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Leica’s new Summaron 28mm F5.6 is an incredibly slim pancake lens, originally sold in the 1950s, and recently re-released in M-mount. Does it make sense in 2017?
Check out our gallery of sample images, and watch this space for a shooting report, coming in the next few days.
View our gallery of sample images
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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The recent announcements of Fujifilm’s GFX 50S and Hasselblad’s X1D have turned a lot of heads, and for good reason. To take the GFX 50S specifically (since it’s more likely to represent an affordable option for DSLR shooters), we love Fujifilm cameras. It’s hard not to – they offer excellent ergonomics with a level of direct control that photographers itch for, and Fujifilm’s color science renders images that harken back to the days of film, while retaining all the advantages of digital. Meanwhile, the X-Trans color filter array (CFA) offers a number of advantages compared to traditional Bayer CFAs, showing decreased false color and a slight noise advantage due to a (relatively) greater proportion of green pixels.
Ultimately, though, the image quality of Fujifilm’s best cameras was limited by their APS-C sized sensors, which simply cannot capture as much light as similar silicon in larger sizes. And if you’ve kept up with our recent technical articles, you’ll know that the amount of total light you’ve captured is arguably the largest determinant of image quality.
That left many of us wondering when Fujifilm would step up to full-frame (35mm). But Fujifilm went one better – they skipped the arguably saturated full-frame market and went straight to medium format. In a rather compact, lightweight mirrorless form-factor at that. That made a lot of sense especially when you consider Fujifilm’s heritage in medium format film cameras, and its experience making medium-format lenses for other brands.
So, finally, here comes the GFX 50S: Fujifilm ergonomics and colors, but with all the advantages offered by larger sensors. But while heads turn, eyes widen, and colleagues fight over who gets to take the camera out for a shoot, personally I’m in need of a little convincing. And think you should be too, if you’re thinking about plopping down a fat wad of cash for this seemingly drool-worthy system.
But what’s not to like, you ask? Bear with me…
The potential advantages of larger sensors can broadly be split into four areas: noise in low light, dynamic range, subject isolation (shallow depth-of-field), and resolution. But zoom into the following 36MP at 100% – are any of those lacking?
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| ISO 64 on a Nikon D810 gets me medium format-esque signal:noise ratio (image cleanliness), along with subject isolation I can’t get on medium format just yet, not at this focal length anyway (which would require a non-existent 44mm F2.5 MF lens). The incredible sharpness of this lens means I get good use out of those 36MP even wide open at F2. Photo: Rishi Sanyal (Nikon D810 | Sigma 24-35mm @ 35mm F2) |
The question is: does the GFX 50S currently deliver on all, or any, of these advantages over what the best of full-frame has to offer? Let’s look at each separately.
For the same f-number and shutter speed (or ‘focal plane exposure’), a larger sensor is exposed to more total light. The same light per unit area is projected by the lens, but the larger sensor has more area available capturing it. An image made with more light has less relative photon shot noise (the noise that results from the fact that light arrives randomly at the imaging plane). The more light you capture, the more you ‘average’ out these fluctuations, leading to a cleaner image (that’s the laymen’s description of it anyway; read about it more in-depth here).
That’s why a full-frame camera generally gives you cleaner images than your smartphone.* So if more light means better images, that’s a clear win for the GFX 50S, right?
Not so fast…
No, literally, not so fast. The lenses available for the GFX format simply aren’t as fast as those offered by full-frame competitors. The fastest lens on Fujifilm’s GFX roadmap is F2, which in full-frame equivalent terms is F1.56** (the concept of equivalence is out of scope for this article, but you can read about it in-depth here; for now, just remember the GFX has a reverse crop factor, relative to full-frame, of 0.79x). And most of the current MF lenses hover around F2.8 and F4, or F2.2 and F3.2 equivalent, respectively. That means that if they had the exact same underlying silicon technology (or sensor performance), a full-frame camera with an F2.2 (or F3.2) lens should do just as well as the GFX 50S with its F2.8 (or F4) lens. Even if were were to think ahead to the MF 100MP sensor Sony provides in the Phase One cameras, its 0.64x crop factor at best yields an F1.3 full-frame equivalent lenses from the one F2 lens announced, still not beating out the Canon 85/1.2, and barely beating out the plethora of available F1.4 full-frame lenses. So even if the newly announced G-mount lenses cover the wider medium format image circle (which I’d sure hope they would), things still aren’t so exciting.
But full-frame can do better than that: F1.4 and F1.8 lenses are routinely available for full-frame cameras, typically for less money too. An F1.4 lens projects twice as much light per unit area than an F2 lens, and 4x as much as an F2.8 lens, amply making up for the 1.7x smaller sensor surface area of full-frame.
That means full-frame cameras can capture as much, or more, light as the GFX 50S simply by offering faster lenses. But wait, it there’s more…
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Companies like Sony have poured a lot of R&D into their full-frame (and smaller) sensors, and the a7R II uses a backside-illuminated design that makes it more efficient than the sensor used in the 50S. It also offers a dual-gain architecture that flips the camera into a high gain mode at ISO 640, allowing it to effectively overcome any noise introduced by the camera’s own electronics. In other words, the a7R II’s sensor is better able to use the light projected onto it, relative to the MF sensor – ironically a sensor made by Sony itself – in the G50S (or Pentax 645Z, or Hasselblad X1D). This allows it to match the low light noise performance of the larger sensor in the GFX (and Pentax 645Z and Hasselblad X1D) even at the same shutter speed and f-number. See our studio scene comparison widget above.
So if we start with parity, guess what happens when you open up that aperture on the a7R II to an f-number simply unavailable to any current medium format system? You guessed it: you get better low light performance on full-frame. Whoa.
