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Archive for August, 2020

Great Android Apps for Adding Glitch Effects to Your Images

19 Aug

The post Great Android Apps for Adding Glitch Effects to Your Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.

In digital photography, glitches are usually avoided at all costs. However, there are some who welcome the whimsical aesthetic of glitch art. Here are four of the best Android apps that can be used to add artificial glitch effects to your images.

glitch effects

What is glitch art?

Generally, the word glitch refers to a visual or audio malfunction occurring in a media format.

Music, video games, and digital photography; all technology can succumb to glitches. While often viewed as an unwelcome occurrence, glitches have, over time, garnered a growing amount of creative interest. That’s where glitch art comes in.

Glitch effects example
Glitch art embraces the glitch as an artistic event spawned by the development of technology.

Glitch art is created by artists who embrace the nature of the glitch for its aesthetic and audible qualities. By either intentionally creating glitches or capturing them as they occur organically, artists elevate the status of the glitch from a technical irritation to an intriguing insight into the technology we surround ourselves with.

One of the earliest examples of glitch art was orchestrated by the art collective JODI. Founded by Joan Heemskert and Dirk Paesmans, JODI operated on experiments like deliberately causing errors on their website to evoke error messages. From there, artists have adopted the glitch aesthetic as a means of conveying ideas and exploring the technological landscape.

How is glitch art made?

Glitch art can be achieved in various ways.

For example, misalignment glitches are the result of a digital file being opened by a program that is ill-equipped to process that specific type of file.

Hardware failure glitches, on the other hand, are caused by tampering with the physical mechanisms of a machine itself.

Databending refers to the manipulation of file data with programs like hex editors.

glitch effects example
An example of glitch art made with a hex editor.

The appreciation for glitch art has spread across the globe, with many glitch artists sharing their broad range of technical approaches to the format online. And with the growing number of glitch art apps available at little or no cost to the user, glitch effects have been an increasingly popular presence in art and social media.

Now let’s take a look at the best Android apps for creating glitch effects:

Glitch Lab

glitch effects

Glitch Lab operates on the central theme of being “simple to use yet at the same time endlessly configurable.” With an impressive amount of free presents and adjustments available to induce glitched imagery, all alterations can be tweaked with an easy-to-use interface, creating rich layers of visual chaos.

In addition, Glitch Lab offers some basic photo adjustments as well as a Generate function, which allows a user to generate glitch art from scratch, without the use of a photo as a starting point.

Glitch!

glitch effects glitch! app

Simple to use and with a good amount of free features, Glitch! is one of the most popular glitch art apps available. With glitch effects like Scanner, Hacker, and Paintbrush, Glitch! realistically imitates manual glitching techniques. Premium functions include a Datamosh preset and video-based options.

Glitcho

glitch effects

The Glitcho app allows a user to glitch photos and videos in real-time, which can be handy for quick adjustments and previews. The app also offers a GIF-generating function, which animates some glitch effects applied to images.

Glitcho has a range of free glitch presets that can be applied to both photos and videos. The app also offers additional glitch effects that can be unlocked by watching ads or by upgrading to Glitcho Pro.

EZGlitch

glitch effects

Like Glitcho, EZGlitch provides glitch effects to create glitched photography and videography in real-time. The in-app purchases available in EZGlitch are balanced by the range of filters on offer at no charge to the user.

EZGlitch is also equipped with a simple-to-use Auto GIF function to generate animated glitchy GIF or MP4 files to save and share.

Conclusion

If you’ve recently looked for glitch-based editing apps on the Play Store, you’ll have seen a myriad of different options on offer.

While it may take some trial and error to find the glitch app that works best for you, these four apps are a great entry point, allowing for quick and easy glitch effects on your Android device.

The post Great Android Apps for Adding Glitch Effects to Your Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Megan Kennedy.


