Since my childhood, I’ve been dreaming about inventing two things. The first is a teleporter. Yes, you read it right, but please imagine teleporting from the ‘Star Trek’ movie not from the horror movie ‘The Fly’! With teleport, people could forget about long queues, tedious trips and expensive taxis. The second thing I have been dreaming about is a Continue Reading
The post Working with Overlays and Actions appeared first on Photodoto.
 |
A pair of images show what may be the upcoming DJI Phantom 5 drone featuring an interchangeable lens camera. The drone model hasn’t yet been announced and details about it aren’t yet officially available. However, leaks and rumors surrounding the drone have increased in past weeks, one of the most recent coming from Twitter user OsitaLV.
A drone said to possibly be the DJI Phantom 5 is featured in two tweeted images. The drone itself is mostly blurred, the only exception being a dark armature and what appears to be a silver or grey body. The drone’s camera, however, is featured front and center, appearing to reveal the presence of an interchangeable lens system.
The same user claimed in a later tweet, “DJI said that the leaked photo of the [Phantom 5] is a customized drone for designated users, not for sale.” The user expressed skepticism about that claim, but no official statements have been made. OsitaLV again tweeted a leak later on, that one a sketch featuring a drone said to be the Phantom 5.
An interchangeable lens camera isn’t beyond the realm of possibility. In October, DJI introduced the X7 camera, a Super 35/APS-C system created specifically for aerial use. Rather than build on an existing platform, DJI engineered its own camera, lens mount, and four cinema primes for the system at launch. Though we usually think of DJI as a drone company, it’s now a camera company as well, and it’s reasonable to assume it will leverage that expertise across additional products.
 |
According to the tweet containing the image above, the DJI Phantom 5 drone features an aluminum shell, a plastic GPS antenna cover, and plastic landing gear. The leaker’s credibility as a source isn’t clear, however. It’s expected that DJI will announce the Phantom 5 model later on this year.
Via: PhotoRumors
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
Only a few weeks ago Samsung set a new record for SSD-drive capacity with its latest 30TB model. The achievement didn’t stand for long; US company Nimbus Data just shot past Samsung’s benchmark with the launch of a gargantuan 100TB drive.
The company says the “ExaDrive DC series raises the bar in SSD power efficiency, density, and write endurance”. At a 85% lower claimed power consumption than the competition (0.1 Watts/TB) the new drive is the world’s most efficient SSD which, according to Nimbus, means a 42% reduction cost of ownership per terabyte.
 |
With a mean time between failures (MTBF) of 2.5 million hours, or over 285 years, longevity of the drive should be ensured as well but the the ExaDrive’s selling point is of course capacity. According to the Nimbus press release the drive has “capacity to store 20 million songs, 20,000 HD movies, or 2,000 iPhones worth of data in a device small enough to fit in your back pocket.” As a photographer you’re unlikely to ever run out of space, even when shooting high-resolution Raw files or recording 4K video footage.
The ExaDrive DC100 comes with the same 3.5″ form factor, SATA interface and plug-and-play capability as most standard hard drives, allowing for easy installation. The ExaDrive DC100 will be available this summer. No pricing information has been provided yet but given it’s targeted at datacenter use the new drive likely won’t be cheap. More information is available on the Nimbus website.
Press Release:
Irvine, CA, March 19, 2018 – Nimbus Data, a pioneer in flash memory solutions, today announced the ExaDrive® DC100, the largest capacity (100 terabytes) solid state drive (SSD) ever produced. Featuring more than 3x the capacity of the closest competitor, the ExaDrive DC100 also draws 85% less power per terabyte (TB). These innovations reduce total cost of ownership per terabyte by 42% compared to competing enterprise SSDs, helping accelerate flash memory adoption in both cloud infrastructure and edge computing.
“As flash memory prices decline, capacity, energy efficiency, and density will become the critical drivers of cost reduction and competitive advantage,” stated Thomas Isakovich, CEO and founder of Nimbus Data. “The ExaDrive DC100 meets these challenges for both data center and edge applications, offering unmatched capacity in an ultra-low power design.”
Optimized to Maximize Flash Storage Capacity and Efficiency
While existing SSDs focus on speed, the DC100 is optimized for capacity and efficiency. With its patent-pending multiprocessor architecture, the DC100 supports much greater capacity than monolithic flash controllers. Using 3D NAND, the DC100 provides enough flash capacity to store 20 million songs, 20,000 HD movies, or 2,000 iPhones worth of data in a device small enough to fit in your back pocket. For data centers, a single rack of DC100 SSDs can achieve over 100 petabytes of raw capacity. Data centers can reduce power, cooling, and rack space costs by 85% per terabyte, enabling more workloads to move to flash at the lowest possible total cost of ownership.
