360Photography

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  • Kodak unveiled its own bitcoin miner at CES, will let you rent it for $3,400 for two years

    If you thought Kodak news couldn’t get any stranger following the company’s debut of a “photo-centric cryptocurrency” called KODAKCoin earlier this week… you were wrong. In a further attempt to cash in on the cryptocurrency mania currently spreading across the world, Kodak has debuted its own bitcoin mining machine at CES.

    The bitcoin miner is called the Kodak KashMiner, and you can rent it for just $ 3,400 and keep a share of the profits you make mining bitcoin for the next 2 years.

    We’ll give you a moment to let the absurdity of those last few sentences soak in before we attempt to put this madness in context.

    …

    Ready to move on? Okay.

    First of all, here is the Kodak KashMiner in the flesh at CES 2018:

    The deal, according to the pictures of Kodak’s pamphlet about the KashMiner, is that you can rent the machine on a 2-year contract for $ 3,400. From there, contends Kodak—who clearly know their stuff, having been publically interested in cryptocurrency for a full 48 hours now—you will earn approximately $ 750 per month, half of which you get to keep while the other half goes to a company called Spotlite Energy Systems in California.

    At that rate ($ 375 per month), you’ll make $ 9,000 in 24 months, or approximately $ 5,600 in profit.

    There’s just one problem with that line of thinking. Okay, actually, there are a few, as many people with actual cryptocurrency mining knowhow pointed out on the twittersphere as soon as news of Kodak’s bitcoin mining machine hit the headlines.

    Basically, bitcoin mining will not produce the same output month after month for 2 full years, even in the unlikely even that the price stays at $ 14,000 per bitcoin. According to bitcoin economist Saifedean Ammous, mining difficulty is increasing by about 15% per month, which means your total output after 24 months will be a lot less than the advertised $ 9,000+. But even if Kodak’s numbers were correct, there’s one other problem.

    It seems the KashMiner that Kodak is so graciously offering to rent you for $ 1,700 per year is just a rebranded Bitmain Antminer S9, an industry standard bitcoin miner that you can buy outright for just $ 2,320—a full $ 1,080 less than Kodak’s 2-year rental fee.

    The Bitmain Antminer S9

    Kodak’s initial cryptocurrency and blockchain announcement on Monday seemed, if a bit strange, at least not entirely crazy.

    Using the blockchain for copyright registration and tracking makes sense (and has been done before), and if Kodak wants to create its own cryptocurrency for photographers, it’s a risk the company is more than welcome to take. In fact, at first, it seemed like a risk that was well worth taking, as Kodak’s stock more than tripled on the news.

    But this bitcoin mining rental scheme feels like something else entirely. If the bitcoin experts speaking out about this online are correct, either Kodak has no idea what it’s doing, or this is a full-blown bitcoin mining scam.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Autel unveils the EVO drone, serious competition for the DJI Mavic Pro

    Autel Robotics released something pretty exciting at CES this week, although it’s stayed (ironically enough) somewhat under the radar so far. Meet the EVO: a folding, portable drone that looks like it could be the first serious competitor for DJI’s extremely popular Mavic Pro.

    When DJI first introduced the Mavic Pro—and later bumped up the battery live with the Mavic Pro Platinum—the company liked to say it had “revolutionized personal flight.” The thing is, DJI kind of had a point: the Mavic Pro was both extremely portable and extremely capable, opening up the joys of droning to a whole new range of potential consumers.

    But with the debut of the Autel EVO, DJI might want to watch its back.

    At first, the EVO seems like an almost shot-for-shot remake of the DJI Mavic Pro Platinum. The folding drone looks very similar, both sport a 3-axis gimbal, both boast intelligent flight modes and obstacle avoidance, they both offer 30 minutes of flight time, and both feature a max operating distance of 4.2 miles (7 km).

    Where the EVO manages to rise above (see what I did there…) the Mavic Pro Platinum is exactly where it counts: in the camera and remote control department.

