July « 2020 « 360Photography

RSS

Archive for July, 2020

‘We’re confident that they can deliver’: We talk to AP’s Director of Photography about switch to Sony

24 Jul

J. David Ake, Director of Photography at The Associated Press.

One of the world’s largest and oldest news agencies, The Associated Press, has just announced that it is switching to Sony for all of its photography and videography equipment. We spoke to AP’s Director of Photography, J. David Ake, about why the agency decided to make the switch, why it chose Sony, and what it means for AP staff photographers and videographers.

The following interview has been edited lightly for clarity and flow.

Thanks for joining us, David – what do you do at AP?

I’m the Director of Photography at The Associated Press, I’m responsible for stills photo reporting worldwide. That’s a team of a few hundred staff photographers, fifty or so photo editors, and we produce about 3,000 images a day from around the globe. I’ve been at the AP for 20 years, and previously I was a photographer for UPI, Agence France-Presse, and Reuters.

Is it a coincidence that this announcement coincides with what would have been the opening week of the planned 2020 Olympic Games in Tokyo?

Actually, yes, this just happened to be when we could get the dotted line signed! COVID-19 slowed things down a little bit, we were actually hoping to do this a little bit earlier.

How long have you been working with Sony on this project?

The AP has been thinking about switching to mirrorless on the stills side for a couple of years. We like the advantages [like silent shooting] which means we can be whisper-quiet in places where a DSLR shutter sound is disturbing. We like the super-fast autofocus and we like the light weight of the cameras.

We tested cameras from several manufacturers in really harsh zones from the Arctic to the rainforest, to hostile environments, to hurricanes. The overwhelming response from the photographers was that they really liked the Sony equipment: the way it worked, the way it felt, and the image quality.

The Sony Alpha a9 Mark II is a camera that Sony says was made specifically to meet the needs of professional photographers in demanding environments, and at major sporting events. The relatively few major hardware updates from the a9 were almost all intended to cater to this demographic.

Then we started talking to our video colleagues who were about ready to do a change-up of their gear too, and we started thinking “well if we went to Sony for video and stills, what would that do for our visual storytelling?” We liked the idea of having the color quality and the image quality being close to the same between stills and video equipment. So if a stills photographer helped out a video colleague with a little filming, or B-roll, it would fit in the edit. And if we were to pull a frame grab from a 4K video camera it would have the same basic feel as a photograph from a stills camera.

And the lens mounts are the same, so if a videographer was working with a stills photographer, he or she could borrow a 600mm f4, or a stills photographer could try a cine lens to get a certain look. It just gives us some unique opportunities.

Up to now, has AP been using a mixture of different platforms, from different manufacturers?

Yes, we have. We used one manufacturer for stills, and a different manufacturer for video. And we’ve been happy with those brands, we’ve used them for years, and they’ve supported us with their equipment. It was really the thought that we wanted to go mirrorless that took us down this path, and then we found that the synergy between video and stills could be really good, and Sony could support both of those at the level that we needed. And maybe that could open up some opportunities for visual storytelling in future that we hadn’t previously recognized.

It’s probably going to take us a little over a year to complete this switch

I’m excited, because both teams now can really work together well.

How many photographers and videographers will start using Sony equipment?

We have a few hundred staff photographers around the world, and about that many video cameras [in our equipment pool]. And probably into the thousands of freelancers, regular and occasional. This switch to Sony applies only to the staff photographers and videographers.

The freelancers are independent contractors, what they use is up to them.

Can you give us an idea of the scale of this investment, in terms of camera bodies and lenses?

Well if we’re kitting each photographer and videographer out with four or five lenses and a couple of camera bodies, that’s a large investment. It’s probably going to take us a little over a year, maybe a year and a half, to complete this switch worldwide. We’ve got photographers in some places that are very difficult to get gear to!

Sony is currently the only manufacturer to offer native mirrorless long-telephoto prime lenses. Lenses of this kind are a prerequisite for professional sports, although Canon and Nikon’s latest mirrorless cameras can accept EF and F-mount lenses via adapters.

Do you have a sense of the ratio of a9-series to a7-series cameras that you’re going to be onboarding?

The vast majority of the stills photographers will get a9 Mark IIs. We will get some a7R IVs for the videographers, and a couple for some of our entertainment shooters who do a lot of portraits. But the standard kit will be an a9 Mark II.

On the video side there are six different cameras that might become part of the kit, from broadcast cine cameras all the way down to small palm-sized cameras, depending on the assignment. But we have six cameras spec’d-out on the video side.

What convinced you that Sony could provide that level of support your photographers and videographers might need at major events?

Well Sony has committed to us that it will. And we have done some tests, we’ve done events where they did provide the level of support that we needed. This is not new for Sony. On the video side, Sony has been supporting its cameras in the field for a really long time. They’ve shown us that they’re committed to doing it, and so far we’ve been happy with the level of commitment.

