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Archive for March, 2017

10 Must-Use Bird Photography Camera Settings for Beginners

09 Mar

With an overwhelming number of settings on the new DSLRs, it becomes increasingly hectic to know which ones to use. Then it takes an incredibly steep learning curve to understand how these settings work. It is much worse for a bird photographer, isn’t it? Bird photography is extremely challenging and a wrong setting might mean ruined photographs. It took several years for me to identify, practice, and stick to some of the key settings for bird photography.

Let me assure you that these settings are not reached in a philosophical way. They are tried and tested methods of achieving extraordinary results. These settings are the ones I teach to my photography workshop students as the first step towards making better bird photographs.

Set it and forget it

The key to making successful bird photographs is to select the settings and forget about them. Yes! Forget about them. Have only one or two variables so that you can focus primarily on making great bird photographs. Which is the art of photography.

In this article, I will give you 10 must-use camera settings that will help you improve your bird photography. These tips will relieve you of the persisting tension of changing the settings when the action unfolds. Remember, there are no retakes in bird photography. You have to be ready before the action unfolds.

So, let’s jump right in to find out how you can improve your bird photography with these 10 settings.

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please note that it’s not possible to give every step (for every camera) to configure a particular setting. I have given only just a few steps to show you the setting I have described. This is due to the constraint of space and the medium used.

bird photography camera settings

1. Shoot in RAW format

Always shoot in RAW format. If you have never used RAW, then make it a point to use it right now. Pick up your DSLR and set the Image Quality as RAW. Another option is to use RAW + Fine JPEG (or Basic JPEG) if you are unsure that you can handle a RAW file immediately. But, one day you may have to start working with RAW files. So, why not start shooting RAW from this day forward.

RAW Camera Settings for Canon DSLRs:

31 Canon 10 Must Use Bird Photography Camera Settings for Beginners

32 Canon 10 Must Use Bird Photography Camera Settings for Beginners

RAW Camera Settings for Nikon DSLRs:

01 Nikon 10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

A RAW file holds all the data that your Camera Sensor captures. This means you are utilizing the sensor’s complete capacity. JPEG format, on the other hand, is an image compression standard. It compresses the data to reduce the size of the file, by throwing some of the data away. You don’t want to lose what your sensor captured, right?

Some of the key advantages of using RAW files are:

  • You can modify your White Balance settings during the post-processing stage.
  • The highest dynamic range that the sensor is capable of is stored in a RAW file. More data means more detail in both the shadow and highlight regions of your images.
  • You can bring back phenomenal detail in the shadow regions in the post-processing stage.
  • You can work on getting the perfect contrast and color in your image.
  • And much more.

Have you switched to RAW format yet?

bird photography camera settings

2. Use the Auto White Balance (AWB) Setting

The Auto White Balance (AWB) setting is a boon to every digital photographer. This is especially true for bird photographers. Imagine setting the white balance every time the light changes. On top of that, birds are constantly moving which means it’s almost impossible to set the white balance on the fly.

Even if you say, you can set the White Balance, remember that the light is changing throughout the day. Choosing just one standard white balance might yield wrong colors. Instead, the AWB setting will keep adjusting as the light changes. With newer DSLRs, the AWB setting does a tremendous job of getting the right colors, almost every time. Most often, it’s not necessary to change the white balance settings that the camera chooses for you.

So, use RAW format, set your camera on AWB mode, and then forget about it.

Auto White Balance Settings for Canon DSLRs:

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Auto White Balance Settings for Nikon DSLRs:

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Important Tip: If you use RAW format, you have complete control over the white balance during the post-processing stage. You can set it to any value you want. Tweak it to get the right colors.

3. Use semi-automatic modes like Av/A or Tv/S

It’s a common tendency to shoot in Auto mode as a novice bird photographer. But, you’ll have no control over the resulting exposure. Instead, start using the semi-automatic modes.

They are extremely simple to use and will give you incredible results. Start with the Aperture Priority (Av/A) mode. Most of the pros use this mode, including me. It allows you to choose the aperture (which will define the resulting depth of field), while the camera chooses the shutter speed for you. Combined with the Auto ISO setting (discussed next), it’ll ease your tension of worrying about the right settings.

bird photography camera settings

If you are unable to get the required shutter speed, in the case of low light, choose Shutter Priority (Tv/S) mode. It allows you to select the shutter speed (which helps you to either freeze the action or blur it), while the camera chooses the aperture for you. Combined it with the Auto ISO setting (discussed next) for ease of use.

Semi-automatic Camera Settings for Canon DSLRs:

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Semi-automatic Camera Settings for Nikon DSLRs:

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

If anyone has told you that you should use Manual Mode to get the best bird photographs, forget about their advice. It’s not about which mode you use, it’s about how you use it. Forget about these petty talks. Instead, concentrate on making your life easier by using a semi-automatic setting. You’ll thank me, for sure.

4. Use the Auto ISO setting

The Auto ISO setting, if used properly, can solve a lot of problems in bird photography. Most often, you need higher shutter speeds to freeze the action in bird photography. This means you must use higher ISOs. Using higher ISOs, especially on the cropped sensors (like Canon 70D, 7DMarkII, Nikon D500, D7200, etc.), can result in a lot of noise, yielding an unusable photograph.

Most often you would have to work with ISO in the 400-800 range. Instead of setting the ISO to be at 400 or 800, it’s wise to set it to Auto ISO and select the Maximum Sensitivity to be 800. If you are using a full-frame camera (like Canon 1DX, 5DMark3, Nikon D4, D810, etc.), you can set the maximum sensitivity to ISO 1600 (or even 3200 depending on noise levels).

Auto ISO Settings for Canon DSLRs:

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

10 Must Use Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Auto ISO Settings for Nikon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

When you use Auto ISO instead of using a static ISO, you are allowing the camera to decide the ISO based on the changing light. Cameras are designed to keep the ISO value as low as possible, at all times.

Say you are working during the early morning when the light level is lower. The camera may start with ISO 800. But, as the light gets brighter and brighter, the ISO values will be smaller and smaller to compensate for the excess light. This means, your photographs will be much cleaner.

5. Use Auto ISO Combined With Minimum Shutter Speed

Many DSLRs allow you to choose the Minimum Shutter Speed in Auto ISO mode. This will ensure that the camera chooses the lowest possible ISO to achieve the Minimum Shutter Speed value. This gives you the best of both worlds. For instance, if you set the Minimum Shutter Speed to be 1/1000th of a second, the camera will alway try to select the lowest possible ISO value to meet your requirement.

bird photography camera settings

NOTE: If there is not enough light in the scene to achieve the required shutter speed despite choosing the maximum ISO, then the shutter speed will drop. So, keep an eye on the resulting shutter speeds.

