the subject under the AF point with a simple press of AF-On (or shutter button), then reset to the original AF point when the button is released. This makes it easy to then quickly place the AF point over a new subject to initiate tracking, compared to the Z7’s method of first pressing ‘OK’ or tapping on a new subject on the LCD screen to switch subjects.
We’d love to see every one of Nikon’s DSLR AF modes replicated on the Z-series
More generally, we’d love to see every one of Nikon’s DSLR AF modes replicated on the Z-series – from expanded ‘dynamic’ area modes to Group AF. These modes have been added, refined and perfected over years of feedback from pros. And they work: Nikon’s DSLR AF is the envy of many systems. The end result might not be an AF system that is quite as good as that in the D850 or D5, but it would at least operate in a more sensible, more familiar way.
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Improving the Z7’s autofocus performance to the point where it’s on a level with Nikon’s DSLRs is a big ask, but matching the level of customization should be a simpler fix.
In our view, given its price and market position, the Z7’s customization should be at least as good as on Nikon’s DSLRs. Instead, it actually omits some useful features. For example, you can no longer assign custom buttons to instantly override the current AF mode to try something else when your typical way of working fails. This is something we’ve found useful time and again on the D5, D850, D500, and we’re sad to see it missing on the Z7.
Ultimately, we’d really like to see D5-level button customization on the Z-series. This means not just the ability to assign any button to any AF mode, but also to completely override camera settings with the press of a button (shutter speed, ISO settings, etc.). Sony’s mirrorless ILCs offer this in their ‘Recall Custom Hold’ button functions, as do Canon DSLRs. We’d also like to see Nikon bring back the useful Two-Button-Reset and Quick Format actions on the Z-series.
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We’ve listed five ways in which we’d like to see the Z7 improved, and as you’ve probably noticed they primarily relate to autofocus. That’s because with almost all of our testing complete, it’s AF where we’ve seen the most serious issues with performance. Unexpectedly, the native Z lenses we’ve tried appear to focus more slowly and less predictably than adapted F-mount lenses too (though to their credit they are silent to focus in video).
In most other respects the Z7 is an impressive camera. We’re optimistic that where we have concerns, Nikon can address some of them via firmware, and others via new dedicated flash accessories. Our other concerns? Perhaps we’ll just have to wait for a Z8.
Since focus is performed from the sensor, there are circumstances in which the Z7 will be more precise than Nikon’s DSLRs
Even so, we’re not saying that the Z7 with current firmware is flat-out bad at autofocus. In fact for a lot of photography, it’ll be perfectly fine. And since focus is performed from the sensor, there are circumstances in which it’ll be more precise than Nikon’s DSLRs, particularly with fast primes shot wide open where DSLRs struggle and often require microadjustment. But when it comes to continuous autofocus performance and usability, it’s simply not nearly as capable as its nearest mirrorless peer the Sony a7R III, nor (in some respects) as good as Nikon’s own mid-range and high-end DSLRs, including the similarly capable and priced D850.
For a complete overview of every aspect of the Z7’s performance, look out for our full review in the next few days.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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A new textured paper has been introduced to the Epson Legacy range of premium inkjet media that the company claims allows dense blacks, vibrant colors and ‘outstanding’ print permanence. Epson Legacy Textured Paper promises to ‘simulate old-world handcrafted watercolor papers’ with a heavily textured surface, according to Epson, and is aimed at photographers who exhibit and sell their work as art pieces.
No optical brighteners have been used in the paper, and Epson says that it will have excellent lightfast properties. Permanence figures are not quoted, as the paper is still being evaluated by Wilhelm Imaging Research.
The matte finish paper is 100% cotton, using randomly layered fibres to prevent curling in sheets as well as in long rolls, and will weigh 310 GSM. The paper is due to ship in December this year. For more information see the Epson website.
| Size | Sheet/roll | Price |
|---|---|---|
| 8.5” x 11” | Cut Sheet (25 pack) | $ 45 |
| 13” x 19” | Cut Sheet (25 pack) | $ 119 |
| 17” x 22” | Cut Sheet (25 pack) | $ 179 |
| 17” x 50′ | Roll | $ 189 |
| 24” x 50′ | Roll | $ 249 |
| 44” x 50′ | Roll | $ 499 |
| 60” x 50′ | Roll | $ 679 |
Press release:
New Paper Provides Textured Surface and Matte Finish in Epson’s Distinguished Legacy Paper Line
Epson today introduced Legacy Textured, the latest addition to its sophisticated Legacy Paper line, offering the ultimate in quality and longevity for artists selling their work. Legacy Textured is comprised of a mould-made paper base that lays cotton fibers down randomly to virtually eliminate curl, and a heavily textured surface that simulates old-world handcrafted watercolor papers. In addition, Epson today announced that its popular Metallic Photo Paper in Luster and Glossy are now Signature Worthy® papers, moving into Epson’s line of paper designed for photography, art illustration and fine art prints. Both the Legacy Textured and the Metallic Photo Papers will be on display at PhotoPlus Expo in New York City from Oct. 25-27, 2018 at Epson’s booth, #707.
“A heavy, textured paper is what helps my images blur the line between photography and painting,” said Brooke Shaden, fine art photographer, author and motivational speaker. “Though my work is all photographic, having a painterly style has always been important to my aesthetic, and Legacy Textured provides that feeling of mixed media.”
Legacy Textured offers a heavily textured surface with a matte finish and is 100 percent cotton on a mould-made base. The 310 GSM textured paper is free of OBAs (optical brightening agents), delivers a high Dmax for deep blacks, an expanded color gamut volume, and accepts a high ink load. The cotton fibers are laid randomly to dramatically minimize curl in large rolls.
