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Posts Tagged ‘2019’

Sharp reveals 8K Micro Four Thirds camera prototype at CES 2019

10 Jan

Sharp made a surprising announcement during CES 2019 this week: it’s developing an 8K Micro Four Thirds camera, currently referred to as the ‘8K Video Camera.’ YouTuber Kinotika published a short hands-on video (above) with the prototype camera, but details are slim at this time. Sharp reportedly told CES attendees that it will reveal the model’s official specs in Q2, possibly at NAB 2019.

According to Kinotika citing Sharp employees at CES, the 8K Video Camera will support 8K video recording at 30fps in H.265 codec. The model, at least at this point in the development process, is also expected to offer a single UHS-II SD card slot, sensor stabilization, and a large 5-inch flip-out display.

Sharp reportedly stated that it is working on a 60fps recording option for a lower resolution, possibly 1080p. Other features present on the prototype include a full-size HDMI port, audio-in, USB-C, a microphone input, and a headphone jack. Assuming nothing changes by the time an official announcement takes place, the ‘8K Video Camera’ will have a sub-$ 5,000 price.

Unfortunately, the prototype wasn’t functional and additional details aren’t available.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Alleged 2019 iPhone renders show triple-camera arrangement

08 Jan

It’s still a long way to go until Apple’s usual iPhone launch month of September but it looks like iPhone photography fans will have a triple-camera setup to look forward to. A series of renders shared by @Onleaks in cooperation with digit.in shows alleged renders of a 2019 iPhone model with a Huawei Mate 20 Pro-style square camera setup, featuring three lenses.

Two of the lenses are vertically aligned, with the third lens offset to the right under the flash LED. It also looks like the phone’s rear panel is made from glass.

Onleaks notes the device is still in its EVT phase (Engineering Validation Test), so some design details are subject to change as we near the launch. We also don’t know what the function of the third camera will be, but with Huawei, LG and Samsung now all offering triple-camera smartphones with super-wide-angle and tele options, it’s likely Apple will want to go down the same route.

It’s still early in the year for new iPhone renders but @Onleaks has an excellent track record and is widely regarded a credible source, so there is a good chance one of the 2019 iPhones will look very similar to the renders. Given the latter are showing a triple-camera setup, were are likely looking at a top-end model here.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Canon reveals VIXIA HF G50 4K UHD, W10, and W11 camcorders at CES 2019

08 Jan

Canon has launched three new VIXIA consumer camcorders at CES 2019, the most notable being the VIXIA HF G50 with 4K/30p recording and 20x optical zoom. This is the first G-Series camcorder to offer UHD recording, making it ideal for advanced amateurs and projects requiring a higher level of quality, according to Canon.

The VIXIA HF G50 features a Canon 29.3 – 601mm 20x optical zoom lens, 8-blade aperture for still image bokeh, 4K 1/2.3-inch sensor, DIGIC DV 6 image processor, Dual-Pixel CMOS AF five-axis OIS, dual-card SD slots, a 3-inch LCD touchscreen, and a tilting EVF.

In addition to Full HD and UHD, the camcorder supports slow and fast recording with a range of 0.4x to 1200x. The model retains the same general design as the previous HF G40 camcorder model. Canon will offer the VIXIA HF G50 4K camcorder in April for $ 1,099.99 USD.

Joining the HF G50 are the new VIXIA HF W11 and HF W10 rugged camcorders targeted at adventurers and general consumers. Both models feature shockproof, dustproof, and waterproof (to 5m / 16.4ft) construction; they can be used in temperatures down to -10C / 14F. Likewise, both the HF W10 and HF W11 offer 40x optical zoom, 60x digital zoom, Full HD 1920 x 1080 AVCHD recording, 5-hour battery life, and a 3-inch touchscreen.

The two models differ in internal storage capacity: the W11 has 32GB, whereas the W10 only has 8GB. Users can expand the capacities via a removable SD card. As well, the W11 model features an automatic LED light. Both models will be released in April for $ 399.99 USD (HF W10) and $ 449.99 USD (HF W11).

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Happy New Year 2019 and the Ultimate Guides of 2018!

01 Jan

The post Happy New Year 2019 and the Ultimate Guides of 2018! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Happy New Year 2019 and the Ultimate Guides of 2018!

Wishing you the happiest new year from the dPS family. We look forward to bringing you more great tutorials to help you on your photographic journey in 2019!