The proof is in the pudding of course, once we’ve got this all rolled-out, but we’re confident that they can deliver.

Tokyo 2020 never happened, but by this time next year, AP photographers and videographers in Japan will be shooting the proceedings on Sony equipment.

You mentioned the logistical challenge of replacing all of your stills and video equipment, are you planning to introduce a training program for your staff?

Yes. Our goal is to get photographers together, collect their old gear, issue them with new gear, and give them a day or so with Sony technicians to run through the menus, how to clean the sensors, how the cameras work and so on, before we put them out in the field.

What are the first big events that you expect AP photographers will be covering with Sony equipment?

The US elections in November, followed by the Olympic Games.

What’s the biggest shift you’ve seen during your career in photography?

For me personally it was film to digital. I got one of the very first digital cameras in 1995. It was a huge shift, and very enlightening – there was a sense of freedom. It changed the world for photojournalism. And I think mirrorless is going to turn out to be a really big change, too. The fact that these cameras are very fast, very quiet and very light will allow us to go places and do things that we haven’t done before.

Editors’ note: Barnaby Britton

The news that The Associated Press – one of the world’s oldest and best well-known news agencies – is switching to Sony is highly significant.

For decades, whether or not a brand could be considered ‘professional’ has been defined in part by whether organizations like AP purchased its cameras and lenses for their staff photographers. While the number of salaried photojournalists working in agencies around the world today is relatively small, it’s hard to overstate the PR value for any brand of having its cameras and lenses appear in the hands of pros on the sidelines at events like The Olympic Games, watched by millions of people all over the world.

For at least forty years, Canon and Nikon have owned the sidelines, and along the way, both companies have developed a sophisticated systems to support professional photographers at major sporting events. Can Sony compete with these well-established companies when it comes to service and pro support (not to mention reliability)? Apparently AP is pretty confident in Sony’s (and its gear’s) performance so far, but as Mr Ake says, ‘the proof is in the pudding’.

Sony is still the only company to offer both a truly photojournalism-oriented mirrorless camera and a range of native mirrorless fast telephoto prime lenses

There is no doubt, however, that Sony is very serious about competing in the professional market. The a9 Mark II is arguably the best sports camera in the world right now, and two years after Canon and Nikon joined the full-frame mirrorless party, Sony is still the only company to offer both a truly photojournalism-oriented mirrorless camera and a range of native mirrorless fast telephoto prime lenses. Apparently, for AP, the cross-compatibility of E-mount lenses between a large number of Sony’s stills and video cameras was another point in the company’s favor.

From a sales and revenue standpoint, the fact that Sony just sold a few hundred cameras and lenses is probably not all that significant. But the AP contract is a huge vote of confidence in the brand from an agency synonymous with professional photojournalism, and one that Sony has been working for years to earn. Canon and Nikon just got put on notice.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Adobe pushes critical security updates for Bridge, Photoshop and Prelude

24 Jul

Adobe has pushed live security updates for its Bridge, Photoshop and Prelude applications that patch a number of critical vulnerabilities, including a few that could enable threats to execute code on Windows computers.

While Adobe’s vague ‘Security Updates’ changelog brushes on the patches, security site ThreatPost offers a more detailed look at what Adobe has done to address 12 common vulnerabilities and exposures (CVEs) in Adobe Bridge, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Prelude, which were first discovered by Mat Powell of Trend Micro’s Zero Day Initiative.

ThreatPost says each of the 12 ‘critical flaws stem from out-of-bounds read and write vulnerabilities, which occur when the software reads data past the end of — or before the beginning of — the intended buffer, potentially resulting in corruption of sensitive information, a crash, or code execution among other things.’ Specifically, five flaws were addressed in Adobe Photoshop, three in Adobe Bridge and four in Adobe Prelude.

According to Adobe, no known uses of these critical bugs have been reported in the wild, but you’re going to want to make sure all of your programs are up to date if you don’t have automatic updates installed. You’ll want to make sure you’re running versions 20.0.10 and 21.2.1 for Photoshop CC 2019 and Photoshop 2020, respectively. Adobe Bridge and Adobe Prelude should be running versions 10.1.1 and 9.0.1, respectively.

All updates can be downloaded via the Creative Cloud desktop app for macOS and Windows computers.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Ricoh shares additional information about its upcoming APS-C DSLR, lenses

24 Jul

In a video shared to YouTube yesterday, Ricoh offered more information on its upcoming Pentax APS-C DSLR. The video, embedded above, is the latest in a series that Ricoh is creating ‘to reinforce its commitment to DSLR photography.’

The 24-minute video, which offers embedded translated subtitles in English, is a dialogue between professional photographer Keita Sasaki and Wakashiro Shigeru of Ricoh’s Product Planning department.