    The stabilized camera can shoot at 4K/60p (DJI maxes out at 4K/30p) and the remote comes with a built-in 3.3 inch OLED screen that gives you a live feed at up to 720p—no need to plug your phone into your drone’s remote controller. Finally, the EVO also maxes out at a speed of 20 meters per second (44 miles per hour), which is just a hair faster than the Mavic Pro can handle.

    Unfortunately, Autel isn’t quite ready to commit to a specific release date for the EVO, but they did say it will arrive “very soon” and will cost $ 1,000 USD—that’s $ 100 cheaper than the DJI Mavic Pro Platinum, or the same price as the standard Mavic Pro, which can’t quite keep up on battery life.

    With DJI suffering from some PR problems of late, Autel has a real opportunity to steal some Mavic market share here. For our part, we’re going to try and get an EVO in the office for testing as soon as possible.

    To learn more about the Evo, check out the full release below or head over to the Autel Robotics website.

    Press Release

    Autel Robotics Announces New Aircraft EVO at CES 2018

    At CES 2018, Autel Robotics USA announced its new flagship aircraft line, the EVO.

    EVO is a portable camera drone with foldable arms and a sleek, compact form factor. We’re incredibly excited about this product, and after showing it off at CES, are eager to get it out into the wild for our customers to enjoy.

    EVO:

    • 4K UHD 60FPS camera equipped on a 3-axis gimbal
    • Front & Downward (Computer Vision) and Rear (IR Sensor) Obstacle Avoidance Systems
    • 3.3 Inch built-in OLED screen remote controller with 720p live video
    • 30-minute flight time
    • Speeds up to 20 meters per second
    • 4300 mAh Li-Po Battery, 1.3 hour recharge time
    • 7km (4.2 mi) Range
    • Autel Explorer app allowing for intelligent flight features & more

    We’ve been both humbled and honored by the overwhelmingly positive response to our announcement of the EVO. The EVO’s expected price point at launch is $ 999.00 USD. The launch date for the EVO will be announced as we close in further on our release timeline.

    While we are close to launching, we want to ensure that we deliver products that provide the utmost quality and reliability for our customers.

    Last year at CES we set some expectations that we did not achieve. We were not able to deliver a high quality, reliable offering with the Thermal and 1” Sensor for our X?Star series. There are many reasons that these units did not come to fruition.

    We realize that a big part of meeting our delivery goals for our customers is refining our messaging to ensure that we can always do what we say we will do.

    Moving forward with EVO we will focus on that goal of communicating clearly and never overpromising. As such, all we can say for now as to EVO’s release date is “very soon”. We’ll publish details on our website and social media as soon as they are available.

    Thank you for all of your support and feedback!

    The Autel Robotics Team

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • AT&T won’t sell the Huawei Mate 10 in the US over political concerns

    Chinese device manufacturer Huawei was widely expected to announce its first distribution partnership for a flagship smartphone in the US with carrier AT&T at CES this week. However, the carrier pulled out of the agreement at the last minute for reasons that are not entirely clear, though there is some interesting speculation.

    According to a report by the New York Times, it appears Huawei’s strong ties with the Chinese government and a fear of espionage have played an important role in the decision. This means that Huawei yet again won’t have an opportunity to compete eye-to-eye with its main rivals Apple and Samsung in the US, as its flagship device Mate 10 Pro will only be available to buy online, through retailers such as Amazon or Best Buy.

    If you live in the US and are not so concerned about Chinese espionage, the Mate 10 Pro is definitely worth a closer look. With a 6-inch 18:9 OLED screen, Kirin 970 processor, 6GB of RAM, 128GB of storage, and its Leica-branded 12MP dual camera setup, it’s firmly placed in the high-end bracket of the market. That’s a lot smartphone for the $ 800 retail price.

    Oh, and its camera is also one of the best among the current crop of flagship phones.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Wedding photographer’s work lambasted by clients in detailed 30-page report

    A dissatisfied newlywed couple in Hong Kong have reportedly published a 30-page report that extensively details the various issues they have with photos taken by their wedding photographer.

    The critique, which was released on Chinese social media and later published in a report by DCFever, is said to be written like a lab report, including highlighted explanations of alleged issues in individual images. Many of the images even included a rule-of-thirds overlay with specific compositional mistakes pointed out.