As a bonus, here is a summary of some amazing dPS Ultimate Guides we published in 2018 that may be helpful for you.

Happy New Year 2019 and the Ultimate Guides of 2018!

Each is available as a free PDF – just click on the ones you want to download below.

The Ultimate Guide to Night Photography
The Ultimate Guide to Taking Portraits and Photographing People
The Ultimate Guide to Street Photography
The dPS Ultimate Guide to Landscape Photography
The dPS Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners
The dPS Ultimate Guide to Photography for Beginners
The dPS Ultimate Guide to Photography Terms – a Glossary of Common Words and Phrases
The Ultimate Guide to Nature and Outdoor Photography
The dPS Ultimate Guide to Fine Art Photography

Enjoy, and if you feel these guides are valuable, please share this page with your friends!

The post Happy New Year 2019 and the Ultimate Guides of 2018! appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

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2019 camera and lens manufacturers’ New Year’s resolutions

31 Dec

New Year’s resolutions

There’s plenty in this world that we’re not sure about (Peas in guacamole? The resurgence of 90’s fashion trends? Pineapple on pizza??) but one thing we’re certain of: a few companies, many of which are headquartered in Japan, will produce new cameras, lenses and photographic accessories in 2019. And just like every year, some will be great, some will be OK, and one or two will be crushingly dull.

Thanks to some early product development announcements we already know a little of what the next year holds in store, but much remains a mystery. We can only guess what the next 12 months will bring – guess, hope, and play backseat camera engineer.

In the spirit of New Years’ resolutions, we got together as a team and talked about what we’d like the major manufacturers to do next year. Things we want to see fixed, directions we’d like to see taken (plus some we’d like to see reversed…) and products we’d like to be released. So without further ado, here are our collected New Years’ resolutions, on behalf of the manufacturers, courtesy of DPReview. Call it wishful thinking.

Feel free to play along at home via the comments.

Canon

Oh, Canon – where should we start? You’re one of the biggest camera manufacturers in the industry, but you’re still among the most conservative. This year you’ve teased us with a range of superb new RF lenses, but we’re really hoping that 2019 brings a slightly higher-end camera to shoot them with. But even as you build out the RF lineup, we hope you don’t neglect EF-M. An M50 successor with un-cropped 4K would be lovely – pretty please?

Canon – in 2019 we wish you would…

Add IBIS to the RF lineup and update your sensors (or buy Sony’s).
Make the RF mount an open standard.
Reclaim your ILC video crown – no more cropped 4K!
Dump the MFn bar…
Make the 5D Mark V a true digital EOS 3.
Think different – embrace computational photography.

Fujifilm

Fujifilm, you’re the darling of camera reviewers everywhere. You’re one of the few brands that, from time to time, still makes products which are better than they need to be in order to be competitive. The X-T2 was a great camera, and you didn’t need to replace it, but you went and did it anyway! The X-T3 was one of our favorite cameras of 2018. It almost made up for the ‘4K capable’ X-A5… But we’re still hoping for more in 2019.

Fujifilm – in 2019 we wish you would…

Make a full-frame X100 / monochrome X100 / 28mm-equiv X100. (We really like the X100).
Continue improving your face and eye-detection autofocus. The X-T3 was a great start.
Make a proper X70 successor. The XF10 doesn’t count.
Refresh your F1.4 primes.
Don’t try to palm us off with 15fps ‘4K video’ ever again. For shame.

Leica

Let’s be honest, Leica – this is pointless. It doesn’t matter what we want, or what we say, or what anyone wants or says, you’re Leica! You’ll just continue to do whatever you want, and there’s every chance that in a few weeks’ time we’ll find ourselves reviewing a limited edition ping-pong-bat-rubber-clad Melania Trump signature-edition M10. And that’s why we love you.

Leica – in 2019 we wish you would…

Stop with the special editions already – this isn’t the 90s.
Make a Q2 – maybe even with a 35mm lens…
Say goodbye to 1950s technology and make an M-mount camera with an EVF.
Give your customers their moneys’ worth and turn camera repairs around in days, not months. It’s not impossible – everyone else can do it.

Nikon

Nikon, you’re getting there. You launched the Z-mount with a bang in 2018, but despite its high-end pricing you must have known that the flagship Z7 wouldn’t be quite enough to tempt professionals and enthusiasts away from their D850 and D5 bodies. Don’t let the haters get you down, though. Keep up the pace and turn the Z mount into the professional system that we know it can be. We’re rooting for you.

