Much like a welterweight fighter, a leaf-shuttered camera and a speedlight in a mini softbox throws a punch that is much harder than you'd expect. Even outdoors, in midday light.
Case in point, these portraits of Cuban boxer Osmany Barcelay. Read more »
Strobist
In this article, we’ll give you 8 quick tips for photographing fast action and sports.
There is a lot of value in learning how to make images that work across different genres. You might avoid sports or wildlife images. Perhaps you find landscapes boring. However, each genre requires a unique skill set that needs to be practiced in order to make images that work. When you practice photographic “cross-training” your work in your primary genre will benefit. In other words, get out of your comfort zone once in a while.
Regardless of what you like to shoot for personal projects or commercially (i.e. portraits, landscape, social documentary, wedding, wildlife, etc.) your reflexes and hand-eye coordination needs to be sharp and fast. When your observation skills are finely tuned, you can anticipate moments before they happen.
How can you learn to anticipate action and synchronize your eyes with your right index finger?
A great way to practice this is to shoot sports. Live theatre or dance performances are also useful activities to shoot for this purpose, but sports (especially motorsports) is the fastest of fast. Moments come and go in rapid succession so you get more opportunities to respond than in other types of photography, relatively speaking. Consider that a vehicle traveling at 60 miles an hour is moving at 88 feet per second!
In the eight points below, I aim to share technical settings that are useful when shooting action or sports. Follow these, and not only will you be closer to making images of action and sports that work but your overall technical capability as a photographer should improve as well.
Granted, making images of this type is not easy but anything worth doing should never be easy.
Use a long telephoto lens such as the common 85-200mm focal length and try to get close to the action.
A telephoto lens will give you the flexibility to quickly adapt to the changing situation. Sports move quickly and so must you. On a football pitch, the action may go from one end of the field to the other within seconds.
Depending on where you are standing you need to move quickly as well. A twist of the wrist will get you there with a good telephoto zoom lens.
You can go bigger such as 300-600mm focal length, but super long lenses are not necessary. They are also bulky, heavy, and expensive.
Super telephoto lens can be useful especially when shooting motorsports. A race car or motorcycle on a track moves way faster than a ballplayer on a field. Depending on how much you expect to shoot sports,
you might want to wait on the purchase of a super telephoto.
The shutter speed should be inversely proportional to your focal length to avoid camera shake. For example, a 200mm focal length lens should be shot at around 1/200 or 1/250 of a second while a 400mm lens should be shot at 1/400 of a second, handheld.
A tripod will basically negate this rule. However, some places forbid tripods or it may be unsafe to use one so be prepared to shoot without a tripod.
Panning is when you place a moving subject in your viewfinder and them by moving the camera from left to right or right to left, following the subject’s direction and speed.
The benefit of the technique is that you are afforded more time in which to compose the image. It is generally advisable to place your moving subject off to one side of the frame, and moving into the negative space on the other side of the frame. This gives your subject room to breathe and a place to go, so to speak.
Panning takes practice but it is one of the basic techniques in which all photographers should be proficient. It usually works around 1/60 of a second or faster for faster-moving subjects. Experiment until you feel proficient and happy with the results.
Go to the nearest street and shoot the cars until you get the car in the frame and mostly or entirely sharp.
A teleconverter is a small device that fits in-between your camera body and your actual lens that increases the focal length by some factor. Increases of 1.4x or 2.0x are common. A 200mm lens can quickly become a 400mm using a teleconverter.
Teleconverters have the benefit of being small, compact, and relatively inexpensive (especially compared to 400mm or longer glass). Additionally, the teleconverter will normally communicate with your digital camera and retain metering, autofocus, EXIF data, and more.
Be sure to get the same brand for all your equipment so that it all works together. There are exceptions to this rule but you will need to do a bit of research to sort that out.
The downside of using the teleconverter is that you will lose at least one stop of light. During broad daylight, you can probably afford to do that but at night, you need all of the light than you can get without having to sacrifice ISO. Teleconverters are great little devices, however, you will need to consider trading sharpness for that extra reach.
