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Guide: How to get the most out of Sony’s autofocus technologies

03 Dec

Getting the most out of Sony’s autofocus technologies

After years of development, Sony’s mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras offer among the most advanced autofocus technologies on the market, allowing photographers to create pictures that simply wouldn’t be possible with other systems.

Sony was among the first manufacturers to add phase-detection autofocus pixels onto a camera’s main imaging sensor, which allows for ultra-precise focus. A wide spread of AF points and intelligent scene recognition algorithms are standard in Sony’s market-leading a6000-series, a7-series and a9 cameras, allowing for powerful and accurate subject tracking. While these technologies are obviously useful for shooting fast-paced sports and action, features like face detection, Eye-AF and Direct Manual Focus (DMF) can also be employed for portraiture, landscape photography and video work.

In this article, we’ll be outlining some key use-cases and recommending how to set up your Sony camera’s autofocus system to get the best results.

Sports and action

Because, unlike a DSLR, there’s no mirror in the way, the millions of pixels-worth of data from the image sensors in mirrorless cameras can be used to feed the cameras’ autofocus and metering systems in real time. This allows for sophisticated object recognition and tracking. Autofocus data is also taken from the main imaging sensor itself, which means that AF is inherently more accurate than conventional DSLR systems.

The flagship sports-oriented Sony a9 for example features 693 phase detection autofocus points offering 93% coverage across the image area (illustrated above). Having so many AF points – and such a wide spread – makes it possible for the camera to accurately track action right out to the edges of the frame – something that isn’t always possible with other full-frame cameras. Here are our recommended settings for shooting sports and action:

Recommended AF settings for sports and action:

Focus Mode: AF-C
Focus Area: Lock-on AF: Flexible Spot M

How to use: Frame your composition so the AF point is over your subject, then half-depress the shutter to start tracking it. At this point you can recompose the scene however you want, and your subject will continue to be tracked. To switch subjects, simply release the shutter, reframe to place the AF point over your new subject, and half-depress the shutter again.

Notes / Tips: This AF setup is also useful for more general photography: if you identify your subject by placing the AF point over it and engaging AF, the camera will keep track of it for you, making sure it’s perfectly focused when you take your shot.

For some types of fast-action photography, like birds-in-flight, air shows, or any situation where your subject is the nearest object in the scene or well isolated against distant objects, you can often trust the camera to automatically identify the subject and focus on it. This avoids the need for you to reframe and place the AF point over your subject before initiating AF, saving you time and helping you capture the moment faster. To try this way of working, switch the camera’s Focus Area to ‘Wide’, or use ‘Recall Custom Hold’* to assign a custom button to this focus mode so you can instantly activate it in fast-paced situations.

*Only available on A9, a7R III and a7III Alpha cameras.

Portraits

For the serious portrait photographer, Eye AF is fantastic, letting you focus more on posing and expression and leaving the camera to do the rest. With Eye AF enabled, a Sony camera will continue to track your subject’s eye, even when firing away at fast frame rates, which makes it a great option for catching just the right expression.

Sony’s Eye AF system is very ‘sticky’ in that once it’s been set to track a subject it rarely jumps off to someone else in the scene, even if your subject moves or momentarily turns away from the camera. And because of the wide AF area coverage, Eye AF will track your subject right out to the edges of the frame – this is useful for off-center compositions or erratic subjects like kids.

Recommended AF settings for portraits:

Focus Mode: AF-C
Focus Area: Flexible Spot M (or L)
Button Assignment: Assign Eye AF to AF-ON

How to use: If you have multiple people in the frame and are using any AF area other than ‘Wide,’ you can place that AF area over one of your subjects, and when you initiate Eye AF, it will track that person’s eye. To switch subjects, release the Eye AF button, place your AF area over the other person, and re-initiate. If you simply want to focus on a person yourself, just place your AF point over the desired portion of your subject, and half-press the shutter to focus.

Notes / Tips: If you only have a single person in the scene, or you’re happy to let the camera choose a face to focus on on its own (usually the nearest), switch Focus Area to ‘Wide’, then just press the Eye AF button.