The pair give a little hands-on with the new camera and lenses and discuss many facets of the upcoming Pentax APS-C DSLR. Here are a few of the highlights from the conversation:

The new optical viewfinder will be brighter and clearer than the one found in the Pentax KP; it uses a new high-refraction glass pentaprism first developed back in 2017.
It will be compact and offer a new grip for ‘increased comfort.’
The camera will have a joystick on the back (for autofocus and more) and use larger buttons for better tactile feedback
The shutter release will use the same ‘leaf switch’ mechanism found in the Pentax 645Z and Z-1.
The rear LCD display will be ‘extra large’ (no specific size is shared, however).
The new sensor will be improved across the board, at lower and higher sensitivities

Shigeru also reveals the camera will come in silver (alongside the standard black version) and have a set of silver lenses to match (a 70–210mm F2.8, 50mm F1.4 and 85mm F1.4). A silver version of the K-1 Mark II will also be released in the near future alongside the silver D FA 21mm lens announced back in May.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

How to Make the Ordinary Look Extraordinary in Photography

23 Jul

The post How to Make the Ordinary Look Extraordinary in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

how to photograph ordinary things feature image

A good subject does not make a good photo, a good photographer does. How can you photograph ordinary things to make them look extraordinary? This is a question I am sure many people are contemplating as they are confined to their homes.

how to photograph ordinary things — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/100 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800

In and around our homes, we are familiar with the environment and what’s in it. These things are ordinary to us, and often we don’t think about photographing them. The exception may be after we buy our first camera. Then everything is interesting to photograph.

I love what British photographer Martin Parr says about his work. He says he aims to make the ordinary look extraordinary. This is a relevant challenge for many photographers who cannot get out and photograph the things you typically point your camera at.

How to Make the Ordinary Look Extraordinary in Photography — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/320 sec., f/7.1, ISO 800

Be creative when you photograph ordinary things

To make the ordinary look extraordinary, you have to think outside the box. Don’t rely on what you normally do. Push beyond the rules and techniques you may typically follow and think about how you can photograph things differently.

Pick the best time of day to photograph some flowers in your garden. Then, tomorrow, photograph the same flowers at a different time – perhaps from a different angle. Compare your results. Don’t limit your thinking to what you’ve learned is the correct time or the right way to photograph flowers. Get yourself out of that mindset.

Observe how the light changes during the day. What’s it like in the morning, midday and in the evening? Challenge yourself to find things to photograph during a time you normally would not because you think the light is no good.

If you’re not used to being at home in the middle of the day, pick up your camera while you take your lunch break. Press yourself to find interesting light somewhere in your home to take some photos.

how to photograph ordinary things - frying pan hanging on a wire fence — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 105mm, 1/160 sec., f/6.3, ISO 800

Choose your favorite things to photograph

The very first photography assignment I completed was simple. I was taking a night school class on black and white photography shortly after purchasing my first camera. The task assigned was to photograph ordinary things. Something that we were familiar with.

We had to take one roll of film. Yes, it was a while ago! The choice was ours to load a 12, 24 or 36 exposure film. I made 36 exposures of my bicycle. I photographed it from every conceivable angle.

I loved riding my bike (and still do), so it was not difficult to photograph 36 times. Each frame was different. Some were close up, others were from further back.

how to photograph ordinary things - bicyle wheel cog and chain — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikkormat FTN, Lens 50mm. One of the photos of my bicycle from my first assignment.

Photographing something you love will make it easier because of the connection you have with it. Your mind will imagine the type of photos you can make of it because you love that thing.

When I photographed my bike, I did so all in one session. You could do this too, or spread out the challenge and make a series of photos of your chosen subject(s) over a period of time. I have done this too. For the past 37 years, I have been photographing bicycles.

Ever since that first assignment to photograph ordinary things, I have loved taking pictures of bikes. You never know how a simple assignment might grow on you.

Experiment with your subject

Try many different styles of photography. Practice new things. Improve on techniques you are already familiar with.

If you are someone who generally only photographs things once, now is the time to push beyond this. Challenge yourself to photograph ordinary things over and over again. How can you keep making interesting photos of the same stuff? It’s not about the subject or your camera. It’s up to your imagination.

Change the lighting. Move the thing you’re photographing to another place. Use a lens you’d never before consider using for this subject. Press beyond your preconceived ideas of the ‘right’ way to do things. There is no right or wrong way when you are a creative photographer.

Come at your subject from every imaginable angle. The first angle you think to take a photograph from is not always the best. Move around. Lie on the ground. Stand on a chair. Look at your thing from as many interesting angles as you can think of.

how to photograph ordinary things - unused wine glasses on a table — © Kevin Landwer-Johan Nikon D800, Lens 35mm, 1/100 sec., f/2.8, ISO 400

Limit your gear choice

Attach one prime lens to your camera and leave it there. Force yourself to use just one focal length on your favorite zoom lens.

By experimenting with one lens you will come to know it better. The more you use this lens, the better feel you will develop for it. Taking photos of the same subject, with the same lens may seem limiting – and it is, in a way – but this limitation will hopefully press you to develop your creative thinking.

