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  • Video: Shooting Dog Portraits with the Sony a6300

    Here at DPReview, we love dogs. They’re great. But they’re notoriously hard to photograph. Even the best-trained are unpredictable and fast-moving, and when they’re not running around they’re unable to sit still.

    In this video, DPReview’s Sam Spencer takes one of our favorite cameras – the Sony a6300 – to shoot some of our favorite pups. During a busy day of shooting, we gave both the animals and the a6300 a good workout, culminating in a studio portrait session for the lucky dogs at the Motley Zoo animal rescue center, in Seattle.

    See more videos at our YouTube channel

    This is sponsored content, created in partnership with Sony. What does this mean?

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Five reasons to buy the Sony RX100 V (and four reasons to reconsider)

    Introduction

    The Sony RX100 V is the world’s most advanced pocketable camera with a 1″-type sensor, and it’s also the most expensive. With a spec sheet that is unmatched in its segment (and in some cases, in the entire market), the RX100 V is going to be looked at by a great many folks, and is indeed going to be a great camera for a wide variety of photographers. But there are also photographers for whom the RX100 V is probably not your best choice – so we’ve put together some reasons you might want to pick one up, and also reasons you might want to save those pennies for something else. Let’s dive in.

    Reason to buy: You need to capture very fast things

    The 24 fps burst rate lets you capture just the right moment. Photo by Rishi Sanyal

    You might be interested in an RX100 V if you photograph or record very fast-moving things, primarily because of the camera’s ridiculous 24 fps burst speed for stills and 960 fps mode for slow-motion video. But because of the zoom range, you’ll have to be fairly close to the action – our own Barney Britton has been saying the V is the world’s best crash cam. Or maybe you’re a watermelon-exploding enthusiast. Okay, or maybe you want to catch just the right moment of your kid’s break dancing class. Whatever it is, kick the AF into continuous and ‘Wide’ area, the burst rate into 24 fps, and motor away.

    Reason to reconsider: Postage-stamp-sized batteries

    CIPA-rated to 220 shots, the battery life is, generally speaking, a weak point on the RX100 V.

    The Sony RX100 V soldiers on with the same NP-BX1 battery pack that the very first RX100 used, and with the massive increases in processing power and capability that Sony has shoehorned into the body, the claimed battery life is a third less than the original model. What’s more, the RX100 V continues Sony’s tradition of slow battery discharge if the battery is left in the camera, so if you’re only looking to use the camera occasionally, you may find you’re all ready to capture the moment, but the camera isn’t ready for anything but a charge.

    And if the RX100 V is already proving difficult to fit into your pocket (I can’t be the only guy wearing skinnier-than-normal jeans these days), you might be loathe to carry another battery or two as well.

    Reason to buy: You need a B video cam that can run and gun or be built up as needed

    You could conceivably use the HDMI out on the RX100 V to build a rig up, or just use it as a run-and-gun pocket video cam.

    The RX100 V is probably not the best choice out there for a primary video cam for most people (though this is not always going to be true), but with 4K video, focus peaking, zebra, log gamma and oversampled 4K, the only thing you’ll be missing is better audio – and there’s always an external solution for that.

    Don’t discount that you can also do clean HDMI out, and then combined with said external audio solution, have a pretty powerful package, even if it takes some work to get there.

    Reason to reconsider: You have big hands

    If Sasquatch was after a camera, it wouldn’t likely be the RX100-series (a big, double-grip DSLR might be a better bet). The RX100 V comes, out of the box, with no grip, a slippery casing, and buttons smaller than the sensors of point and shoots of yester-decade. Although a touchscreen isn’t always the answer, we feel that being able to utilize such a big block of space on the rear of the camera as a control point is something Sony will have to do sooner or later to improve usability as the features keep coming. 

    Reason to buy: You want the best point-and-shoot there is

    The RX100 V’s 315 on-sensor phase-detect AF points cover 65% of the frame.

    With AF-C in wide mode and rapid continuous shooting in Raw + JPEG, the only thing between you and something you want to photograph is the RX100 V’s startup time, which isn’t too bad (unless you’ve just changed the battery).

    Sony’s told us that plenty of folks buying their RX100 cameras are actually mid-to-high end DSLR owners. And while there’s an argument that that demographic may want maximum control all the time, there’s also something to be said for leaving the big camera at home and just focusing on a moment in front of you as it unfolds instead of prepping settings and always watching, and always re-prepping, and repeat.

