$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_9217763098″,”galleryId”:”9217763098″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });
Check out this gallery of images from the new Canon EOS R6, captured by our team at DPReview TV while filming their review of the camera. Come for the Raw files, but stay for the beauty of Alberta, Canada, in the summer.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_6035470608″,”galleryId”:”6035470608″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });
Leica has introduced the M10-R, the highest resolution member of its M10-series yet. The M10-R’s 40 Megapixel sensor is largely the same as the one in the M10 Monochrom, with the main difference being (naturally) that it has a Bayer color filter. Leica claims that the new sensor offers a wider dynamic range in Raw mode and less noise than previous M10 bodies.
Like the Monochrom and the M10-P, the ‘R’ has the quietest shutter of any M-series camera (film bodies included).
The M10-R features a 3″ fixed touchscreen with 1.04 million dots, which can be used for live view and reviewing images. It has a single SD card slot (UHS-I only) and Wi-Fi, but not Bluetooth. As with its siblings, the M10-R does not have a USB or HDMI port. As always with Leica cameras, it’s made in Germany and build quality is exceptional.
The M10-R will go on sale later this month, in your choice of black or silver, for $ 8295.
Go hands-on with the M10-R
Press release
A new 40-megapixel color sensor brings broader capabilities into the creative landscape
July 16, 2020 – Leica Camera introduces a new high-resolution version of the company’s legendary rangefinder camera, expanding vivid creative possibilities from the most human moments in street photography to the most epic landscapes. With its unique 40 megapixel color sensor, the new Leica M10-R delivers enhanced rendition of details to fully explore the optical excellence of the legendary Leica M lenses. This new flagship expands the M10 family, which includes the M10, M10-P, M10-D and M10 Monochrom, and achieves maximum image output without compromising the tenets of M photography.
The M10-R’s newly developed 40 megapixel sensor represents a considerable increase from the 24 megapixels of the M10, and yet the M10-R offers significantly reduced image noise as well as a wider dynamic range. The sensitivity range of this new sensor, from ISO 100 to 50000, ensures it can be used in any situation a photographer may need. That base ISO of 100 helps allow bright light photos where the aperture can be kept wide-open for better background blur and bokeh, while on the other side of the spectrum the maximum exposure time has been increased to 16 minutes for more creative freedom with long exposures in the darkest light. Complementing the Leica M10-R’s imaging prowess and handling is its super quiet mechanical shutter, inherited from the M10-P. Its whisper-quiet operation helps the user be stealthy, when capturing that decisive moment requires the utmost discretion, and its minimal vibrations reduce the risk of camera shake to help yield sharper pictures.
As with all of Leica’s rangefinder cameras, the construction of the M10-R involves a large amount of hand assembly utilizing the best quality materials by highly trained specialists, carried out at the company’s production plant in Wetzlar, Germany. This ensures that the large number of components – such as the complex rangefinder mechanism – not only perform with the utmost precision but are also particularly robust and long-lasting. A Leica M is synonymous with reliability and durability, making it a valuable long-term investment.
The Leica M10-R reaches its full potential when paired with its native Leica M lenses. The camera has the capacity to fully utilize the outstanding imaging performance of this legendary, longstanding lens range. The M10-R truly sings when paired with the newest generation of Leica’s technical marvels of optics, such as the APO-Summicron-M 50 f/2 ASPH., capturing photographs of a truly exceptional quality. Concurrently, the M10-R’s newfound heights of image quality and resolution also emphasizes the distinct characteristics of older M lenses, many of which are still cherished by vintage photography enthusiasts to this day.