Photograph ordinary things using the most basic equipment. This is a sure method to encourage your creative thinking. The best thing you have to rely on is your imagination.

Use your flash

Take the lead from Martin Parr and use your flash more. Either on or off-camera, add flash to photos when you normally would not.

By adding artificial light to what you have chosen to photograph, you will see it in a whole new light. This is a fabulous way to become more proficient with your flash. By using it at times when you typically would not, you will discover new possibilities. It may give you the boldness to use flash more frequently in the future.

Take your time and try using your flash in different ways. Fixed to your camera’s hot shoe, you’ll get very direct, harsh lighting. Tilting the flash head so that it points at the ceiling or a nearby wall, will add a softer light to your subject. Taking your flash off-camera, you can add light from a fresh perspective.

Learn from the Masters

I’ve mentioned Martin Parr a few times in this article. He’s known for his somewhat garish captures of normal, everyday objects. He can photograph ordinary things and make them grab our attention. It’s his way of seeing that he shares with us.

Look at how your favorite famous photographers photograph ordinary things. You will find that many of them do. Irving Penn’s still life images are exquisite. Edward Weston’s photo of a pepper is somewhat iconic. Man Ray came up with all manner of wonderfully experimental images of things from within his environment.

Conclusion

Focus on what is around you. Challenge yourself to take photos of things you normally would never consider worthy of a picture. I am sure you will surprise yourself a few times with what you come up with when you put your mind to it.

Use this time to learn to photograph ordinary things. Inspire yourself out of the rut of thinking that ordinary is boring. Make great photos of ordinary things, or at least have fun trying.

And when you’re done post-processing your photos, share a few of them in the comments below and let us know your thought process behind them. This way, you can encourage others to become more diverse in their creative photography.

The post How to Make the Ordinary Look Extraordinary in Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

The Photography Skill Progression that Stunned Us

23 Jul

The post The Photography Skill Progression that Stunned Us appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

If you’re still stuck on auto mode and struggling with all the settings on your digital camera, this story of photography skill progression is for you. You may wonder, “Just how long does it take to become a better photographer? 3 days? 31 days? Two years?

In this feature of one of our students, the answer was all three.

Today I wanted to share with you the story of Marie Costanza. Marie grew up in Rochester, NY – the home of Kodak. So it’s no surprise she grew up taking photographs with her Kodak Instamatic camera.

Prior to starting our course 31 Days to Becoming a Better Photographer in February 2018, Marie described her experience being at the novice level.

“I was enthusiastic about taking photos and some of my images were decent, but I was not able to explain what I did to cause some of my images to be decent and many of them to be mediocre.”

Marie Costanza

She shared with us a sample of photos she took a few years before doing the course with instructor, Jim Hamel.

Marie Costanza children in water — Children playing in water – Marie Costanza (before the course)

Marie Costanza Bird in zoo — Birds at the zoo – Marie Costanza (before the course)

Marie Constanza sunset before — Sunset – Marie Costanza (before the course)

She wasted no time getting stuck into the course and extracting value from Jim. Here are the first images she shared with the group, after just 3 days.

Marie's First Photo Share in Course Group

And how right Jim was when he said . . .

Nice work. And this is only the beginning.

Jim Hamel

By “Day 7” Marie was experimenting more and starting to get shots like these:

And Jim’s response:

Prior to Jim’s course, I only shot on Automatic mode. I was completely intimidated by Manual and I did not fully understand the relationship among ISO, Shutter Speed or Aperture. I did use Aperture priority occasionally, and I was starting to understand that mode slightly. Jim’s Day 3 lesson was like a revelation for me. Being able to understand how to meter and how to use the Manual Mode opened up a whole new world of photography.

Let’s compare some of her more recent photos with the ones she shared earlier:

Marie Costanza Before and After Children Playing in Water — Children Playing in Water – Marie Costanza (Before and After the course)

Marie Costanza Before and After Birds — Birds – Marie Costanza (Before and After the course)

Marie Costanza Before and After Sunset — Sunset – Marie Costanza (Before and After the course)

But by far our favourite progression has been what our team like to refer to as “Marie’s Duck Progression”! It certainly caught our attention and it’s the reason we wanted to feature her photography today.

Marie Costanza Duck Before — Duck – Marie Costanza (Before the Course)

Marie Costanza Duck During the Course — Duck – Marie Costanza (During the Course)

Marie Costanza Duck After — Duck – Marie Costanza (After the Course)
Define the subject…for this challenge, I went back to my duck subject….those of you who have known me since we began the 31 Days course back in 2017…you might recall my original duck and then my post course duck. I love using ducks for my subject! This guy is called, “Late for an Important Date.” I used the following settings: ISO 1000, 380 mm, f6.0, 1/2000. I was using my Tamron 150-600 lens, hand held.