Note that while we recommend assigning Eye AF to AF-ON for ease of use, you may wish to assign it to the AEL button if you prefer to use the AF-ON button for back-button focus.

Travel and general photography

As well as offering powerful autofocus features designed for portraiture and capturing fast-moving sports and action, Sony cameras are incredibly versatile when it comes to day-to-day photography. For general everyday and travel photography with Sony’s mirrorless cameras , we recommend the following autofocus settings:

Recommended AF settings for general photography:

Focus Mode: AF-S
Focus Area: Wide (Face Priority in AF: On)

How to use: For general photography, we recommend you simply let the camera choose what to focus on. It will focus on faces in the scene, and prioritize nearer subjects over further ones.

Notes / Tips: If you wish to take control, just assign a button – like a central press of the AF joystick – to ‘Recall Custom Hold’* and set its options to activate AF-S Focus Mode and Center Focus Area, with AF activation. That will allow you to quickly revert to the tried-and-true ‘focus and recompose’ method if necessary.

*Only available on A9, a7R III and a7III Alpha cameras.

Landscape photography

Traditionally, landscape photography has been the domain of manual focus, but even with static subjects, autofocus can be a huge time-saver. Here’s how we recommend you set your Sony camera’s AF for shooting landscapes.

Recommended AF settings for landscape photography:

Focus Mode: DMF
Focus Area: Flexible Spot: M (or L)
Button Assignment: Assign a custom button to focus magnifier

How to use: Compose your scene, then place the AF point over a portion of the scene you want focused. Use the focus magnifier to zoom into that region, then half-press the shutter to focus. While the shutter button remains half-pressed, you can turn the focus ring on the lens to fine-tune focus, then take your shot.

Notes / Tips: Using this technique, autofocus quickly gets you close to where you need to be, then it can be fine-tuned to achieve the correct balance of foreground and background sharpness for expansive scenes.

Video

Advanced HD and, more recently, 4K video features have been included in Sony’s E-mount mirrorless cameras from the very beginning, and Sony’s E-mount lenses are optimized for movie autofocus requirements as well as stills photography. Traditionally, a lot of filmmakers would rely on manual focus when shooting video, but Sony’s mirrorless cameras’ hybrid on-sensor autofocus systems function just as well (and in exactly the same way) when shooting stills and video, making AF useful and practical for videography.

Here are our recommended settings for video:

The thing that impresses me most about Leica? Its innovation

01 Nov

Ok, so maybe there’s still room for innovation when it comes to memory card access.

It might sound odd to discuss the innovations of a company whose best-known product is anachronistic to the point that you have to take the baseplate off to change the film memory card, but I’m serious.

I know I’m supposed to be impressed by the company’s history, its (rather outdated) use as a press camera and the stellar reputation of its lenses. But I’m not, especially*.

I love that Leica doesn’t just have crazy ideas, but that it turns them into workable, purchasable products.

It’s not that the lenses aren’t great. It’s just that I’m not terribly impressed a company’s ability to make single focal length, manual focus lenses good when money’s essentially no object and you can individually correct every one if you have to. My experience of working as an engineering journalist always reminds me that it’s many times harder to produce a kit zoom that has to offer decent performance at multiple focal lengths, offers fast autofocus for both stills and video, includes image stabilization and can be made with a degree of consistency for something like $ 35.

But while I’m not that fussed about all that ‘red dot’ business, I love that Leica doesn’t just have crazy ideas, but that it turns them into workable, purchasable products. Even if they’re not necessarily the most affordable ones.

Take an ‘e’ (off the word Monochrome)

The Bayer color filter array is amazing. It lets spectrally-indifferent sensors perceive color and does so with a good level of resolution and fairly few downsides. Except that it steals around a stop of light.

I love the idea of a mono-only second camera. But perhaps not one that costs more than my (admittedly ludicrous) road bike.

So why not make a mono-only camera? None of the softness and noise that comes from demosaicing, and better, cleaner image capture because you’re not letting a series of color filters absorb half your light. That’s a great idea, why doesn’t someone do that?