Nikon – in 2019 we wish you would…

Keep developing that Z-series lens roadmap.
Bring 3D AF Tracking to the Z-series – in fact, bring all of your industry-leading AF area modes to the Z-series.
Make an FTZ adapter with a built-in AF motor. Carey’s got a 105mm F2 DC he really wants to shoot with.
Make the Z mount an open standard.

Olympus

Olympus – we feel for you. You were among the first manufacturers to create a modern mirrorless camera, and now, a decade on, you’re the only brand that doesn’t (or isn’t preparing to) offer its customers a full-frame sensor. We know that it’s been a tough few years for you guys over in the camera division but we’ve got a few ideas for how you can disrupt things in 2019 and beyond.

Olympus – in 2019 we wish you would…

Start making small cameras again. Maybe an updated PEN-F?
Update the OM-D E-M5 II.
Simplify your cameras’ menu systems, please!
Add PDAF to your lower-end PEN and OM-D cameras.
Add a large sensor to the TOUGH range. You already make the best rugged cameras, why not go one step further?

Panasonic

As you prepare to enter the full-frame market in a few months, we can only imagine that things are pretty hectic in your Osaka headquarters right now. Hopefully you’re not working the engineers too hard, and they get a little downtime to read DPReview, because we’ve got some suggestions that we think might really help Panasonic out in 2019.

Panasonic – in 2019 we wish you would…

Ditch field-sequential EVFs, for good.
Either fix DFD for video, or use PDAF instead.
Now that you’re in the L mount alliance, how about making a full-frame 4K video camera?

Ricoh / Pentax

Pentax, we need to be careful what we say here…

We admire your loyal customer base, and we respect the way that many of them react to anything short of uncritically gushing praise for their favorite camera maker with… let’s say… passion. But we’re also terrified of them. For the record, we like a lot of your products! And we want you to succeed just as much as your customers do. Here are some suggestions.

Ricoh – in 2019 we wish you would

Make a true successor to the K-1.
Reissue the K-01 – just kidding! Give your fans a proper mirrorless camera – maybe the L-mount alliance has room for another member?
Make a full-frame GR to compete with the Leica Q and Sony RX1R II.

Sigma

Sigma, we hardly recognize you. Over the past decade you’ve gone from being a respected but midrange third-party lens maker (and a quietly prolific OEM manufacturer) to becoming a force to be reckoned with in the high-end optics market. You’re making some of the finest lenses available, while still undercutting the ‘big’ brands, often by a considerable margin. How do you do that?

We love what you’ve become, but sometimes love is about being honest. Here are some ideas for 2019 and beyond.

Sigma – in 2019 we wish you would…

Calm down a bit with the ‘biggest, heaviest and fastest’ primes thing and create a range of compact F2 lenses.
Try again with the 24-70mm F2.8 Art.
Follow Tamron’s example and develop some native Sony FE lenses.
Reverse-engineer the Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts and show them how it’s done.
Create a range of full-frame Merrill compacts.

Sony

Oh, Sony, we can’t keep up! At your current rate of product announcements, you’ll have released at least one new RX100-series compact, a GM lens or two and an a7 IV by the time we’ve finished writing this sentence. That’s fine, but in 2019 we’d like to see you taking a bit of a break, making some time to reflect, and maybe reprioritizing a little.

Sony – in 2019 we wish you would…

Create a Cyber-shot RX1R III (with a real battery, not that joke-shop one from last time).
Throw your a6000-series customers a bone and make some new APS-C lenses.
Make your video and stills AF experience consistent.
Speaking of 35mm, make an FE 35mm F1.8. Your non-pro and pro customers will thank you.
Focus on user experience, as well as technology. We get it, you’re smart!

Tamron

Tamron, you dark horse. You’ve been quietly adding some really impressive lenses to your lineup over the past year, including the first ever zoom lens designed natively for a full-frame mirrorless system. Not as prolific as Sigma, or as niche as the likes of Laowa or Zeiss, you’re a good, solid, photographer-friendly company that we think deserves to succeed in 2019. And here’s how we think you should do that.

Tamron – in 2019 we wish you would…

Continue developing full-frame E-mount lenses.
Reverse-engineer the Canon RF and Nikon Z mounts as soon as possible.
Resist the temptation to create large, heavy F1.4 glass – F1.8 is fine!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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ON1 Photo RAW 2019 gets its first free update with tool enhancements and more

22 Dec

Photo software company ON1 has released its first free update for ON1 Photo RAW 2019. The new 2019.1 version features enhanced Focus Stacking, masking and portrait features, as well as improvements to the Lightroom plug-in and enhancements suggested by users.