In addition to Day 3 (Metering), Marie also said Day 9 (Making Images Tack Sharp) was very beneficial in improving her duck photos because it helped her understand the impact of the shutter speed. Day 15 was helpful because learning about the importance of simplification helped her to understand that it’s important to eliminate distractions and to fill the frame with the subject. You can really see the impact of that in her second photo.

And the final photo, taken this year is a culmination of everything she has learned and practiced. Marie says, “Prior to the course I had just begun to play around a bit with Lightroom, so all of Jim’s lessons where he took us through the process of editing an image really helped me to understand the power of post processing.”

We asked what advice she’d give other aspiring photographers considering 31 Days to Becoming a Better Photography course.

The best part of this course was the fact that there was daily interaction between the student and instructor as well as all the new people we met in the Facebook Group. Anyone considering a course like Jim’s, should make sure this aspect is included. The helpful suggestions were invaluable and practical. Getting immediate feedback, which included positive elements as well as suggestions for improvement, made me eager to try the techniques.

Marie Costanza

And Marie and thousands of students since have received amazing attention from Jim like this reply to her very first post in the group:

Marie also had the following to say about Jim’s teaching style:

Having been an educator for over 37 years I am able to recognize effective teaching and the successful learning that is directly related. (For 15 years I was in charge of the Career in Teaching Program in the Rochester City School District, and I observed/provided feedback to countless teachers.)

Jim’s method of teaching is why the course is so successful. He teaches one concept at a time, has the student practice the new techniques, and then he provides feedback immediately.

The videos were the right length, which enabled me to effectively process the concepts/skills. When a teacher gives too much information or presents too many tasks/concepts, the learner has cognitive overload, resulting in the learner being unable to process the information.

Jim is highly skilled at knowing just how much information to present in order to challenge the student without forcing the student into cognitive overload. He is a highly effective teacher!

Marie Costanza

The Photography Skill Progression that Stunned Us

Marie’s photos star in our course promotions, along with photos from fellow students. Real photos, real students. Join them for the final class intake and save $ 100 when you sign up now.

Learn More

We love what Marie has achieved with her photography since doing the course. She has joined her local photography club and has even won some awards for her photos. Here are some more of our favourite photos she has taken – a world apart from her earlier snaps.

Marie Costanza Moon Composite — Moon Composite – Marie Costanza

Marie Costanza Sunflowers — Sunflowers – Marie Costanza

Marie Costanza Pier — Pier – Marie Costanza

If you’d like to experience improvement in your photography like Marie, please check out our final class intake for 31 Days to Becoming a Better Photographer and save $ 100 when you join before 31 July.

The post The Photography Skill Progression that Stunned Us appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darren Rowse.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Google’s ex-lead of computational photography Marc Levoy to build new imaging experiences at Adobe

23 Jul

Marc Levoy¹, Google’s former computational photography lead and arguably one of the founding figures of computational approaches to imaging, has joined Adobe as Vice President and Fellow, reporting directly to Chief Technology Officer Abhay Parasnis. At Adobe, Marc will ‘spearhead company-wide technology initiatives focused on computational photography and emerging products, centered on the concept of a universal camera app.’ He will also work closely with Photoshop Camera, Adobe Research, and the machine-learning focused Sensei and Digital Imaging teams.

The imaging sphere was taken by surprise a few months back when Marc left Google where he helped spearhead a revolution in mobile imaging with the excellent success of Pixel phones and their stills and video capabilities. Marc and his colleagues at Google developed HDR+, which uses burst photography alongside clever exposure and merging techniques to increase dynamic range of capture and reduce noise. His work, in conjunction with Peyman Milanfar, also helped Pixel cameras yield visible photos in the dark using Night Sight, and even capture super-resolution data that captured far more detail in ‘zoomed-in’ shots than competitors, despite limited hardware. Google’s burst mode techniques even allowed its cameras to forego traditional demosaicing processes, yielding more detailed images than even competitive cameras with similar sensor sizes.²

Marc Levoy… [is] arguably one of the founding figures of computational approaches to imaging

Marc also championed the use of machine learning to tackle challenges in image capture and processing, leading to better portrait modes, more accurate colors via learning-based white balance, and synthetic re-lighting of faces. Marc helped push the boundaries of what is possible with limited hardware by focusing heavily on the software.

At its core, Adobe is a software company, and so Marc’s expertise is at once relevant. At Adobe, Marc will continue to explore the application of computational photography to Adobe’s imaging and photography products, with one of his focuses being the development of a ‘universal camera app’ that could function across multiple platforms and devices. This should allow Marc to continue his passion for delivering unique and innovative imaging experiences to the masses.

Marc has a knack for distilling complex concepts into simple terms. You can learn about the algorithms and approaches his teams spearheaded in the Pixel phones in our interview above.

More on Marc Levoy

Marc Levoy has a long history of pioneering computational approaches to images, video and computer vision, spanning both industry and academia. He taught at Stanford University, where he remains Professor, Emeritus, and is often credited as popularizing the term ‘computational photography’ through his courses. Before he joined Google he worked as visiting faculty at Google X on the camera for the Explorer Edition of Google Glass. His work early on at Stanford with Google was the basis for Street View in Google Maps. Marc also helped popularize light field photography with his work at Stanford with Mark Horowitz and Pat Hanrahan, advising students like Ren Ng who went on to found Lytro.