Plug-and-Play and Balanced Performance for Diverse Workloads
Featuring the same 3.5” form factor and SATA interface used by hard drives, the ExaDrive DC100 is plug-and-play compatible with hundreds of storage and server platforms. The DC100’s low-power (0.1 watts/TB) and portability also make it well-suited for edge and IoT applications. The DC100 achieves up to 100,000 IOps (read or write) and up to 500 MBps throughput. This equally-balanced read/write performance is ideal for a wide range of workloads, from big data and machine learning to rich content and cloud infrastructure.
“The release of such a high capacity flash device that is fully compatible with HDD form factors opens up the opportunity to turbo charge big data platforms while at the same time improving reliability, significantly reducing device count, increasing data mobility, and lowering the TCO of multi-PB scale storage platforms,” said Eric Burgener, research vice president of Storage at IDC. “Devices of this class will allow flash to cost-effectively penetrate a broader set of use cases outside of tier 0 and tier 1 applications.”
Superior Reliability and Complete Data Protection
The ExaDrive DC100 is protected by an unlimited endurance guarantee for 5 years. By doing away with confusing drive-writes-per-day restrictions, the DC100 offers peace of mind, reduces hardware refresh cycles, and eliminates costly support renewals. Embedded capacitors ensure that buffered data is safely protected if there is a sudden power loss. Encryption, multiple ECC processors, and a secure-erase feature ensure data security. The DC100 offers a mean time between failures (MTBF) of 2.5 million hours.
Availability, Certifications, and Pricing
The ExaDrive DC series includes both 100 TB and 50 TB models. It is currently sampling to strategic customers and will be generally available in summer 2018. Nimbus Data has qualified the DC series in storage and server enclosures from major vendors. Pricing will be similar to existing enterprise SSDs on a per terabyte basis while offering 85% lower operating costs. Overall, the ExaDrive DC series will cost 42% less per terabyte over a 5-year period compared to existing enterprise SSDs. This TCO advantage factors in the superior endurance, balanced read/write performance, power savings, cooling savings, rack space savings, component reduction, and lower refresh costs.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
| Chuck Westfall, pictured in front of our studio test scene on a visit to DPReview to show us the EOS 7D Mark II, in 2014. |
We were sad to learn that Chuck Westfall, 35-year veteran of Canon USA and friend of the site, passed away last week. At the time of his death he held the position of Product Planning Advisor for Canon’s Imaging Technology & Communications Group.
After DPReview moved to Seattle in 2010, Chuck became our primary point of contact for technical questions and product briefings on high-end products in the USA. His pride in Canon’s portfolio of cameras and lenses and his very genuine love of photography was undimmed, even after more than 30 years at the company. During this time he played a key role in the development of countless flagship products, both film and digital.
A legendary figure within our industry, probably the nearest Chuck ever came to being a household name was as a result of the briefly-famous ‘fake Chuck Westfall’ blog of the late 2000s – which could not have been further from the character of the man himself. The real Chuck Westfall was polite, reserved and unfailingly professional.
While we didn’t work with him for as long as some of our US-based peers (we’d recommend reading Dave Etchells’ heartfelt tribute at Imaging Resource) all of us at DPReview have benefited from Chuck’s expertise in one way or another. He didn’t talk about his illness and it didn’t stop him working; he was a welcome presence at product briefings and trade-shows until relatively recently, and he will be greatly missed by everyone here at DPReview.
Barnaby Britton, Senior Editor
The first time I came across Chuck Westfall was in 2000 or 2001, when researching the purchase of my first professional SLR. Being a student, I couldn’t afford the then-current EOS-1V, so I had my eye on a (much) used EOS-1. I sent off for archived magazine camera reviews from the late 1980s and 90s (remember when you could still do that?) and spent hours searching around in obscure corners of the Internet for any information about that long-discontinued model.
During the course of my research I dug up an incredibly detailed technical paper on the EOS-1’s flash metering and autofocus systems. In terms of informational content, it was far more informative than any review I’d been able to find, while still being readable. The author was Chuck Westfall.