The enhanced Focus Stacking feature offers more accurate image alignment and less speckling. Users now have the option output as layers with layer masks, as well, for additional manual adjustments. The Focus Stacking dialog and HDR window previews now include panning and zooming.

Other enhancements include better masking results when copying, pasting, and inverting, plus increased face auto-detection accuracy for portraits. The update adds the option to delete face selections, the Crop tool now remembers its preset across images, there’s the ability to import/export the keyword list, and other minor enhancements.

In addition to feature changes, Photo RAW 2019.1 adds support for the following cameras:

Nikon z6
Nikon D3500
Sony XH99
Pentax K-1 II
Fujifilm GFX 50R
Leica C-Lux

According to ON1, it is wrapping up work on its upcoming AI Quick Mask Tool, which will replace the original Quick Mask Tool. The feature wasn’t included with this update due to ‘some fine tuning’ that is still needed, but it will likely be released in a late January free update.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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ON1 Photo RAW 2019 Review

18 Dec

The post ON1 Photo RAW 2019 Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Leanne Cole.

This November, ON1 released the latest version of their standalone-editing platform, Photo RAW 2019. It is a sophisticated program aimed toward all levels of photographers from the absolute beginner to the professional. The program is there to help photographers edit their photos to achieve the best possible images.

Many features in the previous version still exist. However, some obvious changes are in the user interface — specifically, the removal of the different modes you had to switch to as you processed your images. They are now much easier to use, and access to each is all done in the same window.

When you open ON1 Photo RAW 2019

Some of the significant aspects of Photo RAW are still available but have been improved to make them more efficient to use. ON1 have always listened to their users. They find out what their users want the most from the software and use that feedback to make product improvements, via the ON1 Photo RAW Project.

User Interface

One of the biggest changes with Photo RAW 2019 is the basic layout. The Browse section is much the same, except for a few minor changes. However, some of the most significant changes are when you proceed to the photo editing section.

In the past, you have had to go to different modules to make particular changes. In the latest release, you the Develop, Effects and Layers features are all integrated in the same place. You can now move between each of them easily, and more importantly, quickly.

The User Interface has been updated as well.

You no longer have to wait for changes to get saved when moving from one module to another. In previous versions, when you moved to the Layers module, you lost all of the non-destructive settings used to create your image. However, now you have access to them all the way through the editing process of your image.

When you open your image in Edit Mode, you can see on the right side that it still looks similar to the previous version with Tone & Color windows opened first. However, above it, are now tabs for Develop, Effects, Portrait, and Local. When you want to use aspects that are in a specific tab, you click on it and you are taken to it straight away. You can move around them very quickly.

Above those tabs, is a larger one that has Layers written on it. You can now add layers at any stage of your editing and go back and forth between the other tabs as well.

Now layers is in the same place as the other tabs.

The new Layers tab is a bonus because you don’t lose any of the previous edits you have done. As you go back to the other tabs everything you have done previously is still there. You can change adjustments and filters at any stage of the process too. This ability is new to Photo RAW and was not available in previous versions.

Effects and Filters

Nearly all the adjustments are now under the Effects Tab. When you click on Add Filter, a new window pops up with a range of filters available for use. While this isn’t new, in the previous version they were split between the Develop and Effects Modules, and you had to keep swapping between them, depending on how you used them.

In the 2019 release, the filters are all in one place under the Effects tab. Along with the existing filters, ON1 have also included some new ones.

All the filters are now under the Effects tab.

These filters include Curves, Color Adjustments, and Film Grains. Curves is a very welcome addition as it is something that many people use in other editing programs. This filter is addictive. Once you start using it, you want to use it on everything.

Some people enjoy the Film Grain option. It is excellent for imitating the effects of analog film. If you had a favorite film type, you could make your digital images have a similar feel to them.

Color Adjustments give you more options for individual colors in your image. You can saturate or desaturate them. You can also change the hue tones or change the color entirely. If you like that sort of control in your editing, then this filter is perfect for you.

Tool changes

One of the things I have noticed is the tools are now in the left sidebar. In the previous version there were many of them, and as you moved through the modes more appeared.

