360Photography

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  • SID is a 3D camera that promises shake-free VR videos

    Chinese company Weeview, maker of the Eye-Plug camera dongle for Android phones, has launched a Kickstarter campaign for a 3D camera. The new SID model features a pair of stereoscopic cameras that, when used together, produce 3D videos suitable for VR applications and headsets. Weeview says its new camera produces ‘shake-free’ footage, and that the stereoscopic effects can be adjusted with a mobile device during post-processing.

    The SID camera works in conjunction with a mobile app that supports live 3D video streaming, as well as functions like ‘Auto Follow’ for tracking a subject in the video and ‘Highlight’ for zooming in specific parts of the shot. The model offers a total maximum video resolution of 2880 x 1440 (3K) at 30 fps, as well as 32MP 8064 x 4032 still photos. Both sensors sport an F2.4 lens with a 160-degree field-of-view. The camera itself contains 802.11n WiFi for wireless connectivity, micro USB for charging, and a microSD card slot for content storage.

    Joining SID is the SID Camera Kit, a bundle that includes a motorized handheld gimbal and a smartphone mount. The gimbal can pan 320-degrees, roll 120-degrees, and tilt 320-degrees. Weeview says its new camera is also compatible with GoPro gimbals. 

    The SID camera is currently being offered to Kickstarter backers who pledge at least $ 179, while the gimbal is included in the bundle for backers who pledge at least $ 269. Shipping to these backers is estimated to start this upcoming August.

    Via: Kickstarter

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • National Geographic highlights early ‘People’ entries to Travel Photographer of the Year 2017 competition

    Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: People entries

    National Geographic’s Travel Photographer of the Year competition is open once again for entries, and its editors have shared a few of their favorite early contenders in the ‘People’ category. Submissions are being accepted until June 30th, and a Grand Prize win will get you a ten-day trip for two to the Galápagos Archipelago with National Geographic Expeditions.

    Photo and caption by Brandon Kusher / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

    Slam Dunk. A basketball player flies high through the air attempting a slam dunk in which he puts the ball between his legs first!

    Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: People entries

    Photo and caption by Akiomi Kuroda / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

    M. Portrait of Miho

    Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: People entries

    Photo and caption by Jobit George / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

    Bridging Generation. A beautiful photo of a father and son sitting in white traditional attire with beautiful blue sky on the day of Eid al-Fitr in a mosque in New Delhi, India. The photo shows the beautiful bond which these two generation have been building up in a very simple and lovable manner.

    Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: People entries

    Photo and caption by Lorraine Yip / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

    Retro Ride. Traveling through Cuba in a vintage 1950 Chevrolet with a speedometer which no longer works. We were passing by the city of Camagey known for its winding streets. The modern American Hawaiian hula figure and yellow taxi cab sign on the dashboard adds to the time travel-esque element of the classic Chevrolet, set against the backdrop of an old and perhaps dilapidated , but not forgotten, Cuba.

    Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: People entries

    Photo and caption by Hua Zhu / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

    Old and Young. This photo was taken in a small village in Wuyuan, China. It estimates that there are about 250 million countryside people living in the big cities. Many young people are making money in the cities, leaving their parents and kids at their hometown.

    Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: People entries

    Photo and caption by Pradeep Raja / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

    Ramadan Prayers. This is a shot of women praying inside Istiqlal Mosque, Jakarta which is the biggest mosque in Southeast Asia during the month of Ramadan.

    Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: People entries

    Photo and caption by Lauren Breedlove / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

    Lady Havana. During a recent visit to Cuba, I encountered this bold woman on the street while strolling around Old Havana. Something about her just struck me, like her eyes held a million stories. Not having any cash on me, I borrowed some change from a friend and approached the woman with it, asking to take her photograph. She nodded and posed like a boss, stogie and all.