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Sony Alpha 9 II review

19 Aug

Introduction

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Product photos by Dan Bracaglia

Gold Award

90%
Overall score
Jump to conclusion

The Alpha 9 II is Sony’s latest high-end sports camera and is capable of silently shooting 24MP images at up to 20 frames per second with no blackout between frames. If that sounds familiar, it’s because the a9 II’s predecessor was similarly capable, but this new version brings some refinements and enhancements to make for a formidable, yet compact, option for professional sports and action photographers.

One of the most significant of updates is a new mechanical shutter mechanism that allows for 10 fps bursts: this is significant because if you find yourself in a situation where you can’t use the electronic shutter for risk of banding or other artifacts, the older model could only muster 5 fps which is a bit uninspiring on a camera meant to specialize in sports and action. Suddenly, this is a camera that will give you a solid burst rate in just about any setting, rather than being best suited for brightly lit outdoor venues.

Key specifications:

  • 24MP full-frame stacked CMOS sensor with 93% autofocus coverage across the frame
  • 20 fps continuous shooting with full AF (electronic shutter)
  • New mechanical shutter rated to 500k shots, allows for 10 fps shooting with full AF
  • 5.5-stop (CIPA rated) 5-axis image stabilization
  • Dual UHS-II SD card slots
  • 3.69M-dot OLED viewfinder (1280 x 960 pixels) with up to 120 fps update
  • 1.44M-dot rear touchscreen LCD
  • Oversampled full width UHD 4K/24p video (1.24x crop for 30p); no Log option
  • Gigabit ethernet, 5GHz Wi-Fi, 10 banks of FTP / camera settings
  • Support for voice memos
  • Battery CIPA rated to 690 shots
  • 678g (24oz)
Processed and cropped in Adobe Camera Raw.
ISO 25600 | 1/800 sec | F2.8 | Sony FE 70-200mm F2.8 GM @ 152mm

With some additional ergonomic tweaks, the Alpha 9 II is an evolution of its predecessor’s revolutionary capabilities, but it remains impressively compact and speedy. And, of course, it comes with Sony’s industry-leading autofocus implementation. It’s available now at an MSRP of $ 4499 USD.

What’s new and how it compares

While the a9 II isn’t quite as revolutionary as its predecessor, it comes with some valuable updates.

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Body, handling and controls

On the outside, the a9 II looks a lot like Sony’s a7R IV with an extra pair of dials on the top left. That’s a good thing.

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Image quality

The a9 II produces lovely images across a variety of situations, with great noise performance and a fantastic JPEG engine.

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Dynamic Range

The a9 II’s dynamic range is up there with the best in its class, but if DR is your main concern, it might not be your best choice.

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Autofocus

The a9 II has, hands down, the best autofocus performance money can buy.

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Video

With oversampled 4K video, the a9 II is great for casual run-and-gun video shooting, but it lacks some options that experienced users will miss.

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Conclusion

It’s compact, it’s a great value, and its autofocus system will all-but-guarantee that you’ll just ‘get the shot.’ Read why we give the a9 II a gold award here.

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Sample gallery

Check out how the a9 II performs right here. Where else will you find a sample gallery with everything from rugby to farm animals?

Read more

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon AF-S Nikkor 120-300mm F2.8E FL ED SR VR sample gallery

19 Aug

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The Nikkor 120-300mm F2.8 has all the trappings of a pro-grade lens: it’s unapologetically heavy, offers weather sealing and sports an alphabet soup of special lens elements and coatings in its name. We spent some time capturing subjects on the ground, in the air and – kind of – at sea with this impressive optic. Take a look.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Tamron 24mm F2.8 M1:2 sample gallery

19 Aug

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The Tamron 24mm F2.8 Di III OSD M1:2 debuted late last year alongside 20mm and 35mm options. These full-frame E-mount primes offer 1:2 macro reproduction at an affordable $ 350 price point. Not to mention that they’re extremely lightweight: the 24mm F2.8 weighs 215.5g / 0.5lb. That’s an extremely attractive feature if you’re looking to, for example, hike up a mountain. Take a look at how it handles subjects near, far and somewhere in between.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Spot the differences: Comparing a $430 35mm F1.4 7Artisans lens to Leica’s $5,895 Summilux-M

19 Aug

It’s well known that better optics ultimately yields better images, as higher-quality glass and components affect how the light hits the image sensor inside your camera. But just how much does cheaper glass differ from expensive glass? We’d like to think it differs quite a bit, but a recent comparison from Leica Rumors shows just how close a cheap lens can be to an incredibly expensive lens — one nearly 14X the cost.