Well, Leica has, with the Monochrom series of cameras. They do exactly what you’d hope: produce super-detailed mono images.

Of course, given that you have only one ‘color’ channel, it becomes more important than ever to avoid clipping, so I wish there was monochrome camera that didn’t meter by looking at the light reflected off the stripes painted on its shutter blades. Also, since it would need to be a second camera for me, I’d prefer it to cost less than a small car. But I have to applaud Leica for doing it, rather than just thinking about it.

What’s the opposite of Iconoclasticism?

Again, who would have thought it’d be Leica: a camera brand that added a faux winder lever onto its latest camera, that would design one of the most innovative user interfaces of the past decade?

Love it or hate it, the icon-led touchscreen interface of the Leica T series is one of the few genuine attempts we’ve seen to completely re-think how you should interact with a camera and its settings. Interestingly, the person I’ve met who dislikes it most is also one of the few I know who owns a digital Leica rangefinder (though that could be because the first iteration had some interesting quirks). Personally, though, I thought the design struck a good balance between command dials that controlled the primary exposure parameters while letting you tap and swipe the settings, just as you might on a smartphone. Certainly an ambitious thing for a ‘traditional’ camera company to do.

Settings? There’s an app for that

On the subject of smartphones, it’s long been suggested that they might provide a solution to the uncontrolled menu sprawl that’s overwhelming even the best-designed modern UI. Connecting cameras to smartphones over Bluetooth and Wi-Fi is becomes ever more easy and ever more commonplace, just as the complexity of menu options becomes unbearable, so why not pass-off responsibility for settings to the phone?

Handing off responsibilities for camera settings to a smartphone app makes great sense. I’m not sure the same is true of taking away the rear screen or adding a faux-winder ‘thumb rest.’

And, if looked at from a certain angle, that’s what Leica’s M10-D does. I’m not necessarily convinced that it made sense to keep going and take the entire LCD screen away but pushing set-and-forget settings off to a smartphone app I could get behind. An app can offer a nicer interface with better guides and instructions, meaning the on-camera interface can be stripped back to focus on the main shooting parameters. But perhaps leave me a screen, eh, Leica?

You can’t be serious?

I don’t want flippant tone to completely undermine my sincerity. I genuinely am more impressed with Leica’s innovative thinking than the specifics of its products. I’d love to see some of them more widely adopted. Like having a 36 x 24mm image capture area, that might take off.

* Full marks to every comment or blog post concluding that I don’t ‘get’ Leica. To be clear, I love shooting with its rangefinders. They deliver a unique shooting experience that every keen photographer should strive to have. Even if I wouldn’t necessarily recommend spending the cost of a hatchback (or a nice road bike) on one. [Return to text]

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Canon USA revives CarePAK Plus, free accidental damage repair on EOS R, most DSLRs

23 Oct

Canon USA has reintroduced its CarePAK Plus service as a promotional incentive for most of its recent DSLR cameras, as well as for the new EOS R full frame mirrorless body. The service plan offers 13-months’ worth of free accidental damage cover, as well as two Canon Maintenance Services during that period.

The offer covers 10 of the company’s DSLR and the EOS R, and will also be accessible for those buying one of 13 lenses from the L professional series. Customers have a month to register their products for the service, and Canon boasts that it handles everything from calls and emails, to the actual servicing, so you’ll never have to deal with a third party. Below is a complete list of the participating products:

EOS R	EOS 6D Mark II	EF 24-70mm F2.8 II USM
EOS 1D X Mark II	EOS 80D	EF 70-200mm F2.8 IS II USM
EOS 5D Mark IV	EOS 77D	EF 70-200mm F2.8 IS III USM
EOS 5D Mark III	RF 28-70mm F2 L USM	EF 50mm F1.2 L USM
EOS 5Ds	RF 50mm F1.2 L USM	EF 85mm F1.2 L USM
EOS 5Ds R	EF 16-35mm F2.8 L II USM	EF 85mm F1.2 L II USM
EOS 6D	EF 16-35mm F2.8 L III USM	EF 100mm F2.8 L Macro IS USM
EOS 7D Mark II	EF 17-40mm F4 L USM	EF 100-400mm F4.5-5.6 L IS II USM
EOS 6D Mark II