“Realizing the need for a heavily textured fine art paper, we collaborated with industry-leading photographers and artists to help develop a media that blends qualities of old-world handcrafted paper with the latest digital imaging enhancements,” said Jeff Smith, product manager, Professional Imaging, Epson America, Inc. “Designed to produce rich blacks and vibrant colors, Legacy Textured exhibits unparalleled qualities for artists looking to create and sell exhibition quality prints without compromising print quality.”
The Epson Legacy Textured paper is currently undergoing comprehensive eight-factor print permanence testing at Wilhelm Imaging Research (WIR), the world’s leading independent permanence testing laboratory. Testing includes color and black and white prints made with the current generation of improved-stability Epson UltraChrome® HD, Epson UltraChrome HDX, and Epson UltraChrome PRO pigment inks featured on Epson’s SureColor® P-Series printers. WIR is also testing Legacy Textured paper with high CRI (Color Rendering Index) museum-quality LED illumination. While final results are not yet available – the greater the lightfastness, the longer the test times – Epson is confident the new paper will exhibit outstanding print permanence.
Epson Professional Paper Line
Epson offers a complete line of professional papers to meet varying photography and fine art needs, no matter the finish or price point:
Standard Photo Paper: Available in multiple finishes, including glossy, semigloss, matte, semimatte, and velvet, Epson’s standard photo papers offer a solution for any photographer. Delivering high-performance output quality and color performance with extreme sharpness and clarity, these papers are offered in a range of cut-sheet and roll sizes for producing vivid, lifelike images.
Signature Worthy Paper: Epson Signature Worthy Papers represent the finest in color fidelity, smoothest tonal transitions, and exceptional Black density and longevity, each paper has been developed and tested at the highest levels to work collectively with Epson’s industry-leading professional printers and inks. The most demanding creative professionals use Signature Worthy papers because their reputations are on the line with every print.
Legacy Papers: As Epson’s most advanced line of photographic papers, Legacy Papers were designed in collaboration with many of the world’s greatest artists. The unique papers were developed for those who intend to exhibit and sell their prints, both to art collectors and investors. Working closely with revered European papermakers, galleries and chemical engineers to develop the finest papers available, the Epson Legacy Paper line produces outstanding black density and color fidelity, along with exceptional archival properties required for collectible works of fine art.
Availability and Pricing
The new Legacy Textured will be available in Dec. 2018 through authorized Epson Professional Imaging resellers.
For additional information, visit www.epson.com/legacypapers, www.epson.com/signatureworthy or www.proimaging.epson.com.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Sigma has released compatibility notes for its interchangeable lenses when used with the Canon EOS R and Mount Adapter EF-EOS R, as well as updated compatibility information related to the Nikon Z7. The updates follow Sigma’s compatibility note for the Nikon Z7 released in late September, during which time the company said it would continue testing products and publishing future updates.
According to the company, its interchangeable lenses for Canon mount “do not have any issues with general operation” when used with the Canon EOS R and EF-EOS R adapter. However, users will need to disable the in-camera Digital Lens Optimizer feature before using a Sigma interchangeable lens with the model.
Sigma states:
When the Digital Lens Optimizer is switched [OFF], but “Peripheral illumination correction”, “Chromatic aberration correction” and “Distortion correction”, located within the in-camera Lens Aberration Correction function is switched [ON], the appropriate corrections can be achieved in accordance with the optical characteristics of each lens. This is applicable to lenses listed below which were released after March, 2018, or those of which firmware has been updated to Ver.2.0 or later.
In regards to its updated Nikon Z7 compatibility data, Sigma has released a list of 36 interchangeable lenses for Nikon mount that it tested and found compatible with the Nikon Z7 and Mount Adapter FTZ. When used together, “both AF and AE operate without any issue,” the company stated in its latest release.
The full list of compatible lenses is available in the press release below:
[Updated Information] Operating conditions of the Nikon “Z7” and SIGMA’s interchangeable lenses for Nikon mount
Thank you for purchasing and using our products.
We would like to share results of our further investigations regarding the operating conditions of the Nikon “Z7” and SIGMA’s interchangeable lenses for Nikon mount.
When SIGMA’s interchangeable lenses in the current product lineup, listed below, are used in combination with the Nikon “Z7” and their “Mount Adapter FTZ”, both AF and AE operate without any issues.
Furthermore, lenses which incorporate Optical Stabilizer (OS) will work to maximum effect when both the lens’s OS and the in-camera stabilization are switched on simultaneously.
Applicable Products
DG Lens
DC Lens
Phenomena particular to 4 lenses were confirmed after our announcement of September 28th
After careful investigation, we confirmed some phenomena particular to 4 products listed below. Regarding a firmware update for the SIGMA 24-35mm F2 DG HSM | Art, 50mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art and 85mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art, we are going to announce them at a later date.
24-35mm F2 DG HSM | Art
[Phenomenon]- It may occasionally stop recording while shooting video. It is planned to be resolved by a firmware update.
50mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art
[Phenomenon] – When starting to shoot with the subject completely out of focus, the response to the AF operation is intermittent. It is necessary to release several times or to turn the focus ring once to release. It is planned to be resolved by a firmware update.
85mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art
[Phenomenon] – It may occasionally show overexposure when narrowing down the aperture from F5.6 while shooting. It is planned to be resolved by a firmware update.
APO 800mm F5.6 EX DG HSM
[Phenomenon] – Please focus using MF, since it is difficult to achieve sufficient focusing accuracy. There is no plan for a firmware update.
When the lenses listed below are used, due to product specifications, the in-camera stabilization cannot be turned off. In addition, the Auto Power Off function cannot be used. Please manually turn the power [OFF] after shooting.
Applicable products
Current lineup
Discontinued models
Other precautions
Various lenses shipped from SIGMA before November, 2013
We have previously confirmed that some phenomena such as AF not working correctly with some lenses released or shipped from SIGMA before November, 2013, when they are used on Nikon’s digital SLR cameras incorporating the latest firmware. Under this circumstance, we will update the lens firmware free of charge. If the products do not operate on a Z7, even when they are listed above, the lens firmware update may improve the situation.