    Reason to reconsider: You just don’t need it

    Stock up on storage if you plan on using those 24 fps bursts.

    I will confess – the allure of 24 fps burst shooting while at the Sony launch event for the RX100 V was somewhat tempered by the 128GB memory card I used, as well as the total picture count at the end of the night – near 3,000. That ended up being more than I would shoot with any other camera, simply because I could. One thing’s for sure – there’s no arguing that 24 fps will help you catch just the right moment in the middle of whatever is happening in front of you. But there’s also no arguing that it will just be overkill for many people, and many people’s hard drives. Even dropping the burst rate to 10 fps ended up being enough for me.

    Reason to buy: You want the best image quality in the smallest pocketable package

    You already have a cell phone with you all the time anyway, and it probably takes decent pictures. Well, the RX100 V will at least fit into a coat pocket (or cargo pants…those are still around, right?) and take photos that will blow any smartphone out of the water.

    True, ‘digital bokeh’ simulations are catching on, and will actually offer more blur artificially than the RX100 V can manage optically. But they still can’t match the dynamic range, sharpness and sophisticated JPEG performance in low light that the RX100 V offers. Digital bokeh or not, physics is still physics, and the 1″-type sensor will collect way more total light than any current cell phone.

    (There’s also one smaller 1″-type sensor camera on the market, the Canon G9 X, which is capable of good stills quality – but with a necessarily slower lens and less processing power to keep the whole package more compact.)

    Reason to reconsider: You just need more zoom

    The 24-70mm equivalent zoom lens on the RX100 V may be quite bright, but it may be too short for many people. If you’re hoping to shoot your kids’ soccer matches from the sidelines, there are way better options out there (the Panasonic ZS/TZ100 comes to mind).

    Sure, the 24-70mm focal length is an absolute staple for professional wedding and press photographers, but you also often see those very same photographers carrying another huge camera with a 70-200mm equivalent zoom, just to cover absolutely everything. You can get by for a great many things with the RX100 V, but if you’re planning on getting one single camera to do it all, from travel photography to portraits to landscapes, there is probably a better option out there for you.

    Reason to buy: You absolutely must have a viewfinder

    All RX100 models since the Mark III have had a built-in, pop-up electronic viewfinder.

    The RX100 V (and Mark III/IV) are the only truly pocketable 1″-type sensor compact cameras with a decent built-in viewfinder. Panasonic’s ZS100/TZ100 is also a fairly compact camera, but its field-sequential EVF is pretty lackluster. If you do lots of shooting in bright light outdoors, or just find that framing your masterpiece with fingerprint smudges and facial oils overlaying it is unacceptable, the RX100 V’s pop-up viewfinder is worth a peek.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • The good, the bad and the ugly of aerial photography – part 3: equipment

    In previous articles I’ve discussed the advantages of aerial photography and shooting from a helicopter as opposed to shooting from a light plane. But are there any special considerations with regard to equipment when shooting from the air?

    Since we’ve already established that it’s the superior choice (at least in my opinion), let’s concentrate on the helicopter first. An open door gives the photographer a vast range of angle options, and selecting the equipment can be difficult at first. You can find many good compositions with ultra-wide angles all the way to telephoto lenses.

    From my personal experience, the majority of my shots were taken with the wider end of a 24-70mm lens, i.e. If you only take one camera body (and don’t plan to switch lenses on the helicopter), take either a 24-70 or an ultra-wide such as a 16-35. Remember that an ultra-wide might come in handy at times, but when a need for longer focal length comes, it might lack the reach.

    Naturally, lens selection also depends on the subject: if you know you’ll be shooting grand landscapes, use a wider focal length. If you’re interested in capturing detail or if you’re limited in your ability to get close to the subject, use a longer lens.

    From high up, you don’t always need an ultra-wide lens to capture grand landscapes. This image was shot at 46mm.

    Sussusvlei, Namibia

    I highly recommend taking 2 camera bodies to an aerial shoot. If you do that, you can use another lens without switching it in midair, which can be complicated, not to mention extremely dangerous in case it goes flying out of the open door or window. The extra lens can be an ultra-wide but I personally prefer a telephoto. With a longer lens you can really delve into the fine detail of your subject, which might be hidden when shooting from the ground, and capture unique perspectives and interesting compositions.