In the blind comparison, Leica Rumors put the Leica Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 ASPH lens ($ 5,895) up against the 7Artisans 35mm F1.4 lens ($ 430). All images were shot on a Fujifilm GFX 50R, using the exact same settings. We’ve embedded the images from Leica Rumor’s Flickr account down below, presenting them in the same order Leica Rumors has on its website. You can carefully view and even download the full-resolution images from Flickr to look at more carefully. Following the images, we’ll share what photos were shot on what lens, so don’t scroll down too soon if you want to spoil the surprise.

1-A

1-B

2-A

2-B

3-A

3-B

4-A

4-B

Now that you’ve had some time to pore over the images, are you confident you know which shots are from which lens? Below are the answers:

  • Scenes 1–3 (Leica is A, 7Artisans is B)
  • Scene 4 (Leica is B, 7Artisans is A)

While this is a rather extreme comparison that is by no means scientific nor representative of the build quality or manufacturing conditions of either lens, it goes to show just how far optics, even budget optics, have come over the years. Ultimately, the best choice is the one that fits your need.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Google Images will soon show more detailed licensing information on individual images

19 Aug

Google has announced it will soon make it possible for website owners to display more detailed licensing information of photographs in images that appear in Google Image searches.

Image License is currently in the beta stage, but the company plans to make it easier for those using Google Images to find out how to pay to use images that appear in searches, as well as allow photographers to have their conditions-of-use displayed. The idea is to encourage those using images to pay for them by making it clearer that they need to pay, as well as how to pay and who owns the picture. Although the feature isn’t currently in use, Google suggests photographers should begin preparing their websites for when the feature goes live.

A diagram showing how license information may show up in Google Images once the feature goes live.

Preparation involves attaching licensing information on your website and adding information to each image displayed on the site. Google has shared a guide on how to prepare your site and images in its Image License guide.

How the licensing link will be shown in the Google Images display pane

Google says it will be able to access and display information attached to images via structured data or by IPTC photo metadata to show searchers that an image is available to use. Google will also show a link to the license conditions page on your website if you’ve set one up.

Structured data needs to be coded into the web page, but IPTC (International Press Telecommunications Council) metadata can also be attached to individual images in imaging software before they are loaded onto the Internet.

These changes are set to go live this summer, so we should expect the feature to be activated very soon.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The Laowa 50mm F2.8 is the first 2x macro lens for MFT systems

19 Aug

Chinese lens manufacturer Venus Optics has introduced a new Ultra Macro lens to its Laowa line-up with a 50mm F2.8 model that offers a 2x macro function. The Laowa 50mm F2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO is claimed to be the first-ever 2x macro lens for the MTF system, and has a minimum focus distance of 13.5cm (5.3in).

Marked with the company’s ‘CA Dreamer’ slogan, the lens has apochromatic correction achieved with three extra-low dispersion elements in the 14-elements-in-10-group construction. The company says lateral and longitudinal chromatic aberrations are corrected and that out-of-focus highlights appear free of color fringes. As the lens provides the view you’d expect from a 100mm on a full-frame sensor Laowa says it also makes an excellent portrait lens.

Jimmy Chan Paul Harcourt Davies
Nicky Bay Paul Harcourt Davies

The lens is chipped and allows body-controlled apertures as well as full EXIF data to be recorded in the image metadata. The lens has a 7-bladed iris, a 49mm filter thread and it weighs 240g (8.4oz), while the short flange distance has allowed the company make it just 79mm (3.1in) in length.

The Laowa 50mm F2.8 2x Macro costs $ 400 before tax and is available to purchase now on the Laowa website.