Auto ISO and Minimum Shutter Speed Settings for Canon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Auto ISO and Minimum Shutter Speed Settings for Nikon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Whenever you are unable to meet the minimum shutter speed that you need, just switch to normal ISO mode and set it to a higher value. But, I don’t recommend higher than ISO 800 on cropped sensors as the results will be too noisy and unusable. There are a few exceptions like the Nikon D500 and Canon 7D Mark II DSLRs that seem to work fine at higher ISOs. My suggestion: Test it. See how far you can push the ISO on your camera before the result looks too noisy.

6. Use the Evaluative/Matrix Metering Mode

The Evaluative (for Canon) and Matrix (for Nikon) options are default metering modes. But there’s a common belief that Spot Metering works best for bird photography. Although it’s true to an extent, it has too many limitations. It’s beyond the scope of this article to discuss it here.

bird photography camera settings

While Spot Metering mode considers just 3-5% of your image frame, Evaluative/Matrix metering mode considers many aspects such as; the subject in focus, other objects in the frame, the background, and uses a weighting system to arrive at the right exposure value. It’s more intelligent than Spot and Center-weighted metering.

When you combine the Exposure Compensation technique (discussed next) with Evaluative/Matrix metering mode, you can get perfect exposures. With recent DSLRs, I have seen that the default metering modes give the best results in the majority of situations. They are sufficient if the dynamic range of your camera is high enough.

Metering Mode Settings for Canon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Metering Mode Settings for Nikon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

7. The Histogram is your best friend, learn to use it.

Yes, the Histogram is your best friend. If you are not using the Histogram, then you are missing a lot of image potential. There is enough material written about the subject, go ahead and embrace yourself with the knowledge. (Read: Histograms for Beginners)

Every time you take a photograph, you must check the Histogram. Don’t rely on the LCD monitor, check the Histogram. Why? LCD brightness and the ambient light can fool you into believing that a photo is under or overexposed. But, the Histogram gives you a clear cut exposure reading.

bird photography camera settings

Simply put, the Histogram is a graphical representation of the exposure. By looking at the graph you’d be able to see if the photograph is properly exposed, underexposed, or overexposed. Typically, if the graph is skewed towards the right-hand side of the Histogram, your image is overexposed (washed out whites or pure white areas with absolutely no detail).

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners Histogram

And if it is skewed towards the left, your image is underexposed (crushed blacks or pure black areas with absolutely no detail).

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners Histogram

You want to the Histogram to have the distribution not touching either the left-most end (underexposure) or the right-most end (overexposure). Typically, you are okay as long as the distribution is mostly in the middle.

The Histogram for Canon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners Histogram

The Histogram for Nikon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners Histogram

However, don’t expect the Histogram to look like a Gaussian curve. It needn’t be. Imagine an egret flying against a blue sky. Your Histogram will likely have two pillars on either side of the Histogram. One pillar (towards the left) would indicate the blue sky as it’s close to mid-grey and the other pillar (towards right) would indicate the egret. It’s a perfect exposure.

8. Enable the Highlight Indicator (Blinkies)

This is another useful and practical bird photography tip. The Highlight Indicator, widely known as Blinkies, clubbed with the Histogram and Exposure Compensation (discussed next) can assure you the best exposure at all times. Make sure you start using it from today.

bird photography camera settings

Make sure you keep detail in white feathers by using the histogram and highlight indicator.

The Highlight Indicator indicates any overexposed areas in your image. It’s very hard to know if you have overexposed your image or not, just by looking at the LCD monitor. I would say, never depend on the LCD monitor to review your image for exposure. The LCD monitor should be used for the sole purpose of checking your composition.

Check the Histogram for the exposure. Sometimes, it’s hard to find out if there are any overexposed areas on the Histogram. This is especially true if there’s just a slight overexposed area. That’s where the Blinkies comes in handy. You will see blinkers in the overexposed areas when you Enable Highlight Indicator or Blinkies.

In Canons, blinkies show up in the first screen itself, whereas you have to check RGB Highlights screen in case of Nikon. In any case, make it a point to check the Blinkies every time.

Highlight Indicator Settings for Canon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners blinkies

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners blinkies

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners blinkies

Highlight Indicator Settings for Nikon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners blinkies

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners blinkies

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners blinkies

If you develop this habit of checking the Histogram and Blinkies after every exposure, you are sure to improve your bird photography. Combine it with the Exposure Compensation technique you’ll see the improvement in leaps and bounds. Why not decide to use them from today?

9. Use Exposure Compensation (+/- Ev) to Tweak the Exposure

Here’s the best bird photography tip that I can offer: If you want to achieve the perfect exposure, then start using the Exposure Compensation technique right now. You’ll see a drastic improvement in your bird photography once you start using it.

The metering modes can only give you the exposure values based on some algorithms. It’ll never know what the subject is and how it should be rendered. For instance, it might render an egret in gray rather than white, and render a cormorant extremely dark. Because all the metering modes work on a concept called 18% Gray. I recommend you to read about it.

bird photography camera settings

Tweak exposure compensation to keep black feathers looking black.

It’s almost always necessary to tweak the exposure to record all the details in the scene. It’s especially important to render the subject in as much detail as possible. Simply put, expose for the subject.

By using Exposure Compensation technique, you can tell the camera to either underexpose or overexpose the scene by a particular value. Say, you chose -1 Stop Exposure Compensation using +/- button (as shown) on your camera. Then, the camera will underexpose the scene by 1-stop. If you select +1 Stop, then it will overexpose the scene by 1-stop.

Exposure Compensation Settings for Canon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Exposure Compensation Settings for Nikon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

So, start using Exposure Compensation to improve your bird photography. You’ll see phenomenal improvement with just an exposure tweak of +/- 1/3 stops. Try it and you’ll see.

10. Learn to use AE/AF Lock or the AF-ON Button

One of the biggest issues that a bird photographer faces is to switch between AF-S (or One-Shot AF) to AF-C (or AI-Servo) mode. Normally you would need AF-S (or One-Shot AF) for the birds which aren’t moving (or perched birds) and AF-C (or AI-Servo) mode all other times.

bird photography camera settings

It’s quite easy now-a-days to fix this issue. If you have AF-ON button at the back of your camera, it’ll solve the issue. AF-ON button is used for back-button focusing (also known as rear-button focusing). Instead of half-pressing the shutter button to start focusing, you can use the AF-ON button to trigger autofocus functionality.