For customers who have these applicable products, please contact your nearest authorized SIGMA subsidiary / distributor for further details.
*1 For products of which firmware was updated after November, 2013, a firmware update is not necessary.
*2 It is not possible to update the firmware of products for which our support period has finished.
*3 For products with an engraved edition number of A012, C013 or S013, the lens firmware can be updated using the optional SIGMA USB DOCK.
[CANON COMPATIBILITY NOTE]
Thank you for purchasing and using our products.
We would like to announce that, as of this moment SIGMA’s interchangeable lenses for Canon mount in the current lineup do not have any issues with general operation when they are used on the “EOS R”, released by Canon Inc., via their “Mount Adapter EF-EOS R”.
In addition, please note the information below when using our lenses.
1. With SIGMA’s interchangeable lenses, the Digital Lens Optimizer located within the in-camera Lens Aberration Correction function cannot be used. Therefore, please set the Digital Lens Optimizer to [OFF] before shooting.
When the Digital Lens Optimizer is switched [OFF], but “Peripheral illumination correction”, “Chromatic aberration correction” and “Distortion correction”, located within the in-camera Lens Aberration Correction function is switched [ON], the appropriate corrections can be achieved in accordance with the optical characteristics of each lens. This is applicable to lenses listed below which were released after March, 2018, or those of which firmware has been updated to Ver.2.0 or later.
Contemporary line
Art Line
Sports Line
* These lenses will be compatible with the in-camera Lens Aberration Correction function by a firmware update to Ver.2.0 which will be announced in the future.
When lenses other than those listed above are used, “Peripheral illumination correction”, “Chromatic aberration correction” and “Distortion correction”, located within the in-camera Lens Aberration Correction function, may cause images to appear abnormal. Therefore please set these correction functions to [OFF] before shooting.
2. When SIGMA’s DC lenses are used, “1.6x (Crop)” will not be set automatically. Please select “1.6x (Crop)” manually.
We will continue verification and provide updates on the operating condition at a later date.
Via: Sigma 1, 2
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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In a low-light situation with a split-second to focus and capture the moment, the flashgun’s AF illuminator was essential. Mirrorless cameras tend not to offer this feature and their AF systems aren’t so good in low light that they don’t need it. |
Mirrorless cameras have caught up with DSLRs in almost every measurable respect, yet there’s still one feature that’s essential for some professionals that every one of them lacks: flash AF illumination.
The failure to offer an AF illuminator target means mirrorless can’t compete with the best DSLRs in some shooting situations
Wedding and event photographers in particular will recognize the benefit of the AF assist target projected by flashguns and some flash commander units, yet no mirrorless camera maker implements this feature, even on their highest-end models. There are some technical reasons why they omit the feature, but this doesn’t negate the need for it.
‘IR’ illuminators on flashguns aren’t solely emitting infra-red: they also emit visible red light, or you wouldn’t be able to see their telltale grid pattern
It won’t affect everybody’s day-to-day photography, but the universal failure to offer some sort of AF illuminator target for mirrorless cameras remains a major shortcoming and means mirrorless can’t compete with the best DSLRs in some shooting situations.
There are technical justifications for why they don’t: DSLR autofocus sensors can be sensitive to infra-red light, whereas mirrorless cameras aren’t. Because mirrorless cameras focus using their main imaging sensor, any IR has to be filtered-out to avoid skewing the colors in your images. But the AF illuminators on flashguns aren’t solely emitting infra-red: they also emit lots of visible red light, otherwise you wouldn’t be able to see the telltale red grid they project.
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| Note that the ‘IR’ illuminator in this instance is projecting a visible red target and, crucially, a target that provides a pattern for the camera’s AF system to bite onto. |
Another complication is that phase-detection pixels live behind the colored filters that allow most cameras to interpret color in the scene, so may not even see any red light. A PDAF element behind a blue filter won’t see any red light and one behind a green filter will only see a very small amount. But even this shouldn’t be insurmountable: Canon’s Dual Pixel AF means every pixel (including the red-sensitive ones) is a PDAF pixel and, if it came down to it, the manufacturers could offer versions of their flashguns that emit a color that their mirrorless AF systems can see.
If mirrorless cameras are going to displace DSLRs for wedding and event photography, manufacturers need to find a way
Most mirrorless cameras have their own built-in AF illuminators but they’re not nearly as powerful as the off-board lamps on flashguns. Also, they tend to be bright, uniform orange or green lamps which are visually distracting, easily blocked by hands or large lenses and which miss one of the key properties of off-board illuminators: a grid pattern. This grid pattern effectively creates some hard-edges for the AF system to bite onto, even if you’re shooting something that may not have enough inherent contrast to easily focus on. You know, like a white wedding dress in low light.
If mirrorless cameras are going to displace DSLRs for wedding and event photography, manufacturers need to find a way, even if it involves selling (or modifying) flash units that emit a faint green or blue grid pattern. Or doing what Godox does with its X1T command units: firing its red target, just as it would for DSLRs, because in many cases this is better than nothing.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Venus Optics has announced the Laowa 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 FE zoom lens, a new ultra-wide-angle manual lens for full-frame Sony cameras.
“In response to the demand from mirrorless camera shooters of having a compact wide angle zoom, Venus Optics [has] managed to compress the size of the 10-18mm FE Zoom to the smallest in its class,” reads the press release. The lens measures in at 3.5in/9cm long, 2.75in/70mm in diameter, and weighs only 17.5oz/496g.
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It’s constructed of 14 elements in 10 groups, including two aspherical elements and one extra-low dispersion element. The lens has a minimum focusing distance of 6in/15cm and a minimum aperture of F22 with a five-blade aperture diaphragm.