Press release:

Venus Optics announced the world’s first 2x macro lens for MFT: Laowa 50mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO

Venus Optics, the camera lens manufacturer endeavoring in unique ultra-macro lenses, announce the release of Laowa 50mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro APO Lens. The new 50mm lens is specially designed for Micro Four Thirds (MFT) cameras and it is the first- ever 2X macro lens designed for this sensor size. The lens also features an apochromatic (APO) design to minimize the chromatic aberrations across the frame. The ex-VAT retail price is USD 399/pc and pricing may vary in different countries.

1) Focus from infinity to 2X macro magnification

Unlike most of the MFT macro lenses in the market which can focus only up to 1X, the new Laowa 50mm macro lens offers a 2X maximum magnification ratio along with a minimum focusing distance of 5.3” (13.5cm). It has become the first lens ever designed with a greater- than-life-size (2:1) maximum magnification for MFT cameras, allowing photographing close subjects with finer details. The wider magnification range also makes itself flexible for shooting subjects at different sizes. The lens can focus to infinity and serve as an excellent portrait lens with its 100mm equivalent field of view on 35mm sensors.

2) Equipped with a CPU chip and motor (Automatic aperture)

The lens is equipped with a CPU chip and motor and the aperture can be controlled via the camera body. All the lens data is directly recorded on EXIF. Moreover, the focus magnifier would automatically triggered for easier focus control when the focus ring is rotated.

3) Apochromatic optical (APO) design

The new 50mm f/2.8 2X Ultra Macro has a optics design with 14 elements in 10 groups, three out of which are extra-low dispersion glasses to minimize chromatic aberrations across the frame.
This lens has inherited the exceptional APO design from Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra Macro APO, where both lateral chromatic aberration (LaCa) and longitudinal CA (LoCA or Bokeh Fringing) are eliminated.

4) Lightweight & Compactness

The 50mm lens is extremely compact and light in weight. It measures 3.1” (79mm) long and weighs only around 8.4oz (240g). Venus Optics take advantage of the short flange distance of mirrorless cameras and compress the size of the lens to the minimal. An internal focus design is also adopted so that the length of the lens can be maintained during focusing.

5) Compatible with MFT

With the previous success of the Laowa 65mm f/2.8 2x Ultra macro APO which was optimized for APS-C, the new 50mm lens is specially developed for MFT mirrorless camera users. It can be used on Panasonic, Olympus, BMPCC 4K, etc.

6) Pricing & Availability

The lens is currently available to order in authorized resellers and in Venus Optics official website (http://www.venuslens.net/). Shipping starts immediately. The ex-VAT retail price in the US is USD 399/pc. Pricing may vary in different countries.

Specifications

Format MFT
Focal length 50mm
Angle of View 24°
Aperture f/2.8-22 (Automatic aperture)
Optical Structure 14 elements in 10 groups
Aperture Blade 7 blades
Closest focusing distance 13.5cm
Max. Magnification 2X
Focus Manual
Filter thread ø49mm
Dimensions ø53.5mm x 79mm
Weight 240g

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Report: Air Force One nearly collided with a drone, investigation launched

19 Aug
US Air Force C-32A (80001), captured by Kentaro Iemoto and used under CC BY-SA 2.0

On Sunday night passengers aboard Air Force One (AF1) spotted a small object, resembling a drone, flying in close proximity to the right of the plane as it was making its final descent. President Trump, First Lady Melania, and their son Barron were all on board. The modified Boeing 757 landed without incident at Joint Base Andrews in Maryland but White House military officials have opened an investigation into the sighting.

Described by witnesses as yellow and black, and shaped like a cross, the unmanned aerial vehicle nearly collided with AF1 as it was making its final descent. The Federal Aviation Administration (FAA), which receives thousands of reports, annually, regarding drones operating in restricted areas and close to manned aircraft, referred questions on this particular incident to the U.S. Air Force. It’s 89th Airlift Wing along with the White House Military Office stated they were ‘aware of the report’ and the ‘matter was under review,’ according to Bloomberg.

