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Sony a7S II sends 4K video from the International Space Station to Earth

28 Jul

Last December a Japanese rocket brought cargo 249 miles above the Earth to the International Space Station. On that rocket was none other than a Sony Alpha a7S II, which was soon mounted on the outside of Japan’s KIBO module to take photos and videos of the mothership, so to speak.

Mounting a camera to a space station isn’t like putting a GoPro on your handlebars – the a7S II is enclosed in a specially designed aluminum housing with a radiator to keep it at a comfortable temperature in the vacuum of space. It’s mounted on a two-axis gimbal so, unlike prior cameras on the ISS, it’s not constantly looking straight down. The camera itself is basically the same as what you could buy off the shelf, and has an FE 28-135 F4 G OSS power zoom lens attached.

Head on over to Sony’s website to learn more about why the company’s high-sensitivity full-frame camera was chosen and how it all works. You can also find additional 4K videos to enjoy.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Pursuit: A spectacular storm-chasing time-lapse made from 90,000 photos

27 Jul

Storm chaser and award-winning photographer Mike Oblinski has done it again: he’s created a time-lapse that will blow you away. Captured over the course of three months, across 10 states, and involving 28,000 miles of driving and over 90,000 time-lapse frames, Pursuit is the result of utter determination.

Oblinski tells the story behind this time-lapse in the video’s description, explaining how this season of storm chasing nearly broke him.

After 12 straight days on the road and away from his family, he left once again, just 24 hours after getting home, to chase another storm on June 12th. But doubt got the better of him, and he found himself 80 miles away from the spot he needed to get to.

“I got back in the car and as I drove, the pain got the better of me and the tears came,” he writes. “It may not be easy to understand why, but when you work as hard as I did this spring, a moment like that can break you. I felt like I let my wife down. But mostly I let myself down. I forgot who I was and that’s not me. Or it shouldn’t have been me. I failed myself. And it seemed like the easy choice to just give up and head for home.”

But he didn’t head for home, he decided to keep going, got out ahead of the storm, and captured one of the best structures he’d seen all spring.

The result of that decision not to give up, to keep on going even when it seemed like he had utterly failed, is one of Oblinski’s best time-lapse films yet… and that’s saying something if you know his previous work.

To see more from Oblinski’s portfolio, head over to his website or give him a follow on Facebook and Instagram.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Ten things we’re hoping for from the Nikon D850

25 Jul

Ten things we’re hoping for from the Nikon D850

Nikon has announced the development of a the D850 – the long-awaited successor to the D810. As we’ve come to expect from such announcements in the past, Nikon is being vague on exact details, but promises that the D850 will be ‘a formidable tool for creators who will not compromise on exceptional image quality and versatility.’

We don’t have detailed specs yet, so until more details emerge, we’ve made a wish list. Click through for ten features that we’re hoping to see either added or improved in the forthcoming D850. Feel free to add your own suggestions in the comments.

More pixels (but not too many more)

A well-processed Raw file from the D810’s 36MP sensor contains a lot of detail, but we’d expect the D850 to offer at least a modest increase in pixel count.

The D810’s resolution of 36MP is more than enough for most applications, but we’d be surprised if the D850 doesn’t come with a higher megapixel sensor. In general, more pixels means better images, but we hope that the increase in resolution is reasonably modest. After all, 36MP is fine, and more pixels = bigger file sizes, and more work for the camera’s processor.

The same or better low ISO DR

This shot from the D810 was exposed for the highlights at ISO 64 and selectively pushed by 4EV – while retaining highlights – post-capture.

One of our favorite things about the D810 is its incredible dynamic range at its true ‘base’ ISO of 64. If you’re a regular lurker in DPR comments threads you’ll know that whether or not you need more DR is still (for some reason) a topic of hot debate. We’ll save you a lot of research and just say once and for all that more dynamic range is always a good thing. More DR means greater potential for capturing a wider range of tones in a single, clean, exposure. In fact, ISO 64 on the D810 allows it to compete with medium-format image quality.

If you’re still unconvinced, read this.

The D5’s autofocus system

The D5’s 153-point AF system is superbly versatile, and much more effective in poor light than the D810’s older system.

It’s a pretty safe bet that the D5’s 153-point autofocus system will find its way into the D850. The D5 (and the D500, which uses the same AF array) offers truly state-of-the-art autofocus, including excellent accuracy in poor light (not a strength of the D810) and an extraordinarily capable 3D AF tracking system.