    My favorite telephoto lens is the Canon 70-300mm F4-5.6L IS, and I found myself shooting on the long end of the zoom quite a bit. The main advantage for me is that even though you’re flying hundreds of meters above the landscape, you can really get close and intimate with it when using a long lens.

    When shooting from a plane, my recommendation is a 24-70 and a telephoto. Anything wider will capture parts of the plane, such as a wing or an engine, most of the time, which renders it almost useless.

    At 176mm focal length, the Telephoto lens gave me a chance to capture the details on the erupting lava. Flying any closer was impossible since the air above the lava flow was so warm it made the helicopter tremble.

    Holuhraun, Iceland

    Once on the helicopter, you will most likely fasten the camera straps to a dedicated part in the seat belt. While this keeps the equipment from falling from the heli, you might finds straps getting tangled after going back and forth between camera bodies, which could in turn cause you to miss good shots. Try to be aware of this, and always make sure the straps are disentangled when time comes to shoot. The entanglement problem is also the reason that while it is possible to take 3 bodies, it’s not recommended.

    Space in a light plane can be tight, so often you’ll only use one body. I would use a 24-70mm in that case. 

    Greenland

    Forget about using square filters, or anything else that can fly off and hit one of the rotors. It might feel calm inside, but try to take your hand out of the cabin and you’ll feel the enormous wind strength out there. There’s no reason to risk your life, and with today’s high-DR cameras you can compensate for global contrast when post processing the image. A polarizer is also a bad idea, as it can substantially darken the image and require a slower shutter speed or higher ISO.

    Even high global contrast can be balanced with today’s high-DR sensors.
    The Lofoten Islands,

    Arctic Norway

    One last thing to mention regarding gear is clothing. It can get cold up there, and while I was able to wear a t-shirt when shooting aerials in Namibia, in the Arctic I needed full thermal gear – the most important items were the hat and gloves. There were times my hands were totally devoid of all sensation and I had to stop shooting due to the cold. Be ready for this and try to use gloves that protect your hands from cold winds while allowing you to operate the camera.

    In the next article in this series, I’ll talk about technique and parameters for aerial photography.

    Erez Marom is a professional nature photographer, photography guide and traveler based in Israel. You can follow Erez’s work on Instagram, Facebook and 500px, and subscribe to his mailing list for updates.

    If you’d like to experience and shoot some of the most fascinating landscapes on earth with Erez as your guide, you’re welcome to take a look at his unique photography workshops around the world:

    Land of Ice – Southern Iceland
    Winter Paradise – Northern Iceland
    Northern Spirits – The Lofoten Islands
    Giants of the Andes and Fitz Roy Hiking Annex – Patagonia
    Tales of Arctic Nights – Greenland
    Saga of the Seas and The Far Reaches Annex – The Faroe Islands
    Desert Storm – Namibia

    More in This Series:

    • The good, the bad and the ugly of aerial photography – Part 1: Why shoot aerials?
    • The good, the bad and the ugly of aerial photography – Part 2: Aircraft

    Selected Articles by Erez Marom:

    • Parallelism in Landscape Photography
    • Behind the Shot: Dark Matter
    • Mountain Magic: Shooting in the Lofoten Islands
    • Behind the Shot: Nautilus
    • Behind the Shot: Lost in Space
    • Behind the Shot: Spot the Shark
    • Quick Look: The Art of the Unforeground
    • Whatever it Doesn’t Take
    • Winds of Change: Shooting changing landscapes
    • On the Importance of Naming Images

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Chronos high-speed camera hits crowdfunding goal in record time

    The Chronos 1.4 affordable high-speed camera that created some buzz on the internet about a month ago has now made it onto Kickstarter and reached its funding goal of approximately $ 48,000 in only 5 hours. The Chronos 1.4 can shoot high-speed video with 1,957 fps at its full resolution of 1280 × 1024 pixels, and up to 21,600 fps at lower resolutions. 

    The Chronos captures its footage on a 8.45 x 6.76mm sensor with a 6.6um pixel pitch. A global shutter means that leaning verticals won’t be an issue and the electronic shutter achieves a fastest speed of 1/500,000 sec. The sensitivity can be adjusted between ISO 320-5120 when shooting in color and 740-11840 in monochrome mode. The camera takes C and CS-mount video lenses and comes with a 5″ 800×480 touchscreen, an SD-card slot, audio IO connector, built-in microphone and HDMI out. Power is supplied by a standard Nikon camera battery. 

