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Posts Tagged ‘down’

Lensrentals tears down the Sony a7R III in search of better weather sealing

21 Feb

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Our good friend Roger Cicala over at Lensrentals finally got around to tearing down the Sony a7R III, to see if Sony was being honest when it claimed the newest a7R was much better weather sealed than its predecessor. The results? Well, it’s a “good news, bad news” situation. Yes, Sony was being truthful… but it screwed up in one major place.

You can see the full teardown over on the Lensrentals blog—Roger tears the thing all the way down, even giving us a great look a the IBIS system and how far the sensor can travel—but the TL;DR version goes something like this:

Sony weather sealed most of this camera very well, much better than its predecessor. BUT, for some reason, Sony left the bottom of this camera extremely vulnerable to water. You can see just how vulnerable in the gallery above. Or, if you prefer words, here’s Roger’s conclusion:

Sony spoke truly. Except for the bottom this camera has thorough and extensive weather sealing, as good as any camera I’ve seen. (Before you Pentax guys start, I have not taken apart a Pentax so it may be completely sealed in a super glue matrix for all I know.)

That being said, the bottom of the camera is not protected worth a damn. If you’re out in a sprinkle or shower, this probably doesn’t matter; water hits the top first. But if you’re in severe weather, near surf, or might set your camera down where someone might spill something, you need to be aware of that.

To read the full conclusion, scroll through the entire teardown, and see just how many rubber gaskets and foam pieces Sony added to the a7RIII to keep it safe from inclement weather, head over to the Lensrentals blog.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple will stop automatically slowing down your iPhone, will let you decide

18 Jan
Photo by Suganth

Apple’s iPhone slowdown controversy has reached what seems like its final stage last night, when Tim Cook announced in an exclusive interview with ABC News that the company would give users the option to keep their older iPhones running at full speed, even once the battery had become, in Cook’s words, ‘unhealthy.’

The controversy began a few weeks ago when several iPhone users online shared benchmarks that showed older phones—iPhone 6 and 6s models—were being slowed down to less than half their original CPU performance. This led to wild speculation about so-called ‘planned obsolescence’: the idea that Apple was slowing down phones to encourage users to upgrade to newer models.

Apple admitted to releasing an update that slowed down iPhones whose batteries had become older, but the company was vehement that it was done in the users best interest—a way to prevent unexpected restarts. Cook reiterated this point in last night’s interview with ABC News.

“When we did put [the update] out, we did say what it was, but I don’t think a lot of people were paying attention and maybe we should have been clearer as well,” says Cook, explaining that Apple did notify users, probably in the update release notes. “And so we deeply apologize to anybody that thinks we had some other kind of motivation.”

In the short cut of the interview above, this apology is all that’s mentioned, but a longer version of the interview also revealed another very interesting tidbit: Apple’s forthcoming battery update will let users choose whether or not their phones are slowed down once the battery becomes ‘unhealthy.’

As MacRumors quotes from a longer cut they were able to embed:

We’re also going to… first in a developer release that happens next month, we’re going to give people the visibility of the health of their battery.

[…]

…we will tell someone we’re reducing your performance by some amount in order to not have an unexpected restart. And if you don’t want it, you can turn it off. Now we don’t recommend it, because we think people’s iPhones are really important to them, and you never can tell when something is so urgent. Our actions were all in service of the user. I can’t stress that enough.

Whether or not these changes—and the discounted battery replacements announced a couple of weeks ago—will be enough to get Apple out of a few of the lawsuits currently being pursued against the company is yet to be seen. But for users who wanted more transparency from the company, it’s definitely a step in the right direction.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Famed agency Stockland Martel shut down on December 31st

05 Jan

Bill Stockland and Maureen Martel, founders of the photo-representation agency Stockland Martel, have announced that the agency permanently closed on December 31st, 2017.

