Shooting products on a white background is a common setup for anyone selling online. But how do you handle shooting a white product on a white background? The trick is to completely separate one’s foreground lighting from the background lighting. Pro photographer David Patino breaks down how to do it in this short, but useful PDN video.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Panasonic has announced a 5.7K Super 35 format cinema camera that sits between the GH5 and the VariCam LT 4K. The camera is built around a Canon EF mount and can capture 4K video at up to 10-bit 4:2:2 quality to SD cards.
Panasonic hasn’t discussed revealed detailed specs yet but says the camera will have ‘dual native ISOs,’ which is usually videographer speak for sensors with a dual gain design.
The camera has XLR audio inputs and both HDMI and SDI video outputs. Initially it will output 4K over these connectors but Panasonic promises 5.7K Raw output to external recorders with a firmware update. The camera will ship in ‘the autumn’ at a cost of around €8000.
Press Release:
Panasonic has previewed the AU-EVA1, at Cine Gear Expo 2017 in Los Angeles, USA, a new 5.7K cinema camera positioned between the Panasonic Lumix GH5 4K mirrorless camera and the VariCam LT 4K cinema camera. Compact and lightweight, the AU-EVA1 is tailor-made for handheld shooting, but also well suited for documentaries, commercials, and music videos.
“For cinema-style acquisition, we realised there was a space between the GH5 and the VariCam LT,” said EMEA Marketing Manager Nela Pertl. “With its compact size and new 5.7K sensor, the EVA1 fills that gap for a variety of filmmaking applications.”
The EVA1 contains a newly designed 5.7K Super 35mm-sized sensor for capturing true cinematic images. By starting at a higher native resolution, the 5.7K sensor yields a higher resolving image when down sampled to 4K, UHD, 2K, and even 720p. The increased colour information results in a finer, more accurate finished image.
One of the key features of the VariCam 35, VariCam LT, and VariCam Pure is dual native ISO. Utilising a process that allows the sensor to be read in a fundamentally different way, dual native ISO extracts more information from the sensor without degrading the image. This results in a camera that can switch from a standard sensitivity to a high sensitivity without an increase in noise, or other artifacts.
“On the VariCams, dual native ISO has allowed cinematographers to use less light on set, saving time and money, as well as allowing for a great variety of artistic choices. The EVA1 will include dual native ISO, but the camera is currently being tested to determine final ISO specifications,” added Nela Pertl.
The ability to capture accurate colours and rich skin tones is a must for any filmmaker. Like the VariCam lineup of cinema cameras, the EVA1 contains V-Log/V-Gamut capture to deliver high dynamic range and broad colours. V-Log has log curve characteristics that are somewhat reminiscent of negative film and V-Gamut delivers a colour space even larger than film. The EVA1 will also import the celebrated colourimetry of the VariCam line.
Weighing only 1.2Kg (body-only) with a compact form factor (17cm x 13.5cm x 13.3cm) and a removable handgrip, EVA1 can be used for efficient handheld shooting applications and can also be mounted on a drone, gimbal rig, or jib arm for complex yet smooth camera moves. There will also be numerous mounting points and Panasonic is currently working with top accessory makers to allow further customisation with the EVA1.
Ideal for indie filmmakers, the EVA1 records to readily-available, lower-cost SD cards. The camera can record in several formats and compression rates, and offers up to 10-bit 422, even in 4K. A complete breakdown of recording formats will be available at the time of the EVA1’s release.
The camera utilises a native EF-mount, giving shooters access to the broad EF lens ecosystem, including dozens of cinema-style prime and zoom lenses from numerous manufacturers. Electronic Image Stabilisation (EIS) is employed to compensate for camera shake and blurring, which will help smooth out handheld or shoulder-mount shots on documentary or run-and-gun projects. Behind the lens mount, an integrated ND filter wheel in 2, 4, and 6 stops allows for precise exposure control. The EVA1 also allows the IR Cut filter to be swung out of the path to the sensor at the push of a button. Unique photographic effects and night vision imagery are possible with this control over infrared.
As a professional video production tool, the EVA1 offers dual balanced XLR audio inputs and 4K-capable video outputs in both HDMI and SDI. In a future firmware upgrade, EVA1 will offer 5.7K RAW output to 3rd party recorders.
The EVA1 will ship this autumn for under €8,000 (body only).