Although the same f-number and shutter speed give a larger sensor more total light, they receive the same amount of light per unit area. Most sensors of a similar generation have broadly similar tolerance for light per unit area (technically: similar full well capacity per unit area). But a larger sensor devotes more sensor area to any scene element, so can tolerate more total light per scene element before clipping. That means that for the same focal plane exposure, despite clipping highlights at a similar point, a larger sensor will render shadows (whose noise levels define the other limit of dynamic range) from more total light. And the same logic that applies to low light noise applies here as well: more total light = less relative shot noise and less impact of any noise from camera electronics. That means cleaner shadows, and more dynamic range.
So another clear win for the larger sensor GFX, no? Well, no. Because someone poured a lot of R&D into the Nikon D810 sensor (noticing a trend here?), giving it higher full-well capacity per unit area than any other sensor we’ve measured to date: its ISO 64 mode. Each pixel can hold more total charge before clipping, relative to equally-sized pixels on any other sensor in a consumer camera. That means it can tolerate a longer exposure at ISO 64, longer enough (at least 2/3 EV, or 60% more light) to capture as much total light as the 68% larger sensor in the GFX 50S exposed at its base ISO (100). Don’t believe us? Check out our real-world dynamic range comparison of the Nikon D810 vs the Pentax 645Z, which ostensibly shares the same sensor as the GFX 50S:
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In this shoot-out, we exposed each camera to the right as far as possible before clipping a significant chunk of pixels in the brightest portion of the Raw (in the orange sky just above the mountains). The D810, in this case, was able to tolerate a full stop longer exposure***, which allows its (pushed) shadows to remain as clean as the 645Z. That’s the (scientific, not baloney) reason we claimed the Nikon D810 to have medium format-like image quality. Because its dynamic range and overall signal:noise performance at ISO 64 rivals many current medium format cameras their base ISOs (though not the huge new 100MP MF Sony sensor in the new Phase One). Just look at its massive SNR advantage (read: image cleanliness) for all tones at ISO 64 over the Canon 5DS R at ISO 100 – we intend to plot the Fujifilm GFX 50S on the same graph, and don’t expect it to show any advantage to the D810. Because science.
Read about this all more in-depth in our D810 review here, and check out Bill Claff’s quantitative data that shows a 0.22 EV base ISO dynamic range difference between the D810 and 645Z – hardly noticeable, much less something to write home about.
Fair enough, there’s a little more to the story. ISO 64 does require more exposure than ISO 100, either via a brighter lens, or longer exposure time. But one might argue that under circumstances where you care about dynamic range – i.e. high contrast scenes – you’re typically not light-limited to begin with, and can easily give the camera as much light as needed. Either because you’re shooting on a tripod, you’re using studio lights and can just crank them up, or because there’s so much light to begin with (it is a high contrast scene, right?) You’re working at or near base ISO anyway, so you shouldn’t have trouble adding 2/3 EV exposure by opening up the lens or lengthening the shutter speed a bit.
But, yes, if you’re in a light-limited situation (i.e. you’re not shooting at base ISO) and it’s high enough contrast that you care about dynamic range (have to expose for highlights then push shadows), then the GFX 50S will have the upper hand here. But dare I say, that’s quite the niche use case: keep in mind that most situations demanding higher ISOs tend to be in lower light, where you care more about general noise performance, not dynamic range (since low light scenes tend to have lower contrast). And if that’s what you care about, there’s the a7R II which, although it may clip highlights a bit earlier, can give you as good, or better, low light noise performance… [link back to Noise section above].
But I’ll concede – if you want both the base ISO dynamic range of the D810, and the low light noise performance of an a7R II (albeit with F2 or slower lenses), then the GFX might be your ticket.
As we calculated in our ‘Low light (noise) performance’ section above, the fastest lens on Fujifilm’s roadmap is ~F1.6 full-frame equivalent, with most current available lenses being F2.2 equivalent or slower. Since full-frame routinely has F1.4 (equivalent) lenses available, you actually get more subject isolation, and blurrier backgrounds, with full-frame than with medium format.
And, no, the ‘but larger formats have more compression because you use longer focal length lenses for the same field-of-view’ argument is false. Just say no to the compression myth. For equivalent focal lengths/apertures, there’s no extra compression. Compression is relative only to equivalent focal length and subject distance (or subject magnification), and its relative distance to the background. Not the format you’re shooting on. Don’t believe us, have a look for yourself:
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Full Frame (70mm F4.5) |
APS-C (46mm F2.8) |
46mm F2.8 on APS-C is roughly equivalent to 70mm F4.3 on full-frame – meaning the two shots above should be virtually identical. And they are, save for a tiny bit more DOF in the full-frame shot because F4.5 was the closest I could get to F4.3. Now, of course, you can get shallower DOF on full-frame, for example by shooting at F2.8. But that’s because those faster lenses are available for full-frame.
They’re not in Fujifilm’s lineup, which includes two F2.8 lenses, one F2 lens, and a few F4 lenses – which are equivalent to F2.2, F1.6, and F3.2 in full-frame terms, respectively.
Without brighter lenses, there’s just no reason to get excited about medium format for subject isolation and blurry backgrounds. If you’re a bokeh fanatic, full-frame’s arguably the sweet spot.
OK, finally, some good news. Well, theoretically anyway.
If you have two differently sized sensors with the same pixel count, the smaller one will be more demanding on its lens (it samples the lens at more lines per mm for the same scene frequency). Manufacturing larger lenses is also slightly easier, since the same relative tolerance level can be achieved, despite a larger absolute variance.