When you are using the back-button focusing, make sure you have set the shutter button to only take photos and to not autofocus. This will leave the focus only for the AF-ON button. Now, all that you have to do is, always use AF-C (or AI-Servo) mode so that you are ready for the action.

Whenever you release the AF-ON button it’ll automatically lock the autofocus, which means, it’ll work as AF-S (or One-Shot AF). If you don’t have AF-ON button, you can likely configure any other button, say the AE-L/AF-L button to do the same thing.

Focus Settings for Canon DSLRs:

Focus Settings for Nikon DSLRs:

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Bird Photography camera Settings for Beginners

Here’s when you use back-button focus:

For example, say a bird is currently perched. You want to make few compositions while it is static, but at the same time, you would like to be ready for any action like flight. All that you do is, be ready in AF-C (AI-Servo) mode, press the AF-ON button to achieve focus, and release it to lock the focus. Then start taking photos as if you are in AF-S (One-Shot Focus) mode. If you see any slight movement, press the AF-ON button and you are already in the AF-C (or AI-Servo) mode. It’s the best of both worlds, isn’t it?

This is one of the advanced bird photography techniques I have described here. It might take a while to understand but try it. You’ll love it.

bird photography camera settings

IMPORTANT NOTE: Please note that it’s not possible to give every step to configure a particular setting. I have given only just a few steps to show you the settings I have described. This is due to the constraint of space and the medium used. Consult the user manual for your camera if you need more help.

Conclusion

If you can bring these 10 camera settings into practice in your daily bird photography, you’ll see a drastic improvement in your images. But remember, settings and equipment can only take you so far. They are just the means to an end, not the end itself.

I strongly recommend you to read my most popular article 10 Incredible Bird Photography Tips for Beginners.

Remember, your goal is to make your life easy with the right camera settings. The fewer settings you have to deal with, the better. Don’t get bogged down by settings as such, concentrate more on making better bird photographs. If you know what you want, you’ll find a way. I would recommend you to find an easy way.

Another suggestion is to take it easy. Don’t try to pressurize or overwhelm yourself with the information. Take one tip at a time and practice it. As always, practice makes perfect.

Everything can be mastered over time. With the right mentor and right practice, you’ll eventually become an excellent bird photographer. Just keep at it.

Think Photography. Think Simple.

The post 10 Must-Use Bird Photography Camera Settings for Beginners by Prathap DK appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Adobe Lightroom CC 2015.9 arrives with new camera and lens support, loads of bug fixes

09 Mar

In addition to its Camera Raw update, Adobe has released Lightroom CC 2015.9, adding support for additional cameras and lens profiles, as well as nearly two dozen bug fixes. The update is available now; existing users can download the latest version by selecting ‘Help’ > ‘Updates’ in the application’s menu.

Adobe Lightroom 2015.9 adds support for the following cameras:

  • Canon PowerShot G9 X Mark II
  • Casio EX-ZR3200
  • Fujifilm GFX 50S
  • Fujifilm X100F
  • Fujifilm X-A10
  • Fujifilm X-T20
  • Leica M10
  • Olympus E-M1 Mark II
  • Panasonic DC-FZ80
  • Panasonic DC-GF9
  • Panasonic DC-GH5
  • Panasonic DMC-TZ82
  • Phase One IQ3 100MP (“S” compression mode not supported)

In addition to the new camera support, Lightroom 2015.9 has gained support for more than two dozen lens profiles, including for lenses from Nikon, Canon, Apple, Sony, and DJI. The full list of lens additions can be found here.

Lastly, the new Lightroom CC update corrects 21 different bugs and issues as detailed in the following changelog:

  • Upright error where the “Update” button was incorrectly enabled when Upright is unable to find a correction.
  • Lens Profile Auto Matching was not working for Zeiss Batis 85mm lenses.
  • Cursor movements on Point Curves were erratic
  • Issue related to abnormal Lightroom exit when using Full Screen mode. The issue only occurred on Mac OS 10.12 (Sierra)
  • Develop Module Locked after deleting images while using two displays
  • Live Photos created on iPhoto caused the JPEG to be treated like an XMP sidecar file
  • Instead of deleting currently selected photo, deletes face tag from previous viewed photo
  • Images from Canon EOS G7X MK II sometimes had a green color cast
  • Unable to change the image after deleting a rejected photo in develop module
  • Export was taking longer than expected.
  • Unable to import compressed raw files from Fujifilm XT-2 and X-Pro2
  • iPhone video Capture Time is shifted upon Import
  • Slideshow Export as JPG text overlay issue
  • If using 2-byte characters for catalog path, unable to backup
  • Problem with map module (Windows)
  • Cannot access Auto Import Settings form File menu
  • The zoom does not work properly after the update
  • Lightroom 6.8: Memory Leak
  • Keyboard shortcut X for rejecting an image in Library not available (French)
  • Erroneous warning message on Catalog Backup
  • Messing up file ordering with panoramas

Via: Adobe Blog

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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9 Ways to Ensure You Get Sharp Images When Photographing People

09 Mar

If you are struggling with soft or blurry images, you are not alone. Many photographers have difficulty with getting crisp, clear, in-focus images. This is especially true when taking pictures of people. It can be done, though, if you take the right steps. Try out these nine tips to make sure you get sharp images when you are photographing people. With a little practice, you should start seeing results right away.

9 Ways to Ensure You Get Sharp Images When Photographing People

1. Shutter Speed

If you set your shutter speed too slow, chances are that your images are not going to be as sharp as you want them to be. Make sure to set your shutter speed at least the same speed as the focal length of your lens. To be extra sure, you could even double it.

For example, if you are shooting with a 35mm lens, make sure your shutter speed is set to 1/35th (doubled – 1/70th) or faster. If you are shooting with an 85mm lens, set the shutter speed to 1/90th (double to 1/170th) or faster.

9 Ways to Ensure You Get Sharp Images When Photographing People

Shutter speed 1/1640th of a second.

2. Steady Hands

To hold your camera steady, firmly plant your hands on your camera and make sure that you are not shaking, even slightly. Ideally, a tripod could eliminate the possibility of this, but if you are shooting handheld, make sure to keep things as steady as you can. Even the slightest movement could cause your photo to become out of focus.