The famed agency was founded in 1983 in New York City, where it went on to represent some of the most notable photographers of the last three decades, including Walter Iooss, Art Streiber, Lauren Greenfield, Nadav Kander, and many others. The agency represented up to 25 commercial photographers at any given time across a variety of genres, including fashion, food, sports, and more.

The duo announced the agency’s closure on its website home page, explaining that they have retired from the business with plans to explore different interests, among other things. The statement reads, in full:

After more than three successful, exhilarating, and memorable decades, we decided to retire and begin a new chapter in our lives. We are looking forward to enjoying life at a slower pace, exploring new interests, and spending more time with family and friends.

We have been honored to represent some of the most talented photographers in the industry and are grateful for the trust they invested in us. Together, we built a business that we will forever be proud of, one that endured and thrived despite the many ways in which commercial photography has evolved since we began in 1983.

Stockland Martel has been the center of our lives for so long, and we have made so many wonderful friends along the way. We thank all of you for your collaboration and support over the years, and we wish you all continued success.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple facing several lawsuits over intentionally slowing down old iPhones

29 Dec
Photo by Robin van der Ploeg

Earlier this week, we shared the news that Apple had admitted to slowing down older iPhones—an accusation originally leveled at the company by several Redditors and bloggers who found their phones’ performance had been cut in half, and would only return to full performance with a battery replacement.

This admission, in which Apple defended this ‘feature’ as benefiting users, has now sparked several lawsuits.

Background

Last week, Apple confirmed that older iPhones—specifically iPhone 6/Plus, iPhone 6S/Plus, and iPhone SE—were indeed being slowed down on purpose, but denied any malicious intent (e.g. trying to trick people into upgrading to a newer iPhone).

Instead, in a statement to The Verge, Apple said the ‘feature’ had been implemented, “to deliver the best experience for customers” by preventing sudden shut downs or damage to the internal components that can be caused by an older battery trying to provide peak current it just can’t handle anymore.

This explanation makes sense, and several technologically savvy commentators online (and even some readers in the DPReview comments) speculated that other companies likely do this same thing. But the lack of transparency—essentially only admitting that this was being done after being called out publicly—left many Apple users upset… and a few of them are doing something about it.

And Now

According to USA Today and The Verge, several lawsuits have been filed against Apple over this iPhone throttling. In the United States, suits have been filed in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York among others, but the lawsuits over this admission extend as far as Israel, according to Reuters.

One of the first, a proposed class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles filed last Thursday by two consumers, claims breach-of-contract because users never agreed to allow Apple to slow down their iPhones.

The latest suit, filed by five iPhone users in New York, New Jersey, and Florida, seeks class-action status and accuses Apple of fraud, deception and breach-of-contract for not notifying users that it was slowing down old iPhones. The lawsuit states that, had they known batteries were to blame for their phones slowing down, these plaintiffs would have chosen to replace their batteries instead of purchasing a new phone.

Apple has not released any comment on the lawsuits filed thus far.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Apple admits to slowing down older iPhones as the battery gets weaker

27 Dec
Photo by Marcelo Silva

If you like to use your iPhone as a daily shooter, you may have noticed your older model (iPhone 6, 6s, and SE) slowing way down, making it far less usable. The good (or is it bad?) news is you’re not imagining it; it turns out Apple has purposely slowed down your phone’s CPU. But according to the Cupertino-based tech giant, the change is not meant to encourage an upgrade… it’s in your best interest.

This controversy began on Reddit earlier this month, when user TeckFire pointed out that his iPhone 6s had become very slow, only to speed back up again after the battery was replaced. TeckFire published Geekbench scores as proof, and other users followed suit, showing that Apple was more or less cutting performance in half—that’s not a small performance decrease:

You can imagine the initial response to these revelations. The headlines ran something like this: Apple is secretly slowing down old iPhones, are they trying to force users to upgrade to a new phone? We’ll never really know if Apple’s intent is nefarious, but according to the company itself, it most certainly is not.