There’s a common misconception that AF tracking is only really useful when shooting sports, action and wildlife, but we’ve come to appreciate it for portraiture, too. Especially for kids and babies, who don’t always stand as still as photographers would like.

4K video

The D500 and D5 offer 4K video capture, with some restrictions – we’re hoping that the D850 improves on their video specification.

The D850 will probably offer some flavor of 4K video capture. If it does end up with a 42MP sensor like the one on the Sony a7R II, we’d love to see D850 provide the same kind of video resolution options as that camera, with full-frame 4K plus an option for higher-quality oversampled 4K with a Super 35 crop.

Even if the D850 doesn’t ship with a7R II-style 4K feature suite, we’d at least hope for the addition of more sophisticated highlight warnings, plus focus peaking, which is a glaring omission from the D500 and D5. Oh and the reason we’re not clamoring for on-sensor masked PDAF: the artifacts it can result in with most mirrorless cameras when shooting into back-light.

XQD support

CompactFlash has been around a long time, but XQD cards are the future. The D500 offers one XQD slot and one SD slot – we’d expect the D850 to provide the same configuration.

It’s had a good run, and honestly it’s hung around for a lot longer than we thought it would, but the venerable CompactFlash memory format has had its day. The XQD media used in the D500 and D5 is smaller, mechanically simpler, and much, much faster.

Since Nikon is pitching the D850 as having ‘high-speed capabilities,’ we’d expect that the D850 will at least offer a single XQD slot, probably with an SD slot as backup/overflow (like the D500).

An articulated, touch-sensitive LCD

The D500’s rear screen is touch-sensitive and semi-articulating. We’re hoping to see the same screen on the D850.

We’d expect the D850’s rear screen to at least offer the 2.36M-dot resolution and limited touch-sensitivity features of the D5, but we’re really hoping that it’s articulated, too. While potentially less robust than fixed displays, tilting screens are much more useful, especially for landscapes, and indeed any tripod-mounted shooting from low or high angles.

Proper electronic first-curtain shutter implementation

This is what mirror/shutter shock looks like at its worst. We’re hoping the D850 offers a more effective electronic first curtain shutter feature.

The D810 improved on the D800-series by offering electronic first-curtain shutter (EFCS) to reduce the risk of shutter shock, but in our opinion, it didn’t go far enough.

With the D850, we’d love to see Nikon implement this feature properly, which means decoupling it from the mirror lock-up drive mode. Essentially it could operate much like the existing exposure delay mode, but with a much shorter delay. When the shutter button is pressed, the shutter and mirror would lock up, and the exposure would be started electronically a fraction of a second later.

We’ve found even a quarter of a second (or less) to be long enough to allow mirror vibrations to die out. A proper EFCS implementation would go a long way to avoiding mirror and shutter-related shake, especially some of the odd results we saw with some Nikon VR lenses.

Built-in Wi-Fi (and improved SnapBridge)

Snapbridge has improved since we first encountered it in the D500, but it’s still not great. We’d expect some degree of built-in connectivity but are hoping Nikon has made a fair few steps forward.

The D810 arrived before built-in Wi-Fi was widespread in Nikon’s lineup and we’d expect the D850 to offer built-in connectivity of some kind, as opposed to being limited to using external Wi-Fi modules. Nikon’s beginner-focused ‘SnapBridge’ system provides full-time Bluetooth connection but it offers limited access to, or control over, Wi-Fi. As such, it would seem like an odd fit for a camera that promises both high speed and high resolution capture (but hey – Nikon put it into the D500, so who knows?)

If present, we’d expect the D850 to feature Nikon’s full ‘SnapBridge’ suite, which includes Wi-Fi, Bluetooth and NFC. We can only hope that the company continues its efforts to improve the system.

Improved Auto AF Fine Tune

Auto AF Fine Tune is a great feature, but there’s room for improvement. We’re hoping that Nikon has refined it in the D850.

The D5 and D500 offer automated AF point calibration, but it’s not as useful – or as easy to use – as we’d like. Since higher resolution bodies require even greater AF precision, we’d love for Nikon to do some work on this feature in the D850. Specifically, we’d like to see the Auto AF Fine Tune extended to all AF points, not just the center point, and we’d like to be able to calibrate for different subject distances, and for ends of a zoom lens’s range. We’d also like calibration to be made more consistent – often the obtained value varies every time you try it.