The Leica M10-R will be available end of July at Leica Stores, Boutiques and Dealers for $ 8,295.00 in black chrome and silver chrome finishes.
| Price | |
|---|---|
| MSRP | $ 8295 |
| Body type | |
| Body type | Rangefinder-style mirrorless |
| Body material | Magnesium alloy |
| Sensor | |
| Max resolution | 7864 x 5200 |
| Image ratio w:h | 3:2 |
| Effective pixels | 41 megapixels |
| Sensor size | Full frame (36 x 24 mm) |
| Sensor type | CMOS |
| Processor | Maestro II |
| Color filter array | Primary color filter |
| Image | |
| ISO | Auto, 100-50000 |
| Custom white balance | Yes |
| Image stabilization | No |
| Uncompressed format | RAW |
| File format |
|
| Optics & Focus | |
| Manual focus | Yes |
| Lens mount | Leica M |
| Focal length multiplier | 1× |
| Screen / viewfinder | |
| Articulated LCD | Fully articulated |
| Screen size | 3″ |
| Screen dots | 1,036,800 |
| Touch screen | Yes |
| Screen type | TFT LCD |
| Live view | Yes |
| Viewfinder type | Optical (rangefinder) |
| Viewfinder magnification | 0.73× |
| Photography features | |
| Minimum shutter speed | 960 sec |
| Maximum shutter speed | 1/4000 sec |
| Exposure modes |
|
| Built-in flash | No |
| External flash | Yes (via hot shoe) |
| Flash X sync speed | 1/180 sec |
| Self-timer | Yes |
| Videography features | |
| Microphone | None |
| Speaker | None |
| Storage | |
| Storage types | SD/SDHC/SDXC card |
| Connectivity | |
| Microphone port | No |
| Headphone port | No |
| Wireless | Built-In |
| Wireless notes | 802.11b/g/n |
| Remote control | Yes (cable release) |
| Physical | |
| Environmentally sealed | Yes |
| Battery | Battery Pack |
| Battery description | BC-SCL5 lithium-ion battery & charger |
| Weight (inc. batteries) | 660 g (1.46 lb / 23.28 oz) |
| Dimensions | 139 x 39 x 80 mm (5.47 x 1.54 x 3.15″) |
| Other features | |
| Orientation sensor | Yes |
| GPS | Optional |
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
The Syrp Genie One is a motion control system for creating automated time-lapse sequences or live-action video. In fact, it could even turn your existing slider into a programable motion control rig.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.
New to time-lapse? Watch our Introduction to time-lapse photography episode!
Watch our introduction to time-lapse photography video
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
The post The Art of Freelensing for Creative Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.
Photography has a great many rules and every once in a while, it is great to break all of them, don’t you think? For me, the art of freelensing for creative photography is the permission to play with both light and blur to archive a totally unexpected and magical image.
My first attempts at freelensing were just lucky shots among many more frustrated attempts. So, I gave up quickly. But as my photographer friends started posting beautiful dreamy images, I was tempted to pick up my camera and lens and try again.
I gave freelensing another try and I have been addicted ever since. It is a perfect way to get those creative juices flowing and add a little diversity to your photography portfolio and client work. Plus, you don’t really need any extra equipment to purchase or invest in other than what you already have in your camera bag.
Freelensing is a technique where the photographer shoots with the lens DETACHED from the camera body, creating a unique shot. With freelensing, you can manipulate your plane of focus to draw the eye of the viewer to a specific area. Alternatively, you can have an entire shot out of focus, creating a very dreamy frame.
It’s a great way to do creative photography play.
Here are some things to consider as you try freelensing for the first time:
Before freelensing, you must get your camera settings right. With the lens still attached to the camera, set the aperture to the widest possible value, and adjust the shutter speed and ISO settings for the correct exposure.
You can figure out the widest aperture on your lens by looking at the lens specifics. Once the lens is detached, you can make adjustments to the settings on the camera. For maximum control, use the camera in the manual mode setting where you, the photographer, are adjusting all variables like ISO, shutter speed, and aperture.
Check your camera and lens settings. Some lens will automatically maintain aperture when detached while others won’t. With Canon, the aperture stays wide open, so you don’t need to do anything specific. With a manual lens, you might have to keep the aperture open manually.