9 Ways to Ensure You Get Sharp Images When Photographing People - Shot hand held

Shot handheld.

3. Set Your Focal Point

There are a few ways to set your focus, but one great way is to set your focal point to the center focal point on your camera and focus in on the person you want to photograph. You can change the points around, but generally, the center one will give you the clearest focus.

9 Ways to Ensure You Get Sharp Images When Photographing People - Shot with center focal point

Shot with the camera set to the center focal point.

4. Look at the Eyes

If you are taking a photo of just one person, set your focus on their eyes. The eyes are generally what will stand out in a great portrait, so making sure that they are in focus is key. Remember those focal points? Make sure that center one is lined up right on their eye.

9 Ways to Ensure You Get Sharp Images When Photographing People - Focus on the eyes

Note: if the person is posed slightly sideways, always focus on the eye closest to the camera.

5. Pose Them

If you are taking a photo with more than one person or a family, the way you pose them can affect the sharpness and focus. An easy pose which helps to make sure the focus will stay sharp is lining them up. Keep everyone on the same plane (equidistant from the lens). This will be helpful especially if you are still learning manual shooting mode, and working with your aperture. When you pose a group of people for a picture and they are in multiple lines, or if you have some closer to the camera, while others are farther away, this could make it more difficult to get everyone in sharp focus.

9 Ways to Ensure You Get Sharp Images When Photographing People - Posed in a line

6. Setting Your Aperture

The wider you set your aperture, the greater the chance there may be some parts of the image that are out of focus. Remember how you’re going to pose them? When you pose the people in a line on the same plane, you can keep your aperture wider and lower the risk for a blurry photo. It is also easier to shoot with a wider aperture if you are just photographing one individual.

9 Ways to Ensure You Get Sharp Images When Photographing People - Aperture 2.2

Shot at aperture f/2.2

7. Focus on the Person Closest to You

If there are many people in your photo, set the focal point on the person closest to you. Ideally, this person will also be in the center of the group. This will help to make sure that they are in focus as well as any people in the photo that are behind them. Then, adjust your aperture to make sure all group members will be in focus.

8. Choose Your Lens

Not all lenses are created the same and some are better at capturing sharp images than others. It’s not necessarily always the most expensive lenses either. A good starter lens that has great focus and won’t break your bank account is the 50mm f/1.8. A few other great lenses that generally produce sharp photos and aren’t as pricey are the 85mm f/1.8 or the 50mm f/1.4.

9 Ways to Ensure You Get Sharp Images When Photographing People - Shot with 50mm f/1.4

Shot with a 50mm f/1.4 lens.

9. Clean Your Gear

If you’ve tried all these steps and you are still experiencing soft, blurry pictures, it may be time to clean your equipment. If it’s been awhile (or if you’ve never had it cleaned), take your camera and lenses into a local camera shop you trust and have them clean your gear for you. Hopefully, that will make a big different in the sharpness of your images.

Now you try it. Next time you go out to photo shoot, think about these steps and carefully plan to get sharp images. Don’t just assume it’s automatically going to happen. With practice you will get it, so keep trying.

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A Fun Project You Can do in Your Own Home – How to Create a Physiogram

09 Mar

Anyone who has ever experimented with shutter speed knows that long exposures can yield some pretty interesting results. Whether it’s light painting at night or capturing the motion blur of a running river, long exposures can truly transform an image. A physiogram is a slightly different take on long exposure projects like light painting. It’s a technique that can easily be done in your living room, with no assistant required. Although the resulting images may look complex, the process to create a physiogram is actually very simple.

How to Create a Physiogram

How to Create a Physiogram

This double-physiogram was created by photographing part of a physiogram, covering the lens mid-exposure, swinging the LED in a different direction and resuming exposure.

How to Create a Physiogram

What is a Physiogram?

Physiography is actually a field of geography that studies the processes and patterns found in the natural environment. The name physiogram is apt because it is a photographic study of the patterns and movement of a suspended object. Imagine an object tethered to a string and suspended from a fixed point. If you push it, the object will swing around in a neat circular motion at first, completing each rotation in roughly the same place each time. However, as the object loses velocity, it will complete an orbit that is increasingly smaller than the last one.

The sequence of rotations that the object takes while it swings around isn’t visible to the naked eye. Fortunately, however, we can use photography to reveal these fascinating patterns. By attaching a light source like a flashlight or LED (don’t use a laser pointer – they can wreck your camera’s sensor!) to a rope or string and allowing the object to swing, we can view the entire path of the object in a single long exposure. The resulting photograph or physiogram reveals fascinating patterns and shapes.

How to Create a Physiogram

What you will need

  • A small flashlight or LED  (key chain lights work great)
  • About a meter (3 feet) or so of string
  • A white sheet of paper
  • Camera with manual exposure capabilities
  • A dark room

Note: the tools in the Light Painting Brushes set can work as your light source for this and add color to your physiogram as well. 

How to create a physiogram

Take the LED and tie the length of string to it. Small LED lights on keychains are great because they won’t smash your lens if they fall. They also have a narrow light for better line definition and come with a key ring and chain for hanging perfectly vertical. You can usually pick one up at discount stores.

How to Create a Physiogram - light source

These novelty keychains are great for creating physiograms because the light source is narrow and bright. They are also easy to suspend from the ceiling. You can depress the ON button with a bit of duct tape.

Take the other end of the string and attach it to the ceiling with a pin or hook. You want to fix the LED so that it will swing easily, about a meter and a half (5 feet) above the camera to start. Your camera will be positioned on the floor directly beneath the LED, so make sure each component is securely fastened. Having a UV filter fixed to the lens is a good idea, just in case something does drop on the camera.

The view looking up – I attached my keychain to a length of string suspended from a removable hook in the ceiling

Camera setup

To photograph nice clean lines of light, we will need to focus the camera on the head of the LED. This can be difficult when the camera is laying on the floor, and the LED is hard to define against the background of the roof. Instead, place your camera directly underneath the LED and place a piece of white paper beneath the camera to mark the spot (you may need to mark an X on the paper as your camera cannot focus on just white, it needs contrast). Then, take your camera and position it beside the hanging LED. Autofocus on the piece of paper and once it locks, turn the autofocus function off.

To start off, set your exposure time to 30 seconds at f/16 with 100 ISO. Position your camera beneath the LED, turn the LED on and turn out the room lights. Give the LED a good push, but be careful not to swing it so hard that it goes out of frame. Wait until the light settles into an even motion and press the shutter button.