In theory, if Auto AF Fine Tune could be improved along these lines, the D850 owner would be able to all-but guarantee accurate autofocus on each of his/her lenses, in any shooting condition. This has become expected, thanks to mirrorless.

Smaller body, illuminated controls

If you’ve ever shot at night, or early in the morning, you’ll appreciate the value of backlit controls. Will the D850 inherit this feature from the D5 and D500? We hope so.

The D810 is a pretty beefy camera, and not the most comfortable DSLR to hold and use for extended periods of time. We’re really hoping that the Nikon D850 gets slimmed-down a little, in the same way as we’ve seen with the D750 and D7500.

Another feature that we’d like to see included in the D850 is backlit controls. The ability to illuminate key control points in the D5 and D500 is extremely useful for low light and night shooting.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Learning to ‘see’ light, tips from a National Geographic photographer

24 Jul

National Geographic photographer Bob Holmes takes stunning photos all over the world. But when you ask him how he captures these images, he won’t tell you about his favorite lens or any specific technique he uses. He’ll talk to you about what he sees. He’ll talk to you about light.

That was the subject of a recent conversation he had with Marc Silber of Advancing Your Photography: light. “Most people ‘look’ and don’t really ‘see.’ You’ve got to learn to see,” says Holmes. “We all look, everybody looks, but you’ve got to go beyond that and analyze what you’ve seen… to start with anyway.”

Once you acquire this ability to ‘see,’ explains Holmes, photography becomes about reacting to and capturing what’s in front of you—the camera is no longer ‘in the way.’

The duo goes on to talk about learning about light from iconic painters, and why it’s important to find work that speaks to you and try to unpack why exactly the lighting, composition, subject etc. evokes a certain emotion. The whole conversation, about 10 minutes long, is well worth your time and packed full of little gems. Check it out up top and let us know what you think in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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7 Travel Photography Tips I’ve Learned from People in the Industry

20 Jul

Like any profession, over the years and countless hours of working and talking to people in the industry, you will pick up tips, advice and even things to avoid. This will ultimately help you improve and possibly make your photography business more profitable. Here are some of the main tips that I have picked up over the years from people in the travel photography industry.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry - new zealand

#1 – Blue Sells

If you were to line up a whole load of travel magazines next to each other, you will notice that the vast majority of their front covers have something in common, the color blue. Whether it is the sky or water, magazine covers tend to feature photos of gorgeous sunny days rather than moody, dark and atmospheric conditions.

I had always noticed that my “gorgeous sunny weather” shots outsold the photos with other types of conditions. But it wasn’t until the editor of a travel magazine told me the reason that I understood why. They found that historically, issues with beautiful sunny shots on the front cover sold much better than issues with dark and moody conditions. The reason is that most people going about their day aspire for tranquil and beautiful holiday conditions. So, while a stormy landscape photo might look more dramatic and striking, the average holidaymaker doesn’t want to go somewhere and experience a storm.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry - Scotland

#2 – Avoid “Tourist” Shots

I remember asking a picture editor once for the single biggest piece of advice they could give me and they responded with, “Don’t send me tourist shots.” But what does that mean? After all, if you are in a city and have to photograph the most famous landmark then how do you avoid tourist shots. Once I delved in a little deeper, I realized what he meant was that he didn’t want just another shot of the famous landmark taken at eye level because he could get thousands of them through any stock agency.

Instead, he wanted to see a photo that demonstrated an experience, feeling or mood. This was a few years back and more and more I have been asked by picture editors and stock agencies I work with to try to show these “experiences” in the photos. So rather than taking a photo of the landmark, it might be worth photographing a couple enjoying an ice cream in its shadow. The key is to look beyond the obvious shot and look for a moment or composition that can convey an emotion.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry Turkey

#3 – Give Them People

Often the easiest way to capture unique photos that don’t look like tourist shots is to include people. But including people in your photos can also convey a sense of scale, portray an emotion or a feeling and often tell a much more intriguing story. One of the best bits of advice I was given was that including people can also help you capture different types of shots from the same location. That, in turn, means you can maximize your stock shots from a single location.