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The rear of the lens has a 37mm filter thread for adding filters to, as well as a 100mm magnetic filter holder system for the front of the lens. A built-in switch de-clicks the aperture on-demand if you’re planning on using the lens for video shooting.
Venus Optics has shared a gallery of sample images captured with the lens on Flickr.
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The lens is currently available for pre-order for $ 849. The first 50 pre-orders through Laowa’s site will receive a free 100mm magnetic filter holder system.
Venus Optics says a Canon RF- and Nikon Z-mount version of the lens will be “coming soon.”
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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The Royal Observatory Greenwich has announced the winners of its annual astronomy photo competition. American photographer Brad Goldpaint’s Transport the Soul, a dreamy photo of the Milky Way and Andromeda galaxy hanging over Moab, Utah, took the People and Space category’s top prize and was named Overall Winner. A total of 31 winning images were selected across 11 categories – take a look at them here and visit Royal Observatory Greenwich’s site to get yourself ready for next year’s competition.
Transport the Soul © Brad Goldpaint (USA) – WINNER (PEOPLE AND SPACE) AND OVERALL WINNER
Interested in adding a ‘human element’ to his photographs, once the quarter moon rose and revealed the incredible, vast landscape of the shale hills below the viewpoint, the lone photographer, to the left of the frame, stood motionless while he captured this photograph. The Andromeda Galaxy, quarter moon, Milky Way Galaxy, and position of the photographer all combined to create a captivating, harmonious portrait of a night sky photographer at work.
Moab, Utah, USA, 20 May 2017
Nikon D810 camera, 14-mm f/4.0 lens, ISO 2500, 20-second exposure
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PEOPLE AND SPACE: Living Space © Andrew Whyte (UK) – RUNNER-UP
This is a single-frame image and not a speculative composite. Situated on a south-coast peninsula, this street falls within a part-night street lighting zone; when the lights go out, there’s nothing to interfere with the view of the stars until continental Europe- miles across the English Channel. The scene might be perceived incongruous or surreal and almost shows how accustomed we’ve become to the loss of night sky views due to light pollution. It was a conscious decision by the photographer to feature the unlit streetlamps, hinting how it might be possible to undo the damage and restore awe-inspiring views. Pagham, West Sussex, UK, 29 April 2017
Sony ILCE-7S camera, 28-mm f/2 lens, ISO 6400, 15-second exposure
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PEOPLE AND SPACE: Me versus the Galaxy © Mark McNeill (UK) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
This photograph was taken just after Christmas at the Sycamore Gap, Hadrian’s Wall in Northumberland and showcases the majestic winter Milky Way and the Andromeda galaxy. The temperature was about -4°C and the photographer arrived from Lancashire at 11am but had to wait till 2.30am for the Moon to set and for all the stars to be visible. Hadrian’s Wall, Northumberland, UK, 28 December 2017
Nikon D810 camera, 20-mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 5000, 10-second exposure
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AURORAE: Speeding on the Aurora lane © Nicolas Lefaudeux (France) – WINNER
A hazy, subtle auroral band is leisurely drifting across the sky providing an unusual perspective with faint bands appearing to radiate from a vanishing point, like a road disappearing over the horizon. As the aurora glided overhead, it made the photographer feel like he was driving a spaceship about to reach light speed toward the Big Dipper. This view lasted less than a minute.
Sirkka, Finland, 30 March 2017
Sony ILCE-7S2 camera, 20-mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 2000, 3.2-second exposure
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AURORAE: Castlerigg Stone Circle © Matthew James Turner (UK) – RUNNER-UP
This was the photographer’s first ever encounter with the aurora borealis in the UK. The Moon was bright enough to illuminate the foreground arena of standing stones perfectly and the aurora surfaced from behind the majestic mountains, giving the appearance that the hills themselves were emitting the ethereal green glow.
Keswick, Cumbria, UK, 7 November 2017
Sony ILCE-7R camera, 22-mm f/4 lens, ISO 1000, 30-second exposure
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AURORAE: Aurorascape © Mikkel Beiter (Denmark) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
The conditions to shoot an aurora that night were not ideal because of the bright Moon but the photographer managed to capture the breathtaking Aurora Borealis above the fjord in the gorgeous Lofoten archipelago, in Northern Norway. The small pool of water with rocks made the perfect foreground and a natural leading line into the frame.
Haukland Beach, Lofoten, Norway, 26 February 2018
Canon EOS 5DS R camera, 17-mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 2000, 8-second exposure
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GALAXIES: NGC 3521, Mysterious Galaxy © Steven Mohr (Australia) – WINNER
The spiral galaxy NGC 3521 is located around 26 million light-years away in the constellation Leo and presents complex scene, with enormous amounts of surrounding dust and stray stars glowing far out from its disk. Emerging from the photographer’s colour data was a bright array of contrasting colour tones, generated by aging yellow-red stars, younger burning aggressively blue-white stars, and various nebulae throughout the disk. This image comprises approximately 20.5 hours of exposure time, collecting data in various filter types.
Carrapooee, Victoria, Australia, 13 February 2018
Planewave CDK 12.5 telescope, Astrodon Gen II LRGB, Baarder H? lens at 2541 mm f/8, Astro Physics 900 mount, SBIG STXL-11000 camera, Luminance: 33 x 1200 seconds [11hrs], H?: 12 x 1200 seconds [4hrs], Red-Green-Blue: 450 x 12–18 seconds
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GALAXIES: From Mirach © Raul Villaverde Fraile (Spain) – RUNNER-UP
This photograph is a mosaic of 24 images and depicts how the galaxies Messier 31 and Messier 33 appear symmetrically on either side of the star Mirach. Despite being the two galaxies closest to our own, they are still significantly further away from us than Mirach, which is a star within our own Milky Way. We can also see the two smaller satellite galaxies of M31, M32 and M110.