Consider if you want motion blur (and how much) or want to completely freeze motion. Some amount of motion blur can be desirable in your images so that the viewer can get a sense of the speed and action of the subject.
Alternatively, you might want to freeze motion and keep things tack sharp. It’s really a matter of taste, and how you intend to tell your story through your images and techniques.
To freeze motion you will need around 1/500th of a second, 1/1000th, or even faster depending on the speed of the subject.
My old Nikon FE SLR shoots at 1/4000th of a second and there are DSLRs that will shoot at 1/8000th. Dial in a number, test, and adjust as needed. When you shoot sports, It’s advantageous to use “S” Mode or Shutter Priority mode for best results.
Set your maximum ISO to about 100, 200, or 400. You can go to 800 (or higher) and get usable images but the odds fall considerably against you at this “end” of the ISO dial. Less is more ISO, especially with action and sports.
Using the lowest ISO possible will give you the sharpest images given the shutter speed that you are using. Sports and sporting events are usually colorful activities with lots of details in the frame. Therefore, when shooting sports, you ought to aim to use the lowest ISO possible.
If you are shooting with a really fast shutter speed such as 1/1000th or higher, given the amount of available light, you may need to use a higher ISO such as 800 or 1600 to compensate for the reduction in light hitting your camera’s sensor. You get to make this decision before pressing the shutter on every image. Do you want sharp or do you want to freeze motion or do you want both?
There are limits and you need to be mindful of these especially when shooting fast moving objects.
I hope you’ve found this tips helpful. Are their any others you’d added to this? Please share in the comments area below.
The post 8 Tips for Photographing Fast Action and Sports appeared first on Digital Photography School.
 |
Samsung Electronics has launched the 970 PRO and EVO solid state drives (SSD), aimed at tech enthusiasts and professionals. Thanks to very fast read/write speeds and large capacities they look like interesting options for anyone handling and editing large amounts of image or video data.
The new drives come in the M.2 form factor and with the latest PCIe Gen 3×4 lane interface, offering NVM Express (NVMe) bandwidth. The 970 PRO is capable of sequential read speed of up to 3,500 MB/s and sequential write speed of up to 2,700 MB/s. The EVO models offers the same read speed but a slightly slower write speed of up to 2,500 MB/s. In terms of write speed that equals a 30 percent improvement over the previous 960 generation.
Samsung has achieved this by implementing its latest V-NAND technology and an upgraded Phoenix controller. Additionally, the 970 EVO Samsung’s TurboWrite technology uses a buffer of up to 78GB to enable even faster write speeds.
That said, the new models aren’t only fast, Samsung also claims they are very reliable. Samsung’s Dynamic Thermal Guard technology protects the drives against overheating through temperature monitoring, and a heat spreader and new nickel-coating on the controller lower temperatures further. Samsung’s warranty covers a 5 year period or up to 1,200 terabytes written.
The 970 EVO will be available in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB sizes, the 970 PRO with capacities of 512GB and 1TB. Both drives will be available worldwide starting May 7th, 2018. The Pro model starts at $ 330, while the smallest EVO drive will set you back $ 120.
More information, including full specs, is available on the Samsung Electronics website.
Press Release
New 970 series enables high-performance computing through enhanced speed, exceptional endurance and system design flexibility
Samsung Electronics, today introduced the Samsung 970 PRO and EVO, the third generation of its industry-leading consumer solid state drive (SSD) lineup. Having led the market with the first consumer-focused NVMe SSD in 2015, Samsung continues to push the performance barriers with this latest generation of SSDs that are built for tech enthusiasts and professionals so that they can enjoy higher bandwidth for intensive workloads on PCs and workstations.
“Samsung has led the NVMe SSD industry since its inception, and the company continues to define the latest standards of consumer storage with unprecedented performance of the 970 PRO and EVO SSDs,” said Un-Soo Kim, senior vice president of Brand Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. “The 970 series sets a new bar in all aspects for the NVMe SSD market with groundbreaking performance, superior reliability and best-in-class capacity.”