Marc also developed his own smartphone apps early on to utilize the potential of burst photography for enhanced image quality with apps like SynthCam. The essential idea – which underpins all multi-imaging techniques today employed by smartphones – is to capture many images to synthesize together into a final image. This technique overcomes the major shortcomings of smartphone cameras: their sensors have such small surface areas and their lenses have such small apertures that the amount of light captured is relatively low. Given that most of the noise in digital images is due to a lack of captured photons (read our primer on the dominant source of noise: shot noise), modern smartphones employ many clever techniques to capture more total light, and in intelligent ways as well to retain both highlight and shadow information while dealing with subject movement from shot to shot. Much of Marc’s early work, as seen in SynthCam, became the basis for the multi-shot noise averaging and bokeh techniques used in Pixel smartphones.

Marc is also passionate about the potential for collaborative efforts and helped develop the ‘Frankencamera’ as an open source platform for experimenting with computational photography. We look forward to the innovation he’ll bring to Adobe, and hope that much of it will be available across platforms and devices to the benefit of photographers at large.

Footnotes:

¹Apart from being well renowned in the fields of imaging and computer graphics, Marc Levoy is himself a photography enthusiast and expert, and while at Stanford taught a Digital Photography class. The course was an in-depth look at everything from sensors to optics to light, color, and image processing, and is available online. We highly recommend our curious readers watch his lectures in video form and also visit Marc’s course website for lecture slides and tools that help you understand the complex concepts both visually and interactively.

²Our own signal:noise ratio analyses of Raw files from the Pixel 4 and representative APS-C and four-thirds cameras show the Pixel 4, in Night Sight mode, to be competitive against both classes of cameras, even slightly out-performing four-thirds cameras (for static scene elements). See our full signal:noise analysis here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

What you need to know about the new Nikon Z5

23 Jul

What you need to know about the new Nikon Z5

The Nikon Z5 is an entry-level full-frame mirrorless camera that looks a lot like the Z6, handles a lot like the Z6, and offers a lot of the same features. So what makes it different, and why is it cheaper? Read on to find out more.

All images provided by Nikon USA and used with permission.

24MP CMOS sensor (not BSI)

The Nikon Z5 uses a 24MP CMOS sensor, paired with an Expeed 6 processor, but it is not the same BSI-CMOS chip that we’ve seen in the Z6 (and likely also the Sony a7 III). The Z5’s sensor is probably closely related to the last-generation sensors in the likes of the Nikon D750. For practical purposes, this means that image quality in a normal ISO sensitivity span is likely to be excellent, but the Z6 will probably have the edge at very high ISOs.

1/8000sec min shutter and ‘silent’ shooting

Despite its entry-level positioning, the Z5 offers a minimum exposure time of 1/8000sec, which enables wide-aperture shooting in bright conditions. As well as mechanical and electronic first-curtain modes, a ‘silent’ shooting mode is also available. In ‘silent’ mode the shutter is fully electronic and – literally – silent.

Because there is no mechanical action associated with fully-electronic exposures, this is potentially also a good option for highly critical macro and extreme telephoto work, where you need to minimize vibrations. The downside is an increased likelihood of distortion when shooting moving subjects.

273-point PDAF and 4.5fps continuous shooting

The Z5’s autofocus system appears at least very similar if not exactly the same as that found in the Z6 and Z7, and benefits from the feature additions that Nikon has made to those models via firmware. As such, you get human and animal eye-detection, and a tracking mode which operates a little more like 3D AF Tracking in Nikon’s DSLRs. Coverage from the Z5’s 273 autofocus points is 90% vertically and horizontally.

The Z5’s maximum continuous shooting rate of 4.5fps is OK for this class, but probably not fast enough for serious sports or action photography.

5-axis in-body stabilization

Unlike Nikon’s entry-level (and currently sole) DX-format Z-series model the Z50, the Z5 offers 5-axis in-body stabilization. This system is rated for up to five stops of correction, which (again) is comparable to the Z6 and Z7.

5-axis in-body stabilization

With a VR-enabled F-mount lens mounted via the FTZ adapter, or a Z-series lens like the forthcoming Z 70-200mm F2.8 S, the system becomes 3-axis, handing off pitch and yaw correction to the lens, with the body dealing with roll. The stabilization rating with a VR lens increases slightly, to 5.5EV (per CIPA) but as always with such things, you might get greater or less benefit depending on the situation (and focal length).

Same size and weight, similar ergonomics to Z6

The Z5 is an unusual entry-level model in being exactly the same size and weight as the model above it in the lineup. We’re told that this was a deliberate decision to make manufacturing more economical. The only major ergonomic change to the Z5, compared to the Z6, is the migration of an exposure mode dial to the right of the viewfinder, in place of the small status LCD which sits on top of the higher-end model.