In a statement to The Verge, Apple admitted to the slowdown, but claimed it was done in users’ best interest:

Our goal is to deliver the best experience for customers, which includes overall performance and prolonging the life of their devices. Lithium-ion batteries become less capable of supplying peak current demands when in cold conditions, have a low battery charge or as they age over time, which can result in the device unexpectedly shutting down to protect its electronic components.

You can read the full statement on The Verge, but the gist is simple: yes we’re slowing down older phones, but it’s not because we want to force people to upgrade, it’s a feature to ensure ‘the best experience for customers.’

Photo by Jun Seita

The unfortunate part of all this is that the explanation came after the controversy broke. If Apple had been transparent about this fact—explaining the benefits of a new battery and how the old battery could actually cause damage to your phone if the CPU was left to run at full capacity once the battery reached a certain performance threshold—iPhone users could have seen it as a positive. As it stands, it’s unlikely Apple’s statement/explanation will satisfy every old iPhone user out there.

Speaking of whom, if you’re using an iPhone 6, iPhone 6s, or iPhone SE and notice a performance slowdown, it might be time for a battery replacement. Apple charges $ 80 for the service (unless you want to do it yourself and void the warranty), and your phone’s CPU should start running at peak again after the upgrade.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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The Dutch police have shut down their drone-catching eagle program

14 Dec

Dutch police are retiring their drone-catching eagles due to a combination of performance issues and a lack of need, according to a report from NOS. The eagles were originally deployed as a way to intercept wayward (and potentially dangerous) drones, but training the eagles is reportedly too costly, and the need for them is too low.

Various solutions have been developed to deal with the issue of drones flying where they’re not allowed, but the eagles were probably the most interesting, and definitely the coolest to watch in action. In fact, you can see a demonstration of one of these trained eagles in the video below:

Other drone-control solutions involve police drones that launch nets to capture the unwelcome drones, and jamming devices that disrupt a drone’s ability to communicate with its remote control, causing the device to return home. The Netherlands, however, chose to experiment with eagles instead.

Unfortunately, despite intense training, the eagles didn’t always act as intended, reports NOS, citing a statement from a police spokesperson. Given these training troubles, officials worries that the eagles might not perform as expected when used outside of their training environment.

Between this possibility and a (surprising?) lack of demand for drone-catching eagles, the program is now officially shut down.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Lumoid gear rental service has been shut down

13 Dec

Lumoid, a startup that offered photography gear and other gadgets for rent, has been officially shut down. The process had actually been underway for months, but was only officially revealed to the public late last week. According to company founder Aarthi Ramamurthy, who recently posted about the matter on Facebook, the team had “gradually wound down Lumoid” over the last four months, including selling its IP and assets.

The Lumoid website is still live and showing various gadget rental categories; however, clicking on any given rental item shows that it is no longer in stock. Speaking to TechCrunch, Ramamurthy indicated that it was Lumoid’s deal with Best Buy earlier this year that led to the decision to close the service down. The company was ultimately unable to get the money it needed to scale up the business to meet Best Buy’s needs.

Though Lumoid is gone, other camera and lens rental services remain, including the newly merged Lensrentals and LensProTogo, and Borrow Lenses.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon will shut down all sales operations in Brazil at the end of 2017

07 Nov

Just last week, we learned that Nikon was shutting down operations in China, including closing a factory responsible for producing some of the company’s compact cameras and DSLR lenses. But if you thought that was going to be the only closure in the Nikon portfolio this month, think again.

Announced earlier today, Nikon has decided to cease all e-commerce operations in Brazil, where the company ONLY sells its wares via e-commerce. Translation: Nikon will no longer sell cameras, lenses or accessories in the country. Brazilians’ only option will be gray market gear.