The offer applies to products purchased from authorized dealers from now until 5th Jan 2019. See the Canon website for more information.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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How To Get The Most Out Of A Model Shoot

18 Oct

As a fashion photographer, I can say that the model is the key to good people photography. Aside from an elaborate concept, a professional team, an interesting location, fine light setting, good equipment and finally your editing skills, it’s the model’s looks and attitude that define the quality of your shooting results. So it might be important to keep her Continue Reading

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ESA unveils most detailed 3D star map ever captured

04 May

The European Space Agency (ESA) Gaia mission has released a new star map of the Milky Way, giving us the most detailed view of our galaxy to date.

Launched in December 2013 from Kourou, French Guiana, the mission of the Gaia space observatory is to create the largest and most detailed 3D space catalog in existence. To do this, it uses what the ESA calls the ‘largest digital camera in the Solar System,’ a one-billion-pixel camera made up of more than 200 CCD sensors.

Gaia’s sky in colour. Image provided by ESA

This new set of data, released on April 25th, details the location and movement of more than 1.3 billion stars. For context, the first set of data released by the ESA in May 2016 contained similar information of a mere two million stars. It’s not only the position and movement of the stars either.

As well as positions, the data include brightness information of all surveyed stars and colour measurements of nearly all, plus information on how the brightness and colour of half a million variable stars change over time. It also contains the velocities along the line of sight of a subset of seven million stars, the surface temperatures of about a hundred million and the effect of interstellar dust on 87 million.

The new information will be used for many years to come by scientists all over the world. “Gaia will greatly advance our understanding of the Universe on all cosmic scales,” says Timo Prusti, Gaia project scientist at ESA, in the announcement blog post. “Even in the neighbourhood of the Sun, which is the region we thought we understood best, Gaia is revealing new and exciting features.”

The ESA expects many more datasets to be released in future years, with the full and final catalogue set to be published sometime in the 2020s. Originally, Gaia was only set to operate until mid-2019, but the ESA has already approved an extension to its mission that should see it functioning well into 2020.

You can access the data from Gaia’s first release on the ESA’s archive site and view a collection of 360-degree videos in a dedicated VR page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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4 of the Most Common Composition Mistakes In Photography

26 Apr

Common composition mistakes in photography

I’ve seen photographers make lots of mistakes when it comes to composition. That’s not a criticism – we all get things wrong from time to time. But recognizing mistakes and putting them right is a key part of improving your composition skills. In that spirit then, here are the most common composition mistakes and errors that I’ve seen photographers make.

Mistake #1: Learning the rule of thirds – and nothing else

The rule of thirds is basic composition theory and it’s important to understand it. But the mistake some photographers make is never trying to learn anything else about composition.

For example, take a look at the photo below. The tree is located on an intersection created by dividing the frame into three, according to the rule of thirds.

Common composition mistakes in photography

But is the rule of thirds the only principle of composition used in this photo? No, it isn’t. Let’s look at the other factors.

There is negative space around the tree. It gives the subject room to breathe and creates a sense of space.
The tree is the main focal point and there is nothing to compete with it.
The hills in the background are faded due to the weather conditions (it was raining when I made the photo), adding a sense of depth.
I used a long exposure (125 seconds) to blur the water and the leaves of the tree, adding a sense of motion or time passing to the photo.
I converted the photo to black and white to create drama.

As you can see there’s much more happening in this photo, from the point of view of composition, than simply placing the tree on a third. Once you understand how these ideas work you can use them in other photos and improve your composition skills at the same time.

Mistake #2: Not including foreground interest

This is a common mistake in landscape photography and some documentary photography. That’s because photographers in these genres often use wide-angle lenses, which usually include lots of foreground detail in the composition.

The idea of foreground interest can be a hard concept to grasp at first but it makes sense when you start to think about it.

For example, I made the following photo with a 14mm lens (a wide-angle on my APS-C camera). I wanted to tell a story about the couple in the market. Using a wide-angle lens helped me include context – the piles of vegetables in the foreground that the couple was selling. The vegetables provide foreground interest and support the story.