Ocentejo, Castilla-La Mancha, Spain, 14 November 2017
Takahashi FSQ 106ED telescope, Idas lps 2-inch lens, SkyWatcher Nq6pro mount, Canon 6D camera, 414-mm f/3.9 lens, ISO 1600, 24x30x400″ exposure
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GALAXIES: Fireworks Galaxy NGC 6939 – SN 2017 EAW © César Blanco (Spain) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
This image showcases the open cluster of stars NGC 6939 and the galaxy NGC 6949 with the stellar explosion of the supernova SN 2017 EAW. The data gathering for this image was carried out over a few different days and the photographer tried to obtain sharp details as well as some of the ‘foggy’ background light. The image depicts the great variety of objects we can observe in the Universe, a stellar explosion with an enormous diversity of the colours of the stars which depends on the temperature, a magnificent galaxy that can be seen directly face-on; the show of the supernova, a fantastic phenomenon which is produced not very often in our skies; and a dim nebula of IFN type in the background. Escobar de Campos, Castile and León, Spain, 18 June 2017
Takahashi FSQ 106ED telescope, Idas lps 2-inch lens, SkyWatcher Nq6pro mount, Canon 6D camera, 414-mm f/3.9 lens, ISO 1600, 24x30x400″ exposure
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OUR MOON: Inverted Colours of the boundary between Mare Serenitatis and Mare Tranquilitatis © Jordi Delpeix Borrell (Spain) – WINNER
Inverting the image is a legacy of deep sky imaging, where tenuous extensions of galaxies and nebulae can be more visible on a negative image because our eye more easily detects tenuous dark details on a white background. This is also useful in Moon imaging helping to reveal otherwise barely detectable soil features such as ray systems. Low contrast areas like the lunar seas and ray systems, look much more interesting because low contrast details are revealed and according to the photographer this is a new way for Moon exploration that should be considered.
L’ Ametlla del Vallès, Barcelona, Spain, 6 December 2017
Celestron 14 telescope, Sky-Watcher NEQ6 Pro mount, ZWO ASI 224MC camera, 4,200-mm f/12 lens, multiple 20ms exposures
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OUR MOON: Earth Shine © Peter Ward (Australia) – RUNNER-UP
During a total solar eclipse the brightness of the solar corona hides details of the Moon to the human eye. But by layering multiple digital exposures in this image from 2 seconds to 1/2000th of a second, the photographer managed to reveal much more. The image showcases not just the brilliant solar corona, but the newest possible of new moons, seen here illuminated by sunlight reflecting off the Earth.
Jackson Hole, Wyoming, USA, 21 August 2017
Takahashi FSQ85 telescope, Losmandy Starlapse mount, Canon 5D Mark IV camera, 500-mm f/5 lens, 9 exposures ranging from ISO 100 to 900, 150 2-seconds through to 1/4000th second exposures
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OUR MOON: From the Dark Side © László Francsics (Hungary) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
The photographer had planned to capture a high resolution image of the morning crescent Moon for a long time. The waning crescent Moon only rises high above the horizon of the Carpathian basin in autumn, but in this period of the year the weather is usually cloudy and rainy. Fortunately, in October 2017, an anticyclone wiped the area clear, which allowed the photographer to take a good resolution picture capturing the special atmosphere of the thin crescent in a glitteringly bright sky.
Budapest, Hungary, 10 October 2017
Homemade 250-mm f/4 Carbon Newton telescope, f/11, 250/1000 mirror lens, Skywatcher EQ6 mount, ZWO ASI 174 MM camera, 6250 mm f/4 lens increased to f/11, multiple 1/200-second exposures
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OUR SUN: Sun King, Little King, and God of War © Nicolas Lefaudeux (France) – WINNER
In order to capture this mesmerising image, the photographer chose the area according to weather forecasts to make sure he would get a clear sky. The image shows the Sun corona in all its glory during the August total solar eclipse. It is flanked on left hand side by the blue star Regulus – the little King – and by the red planet Mars on the right. The many radial streamers of the solar Corona are a real crown for the Sun King and the corona can be traced almost to 30 solar radii distance. The total exposure duration of 100-seconds was recorded in more than 120 individual images and it is a setup consisting of both a fast f/1.4 lens, at full aperture to get as much signal as possible, and a large buffer camera at base ISO to avoid overexposure. The inner corona was recorded using a longer focal length setup.
Unity, Oregon, USA, 21 August 2017
AF-S NIKKOR 105-mm f/1.4E ED lens, Nikon D810 camera on an untracked tripod, 105 mm f/1.4 lens, ISO 64, multiple exposures of 0.3-second, 0.6-second and 1.3-second
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OUR SUN: Coloured Eruptive Prominence © Stuart Green (UK) – RUNNER-UP
In this image the photographer managed to capture an eruptive prominence just hours after this active region produced a massive X9.0 class solar flare. Close to the solar limb and presented here in an inverted format (black to white) and colour enhanced to create a warm sunny glow, the photograph showcases the beautiful 3D structure within the hydrogen chromosphere. Captured in hydrogen alpha light at 656.3nm, the photographer used a 150mm solar telescope and monochrome machine vision camera to record a video sequence which was stacked to bring out the fine details and image processing techniques to produce colour and a backlit effect in order to enhance the spicule features around the solar limb.
Preston, Lancashire, UK, 9 September 2017
Home-built telescope based on iStar Optical 150mm f/10 lens, double stacked hydrogen-alpha filter at 5250 mm, Sky-Watcher EQ6 Pro mount, Basler acA1920-155um camera, 150-mm f/35 lens, multiple 0.006-second exposures as an AVI
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OUR SUN: AR2673 © Haiyang Zong (China) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
AR2673 is a large sunspot group which formed in 2017. Clearly visible is the beautiful “rice grain” structure of the paler, outer regions of the sunspots.