Although it was years before we met in person, the way that paper was written said a lot about Chuck as a person.
 |
| Chuck Westfall, pictured with photographer Adam Jones during the filming of DPReview’s first long-form ‘field test’ video, featuring the EOS 7D Mark II, in late 2014. I took along an original EOS D30 as a conversation piece, and to shoot behind-the-scenes images. |
During my time with DPReview I have met and spoken to Chuck on countless occasions about Canon’s latest digital cameras. In late 2014 I spent a few days with him in Montana, during the filming of a long-form video that featured the then-new EOS 7D Mark II. I had limited access to the camera before the shoot, and his help was invaluable when it came to navigating the camera’s menu systems and custom options, while (equally as important) speaking coherently about them on-camera. I took my treasured EOS D30 along to shoot some behind the scenes images of the production, and I peppered Chuck with questions about his memories of the early days of digital imaging at Canon – a hugely important period when it seemed like new technologies were being unveiled almost every week.
For as long as I knew him professionally, I never stopped asking him Chuck about the cameras I used to aspire to owning when I was still a kid. Cameras like the T90, the EOS-1, the D30 and Canon’s first-generation professional DSLRs. I’ll miss those tangents, which invariably came in the middle of what should have been an interview or a briefing about some or other new Canon camera or lens.
Chuck was a key figure at Canon during one of the most important periods in the company’s history, and his breadth of experience was just one of the reasons he was so valuable both to Canon, and to the journalists and analysts that he worked with. If you’ve shot with a Canon camera at any point in the last 30 or so years, the chances are that you’ve benefited from his expertise. We’ll miss him.
Please note that comments have been enabled on this article to enable our readers to share their memories of Chuck. Please be respectful.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_2583191598″,”galleryId”:”2583191598″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });
Nikon looks to be positioning its D850 as a serious video rig with today’s announcement of a D850 Filmmaker’s Kit. The kit includes the camera body, three AF-S Nikkor lenses (20mm F1.8G ED, 35mm F1.8G ED, 85mm F1.8G), an Atomos Ninja Flame external recorder, ME-1 shotgun and ME-W1 wireless mics and an extra EN-EL15A battery.
Purchased separately, these items cost nearly $ 6300, so the kit’s MSRP of $ 5499 is a nice discount. The Filmmaker’s Kit will be available for purchase in late March.
Press Release
For the U.S. market, Nikon Inc. is excited to announce the all-new Nikon D850 Filmmaker’s Kit, a custom bundle specifically designed for content creators and filmmakers looking to take full advantage of the D850’s extensive video capabilities and controls. The key component of the kit, the award winning Nikon D850 offers incredible features, including full-frame 4K UHD video capture at 24/30 fps, 8K and 4K time-lapse, focus peaking, zebra stripes, HDMI output and enhanced audio control.
The Nikon D850 Filmmaker’s Kit will include three prime NIKKOR lenses which are ideal for content creation, and exhibit the clarity and sharpness needed for 4K Ultra HD video; AF-S NIKKOR 20mm f/1.8G ED, AF-S NIKKOR 35mm f/1.8G ED, and the AF-S NIKKOR 85mm f/1.8G. The kit will also contain an external 4K Atomos Ninja Flame recorder/monitor (with power kit, docking station and coiled HDMI cable).
The Nikon D850 Filmmaker’s Kit will be available in the U.S. for the suggested retail price (SRP) of $ 5,499.95 and will go on sale at the end of March 2018.
The Nikon D850 Filmmaker Kit includes the following:
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
Chinese manufacturer Oppo has unveiled its latest two high-end Android smartphones, the R15 and R15 Dream Mirror Edition. The new devices are among the first of likely very many Android devices to be launched with an iPhone X style camera notch at the front this year. There is also a tall 6.28″ screen with 19:9 aspect ratio and 1080 x 2280 pixel resolution. The device comes with a metal frame and glass at front and back.
The R15 doesn’t only come with the iPhone X’s camera notch, though. It also borrows a face unlock feature from the X and the dual-camera comes with a portrait lighting mode, similar to what we’ve seen on Apple’s latest models.
In terms of camera specifications, the R15 features a main camera with a 1/2.6″ 16MP Sony IMX519 sensor and F1.7 aperture. The secondary lens comes with a 5MP resolution and F2.2 aperture. It is used to generate a bokeh mode and, according to OPPO, the new setup is capable of automatically recognizing up to 120 scenes and adjusting the camera settings accordingly, thanks to built-in Sony AI.
 |
In the processing department the R15 runs a Helio P60 chipset with octa-core CPU and features 6GB of RAM. 128GB of storage and a 3,450 mAh battery are on board as well.
