360Photography

Category: Uncategorized

  • Dazzling images from the Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    Flash Point © Brad Goldpaint (USA)

    The Perseid Meteor Shower shoots across the sky in the early hours of August 13, 2015, appearing to cascade from Mount Shasta in California, USA. The composite image features roughly 65 meteors captured by the photographer between 12:30am and 4:30am.

    The Royal Museums Greenwich has announced the shortlist for its eighth annual Insight Astronomy Photographer of the Year competition. More than 4500 entries were received from over 80 countries; winners will be announced on September 15, with winning images going into a free exhibition at the Royal Observatory. One overall winner will walk away with £10,000, and runners-up will take home £500 each. 

    Here are just a handful of the more than 130 images that made the shortlist – head to the Royal Museums Greenwich site to learn more about the competition.

    Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    Seven Magic Points © Rune Engebø (Norway)

    The rusty red swirls of the circular, iron sculpture Seven Magic Points in Brattebergan, Norway mirror the rippling aurora above.

    Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    Frozen Giant © Nicholas Roemmelt (Germany)

    The celestial curve of the Milky Way joins with the light of a stargazer’s headlamp to form a monumental arch over the Cimon della Pella in the heart of the Dolomites mountain range in northeastern Italy.

    Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    M8: Lagoon Nebula © Ivan Eder (Hungary)

    New stars are formed in the undulating clouds of M8, also commonly referred to as the Lagoon Nebula, situated some 5,000 light years from our planet.

    Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    Parallel Mountains © Sean Goebel (USA)

    The shadow of Manua Kea, the highest peak in the state of Hawaii, is projected by the rising sun over the volcano, Hualalai, whilst the Full Moon soars above them, higher again.

    Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    Northern Lights over Jokulsarlon, Iceland © Giles Rocholl (UK)

    A couple takes in the awe-inspiring sight of the Northern Lights streaking across the night sky over the lagoon at Jokulsarlon, Iceland on Valentine’s night of 2016.

    Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    Just Missed the Bullseye © Scott Carnie-Bronca (Australia)

    The International Space Station (ISS) appears to pierce a path across the radiant, concentric star trails seemingly spinning over the silhouettes of the trees in Harrogate, South Australia.

    Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    Painted Hills © Nicholas Roemmelt (Germany)

    With very little light pollution, the glimmering stars of the Milky Way bathe the colourful layers of the Painted Hills of Oregon in a natural glow.

    Astronomy Photographer of the Year 2016 shortlist

    Antarctic Space Station © Richard Inman (UK)

    A view of the Halley 6 Research Station situated on the Brunt Ice Shelf, Antarctica, which is believed to be the closest thing you can get to living in space without leaving Earth, making it perfect to be used for research by the European Space Agency. As the Sun’s light dissipates into the horizon, the aurora can be seen swirling overhead.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Ricoh releases THETA+ Video app for Android

    Ricoh’s Theta series S 360° cameras come with several accompanying apps. While the Theta S app is used for shooting and reviewing 360° images and video, the Theta+ and Theta+ Video apps were developed for editing images and video respectively. The Theta+ Video app for iPhone was released last year, now Ricoh has launched an Android version as well.

    Like the iPhone variant, Theta+ Video for Android allows you to edit 360° standard and time-lapse videos. Functions include trimming, color adjustment, cropping and the insertion of music tracks. Users can also select from from four types of view formats: Mirror Ball, Little Planet, Equirectangular, and Rectilinear.

    As usual, edited videos can be shared to a range of social networks. On Facebook and YouTube they can be viewed in their full 360° glory while on some other platforms cropping is required. Theta + Video for Android is available as a free download from the Google Play Store now. 

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • LensRentals details its top ten favorite products from the past decade

    Ten years have passed since our friends at LensRentals first launched as a small business operating out of a garage. The company has seen many changes over those years, both in its own operation and in the spheres of photography and videography, and it has highlighted some of those changes in a new blog post. The LensRentals team has detailed their top ten favorite products from the last decade.

    ‘What we’ve found, is that there is no right piece of gear for everyone,’ they say, ‘and we all have varying tastes and expectations when it comes to gear.’

    Click here to read LensRentals’ ten favorite products from the past decade

    The products, which aren’t listed in any particular order, run the gamut from cameras to lenses and a few different accessories. Most notably, Canon products took four of the ten slots, with both the 5D Mark II and 5D Mark III making the list, as well as its EF 400mm F4 DO IS II and 11-24mm F4L lenses. 