So if you’re looking for true 50MP of detail across the frame, you’re more likely to get it with the GFX 50S than with a comparable 50MP full-frame sensor, simply because of the realities of lens design and tolerances. That said, we’ve been told that some of the newer full-frame lens designs were designed with 80 to 100MP in mind, on full-frame sensors. And with the eye-popping performance of some of the newest full-frame lenses we’ve seen, from varied manufacturers, we’re not inclined to disagree. We’ve seen some 50MP files from the 5DS R paired with truly stellar lenses where we simply can’t imagine anything better, resolution-wise. In fact, at ~F5.6-6.2 equivalent, I’m not seeing a major resolution advantage of the medium format cameras over the full-frame cameras in our studio scene comparison tool, and the 50MP full-frame image below isn’t exactly starved for resolution, is it?
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| 50MP Canon 5DS R image, shot with a Sigma 24-35mm F2 lens at F2. At F2 full-frame equiv., this image would have been impossible to shoot on the Fujifilm GFX 50S without a 44mm F2.5 lens, which doesn’t exist, nor is on Fujifilm’s roadmap. And despite the 5DS R’s smaller pixels for the same total pixel count sensor, this image isn’t exactly starving for resolution and sharpness at 1:1 viewing, thanks to modern lens design. Photo: Rishi Sanyal |
Put another way: if you’re seeing eye-popping resolution at F2 above and here and here (and even at F1.4 on some new lenses) when viewing a Canon 5DS R 50MP full-frame file at 100% (do click on the above image and view at 100%), do you want or need a truer 50MP? Or do you want even more than 50MP, particularly if it’ll come at the cost of more depth-of-field, since there are hardly any F2 equivalent lenses that’ll give you the subject isolation and background bokeh you see in the full-frame shot above?
Only you can answer that question, but it is true that physics being physics, larger sensors will always tend to out-resolve smaller sensors with equivalent glass. And so this is the area where we most expect to see an advantage to the Fujifilm system, especially over time as we approach 100MP, and beyond. It’s probably easier for an F1.8 prime paired with the GFX 50S to out-resolve an F1.4 prime on a 5DS R when both systems are shot wide open, but whether that will be the case (or if Fujifilm will even make an F1.8 or brighter prime for the system) remains to be seen. I certainly don’t think it would be a cheap combination.
Still excited about the Fujifilm GFX 50S and Hasselblad X1D? Perhaps you still should be. You get Fujifilm ergonomics and color science in a body capable of far better image quality than Fujifilm’s APS-C offerings. But remember you can emulate much of that color science in Raw converters with proper profiles (we’re looking into a separate article on this). More importantly, remember that equivalence tells us that an F1.8 medium format prime is what the GFX 50S actually needs to at least match the performance from modern full-frames paired with F1.4 lenses, from the perspective of noise and shallow depth-of-field. And that’s before you consider the advanced silicon technologies we’ve seen in different full-frame (and smaller) sensors that we haven’t yet seen in any medium format sensor. These advances have, for example, allowed a Nikon D810 to catch up to the dynamic range of the Pentax 645Z at base ISO, and the BSI, dual-gain a7R II sensor to catch up to the GFX 50S in low light noise performance.
Still, as I’ve said, physics is physics. For equivalent apertures and final output resolutions, we do expect medium format to yield a slight resolution advantage, thanks to its lower demands on resolving power of lenses. But the extent of this advantage, especially given some of the tremendous progress we’ve seen in recent lens designs, remains to be seen: I’m not starving for eye-popping detail at 1:1 viewing of 50 and 42MP files when pairing a 5DS R or a7R II with stellar modern prime lenses.
Of course, as medium format evolves, the same gains we see in full-frame over smaller sensors might find their ways into the format. But this will require both the silicon to keep up, and for the development of faster lenses. At least as fast as the fastest lenses full-frame offers. One thing does make us hopeful – recent conversations with some forum members alerted us to the fact that certain full-frame lenses, like the Zeiss Otus primes, actually project an image circle large enough for at least a square crop on Fujifilm’s new MF format. That would essentially get you high quality F1.1 equivalent glass on the GFX 50S. Cool, if you can focus it, anyway… (the GFX focus even with native lenses is anything but fast or intelligent, by the way). But if we see more and more fast full-frame lenses able to cover the image circle of the GFX G50S, then we’re more likely to actually experience the benefits of the larger sensor format, though native fast lenses (that aren’t slow unit focus, please) are really what we need.
Else, the potential advantages may be outweighed by the disadvantages: the extra weight, heft, price and severely lacking autofocus. And the GFX 50S has given up some of the noise and false color advantages their X-Trans cameras show…
For now, we hope that looking at the problem through the lens of equivalence at least gives you an idea of how big (or small) you can reasonably expect the differences to be. Maybe it even saves you a dime or two. Or makes you want to yell at us for bringing up equivalence, again.
But at the end of the day, equivalence has left me rather equivocal about medium format digital. What about you? Let us know in the comments below.
Editorial note: The headline of this opinion article has been updated to make it clearer that the points expressed are not intended to be taken as being specific to a single product, but represent discussion of the pros and cons of the emerging enthusiast medium-format camera class as a whole.
Footnotes:
* It’s also why ‘multi-shot’ modes yield cleaner images than single shots: these modes essentially capture more total light, averaging out shot noise. It’s also why brighter scenes generally look cleaner than low light scenes: more light = more photons captured = less relative shot noise = higher signal:noise ratio (SNR, or ‘cleanliness’ in laymen terms).
** The GFX 50S’ 44x33mm sensor has an effective 0.78x crop factor, so you can multiply the MF lens’ f-number by 0.78 to get the equivalent full-frame f-number.