At first glance with Photo RAW 2019, it appears that there are not as many tools. There aren’t many sitting in the sidebar, but when you click on one, you should also look at the top of the window. There, you can find the settings for each one, and you find other similar tools. You can click on them to use the ones that you like.

Some of the tools are now located in a different section.

If you have used previous versions and can’t find tools that you previously used, go through each one along the top to see what is available. It looks as though all the original tools are still available. They are merely in a new location.

Text Tool

One of the really exciting additions to the latest release is the Text Tool. You can now add text to images. You can make memes or other designs.

This new feature is excellent for watermarking your image too. Love them or hate them, many people want to put watermarks on their work. It allows them to prove they own the copyright if their image is stolen or used without their permission.

The Text Tool also features a range of font options, and you can choose the size and placement. Like most adjustments, you can change the opacity as well, which is perfect for watermarking.

The Text Tool is a welcome addition to Photo RAW and something that many people are going to like.

The new Text Tool is a very welcome addition.

Processing RAW images

Some programs are not capable of processing your RAW files; however, ON1 can process these files with Photo RAW. It can process them quickly, and the file sizes are not an issue.

Many of the modern cameras produce images with enormous file sizes. I use a Nikon D850, and the RAW images are often over 50MB. Each image I have processed in Photo RAW 2019 has handled with no problems.

Lightroom Catalogues

Many people who have used Lightroom for years have cataloged all their photos using the platform. Lightroom users may be hesitant to switch to Photo RAW 2019 for fear of losing access to all of these catalogs. However, there are now some new AI algorithms that power Photo RAW giving the user access to all their photos from Lightroom catalogs using the Lightroom Migration Assistant. The Migration Assistant adds the top-level folders in the Folders panel in Lightroom to Cataloged Folders in Photo RAW. All of the photos inside of these folders are cataloged automatically. Your collections and Metadata changes made in Lightroom are migrated and include keywords, descriptions, ratings, labels, orientation, etc.

Lastly, RAW processing and editing settings from Lightroom’s Develop module including crop, retouching, and local adjustments are migrated non-destructively so they can be re-edited in ON1 Photo RAW 2019.

You can also see the photos you have edited in the other program as well. This feature was an essential development for ON1 because it offers users an alternative to paid monthly subscriptions such as Lightroom.

Now you can access all your photos and catalogs from Lightroom.

Creating HDR images

While HDR Images editing is not new to Photo RAW, the 2019 release has seen some significant improvements to the programs ability to edit them faster. The workflow has improved significantly too.

The process starts the same way – select your images and click on the HDR icon. However, once the images are merged, the changes made to the overall image are not set in stone. Once the HDR is created and opened in the Develop tab, you can continue making other re-adjustments. This feature allows you to alter any mistakes you may have made the first time.

Creating HDR Images is now easier.

The most significant and best change is how fast your HDR images get processed. It is fantastic and makes them so much easier to do. While other programs make you wait (you can make coffee while it is doing the merging), Photo RAW completes the process before you know it. This feature is an excellent addition for time-poor photographers.

Many of the other features remain, and you can choose various options for how you want your HDR images to appear when the merging is complete. If you are familiar with how ON1 does HDR photos, the previous features remain, with the added bonus of new ones that are sure to impress.

Make changes anytime.

Focus stacking

If you love macro photography or are keen to get everything in your images in focus, the Focus Stacking feature is a great new feature for you. Photo RAW 2019 allows you to highlight all the images you want to Focus Stack via the Browse section, and you simply click on the Focus icon. The icon is located on the right side of the window.

Use Photo RAW 2019 to merge images for Focus Stacking.

Photo RAW aligns all your images together and displays a preview of your stacked image. It then blends all the selected images to make a final focus-stacked image. There is a reference panel to ensure you get the image you want.

All the images are aligned and everything that you want in focus is.

Who is ON1 Photo RAW 2019 for?

The latest version has been designed to appeal to a wide range of photographers who want to edit their photos. Professional photographers can find everything they need to process their photos in Photo RAW 2019. If you have many photos to process, all the tools and adjustments that you used in Lightroom are available. Accessing all those images that you have previously processed with Lightroom is simple.

Hobbyist photographers who want more say on how their final images look may find Photo RAW 2019 brilliant. You can make all those basic adjustments, and more. It is an excellent program for learning layers too.

However, the best part is that many new photographers don’t want to sign up for monthly subscriptions set out by Adobe. The monthly expense can be expensive. With Photo RAW, you can purchase it outright and not have ongoing monthly costs. On top of that, with monthly subscriptions, you aren’t paying for many extras that you may not need.