How to Create a Physiogram

This exposure was taken directly after I swung the LED. The rippled effects are due to the light source moving out of sync with the rest of the pendulum set-up. As centrifugal force takes over, the lines become smoother.

Once your exposure is complete, have a look at the results!  This project does require some trial and error to perfect, adjustments to your pushing technique, exposure time, and changing the length of the string or the light source are all ways you can refine the final image. A shutter release cable or remote trigger is handy too if you are experiencing camera shake.

How to Create a Physiogram

The physiogram was made with a flashlight. The lines look thicker because the light from it is wider. Using a small LED means that you will see more defined lines.

Tidy it up in Photoshop

Although you need a dark room to properly photograph a physiogram, you may find that part of the background still shows up in your photographs.  This is caused by the light of the LED spilling around the room as it swings. The easiest way to fix this is by adjusting the black point in Photoshop. By adjusting the black point, you can reset what is interpreted as the blackest point in an image, without compromising the white light of the physiogram.

How to Create a Physiogram

The roof and light can still be seen in this image due to the light spilling from the light source. Adjusting the black point in Photoshop is the easiest way to darken the background without affecting the pattern of the physiogram

First, open your image in Photoshop and select Curves (in the adjustment layers panel or via Image > Adjustments > Curves). Click on the eyedropper tool with the black ink and the cursor will change to the eyedropper icon. Now click on an area in the background of the image, preferably a lighter tone that occurs consistently throughout the unwanted backdrop.

How to Create a Physiogram

Click this eyedropper.

How to Create a Physiogram

Then click on an area of the background you want to be pure black.

How to Create a Physiogram

And voila!

How to Create a Physiogram

See how much cleaner the background is now.

As soon as you click an area in the image, any tone up to the selected tone will be reset to read as completely black. It may take you a few tries to get the background uniformly dark (if you don’t like what it did, undo it click a different spot). This will also get rid of light fittings from your image as well as the hook that fixes the LED to the roof.

Spice it up a little

Once you get the hang of creating physiograms, switch it up a little! You can put layers of cellophane, glad wrap or glass over the lens for different textural and color effects. Change the light source, string length or zoom in and out during the exposure to create different pattern results.

This is a great opportunity to have fun and experiment, so enjoy! If you have kids they will love helping you with this project. Please give it a try and post your results in the comments below.

How to Create a Physiogram

I used glad wrap over the lens to soften the lines of this physiogram. The sharp lines indicate the beginning of the exposure with no glad wrap. The softer, more central lines have been taken with the glad wrap over the lens towards the end of the exposure.

How to Create a Physiogram

Some lines in this physiogram aren’t visible. The beak of the Angry Bird keychain blocked light from the LED. I quite like the effect, however.

How to Create a Physiogram

To create the multi-coloured effect in this image I used the gradient tool and blending layers function in Photoshop

How to Create a Physiogram

How to Create a Physiogram

The post A Fun Project You Can do in Your Own Home – How to Create a Physiogram by Megan Kennedy appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Apple captures 79 percent of global smartphone profits with 14.5 percent market share

09 Mar

According to Flickr the iPhone is the most popular camera(s) in the world and even 10 years after the original model was launched, iPhone continues to generate enormous profits for Apple. According to research from Strategy Analytics, that was obtained by The Korea Herald, in 2016 the iPhone captured 79 percent of profits in the global smartphone market, at a market share of only 14.5 percent. In absolute numbers that is $ 44.9 billion out of a $ 53.7 billion total profit.

Apple’s biggest rival Samsung leads the market share ranking in front of Apple at 20.7 percent but only grabs 14.6 percent of the profit, amounting to $ 8.3 billion. This is a similar picture to previous years when, thanks to very high margins, Apple was able to claim a much bigger proportion of smartphone profits than its market share would suggest. 

With the upcoming iPhone 8 models expected to bring a range of innovative features at what are projected to be high price points, the situation is unlikely to change in 2017. If Apple continues to invest profits into camera development, we could all benefit from its success.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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How to Create a Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos

09 Mar

Most people take reasonable precautions when engaging in activities that are potentially unsafe or harmful, like wearing seat belts in a car or even washing your hands before eating. The benefits of these basic procedures are easy to understand which is one reason these practices are so widely adopted. But things look quite different where our digital lives are concerned; in other words, a backup strategy.

Every mobile phone, laptop, and personal computer stores your photos, documents, and other data on either a small memory chip or a spinning hard drive and it is not uncommon for these to fail. In fact, due to the nature of how hard drives (which are still by far the most common method of storing data) operate, they are guaranteed to wear out over time. It’s just a question of when. Anyone even remotely concerned with making sure their digital files are safe and accessible one, five, 10, or even hundreds of years from now needs to have a solid backup strategy in case the unthinkable happens.

Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos

Don’t let your photos disappear when your computer fails.

The challenge

One problem with creating a backup strategy is that it can seem so complex and convoluted it’s difficult to even know where to begin. From clouds to closets to safe deposit boxes, the world of data backup has so many options it’s enough to make your head spin. I’m going to explore three common options in this article, but before I get too far I want to remind you of the words of Carl von Clausewitz who said, “The enemy of a good plan is the dream of a perfect plan.”

Don’t get so caught up with finding the ideal backup strategy that you don’t do anything at all. The important lesson, no matter which method you use, is to create copies of your data – especially your photographs – so you can still get them if something bad happens.

3-2-1 Strategy

One of the best ways to approach backing up your data is the 3-2-1 strategy:

  • 3: Have three copies of your data.
  • 2: Keep them in two separate places.
  • 1: At least one must be offsite.

This might seem like a lot of hassle, but it’s similar to most things in life that require small behavioral changes. Once you get over the initial setup of utilizing a backup strategy it becomes a habit or better yet, a completely transparent activity that just happens in the background. As someone who has lost data, and has had friends and family lose thousands of photos thanks to computer failures and hard drive corruption, I can confidently say that it is well worth your time to back up your data. It won’t save your physical life, but it could save your digital life.

Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos

A good backup solution doesn’t have to be complicated and can help make sure your memories stand the test of time.

Option #1 – External hard drives

Inside nearly every personal computer is a spinning hard drive that rotates at a mind-numbing speed of 5400-7200 rotations per minute, every day, for as long as the computer exists. Over time, hard drives have proven themselves to be simple cost-effective vessels for storing massive amounts of data. However, their mechanical nature makes them not only prone to failure but quite expensive and time-consuming to recover your files and photos if something does happen.