Common composition mistakes in photography

The same idea also applies to landscapes made with wide-angle lenses. In the photo below the ruins is the main subject. The flowers in the foreground add interest in the bottom half of the frame.

Common composition mistakes in photography

Mistake #3: Not paying enough attention to the background

Sharp backgrounds are common in documentary styles of photography and can help tell a story about the main subject. For example, in the photo below the main subject is the three men in the photo – the barber, his customer, and the man looking directly at the camera.

Common composition mistakes in photography

The detail in the background supports the main subject and helps tell its story. We can see every detail, from the wall behind the men to the barber’s tools and products. These details are an interesting and important part of the photo.

Sometimes the opposite approach is required and you need to blur the background out to remove distractions. Part of the skill of being a photographer is knowing when to blur the background and when to keep it sharp. In some portraits (like the one below, made with an aperture of f/1.8) you can use a wide aperture to blur the background and remove details that might distract from the model.

Common composition mistakes in photography

The mistake I see photographers make is not thinking about these things and taking enough care to make sure the background suits the subject.

Mistake #4: Not working the subject

The final common composition mistake I see photographers make is failing to work the subject. This means that you take as many photos as you can until you’ve exhausted all the creative possibilities. Sometimes you only need to take three or four photos for this to happen. At other times you may take 20 or 30. Either way, the idea is to explore different viewpoints and compositional possibilities.

The reason this works is that the first point of view you use is not necessarily the best one. If you have the opportunity, it’s a good idea to try different points of view, different focal lengths, and maybe even different aperture and shutter speed settings.

This is where you can think through some of the concepts discussed earlier in the article. A good question to ask yourself is, “How can I make the photo more interesting?”

Perhaps you need to pay more attention to the background. Maybe you need to include some interesting foreground detail. Perhaps the photo would benefit from including some negative space or using a slower shutter speed to blur parts of it. The answers depend on the subject and how much time you have to explore it.

Example of working the scene

Here’s an example. Below you can see four photos I made of an interesting building, each one utilizing a different point of view and composition. They were part of a sequence of 25 photos I made before I felt there was nothing else I could do.

Common composition mistakes in photography

Conclusion

There are many mistakes that it’s possible to make when it comes to the composition in photography, but these are the most common that I’ve seen. What composition mistakes have you seen people make, or are you guilty of making yourself? Please let us know in the comments below.

Mastering Composition Book Two

Want to learn more about composition? Then check out my wildly popular ebook Mastering Composition Book Two. It contains 20 lessons that will help you get better at composition, no matter what your skill level! Use the code DPS20 for a 20% discount on your first order.

The post 4 of the Most Common Composition Mistakes In Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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HP’s DreamColor Z27x G2 is the ‘world’s most advanced color critical display’

06 Apr

Credit: HP

In addition to the new lineup of powerful HP ZBook laptops for power users and creative professionals, HP also revealed a gorgeous new 27-inch DreamColor display that photo and video editors will want to seriously consider purchasing. Why? Because HP claims this display—officially named the HP DreamColor Z27x G2—is the “world’s most advanced color critical display.”

That might sound like hyperbole, and it’s definitely PR speak, but the specs back up the claim. The display was supposedly designed in conjunction with “leading visual effects studios” to make sure all of the most important specs and features were onboard.

Spec-wise, the 27-inch Quad HD 2560 ×1440 16:9 aspect ratio IPS panel covers 98% of Adobe RGB, 99% of DCI-P3 and 100% of sRGB (duh) at a respectable static contrast ratio of 1500:1. So far, so good; but what really makes it stand out are the features. The Z27x G2 comes equipped with an integrated pop-up sensor that calibrates your display on demand or on a regular schedule, and features “the world’s first integrated keyboard-based input switching KVM to easily switch between devices.”

Here’s a closer look at the DreamColor Z27x G2:

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The Z27x G2 will be officially released at NAB 2018, where it will join the 24-inch DreamColor Z24x and 31-inch DreamColor Z31x to round out the DreamColor display lineup.