The news was announced in a press release that is linked prominently at the top of the Nikon Brazil website. It reads (Google translated and edited for clarity):

As of December 31st, 2017, Nikon do Brasil Ltda. will end the sale of cameras, lenses and photographic accessories in the Brazilian market, currently marketed exclusively through its e-commerce arm, the Nikon Store. The company’s other business segments, including customer service and technical assistance, will continue to operate normally.

The change is part of ‘global scale restructuring’ of the company’s R&D, Sales and Manufacturing, and at least appears to be the first step in pulling out of Brazil entirely. For now, products under warranty and those purchased through the Nikon Brazil Store before December 31st will continue to have access to warranty services and customer service.

Owners of out-of-warranty gear will receive service “where possible” and “based on costs approved by the owners.”

Press Release

Nikon do Brasil Ltda. announces the closure of e-commerce in Brazil

Nikon Corporation is optimizing R & D, Sales and Manufacturing structures in a global scale restructuring.

As part of this process Nikon do Brasil Ltda.—as of December 31st, 2017—will end the sale of cameras, lenses and photographic accessories in the Brazilian market, currently marketed exclusively through its e-commerce arm, the Nikon Store. The company’s other business segments, including customer service and technical assistance, will continue to operate normally.

Products under warranty, including those marketed by Nikon Brazil’s e-commerce through December 31st, 2017, will continue to honor the warranty periods. For out-of-warranty products, where possible, technical assistance will be provided based on costs approved by the owners.

São Paulo, November 6, 2017.

Auster Nascimento
President – Nikon do Brasil

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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iFixit tears down the iPhone X, gives it 6 out of 10 on ‘repairability’

05 Nov
Image: Ifixit

The brand new Apple iPhone X just got a complete teardown from iFixit.com, which rates the device a 6 out of 10 on its repairability scale, putting it on the same level as the iPhone 8 Plus and Google Pixel 2 XL. It’s easier to repair than a Samsung Galaxy Note 8 though, which scored only 4 points.

The iFixit team were particularly impressed with the repairability of battery and display; the latter, for example, can be replaced without removing the biometric Face ID hardware. On the downside, the analysis found that unrelated components are tied together by cables, turning them into complex assemblies that are difficult and expensive to replace.

The teardown also gets us a good look at the iPhone X Dual 12 MP cameras—wide-angle and telephoto, with F1.8 and F2.4 apertures and OIS—and the 7 MP TrueDepth front camera with F2.2 aperture, 1080p HD video recording, and Face ID. Head over the ifixit.com for the full report and lots of detail images of iPhone X innards.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon shuts down camera factory in China, blames ‘the rise of smartphones’

31 Oct

Earlier today, the Nikon board of directors announced plans to close Nikon Imaging (China) Co., LTD (NIC)—a subsidiary based in Wuxi City, Jiangsu, China, where NIC employed some 2,500 workers at a factory that produced compact digital cameras and DSLR lenses. The closure, says Nikon, is due to “the rise of smartphones” and the “rapidly shrinking” compact camera market.

Nikon’s announcement of the closure lays the blame for this cut squarely on the shoulders of the smartphone revolution.

In recent years […] due to the rise of smartphones, the compact digital camera market has been shrinking rapidly, leading to a significant decrease in operating rate at NIC and creating a difficult business environment. In this context, the Company conducted rounds of thorough reviews and discussions on the global manufacturing structure optimization measures stated in the company-wide restructuring plan announced by the Company in November 2016. The Company has decided to discontinue operations of NIC.

Nikon says expenses related to the closure of the factory and “discontinued operations of the consolidated subsidiary” are expected to reach about 7 Billion Yen (~$ 62 million USD).

Of course, the end of Nikon Imaging (China) doesn’t mean the end of Nikon cameras in China. According to Nikkei, Nikon controls 30% of the digital camera market there, and Nikon itself says it will “continue proactively developing business and services in China.” This move is simply in keeping with a harsh if unsurprising (and “old news”) reality: the smartphone has killed the entry-level compact.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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