Because of these caveats, one of the simplest methods of backing up your data is to use software to make a clone of your hard drive onto – you guessed it – another hard drive. This duplicates everything on your computer so you can instantly access it in the case of an emergency. Thanks to the relatively inexpensive nature of external hard drives and backup software (which is often bundled with hard drives) the process is mostly painless.

Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos

Backup hard drives are a cheap and effective way of making sure your data is safe.

File recovery

Mostly, that is, until it comes time to actually recover your data. In my experience, this method of file backup is best when your entire computer dies and you need to start from scratch, at which point a clone of your hard drive can be used to create an exact copy on a new computer. I have had to do this a few times with excellent results, and except for re-registering some serial numbers with Adobe I was up and running again in no time.

However, if you accidentally delete some data, such as an entire folder of images, and need to recover just those specific things from your backup it can be tricky depending on the software solution you are using. Apple’s Time Machine, for example, is designed to facilitate the easy recovery of an entire computer’s worth of data but many people (myself included) have found themselves more than a little frustrated when restoring individual files or folders. Microsoft includes software called Backup and Restore which will do the same thing for Windows users. Either one of these is a great solution if you want a simple way of making sure all the data on your computer is saved and stored in the event of a complete hard drive failure.

One significant benefit of both Time Machine and Windows Backup and Restore is that they run automatically in the background so you never have to think about it once you set them up. However, one drawback is that because they only backup to external hard drives, if you lose data to a catastrophic event such as a fire or flood, chances are your backup drive will be toast also. For that reason I like to keep a second backup hard drive at the office where I work and switch the hard drives out every Monday. That way even if my house explodes in a freak meteorite incident everything but the very latest files and photos will still be available on my backup drive at work.

Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos

Mac users can use Time Machine to easily create automatic backups on an external hard drive.

Extra options

If you really want to go the extra mile with an external hard-drive-based backup plan, you can set yourself up with a multi-drive solution where all your data is copied to not only one, but several hard disks at the same time. This is called a RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Drives) system and while it’s more costly than a single drive solution, it’s virtually guaranteed to protect against data loss. If one of the drives in a RAID array fails you can usually just swap it out with a fresh drive and continue backing everything up.

Finally, if you are going to use external backups it’s important to keep them encrypted so prying eyes or thieving scoundrels can’t peek at your data. Time Machine lets you do this with the click of a mouse, and Windows has an option to do this as well using a setting called BitLocker. This adds a huge layer of security to your backups while taking almost no effort on your part. I highly recommend doing this.

Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos

BitLocker offers a great solution for Windows users who want a simple and effective backup strategy.

Hard drives are so cheap these days that it’s hard to go wrong with this type of solution. If your backup drive ever goes belly-up you can buy another one for the price of a few movie tickets. I recommend buying a drive that is double the capacity of your computer’s internal hard drive which means you can restore old copies of files long after they have been deleted from your computer.

Option #2 – Save your data to the cloud

If you don’t want to bother with the hassle of setting up an external hard drive, encrypting your data, and switching out drives every week or every month, another good option is to go with a cloud-based backup service like CrashPlan, BackBlaze, or Carbonite. These companies offer paid plans that backup all the data on your computer, or just a portion that you specify, to their own servers automatically. In terms of convenience, these services are hard to beat since they require almost no interaction from you after the initial setup.

Drawbacks

One of the downsides is the price, as they require a recurring monthly or yearly fee which, though usually not too expensive, can add up over time. They also make the act of restoring all your data, such as in the event of a fire or flood, more difficult than just hooking up a spare hard drive with a full copy of everything. Thankfully many cloud-based services will actually mail you a hard drive with a full copy of your data on it for an additional fee if you really need to do a full restore of your entire computer. You also have the option of logging into your account from a web browser and selectively downloading individual files or folders, which can be useful if you just need to retrieve specific items and not restore your entire computer.

Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos - CrashPlan, BackBlaze, or Carbonite - cloud options

One of the major drawbacks of cloud-based backup options involves actually getting your data to them in the first place. While broadband internet access is becoming increasingly common around the world, upload speeds still lag far behind download speeds. According to BackBlaze, a typical home internet connection will let you upload 2GB to 4GB per day, which means it could take several months to backup your entire hard drive! If you shoot in RAW and are constantly filling up your memory cards, you might find cloud-based backup services to be quite limiting unless you have a very fast internet connection!

Other cloud-based options are available that specifically address the needs of photographers. Google Photos allows unlimited storage for JPG pictures up to 16 megapixels, and Amazon allows unlimited photo storage for Prime members. Flickr, that longtime stalwart of online photo sharing, gives users 1TB (Terabyte, or 1024 GB) of storage for free. Services like Dropbox, OneDrive, and Apple’s iCloud offer paid plans that allow you to backup massive amounts of photos and other data for a fee while also syncing them across your devices.

Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos

Even if you already share pictures on social networks, it’s a good idea to have a full backup of all your images and a dedicated cloud-based solution is a nice way to accomplish this.

Shop around for the best cloud option for your needs

If you are thinking about using a cloud-based solution I would encourage you to investigate some options and see what you think would work best for your needs. I have used CrashPlan, BackBlaze, and Carbonite, as well as solutions like Arq which store your data on the Amazon cloud. Each of these has its own strengths and weaknesses and because of that, it is difficult to recommend a single cloud-based solution as every individual has their own needs.

All of them are good, and you really can’t go wrong with any of them if you currently don’t have a backup solution in place. I also like to caution people that when you utilize free services like Google Photos or Flickr it’s a good idea to review their Terms of Service so you know exactly what information and personal data you are giving up in exchange for the free use of their storage.

Option #3 – DVDs and Blu-Rays

Longtime computer users might fondly remember the days when CD-ROM drives first entered the scene. In those heady days of the mid-1990s the idea of putting as much data as you could fit on an entire 500MB hard drive onto one single CD was basically a computing miracle, and as CD drives became more prevalent they also became a good way to backup data such as documents and photos.

However as digital cameras rose to prominence in the early 2000s it became painfully obvious that backing up data to CDs and, subsequently, DVDs was too slow and cumbersome to be a good solution. Burning the discs took time, and getting files off them could be a chore especially as more and more computers abandoned these types of disc drives altogether.

So why in the world would this type of solution even be considered as part of a balanced backup strategy in 2017?

Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos CD and DVD

Behold the classic Compact Disc. You might not give this type of media much thought nowadays, but it can still be an essential component of a comprehensive backup strategy.

Cost and drawbacks

The answer to this question is mostly related to cost. Blank discs are cheap, and even if your computer doesn’t have a disc burner you can buy an external one for about $ 50-100. CDs hold about 600 MB of data, or enough for your vacation photos if you shot on medium-quality JPG. DVDs hold about 4.5 GB of data or a couple months of pictures (if you shoot RAW this will be more limited). Blu-Ray discs hold about 25GB of data or enough for an entire year’s worth of JPG images which make them very well suited for long-term image backup. Even if you already use a hard drive or cloud solution, it’s still a good idea to make regular backups of your pictures to some type of physical disc that you can then store in a safe deposit box or even mail to a trusted friend or family member.

One of the notable downsides to disc-based backups is that this media is prone to the same harsh realities of time as any hard drive. Sooner or later all discs that you create at home will fail due to a concept known as “bit rot” which is when the layer of dye inside a CD, DVD, or Blu-Ray that actually contains your data deteriorates over time. It might be a few years or 50 years, but it’s almost certainly going to happen to every disc you burn.

Thankfully some drives are capable of burning a special format of Blu-Ray called M-Disc which is supposed to keep your data safe for hundreds of years. Even though the actual discs are a little more expensive it could be well worth it to make sure your images aren’t lost to dust and decay over the years.

Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos

It might be worth your time to dust off that old DVD or Blu-Ray burner and use it as part of your photo backup plan.

Annual plan

When adding a disc-based component to your backup strategy I recommend making it part of an annual ritual instead of something you do monthly or weekly. Get a Blu-Ray burner so you can store all your pictures from the whole year and make the process of burning a disc and taking it to a safe deposit box an annual tradition. It might seem silly at first, but it could really save your digital life if you ever need it.

The Solution

The great challenge with backing up your digital images is that all methods have their positive and negative aspects, no one single solution is best. And very few things in life are truly permanent, so even if you physically print your pictures they will eventually fade and will also be susceptible to mold, moisture, or physical damage.

Any digital backup option is better than none at all. If you leave your photos on your computer or phone without duplicates then you are at risk of putting all your eggs in one basket which is almost certainly guaranteed to fail. The solution, then, is to do something to make sure your pictures don’t meet a premature digital demise. It could be a second hard drive, a cloud-based solution, making a Blu-Ray disk, using a combination of all three, or another method I didn’t even mention.

My father still has a hard drive sitting in his closet filled with thousands of images he may never see again. The disk failed years ago and was not backed up. The same thing has happened to many photographers around the world. Don’t let it happen to you.

Read more here:

What about you? What solution do you use to make sure your pictures are backed up and ready to access if you need them? There are hosts of other solutions I didn’t address in this article and I’m sure other DPS readers would like to know what ideas you have and what works for you. Please share in the comments below.

The post How to Create a Solid Backup Strategy for Your Photos by Simon Ringsmuth appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Field Test: The Hasselblad True Zoom Camera and Moto Z Smartphone

09 Mar

It’s impossible to ignore the fact that camera phones are becoming increasingly better. With impressive image quality and the ability to add on and shoot with mobile phone lenses, the case for replacing your dedicated camera with your cell phone is becoming more compelling by the day. However, one aspect of camera phones really hasn’t seen much improvement: ergonomics. Shooting with a camera phone is for some still pretty awkward and difficult to get used to. Here’s where the Hasselblad True Zoom comes into play.

Below are some notes and observations from a week-long experiment of shooting with the Hasselblad True Zoom and Moto Z smartphone.

Field Test: The Hasselblad True Zoom Camera and Moto Z Smartphone

What is the Hasselblad True Zoom?

The Hasselblad True Zoom makes your smartphone feel and function like a point-and-shoot camera. It is one of many Moto Mods available to add extra features to Motorola Moto Z smartphones, so all mods are limited to use on the Moto Z phones only. All Moto Mods attach to the phone via extra strong magnets, and can easily be detached.

To be perfectly honest, the Moto Z smartphones have superb native cameras. The Moto Z Force Droid, in particular, is very impressive and it even outperforms the Apple iPhone 7. This is to say that image quality is great with or without the Hasselblad True Zoom mod, but it is certainly nice to have some of the mod’s extra features.

Field Test: The Hasselblad True Zoom Camera and Moto Z Smartphone

Hasselblad True Zoom Specs

  • Compatible phones: Moto Z Droid, Moto Z Force Droid, Moto Z Play Droid
  • Dimensions / Weight: 152.3 x 72.9 x 9.0 – 15.1 mm / 145g
  • Sensor resolution: 12MP
  • Video resolution: 1080p Full HD at 30fps
  • Sensor size / Pixel size: 1/2.3-inch / 1.55 um
  • Aperture: f/3.5-5.6
  • Zoom: 10x optical/4x digital
  • Flash: Xenon flash
  • Capture modes: Photo, panorama, video, professional, night landscape, night portrait, sports, day landscape, back light portrait
  • Storage Internal phone: 32GB-64GB microSD
  • Price: $ 250
  • Carrying case included

best smartphone photography camera

The good

By far the best part of about the Hasselblad True Zoom is the fact that it allows you to use a phone (somewhat) like a real camera!

Physical camera controls

For those of us who despise having to pinch to zoom on a mobile phone, the Hasselblad True Zoom is a welcome relief. The mod is complete with a physical shutter release button and a physical zoom switch to operate the mod’s 25-250mm-equivalent range. There’s also an on/off button to turn the camera off and on without having to first unlock the phone.

Field Test: The Hasselblad True Zoom Camera and Moto Z Smartphone

Ability to control the camera via a touchscreen

After the mod is attached, the phone’s stock camera app switches over to “Professional mode.” This mode allows for manual camera control via the phone’s touchscreen. While you don’t have true manual control over every aspect of the camera (more on that below), you can adjust certain features such as ISO, capture mode (e.g. Action, Portrait mode, etc.), and choose to shoot in RAW or JPG format.

Field Test: The Hasselblad True Zoom Camera and Moto Z Smartphone

Professional mode options.

Comes with a carrying case

While you can operate your phone as usual even with the mod attached, you’ll probably want to remove it occasionally. Luckily, a solid carrying case with a wrist strap is included so you can keep your mod safe when you aren’t using it.

What could be improved

For every positive feature listed above, there’s an aspect that could be improved.