    According to DCFever’s video, the critique was “leaked” onto social media, where it has since been heavily discussed. Complaints reportedly include overexposed backgrounds and framing issues, with some commentators agreeing and others backing the photographer by saying that the photos hadn’t yet been retouched.

    It is unclear based on DCFever’s written report whether the photos had been retouched before the couple received them, and whether the photographer was paid for their work. But if you want to see the full report for yourself, DCFever published several screenshots with thumbnails of the alleged wedding photos… for better or worse.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Sony a9 firmware 2.00 brings improvements to continuous AF and more

    Sony has released firmware version 2.00 for its flagship a9 mirrorless camera. The most notable improvements are to continuous AF, with the company claiming enhanced performance while tracking as well as more stability when zooming.

    Speaking of stability, the firmware should bring general bug fixes and reliability enhancements, and the overheating warning function is more accurate, according to Sony.

    There are also a number of improvements related to metadata which you can find in the press release below. The firmware update is now available for download.

    Press Release

    Firmware version 2.00 provides the following benefits:

    Continuous AF Enhancements:

    • Enhanced performance of continuous auto focus on moving subjects
    • Enhanced stability of the AF-C when zooming

    Added Functions:

    • Adds the function to assign Protecting images to custom Key
    • Adds the function to transfer (FTP) protected files at once
      Note: Only for images protected using version 2.00 or higher.
    • Displays wired LAN MAC address
    • Inputs IPTC metadata to files
      Note: IPTC information must be created beforehand using the IPTC Metadata Preset software.
    • Inputs camera serial number to metadata

    Other Improvements:

    • Improves operational stability
    • Improves accuracy of the overheating warning function

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Yuneec’s new Typhoon H Plus drone boasts a 1-inch sensor camera that shoots 4K 60p

    Hong Kong drone manufacturer Yuneec has announced three new drones at CES, including an update to the popular Typhoon H that boasts a bigger sensor with more resolution and the ability to shoot 4K at 60fps.

    The company is also preparing to move into the fixed-wing category with its Firebird FPV, and take on the racing drone sector with the compact HD Racer.

    Yuneec Typhoon H Plus

    The Typhon H Plus now uses a 1-inch, 20MP sensor along with a wide aperture lens that results in better low light performance. The company doesn’t specify what the aperture is, but it does say that the lens has a focal length equivalent to that of a 23mm lens on a full frame body. The ISO range runs from 100 to 6400, and shutter speeds of between 4-1/8000sec are possible.

    The drone has a flight time of up to 25 minutes and can reach speeds of 13.5 meters per second (just over 30 miles per hour). With six large rotors the hexcopter provides stable flight in winds of up to 30mph, while a new design sees the machine producing 40% less noise.

    Yuneec Firebird FPV

    For a completely different experience, the fixed-wing Firebird FPV, “enables the user to fly just as if they were in the cockpit of a real airplane.”

    The airplane has a 13MP-sensor camera and can also shoot 4K video. It uses a ‘short-latency’ digital video link to stream footage back to Earth in high-definition. The craft is simple to fly and, according to Yuneec, can remain in the air for up to 30 minutes on a single charge.

    Yuneec HD Racer

    The HD Racer is designed to be a fun, portable quadcopter for use in indoor racing. It has a 13MP camera that can record 1080p video at 60fps, and it has a handy flip-over feature that allows the user to right the craft remotely should it land upside down at any stage.

    The Typhon H Plus and Firebird FPV will ship in the first half of 2018 and will cost $ 1,800 and $ 700, respectively. The HD Racer will come out later in the year, and should cost $ 180. For more information on any of these drones, visit the Yuneec website.

    Press Release

    Yuneec unveils new product releases at CES 2018

    Las Vegas (Jan. 09, 2018) – Yuneec entered two new categories with the unveiling of the all-new fixed wing Firebird FPV and all-new HD Racer for a more immersive flight. Additionally, the company announced the second generation of its proven six-rotor hex platform, Typhoon H Plus—its most powerful consumer product yet.