The Oppo R15 Dream Mirror Edition swaps the Helio chipset for a Snapdragon 660 but comes with otherwise very similar specs. That said, there is one important difference in the camera module: instead of the standard model’s 5MP sensor, the Dream Mirror Edition’s secondary camera comes with a 20MP sensor and fast F1.7 aperture, making it look very similar to the unit used in the 5T model of Oppo’s sister company OnePlus.
Scene recognition and portrait lighting modes are the same as on the standard R15, however. Both new models will be available from April 1 in China. The R15 will retail at CNY 2,999 (approximately $ 475), while the Dream Red model will set you back CNY 3,299 (approximately $ 521). There is no word on international availability yet, but we would expect the new devices to become available outside China at some point.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
Alien Skin has released a significant update for its Exposure X3 image editor, adding greater precision to adjustment tools and more printing capabilities, among other improvements.
Called the Exposure X3 Complete Workflow Update, this software version introduces hue, luminance and saturation controls for individual colors. New white balance presets and adjustment in Kelvin values is now available, and workflow when copying images from a card to a collection has been improved. Along with new watermark adjustment options and added keyword functions, the update expands camera support and adds pre-sets to match Fujifilm’s film simulation modes.
Exposure X3 Complete Workflow Update is available now; current owners of Exposure X3 can download the update for free. Exposure X2 and earlier customers can upgrade for $ 99, while new customers will pay $ 149.
We’ve been given an early look at the update – take a look at our Exposure X3 review.
Update for Exposure X3 includes hue and luminance color controls – Kelvin-based temperature and tint controls – printing – enhanced watermarks, keywords, and side-by-side view – expanded camera support
Raleigh, NC (March 20, 2018) – Alien Skin Software today announced the release of the Exposure X3 Complete Workflow Update, the latest version of their non-destructive RAW photo editor. The award-winning Exposure combines powerful organizational tools and accurate photo processing into a single intuitive solution. Enhancements to this latest version make Exposure the ideal solution for handling the full photography workflow.
Photographers can easily organize, edit, retouch, export, and print their photos using Exposure’s efficient workflow. Exposure’s intuitive design streamlines image management and backups. Its support of cloud-based storage enables multi-computer and collaborative workflows.
The Exposure X3 Complete Workflow Update introduces numerous creative and organizing enhancements.
“This latest update to Exposure X3 provides photographers with additional creative and organizational control, and handles their printing needs as well,” said Alien Skin CEO Finley Lee. “Exposure’s speed, stability, and power makes it the fastest way for photographers to bring their vision to life.”
Improvements to the color controls enable photographers to adjust hue, luminance, and saturation for specific colors. In addition, users can can easily target specific colors in their image for detailed adjustments.
For RAW images that record white balance data, photographers can now specify precise Kelvin values to correct for lighting conditions and unwanted color casts. New white balance presets provide a quick way to set the Kelvin temperature for a specific type of light.
Photographers can now print their photos directly from Exposure. New print capabilities include numerous preview and margin options, output sharpening, integrated watermarks, grid capability for printing contact sheets, and more.
Collections see several refinements. New images copied from a photo card are now placed in a Last Copy From Card collection. Optionally, when copying images from their camera card, photographers can choose to add images to any existing collections. Also, when creating a collection, it’s possible to add any images that are currently selected.
Keywords have been improved with the ability to remove all keywords from a photo and to add and remove keywords from a set. It’s also now possible to import keyword sets from other applications like Lightroom.
Exposure’s watermarks now have new metadata options, a watermark preview in the Export dialog, and improved control when moving and rotating a watermark.
A number of miscellaneous improvements include expanded camera support, the ability to backup photos to a second location when copying images from a card, a six image side-by-side layout, a new uninstaller, 15 new presets that mimic Fujifilm in-camera film simulations, and more.
Exposure is a RAW photo editor that provides photographers with all the tools they need to complete their workflow: from first copying images to their computer, culling and organizing, creative edits and retouching, and finally exporting and printing.
Exposure’s beating heart is its advanced rendering engine, which handles the demanding task of accurate film emulation and provides exceptional processing quality and performance. Exposure handles the most sophisticated edits. Its extensive library of customizable presets makes hundreds of iconic film looks and other styles available to photographers. Extensive editing, layering, and retouching tools make it easy to refine images, as well as to blend subtle or bold creative looks.