*** We don’t control for T-stop, which could partially explain the drastic exposure difference. This doesn’t affect our experiment though, as we applied well-vetted ‘Expose to the Right’ (ETTR) principles for a fair comparison
**** Blind test: our ISO 12,800 studio scene shots of the GFX 50S and the a7R II have both been resized to 42MP, and a 576px wide 1:1 crop has been taken. Can you tell which is which?
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a7R II or GFX? |
GFX or a7R II? |
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Atomos has launched the Ninja Inferno, the latest in its line of off-camera recorders for video shooters. The Ninja Inferno has almost the exact same feature set as the company’s top of the line Shogun Inferno, including 4K/60p recording, a 1500 nit display with 10-bit color, and the ability to record direct to ProRes or DNxHR formats. It also includes the company’s Atom HDR technology, which matches the Log curves from major camera manufacturers to the Ninja’s display in order to show the full Log signal on the HDR screen, meaning that cinematographers can see vibrant, true to life colors while recording in Log.
The major difference between the Ninja Inferno and its big brother, the Shogun Inferno, is that Atomos has removed a few features that, while important to shooters using high end video equipment, often go unused by DSLR or mirrorless filmmakers. These include SDI plugs, Genlock and Raw recording capability. The result is that Atomos is able to make the Ninja Inferno available at a very aggressive price point of $ 995, compared to $ 1995 for the Shogun version.
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| The Atomos Ninja Inferno mounted on the new Panasonic GH5. Together, these make a compelling combination for a budget filmmaker. |
Of particular interest, Atomos is promoting the Ninja Inferno as the ‘ultimate accessory’ for the new Panasonic GH5, and there’s a reasonable case to be made for this. It’s a good match for the GH5’s 10-bit signal and Log video, but more importantly it supports 4K/60p 4:2:2 recording, one of the GH5’s more prominent features. Also, since the GH5 doesn’t include SDI ports or shoot Raw video, users are unlikely to miss those features on the Ninja Inferno, while benefiting from the much lower price.
We’ve had a pre-production copy of the Ninja Inferno for a few days and have been giving it a workout, so stay tuned for our hands-on report.
Press Release:
Prices slashed across the 4K HDR line up
Melbourne, Australia – 23rd March 2017: Today, Atomos brings the power of 4Kp60 10-bit ProRes recording and HDR monitoring to the GH5 for an amazingly low price of just $ 995.
“Our message to video Pro’s is to Go HDR 4Kp60 Today showcased by the GH5 and Ninja Inferno combo”, said Jeromy Young CEO and co-founder of Atomos. “For less than $ 3k it’s an unbeatable total package especially when considering having 4K HDR content ready for clients, Netflix and YouTube is a must”.
Atomos has always led the way advancing the quality, affordability and simplicity of filmmaking by adding professional features to popular Japanese cameras. Atomos are again first to launch a portable HDR 4Kp60 10-bit 422 monitor recorder. Timed with the release of the powerful Panasonic GH5 and a $ 995 price point Ninja Inferno empowers the masses.
Just as the original Atomos Ninja broke open DSLR filmmaking by giving the Canon 5DMKIII professional Apple ProRes recording & the original Atomos Shogun pioneered 4K with the Sony a7s and Panasonic GH4, the Ninja Inferno now arms the Panasonic GH5, the hottest camera of 2017, with HDR Apple Pro-Res 10-bit 4:2:2 4Kp60 over HDMI 2.0 – a feat not possible internally on the GH5. This marks another incredible Atomos breakthrough – professional 10-bit color resolution, 4:2:2 color accuracy, high frame rate 4K 60p video resolution & all with the incredible brightness range that HDR delivers in PQ or HLG.
Apart from being an obvious companion for the new GH5, the Ninja Inferno is the world’s first HDMI monitor-recorder to accept 4K DCI signals from cameras like the Panasonic GH4 / DVX200 / HCX1000 / UX180 / HCX1, Sony FS7 / Z100 and the JVC LS300. Support for the 4096 DCI standard unlocks cinema recording from these 4K video & mirrorless DSLRs.
For the Ninja Inferno, like its flagship sibling the Shogun Inferno, we have created the ultimate monitor through end-to-end custom engineering of all components. It starts with a 1920×1200 resolution LCD panel and add 10-bit processing in highlights and equivalent 10+ bit resolution in blacks. This is achieved through the patented AtomHDR engine which when combined with our custom Atomos-built backlight allows the power of 1500nits to be utilized for High Bright Rec709 or HDR PQ/HLG at 10+ stops. The full-size HDMI 2.0 connection bypasses the camera’s internal limitations by recording to 4Kp60 4:2:2 10-bit pristine video in grading-friendly Apple ProRes or Avid DNxHR. The Ninja Inferno upgrades mirrorless and DSLR camera audio by including balanced XLR input and 48V Phantom Power, negating the need to purchase separate audio recorders. For on set review, the wide angle 7” calibrated screen, playback controls, playlist and XML tagging make the Ninja Inferno the perfect client or director’s monitor, with playout to the latest HDR PQ/HLG or SDR TV’s. The Ninja Inferno is equally adept in the editing suite as it is in the field with the recorded files dropping directly onto the timeline of all the major NLE editing and grading software with the HDMI input capable of accepting HDR signals to make the Ninja Inferno an unbelievably affordable HDR reference monitor for portable or in studio color grading.
The Ninja Inferno, which is shipping now for MSRP $ 995, is the ultimate camera accessory for the GH5, the popular Sony FS7 or cameras with 4K DCI output & other 4Kp60 / 4Kp30 / HDp60 cameras looking for a future proof monitor-recorder.