For example, take any scene in front of you. If you capture that scene with a couple admiring the view holding hands it tells a completely different story than capturing the scene with someone running or cycling. So you suddenly go from one photograph per location to three. Move slightly around the scene and capture a few different scenarios and you can suddenly end up with a whole load of different stories from practically the same spot. As any stock photographer will tell you, it’s a numbers game and the more photos you have the better your chances of selling some.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry Turkey

Taken from the same location as the photo above but a completely different message.

#4 – Check Every Photo, Every Time

Photography is a competitive industry. You are often competing with pretty much everyone with a camera to try and get work or make sales. The last thing you want to happen is to have a photo that has been chosen by a client come back to you because it isn’t focused properly or you haven’t removed the dust particles. Not only is it embarrassing, but it can also hurt your chances of working with that client further down the line.

So don’t try and cut corners. You worked hard to capture the photo so do it justice and make sure it looks its best when it’s going in front of someone else. Check every inch of the photos you intend to send out to clients. View them at 100% in post-production and make any corrections or edit as necessary. Be professional in your approach from start to the finish.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry

#5 – Face the Opposite Way

It doesn’t matter where you are in the world, there will usually be a spot marked “sunset viewpoint” or similar where everyone will go to capture their photos. Often this is because that particular spot offers the best view. But sometimes it is because it is the easiest and most convenient place for lots of people to get to or stand.

One bit of advice that has been floating around for many years and has been said by numerous photographers, is that when you get to one such location, face the other way. Go against the crowd and photograph what is behind everyone. Clearly this advice shouldn’t be taken literally as sometimes photographing the other way wouldn’t give a good photo. The point is to look beyond the first and most obvious location and viewpoint.

If you are prepared to do your research beforehand and are willing to put more of an effort in than the average tourist, you will undoubtedly end up with better photos.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry

#6 – Step Closer

The world famous war photographer, Robert Capa said, “If your pictures aren’t good enough, you aren’t close enough.”. This is something that most amateur photographers struggle with for travel photography and photographing people. It often means having to get close to your subject and they then might notice you.

The truth is that usually, the worst that can happen is that the person you want to photograph will just say no. But getting closer means having to be right in the middle of the action and that you also have to engage with that person and build a connection, if even briefly. This, in turn, will transfer into your photographs and give you a much better and more intimate photo than if you were standing 300 yards away with a telephoto lens.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry - Italy

#7 0 Don’t Be Shy

One of the biggest things that you may realize as a photographer is how accommodating and intrigued most people are about your profession. I have not kept a tally of the number of conversations I’ve had with total strangers all based around photography, but it’s been a lot. One thing I learned is that sometimes when you have a camera on your shoulder it can work to your advantage (and sometimes it can work against you) as people may help you capture the photo that you want to take.

But you have to be willing to ask. If you don’t ask you will not get. For example, one of the best places to take photographs of a city is from your hotel room. I’ve lost count of the number of times that I have been upgraded to a room with a better view by simply asking and explaining the reason for it. This extends to if you want to photograph people, places, and so on. Don’t be shy, just ask. The worst that could happen is being told no.

7 Travel Photography Tips I've Learned from People in the Industry Thailand

I took this photo of the Bangkok skyline from my hotel room.

Conclusion

Over the years you will pick up your own tips and advice that you have been given or have derived from your own experiences. In the meantime, hopefully, the ones above can be as helpful to you as they have been for me.

Do you have any other bits of advice that you have been given? Please share below.

The post 7 Travel Photography Tips I’ve Learned from People in the Industry by Kav Dadfar appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

19 Jul

The worst part about taking photos of monuments and city streets is that you always get cars and people blocking the architecture behind them. It can be very distractive, and they take away from the real subject. In this Photoshop tutorial, you will learn a technique that will allow you to quickly remove people and cars from your photos. You do need to plan ahead and take multiple photos, but the results will be amazing!

Photoshop has this little-known feature that has been around for over a decade called Image Stack Modes.
The Image Stack Modes are sort of like a Blending Mode that blends layers inside of a Smart Object in a certain way depending on the algorithm that you select.

One of those Stack Modes is Median, which takes a statistical average of the content found in all the photos in the stack. It will keep identical areas and remove everything that changes between the different shots. It is very likely that cars and people will move and change locations from one shot to the next. Thus, you can remove people and unwanted traffic when the algorithm is applied, leaving only the background.