Most civilian drones weigh only a few pounds and aren’t capable of taking down an airliner. However, government research reveals that a similarly-sized bird is could potentially destroy a jet airliner’s engine or shatter its windshield. The FAA does not permit flight above 400 feet unless a remote pilot has obtained their Part 107 certification (in the U.S., similar laws apply in most other countries) or has acquired a special waiver.

As we reported back in December 2019, over 1.5 million drones have been registered in the U.S. and 8,700 incidents of unmanned aircraft flying too close to planes have been reported to the FAA. Of those reports, two collisions between a drone with a helicopter and a hot air balloon have been confirmed by the National Transportation Safety Board. Remote ID, the concept that all drones need a digital license plate, took comments from the public through March of this year.

‘Remote ID technologies will enhance safety and security by allowing the FAA, law enforcement, and federal security agencies to identify drones flying in their jurisdiction,’ said U.S. Transportation Secretary Elaine L. Chao. The rulemaking is currently in development and is expected to be finalized by the end of this year.

Update (August 18, 2020 at 5 PM ET): The original version of this article incorrectly had the modified 747 as the header image when it was in fact the modified 757 plane that was involved in this incident.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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ZTE to launch the first smartphone with under-display front camera on September 1st

19 Aug

The front of modern smartphones is almost entirely occupied by the display which makes integrating the selfie camera an ever more difficult task for designers and engineers. We’ve seen solutions using camera notches, hole-punch cameras and pop-up mechanisms but none look as elegant and inconspicuous as a camera that is hidden under the display.

Some under-display prototypes have already been making the rounds but now we’ll finally have a working production model to play with. Chinese manufacturer ZTE has just announced it will launch the world’s first smartphone with under-display front camera on September 1st. The company says the ZTE Axon 20 5G ‘will be the world’s first mass-produced 5G smartphone featuring under-display camera, marking another milestone in ZTE’s exploration of the true full display smartphone.’

Xiaomi prototype with under-display camera next to a device with front camera notch

Unfortunately no other specs or pricing information has been released at this point but XDA-Developers has discovered a recent database entry by Chinese regulator TENAA that lists the Axon 20 5G as a device with 32MP front camera and a quad-rear-camera setup with 64, 8 and a pair of 2MP modules. Other rumored specs include 6.92-inch HD OLED display and up to 12GB of RAM.

Previously manufacturers Xiaomi and Oppo were the first to demonstrate technology allowing for the front camera to be placed under and capture images information through the display. Prototype devices made an appearance but in January 2020 Xiaomi VP Lu Weibing said there were still too many technological challenged to overcome and a production devices should not be expected any time soon, mainly because the high pixel-density of modern smartphone displays blocked too much of the incoming light from the camera lens and sensor.

However, not too long after this statement was made OLED manufacturer Visionox announced it was ready to start mass production of displays with under-screen cameras. The company claimed it had been successful at increasing light transmission by using different organic and non-organic film materials that offer higher transparency. It also developed a new software for correcting brightness and color casts as well as viewing angle issues to work in conjunction with the new type of display.

In addition the pixel density on the portion of the display covering the camera lens has been modified to allow for better light transmission by reducing the display resolution in the specific area where the camera is located.

At this point it is unknown if the ZTE Axon 20 5G is using the VIsionox solution or a similar approach. However, we should know more and find out what kind of image quality the first under-display front camera can deliver on September 1st.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Exploring the Alvord Desert with Andy Maser and the DJI Mavic Air 2

18 Aug

The DJI Mavic Air 2 offers 48MP stills and 4K/60p video recording in an ultra-compact, folding body. A significant update to the original Mavic Air, the Air 2 is DJI’s smartest drone to date, and includes HDR capture, scene recognition to optimize the look of footage depending on your subject, as well as a suite of safety features, including front, rear and underside object avoidance sensors.

Join filmmaker Andy Maser and drone pilot Alex Emberlin as they use the new DJI Mavic Air 2 to explore the beautiful Alvord Desert in Oregon.

This is sponsored content, created with the support of Amazon and DJI. What does this mean?

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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