Same size and weight, similar ergonomics to Z6

The 3.2″, 1.04M-dot LCD on the rear of the Z5 is the same size as that found in the Z6 and Z7 (but lower-resolution), and like those models it is also touch-sensitive and can be tilted for waist-level shooting and video work.

Whereas the Z6 and Z7 use an almost all magnesium-alloy body chassis, the Z5 economizes slightly with plastic on the back and the base of the camera. We’re told that despite the different construction, the Z5 is sealed to the same extent as the Z6/7 against dust and moisture. From what we know about the build quality of those models, this is really good news.

3.6M-dot Quad VGA EVF

Also good news is that the Z5 shares the same electronic viewfinder as the Z6/7. While we’ve seen the 3.6M-dot Quad VGA EVF out-resolved recently, it remains one of our favorite finders, offering fine, crisp detail and excellent contrast, without offering the 100fps+ feed of some competitive models. The EVF assembly features an automatic switch, to de/activate the viewfinder when your eye modes between finder and rear screen.

The image above shows an EVF module from the Z6/7 being inspected at Nikon’s factory in Sendai. Read the full factory tour here.

Dual UHS-II SD cards

Before the Z6 and Z7 were announced, whoever would have thought that card slots could cause such controversy? The Z5 splits from its higher-end stablemates by offering two card slots, both of which support the cheaper and more readily available SD format, up to UHS-II.

Video

When the Z5 is compared against the Z6 on specs, the main area of differentiation is in video. Nikon has moulded the Z6 into its current top-end video camera, but the Z5’s video feature set is much more pared-down. Although you can shoot 4K footage at up to 30p, there’s a 1.7X crop.

Overall the Z5 offers a solid feature set for its price, without being class-leading. Full HD video can be recorded without a crop (at up to 60p) but you won’t find a lot of the Z6’s more pro-oriented features, such as N-Log recording and output that can be encoded as Pro-Res Raw. The Z5 does offer focus peaking though, and zebra stripes. It also has sockets for a microphone and headphones.

New EN-EL15C battery

The Z5 ships with a new ‘c’ variant of the venerable EN-EL15 battery, but it remains compatible with previous versions, provided you don’t need in-camera charging (only offered by ‘b’ and ‘c’ variants). The new ‘c’ type battery offers a modest increase in capacity, giving an overall rating (per CIPA) of 470 shots using the rear monitor, and 390 shots using the EVF. It also supports USB power, via the optional optional UC-E25 cable.

New 24-50mm F4-6.3 kit lens

The Z5 might have basically the same body as the Z6 and Z7, but you can keep its overall size and weight down with the new 24-50mm kit zoom. The 24-50mm measures just 51mm (2″) long when retracted and weighs only 195g (0.43lb). The tradeoffs for such a small, lightweight lens are its relatively limited focal length range, and slow maximum aperture, but if it’s as sharp as previous Z-series zooms, this might be a worthwhile compromise for casual everyday photography.

New 24-50mm F4-6.3 kit lens

Nikon describes the lens as ‘dust and drip resistant,’ though not fully weather-sealed. The 24-50mm F4-6.3 will be available in a kit with the Z5 for $ 1699, or on its own for $ 399.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Introduction and Creative Uses for the Snapseed Double Exposure Feature

23 Jul

The post Introduction and Creative Uses for the Snapseed Double Exposure Feature appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Snapseed double exposure feature uses and tips

Do you have a different app for doing collages, and compositing, and another for changing backgrounds? Then this article is for you. I’ll show you how to use the Snapseed double exposure feature so you can do all of this inside one free app. Let’s get started.

Double Exposure

The double-exposure technique comes from film photography. It’s created by shooting multiple times in the same frame. This can create compositions, collages, or superimposed ghosts on a scene and used for many things. Fortunately, it carried over into digital photography.

There are different ways to achieve double exposures. You can do it in-camera, by editing on your computer or using your smartphone. This last one is what I want to show you.

Snapseed editing app

There are tons of editing apps to choose from. I particularly like Snapseed because you can do most of your post-production in it, it’s free and available for iOS and Android.

In general, Snapseed is very intuitive, but if you want to have more control over your editing, it’s not always clear how to access the tools for fine-tuning. This is the case of the Snapseed double exposure feature.

Basic Double Exposure

For the basic use of the Snapseed double exposure feature, I’m going to show you how to add a bokeh background to your subject.

When you launch the app, you’ll be immediately prompted to open your image by clicking anywhere on the screen. This will open the browser for you to access your gallery. Choose the one with your subject and tap on it.

Next, open the Tools menu by tapping the pencil icon. Scroll down until you find the Double Exposure tool and tap on it.

Here you’ll find three tools. Choose the one with the plus sign (+) on it. This is the ‘add image’ button. It will give you access to your gallery again to add the photo you want to overlap. In this case, the bokeh image.