The Samsung 970 PRO and EVO are designed based on the M.2 form factor standard and with the latest PCIe Gen 3×4 lane interface. The 970 series maximizes the potential of NVMe bandwidth, delivering unparalleled performance for processing large volumes of data, including 3D, 4K graphics work, high-end games and data analytics.
The 970 PRO enables sequential read speed of up to 3,500 MB/s and sequential write speed of up to 2,700 MB/s1, while the EVO features sequential read speed of up to 3,500 MB/s and sequential write speed of up to 2,500 MB/s2. The sequential write speeds represent an enhancement of up to 30 percent over the previous generation3, thanks to Samsung’s latest V-NAND technology and the newly designed Phoenix controller. The 970 EVO, in particular, utilizes the Intelligent TurboWrite technology, which uses a large buffer size of up to 78GB4 to enable faster write speeds.
In addition to the advancements in performance levels, the 970 PRO and EVO deliver exceptional endurance and reliability. Featuring a five-year warranty5, or up to 1,200 terabytes written6 – 50 percent higher than those provided for the previous generation7 – the 970 PRO and EVO are built to last. The Dynamic Thermal Guard technology safeguards against overheating by automatically monitoring and maintaining optimal operating temperatures, while a heat spreader and new nickel-coated controller further lower the SSD temperatures.
The 970 PRO and EVO also provide greater system design flexibility for the high-performance computing systems. Offering a variety of high capacity options in a compact M.2 form factor – including the single-sided 2TB EVO model – the 970 series enables convenient storage expansion across a wide range of computing devices.
The 970 EVO will be offered in 250GB, 500GB, 1TB and 2TB8 capacities, and the 970 PRO in 512GB and 1TB capacities. The 970 PRO and EVO will be available for purchase worldwide starting May 7, 2018, with manufacturer’s suggested retail prices starting at $ 329.99 and $ 119.99 USD, respectively. For more information, including warranty details, please visit www.samsung.com/SSD, www.samsungssd.com.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Western Digital has unveiled a new line of solid state drives in 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB capacities. Called the Black 3D NVMe, this new model is designed for gaming but is ideal for video production as well, due to its key selling point: the ability to rapidly and seamlessly handle 4K/UHD graphics.
The 500GB and 1TB 3D Black NVMe drives have a sequential read speed up to 3,400MB/s, while the 1TB drive exclusively has a read speed up to 2,800MB/s. Additionally, the new SSD is capable of up to 500,000 random-read IOPs for what Western Digital calls “extreme throughput.” That, the company explains, makes its new NVMe drives particularly ideal for multitasking environments that are data-intensive, as well as multi-threaded applications.
“With our new architecture and controller, the Western Digital Black SSD integrates our 3D NAND technology with the NVMe interface to enable new levels of performance,” says Mark Grace, senior vice president of WD’s Devices Business Unit. “Whether it’s a new gaming rig or a video-editing workstation, our innovative NVMe drives will power many existing and future environments that enable data to thrive.”
The drives will be available in the US by the end of the month for $ 120, $ 230, and $ 450 for the 250GB, 500GB, and 1TB SSDs, respectively.
Press Release
PC gaming is increasingly immersive, with richer and more intense visual content than ever before, and gamers are faced with making technology choices to maximize their experience. To push leading-edge performance, lower power consumption and extended durability for PC gaming systems, Western Digital Corporation(NASDAQ: WDC) today introduced a high-performance Western Digital® Black 3D NVMe™ SSD featuring the company’s own SSD architecture and controller. The drive accelerates data for PC applications to enable users to quickly, access, engage and capture today’s high-resolution video, audio and gaming content.