For more information on Panasonic Broadcast & ProAV, please visit http://business.panasonic.eu/broadcast-and-proav
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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DJI and SkyPixel have opened up their latest competition for entries. The 2017 SkyPixel Video Contest accepts video clips from 30 seconds up to 5 minutes in length. Videos can be created by any aerial platform, so if you don’t own a DJI drone, fear not – you’re still in the running. Prize packages include DJI drones, Nikon DSLRs and some slick-looking (?) Oakley sunglasses.
Entries must be submitted to one of three categories: City, Nature and Sports. The deadline for submissions in August 2nd, 2017. Find out more at the contest website.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Last week we wrote about Arsenal, an intelligent camera assistant currently looking for crowdfunding. Since then, the Kickstarter campaign has enjoyed huge success, with over $ 700,000 pledged and still plenty of time left to raise more funds. Arsenal’s creator has issued an update announcing that as stretch goals have been met, additional camera support will be added for launch, along with live histogram and night focus features.
A new stretch goal for $ 1,000,000 has also been set. If that funding level is met, Arsenal’s creators promise it will ship with remote video control and remote video playback.
Below are the cameras added for launch. The video above, posted recently, showcases Arsenal’s time-lapse capabilities.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
[ By SA Rogers in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]
Strategically placed shadows and highlights make these incredibly intricate nature-themed drawings more than just impressive pages in an artist’s sketchbook. The pieces reveal unexpected depths and textures, and sometimes seem to lift right off the pages and into the real world, as if the sketchbook just couldn’t contain their vitality. Artist Visothkakvei shows off a variety of optical illusion techniques on his Instagram.
Fighting for the night. Once he's freed, the world will turn dark forever.
Many of Visothkakvei’s works are contained within the bounds of his books. Though the drawings of flowers, leaves, vines and other organic subjects may look like simple doodles, it’s the way the artist layers them, packs them onto the page and adds shadows that makes them special. Some begin to creep beyond the boundaries of the paper.
Awaken #original #art #visothkakvei
And, in some cases, it’s clear that more than just two-dimensional physical drawing is involved, though the artist doesn’t reveal his secrets. Some of this looks like he’s taken a photograph of his own hand working on the drawings, and layered digital drawing on top of it in a style that matches, making it unclear where the originals end and the digital additions begin.
Everytime I do the artwork, I see it around me. #original #art #visothkakvei
Doodling #art #visothkakvei
Check out lots more of these works, along with videos of the drawings in progress, at Instagram.com/visothkakvei.
[ By SA Rogers in Art & Drawing & Digital. ]
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Newly launched on crowdfunding website Kickstarter is a modular, ‘transformable’ backpack called VENQUE Transformer A. The team behind the product describes Transformer A as an ‘advanced backpack’ that can be transformed into various types of bags, including a camera backpack, a messenger bag, and a ‘travel pro’ bag. Among the backpack’s many features is an expandable camera bag that is separate from the main component.
VENQUE designed the Transformer A to meet a variety of needs in different situations and environments, and the end result is a bag with built-in USB charging, a hidden compartment for expensive electronics like laptops, a dedicated compartment for a tripod or water bottle, straps to hold a yoga mat, as well as anti-theft features, a secure buckle, YKK zippers, and an RFID security pocket.
The expandable camera bag can be used as part of the main backpack or separately as a smaller, lighter day pack. Transformer A measures 47 x 34 x 16.5cm (18.5 x 13.4 x 6.5in) and weighs 0.7kg (1.5lbs), while the camera bag measures 25 x 23 x 7.6cm (10 x 9 x 3in) and weighs 0.3kg (0.7lbs). VENQUE doesn’t estimate how much camera gear the expandable bag can accommodate, though one image shows it with a Sony a7 body, one lens, and a couple camera accessories.
The company is currently offering the Transformer A backpack as a reward to backers who pledge at least $ 239 CAD / $ 177 USD for the campaign. Shipping to backers is estimated to start this August.
Via: Kickstarter
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Two days ago Google announced that it will stop providing updates for its Nik Collection suite of plug-in photo editing tools via a banner at the top of the Nik Collection site. Now a Nik user, Sascha Rheker from Germany, has launched a campaign on the Change.org petition site that aims to persuade Google to reverse its decision and continue to provide updates and add features to the Collection.
On the petition page Rheker writes: ‘Today, with no real competitor, photographers depend on the Nik Collection and would have been willing to pay, to be able to keep it. Especially for their important black & white work. A company like Google who claims to contribute to the preservation of mankind’s heritage by scanning millions of books, should also show some responsibility towards the photographic community, as photographs are a part of mankind’s cultural heritage.’