Tongzhou, Beijing, China, 5 September 2017
Sky-Watcher DOB10 GOTO telescope, Optolong R Filter, QHY5III290M camera, 3,600-mm f/4.7 lens, ISO 160, 0.7ms exposure
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PLANETS, COMETS AND ASTEROIDS: The Grace of Venus © Martin Lewis (UK) – WINNER
Shortly before sunset, a slender and graceful Venus hangs low in the western sky, just 10 days before meeting the Sun at inferior conjunction. This is an infra-red image of that view, taken using a monochrome digital video camera mounted on a reflector telescope. The recording was processed to remove the blurring effects of our atmosphere and combine the video frames to create a single still image of the planet. The infra-red filter used on the camera helps steady the effects of atmospheric movement.
St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, 15 March 2017
Home-built 444-mm Dobsonian reflecting telescope, Astronomik 807nm IR filter, Home-built Equatorial tracking platform, ZWO ASI174MM camera, 12.4-m f/28 lens, 6msec frame time, 5.3sec total exposure duration
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PLANETS, COMETS AND ASTEROIDS: Parade of the Planets © Martin Lewis (UK) – RUNNER-UP
During the course of just one year the photographer managed to image surface details on every planet in our Solar System from his own back garden. At the start of the year, the photographer had captured distant Mars, eight months after opposition, sporting a tiny polar cap and dark features. Later on, he captured Venus, then Jupiter and Saturn. In September, the photographer had imaged details on the rocky face of Mercury for the first time and in November he recorded Uranus’s distinct polar region, making the set complete. The more challenging planets, Mercury, Uranus and Neptune, required IR (infrared) imaging to bring out surface details and have been colourised to match their more normal visual appearance. All images are displayed at the same relative size that they would appear through a telescope.
St Albans, Hertfordshire, UK, 1 November 2017
Home-built 444-mm Dobsonian Newtonian reflector telescope (Mercury used 222-mm Dobsonian), various IR filters for Uranus, Neptune, Mercury, Saturn (L). UV filter for Venus, home-built Equatorial Platform, ZWO ASI174MC/ASI174MM/ ASI290MM camera, various focal lengths f/12 to f/36, various exposures
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PLANETS, COMETS AND ASTEROIDS: Comet C/2016 R2 Panstarrs the blue carbon monoxide comet © Gerald Rhemann (Austria) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
Still relatively far from the Sun, the comet’s well-developed ion tail shines bright in the night sky. Emission from unusually abundant ionized carbon monoxide (CO+) molecules fluorescing in the increasing sunlight is largely responsible for the beautiful blue tint. This is a median stack of the total event from 5p.m. until 11.12p.m and the comet’s magnitude was approx. 12.5 mag.
Eichgraben, Lower Austria, Austria, 19 January 2018
ASA 12-inch (300 mm) Astrograph telescope at f/3.62, ASA DDM 85 telescope mount, ASI ZWO 1600 MC colour CCD camera, exposure: RGB composite, 4.6-hours total exposure
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SKYSCAPES: Circumpolar © Ferenc Szémár (Hungary) – WINNER
The cold winter weather weaves a transparent blanket above the human settlements. If one rises above this coherent surface of mist, the colourful star trails can be brought together with the glowing lights of the cities. This extremely long capture sequence took half of the winter’s nights facing the clear northern sky as the circumpolar star Almach, also known as Gamma Andromedae, just touched the horizon.
Gatyatet?, Hungary, 17 February 2018
Minolta 80–200 f/2.8 telescope, tripod, Sony SLT-A99V camera, 135-mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 640, 50 x 300-second exposures
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SKYSCAPES: Eclipsed Moon Trail © Chuanjin Su (China) – RUNNER-UP
On 31 January 2018, a spectacular total lunar eclipse occurred. The photographer set his camera for a four-hour stack exposure and after he took about one thousand images, he finally captured an image that reflects the changes of the Moon’s colour and brightness before, during and after the eclipse. The picture reminded the photographer of the Compliant Golden-Hooped Rod, which is the weapon of the Monkey King, who is described in ancient Chinese literature.
Zhangjiakou, Hebei Province, China, 31 January 2018
Sony ILCE-7RM2 camera, 17-mm f/4 lens, ISO 100, 950 x 15-seconds
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SKYSCAPES: Midnight Glow over Limfjord © Ruslan Merzlyakov (Latvia) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
The dark summer sky in Denmark and the ideal weather on 22 May 2017 allowed the photographer to capture this magnificent orange glow over Limfjord, a beautiful place just five minutes away from where the photographer had lived for six years. The weather was so calm and quiet, which made the photographer think that time was standing still. Nykøbing Mors, Denmark, 22 May 2017
Canon EOS 6D camera, 14-mm f/2.8 lens, ISO 400, 10-second exposure
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STARS AND NEBULAE: Corona Australis Dust Complex © Mario Cogo (Italy) – WINNER
Under the dark Namibian sky, the photographer set his camera to a six-hour exposure in order to capture the CrA Molecular Complex, a large, dark and irregular area in the northern part of Corona Australis where we can see reflection nebulas NGC 6726-27-29, dark dust cloud Bernes 157, globular cluster NGC 6723 and other objects. Interestingly, there is a huge difference in distance: under 500 light years for the dust complex and 30,000 light years for the globular cluster.
Tivoli Southern Sky Guest Farm, Namibia, 18 August 2017
Takahashi FSQ 106 ED telescope, Astro-Physics 1200 GTO mount, Canon EOS 6D Cooling CDS Mod camera, 530-mm f/5 lens, ISO 1600, total 6-hours exposure
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STARS AND NEBULAE: Rigel and the Witch Head Nebula © Mario Cogo (Italy) – RUNNER-UP
The dark Namibian sky was the perfect location to capture the wonder of the Witch Head Nebula and Rigel. The Witch Head Nebula is a very faint molecular gas cloud which is illuminated by supergiant star Rigel, the seventh brightest star of the sky and the brightest star in the constellation of Orion.