    Travel Photographer of the Year 2017: People entries

    Photo and caption by Mattia Passarini / National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year Contest

    Tibetan’s soul smile. This monk was running back to his room after the afternoon prayer. I was chasing him trying to get a nice shot, but he kept covering his face. In Chinese i called after him: (pai yi zhang ba) “just one shot!” He looked back and started to laugh..
    Tashi Lhunpo Monastery, Tibet

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Fantastic footage of fjords with the DJI Mavic Pro

    This footage, filmed by CreateOne film production on a DJI Mavic Pro high above Norway has us all checking our vacation days and airline ticket prices. The processing is a little heavy in some places and there’s a couple of odd jello-tastic shots, but it’s well worth the two minutes of your time if you’re looking for a quick break from your day.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Sigma releases updated firmware for 30mm F1.4 APS-C lens for Sony E-mount

    Sigma has released an updated firmware version for its 30mm F1.4 APS-C lens for the Sony E-mount. Firmware version 0.2 brings the following improvements:

    • Improved peripheral brightness correction when an aperture value of F1.7 is selected on the Sony a6300 camera.
    • Fixed the AF operation when using focus points in peripheral areas of the frame with the Sony a6300 camera
    • Fixed freezing and not properly operating touch focus feature on the Sony a5100 camera 

    Firmware Version 0.2 for the Sigma 30mm F1.4 APS-C lens for Sony E-Mount can now be downloaded from the Sigma support website. 

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Sony releases short film showing off Xperia XZ Premium super-slow motion mode

    Sony Mobile has released the first super-slow-motion short movie that has been completely recorded on a smartphone. All of the movie’s scenes were recorded by 120 amateur videographers from 21 countries on the Tróia peninsula near Lisbon, Portugal. The footage was shot under the direction of award-winning director Chris Cairns and using the new Motion Eye mode of the Sony Xperia XZ Premium smartphone that is capable of capturing moving images at 960 frames per second.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • So you think you need to buy a RED camera

    Have you thought about getting a RED Cinema Camera? Sure, they’re pretty amazing tools, but do you really need one? Cooper over at Cooper films gives you some questions to ask and some good advice to consider before taking the plunge.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Good training: iFixit director of communications pays tribute to a repair-focused mom

     Kay Kay on the right, her mother Caroline on the left. (picture courtesy of Kay Kay Clapp)

    iFixit’s Kay Kay Clapp has a lot to thank her mother for, not least her insistence that children should learn how to repair things. While Kay Kay’s dad was traveling for work, her mom became a master at fixing and patching clothing and broken household items. 

    Not every mom would want their 8 year-old daughter tackling dry wall repair, but as Kay Kay says, ‘it’s empowering to learn how to fix things yourself’. Her early training paid off – as director of communications for iFixit, Kay Kay puts her passion for fixing things to good use every day.

    Caroline Clapp – we salute you.

    Read Kay Kay’s full article at iFixit

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Fantasea FRX100 V underwater housing released for Sony RX cameras

    Fantasea has announced the launch of its new FRX100 V Housing, an underwater housing unit designed for the Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III/IV/V cameras. The housing offers protection from water, as well as elemental nuisances like sand and dust, and is rated for depths as low as 60m / 200ft. In addition to being shock-resistant and durable thanks to its injection-molded polycarbonate shell, the housing features a double O-ring seal, support for lighting accessories, and a removable anti-glare hood for using the camera’s LCD.

    FRX100 V Housing users are able to access all of the Sony camera’s functions and controls, according to Fantasea, which says they are all ‘clearly marked’ on the housing. A special mount is included for attaching lighting accessories, and there’s also removable connection point for a double fiber optic cable. Operators have access to a dedicated video control button, and there’s likewise a removable flash diffuser.

    Fantasea states that each underwater housing unit is equipped with a Moisture Detector installed inside, as well as a port cover and hand strap. The housing is available to purchase from Fantasea now for $ 530.