Before detaching the lens, turn the focal distance dial of the lens all the way to the infinity symbol. This sets the focal distance to the farthest possible point. Then you can detach the lens and keep it as close as possible to the ring.
Keeping your eye in the viewfinder, start tilting the lens slowly – up, down, left, or right until you see a composition that you like. Remember that by its nature, freelensing is not perfection. You will not find a tack-sharp image with freelensing, but that adds to the magic of creativity with this exercise.
The beauty of freelensing for creative photography is that there are no rules. But one thing that can make or break a good creative image is the focus. While a completely out of focus image is still very beautiful, having a focal point in the image adds to the magic. Along with light, composition, and color, focus draws the eye into that element of perfection while the rest is imperfect.
As you move the lens around, try and get one area of the frame in focus. Landing focus in freelensing is hard, so give yourself some time to get used to it and be patient.
Try multiple frames to find the focus point. Play with the focal distance of the lens to help you determine that focal area. Also, try moving in and out of the scene until you’re happy with what you see.
As you decide on composition and focus point, consider the message, mood, and story you want to convey to the viewer.
Freelensing for creative photography can lead to all kinds of interesting images, but it’s the element of light that makes them work. It can add flares and light leaks to the frame and infuse the image with an extra-magical effect.
It’s better to work with good backlight when capturing light leaks and flares. I find the ideal time is during golden hour, when the sun is straight-on but slightly softer than other times of the day.
As you tilt and separate the lens from the camera, bits of surrounding light can spill into the sensor, adding some cool light-leak effects to the frame.
Play around with the light leaks and see how they affect the frame. You can control the direction and amount of light entering the frame by adjusting the size of the gap. Be aware that too much light can ruin the image too.
The best advice for successful freelensing for creative photography is to leave all the rules behind and photograph with your heart. Find that creativity and let the magic unfold.
We’d love to see your freelensing images! Please share them with us in the comments section.
The post The Art of Freelensing for Creative Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.
$ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_1022560946″,”galleryId”:”1022560946″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });
The Leica M10-R offers a familiar handling experience but ups the resolution from standard M10-series bodies to 40MP. We’ve been out shooting with a late preproduction M10-R, to give you a sense of what that extra resolution looks like.
To reflect the manner in which the M10-R is likely to be shot by most owners, the majority of the images in this gallery are converted from Raw, with some out-of-camera JPEGs included for spice. Really mild spice.
Please note that the images in this gallery were shot with a pre-production M10-R. As such, image quality may not exactly match results from shipping cameras (but is likely to be extremely close).
Check out our gallery of samples from the Leica M10-R
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
Leica has just released a major update to the M10-series, with a big leap in resolution over the original M10 models. The new M10-R features a variant of the 40MP sensor found in the more recent ‘Monochrom’ version, and includes a couple of the nice extras introduced in the older ‘P’ model. Read on to learn more.
 |
Externally, the only difference between the M10 and M10-R is the addition of an ‘R’ to the engraving on the hotshoe.
Internally, it’s a different story. The M10-R offers a big jump in pixel count, from 24MP to 40MP. For anyone who was expecting the next-generation M to feature the 47MP sensor from the SL2 and Q2, we’re told that the reason Leica opted for a ‘color’ version of the M10 Monochrom’s 40MP sensor is simply size. The 40MP sensor is thinner, and better optimized for use in the compact body of the stills-only M10-series cameras.
Like the original M10, there’s no option to shoot video. There’s also no low-pass filter on the sensor, to really make the most out of all those pixels. The downside to that is that moiré can be an issue in some situations (especially when shooting fabrics).
 |
The M10-R’s processor is the same Leica Maestro II that we’ve seen in previous M10-series models, but Leica claims that thanks to the new sensor, dynamic range has been substantially improved in Raw mode. Despite the significant increase in the size of its files, the M10-R’s continuous shooting rate is 4.5 fps – barely slower than the original M10’s 4.8 fps.