The tricky part is to get the right photos for this Stack Mode to work. Ideally, you should take your photos on a tripod so that the images line up better during the blend. However, if you do not have a tripod, hold your camera as steady as possible when shooting your images and you will still get great results.

The pictures that we will be using in this tutorial were shot by hand with a mobile phone. I wanted to use photos that were less than perfect so that you could see the power of this technique.

How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

When you take your photos, wait about 20 seconds or so in between each shot. You want to give people and cars enough time to move. In most cases, you will need between 8 to 25 photos.

Bring Your Photos into a Single Photoshop Document

The first step is to bring the image files into Photoshop as layers in a single document. To do so, go to File > Scrips > Load Files into Stack…

In the “Load Layers” window select “Folder” from the “Use” drop down. Then click on the “Browse” button, and look for the folder containing your images. Press OK after you have selected the folder.

The file names will appear within the window (as shown below). If all the files are there, press the OK button. Photoshop will then take all the files and place them in a single document as layers.

How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

Auto-aligning Layers

For the Image Stack to work, the layers need to be aligned as best as possible. If you used a tripod when shooting the images, then your layers should already be aligned. The photos used in this tutorial were shot without a tripod, so we will need Photoshop to align them for us.

To align the layers, select them all by pressing Cmd + Option + A (Ctrl + Alt + A on PC). Then go to the Edit menu and select “Auto-Align Layers.” Make sure that “Auto” is selected, and press “OK.” Photoshop will then look through all your layers to find similar pixels and align them accordingly.

How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

Put Aligned Layers into a Smart Object

Now that all the layers are aligned, you need to put them into a Smart Object so that you can apply the Stack Mode. Select all your layers again by pressing Cmd + Option + A (Ctrl + Alt + A on PC). Then right-click the space on the left side of any selected layers and choose “Convert to Smart Object.”

You should now only have a single Smart Object in your Layers Panel.

The Median Stack Mode

Now that all the layers are inside a Smart Object you can control how the set blends by using a “Stack Mode.” Go to Layer > Smart Objects > Stack Mode > Median.

This Stack Mode takes a statistical average of the content found in all the photos. It keeps identical areas and removes everything that changes between the different shots, such as people walking through the scene.

Faster Way of Doing This – The Statistics Script

You can get to this point in the tutorial by only using one single command!

The reason that I took the long approach was so that you could see what Photoshop was doing behind the scenes. If you get into trouble, then you’ll know what the steps were to create the effect, and you can backtrack to fix the problem.
To do this whole process in a single command, go to File > Scripts > Statistics…

In the Image Statistics window, select Folder you want to use. Click on the Browse button to find the images that you want to use in the Image Stack.

Once the images load, select Median as the Stack Mode, and check “Attempt to Automatically Align Source Images.”

How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

This will Auto-Align the images, put them in a Smart Object using the Median Stack Mode. Getting you to this part of the demo all within one window!

How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

Fixing Image Stack Errors

Problems may arise when dealing with background elements that are always moving, such as water, clouds, or flags. In this example, the two flags on top of the Tribune Tower disappear. We can bring them back by copying and pasting a flag from one of the original images.

To see the original images, go to Layer > Smart Object > Edit Contents. A new tab will open that contains the contents of the Smart Object. Then look through your layers to see which of the original layers contains the best version of the item you would like to replace.

Select the Lasso Tool and make a selection around the objects. With the selection active press Cmd/Ctrl + C to copy.

How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

Go back to the working document and press Cmd/Ctrl + Shift + V to “Paste in Place.” Repeat these steps with any other object that you need to fix.

Create a Smart Object to Hold it All Together

Select the all the layers by pressing Cmd + Option + A (Ctrl + Alt + A on a PC), right-click on the side of any selected layer and choose “Convert to Smart Object.” This Smart Object can now be adjusted or manipulated as if it were a single layer. You can apply the Camera RAW filter non-destructively to enhance the image color and tone.

Camera RAW Filter to Adjust Tones and Color

Select the Smart Object containing all the layers and open Adobe Camera Raw by going to: Filter > Camera RAW. This filter works a lot like Adobe Lightroom. The controls are in a similar layout and do the same things. Lightroom is built from the Camera RAW engine, so it will be familiar to you if you are a Lightroom user.