Tivoli Southern Sky Guest Farm, Namibia, 20 August 2017
Takahashi FSQ 106 ED telescope, Astro-Physics 1200 GTO mount, Canon EOS 6D Cooling CDS Mod camera, 383-mm f/3.6 lens, ISO 1600, 1, 3 and 6 min, total 5 Hours exposure
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STARS AND NEBULAE: Thackeray’s Globules in Narrowband Colour © Rolf Wahl Olsen (Denmark) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
Almost 5,900 light years away, toward the southern constellation Centaurus, lies a large beautiful nebula known as the Lambda Centauri Nebula. The intense light from stars in a young open cluster cause the surrounding gas to glow with a magenta hue from emission lines of ionised Hydrogen atoms. In the centre of the image, is a group of Bok globules, which are dark, dense collapsing patches of gas and dust where new stars are frequently born. These were discovered by South African astronomer, A. David Thackeray, in 1950 and are now known as Thackeray’s Globules and are a favourite target for backyard astrophotographers. The largest globule is two separate clouds that overlap slightly. While they appear small in the context of the grand nebula, these overlapping globules are each 1.4 light years across and together they contain more than 15 times the mass of our Sun.
Auckland, New Zealand, 13 May 2017
Homebuilt 12.5-inch f/4 Serrurier Truss Newtonian telescope, Losmandy G-11 mount, QSI 683wsg-8 camera, 1,450-mm 12.5” f/4 lens, 14 hours and 40 minute exposure
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YOUNG ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: Great Autumn Morning © Fabian Dalpiaz (Italy – aged 15) – WINNER
On an early Monday morning before taking an exam at school, the photographer decided to go out and take some images. Shooting on a 50mm lens the photographer got lucky and captured this incredible photograph of a meteor passing over the Dolomites. On the left side of the image the Moon is shining over the stunning landscape of the Alpe di Siusi with the autumn colours on the was illuminated only at 13.5 per cent.
Alpe di Siusi, Dolomites, South Tyrol, Italy, 16 October 2017
Canon EOS 5D Mark III camera, 50-mm panorama f/2.0 lens, ISO 6400, 8-second exposure
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YOUNG ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: The Eta Carinae Nebula © Logan Nicholson (Australia – aged 13) – RUNNER-UP
The Eta Carina Nebula, or NGC 3372, is the biggest and brightest nebula in the sky and is located in the constellation Carina. It is mostly made out of hydrogen, created when the bright orange star mid-left went nova, spewing out large amounts of hydrogen gas which now emits light at the Hydrogen-alpha wavelength. The photographer took and stacked multiple shots and processed them in Pixinsight.
Heathcote, Victoria, Australia, 16 December 2017
Takahashi MT-160 telescope, f/4.8 reducer for MT-160, Celestron CGEM mount, Canon EOS 700D camera, 776-mm f/4.8 lens, ISO 800, 12 x 5 minute exposures
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YOUNG ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: Inverted Sun © Thea Hutchinson (UK – aged 11) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
This was the photographer’s first attempt at solar imaging and was from the observatory in her back garden in Wimbledon. She used her father’s solar scope and after following her father’s advice, the photographer beautifully captured our nearest star, the Sun. The picture is a mosaic of two stacked images that were merged in Photoshop CC, cropped and inverted. The final image was then converted to false colour.
London, UK, 24 September 2017
Lunt LS60 telescope, Celestron CGE Pro mount, ZWO ASI174MM camera, 1250 (500-mm with x2.5 Powermate) f/21 (f/8.3 x 2.5) lens, 2000 frames best 20% retained
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YOUNG ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: First Impressions © Casper Kentish (UK – aged 8) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
After a few days of cloudy skies the photographer finally got the chance to use his birthday present, a new telescope. The clouds were moving fast so there was not much time to capture the Moon. With the help of his grandfather who kept moving the telescope and trying to keep an iPad at the right position, he managed to capture this wonderful and artistic image of his first viewing of our Moon.
Ponthirwaun, Ceredigion, UK, 23 January 2018
SkyWatcher Skyliner 200 p, SkyWatcher 25mm wide angle, Dobsonian mount, Apple iPad 5th generation, 3.3-mm f/2.4 lens, ISO 250, 1/17-second exposure
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YOUNG ASTRONOMY PHOTOGRAPHER OF THE YEAR: A Valley on the Moon… © Davy van der Hoeven (Netherlands – aged 10) – HIGHLY COMMENDED
The photographer’s father taught him how to focus the telescope, capture and process the data. Once the telescope was set up the photographer started taking images of the surface of the Moon and even managed to capture more details than his father did in the past. Hendrik-Ido-Ambacht, Netherlands, 25 February 2018
Celestron C11 Schmidt Cassegrain telescope, Baader red filter, SkyWatcher NEQ6 mount, Imaging Resource DMK21 camera, 2,700-mm f/10 lens, 1/300-second exposure
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SIR PATRICK MOORE PRIZE FOR BEST NEWCOMER: Galaxy Curtain Call Performance © Tianhong Li (China) – WINNER
This was the last opportunity in 2017 to see the silver core of the Milky Way before it sunk below the horizon. It was accompanied by the gradual curtain call of Scorpio heralding the upward trend of Orion in the sky. Meanwhile the season of bright shooting stars quietly arrived. The image is stitched together from a total of twenty pictures.
Ming’antu, China, 23 September 2017
Nikon D810A camera, 35-mm f/2 lens; sky: ISO 1250, 16 x 60-second exposures, total 16 pictures; ground: ISO 640, 4 x 120-second exposures, total 4 pictures
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ROBOTIC SCOPE: Two Comets with the Pleiades © Damian Peach (UK) – WINNER
The image showcases a very rare conjunction of two bright comets both passing the famous Pleiades star cluster in Taurus at the same time. Comet C/2017 O1 (ASASSN) is at far left while C2015 ER61 (PanSTARRS) is in the centre. Both comets have strikingly different appearances. The whole region is embedded in the faint nebulosity of the Taurus Molecular Cloud. The photographer used a remote telescope located in Mayhill, New Mexico.