    Via: PhotographyBLOG

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Google releases list of Street View-ready certified 360-degree cameras

    Google has released a list of 20 360-degree cameras that are available or will be launched over the coming months that have been certified according to Google’s new ‘Street View ready’ standard. This means they can be used in conjunction with the Street View app to create content for the Google Street View platform. 

    The cameras meet one of four new “Street View ready” standards, allowing users to choose the way of uploading 360-degree content that is most suitable for them.

    • Street View mobile ready: 360 cameras that can publish Street View directly from a mobile app, without requiring a desktop workflow

    • Street View auto ready: 360 cameras tailored for vehicle-based collection with the highest accuracy

    • Street View vr ready: 360 cameras or systems that collect geometry in addition to generating sets of connected 360 photos

    • Street View workflow ready: Publishing tools (sometimes bundled with cameras) that can upload to Street View accounts

    You can see the list of certified cameras in the graphic at the top of this page. More information on the Street View ready standards is available on the Google developer website. Many of the cameras in the list will be on show at Google’s Street View Summit in Tokyo, Japan this week.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Panasonic Lumix DC GX850 review: Lean selfie machine

    The Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX850 (known as the GX800 and GF9 in some regions) is the brand’s most compact interchangeable lens camera (as of Spring 2017) and uses the same 16MP Four Thirds sensor as several of its siblings. Sold kitted with a 12-32mm collapsible zoom, stand-out features include a 180-degree flip-up touch LCD, Panasonic’s excellent Depth-from-Defocus AF and 4K video capture.

    At its core the GX850 represents a combining of Panasonic’s style-oriented GF-line with the ultra-compact-oriented GM-line and replaces both the GM5 and GF8. However, its most similar sibling currently on the market is the larger, EVF-sporting GX85.

    Key features:

    • 16MP Four Thirds MOS sensor
    • 4K/30/24p video capture
    • 4K Photo mode for 8MP stills at 30 fps
    • 5 fps bursts with continuous AF
    • 3″ 1.04M-dot touch LCD flips ups 180 degrees
    • Wi-Fi

    Panasonic’s core customer for this camera is the casual user seeking a carry-everywhere-cam for documenting friends or family. This user is someone who prefers a selfie-screen to an EVF and favors ease-of-use and compactness. Since this ‘lifestyle’ camera buyer is likely to use the camera for a range of different types of photography, we’re going to see how it performs in a range of situations.

    The rivals

    Though the GX850 is Panasonic’s most entry-level camera, this segment of the mirrorless market has a lot of strong contenders to choose from. We’ve compared it to several of its most direct competitors below:

      Panasonic GX850 Panasonic GX85 Fujifilm X-A3 Fujifilm X-A10 Olympus E-PL8 Canon M10
    MSRP w/ kit lens $ 550 $ 800 $ 600 $ 500 $ 650 $ 600
    Sensor 16MP Four Thirds 16MP Four Thirds 24.2MP APS-C 16MP APS-C 16MP Four Thirds 18MP APS-C
    Image stabilization Lens-only 5-axis in-body + lens Lens-only Lens-only 3-axis in-body + lens Lens-only
    AF system Contrast-detect Contrast-detect Contrast-detect Contrast-detect Contrast-detect Hybrid AF
    Viewfinder n/a 2.76M-Dot 0.7x n/a n/a n/a n/a
    Screen 3″ 1.04M-dot 180° tilting touch 3″ 1.04M-dot tilting touch 3″ 920k-dot 180° tilting touch 3″ 1.04M-dot 180° tilting
    (no touch)    		 3″ 1.04M-dot 180° tilting touch 3″ 1.04M-dot 180° tilting touch
    Number of control dials 1 2 2 2 1 1
    Hotshoe No Yes Yes No Yes No
    Burst rate w/ AF-C 5 fps 6 fps 6 fps 6 fps 3.5 fps 4.6 fps
    Video 4K/24/30p 4K/24/30p 1080/60/24p 1080/30/24p 1080/30p 1080/30/24p

    CIPA battery life

    		 210 290 410 410 350 255
    Dimensions 106.5 x 64.6 x 33.3 mm 122 x 71 x 44 mm 116.9 x 66.9 x 40.4 mm 117 x 67 x 40 mm 115 x 67 x 38 mm 108 x 67 x 35 mm
    Weight 269 g 426 g 290 g 331 g 357 g 301 g

    As you can see from the chart, the two areas the GX850 has an advantage over its direct competitors include 4K video capture and size/weight.