    Pentax, Leica, Freefly, Profoto, Sony, and Sigma products fill out the remaining six slots, though as LensRentals notes: ‘the photography and videography industries have changed faster than ever before, so some pieces of gear had to be left out on our list.’ It’s a somewhat long read, but the LensRentals team takes the time to explain why each product earned it place on the list, and it’s well worth giving it a look.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Video explains Kubrick’s use of innovative camera tech when shooting Barry Lyndon

    Legendary director Stanley Kubrick was known to be obsessed with cameras and pushing the limits of cinematic technology, with much of his technical awareness stemming from his days as a stills photographer. A new video essay by the British Film Institute now explains his use of different lenses to create the movie Barry Lyndon, which won an Oscar for its cinematography.

    We’ve written before about the famous Carl Zeiss Planar 50mm F0.7 lens (originally developed for NASA) that he used, but the BFI essay also discusses how he used it. It also looks at his use of zoom shots and the meanings he hoped to convey with them.

    Many scenes in the movie were shot in natural light and very dim candlelight to authentically portray the look and feel of the 18th century. In the very low light conditions Kubrick had to shoot with the superfast F0.7 lens’ aperture fully open, resulting in an extremely shallow depth-of-field. This required re-thinking the way such scenes were staged and demanded reduced actor movement, to avoid mis-focus, but the director felt this helped convey the stilted 18th century atmosphere.

    The video essay can be viewed on the British Film Institute’s Facebook page.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Nikon releases first AF-S Nikkor 105mm F1.4 E ED samples

    $ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_8850932617″,”galleryId”:”8850932617″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”standalone”:false,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”startInCommentsView”:false,”isMobile”:false}) });

    Nikon has released some of the first sample images from its newly announced AF-S Nikkor 105mm F1.4E ED. The samples are unfortunately somewhat low in resolution, and we always take officially sanctioned manufacturer sample images with a grain of salt, but we have to say we’re impressed with what we’re seeing. When it ships in August, the 105mm F1.4 will be one of the fastest autofocus primes of its kind on the market. 

    See more samples at Nikon USA’s website

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Getty Images sued for $1 billion over alleged copyright infringement

    Photographer Carol Highsmith with her Phase One camera. Photo via The Lyda Hill Texas Collection of Photographs in Carol M. Highsmith’s America Project, Library of Congress, Prints and Photographs Division.

    Photographer Carol M. Highsmith is suing Getty Images for $ 1 billion over its alleged copyright infringement of 18,755 of her photos. The lawsuit, which was filed in a New York federal court on July 25, alleges that Getty Images has been charging fees to license her images without her permission – the same images she has provided to the Library of Congress for free use by the public. In addition to distributing her images, the lawsuit alleges that Getty did not give Highsmith proper credit for her photos.

    The legal claim alleges statutory damages at up to $ 468,875,000. But because of a ruling against Getty in Morel v. Getty, a previous copyright case, the damages can reportedly be tripled to deter ‘bad faith business practices’. Highsmith became aware of Getty’s alleged copyright infringement after, she says, it sent her a letter accusing her of infringing the copyright of her own photograph by posting it on her own non-profit organization’s website.

    The claim states, in part, ‘The defendants have apparently misappropriated Ms. Highsmith’s generous gift to the American people. [Getty Images and subsidiaries] are not only unlawfully charging licensing fees… but are falsely and fraudulently holding themselves out as the exclusive copyright owner.” The lawsuit also claims Highsmith’s reputation has suffered a serious blow as a result of Getty’s alleged actions. 

    Via: PDNPulse, Hyperallergic

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Facebook posts Surround 360 camera assembly instructions on GitHub

    Facebook is pushing 360-degree VR content on its platform and in April announced its Surround 360 Open Source high-end VR camera. Now the company has posted detailed instructions on GitHub, which appear to be inspired by Ikea furniture assembly manuals, on how to source the parts, assemble the camera and install the software.

    The Surround 360 combines 17 4MP cameras, 15 of them arranged in a circle and two fish-eye lenses on top and bottom, to capture 4K, 6K, or 8K 360-degree video. The cost of all the parts and components needed to build the device is approximately $ 30,000. This is a lot more than your average consumer VR camera but compares favorably to similar professional systems. Facebook also says it took a randomly selected engineer 4 hours to build the camera, so once all parts are available it seems you can be up and running in less than a day.