    The category expansion and product line advancements are a result of Yuneec’s ongoing commitment to deliver industry leading technologies and pilot-centric features for an unparalleled electric aviation experience.

    Typhoon H Plus

    Typhoon H Plus is packed with powerful features and professional image quality that photographers at any skill level will enjoy. The second generation of Typhoon H features Yuneec’s all-new, larger, highly stable six rotor hex airframe.

    With a 40 percent reduction in noise from previous hex models, and stable flight in winds up to 30mph, H Plus leads its category in stable flight and quiet operation.

    Designed with the creative consumer in mind, Typhoon H Plus is equipped with a high aperture one-inch sensor camera capable of 20 megapixel stills and 4K resolution video at 60fps. The new model also boasts an improved low-light performance compared to previous models. A continuous rotation gimbal combined with retractable landing gear provides seamless 360-degree unobstructed views.

    Typhoon H Plus comes equipped with Intel® RealSense™ Technology, a sophisticated collision avoidance system that detects obstacles and intelligently navigates around them. With this feature, drone pilots can worry less about obstacles and focus more on their flight path and camera work. Additionally, the Typhoon H Plus is accompanied by a newly redesigned Android-based ST16S controller, which includes a large, high brightness seven-inch integrated display and HD 720p video downlink for stunning real-time video reception.

    HD Racer

    The HD Racer, Yuneec’s first racing drone, fits in the palm of your hand and once in the air, gives pilots an immersive experience with cutting-edge technology.

    Built-in flight stabilization, with beginner and advanced modes, allow any skill level of pilot to experience the nimble, action packed experience of a racing drone. Its compact size, protected blades, and durable construction make it safe to fly indoors.

    While in the air, pilots can seamlessly navigate through any obstacle with an optimized, all-digital, low latency HD video downlink. Additionally, pilots can record and share their best racing moments in high resolution 1080p at 60fps. If pilots do catch an obstacle, ‘Flip-Up’ mode automatically uprights the downed HD Racer to maximize flying and minimize downtime.

    Firebird FPV

    Firebird FPV provides a fully immersive real-time outdoor flight experience, allowing the user to fly as if they were in the cockpit of a real airplane.

    The lightweight fixed-wing design extends the flight time to 30 minutes, which allows users to experience the true nature of piloting an aircraft in one continuous journey. Whether soaring the open sky or performing acrobatic maneuvers including inverted flight, rolls and loops, the Firebird FPV elevates the senses for new and experienced pilots alike.

    Its operation is simple and easy to fly at any skill level. Pilots can enable Safety Mode to remove all concern of flying too low by making it impossible to descend below the set floor altitude. Pilots will also appreciate Return Home, Geo Fence and Auto Landing capabilities of this easy-to-use fixed wing aircraft.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • CIPA’s November numbers show the digital camera market’s continuing decline

    Graph: CIPA

    The Japanese Camera & Imaging Products Association (CIPA) has released its numbers for November 2017, and they don’t make for pleasant reading. In short: the downward trend in the digital camera market continues, with only 2,166,788 DSC units shipped in November 2017, or approximately 17% percent lower than the previous year.

    Looking back further is even more depressing: almost an entire million more units were shipped in the same month in 2015.

    The situation looks very similar when looking at interchangeable lens cameras separately. With just over one million shipped, the total in November is approximately 20% lower than the same month of the two previous years.

    Due to smartphones taking over as the go-to imaging device for casual users, the market for digital cameras with built-in lenses has been plummeting for a while. At 1,163,523 units shipped, this market segment has now, at least in terms of shipments, almost shrunk to the same level as the interchangeable lens bracket.

    The year-on-year decrease for November is not as dramatic for DSLRs and system cameras, but compared to two years ago, the number of cameras with built-in lenses that have been shipped has been cut almost in half.

    Graph: CIPA

    Barring earthquakes and other natural disasters in the camera manufacturing regions, November tends to be one of the stronger month in camera retail, making this report all the more disappointing. Let’s hope the December numbers provide some reason for optimism when they arrive next month.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • DxOMark splits from DxO Labs, is now an independent privately-owned company

    In an email distributed late last month, DxOMark Image Labs announced that it has been spun-off from DxO Labs. DxOMark now exists as its own privately-owned independent company, which will continue to “pursue the development and commercialization of image quality solutions and services.”