Support

ON1 have many tutorial videos on YouTube to help you learn how to use the Photo RAW 2019 software if you are new to it. There are also tutorials for the latest release.

If you want more from the program and the company, consider signing up for ON1 Plus. ON1 Plus provides in-depth monthly courses on using ON1 Photo RAW and courses from top photographers. It is something that I would highly recommend.

ON1 Plus gives you so much more support.

In Conclusion

The latest addition of ON1 Photo RAW 2019 was thoughtfully developed with the use of current user feedback. One of the great things about ON1 is how much they care about their users and try to make sure their software delivers for their needs. This latest release is sure to impress their users.

If you are looking for an alternative to mainstream editing programs, you should consider ON1. It does everything you need and is a program you can continue to learn. No matter what level of photographer you are, Photo RAW 2019 can cater to your editing needs.

Disclaimer: ACDSee is a paid partner of dPS

The post ON1 Photo RAW 2019 Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Leanne Cole.

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Loupedeck adds Photoshop CC 2019 support to its latest editing console

15 Dec

Loupedeck has announced its Loupedeck+ editing console now supports Photoshop CC 2019. The new support is the result of feedback from Loupedeck customers, according to the company, and joins the Adobe Premiere Pro CC compatibility released in September. With this new support, Photoshop CC 2019 users can edit their images using the software and Loupedeck+ console.

The updated Loupedeck+ editing console was launched in June, adding support for Capture One and Aurora HDR in addition to hardware improvements. With this latest compatibility update, Loupedeck+ can be used with multiple Adobe Creative Suite products, including Lightroom Classic CC, Premiere Pro CC, and Photoshop CC 2019.

The new Photoshop support provides editors with direct access to the photo software’s tools and functions, as well as layer control, configurable buttons for custom actions, smart filter access, and more. Loupedeck+’s hardware controls include buttons, dials, and wheels.

Loupedeck+ is available now for $ 249 USD.

Loupedeck+ Announces First Integration with Adobe Photoshop

The photo & video editing console continues to evolve based on community feedback, now even more adaptable to photographers’ needs

HELSINKI, Finland – December 14, 2018 – Loupedeck, the custom photo & video editing console built with an intuitive design that makes editing faster and more creative, has announced its first integration with Adobe Photoshop CC 2019. This compatibility further expands the product’s utility for editing in several Adobe Creative Suite applications, including: Adobe Lightroom Classic CC and Adobe Premiere Pro CC.

After this year’s launch of the Loupedeck+, the decision to integrate with Photoshop is exclusively based on feedback from Loupedeck’s invested community, many of whom utilize the imaging and graphic design software in their editing workflow. The Loupedeck+ will permit more intuitive and faster editing, providing more accuracy on controlling Photoshop’s functions.

New Adobe Photoshop editing functionalities of the Loupedeck+ include:

Total flexibility with Photoshop CC, allowing image editors to configure Loupedeck+ to match their personal workflow
Intuitive features that make editing faster: swap between current and previous tools, reset blending or to fit image on screen by just a press of a button
Ability to focus on the image instead of navigating: minimize mouse pointing, list scrolling and target practicing with tiny icons
More direct access to tools, functions, layers and other Photoshop options to save time
Excellent layer control by moving, grouping, merging, adjusting opacity, fill, visibility or masking
Ability to run smart filter with Loupedeck+’s configurable buttons
Custom mode that gives even more possibilities for mapping different Photoshop functions on Loupedeck+
Ability to create your own actions and run them with Loupedeck+’s configurable buttons

“In our ongoing mission to make the editing processes of both professional and amateur photographers more intuitive and efficient, we continually work to integrate Loupedeck+ with the editing suites they utilize and cherish most in their workflows,” said Mikko Kesti, Founder and CEO of Loupedeck.

“Members of our dedicated user community emphasized their eagerness to use the console to edit with Photoshop and we listened. Following Loupedeck’s original integration with Adobe Lightroom and recent foray into video editing by way of Adobe Premiere Pro, this next stage of our partnership will continue to support photographers worldwide.”

In addition to its Adobe integrations, Loupedeck+ is compatible with Skylum Aurora HDR while future integrations with Skylum’s other products, including Skylum Luminar, are expected as well.