Remote Astronomical Society (RAS) Observatory, Mayhill, New Mexico, USA, 19 September 2017
Takahashi FSQ106 telescope at 106 mm, Paramount ME mount, SBIG STL-11000M camera, 530-mm f/5 lens, exposure: four LRGB frames, each frame 30 minutes each
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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In the time since we posted our first look at the iPhone XS’ image quality, we’ve continued shooting with its larger sibling, the XS Max. The two devices use identical 12MP dual-camera systems, boasting better HDR and Portrait Mode effects thanks to processing and computational improvements. Take a look at some additional sample images from Apple’s latest flagship phone.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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| The view from Eagle Rock – a digital pinhole image by Ryland West, showing the view from one of Keat’s camera sites |
A series of pinhole cameras have been positioned around Lake Tahoe to record in a single exposure the effects of climate change over the course of the next 1000 years. Conceptual artist Jonathon Keats has booked space at the nearby Sierra Nevada College to hold an exhibition of the results in the year 3018.
The idea of the project is to show the long-term effects of climate change on the environment, by recording how the scenes the four cameras are pointed at alter over the course of a 1000-year exposure. Though technical details are scant regarding the size of the aperture, the basic premise of the cameras is a pinhole construction with a rose-colored pigment to record the image. The pinholes have been made in 24-karat gold sheets (though the reason isn’t clear why gold was used) and the pigment records the image by fading in areas where it is exposed to most light. As it is the areas that are exposed to light that fade the final image will be positive.
According to an interview on the Vice’s Motherboard website Keats has ‘borrowed a technique from Renaissance painters who worked with copper. This involved rubbing the copper with pumice stone, then rubbing it with garlic and finally applying a layer of pigment. After studying different pigments, Keats chose rose madder, a red pigment that is derived from the root of a madder plant.’
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The tiny cameras have a copper body and measure 2.75in long by 2.25in in diameter, and have been placed in strategic positions to monitor the condition of the lake and its shoreline. Whether the cameras can remain still for 1000 years, and whether the exposure will be right in 3018, remains to be seen – but not by any of us. Keats himself says in the Motherboard interview “The [environmental] changes that happen may wipe out the camera or wipe out the institution that’s in charge of it. I just signed a contract with Sierra Nevada College that is for an exhibition of these four photographs in the year 3018. We’re certainly taking chances with this, but that’s also part of the picture in a way.”
I’ll wait closer; to the time before buying a ticket for the opening night.
Press release
Experimental Philosopher Jonathon Keats Explores 1,000 Years of Environmental Change in the Lake Tahoe Basin
TAHOE PUBLIC ART INSTALLATION | 2018 – 3018
ART EXHIBITION | OCT 18 – NOV 16, 2018
TAHOE GALLERY, SNC, Incline Village, NV
Tahoe Timescape is a public art project conceptualized by experimental philosopher and artist Jonathon Keats that photographically documents the next thousand years of environmental change in the Lake Tahoe Basin. The project enlists a new approach to photography based on the traditional pinhole camera. Pierced through a plate of 24-karat gold, a minuscule pinhole focuses light onto a rose colored pigment, such that the color fades most where the light is brightest, very slowly imprinting a unique positive image. The Millennium Camera’s thousand-year-long photographic exposure, taken between 2018 – 3018, not only shows the view in front of the camera, but also records how it develops over time, revealing dynamics ranging from urban development to climate change.
Digital Pinhole Photograph from Eagle Rock | Site Photography by Ryland West
While one goal of Tahoe Timescape is to provide documentation of human and environmental dynamics for study by future generations, the Millennium Camera, custom made from copper for durability, is equally intended as a mechanism for people today to envision their long-term impact on the environment – and potentially to change the picture by altering their behavior.
Tahoe Timescape features four Millennium Cameras that will be deployed around all four shores of Lake Tahoe, with fixed vantage points positioned to provide an expansive view of the Lake Tahoe Basin, presenting multiple opportunities for the public to engage in deep-time thinking as they explore the region. The copper brackets that secure each camera in their location, as well as informative plaques mounted next to the cameras, are fabricated locally by Mountain Forge. The four locations, pinpointed on a topographic map and identified by geographic coordinates, are as follows:
Jonathon Keats and Tahoe Public Art’s Executive Director, Mia Hanak, conducted site surveys to identify the vantage points and Millennium Camera locations. Local landscape photographer Ryland West explored each site to shoot a set of landscape photographs paired with digital pinhole photographs focused on the actual vantage point from the Millennium Cameras to help us imagine the photographic composition that will be recorded by each between now and 3018.
“Tahoe Public Art is truly excited to be presenting the conceptual art of Jonathon Keats to the Lake Tahoe Basin. With the ongoing stewardship of Sierra Nevada College, we hope this encourages tourists and residents alike to contemplate the future of the basin and how they can become active in its preservation.” – Steve Miller, Chairman, Tahoe Public Art.
Further outreach will be facilitated by an exhibition about deep time photography at Sierra Nevada College’s Tahoe Gallery. Opening on October 18th and running through November 16 in 2018, the exhibition will feature four sets of landscape photographs, digital medium format pinhole photographs, and photo documentation of the cameras secured at each location. Samplings of pinhole cameras, and a topographic map showing the camera sites and geographic coordinates will also be showcased. On September 5th, Keats led a pinhole camera workshop for SNC students. The exhibition will also showcase original artwork by SNC students — including 2-D, 3-D, digital arts, and interdisciplinary art — encapsulating how they envision Lake Tahoe in one thousand years.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)