Powerful organizing tools enable photographers to manage even the largest photo collections.
All of Exposure’s tools work together in a carefully designed, customizable user interface, resulting in a seamless workflow for a wide range of photographers.
Exposure also works as a creative editing plug-in with other editors, such as Adobe Photoshop and Lightroom.
The Exposure X3 Complete Workflow Update is available now from www.alienskin.com for $ 149. The update is free for current owners of Exposure X3. Upgrade pricing is available to owners of Exposure X2 and earlier versions for $ 99.
The Exposure X3 Complete Workflow Update is also the centerpiece in the Exposure X3 Bundle. This integrated collection bundles Exposure with Alien Skin’s award-winning Blow Up and Snap Art tools to add high-quality upsizing and natural media special effects. It is available for $ 199. Owners of one or more of the current apps in the Exposure X3 Bundle can purchase for $ 119. It is free for current owners of the Exposure X3 Bundle.
A 30-day fully-featured free trial of Exposure is available. Visit www.alienskin.com/exposure to learn more and download the trial.
The Exposure X3 Complete Workflow Update may be used as a standalone program or as a set of plug-ins. When used as a set of plug-ins, it requires one of the following host applications:
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
This review is based on use of Exposure X3 and a beta version of Exposure X3 Complete Workflow Update for Mac.
We’ve reached the point with image editing software that most basic features are covered. Correcting for exposure, saturation, and other settings are the expected baseline, which means applications need something more to differentiate themselves.
Some, like Skylum’s Luminar or Serif’s Affinity Photo (see Review: Affinity Photo 1.5.2 for desktop), are competing on price, along with the fact that they don’t require subscription plans.
Add to the mix Alien Skin Software’s Exposure X3. It’s competitive on price—$ 149 on its own, or $ 199 for a bundle that includes a couple of the company’s utilities, with no subscription—but it also includes several unique features that demonstrate the company is willing to tailor the software experience to how its customers use the product.
Like Adobe’s Lightroom family of products, Exposure X3 is both an image editor and an organizer for managing your photo library. You can preview thumbnails, rate and flag photos, assign keywords, and fill in basic IPTC metadata such as Title, Caption, Copyright, and contact information.
People who capture many images at a time and need fast turnaround will appreciate Exposure X3’s ability to import from multiple connected memory cards at once. You can rename files at import, specify custom destinations (and create presets for folder structures), and apply keywords and metadata during the ingest process. What it doesn’t do, surprisingly, is let you preview thumbnails of what’s coming in to cull shots before they’re copied to disk. It also doesn’t let you specify how to treat Raw + JPEG image pairs; you get both shots as separate images.
 |
| Import photos from multiple sources in the same batch. |
Reviewing photos is aided by Exposure X3’s Quad and Six layout views, especially when you have several photos from the same capture burst where the subject is similar in each one. Four or six adjacent images in your library are displayed in a grid so you can compare differences between them, such as the expression on a person’s face. (There are also options to compare two or three images at a time.) If one stands out, you can pin it to the screen and compare it to others. The views are synchronized, so zooming in on one zooms them all at the same location in the image.
 |
| Compare four similar images at a time in the Quad view. |
An important distinction about Exposure X3’s asset management features is that they’re directory-based, not catalog based. Applications such as Lightroom and Apple’s Photos keep track of where your photos are located on disk—sometimes all within the same library file or folder, set up by the software—and store metadata and edits about the images in a central catalog.
The advantage to this approach is that, as long as you continue to use that application to manage everything, all that data is more easily accessed by the software. You don’t need to worry about managing files, because the application does it for you. On the other hand, it means the metadata and edits don’t live with the image files. If you move an original Raw file on disk to a new location, for example, any edits you made would not go along with it. And in the case of Lightroom, moving the file in the Finder or Windows Explorer confuses Lightroom because it’s lost track of the image.
Exposure X3 doesn’t use standard XMP files, as many applications do
Exposure X3 takes a different tack. It reads images from the folders in which they’re stored, and writes edits to a separate sidecar file that lives in the same directory as the image file. When you view a photo in Exposure X3, the software also reads the information in the sidecar file and displays the edits noted there.