Blending modes

Now that both images are superimposed, you can modify the effect.

Start by tapping the middle icon – it represents the different layers. Here you can adjust the way they interact with each other. If you are familiar with Photoshop Blend Modes, it will be fairly easy. If not, just tap on each choice to see how they change the results.

When you’re happy, tap on the check icon to apply.

Opacity

Now, go to the third tool, the one that looks like a drop. With this one, you can open a slider that controls the transparency of the layer. Move it until you like the final result.

If it’s still not perfect, you can always mask away specific parts of your layer. I’ll show you how to do this in the next section by doing a simple composite.

Advanced editing

Pretty good right? But not exactly a lot of control. That’s why the Snapseed double exposure feature offers the possibility to mask. However, these tools aren’t so easy to find as a first time user.

First, make your composite with the basic tools as explained in the previous section. Once you’ve decided on the blending mode and transparency, accept the edits by tapping on the check sign.

Next, tap on the back button that you can find on the top right. Usually, you wouldn’t do that unless you were unhappy with your results, and this is why these advanced tools are not apparent at first glance. This will open a menu that gives you the choice to Undo, Revert, and View edits. This last one is where you want to go.

This will open a list with every edit you’ve done.

In this case, there’s only the double exposure, but if you also adjusted perspective, exposure, etc, it would show up here to access again for further edits.

Snapseed Double Exposure Advance Editing

Click on the Double Exposure step to open its menu. The sliders icon on the right takes you back to basic tools if you want to make any changes. The icon in the middle takes you to the advanced edits.

Masking

Here, you can mask your images to reveal or hide different parts of it. Use your finger as a brush and just paint away. With the eye icon, you can make the mask visible.

Use the arrows to increase or decrease the opacity. If you made a mistake and painted over the wrong part, tap the arrow down to 0 and paint again to make visible again the underlying layer.

If you need to be precise, you can zoom in and out using two fingers. When you’re happy just tap on the check button and save your image.

Conclusion

The Snapseed double exposure feature gives you control over the effect you’re applying while still being easy to use without previous training.

And, by the way, it’s not just double but multiple exposures. You can add as many layers as you want. Just repeat the process to add more images.

Get creative and show us your results in the comments section!

The post Introduction and Creative Uses for the Snapseed Double Exposure Feature appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ana Mireles.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Go on a 4K video tour of Mars with images captured by NASA’s Mars rovers

23 Jul

ElderFox Documentaries has compiled a 4K UHD video tour of Mars using ultra-high resolution images and photo mosaics captured by NASA’s Mars rovers. It’s a stunning look at the Martian landscape and a great way to view another world nearly 34 million miles away.

The video is technically a slideshow, as there are massive technical constraints limiting NASA’s ability to record and transmit high-resolution video from Mars to earth. As NASA points out, it can take about 20 hours to transmit 250 megabits directly back to earth. There is an eight-minute window during each Martian day (sol) in which the rover can send the same 250 megabits of data to the Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter as it passes overhead. As ElderFox Documentaries notes, at those transmission speeds and considering that ‘nothing really moves on Mars,’ it makes more sense to send images back home rather than video files.

In the video above, we see images captured by three different NASA Mars rovers: Spirit, Opportunity and Curiosity. In the bottom left corner of the video tour, ElderFox has noted the Mars rover used to capture the images and the location on Mars in which they were captured.

If you want to see more of Mars, we have a lot more to show you. In March, NASA shared the highest-resolution panoramic image of Mars ever captured by its Curiosity rover. You can see a video NASA published below. In July 2017, Curiosity captured images of clouds above the Martian landscape. Earlier that year, space enthusiast Jan Fröjdman turned NASA anaglyph images into a simulated flight video using 33,000 reference points and NASA’s own depth information. You see that incredible video here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Slideshow: Winning photographs of the 2020 iPhone Photography Awards

23 Jul

Winning photographs of the 2020 iPhone Photography Awards

The winning photos of the 2020 iPhone Photography Awards (IPPA) have been announced, showcasing incredible imagery from around the world captured on iPhone devices.

Founded in 2007, the IPPA was the first and is the longest-running iPhone-specific photography competition. This year marks the 13th annual contest, which drew images from thousands of photographers from across the globe.

In the following gallery, we’ve rounded up the the Grand Prize winner and the first place winners for each of the 19 categories (Abstract, Animals, Architecture, Children, Floral, Landscape, Lifestyle, Nature, News & Events, Other, Panorama, People, Portrait, Series, Still Life, Sunset, Travel and Trees). The Grand Prize winning photograph in the following slide, ‘Flying Boys,’ also adorned photographer Dimpy Bhalotia as winner of the Photographer of the Year award.

You can find the rest of the runner-up images on the IPPA website, as well as a collection of the winning photographers. You can also sign up for the 2021 iPhone Photography Awards contest.

Image credit: All photos used with permission from IPPA.