With growing demand for rich content, PCs must have the capability to run intensive applications and enable the 4K/Ultra HD graphics and video content experiences. To move this immense amount of data quickly and seamlessly, Western Digital developed a new breed of SSDs to help remove the traditional storage bottleneck. This M.2 drive features a new NVMe architecture and controller, which optimally integrates with Western Digital 3D NAND. Western Digital’s new vertically integrated SSD platform was engineered from the ground up, specifically architected to help maximize performance for NVMe SSDs, with advanced power management, durability and endurance for the growing range of applications benefiting from NVMe technology.
“Today’s gaming applications require increasing capability from their PCs, and this will only continue to advance. With our new architecture and controller, the Western Digital Black SSD integrates our 3D NAND technology with the NVMe interface to enable new levels of performance. Whether it’s a new gaming rig or a video-editing workstation, our innovative NVMe drives will power many existing and future environments that enable data to thrive,” said, Mark Grace, senior vice president, Devices Business Unit, Western Digital.
Western Digital Black 3D NVMe SSD – Built to Boost Gaming Systems
With exceptional sequential read (up to 3,400 MB/s for 1TB and 500GB model) and write performance (up to 2,8001MB/s* for 1TB model) combined with up to 1TB capacities, the new drive is ideal for enhancing user experiences in gaming environments that benefit from acceleration of intensive fast data. Additionally, the drives feature up to 500,000 random-read IOPs (for 1TB model) to deliver extreme throughput, which is ideal for multi-threaded applications and data-intensive multitasking environments. The drive offers a five-year limited warranty with up to 600TBW endurance (for 1TB model). The Western Digital Black 3D NVMe SSD is available in the U.S. in capacities of 250GB ($ 119.99 USD), 500GB ($ 229.99 USD) and 1TB ($ 449.99 USD). The new drives will be available by late April 2018 in select Western Digital retailers, e-tailers, resellers, system integrators and distributors globally.
Enabling the possibilities of data, Western Digital offers the industry’s broadest portfolio of products and solutions to help people capture, preserve, access and transform their content. For more information, visit our website: Western Digital.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
Halide—the feature-rich third-party camera app for the iPhone—just released version 1.7 which adds support for the dual-camera setups of the iPhones 7 Plus, 8 Plus, and X, using the two lenses to “see” in three dimensions.
When shooting a photo, you can now apply a background-blurring portrait effect or darken the background, similar to Apple’s ‘Portrait Lighting’ effect. But this isn’t just Apple’s portrait mode pasted into Halide, the app allegedly does it better:
In an App Store first, Halide’s Portrait mode uses a combination of smart facial detection and point-of-interest detection to allow Portrait mode with zero waiting; users can snap a shot at any time to get beautiful background blur effects on a subject.
Additionally, the app is capable of storing the actual depth map as a separate .png-file for later fine-tuning of the results in an image processor, and a new ‘Augmented Reality Depth Photo Viewer allows you to “place Depth-Enabled captures like images shot with Portrait Mode in AR.”
Once placed into 3D space, you can walk around and through the captured scene and ‘explore’ your depth map. It’s gimmicky… but actually really cool:
 |
Halide 1.7 is already available to purchase on iTunes for $ 3. To learn more about the app’s new depth mapping feature set, head over to the Halide blog. And if you’re curious about Halide in general, you can read our hands-on of the app’s launch version here.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
Samsung Electronics has launched a couple of new image sensor—both intended for use in mobile devices—under its ISOCELL sensor brand—the ISOCELL Fast 2L9 and the ISOCELL Slim 2×7.
As the model name suggests, the ISOCELL Fast 2L9 is part of the Fast line-up, providing fast autofocus speeds, even in low light conditions. To achieve this, the chip is using dual-pixel technology with two photo diodes at each pixel location. This not only speeds up autofocus but, according to Samsung, also allows for creation of a software-based bokeh-effect without the need for a dual-camera, which is more or less what Google’s new Pixel 2 devices do.
The 12MP sensor comes with a 1.28µm pixel size, which is slightly smaller than the 1.4µm currently used in Samsung flagship phones.