    If you like the idea of building a Surround 360 for yourself you can download the instructions and software on GitHub. The video below shows you a time-lapse of the assembly process. 

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Sony Xperia X Performance achieves top score in DxOMark Mobile ranking

    DxoMark has published its test results for Sony’s flagship device in the Xperia X series, the Xperia X Performance. At 88 points the Sony achieves the same score as the HTC 10 and Samsung Galaxy S7 and now shares the top spot in the DxOMark Mobile rankings with those phones. 

    The DxOMark testers were particularly impressed by the Xperia X Performance’s fast and accurate AF system, good exposure and dynamic range, well-controlled noise in low light and good detail in flash images. On the downside, the HDR mode does not always trigger when it should, small amounts of chroma noise are visible in outdoor conditions and the white balance is inconsistent when shooting with flash. 

    The Xperia X Performance comes with a very similar camera specification to the Xperia Z5. A 23MP 1/2.3-inch Sony Exmor multi-aspect sensor is coupled with a F2.0 aperture in a wide angle lens with an equivalent focal length of 24mm. A predictive AF system, developed in collaboration with the engineers in Sony’s Alpha camera division, allows for improved subject tracking and low light mode ISO to be increased to 12800. You can read the full test report on the DxOMark website.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Throwback Thursday: the Fujifilm FinePix S5100 Zoom and all those shiny new compacts

    Twelve years ago today Fujifilm announced six new compacts all at the same time, which is something that camera manufacturers used to do a lot. Here’s a fun game: ask anyone who writes about cameras to tell you about CES in the mid-to-late 2000’s, but don’t be surprised if they start babbling incoherently about megapixels and run screaming from the room.

    The Fujifilm E550 Zoom. Similar to its more elegant sibling, the F810, it offered a high ISO 800 setting at a reduced 3MP.

    Back in August 2004, Fujifilm launched its FinePix E Zoom compact series, describing it as ‘no-nonsense’ and ‘sure to bring even the most hardened sceptic round to digital photography.’ The E500 and E510 boasted conventional 4.1MP and 5.2MP sensors respectively, while the FinePix E550 offered a 6MP SuperCCD HR sensor, Raw shooting and sold for a ‘competitive’ $ 350/£300. Also introduced was the FinePix F810 Zoom, with many of the same specifications at the E550, but with a few premium touches like a metal body and a 2.1″ widescreen LCD.

    But there was more! Also announced were the FinePix S3500 and S5500/S5100 Zoom SLR-style bridge cameras (the latter being our own Richard Butler’s first digital camera). The S5100 used a conventional 4MP sensor rather than the Super CCD sensor used by its predecessor, and offered such luxuries as Raw shooting, VGA 30 fps video recording (with sound!), a 115,000-dot LCD and PictBridge compatibility.

    The Fujifilm FinePix S5500, or S5100, depending on where you live. 

    Priced at $ 399/£250, we liked the S5100’s ‘fuss-free operation’ but wished it included optical image stabilization for its 10x zoom lens. It falls just a bit short of the 50x zoom lenses we routinely see in superzooms these days, but all in all it was a great value proposition in its time.

    Did you own any of these cameras? Let us know in the comments.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Rock Solid: Canon 1D X Mark II Review

    The EOS-1D X Mark II is Canon’s newest flagship DSLR aimed at pro-level photographers. A quick glance reveals the camera’s 1D-series heritage, but under the hood there are some exciting upgrades going on. The 1D X II is built around a new 20.2MP full-frame CMOS sensor, now with Canon’s Dual Pixel autofocus system, includes an expanded 61-point autofocus system with 24% more coverage and a 360,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor, and is one of the first Canon DSLRs (other than the somewhat niche 1D C) that captures 4K video. Predictably, it’s also built like a brick and performs like a Formula 1 race car.