HDR now comes free across the Atomos 4K Line-up
Timed with the release of the Ninja Inferno, Atomos have driven down the price of the existing line-up, passing on the volume savings they receive due to the popularity of the entire HDR range. The Shogun Flame and Ninja Flame are now $ 995 and $ 795 respectively (both models ship with mains power supply, recording caddy & travel case. The Shogun Flame also ships with an XLR breakout cable). To complement all models in the line-up, Atomos have developed a tailored Accessory Kit and Power Kit that arm users with everything needed to power, control, dock, charge and safely carry the units at an amazing price. The flagship Shogun Inferno continues to ship as is today.
| Product | New Price (MSRP ex tax) |
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| Shogun Flame | $ 995 ($ 1695 saving of $ 700) |
| Ninja Inferno | $ 995 |
| Ninja Flame | $ 795 ($ 1295 saving of $ 500) |
| Accessory Kit | $ 295 |
| Power Kit | $ 149 |
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Graphics & Branding. ]
The times are always changing, but few things bring it home quite so elegantly (and quickly) as an extended look at the front pages of a classic publication, compressing over 150 years of history (and 60,000 pages) into a single minute.
Data artist Josh Begley takes viewers on a whirlwind tour of New York Times cover images. His time(s)-lapse video spans from early days when they were entirely text to the advent of black-and-white then color images.
While so much has changed, detailed maps and wood engravings appearing to liven up the pages as the years pass in seconds, much remains the same.
The effects captured reflect both continuity and evolution, encapsulating not only a publication-specific shift but also the broader history of modern print publishing.
Meanwhile, for fans of history, typography and the Times (via Colossal): “Typesetter Carl Schlesinger and filmmaker David Loeb Weiss documented the last day of hot metal typesetting” in the film above. “This amazing behind-the-scenes view not only captures the laborious effort to create a single page of printed type, but also the the emotions and thoughts of several New York Times employees as they candidly discuss their feelings about transitioning to a new technology. One man decides he’s not ready for the digital age and plans to retire on the spot after 49 years, while others seem to transition smoothly into the new methods of production.”
[ By WebUrbanist in Design & Graphics & Branding. ]
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Chinese smartphone maker OPPO has launched its latest upper mid-range model, the F3 Plus, and while the new device unfortunately doesn’t come with OPPO’s recently displayed 5x zoom camera unit, it does offer an unusual imaging feature: a dual-front camera.
The front unit features a 16MP main camera with 1/3″ sensor and F2.0 aperture for standard selfies. It is accompanied by an 8MP module with 1/4″ sensor and a super-wide-angle lens with 120 degree angle of view for group selfies. Thanks to built-in facial recognition, the camera app can notify users to switch to the wide angle camera if there are more than three people in the frame.
The rear camera is more conventional but offers capable-looking specifications. A 16MP 1/2.8″ Sony IMX398 sensor is paired with a fast F1.7 aperture and optical image stabilization. Dual PDAF doubles the ‘focus pixels’ on the image sensor for up to 40% faster focus times in low light.
In the processor department you’ll find Qualcomm’s Snapdragon 653 octa-core offering, backed by 4GB RAM and 64GB of internal storage. A dual-slot card tray can hold two Nano SIM cards or one Nano SIM card and a microSD card, expanding memory to up to 256GB. OPPO claims the beefy 4,000 mAh battery allows for a standby time of more than 284 hours. It also features the company’s own VOOC fast charging technology which can get you up to 2 hours of talk time with 5 minutes of charging.
At the front you’ll find a 6″ 1080p IPS LCD display that is covered by 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5. The F3 Plus features a metal unibody and comes in black or gold. It will be available from April 1st in a number of Asian regions. No information on pricing or global availability has been released yet.
Press Release:
{/PressRelease}
March 23, 2017 – OPPO unveiled today the F3 Plus, the latest model of its Selfie Expert series. The F3 Plus sports the brand’s first dual front selfie camera including a first-of-its-kind 120° wide-angle group selfie camera. Priced at XX, the F3 Plus will go on sale from April 1st in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Myanmar.
OPPO’s F3 Plus’ dual front camera will answer urban dwellers’ pursuit of snapping perfect selfie photos with a 16-megapixel camera and group selfie photos with a 120° wide-angle camera. The rear camera is co-developed with Sony, equipped with a customized IMX398 sensor for serious photography. The F3 Plus is a high-end smartphone that is efficient, long-lasting, secure and beautiful, addressing today’s highly-demanding mobile-first world.
“OPPO is an industry leader in the Selfie Revolution with the recent ‘Selfie Expert’ F-series. Our brand has been growing rapidly across Southeast Asia and other regions around the world. We became the No.2 smartphone brand in India in 2016. The F3 Plus marks the beginning of a new ‘Group Selfie’ trend, and reinforce our position as the Selfie Expert,” said Sky Li, OPPO Vice President and Managing Director of International Mobile Business.
“The F3 Plus was created for urban warriors, selfie photo aficionados and lifestyle mavens who want with the need to capturing flawless selfie photos, and our groundbreaking dual front camera smartphone will deliver the photos they seek. The F3 Plus is also packed with outstanding performance, premium design and amazing battery life,” Sky Li added.
Remarkable Wide-Angle & Dual Front Selfie Camera Define the Next Expert-Class Photography
OPPO’s devotion to perfecting the selfie camera technology began at the very start of their business nine years ago, when no other manufacturer focused on the selfie snapping capturing trend. For example, in 2012, the N1 model pioneered the world’s first rotating camera. In 2016, the F1 Plus was the first-ever device to sport a 16 megapixel front camera. Taking one step further, the revolutionary dual selfie front camera will take the standards of camera hardware and selfie photography to new heights.