At 0.9µm, the pixel size is even smaller on the second new sensor, the Slim 2X7. Like the Fast 2L9, it is designed to fit into even very thin devices without the need for a camera bump, but this one comes with a higher 24MP pixel count. In low light, the sensor combines the image information captured by four neighboring pixels to increase sensitivity and reduce image noise, a process which Samsung calls Tetracell.
Like in other ISOCELL sensors, Deep Trench Isolation technology is applied to improve dynamic range and reduce color crosstalk on both sensors.
Looking at the technologies used in these new sensors it is evident that as a maker of both hard and software, Samsung is an excellent position to design its sensors with computational imaging applications already in mind. Unfortunately, there is no information yet on when we’ll see the new sensors integrated in actual devices.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
no more modest than immodest. they hold out bravely during the whole of the action. You have strong feelings about poetry, and mark the relief and escape. permitted reuse is defined fast food appraisal report filetype pdf the authors’ choice of user license. And reach’d till you felt my beard; and in my soul I […]
BooksChantcdCom
Samsung has introduced a new ultra-fast, teeny-tiny solid-state-drive called the Samsung Portable SSD T5. This model boasts up to a 2TB capacity alongside transfer speeds that reach up to 540MB/s, making it suitable for editing raw 4K footage and other large files. This drive is notable for its use of Samsung’s 64-layer V-NAND technology, the driving force behind the rapid transfer speeds of this lightweight, pocketable model.
Compared to the company’s own testing with an external 500GB HDD, Samsung says its T5 SSD model is nearly 5 times faster, this despite measuring in at only 3 x 2.3 x 0.4-inches / 74 x 57.3 x 10.5mm. The South Korean company has also boosted the SSD’s durability by using a shock-resistant internal frame, one capable of handling drops from heights as high as 6.6ft / 2m.
 |
The drive features USB-C, and is shipped with two cables, one featuring a USB-C connector and another featuring a USB-A connector.
The T5 drive is offered in two finishes: Alluring Blue, which comes in 250GB and 500GB capacities, and Deep Black, which comes in 1TB and 2TB capacities. All four models feature AES 256-bit hardware encryption and are joined by a companion app that makes them compatible with Android mobile devices.
The models are available as of today starting at $ 130 USD.
Press Release
Built with V-NAND technology, drive features industry-leading transfer speeds with encrypted data security in a compact and durable design
Samsung Electronics today announced the introduction of the Samsung Portable SSD T5 – the newest portable solid state drive (PSSD) that raises the bar for the performance of external memory products. The T5, built with Samsung’s latest 64-layer V-NAND technology, delivers industry-leading transfer speeds with encrypted data security in a compact and durable design, making it easier than ever for consumers to access their most valuable data anywhere, at any time.
“Samsung has been pushing the envelope of what is possible in portable storage and solid state drives for years, and the Portable SSD T5 continues our legacy of leadership and innovation,” said Un-Soo Kim, Senior Vice President of Brand Product Marketing, Memory Business at Samsung Electronics. “We are confident that the T5 will exceed consumers’ expectations for external storage by offering faster speeds and a solid design that is lightweight and conveniently pocket-sized. It is the ideal portable storage product for consumers and professionals who are in search of a fast, durable and secure device.”
Delivering stunning speeds of up to 540 MB/s1 – up to 4.9 times faster2 than external HDD products – the new T5 is designed especially for content creators, business and IT professionals as well as mainstream consumers to give instant, easy access to data. Also, the T5 is smaller than an average business card at 74 x 57.3 x 10.5 millimeters (3.0 x 2.3 x 0.4 inches) and incredibly lightweight at a mere 51 grams, comfortably fitting in the palm of your hand. The aluminum exterior comes in two distinct metal finishes – Deep Black (1TB and 2TB models) and Alluring Blue (250GB and 500GB models).