To learn more about the whole lineup or dive into the datasheet for the HP DreamColor Z27x G2 Studio Display, head over to the HP website. The Z27x G2 will be available to purchase this month for $ 2,000.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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How to Get the Most from Lightroom Presets

03 Apr

Where should I start when talking about Lightroom presets? The subject has been covered so many different ways by so many different writers that at times even I think there’s nothing left to say. Or is there?

Most of us already know that using presets in our photo editing workflow speeds up processing. I mean, who couldn’t use a little help now and again especially when you’re attempting to wade through six or seven hundred images from that last wedding where the groom couldn’t stop blinking.

Not only that, but perhaps my favorite part about using presets is the creative jumpstart they can give my work.

How to Get the Most from Lightroom Presets

Like I said, you already know all this, right? So instead of droning on about how to make presets or export them or download them, we’re going to discuss a seldom mentioned topic; how to get the most out of the presets you already have and use.

Designate Import Presets

Lightroom presets are surprisingly versatile and can be applied to some extent literally during every phase of your processing in Lightroom. One of the most underutilized applications for Develop Presets happens at the very first phase of editing, importing the image.

Any Develop Preset you might have in your processing treasure chest can be applied with the click of the mouse to each image you import.

Do you have a lot of photos from that Blinker wedding I mentioned earlier? Try making a preset that works exclusively for each sequence of photos. Do you find yourself using similar contrast or clarity all the time? Apply the appropriate preset upon import to save time later. It’s almost too easy not to do.

How to Get the Most from Lightroom Presets

And import presets aren’t limited to the just the develop variety either. Perhaps even more useful are metadata and keyword presets that can be applied at the same time. You can do that directly below the develop preset drop-down on the import screen.

Avoid Conflicting Presets

When I’m not off making photographs on some remote mountaintop you can generally find me sitting at the computer making presets. As the lead developer of presets for Contrastly.com I’ve single-handedly manufactured over 1,200 presets for Lightroom.

Even after making so many I still sometimes run into the hair-rippingly frustrating situation, when one of my presets overrides edits that I’ve already made to a photo. What usually causes this is when I forget to uncheck an edit box I didn’t adjust in the “Save Preset” window when saving my new preset.

How to Get the Most from Lightroom Presets

In order to save yourself a little grief, always – and I mean always – remember that when you make a new preset only save (check off) the edits you’ve actually made. NEVER (requisite shouting) leave a box checked even if the value is zero.

The reason for this is that even if an adjustment slider is set to zero checking the box will save that slider to zero in your preset. This means that if you have a preset that only affects the tone curve and you leave all the boxes checked all the other edits you’ve made will be reset to default by the Lightroom Preset. Sad times.

Don’t Stop at the Presets

Like I said earlier…I’ve made a lot of presets and I hope that they help people get the most out of their photos. Yet if there’s one thing that I sincerely hope my presets don’t do is become an endpoint.

Presets are a ladder. Don’t simply apply a preset and hope for the best. Most presets are intended to be post-processing workhorses and/or springboards for your creativity. In either case, don’t stop at the preset. Even though the stars sometimes align and a preset might hit the bullseye with a single click, don’t be afraid to change things around.

How to Get the Most from Lightroom Presets

As you test out presets feel free to update the settings or create a brand new mutant preset based on the edits you see before you. Some of my personal favorites the ones I’ve engineered to simulate expired film and vintage cinema.

Almost every time I narcissistically employ one of my own presets I find myself adjusting and tweaking until I have something completely new that I end up saving as a fresh preset. The process becomes cyclic. This is how great presets are born.

Final Reminders…

Lightroom presets are an old standby in the post-processing world. Oddly enough, not everyone uses them to their full potential. Making, saving or downloading Lightroom presets is only the first act in a great play.

Remember the value of import presets for speeding up your editing from the beginning. When making your own presets always remember to select only the aspects of the development that you’ve adjusted and not any zeroed out sliders. Don’t be afraid to change presets, especially the ones you’ve paid good money for, in order for them to better fit your own creative vision.

And most importantly, never allow yourself to simply stop at the presets…well, most of the time. Get the most out your presets by making them your own. Allow your presets do most of the heavy lifting if need be, while always following your own direction.