    The number of control dials is definitely a differentiator in this class. The GX850 has just one, located slightly awkwardly on the back. This view also shows its USB-charging and HDMI port.

    Social, portrait and pet photography

    The camera’s small size, touch capability and selfie screen make it an appealing choice for casually snapping images of friends, family and pets.

    The default exposure behavior in its full auto mode, which is called Intelligent Auto (iA), tends to be sensible: the camera tries to maintain a shutter speed that is one over the focal length or greater. However, if the camera senses subject movement in iA mode, it will automatically increase the shutter speed, at the expense of ISO sensitivity. And if the shutter speed drops too low because of a lack of light, the camera will warn you that the shot might have blur due to camera shake. The GX850 never deploys the pop-up flash though, unless the user does. 

    ‘The default exposure behavior in Intelligent Auto mode tends to be sensible’

    When shooting moving subject like kids or pets indoors, the GX850 does not always choose a fast enough mode to freeze the action, even if it senses movement. One way around this is to switch the camera into ‘Sport/Action’ mode, represented by a tiny running figure on the dial. However this mode still won’t always provide a fast enough shutter speed, but should be a better option than any of the other auto settings.

    This is a good camera for casual photos of friends. And if you take the time to process the Raw files, as we’ve done here, you can get some great results. Photo by Dan Bracaglia

    Face Detection is turned on by default out of the box (when using the iAuto mode) and is quite useful for documenting fellow human beings. In most cases, when Face Detect is engaged, the camera will lock focus on the most prominent person in one’s frame. Of course if the face is too small, obstructed, or there simply is not enough light, this mode will occasionally fail. And if no face is detected, the camera defaults to its 49-point area mode, which tends to focus on the nearest or most central object. 

    Most users of this camera will leave it in JPEG mode and be totally satisfied. However to get the most out of the GX850, we recommend shooting Raw. The above image was processed through Adobe Camera Raw and ‘pops’ significantly more than the out of camera JPEG. In general, we found JPEG color to be a tad washed out, and skin tone color can occasionally look a little off.

    You want a selfie screen? You’ve got a selfie screen.

    Selfie screens are par for the course in this entry level class of camera. By default, when you flip the screen up, the camera uses a 3 sec timer before a photo is taken, and a countdown is displayed to prepare you for the decisive moment (this can be switched off).

    There are also several ‘beautifying’ filters that can be applied to make your selfie sing, including a ‘Soft Skin’ and a ‘Slimming Effect’ filter. Both of these are adjusted via sliders ranging from 0-10. There is also a background defocus option that simulates a shallow depth-of-field. These options are fun to try, but mostly pretty silly.

    As selfie, with no beautifying effects applied. A selfie with ‘Slimming’ and ‘Soft Skin’ set to 10/10.

    Sharing images with the GX850 is also fairly straightforward. There are multiple ways to connect the camera to one’s device (you’ll need to download the Panasonic Image App first), though sadly the camera does not offer NFC to make life easier for Android users.

    The first time you connect you’ll need to pull up Wi-Fi in the main menu, located at the bottom of page 1 in the ‘wrench menu,’ and select ‘Wi-Fi Function.’ There you can generate a local Wi-Fi network and connect your smart device. The app also allows you to control the camera remotely.

    Sometimes you just have to share that delicious plate of pancakes with the world. The GX850 makes zapping photos from the camera to your smart device fairly painless, once you set up the connection. Photo by Allison Johnson.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)