    Canon 1D X Mark II Key Specifications

    • New 20.2MP CMOS full-frame sensor with Dual Pixel autofocus
    • 14 fps continuous shooting (16 fps in live view)
    • 200+ shot buffer with Raw+JPEG (CFast 2.0)
    • 61-point AF system with 41 cross-type sensors and 24% more coverage
    • 360,000-pixel RGB+IR metering sensor
    • Native ISO from 100-51,200 (expandable to 50-409,600)
    • 4K/60p video in DCI format (4096 x 2160 pixels) using Motion JPEG
    • 1.62 million dot LCD touch screen
    • Flicker detection
    • CFast 2.0 card support
    • USB 3.0

    The 1D X Mark II is a camera that anyone with previous 1D series experience can probably pick up, dial in their favorite settings, and start shooting right away — though as we’ll see on the following pages, in doing so one might overlook advancements that Canon has made in this newest edition. There are a few minor tweaks to the body – all for the better in our opinion – and it takes very little effort to adapt. This conservative approach to design is a testament to the fact that the basic form factor works well. It’s no surprise that the designs of both the Canon 1D and Nixon Dx series are quite similar and haven’t seen many changes to the basic design over the years.

    Conservative changes to the body notwithstanding, the 1D X II is full of new and updated technology designed to make the camera one of the top performing models in the world. The new AF system, although still utilizing 61 AF points, now covers 24% more of the frame and is, predictably, extremely fast. There’s also a new 360,000-pixel RGB+IR sensor for face recognition and subject tracking, which Canon refers to as iTR (Intelligent Tracking and Recognition).

    The jump to 20MP (vs. the 1D X’s 18MP) isn’t exactly Earth shattering, but this is a completely different sensor than any found in Canon’s previous flagship models. The 1D X II is the first full frame EOS DSLR to include Canon’s Dual Pixel autofocus system, a feature we’ve praised on other cameras. Additionally, Canon has moved to a design that uses on-chip analog to-digital-conversion, which should result in improved dynamic range of the sensor.

    Compared to the Nikon D5

    The obvious point of comparison to the 1D X II is the Nikon D5. A quick comparison reveals a lot of similarities and a few differences. On the surface it appears that Nikon takes the prize for high ISO and AF specs, while the 1D X II wins on continuous shooting speed and video. On the following pages we’ll try to give you a sense of how they stack up in the real world.

      Canon EOS-1D X II Canon EOS-1D X Nikon D5
    MSRP $ 5999 $ 6800 $ 6499
    Sensor 20.2MP 18.1 MP 20.8MP
    ISO range
    (expanded)    		 100 – 51,200
    (50 – 409,600)    		 100 – 51,200
    (50 – 204,800)    		 100 – 102,400
    (50 – 3,280,000)
    Viewfinder spec 0.76x mag
    100% coverage
    20mm eyepoint    		 0.76x mag
    100% coverage
    20mm eyepoint    		 0.72x mag
    100% coverage
    17mm eyepoint
    AF points 61 (41 cross-type) 61 (41 cross-type) 153 (99 cross-type)
    Live view/video AF ‘Dual Pixel’
    phase detection    		 Contrast detection Contrast detection
    AF working range -3 – 18 EV -2 – 18 EV -4 – 20 EV
    RGB metering sensor resolution 360k pixels 100k pixels 180k pixels
    LCD 3.2″ 1.62M-dot touch-enabled 3.0″ 1.04m dot 3.2″ 2.36M-dot touch-enabled
    Burst rate 14 fps
    (16 with mirror up)    		 12 fps 12 fps
    (14 with mirror up)
    Buffer
    JPEG / Raw / Raw+JPEG
    • Unlimited
    • 170
    • 81
    • 180
    • 38
    • 17
    • Unlimited
    • 200
    • 200
    Video DCI 4K/60p 1080/60p UHD 4K/30p
    HDMI Out 1080 8-bit 4:2:2 1080 8-bit 4:2:2 4K/30 8-bit 4:2:2
    Headphone socket? Yes No Yes
    Card format 1x Compact Flash
    1x CFast    		 2x Compact Flash 2x Compact Flash or 2x XQD variants
    Battery life (CIPA) 1210 shots 1120 shots 3780 shots
    Dimensions 158 x 168 x 83mm 158 x 164 x 83mm 160 x 159 x 92mm
    Weight 1530 g 1530 g 1405 g (XQD)

    We doubt that many people are going to seriously contemplate a switch between Canon and Nikon over a few specs on one model or the other unless it’s something absolutely mission critical. Most shooters utilizing this type of camera are likely heavily invested into a system, including lenses, strobes, and even institutional support. At the same time, it’s instructive to see just how advanced both flagship models are getting. We expect that most pros or advanced amateurs could produce great results with either one.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)