    If you want to support the project and reserve a Chronos 1.4, you can do so by pledging approximately $ 3,000, a fraction of the cost of other pro-level high-speed cameras, on the Chronos Kickstarter page. Shipping of the first units is planned for March 2017. You can find more information on the Chronos website, some sample footage can be seen in the video below.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Sony Xperia XZ camera review

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    The Xperia XZ is the top-of-the-line model in Sony’s Xperia X series and comes with some of the latest technologies implemented in its camera module. A Sony IMX300 1/2.3” 23MP image sensor with on-sensor phase detection is accompanied by a laser that measures distance to its subject to improve AF speed and accuracy in low light. Also on board is an RGBC-IR sensor that measures the color values of a scene in order to fine-tune the white balance system. The hybrid AF-system is also predictive and can track subjects in motion.

    The Sony G lens comes with a 24mm equivalent focal length and an F2.0 aperture. In video mode, the camera can record footage in 4K resolution and the Xperia XZ is also the first device on which Sony has implemented 5-axis electronic video stabilization. At the front there is a 13MP 1/3″ sensor with F2.0 aperture and 1080p video – specifications that would have been worthy of a main camera not too long ago.

    Processor and other components match the high-end characteristics of the camera and all the technology is wrapped up in an 8.1mm thin metal body that is water and dust tight (IP65/68). The Sony is also one of only a few smartphones to come with a dedicated camera button, making it an interesting option for any photography-oriented user.

    Key Photographic / Video Specifications

    • Sony IMX300 1/2.3” 23MP BSI CMOS sensor
    • 24mm equivalent focal length
    • F2.0 aperture
    • AF with on-sensor phase detection and laser-assistance
    • Subject tracking
    • RGBC-IR sensor
    • Manual control over shooting parameters
    • 4K video at 30 fps
    • 5-axis electronic video stabilization
    • 13MP front camera, F2.0, 22mm equivalent focal length

    Other Specifications

    • 5.2-inch 1080p IPS screen 
    • Qualcomm Snapdragon 820 chipset
    • 3GB RAM
    • 32/64GB storage
    • MicroSD support
    • 2,900mAh battery
    • Environmental protection  (IP65/68)
    • Fingerprint reader

    DPReview smartphone reviews are written with the needs of photographers in mind. We focus on camera features, performance, and image quality.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Throwback Thursday: Casio QV-4000

    Long before there was an app for that, your camera had a scene mode for that.

    Cameras and smartphones have gotten pretty good at detecting what kind of scene you’re trying to photograph and optimizing your settings for the best shot, and they’re only getting smarter. But fifteen years ago when we reviewed the Casio QV-4000 such technologies didn’t exist.

    Instead, you got ‘Best Shot Modes,’ a collection of exposure modes designed to help you match the right camera settings to the scene you were shooting. There were 5 pre-installed on the QV-4000, but you could install a hundred more by simply loading them from the CD-ROM that came with the camera onto your Compact Flash card.

    So with more than a hundred modes to choose from, you can imagine how specific they get. In no particular order, here are some of my favorites:

    • Photo of a toadstool 
    • Portrait in a field of flowers
    • Photo at a hotel
    • Photo of a mossy wood

    You can see them all here. And even though they seem a little funny now, Casio was only trying to answer a question we still haven’t quite cracked: how do you help the average consumer take better photos? Automatic scene detection and technology like Google’s HDR+ solve some problems, but I know I still see plenty of backlit portraits and blurry ‘night at the bar’ photos in my Facebook feed.

    The answer is starting to look different than a hundred different user-selectable scene modes, but the problem is sure the same.

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    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Photo gifts for every budget: 2016 Holiday Gift Guides

    It’s not easy shopping for a photographer. We’re notoriously picky, our gear is confusingly named and the difference between something we like and something we don’t can come down to what seem like trivial details. Trust us, if picking camera equipment was easy, we’d be out of work.

    But before you give up and just get a gift card, take a look through our carefully selected holiday gift suggestions, grouped by price range, for the photographer in your life. Don’t worry – we won’t tell anyone if that photographer is actually you.