    DxO Labs, meanwhile, continues to develop its photo editing software, DxO PhotoLab, as well as the DxO One smartphone camera attachment. We’ll also keep a close eye on what DxO plans to do with the Nik Software Collection, which it recently acquired from Google and promises to update in early 2018.

    The business change happened back in September, according to the email, which didn’t go into further detail about the matter. The full note reads:

    We’ve had an important internal change as well: In September, DxOMark Image Labs was spun off from DxO Labs. DxOMark Image Labs is now a privately-owned, independent company. As such, we continue to pursue the development and commercialization of image quality solutions and services that support our customers in designing the best-quality camera systems for a range of markets, including smartphones, DSC/DSLRs, drones, action cams, surveillance, and automotive.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • ACE Eyewear are social-media connected camera sunglasses

    If you are the kind of person who likes friends and social networks to ‘participate’ in what’s going on in your life in real-time, the ACE Eyewear camera sunglasses might just be what you’ve been waiting for. These glasses allow for hands-free recording and live-streaming of video from your own point of view, all for a reservation fee of $ 100 (the total final cost of the shipping glasses is unclear).

    The glasses feature an 8MP camera with a 120-degree wide-angle lens, which also allows you to record video at just under Full-HD resolution (1792 x 1168) and 24 frames per second. When connected through a smartphone’s Wi-Fi hot spot, the ACE can live-stream your video footage to Facebook, Instagram or YouTube.

    A button at the top of the glasses starts recording and a built-in microphone takes care of the sound.

    Thanks to a Dual Core MIPS 1.2GHz processor, power consumption during recording is low, allowing for up to 90 minutes of HD video recording or 40 minutes of live-streaming in addition to an 80-hour standby battery life. There is also 4GB of built-in memory, and files are managed via an accompanying app. All this technology fits into a pair of glasses that weighs only 50g (1.76oz) and comes with an IP65 rating for dust and splash resistance.

    So far smartglasses have not really caught on with consumers, but the ACE Eyewear’s low price and ability to stream to multiple networks give it an advantage over most competitors, and might make it more appealing to a larger audience.

    You can find more information and pre-order a pair for yourself on the Ace Eyewear website. Delivery is planned for summer 2018.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5S vs Sony a7S II low light shootout

    We shot the Panasonic GH5S against the Sony a7S II to see whether the video-centric Lumix can wrest the low-light crown away from its full frame rival. We’ll let you draw your own conclusions, but our initial assessment is that the Panasonic comes closer than we expected, and outperforms the Sony when you need to maintain a certain depth-of-field or when you shoot in Log.

    Click here to download a ProRes version of the video (8.0GB)

    Notes:

    We shot both cameras side-by-side, which explains the slight perspective difference. The GH5S’s oversized ‘multi aspect’ ratio sensor means it also offers a wider field of view even when using equivalent focal lengths.

    We shot at a range of ISOs in both the camera’s REC709 modes and their respective Log gamma modes, then matched the footage up alongside one another. We’ve kept all post-processing to a minimum, with only very minor color and brightness adjustments applied to provide consistency between the two cameras.

    We felt Panasonic’s noise reduction is significantly more effective than Sony’s

    Most sequences were shot so that both cameras had the same exposure settings. These are marked as ‘Exposure Matched’ in the video. However, there are times when you need to achieve a certain depth-of-field. These clips, which required us to stop the Sony down by two stops, are indicated as ‘Depth-of-Field Matched.’

    We felt Panasonic’s noise reduction is significantly more effective than Sony’s and, especially when combined with its ability to shoot 10-bit 4:2:2 footage, helps it perform well when compared with the Sony, especially below ISO 12,800 and when shooting in Log. However, it’s also worth noting the yellow blocking that can infest high ISO footage from the GH5S.

    For a more detailed assessment, head to our first impressions review.

    Read our Panasonic Lumix DC GH5S
    First Impressions Review

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)