Set to be the next ultimate ‘Selfie Expert’, the F3 Plus features dual front selfie camera. The 16-megapixel front camera builds upon the technology offered by the previous ‘Selfie Expert’ F1s. At the core of this camera is a 1/3-inch sensor, which increases light exposure and clarity of images. The large f/2.0 aperture allows for great depth-of-field effects – clear foreground focus matched with the perfect amount of background blurriness.
In becoming the ‘Group Selfie’ secret weapon, the first-in-the-market, specialized 120-degree wide-angle 8-megapixel camera captures a much wider view, up to 105 percent more than a regular 80-degree lens. This allows even more people to enter the frame with minimized lens distortion, thanks to the 6P camera lens. The camera also features a ¼-inch sensor.
This group selfie camera is a reflection of OPPO’s ‘user-oriented’ philosophy. With the built-in Smart Facial Recognition, the F3 Plus will notify users to switch to ‘Group Selfie’ mode if there are more than three people in the frame. Users can snap their Group Selfie at ease, without compromising image stability when taking the selfie with one hand.
The outstanding rear camera offers professional high-quality photography performance with fast focusing speed, noise reduction and advanced low-light performance. Powering the 16-megapixel rear camera is a brand-new 1/2.8-inch IMX398 sensor. This sensor is jointly developed by OPPO and Sony, which features Dual PDAF – dual phase detection autofocus technology. This new technology doubles the sensor’s pixel array area where the photodiodes are embedded, necessary for phase detection autofocus. This makes for 40 percent faster focusing speeds even in low light. Paired with the large f/1.7 aperture, the resulting images are clear and breathtaking.
There are other innovative technologies packed into the F3 Plus to help users capture picture-perfect, flawless selfies. OPPO’s pioneering beautification editing software, Beautify 4.0, will allow users to choose from various beautification modes, ensuring images presenting the favorable effects.
A Flawless Smartphone Experience
The OPPO F3 Plus is fast, utilizing an octa-core processor backed by 4GB RAM and 64GB ROM. It also offers a dual-slot card tray that can hold two Nano 4G SIM cards or one Nano SIM card with a microSD card, expanding memory to up to 256GB. OPPO’s leading optimized ColorOS 3.0 system ensures superb speed with reduced energy consumption and flawless performance with built-in Privacy Protection feature and the Avast-based virus scanner.
Extended daily usage is another of the device’s core features. The 4,000 mAh built-in battery gives the F3 Plus a standby time of more than 284 hours[1]. Through OPPO’s proprietary and industry leading rapid VOOC Flash Charge Solution, the battery will charge four times faster than standard batteries. can get up to 2 hours of talk time with just 5 minutes of charging.
Privacy protection and security is also a top priority. F3 Plus’ Lightning-Fast Touch Access is undoubtedly one of the quickest in the market. The home-button fingerprint reader in the F3 Plus unlocks the phone in a mere 0.2s. The fingerprint reader is even more versatile with the fingerprint-activated calling and app launch functions.
Users can enjoy the flexibility to multi-task and ‘work hard, snap hard’, all on one smartphone – seamlessly, securely, with a long battery life.
[1] This number is for reference only and may differ depending on individual user usage / conditions.
Stunning Design and Exquisite Craftsmanship
Created with OPPO’s belief in design excellence, the F3 Plus is constructed with a metal unibody and carefully crafted for a better sense of hand-gripping, resulting in a sleek and thin smartphone that is a wonder to hold. The 6-inch, 2.5D Corning Gorilla Glass 5 screen features a pre-applied protective screen coating, giving it an elegant, classy and premium look while retaining unmatched durability.
The “Six-String” ultra-fine antenna is a design rethink by OPPO, removing the ubiquitous, thick pair of white antenna lines seen in previous smartphone models, and gives the back shell a stunning look.
Amazing Colors & Competitive Pricing
The F3 Plus comes in Black and Gold. The suggested retail price is $ XXX. It will be made available first in India, Vietnam, Indonesia, Philippines and Myanmar. Launches in the Middle East and North Africa will follow.
The F3 is also announced today, featuring the dual selfie front camera and 5.5-inch screen display. It is expected to be available in May 2017.
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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
There are some photographers who use Photoshop or plugins such as Portrait Pro to do portrait retouching. There is nothing wrong with this and these programs can do an excellent job, especially if you retouch portraits at a high level.
But you may be surprised at just what an excellent job Lightroom also does at developing portraits. There are compelling reasons to do all of your portrait retouching within Lightroom. Here are some of them:
Whether you buy presets made by other photographers, download freebies from the internet, or make your own, presets can open up new worlds. There are presets that emulate film (such as those from VSCO and Mastin Labs), presets for black and white photography and ones that create just about every type of look you can imagine.
It’s possible to buy or put together an entire preset system – a set of presets that is designed to make developing portraits much faster and simpler than going through the right-hand panels in the Develop module individually.
The same portrait, processed with three different Lightroom Develop Presets to create three different looks.
Another benefit of using Develop Presets in Lightroom is that they make it easy to bulk process your portraits. In any portrait session, it is natural to take lots of photos, possibly hundreds, as you explore a variety of poses, clothing, and settings. If you want to spend as little time on a computer as possible processing those photos, then Develop Presets are the key.
I’m particularly impressed by the SLR Lounge Lightroom Preset System which I’ve seen in action on a Creative Live class. Designed for high volume wedding and portrait photographers it really does make bulk processing easy. It is not difficult for advanced Lightroom users to come up with a similar system themselves.
Sets of similar portraits that share the same lighting and background are the easiest to bulk process. All you have to do is develop the first image, then copy and paste the settings to the rest. Leave local adjustments like retouching until last as those need to be applied to portraits individually.