However, Exposure X3 doesn’t use standard XMP files, as many applications do. Within every directory of images, it creates a folder hierarchy, “Alien Skin > Exposure X3,” that contains metadata files ending in “.exposurex3” created for every image you edit. Those files use the same structure as XMP files, but can also include editing instructions that only Exposure X3 understands.
Some directory viewing software is just a visual way to traverse the folders on your disk, but Exposure X3 does use some centralized know-how to help you organize photos. The Collections feature lets you create virtual albums to group related photos that may exist in separate directories, such as shots from a single client captured over several photo shoots. Adding photos to a collection doesn’t move the files on disk.
Before Alien Skin released Exposure as a stand-alone application, it was known for its presets that simulated the looks of film stocks and other effects. Those are all there in Exposure X3, and the results are quite good.
 |
| Exposure X3’s many presets simulate the looks of old photo processes, favorite film stocks, and more. |
Want to preview how a preset will look before you apply it? Mousing over the preset thumbnails reveals the effect on your image, but you can also “audition” up to four presets at a time by selecting an image and dragging the presets you want to open slots.
 |
| Compare presets to the same image before applying your pick. |
In addition to the basic editing adjustments (tone, color, and so forth), Exposure X3 also includes controls for controlling grain and creating vignettes that introduce variation such as distortion and lump size for more organic results. An IR panel introduces the soft hazy signature look of infrared photos with sliders to control color contrast and the degree of halation (light spread). A Bokeh panel includes a multitude of controls for adding selective focus. Exposure X3.5 brings the Color tools into the present with the addition of granular Hue, Saturation, and Luminance controls, as well as white balance controls listed in Kelvin units and with camera Raw presets.
One feature I stumbled upon is the software’s batch editing feature, which resulted in me accidentally making the same adjustments to several shots at once. Instead of making edits to one photo and then copying them to other images, you simply select all the images you want to change in the grid view or the filmstrip at the bottom of the screen. As you make edits to one, the adjustments are applied to all of the others.
When you make any adjustment, as with Lightroom, the effect is applied to the entire image. Unlike Lightroom, Exposure X3 supports multiple layers, enabling you to isolate adjustments on their own layers. In fact, local adjustments such as brush strokes or radial or linear gradients automatically appear as new layers. Each layer has an automatic mask that hides the adjustments until you expose them with the brush or gradient tools.
If your images are stored in a shared location, such as a Dropbox folder, someone else running Exposure X3 can view the photos
The Portrait Touch Up preset demonstrates this: when you apply it, Exposure X3 creates three layers designed to whiten teeth, smooth skin, and enhance a subject’s iris. Paint over the affected areas to reveal the effects. You can’t apply blend modes between layers, as some applications allow, but you can choose an opacity level for each layer.
Remember earlier when I mentioned that Exposure X3 stores metadata in its own sidecar files? All of the editing information is also stored in the same place, creating an interesting collaborative possibility. If your images are stored in a shared location, such as a Dropbox folder, someone else running Exposure X3 can view the photos. The adjustment data exists in the text-only sidecar files that are updated on both machines as they’re changed.
You’ll want to make sure you’re not both editing at the same time, which can overwrite edits, but it allows you to work on an image together over the phone or in alternating sessions without having to send file revisions back and forth.
Working with layers and local adjustments in Exposure X3 is a bit of a mixed bag. When editing Raw .RAF files from my FujiFilm X-T1, there was noticeable lag when using the brush, which meant I became accustomed to painting an area and waiting a beat for the result to appear before moving on. The lag was more pronounced when viewing an image at 1:1 zoom; an onscreen Rendering progress indicator showed up often. Even when reviewing images, I saw pauses as the software processed my Raw files.
This was a surprise, because I came to Exposure X3 with the expectation that it tended to do a better job handling the Raw files from Fuji’s X-Trans sensors. The update from version 3.0.6 to 3.5 did improve performance somewhat, but the lag is still noticeable.
I became accustomed to painting an area and waiting a beat for the result to appear before moving on
I also loaded some Nikon .NEF Raw files from a D90, as well as Sony .ARW Raw files from a Sony a7R III. Performance was just fine on the former, and a little slow on the latter’s significantly larger (86 MB) image files. But the X-T1’s images, which max out at 16.3MP (compared to the larger 24.3MP files from the Fujifilm X-T2, which I didn’t have to test) still performed the slowest.
For context, I tested Exposure X3 on a late-2016 MacBook Pro with Touch Bar, outfitted with 16GB of RAM (the maximum the machine can handle) and the Radeon Pro 460 graphics processor with 4GB memory (the top-line GPU upgrade when the computer was offered). This isn’t the most powerful Mac available, but it isn’t a slouch, either.