Like the original M10/P, native ISO sensitivity spans 100-50,000 (everything above 6400 is accessed via the ‘M’ setting on the ISO dial shown here) and the maximum exposure time has been extended to 16 minutes (from 4 minutes on the M10/M10-P).
Raw files are recorded in the DNG format, in 14-bit, with lossless compression.
 |
Leica aficionados can skip this section, but for the uninitiated, the Leica M10-R is a rangefinder-type camera. It has an optical viewfinder, offering a comfortable field-of-view of approximately 28mm.
A series of prisms and mirrors under the top-plate (linked to a cam which connects to the lens) project two overlapping images into a small patch in the middle of the finder which, when they line up, indicate accurate focus. This was considered high technology in the 1920s, and still works well 100 years later, once you’ve got the hang of it.
 |
One of the first questions I asked Leica representatives when they showed us the M10-R was whether the focusing system had been revisited to increase its accuracy, given the demands of a new 40MP sensor.
The answer I received was ‘no’. The system was overhauled and improved for the original M10, and has not been tweaked since. From my shooting on the M10-R so far, focus accuracy is about what I’d expect from shooting with the original M10. When working wide-open, it’s sensible (if you can) to focus bracket a little bit, but with practice, it’s not too hard to get focus where you want it, in most situations – despite the higher pixel count. For critical work, the optional Typ 020 viewfinder (shown above on an M10) allows for precise manual focus.
 |
The approximate field of view your lens is indicated in the viewfinder using projected frame lines. You can preview the field-of-view provided different lenses (from 28mm to 135mm) by moving the lever below the viewfinder window (shown in the previous section of this article).
When you mount a different lens, the frame lines will automatically adjust accordingly. To accurately frame shots using lenses wider than 28mm, you’ll need to attach an optical finder to the M10-R’s hotshoe. This image shows how much the 75mm Summilux intrudes into the view, but it’s an exception: most M-mount lenses don’t take up this much visual real estate.
 |
The M10-R borrows from the M10-P in a couple of key respects, one being its touch-sensitive rear LCD. The touch functionality is well-implemented, to the extent that it doesn’t get out of the way of the shooting experience. It’s useful mostly for flipping through images in playback mode mode, and pinch-to-zoom to check focus. And you can tap as hard as you like – the screen is protected by Gorilla glass.
 |
It’s a bit disappointing that there’s no option to customize the touch function. It would be nice, for example, to be able to rate images by touch or use the screen as a focus point positioning pad with your eye to the (optional) EVF.
On the plus side, navigating through captured images and zooming in/out is very fast, with virtually no ‘lag’ despite the large file sizes. Please note that the image above shows the M10-P, and was taken at a time when we could still get friends to hold cameras for us from less than 6 feet away.
 |
The M10-R’s ‘silent’ shutter is actually nothing of the sort, but rather the nicely-damped, very discreet mechanical shutter from the M10-P. While not silent, it is less obtrusive than the shutter sound of the original M10. There is no truly silent, fully electronic shutter mode available, in either normal or ‘EVF’ (live view) shooting.
 |
No surprise here – the M10-R’s battery and memory card are still accessed via a latched door on the base of the camera. Leica will tell you this is to help keep the camera sealed against dust and moisture (which is it, by the way) but we suspect that tradition plays a big part.
Having to remove the base of the camera to swap out a battery or SD card isn’t the worst thing in the world, but it does make using the M10-R on a tripod (or even just in a soft case) more awkward than it probably needs to be. We had hoped for USB charging on this model, via a more-accessible port somewhere on the body but alas, tradition won the day, yet again. There’s no official word on battery life, but we’d expect the M10-R to offer basically the same stamina as the M10 Monochrom (350-400 shots per charge).