The main selling point of portrait plugins is that you can use them to make anybody’s skin look beautiful. The danger of these plugins, if overused, is that they remove skin texture and make it look over-processed and plastic.
But what you might not know is that the Adjustment Brush in Lightroom is an excellent tool for portrait retouching. The Soften Skin preset helps you smooth skin while retaining texture when used with the Adjustment Brush tool.
You can reduce the opacity of the brush after you have applied the effect, giving you full control over the strength. Combined with the healing brush tool, which is perfect for eliminating blemishes, you can retouch nearly any portrait.
This before and after view shows how Lightroom’s Soften Skin preset smooths out skin while still retaining texture.
I always recommend that you do as much work in Lightroom as possible, and only export photos to Photoshop or a plugin when absolutely necessary. The main reasons are hard drive space and workflow.
Every time you export a photo, Lightroom has to convert it from Raw to a file format the program understands. For maximum quality, you should use 16-bit TIFF – a file that is much bigger than Raw. 16-bit TIFF files are very large and rapidly fill your hard drives.
Retouching Raw files in Lightroom is much more space efficient. The workflow is also much smoother when you keep everything within Lightroom.
One of the biggest dangers associated with using Photoshop or plugins is that you can go too far and over-retouch your portraits. It’s common in movie posters, which make the actors almost unrecognizable, and expensive advertisements. The search for perfection results in a lie and realism goes out of the window.
We’ve all seen those epic Photoshop fails, where the retoucher takes a few inches off a waist or thigh, enlarges the model’s eyes or changes the shape of her face. This takes great skill and restraint to do realistically. Most people fail. A model once told me about another photographer who enlarged her eyes and altered the shape of her face in Photoshop. She didn’t like the results at all and felt they were no longer photos of her.
Lightroom is well suited for processing portraits with a natural look.
The benefit of Lightroom here is that it doesn’t have the same capability of Photoshop so there is no temptation to use it to distort the shape of the model’s face. Lightroom helps you keep it real and go for the natural look.
What happens when you can’t rely on Photoshop to slim somebody’s face or figure? You have to learn how to do it through lighting and posing. Using Lightroom indirectly helps you become a better portrait photographer.
Photoshop and portrait retouching plugins are powerful tools but Lightroom is just as good, maybe even better as it stops you from over-processing portraits. But what do you think? Do you have a favorite retouching application for your portraits or do you prefer to use Lightroom? Let us know in the comments.
If you’d like to learn more about Lightroom, then please check out my popular Mastering Lightroom ebooks.
The post 5 Reasons to Use Lightroom for Portrait Retouching by Andrew S. Gibson appeared first on Digital Photography School.
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We love it when our friends do cool things, especially when they’re cool photo or video things. And we love it even more when they tell us all the secrets to how they did it.
Our friend Meg is in the band Seasaw and she recently used a few Photojojo products, an app, and an iPhone to make their latest music video – a cover of Weezer’s “Say It Ain’t So.”
The entire video was shot in just six hours, in a kitchen. Say whaaaat? Just how did they do it?
Below you can find Meg’s steps to music video magic, and try one or all of these tips when filming your next flick!
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Read the rest of How Seasaw Filmed a Music Video in Just 6 Hours, and You Can Too! (703 words)
© Meg for Photojojo, 2017. |
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Can we really have enough camera bags? In this article, I will show you a DIY hack to easily convert a small travel bag with wheels into a camera roller bag. Basically, you get two bags for the price of one.
A piece of luggage with wheels on the left and with a padded camera insert on the right – and voila it’s now a camera roller bag!
The one main drawback to being a photographer is the amount of gear you have and what type of bag to store your equipment in. This is especially true whether you are a professional, semi-professional or hobbyist photographer. There is no getting around it, once you invest in any type of camera with interchangeable lens, the add-on extras are similar to lego…you just keep building!
And herein comes the next must-have for any photographer, the camera bag.
A very inexpensive luggage bag on wheels H54.5 X W34 X D20cm
Courtesy of Peak Design – Everyday Backpack.
With such a plethora of camera bags on the market, it can become a bit of a quandary to know which bag to choose. For me, the one that proves the most comfortable in hauling around gets my vote. Although that said, I do love to see what company is launching the next must-have-camera-bag.
Peak Design’s marketing campaign video for their Everyday Backpack was just brilliant. I had to physically sit on my hands to stop myself pressing the buy button. Oh, I was so tempted!
My main focus when going to a location shoot is to try and limit the amount of gear I bring. At the same time, I can’t afford the risk of not having that one extra bit of kit that may be crucial to a shot. As I do a lot of location shooting, there have been many occasions where I had to improvise and change the direction of the shoot. This was only possible as I had the extra camera gear with me in my bag. It is about good planning and being professional.
I also find it’s the non-camera gear that is really useful to have with you on a shoot. Even an elastic band comes in handy.
I was at my local shopping center recently and browsing at travel luggage bags. I was on the lookout for one of those carry-on size bags with wheels. Whoever thought of putting wheels on a travel case is a genius.
This bag from itLuggage proved a great solution for my dual combo – a travel bag that converts into a roller camera bag!
My thinking was two-fold. I needed a small travel bag for trips away, plus I could use the same bag as a camera roller bag. I have always loved the idea of dual functionality with one product, especially when it’s not marketed as such. Plus, storage space in a house can be a premium, so the idea of doubling up on my bags to save space seemed an obvious solution.
The average camera roller case is expensive. One can range from €250 – €500 ($ 265USD – $ 530USD) here in Ireland (Europe). If you are a hobbyist photographer, this price tag may seem pretty high and way above your budget range.