How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

You can create an HDR effect by darkening the Highlights and brightening the Shadows. Slide the Highlights slider to the left, and the Shadows slider to the right. Slide the Clarity slider to the right. Clarity adds contrast to the mid-tones.

Finalize the effect by adding Vibrance which is a controlled saturation. Vibrance adds less saturation to already saturated areas, and it protects skin tones in portraits.

Crop Your Photo

If you did not use a tripod, you will see that the edges of the photo are likely misaligned. To remove these imperfections, you can simply crop them out by using the Crop Tool. Press C on the keyboard, then use the handles to adjust the size of the crop. Press Return when you’re done.

This is how the final image looks:

How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop

Conclusion

Give this technique for and go try and remove people and cars from your images. Let me know how you make out and if you have any questions, please post them in the comments area below.

The post How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop by Jesus Ramirez appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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This Olympus OM-D E-M5, lenses and accessories are made entirely from paper

18 Jul

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Japanese paper artist Kamihasami (his artist name means ‘paper-scissors’ in Japanese) has recreated the Olympus OM-D E-M5, a few lenses, and accessories using nothing but paper and paste.

The faithful recreation is identical to the original models, and includes things like an SD card, battery and battery charger, underwater housing, and flash. In fact, the models are so precise that the paper lenses can be attached to and removed from the paper camera body!

According to Kamihasami’s website, the entire creation process for this artwork took more than three months. Fortunately, his effort was not a waste, the paper OM-D E-M5 earned Kamihasami an award in the prestigious Kamiwaza Grand Prix competition.

To see more of Kamihasami’s paper artwork, visit his website or follow his page on Facebook.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Google taught an AI to create pro-level photos from Street View imagery

18 Jul

Google is in possession of vast amounts of Earth imagery via its Street View product, and now it is testing machine learning as a way to harvest ‘professional-level photographs’ from that imagery. As detailed in a newly-published study, Google researchers created an experimental deep-learning system that trawls Street View landscapes in search of high-quality compositions.

Machine learning, while capable at tasks that involve ‘well defined goals,’ struggles in the face of subjective concepts such as determining whether a photograph has high aesthetic value. Google developed this latest deep-learning system as a way to explore how artificial intelligence can learn subjective concepts such as photography—training the system using professional photographs taken by humans.

Compositions identified by the AI from the Street View imagery were then automatically improved using an editing tool called ‘dramatic mask’ that enhances an image’s lighting.

Here are a few examples from the Google Research Blog:

“Using our system, we mimic the workflow of a landscape photographer,” the researchers explain. “From framing for the best composition to carrying out various post-processing operations.”

To test the quality of its AI-generated photos, Google asked professional photographers to blindly rate a collection of photos from various sources, including its Street View photos. The team’s conclusion from those ratings is that, “a portion of our robot’s creation can be confused with professional work.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Slow-Motion Demolition: Expanding Agent Cracks Concrete from Within

17 Jul

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

Going forward, buildings may not need to go out with a bang if this “non-explosive cracking agent” takes off. The destructive action is quieter and potentially cleaner way to take out structures, break down old infrastructure or excavate building sites.

Betonamit is boasted to be a non-toxic powder that, when mixed with water and poured in to drilled holes, much like TNT, but instead of exploding, it “hardens and expands, exerting pressures of 12,000 psi. Reinforced concrete, boulders, and ledge are fractured overnight with no noise, vibration, or flyrock.” It’s not the only such stuff, but claims to be the first (other brands include the cleverly-named Crackamite).

Like some kind of anti-concrete, the dry powder is mixed with water — thus activated, it is poured into place. It is advertised for indoor use, as well as bridges, dams, limestone, boulders and concrete slabs. Seems like great stuff for large-scale artwork of some kind, but there don’t appear to be many such applications as yet.

Geoff Manaugh of BldgBlog wonders, though, what happens when something goes wrong. He writes: “I’m imagining a truck full of this stuff overturning on a crack-laden bridge somewhere, just an hour before a rainstorm begins, or a storage yard filled with crates of this stuff being ripped apart in the summer wind; a seemingly innocuous grey powder drifts out across an entire neighborhood for the next few hours, settling down into cracks on brick rooftops and stone facades, in sidewalks and roadbeds. Then the rains begin. The city crumbles. Weaponized demolition powder.”