The post How to Get the Most from Lightroom Presets appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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The Galaxy S9 Plus’ camera is its third most expensive component

20 Mar

Last week the team at iFixit undertook a teardown of the brand new Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus to examine and evaluate the device’s repairability. Now analysts TechInsights have done the same thing, but with a focus on components and costs.

When taking the device apart the team found Samsung’s Fast 2L3 third-generation 12MP, 1.4 µm pixel-pitch Dual Pixel ISOCELL sensor in the main camera and a 12MP, 1.0 µm pixel-pitch Samsung S5K3M3SM in the tele-camera, the same as in the Galaxy Note 8 dual-camera module.

TechInsights also provides cost estimates for all components and at $ 48 the Samsung’s camera setup is the third largest cost block on the device. Only the display at $ 72.50 and the main chipset at $ 68 have a higher impact on the overall figure. Final assembly and testing is estimated as $ 12.50, and the overall manufacturing cost of the device is $ 379.

Given in the US the S9 Plus currently retails at $ 840 unlocked, this should leave a decent margin for covering overheads and, crucially, making a profit. For more technical details and up-close images of most components have a look at the full report on TechInsights.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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The most expensive camera in the world: 1923 Leica sells for $2.97M at auction

12 Mar

A private collector in Asia just bought her or himself the most expensive camera ever sold at auction, making away with an ultra-rare Leica 0-series no. 122 for the mind-boggling price of €2.4 million (approximately $ 2.97M USD, or £2.15M)—a sum reached when you combine the hammer price of €2 million with the €400,000 premium.

The auction took place on Saturday at the famed WestLicht auction house in Vienna, where Leica majority owner and chairman of the board Andreas Kaufmann was there to watch the record be set.

Leica 0-series no. 122 | Photo: WestLicht

According to WestLicht, the astronomical price “reflects the camera’s fantastic original condition.” Only 25 of these ‘test’ cameras were produced by Ernst Leitz in 1923—two years before the first Leica camera was officially brought to market—and WestLicht claims that of those 25, only three are known to still be in ‘original condition.’

Speaking of which: this sale beat the former €2.16 million (~$ 2.67M USD) record price paid for another Leica 0-series (no. 116) in 2012.

Press Release

The Most Expensive Camera Ever

Leica camera sold for 2,400,000 Euro (USD 2,976,000) at WestLicht record auction

The 32nd WestLicht Camera Auction brought not one but two record winning results. With the new world record price of 2.4 million Euro (2 million hammer price plus premium) the Leica 0-series no. 122 is the World’s most expensive camera to date. Furthermore, the auction turned out to be the most successful one in the rich history of the Vienna auction house.

The Leica 0-series had started at a price of 400,000 Euro and rose to a result 6 times higher. A private collector from Asia emerged as the winner from the exciting bidding war. The remarkable price certainly also reflects the camera’s fantastic original condition. In 1923, two years before the first Leica was introduced to the market, Ernst Leitz produced 25 of this test camera, only three of which are known to still be in the original condition.

The previous record holder, a Leica 0-series with no. 116, was also auctioned at WestLicht in 2012 for 2.16 million Euro. Peter Coeln, WestLicht founder: “The outstanding result once again emphasizes the international leading position of our auction house”. Leica majority owner and chairman of the board Andreas Kaufmann added: “This world record price of 2.4 million Euro demonstrates the ongoing and ever-growing myth of the Leica brand.”

A further excellent result was achieved by another Leica camera from the famous collection of Jim Jannard (founder of Oakley): A Leica MP-89 black paint climbed from a starting price of 120,000 to 456,000 Euro. A Leica MP-2, the first camera with electric motor drive, changed ownership for 432,000 Euro. For the comparatively moderate sum of 48,000 Euro a collector purchased the Hasselblad Lunar Surface SWC which was manufactured for the Apollo missions.

The overall sales rate of the 32nd WestLicht Camera Auction was at 91% of the 530 lots, with close to 100% among the Leica items.

Next WestLicht Auction is scheduled for November this year.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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