The simple idea of turning a travel bag into a DIY camera roller bag is just brilliant. What I really liked most about this hack is there is no DIY or customization to be done to the actual bag and it looks great.
An in-expensive travel bag from itLuggage.
I first saw the concept of turning a luggage bag into a DIY camera roller bag on Fstoppers a few years back. So, I’m in no way claiming this as my idea. However, it is so simple and easy that it is worth sharing the idea again in case you missed it.
This bag which caught my eye was ridiculously cheap at €39, approximately $ 41 USD. It is extremely lightweight and the size was perfect. H54.5 x W34 x D20cm (21.4 x 13.8 x 7.8”). Plus, this size of the bag meets the strict dimension requirements of European budget airlines.
I was able to source this padded camera divider with an egg crate foam from B&W International. Even with the Sterling conversion to euros plus shipping. It cost me €50 ($ 53 USD) and in my opinion, was well worth it.
The dimensions of this padded camera divider were perfect for my travel bag: H43 x W30 D12.5cm (with the egg foam 15cm). (16.9” x 11.8” x 4.9”). Do a search on Amazon for padded dividers by B&W or Pelican to find more size options to fit your bag snugly.
Inexpensive travel bag with wheels with a padded camera insert and egg crate foam from B&W International. DIY camera roller bag.
I was impressed with the overall quality and robustness of the material. The dividers are all easily removable and can be configured to your own setup.
Padded camera divider insert with modifiable velcro attachments, typical of most camera bags.
Quality padded camera insert from B&W International.
The whole camera bag insert fits snugly into the travel bag with ease.
I brought my new roller camera bag to a local event recently and it worked a dream. More importantly, my shoulders were not screaming at me the next day, as those little wheels did all the work.
Camera gear packed into the padded camera insert with lots more room to spare.
Now, I can’t wait to go away on a trip and use my new travel bag with wheels. I’ll keep you posted!
Have you already done this DIY camera bag hack? Would you consider doing it? If so, please leave your comments in the section below.
The post DIY Hack 2-for-1 Luggage and Camera Roller Bag by Sarah Hipwell appeared first on Digital Photography School.
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With a Rebel on one side and an 80D on the other, the Canon EOS 77D appears to occupy an interesting space in Canon’s DSLR lineup. We haven’t wasted any time getting our loaner unit out into the great outdoors (and the great indoors, for that matter). Take a look at our initial sample gallery, and stay tuned for updates once we get Raw support.
See our Canon EOS 77D sample gallery
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Back in 2008 there weren’t a whole lot of enthusiast compacts. The two models which got the most attention were the Canon PowerShot G10 and Nikon Coolpix P6000. At that time, the ‘Megapixel race’ was really getting going, with the G10 and P6000 having 14.7MP and 13.5MP sensors, respectively (the LX2 was still at 10MP). All three of the aforementioned cameras had lenses with lovely focal ranges, but slow maximum apertures (F2.8-4.5 for the Canon, F2.7-5.9 for the Nikon).
Enter the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX3. Panasonic didn’t go crazy with Megapixels like other companies, instead using a 10 Megapixel, 1/1.63″ CCD with a unique ‘multi-aspect’ feature. An even bigger story was its ‘Leica’ DC Vario-Summicron lens that had an equivalent focal length of 24-60mm (yep, kind of short) and a max aperture range of F2-2.8. Despite that fast lens and because of that limited range, the LX3 remained extremely compact.
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| The LX3 is remarkably compact considering its lens. Its metal body gave it a quality feel. |
Indeed, one of the fun things about the LX3 was its multi-aspect capabilities. Using the switch on top of the lens barrel you could choose between 4:3, 3:2 and 16:9. On most cameras the angle-of-view would change at each of those ratios, but on the LX3 they are all the same. Simply put, the focal range (24-60mm equiv.) was the same, regardless of which of the three aspect ratios used. Having the ability to quickly switch aspect ratios made it a lot more tempting to mix things up a bit, since a trip to the menus wasn’t required.
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| The back of the LX3 had a pretty standard layout, with a 3″ LCD and cluttered controls. |
The LX3 had a snappy UI, effective ‘MEGA OIS’ image stabiliization and plenty of manual controls. It could even capture 720/24p video, which was uncommon in that era. It’s battery life of 380 shots/charge was pretty darn good, too.
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| A pricey optical viewfinder was an available accessory. | Third parties made teleconverters, like this 2.5x model from Fujiyama. |
Two other nice things about the LX3 were its support for an optional viewfinder and a threaded lens barrel. The DMW-VF1 was attached via the hot shoe and was framed for 24mm shooting. If you wanted to screw something onto the lens, Panasonic sold a 0.75x wide-angle converter and a number of filters. While Panasonic didn’t sell any teleconverters, third parties did. Fujiyama produced a 2.5x teleconverter, which brought the long end of the lens to 150mm equivalent.
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Ultimately, it’s was the sensor + lens combination that made the LX3 so appealing. The LX3 had very good image quality at its base ISO and it held up well through ISO 800. Having that bright lens made the LX3 very capable in low light, as it allowed the photographer to keep the ISO as low as possible. And at a time when CCDs weren’t exactly noise-free, that made a huge difference.
My colleague Richard Butler adds:
The LX3 is the first compact I ever liked. It also, arguably, rejuvenated the entire sector: everyone else started to make small cameras with bright lenses, including Canon re-launching the S series. Sure, the move to 1″ sensors make the LX3 look rather less impressive, but it still pointed the way towards a generation of enthusiast pocketable compacts with lenses that let you get the best out of their sensors.
Have fond memories of your Panasonic LX3? Share them in the comments below! Feel free to leave suggestions for future TBT articles as well.
Read our Panasonic LX3 Review
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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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