The M10-R supports SD cards up to the SDXC standard. In other words, there’s no benefit from using UHS-II cards in this camera. You can do it (and they’re mechanically perfectly compatible), you just don’t gain anything.
 |
The M10-R is fully compatible with the FOTOS app, allowing for remote capture, image review and file transfer to a smart device. A fully-featured ‘Pro’ version of FOTUS is also available for iPad, for an annual fee. The app is shown here running alongside the weird and wonderful M10-D (which as you can see, doesn’t have an LCD of its own).
The Leica M10-R is available in ‘black chrome’ and ‘silver chrome’, for an MSRP of $ 8,295 (the same price as the M10 Monochrom).
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Abstracts appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
This week’s weekly photography challenge – ABSTRACTS!
Grab your cameras and go out and take some interesting new shots of everyday objects. Play with line, color, shapes and blur to create some fabulous abstract images.
Alternatively, crop your photos at interesting spots and create abstracts from that. You could also try some post-processing to completely change the look of your images and make them more unique.
I look forward to seeing your shots!
Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.
Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see. Or, if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge.
You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.
If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSabstracts2020 to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.
The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Abstracts appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
NASA and the ESA revealed the first images of the Sun from its Solar Orbiter joint mission, providing an unprecedented look at our star. The images have revealed a new mystery that scientists have named ‘campfires’ — this refers to miniature solar flares on the Sun described by ESA as ‘omnipresent.’
ESA says the early technical verification phase of the mission knowtn as commissioning has been completed, meaning Solar Orbiter is just getting started. Despite this early stage, the mission has already revealed new phenomena, underscoring the promising results the space agencies anticipate from their joint spacecraft.
Solar Orbiter was launched in February 2020 with the goal of, among other things, capturing images of the Sun at the closest distance thus far attainable. The mission includes half a dozen remote-sensing telescopes and four in situ monitoring instruments for studying the environment around Solar Orbiter.
 |
Data gathered by both sets of instruments will, hopefully, provide scientists with new insights about the star and solar wind. Kicking things off are the ‘campfires’ featured in the first set of images above. Solar Orbiter used its Extreme Ultraviolet Imager (EUI) instrument to capture the images — it includes an imager capable of capturing the entire Sun, plus two high-resolution telescopes.
It’s unknown at this time whether campfires are entirely different than big flares or simply miniature versions of them. Talking about the newly discovered phenomena is EUI instrument principal investigator David Berghmans, who said:
The campfires are little relatives of the solar flares that we can observe from Earth, million or billion times smaller. The Sun might look quiet at the first glance, but when we look in detail, we can see those miniature flares everywhere we look.
The EUI is only one of the imagers on Solar Orbiter; it is joined by the Polarimetric and Helioseismic Imager (PHI) used to capture high-resolution measurements of the Sun’s magnetic field lines. The latter instrument has also provided scientists with another ‘first,’ having revealed a single active region on the Sun that is experiencing bursts of energetic particles that, until now, experts were unaware existed.
 |
‘That is a first,’ said PHI principal investigator Sami Solanki. ‘We have never been able to measure the magnetic field at the back of the Sun.’
In time, Solar Orbiter will reach within 42 million kilometers (26 million miles) of the Sun, covering almost a full quarter of the distance between the star and our planet. This gradual change in distance will take place over the next two years, providing the space agencies with increasingly detailed close-up images of the Sun.
NASA Solar Orbiter project scientist Holly Gilbert said, ‘The first data are already demonstrating the power behind a successful collaboration between space agencies and the usefulness of a diverse set of images in unraveling some of the Sun’s mysteries.’
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a tiny camera that can ride aboard a beetle, offering us a distinct and new view of the world. The lightweight wireless camera can stream video to a connected smartphone at 1 to 5 frames per second and can even pivot up to 60 degrees.
The small camera, which has been used in the real world on Pinacante and death-feigning beetles, records black-and-white images and can even be used in very low light. While an impressive achievement, the specs of the camera itself are nothing to write home about. The monochrome camera streams images that are 160 x 120 pixels.