The device is available for purchase in the Loupedeck Online Store, B&H Photo and Amazon.com for $ 249. For more information visit www.loupedeck.com.

About Loupedeck

Loupedeck, the company behind the Loupedeck+, is the only editing console custom-built to improve the Adobe Lightroom, Adobe Premiere Pro CC, and Skylum Aurora HDR experience, with an intuitive design that makes editing faster and more creative. It allows both professional and amateur photographers to improve the ergonomics of editing, comfortably increasing output. Loupedeck’s hands-on and highly intuitive console minimizes the use the mouse and keyboard, and it works seamlessly with Apple and PC operating systems.

Headquartered in Helsinki, Finland, Loupedeck was founded in 2016 with a highly successful Indiegogo crowdfunding campaign that exceeded its original target by 488 percent. For more information, visit www.loupedeck.com.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Using Face Detection and Recognition in ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2019

11 Dec

The post Using Face Detection and Recognition in ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2019 appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Stacey Hill.

Are you a person who takes lots of photos of people? Perhaps you shoot weddings or events? Family portraits? Maybe you like to capture images of family and friends? Eventually, you end up with many images. Some are easy to sort through when they have only one person in them.

However, what about group photos? How do you tag/catalog/sort through those? Do you have to list out everyone’s name in the meta tags manually?

What if you don’t know all the names immediately? What if you find out later that Heather is actually Helen and you have to go back and change it?

Finally, how can you find all the images with a specific person quickly and easily?

Luckily, ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2019 makes this task easy with the new Face Detection and Recognition capabilities.

How to set up Face Detection and Recognition

1. Open the program and in ‘Manage’ mode, navigate to the desired folder where you have stored your images.

2. Click on an image of the person you want to name and click on ‘View’ to open in View mode.

3. Face Detection identifies the person by outlining their face.

4. If this outline box is not present, click on the ‘Show Face Outlines’ button (or Shift + B).

5. Once the face is selected, we need to apply the name. Click on the ‘Face’ Tool (or Shift + F) and a dark grey text bar pops up under the outline.

6. Click in the text bar and type the name of the person and press ‘Enter.’

7. If you select any other image with that person and open it in ‘View mode,’ it should automatically select their face and apply the name.

A key point regarding the naming structure you use is to put some thought into what naming convention you use and then keep it consistent. For example, something along the lines of: first name (space) last name or first name_last name. Doing so makes a difference later if you are using search parameters to find people.

What happens if you have more than one Joe Smith? What if you start off using only first names and then you have 3 x David, 4 x Michael, 2 x Louise all in the same wedding party? Being as specific as possible when naming addresses this issue.

How it becomes useful

Once the software has recognized the face and you have assigned a name to it, it detects that face amongst all your other photos. While it works across any images currently stored on your computer, the data is saved and applied to any new images you import onto your computer.

Therefore, you should only have to tag the person once. ACDSee remembers their name and applies it to any future image with their face in it.

Now you might want to search for all the images with Heather.

1. In ‘Manage’ mode, select ‘Catalog’ on the left-hand panel. The panel is broken up into different sections. At the top is ‘Categories.’

2. The second panel down is ‘People.’ All the names you have applied to your images are listed. Click on any name, and it goes through the database to pull out all the images with that face present in them.

3. In ‘Manage’ mode, you can ‘Quick Search’ by typing the name in the Quick Search box.

Searching for multiple people

1. Search for two or more people by holding down CTRL while selecting a second name in the People section of the Catalog panel. The software finds the images for those people. You can also utilize the ‘Easy Select’ arrows next to the names to select multiple people.

2. Find an image with two specific people in it together by typing both of their names in the ‘Quick Search’ bar as Person 1 + Person 2 to run a Boolean AND search. It is during this process that it’s essential to understand the naming convention you used originally.

In ‘Manage’ mode, select the folder you want to search in and click F3 to search (or right mouse click and select Search). Make sure you put ‘People’ in the ‘Categories’ section or it will search the entire database and potentially pull up other images.

3. You can also run a search from the ‘Catalog’ pane. In the ‘People’ section, select all the people you want to search for by using the ‘Easy-Select’ arrows or CTRL/SHIFT clicking. Click the gear icon on the People section header, and change the search type to ‘Match All.’

Managing name data

You can edit/change/remove the name data you have stored, which comes in handy if you have to update the spelling on one. Maybe you forgot you already had a ‘Sebastian’ in there, and you need to change one of them.