    See our 2016 Holiday Gift Guide: $ 100 and under

    See our 2016 Holiday Gift Guide: $ 100-500

    See our 2016 Holiday Gift Guide: $ 500 and up

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Which instant camera should I buy? 2016 Instax mini roundup

    Instax Roundup 2016

    Let’s face it, it seems a little odd that a site called Digital Photography Review would dare take a step backward in to the world of analog photography. But truth be told, we all were delighted by handling physical prints from these cameras. Some of our editors began their careers in a darkroom, and with Instax mini images there’s just a little zest of the ‘magic’ of development as an image first appears. After that’s over, you’re left with a business-card sized talisman, artwork, souvenir, memory, or whatever else a photograph can become.

    It’s not just us who are hooked on the smiles and joy instant photography can bring; sales of Fujifilm Instax cameras are expected to reach 5 million units this year, and they’re not even the sole manufacturer of cameras that use the format. 

    Plus, the affordable options make great gifts, and are some of the cheapest ways to give the gift of photography over the holiday season. So we wondered: which one is best? 

    We decided to step into the world of instant for a few days to find out which camera is best for gifting to newcomers, and which is best for a photographer to gift to themselves. We selected eight cameras that all use the Instax mini format – which is now available in color and black and white (purists rejoice!) – and spent a little time with each to find out which is most fun, and which one is most rewarding. 

    The contenders are:

    Fujifilm Instax mini 8
    Fujifilm Instax mini 70
    Fujifilm Instax mini 90
    Lomography L’instant
    Lomography L’instant Automat
    Lomography LC-A+ Instant Back
    Leica Sofort
    MiNT InstantFlex TL70

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Camera Roundups updated for the holidays

    Just in time for the holiday shopping rush, we’ve updated our camera roundups. We’ve distilled everything we know about just about every camera on the market and recommended the models that stood out for us.

    Never before has the market offered such a broad range of capable cameras, whether that’s in terms of video shooting, autofocus performance or pocketable image quality. So, no matter what your budget, there should be something that suits your needs, whether you’re looking to explore new creative avenues, grab some better snaps than your phone can offer or just reinvigorate your love of photography.

    Whether you’re shopping for yourself or someone else, our roundups are written to tell you what you need to know, to help you make the most informed choice possible. We hope you find them useful:

    Compact and fixed-lens cameras:
    • Consumer long-zoom camera roundup
    • Compact enthusiast camera roundup
    • Enthusiast long-zoom camera roundup
    • Fixed, prime lens camera roundup
    • 4K action camera roundup

    Interchangeable lens cameras:
    • Interchangeable lens cameras around $ 500
    • Interchangeable lens cameras $ 500-900
    • Interchangeable lens cameras $ 900-1200
    • Crop-sensor ILCs, $ 1200-2000
    • Full frame ILCs $ 1200-2000
    • Semi-pro ILCs, $ 2000+

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • The iBlazr Case comes with 40 LEDs and a built-in battery pack

    Ukrainian company Concepter, which brought us the iBlazr smart flash in 2013, has launched a new Kickstarter campaign to fund production and distribution of its latest product, the iBlazr Case. The iBlazr Case combines 40 dual-tone LEDs for better flash photography with a 2,500 mAh battery pack and is compatible with the iPhone 6, 6S, 6 Plus, 6S Plus, 7, and 7 Plus models.

    The ’40 high-power LEDs’ on the rear of the case are triggered by the phone’s built-in flash via a light sensor, which means the case works with virtually any iPhone camera app. According to its makers it provides 5 times the light output of the built-in LED flash or approximately 300 lux at 1 meter subject distance. The beam angle is 180 degrees and the built-in battery, which can also be used to charge the iPhone, is good for 1500 flash exposures. When the case is used as a flash light it provides more than 2.5 hours of constant illumination.

    The LEDs can also be used to display customizable notifications for incoming calls, texts or other events, when the case is paired to the iPhone via a Bluetooth connection. The Shotlight companion app allows for adjustment of the flash color and brightness and is a fully-fledged camera app in its own right. 

    The iBlazr Case is made of ABS plastic and coated with a rubber material. The built-in battery is charged via USB Type-C port. You can now reserve a unit by pledging $ 55 or more on the project’s Kickstarter page. Shipping in envisaged for April 2017. 

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)