The device communicates with a smartphone via Bluetooth from up to 120 meters away. In addition to viewing footage, researchers can also remotely control the mechanical arm attached to the camera via an electrical charge. When a high voltage is applied, the material used for the arm bends to the desired position. After the voltage is reduced or altogether removed, the arm will relax back to its original position, like how a human can only keep their head turned for a limited amount of time before needing to return to a natural resting position.
 |
| Co-lead author Vikram Iyer, a UW doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering. Image credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington |
The tiny camera is a huge feat of engineering; the entire camera system, including the mount, arm and necessary electronic components, weighs about 250 milligrams, which is roughly half the weight the subject beetles can carry naturally. Fortunately, the camera has been designed in such a way that it doesn’t limit the mobility of the beetles or harm them.
At this point, you may be wondering what scientific applications there are for attaching a camera to a beetle. The first-person view from a beetle has allowed researchers to better understand how the subject responds to various stimuli and how it uses vision to approach its environment.
Further, by leveraging its incredibly small camera system, the team also built the world’s smallest terrestrial power-autonomous robot with wireless vision. The robot is ‘insect-sized’ and uses vibrations to move. The team hopes that future versions of the autonomous robot camera could be made without a battery or be solar-powered.
 |
| The world’s smallest terrestrial power-autonomous robot with wireless vision. Image credit: Mark Stone/University of Washington |
Unsurprisingly, with a such small device, finding a way to power it proved challenging. Researchers turned to the world of insects for inspiration. Flies, for example, dedicate 10 to 20 percent of their total resting energy to power their brains, which are primarily busy with visual processing. In order to efficiently use its limited energy, a fly has a small portion of their overall vision area which sees with high fidelity. In order to see different areas with good detail, a fly must move its head.
This is where the researchers got the inspiration for a movable arm for their tiny beetle camera. Co-lead author of the study, University of Washington doctoral student in electrical and computer engineering, Vikram Iyer, said the following: ‘One advantage to being able to move the camera is that you can get a wide-angle view of what’s happening without consuming a huge amount of power. We can track a moving object without having to spend the energy to move a whole robot.’ To further conserve energy of the system, the camera system includes an accelerometer, which allows the camera to only record images when the beetle moves. In the end, battery life is between 6 and 10 hours.
For more information, members of the American Association for the Advancement of Science can view the full article in the latest volume of Science Robotics. If you’re interested in other electronics-equipped insects, researchers at the University of Washington attached sensors to bees in 2018.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
While the rest of the photography world is determined to double down on mirrorless camera systems, Pentax has announced its dedication to SLR cameras. In the above video a new microsite dedicated to the new ‘Pentax Brand Vision,’ the Japanese manufacturer emphasizes its dedication to ‘the future of SLR Photography.’
 |
| A product photo of Pentax’s upcoming APS-C DSLR, which is yet to be named. |
‘When you take a picture with a single-lens reflex (SLR) camera, the light passes through the lens, and in turn the optical viewfinder,’ reads a manifesto of sorts on the microsite. ‘You view the image directly with your eyes, and feel it with your heart.’
 |
The microsite notes Pentax was the first Japanese manufacturer to build an SLR and says the company ‘is committed to the future of SLR photography through the continued development of camera technology, making it more fun and exciting than ever before for all PENTAX users.’ From there, under numerous headlines, Pentax explains a number of benefits it believes SLR cameras offer over other camera systems.
Pentax ends its SLR tribute page with ‘The Five Principles of Pentax,’ seen in the screenshot below:
 |
Pentax has also shared a 30-minute video wherein Ricoh Imaging President, Shinobu Takahashi, explains the company’s vision and what it values most in future camera releases:
This kind of dedication to SLR cameras is surprising in a market that’s hellbent on ridding the photography world of mirrors, but it doesn’t necessarily come as a surprise considering how much effort Pentax put into emphasizing its optical viewfinder technology during the development livestream of its forthcoming APS-C DSLR.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
You must be logged in to post a comment.