It seems unlikely the software giant from Mountain View will change its mind but the petition has already been signed by more than 1000 people. If you agree with Sascha you can add your name and signature on Change.org as well.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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The twins’ gymnastics dream Yuan Peng – Winner of the Professional Sport Category 2017 |
The 11th Sony World Photography Awards has opened for entries for the 2018 contest and brings two new categories for professionals that organizers hope will bring out ‘originality, experimentation and imagination’. The $ 30,000 prize pot has been augmented this year with a new series of grants that aim to allow winning photographers to undertake projects during the next year. Grants of $ 7000 will be given to an unspecified number of category winners from the professional competition, while all the shortlisted entrants from the Student Focus category will receive $ 3500 for a project.
In the professional competition the Conceptual and Daily Life categories from 2017 are replaced with the new Creative and Discovery themes, while the Youth section takes the theme ‘Your Environment.’
The Open competition maintains the ten categories from last year, and is the place for those entering single images rather than series and projects.
All category and many shortlisted photographers win Sony digital camera equipment, while the professional winner also takes home a cash prize of $ 25,000 and the Open winner gets $ 5000.
Students need to get their entries in before 4th December 2017, while the Open and Youth competitions close for entries on 4th January 2018. The Professional contest closes on the 11th January 2018, with the awards ceremony being held in April 2018. The free-to-enter competition culminates in an exhibition in London and a book of winning and shortlisted images.For more information see the Sony World Photography Awards website.
New Categories:
Professional – Creative
Judges are looking to reward originality, experimentation and imagination. This category actively encourages the creative use of the medium of photography in all its forms – from photograms, to cutting-edge photographic techniques. Subject matter can be varied and may include abstract and conceptual ideas, but a creative concept and thematic link between the images is key.
Professional – Discovery
Purposely not defined by subject matter or photography type, the judges are looking for stunning bodies of work that clearly show the artist’s passion for photography. They want to uncover work that would otherwise be unseen. The category embraces all uses of photography and a narrative may or may not be present in the work. However, it is vital that the vision of the photographer is clearly understood by the judges.
Youth – Your environment
The judges want to view the world as seen through the eyes of young photographers. In one single image show the judges your environment. The brief should be understood in its widest sense. “Your environment” could be a photograph sharing your culture or religious celebration, highlighting of an issue close to home, a special family moment or a beautiful landscape of your surroundings.
Press release
“Being named Photographer of the Year has given me more exposure than I could ever have imagined.” Frederik Buyckx, Sony World Photography Awards winner 2017
June 1, 2017: The 2018 Sony World Photography Awards, one of the world’s leading photography competitions, are now open for entries. Submissions are free at www.worldphoto.org
The 11th edition of the Awards is marked by the introduction of two challenging new categories in the Professional competition, ‘Creative’ and ‘Discovery’, and an important new opportunity for award-winners to secure a grant to fund future photographic projects.
Created by the World Photography Organisation, the Sony World Photography Awards are an authoritative voice in the industry and the world’s biggest photography competition. Celebrating the finest contemporary photography from the past year, the Awards give vast exposure, visibility and opportunity to photographers worldwide on an annual basis.
Commenting on the Awards’ impact, 2017 Sony World Photography Awards winner Frederik Buyckx said: “Being named Photographer of the Year has given me more exposure than I could ever have imagined. It has opened lots of new doors but, just as an importantly, the award has also encouraged me to keep on working on my personal projects.”
Changing medium of photography prompts new Professional categories
In recognition of the changing use of photography, two new categories have been added to the 2018 Awards’ Professional competition.
The new ‘Creative’ and ‘Discovery’ categories are both designed to embrace photographers working at the cutting-edge of the medium. Judges will specifically look to reward originality, experimentation and imagination in these categories and hope to discover what that would otherwise be unseen by the Awards. Artistic interpretation, integrity and technical ability are the key factors for judges across all categories of the Awards.
The Sony World Photography Awards comprise of four competitions:
* Professional – 10 categories judged upon a body of work (5-10 images)
* Open – best single images across 10 categories
* Youth – young photographers aged 12-19 responding to a brief with a single image
* Student Focus – for those studying photography
For the full list of competition categories and descriptions please go to www.worldphoto.org/sony-world-photography-awards
New Sony Grant to fund photographic projects
In demonstration of the Awards’ commitment to create opportunities for its photographers, a new grant programme those participating in the Professional and Student Focus competitions has been introduced this year.