1. In ‘Manage’ mode, select ‘Tools’ from the top menu option.

2. From the drop-down menu, select ‘Manage People.’

3. A ‘People Manager’ box opens up with all the names you have saved. You can edit each one as needed by selecting them and using the bottom buttons.

Things to note:

1. The naming convention you use is important, so plan that out in advance.

2. If the face is not automatically detected, and you have to create it manually, the software will not further recognize it in Face Recognition. Also, note that if you use the Remove Faces or Redetect Faces command on an image, manual faces aren’t retained. The Rerun Face Detection option remembers them if you edit images.

3. Currently, there is no facility to import face recognition tags from other software (Picasa as an example). However, a search through the support forums has this listed on the ‘Potential Ideas for Future Updates’ list. It also appears to apply to the exporting of images from ACDSee as well, with the intention of retaining the face recognition tags.

4. There is no easy way to establish if there are currently any unnamed faces.

5. If the software has assigned the wrong name to someone, you can remove it with the Remove Faces function. This removes all face data from the selected image, not just the one wrong one.

6. To ensure a better success rate, you may need to manually select several images of one person so that the software can ‘learn’ that face with accuracy. You achieve better accuracy by naming as many faces in the (first) image as possible.

7. You can manually remove the names from incorrect selections and can rescan in ‘Manage’ mode via Tools | Redetect Faces. You need to correct the wrong name, rather than remove it, otherwise rescanning continues to return the wrong name over and over.

Conclusion

Face detection and recognition is a tool that can make life easier for a photographer with many images of people in their portfolio. The ability to assign a name to a person and have the computer run an algorithm to find all the other images is significantly faster than doing it manually.

To be able to search for images with a specific person (or range of people) becomes faster and more efficient as well.

Is it perfect? If I am honest, not 100% all of the time. However, it is easy to use, easy to manage and does a pretty good job for most requirements. It could be useful for many other things that they may implement into the next version.

Right now, it is an effective time saver for the home photographer with photos of family and friends, through to commercial photographers with wedding/event shoots filling up the portfolio.

The previous 2018 generation of ACDSee was the first version that bought a range of features all together in one space. Thus, giving you the capability to manage and view files, edit Raw files, do creative editing with layers, all in one piece of software.

Leading with this Face Detection and Recognition, the 2019 iteration builds on that initial foundation by bringing specific functionality to boost capabilities even further. Thus, making for a compelling consideration for anyone looking to purchase editing software, especially when it is available via one-off perpetual license purchase.

The post Using Face Detection and Recognition in ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2019 appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Stacey Hill.

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Photokina 2019 gets postponed, will become an annual event starting May 2020

04 Dec

In 2017, Photokina’s organizers announced the world’s largest trade fair would ‘reposition’ itself an annual event starting in 2018 and subsequently announced that after this year’s Photokina, which took place in September, the event would be moved to the month of May going forward.

Naturally, it was expected the next Photokina event would take place in May 2019, but plans have changed. According to the German Photo Industry Association (PIV), conceptual sponsor of the trade fair, and Koelnmesse, the event’s organizer, the 2019 Photokina event has been postponed a year, meaning the next Photokina event will take place from Wednesday May 27th, 2020 through May 30th, 2020.

‘The decision to postpone the start of the announced annual cycle by one year is intended to give all participants the opportunity to further develop the new concept for Photokina and to tap into new target groups among exhibitors and visitors in order to heighten the status of the trade fair as a global platform for the photography and imaging industry,’ reads the announcement press release.

From left to right: Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer Koelnmesse GmbH, Rainer Führes, CEO of Canon Deutschland GmbH and Chairman of the Photoindustrie-Verband – The Imaging Association, Jürgen Roters, Mayor of Cologne

PIV CEO Rainer Führes is quoted in the press release saying Photokina 2018 ‘clearly exceeded our already optimistic expectations with groundbreaking innovations and 180,000 visitors from 127 countries.’ He goes on to say that Photokina 2018 ‘set the bar very high for the next event.’

“It is therefore unlikely that, in May 2019 after just over seven months, we will once again be able to create the same enthusiastic atmosphere that characterized Photokina 2018 […] This is why we have decided to start the planned annual cycle in 2020.’

Considering the quick turn-around time from the last Photokina — not to mention its proximity to CP+ in March and NAB in April — it was a big ask of Photokina and its organizers to expect exhibitors, media, and attendees to bounce back with enough updates, products, and cash to fill the floors.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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