[ By WebUrbanist in Abandoned Places & Architecture. ]

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Nikon issues battery recall: Overheating batteries from 2012 still causing problems

10 Jul

If you purchased a Nikon D800, D800E, D7000 or Nikon 1 V1 and are still shooting with the original EN-EL15 battery, or if you’ve ever purchased a spare EN-EL15 off the shelf, listen up. There’s a small chance you’re using a defective battery that could pose a danger to yourself and your camera body.

In an update to a recall first announced all the way back in 2012, Nikon is asking owners of certain EN-EL15 batteries to get in touch with the company about getting a complimentary replacement.

“The [affected] battery pack can experience a short circuit causing it to overheat and possibly causing the outside casing to become deformed, posing a potential hazard to consumers,” writes Nikon. “There have only been seven (7) confirmed reports of incidents of the problem worldwide, and while no injuries have taken place, Nikon Inc. has initiated this recall of the affected lot numbers as a reflection of its commitment to safety and product quality.”

Affected batteries can be identified by the serial number. If the 9th number of the serial on the back is either an “E” or an “F” your battery is affected, and you should reach out to Nikon Inc. through this form to get a replacement. Do not dispose of the battery in the trash. You’ll need to give the defective battery to the UPS guy who brings you the new battery in exchange.

You can read the full recall text below:

EN-EL15 Rechargeable Li-ion Battery Pack Recall

UPDATED EN-EL15 SERVICE ADVISORY AS OF JUNE 20, 2017. Technical Service Advisory for users of the EN-EL15 rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack.

Nikon Inc. is asking your cooperation in connection with a voluntary recall of certain lot numbers of its Nikon Model EN-EL15 rechargeable lithium-ion battery pack. The battery pack can experience a short circuit causing it to overheat and possibly causing the outside casing to become deformed, posing a potential hazard to consumers. There have only been seven (7) confirmed reports of incidents of the problem worldwide, and while no injuries have taken place, Nikon Inc. has initiated this recall of the affected lot numbers as a reflection of its commitment to safety and product quality. We are asking that owners of the affected battery pack contact Nikon Inc. to initiate a free product exchange.

The Nikon EN-EL15 battery pack is provided as a supplied accessory with the purchase of Nikon’s digital SLR D800, D800E, D810A, D810, D610, D600, D7200, D7100, D7000, D500 cameras and the Nikon 1 V1 advanced camera with interchangeable lens. However, EN-EL15 batteries supplied with D810A, D810, D610, D600, D500, D7200, D7100 are not included in this voluntary recall. It is also sold separately at retail under Nikon’s model number 27011. The EN-EL15 battery pack involved in this recall was first distributed by Nikon in March 2012 and is still being sold at retail.

No other Nikon battery packs are involved in this recall.

Nikon’s digital SLR D800, D800E, D810A, D810, D610, D600, D7200, D7100, D7000, D500 cameras and the Nikon 1 V1 advanced camera with interchangeable lens as well as any other Nikon cameras are also not subject to this recall.

What you should do:

1.) Determine if your EN-EL15 battery pack is affected
This voluntary recall is limited to EN-EL15 battery packs in lots E and F. First, please confirm that “EN-EL15” is printed on the label of your battery pack. Then, please locate the 14-digit lot number beside the recycle symbol, as shown on the photo below.

If the 9th character of the lot number is E or F, your battery is among those being recalled.
If the 9th character of the lot number is any other letter, your battery is not affected by this recall.

Click here to use our lot number lookup tool.

2.) If your EN-EL15 battery pack is affected

Immediately remove the battery from your camera or camera bag, but please do not dispose of it.
Complete the Nikon’s online EN-EL15 battery exchange form by clicking this link.
Once your request is processed Nikon will send a confirmation email.
On the day of your battery exchange, UPS will contact you by phone and email notifying you of the delivery.
A UPS courier will then deliver your new battery pack(s) AND collect the recalled battery pack(s).
Someone needs to be present for this exchange. If you need to make special arrangements, please contact UPS.

3.) If your EN-EL15 battery pack is not affected

No further action is needed. Please continue using your EN-EL15 battery pack as usual.

Nikon is committed to safety and to providing to its customers only the highest quality products. We regret any inconvenience this matter may cause you and appreciate your continued support of Nikon and its products.

If you have any additional questions or concerns, please contact Nikon at 1-800-645-6687.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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