From the winners of the 2018 Professional categories, Sony will award multiple grants of $ 7,000 to selected photographers to pursue photographic projects of their choice.
In addition, shortlisted photographers from the Student Focus competition will each be given $ 3,500 (USD) to work together on a new photographic commission set by Sony and the World Photography Organisation.
The Sony Grant programme has been formalised for the 2018 Awards following a successful pilot with three 2016 Sony World Photography Awards Professional category winners: Amélie Labourdette, Maroesjka Lavigne and Nikola Linares. The inaugural Sony grants supported diverse projects including the documentation of young bullfighters in Spain (Linares), landscapes of Iceland and Namibia (Lavigne) and the impact of man on the Tunisian desert (Labourdette).
For more details about the recipients of the 2017 Sony Grant recipients please see Notes to Editors below. Images from the series are available at press.worldphoto.org
Prizes: Worldwide exposure, exhibitions and digital imaging equipment
All category winners of the Professional, Open, Youth and Student Focus competitions will receive digital imaging equipment from Sony.
In addition, cash prizes of $ 25,000 (USD) will be presented to the Photographer of the Year and $ 5,000 (USD) to the overall Open competition winner.
All category winners plus many of the shortlisted Awards photographers will be exhibited at the annual Sony World Photography Awards Exhibition in London and then toured internationally. The images will also be published in the annual Awards winners’ book and all shortlisted and winning photographers are given global exposure via dedicated marketing and press campaigns.
2018 Key dates
December 4, 2017 – Student Focus closes
January 4, 2018 – Open & Youth competitions close
January 1, 2018 – Professional competitions close
February 27, 2018 –Shortlist announced
March 27, 2018 – Open and National Awards winners revealed
April 19, 2018 – Photographer of the Year & Professional category winners announced
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Creativity showcase site My Modern Met recently interviewed Jem Cresswell, an Australian photographer who has just completed a project he calls Giants. The project is a series of portraits of humpback whales presented in black and white and offers an intimate look into the personalities and emotions of these ‘gentle giants.’
In the interview, Cresswell describes his process (much of which you can see from the behind-the-scenes video above), as well as some interesting details concerning his interactions with the whales. In addition to only swimming with ‘certain whales,’ Cresswell says they never use scuba gear and he always enters the water ‘as calmly as possible, keeping my heart rate low and wait to see the behaviour.’
The interview also addresses the presence of ‘spindle cells’ in humpback whales, which are cells that are thought to be responsible for social organization and empathy. ‘It is obvious though, that humpback whales exhibit complex emotional behaviors, have intricate social networks and complex song structures,’ says Cresswell.
Head on over to My Modern Met or Cresswell’s website to view these stunning portraits for yourself – all of which, Cresswell says, were captured on a Canon 5DS R, 24-70mm F2.8L II and 16-35mm F4L in an Aquatech underwater housing.
Via: My Modern Met
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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Last updated: June 2, 2017
These days, many (if not most) consumers are likely to shop based on price and capability, rather than according to whether a certain model contains a mirror, or not. We think this is a good thing; With all the increased competition, cameras are improving more and at a faster rate than ever before. From the gear perspective, it’s certainly an exciting time to be a photographer.
In this category, you’ll find both mirrorless and DSLR cameras that are highly capable under a variety of shooting situations, offer built-in high-spec viewfinders – either optical and electronic – and an extensive array of external controls. The biggest differences in performance tend to come down to autofocus sophistication and video capability, but neither of those is dictated by the presence or lack of mirror.
The contenders are:
Most of the cameras in this roundup are built around either Four Thirds or APS-C sensors. Sensor size plays a large part in determining the image quality a camera is ultimately capable of and, in general, the larger a camera’s sensor, the better the image quality and the more control you have over depth-of-field. APS-C sensors are larger than Four Thirds chips, but the differences are rarely huge.
Of course, the sensor sizes and image quality of these cameras are not the only thing that varies; the feature sets and performance of each camera are also quite different across the board. Within this category you’ll find weather-sealed cameras, cameras that can capture 4K video, cameras that can shoot bursts at incredibly high speeds with autofocus, and cameras that are simply well-balanced all-rounders. Which one should you buy? Read on to find out…
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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