With no moving parts and a shock-resistant internal frame, the T5 offers users peace of mind as it can withstand accidental drops of up to 2 meters (6.6 feet)3. The Samsung Portable SSD Software4 for PCs and Macs based on the AES 256-bit hardware data encryption makes it easy to configure security settings and receive the latest firmware and software updates. A mobile app5 is also available for Android smartphones and tablets for even further convenience. In addition, the T5 includes two connection cables – USB-C to C and USB-C to A – for enhanced compatibility across numerous devices.6
The T5 comes with a three-year limited warranty and will be available globally Aug. 15 with a manufacturer’s suggested retail price (MSRP) starting at $ 129.99 for the 250GB model. For more information, please visit www.samsung.com/T5.
| Category | Samsung Portable SSD T5 |
| Capacity | 2TB/1TB (Deep Black), 500GB/250GB7 (Alluring Blue) |
| Interface | USB 3.1 (Gen 2, 10Gbps) backwards compatibility |
| Dimensions (LxWxH) | 74 x 57.3 x 10.5 mm (3.0 x 2.3 x 0.4 inches) |
| Weight | 51 grams (1.8 oz)8 |
| Transfer Speed | Up to 540 MB/s |
| UASP Mode | Supported |
| Encryption | AES 256-bit hardware data encryption |
| Security | Samsung Portable SSD Software9 |
| Certifications | CE, BSMI, KC, VCCI, C-tick, FCC, IC, UL, TUV, CB |
| RoHS Compliance | RoHS2 |
| Warranty | Three Year Limited Warranty10 |
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
| Look closely on the 7Artisans website, and you’ll see an as-yet unannounced 50mm F1.0 lens front and center. |
Chinese lens manufacturer 7Artisans made some waves two weeks ago when they quietly revealed four affordable and fast lenses for various mirrorless mounts. Those lenses are available on Amazon and eBay, but one lens is being shown off on the 7Artisans website that doesn’t appear anywhere else online: a super-fast 50mm F1.0.
Unfortunately, all we have is this photograph. The lens looks a lot like the company’s 50mm F1.1, but you can see that lens next to the F1.0 in the lineup, so it’s not some CGI typo. The lens diameter is even different—55mm vs 52mm for the F1.1.
No, this is its own lens, we just don’t know what mount it will be made for or, just as importantly, why the heck a company would choose to make both a 50mm F1.1 and 50mm F1.0—seems a bit silly. Here’s a close look at the lens:
 |
Admittedly, the 50mm F1.1 lens announced a few weeks back is only available in Leica M mount. People would no doubt be thrilled by an equally affordable ($ 370 USD) lens available for the Sony E, Fuji X, or MFT mounts.
As soon as this lens becomes official or pops up on Amazon alongside the other 7Artisan lenses, we’ll let you know.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
 |
Chinese optical manufacturer 7Artisans has introduced a collection of four lenses that are intended to provide low-cost alternatives to branded optics. The lenses are all designed for mirrorless cameras, and the company intermittently provides mounts for Sony E, MFT, Fujifilm X and Canon EOS M users, as well as one lens for Leica M cameras.
The lenses are all manual focus, feature a copper core with an aluminum exterior and some of them come in a choice of black or silver finish. There isn’t much information on the company website but the Amazon sales pages reveal some of their specification.
 |
This lens was designed for APS-C and Micro Four Thirds sensors, and boasts an aperture range of f/1.8-16. It uses seven elements in five groups, has 12 iris blades and offers a 46mm filter thread.
 |
A lens capable of covering a full frame sensor, this 35mm f/2 uses a 10-bladed iris and has a minimum aperture of f/16. It is constructed with seven elements arranged in five groups and offers a 43mm filter thread.
 |
Designed for the Leica M family, this standard focal length uses 12 iris blades to form its click-less f/1.1- f/16 aperture range. The company says it has used a Sonnar design and high-refractive index glass to optimize the lens for use at the widest apertures. The lens has seven elements arranged in six groups.
The current version isn’t compatible with the Leica M4 and M4A, but models from September onward will be.
 |
This is a fisheye lens that the company claims offers a maximum angle of view of 180°. It has 11 elements that are arranged in eight groups, and the 12-bladed iris closes to f/22.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
You must be logged in to post a comment.