With the caveat that I’m not a software engineer, I suspect one possibility for the lackluster editing performance is that Exposure X3 doesn’t seem to be making use of the high-performance GPU. (You can check this by opening Activity Monitor, switching to the Energy tab, and looking at the Requires High Perf GPU column.)
I was also surprised that the Shadows control seems subpar. Yes, it brightens shadow areas, but it does so by flattening the entire image more than you’d expect; it feels like using a blunt instrument instead of a surgical one.
It’s a reminder that even basic features need attention, as well as the differentiating ones.
Pros:
Cons:
Photographers looking for non-subscription software that does more than basic editors.
The impatient.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
Last week the team at iFixit undertook a teardown of the brand new Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus to examine and evaluate the device’s repairability. Now analysts TechInsights have done the same thing, but with a focus on components and costs.
When taking the device apart the team found Samsung’s Fast 2L3 third-generation 12MP, 1.4 µm pixel-pitch Dual Pixel ISOCELL sensor in the main camera and a 12MP, 1.0 µm pixel-pitch Samsung S5K3M3SM in the tele-camera, the same as in the Galaxy Note 8 dual-camera module.
 |
TechInsights also provides cost estimates for all components and at $ 48 the Samsung’s camera setup is the third largest cost block on the device. Only the display at $ 72.50 and the main chipset at $ 68 have a higher impact on the overall figure. Final assembly and testing is estimated as $ 12.50, and the overall manufacturing cost of the device is $ 379.
Given in the US the S9 Plus currently retails at $ 840 unlocked, this should leave a decent margin for covering overheads and, crucially, making a profit. For more technical details and up-close images of most components have a look at the full report on TechInsights.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
In this article, we’ll discuss the whys and hows of photographing plants. Don’t worry if you’re not a nature nerd, if your fingers are distinctly non-green or if you find plants generally dull. Plants can offer great photographic opportunities to any photographer. Give plants a chance!
If you start thinking about plants and the role they play in our history and our lives, you might find it hard to stop. After all, they produce most of the oxygen we breathe, they provide us with nutrition, we make clothing and build shelter out of them, just to mention a few things; we even print our photos on them!
More relevant to this article, though, they also inspire us with their alien beauty and comforting stillness to create art.
First of all, plants are really convenient subjects. They’re found more or less everywhere, and they don’t run or fly off when you approach them. That makes things so much easier!
But being common doesn’t make them boring – there are so many different varieties to choose from, they change their appearance with the seasons, and the longer you look, the more detail you will find. It would be hard to find a more patient (living) subject!
Plants have inspired artists for thousands of years: they’re in the art of the ancient Egyptians, and the Chinese. Plants are also a central part of a wide variety of more modern art, such as arabesque, still life paintings, Mapplethorpe’s photography – the list goes on and on.
Some of the most aesthetically pleasing shapes and forms in the world are found in plants.
Photographing plants is a rewarding activity for any photographer. If you’re a beginner, you can use plants to learn more about photography: check out some tips for beginners and use these really friendly subjects for your early experiments.
And if you’re a professional wedding photographer, you can always practice your bouquet and decoration photography!
Plant photography is perhaps the easiest kind of photography. All you need is a camera and a plant, and you can start your exploration. Yes, it really is that easy!
But sure, there are some tips that can make your experience more fun and your photographs more unique. The most important thing is for you to open your mind, explore the things you find interesting, and have fun.
Flowers may seem like the obvious thing to photograph when it comes to plants, but these living beings offer so much more than just their reproductive structures. They sure are fine-looking, though!
To get the most out of plants, you should also remember to check out the other visible parts such as the leaves, fruit, and bark. Taking group photos also works with plants.
Play with light, focus, and composition – use all of the tricks in your photographic toolbox.
For me, the best plant photos arise when I move beyond just looking at specific parts, and start focusing instead on shapes, textures, and symmetries. Look for interesting patterns in light or texture, experiment with black and white, zoom in and zoom out, find the abstract.
And, as always, try to evoke a feeling and create a story.
Do you enjoy photographing plants? What are your best tips? Do you have any favorite photos to share? I’d love to hear your thoughts and see your art in the comments below.
The post Tips for Creative Plant Photography by Hannele Luhtasela-el Showk appeared first on Digital Photography School.