Limited manual control

Manual camera control on the Hasselblad True Zoom mod is still pretty limited. While it’s nice to be able to adjust the ISO, it’s not possible to adjust aperture or shutter speed. It’s a real shame, considering the native f/3.5-5.6 aperture available.

Field Test: The Hasselblad True Zoom Camera and Moto Z Smartphone

Extra physical features missing

The addition of a physical shutter button and zoom toggle is very welcomed and makes it easier to operate your phone like a true camera. However, two key features are missing.

First is a wrist strap that attaches to either the phone or camera. Considering how expensive the devices are and how bulky they can get, a strap would add a sense of security.

Second is a tripod thread. Since you don’t have full manual control over the camera, many low lighting shots revert to settings with incredibly slow shutter speeds, resulting in blurry images when shot handheld. Also, trying to take advantage of the mod’s 10x zoom feature while also holding the camera steady is incredibly tricky. There are some sample images below that demonstrate these focusing problems. The ability to shoot with a tripod would greatly enhance the resulting images.

Field Test: The Hasselblad True Zoom Camera and Moto Z Smartphone

Size

It’s impossible to ignore the allure of being able to shoot and carry a Hasselblad camera that fits into your pocket. The only problem is this camera won’t quite fit in your pocket unless you’ve got exceptionally large ones. While the bare Moto Z phone is slim enough to be tucked into most pockets, the camera mod adds just enough bulk to make the device difficult to carry. The carrying case is nice for protecting the mod, but it’s an awkward size that won’t fit into most pockets or purses.

Uncertain future

Moto Mods are a brand new concept for Motorola, a company recently taken over by Lenovo. Thus, the future of the Moto Z phone line and Moto Mods as a whole is pretty uncertain. No one knows if the next generation of Moto Z phones will be compatible with the Hasselblad True Zoom, or if the Moto Z line will continue at all. As a result, this can be a risky investment.

In Conclusion

The Hasselblad True Zoom is a step in the right direction for mobile photography. Having physical controls to better control smartphone cameras are welcome additions, but there is certainly room for improvement in future iterations.

What do you think about the idea of the Hasselblad True Zoom? Would you pick one up to try for yourself?

Hasselblad True Zoom Sample Images

The post Field Test: The Hasselblad True Zoom Camera and Moto Z Smartphone by Suzi Pratt appeared first on Digital Photography School.


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Fotodiox launches soda-can sized LED lights with Fresnel focusing

08 Mar

Accessory manufacturer Fotodiox has introduced a battery-powered LED lighting head that uses a Fresnel lens to create a focusing spot function – and the whole thing is as small as a can of soda. The new PopSpot J-500 comes with removable barn doors and can run via the supplied AC adapter or with a NP-F750 video camera battery.

Using only white LEDs the head has a color balance of 5600k (+/- 300) but will accept filters for matching to tungsten or other light sources. The focusing spot allows the beam of light to be varied between 25° and 55° as the lens is rotated, and the output of the light can be controlled using a 0-100% dimmer switch. A fully charged battery can run the light for up to an hour and twenty minutes at 100% power, or three hours and forty five minutes at 50%. The company says that the emittance at the 55° spot is 2258lx, and is 5400lx at the 25° position.

The head measures 3¼ x 3¼ x 8¼ inches (8 x 8 x 21cm) without the battery and weighs 2 lbs / 0.95kg, and is available on its own in a three-head kit. The single head costs $ 274.95 without the battery module and $ 399.95 with it, while the three-head kit costs $ 1099.95 including two batteries of each head. For more information see the Fotodiox website.

Press release

Compact LED Light Delivers Power, Control and Dramatic Looks for Photo and Video Projects

Fotodiox Pro, creator and distributor of several lines of specialty solutions for videography, cinematography and photography, has announced the PopSpot Focusable Fresnel – a mighty Fresnel LED light in a tiny package. Roughly the size of a soda can, the PopSpot allows photographers and videographers to focus its powerful beam for fantastic precision, strong contrast and dramatic shadows. It is available now on FotodioxPro.com in three configurations: the PopSpot Focusable Fresnel, the PopSpot Focusable Fresnel + Battery Module, and the PopSpot Focusable Fresnel 3-Light Kit with Rolling Carrying Case.

“The problem with most Fresnel lights is they’re typically quite bulky, heavy and fragile, and they get screaming hot to the touch,” said Bohus Blahut, marketing director for Fotodiox Pro. “But our new PopSpot Focusable Fresnel does away with those pitfalls by combining power and control in a form factor about the size of a pop can. A simple twist focuses the PopSpot’s output from a 55° to 25° beam angle, and removable barn doors offer further control of the shape and direction of the light. We’ve even included a slot for a slide-in tungsten filter.”

Not only is the PopSpot an ideal light for tabletop shooting or as a rim or hair light, it can be used as a primary light in many shooting scenarios. Its compact size and lightweight build offers flexibility in mounting, positioning, and concealing, and allows it to travel virtually anywhere. The PopSpot runs off either conventional AC power or an optional battery module for on-the-go lighting, and remains cool throughout use.

To learn more about the PopSpot Focusable Fresnel and other photography and videography accessories from Fotodiox Pro, please visit FotodioxPro.com.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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It shoots stills too: Panasonic GH5 studio scene and sample gallery

08 Mar

At first glance, the Panasonic DC-GH5 might appear to be more video-oriented than otherwise, but with an updated 20MP sensor, a new 12-60mm F2.8-4 kit lens bearing the coveted ‘Leica’ designation and refined autofocus performance, that doesn’t mean it’s not capable of shooting impressive stills as well. Panasonic has also told us they’ve been hard at work updating their JPEG engine, so we’ve taken it out on the town, to a Rugby match, and we’ve carefully analyzed its performance in the the studio to see how it really performs. Click through to take a look.

See the Panasonic GH5 in our
studio test scene

Sample Gallery

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Panasonic Lumix DC-GX850 real world samples

08 Mar

The Panasonic GX850 represents the merging of its ‘beauty-oriented’ GF-series and its ultra-small GM-series. Like the GM5 it replaces, it’s just barely coat pocketable with its collapsible 12-32mm F3.5-5.6 kit lens attached. Small as it is, it’s mighty enough to offer a 16MP Four Thirds sensor capable of 4K/30p video capture and Panasonic’s array of 4K-based stills modes. 

See our Panasonic Lumix GX850
sample gallery

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Sample photoSample photoSample photoSample photoSample photo

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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