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Xiaomi Mi Max 2 quick review

12 Aug

The Mi Max 2 is the latest incarnation of Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi’s large-format ‘phablet.’ It combines a very large 6.44″ Full-HD screen that allows for split-screen applications with Qualcomm’s upper mid-range chipset Snapdragon 625, 4GB of RAM and storage options up to 128GB. At 174 x 89mm the Mi Max 2 is definitely not small but, apart from the large display, the dimensions also allow for the use of a gigantic 5300 mAh battery that, according to Xiaomi, gives you 57 hours of call-time and also supports quick-charging via a USB Type-C port.

In the camera department the Mi Max 2 offers a 1/2.9″ Sony IMX 386 12MP image sensor that is coupled with a F2.2 aperture and on-sensor phase detection AF. In video mode you can shoot footage in 4K resolution or 120 fps slow-motion clips in 720p. All components are wrapped up in a sleek-looking full-metal unibody with a fingerprint reader on the back.

Thanks to Gearbest.com, a retailer shipping Xiaomi devices worldwide, we’ve had the chance to try the Mi Max 2 and its camera, shoot a wide range of samples and see how it generally performs as a device for mobile photography.

Key specifications:

1/2.9″ Sony IMX 386 12MP image sensor, 1.25 µm pixel size
F2.2 aperture
PDAF
Dual-LED flash
5MP / F2.0 front camera
4K video, 720p/120 fps slow-motion
6.44″ 1080p IPS LCD display
Android 7.1.1
Qualcomm Snapdragon 625 chipset
4GB RAM
64/128 GB storage, microSD support
5300 mAh battery
Fingerprint sensor

Camera app

The camera app features a manual mode but no DNG Raw file format.

The camera app has been kept simple, with point-and-shoot operation in mind. Focus point and exposure can be set by tapping on the preview image and a mode screen offers a number of special options, including panorama, beautify and manual mode. The latter offers manual shutter speeds of up to 32 seconds but unfortunately capture in DNG Raw format is not part of the package.

The mode screen also gives you access to the settings menu where you can activate tap-to-capture, change contrast, saturation and sharpness or display grid lines in the preview image. A few effect filters are on board as well, and overall the app is simple to use and intuitive.

Image Quality

In bright light the Mi Max 2 camera captures contrasty images with punchy colors and does a good job at keeping highlight clipping at bay. During our testing we had a few exposures that were a touch brighter than we’d like, but overall the exposure system does a decent job and white balance is fairly neutral as well.

Detail is decent for this class of device but at a 100% view some oversharpening artifacts are visible and low-contrast areas can show some compression. The sharpness of the lens of our test unit is good, with just some minor softness towards the edges. Overall, in terms of image detail and noise, the Xiaomi cannot keep up with high-end smartphones but does a good job in bright light for a mid-ranger.

ISO 124, 1/806 sec

Skin tones tend to be pleasantly neutral and face detection ensures good subject exposure in most situations.

ISO 125, 1/121 sec

By default HDR is set to auto and in many bright scenes the camera makes use of the function. As a result, highlights are well preserved in bright elements of the scene.

ISO 125, 1/502 sec, HDR

Using the tap-to-focus function allows you to set focus and exposure point manually. This can help a lot when taking close-up images like the sample below where the flower was more extremely overexposed when shooting in standard mode.

ISO 125, 1/1328 sec

While detail is good, luminance noise is clearly visible in areas of plain color, such as the blue sky below. On some high-contrast edges you can also see a halo-effect, which is a sign of oversharpening.

ISO 100, 1/1881 sec

In lower light the Mi Max uses ISO settings up to 6400 and at very low light levels applies a multi-frame night mode. The ISO 320 shot below was taken indoors. Compared to the bright light shots above fine detail is noticeably reduced and luminance noise becomes quite intrusive. In the shadow areas some blurred chroma noise is creeping in as well.

ISO 320, 1/50 sec

The ISO 640 shot below was captured in a fairly dimly lit interior. When viewing at a 100% magnification blurred noise is very noticeable but the Xiaomi camera maintains decent edge definition and color in these conditions.

ISO 640, 1/33 sec

For the indoor portrait below the camera activated its low light mode which results in very soft detail. The white balance system also struggles with the mixed light temperatures inside this restaurant. The image is usable at typical social-media size but arguably not suitable for printing or viewing on larger displays.

In these conditions face detection also has trouble locking on and the difference between the Xiaomi and top-end smartphone cameras, such as the Google Pixel or HTC U11 is much more obvious than in bright light.

ISO 2000, 1/17 sec

The image below was taken in very low light and is quite soft and noisy. However, it’s a positive that the Mi Max is capable of capturing a decent exposure at such low light levels.

ISO 6400, 1/17 sec

HDR mode

As mentioned above, HDR mode is set to auto by default. As you can see in the samples below it is definitely not a bad a idea to leave this setting as it is. In high-contrast scenes HDR mode is capable of capturing noticeably better highlight detail then standard mode. Still, the HDR looks quite natural and not overprocessed.

ISO 125, 1/602 sec, HDR off

ISO 125, 1/602 sec, HDR on

Panorama mode

On the Mi Max 2 camera panoramic images are captured while holding the phone in portrait orientation. You can record an angle of up to 180 degrees but stop any time by hitting the shutter button.

Exposure is biased towards the first frame which can result in some underexposure like in the first sample below. Under closer inspection you’ll also find some stitching errors but the panorama mode deals very well with moving subjects in the scene and overall does a decent job.

Panorama, 7552 x 3712 pixels

Panorama, 13148 x 3648 pixels

Video

The 1080p video below shows a similar color and tonal response to the still images. Detail is only average, but the video mode’s main problem is a tendency to continuously refocus when panning, making most clips virtually unusable. This is something that needs fixing via a firmware update ASAP, otherwise the Mi Max 2 is simply not suitable for video recording.

At 120 frames per second the slow-motion mode can slow motion down nicely and the 720p resolution still offers enough detail for the occasional slow-motion scene. Unfortunately the mode suffers from the same refocusing issues as the standard video mode, but AF is more stable when holding the camera still.

Conclusion

The Mi Max 2 camera can produce good images in bright light and is capable of capturing good exposures and color even in very dim conditions. However, pixel-level image quality deteriorates quickly as light levels go down and video mode is next to unusable as the camera tends to refocus very frequently while panning.

Still, there is a lot to like about the Xiaomi. Its battery life allows for at least two days of shooting and general use without any recharging and the large 6.44″ display is great for viewing and editing images. The microSD slot makes image transfer from other devices easy if you are not a fan of the cloud and for a mid-ranger the Mi Max 2 also comes with a nice metal unibody and good build quality. The Mi Max 2 with 64GB of storage is now available at Gearbest for $ 270. The coupon code “MAX2C” gives you a $ 10 discount.

What we like:

Decent detail in bright light and good sharpness across the frame
Intuitive camera camera app
Efficient HDR mode
Decent panorama output
Premium build quality
Excellent battery life
Screen size is great for image display and editing
Responsive general operation
Value

What we don’t like:

Noticeable luminance noise at base ISO
Smeared noise and strong softness in low light
Constant refocusing when panning in video mode
No Raw file format
Too large for most pockets

Sample Gallery

There are 20 images in our Xiaomi Mi Max 2 samples gallery. Please do not reproduce any of these images on a website or any newsletter / magazine without prior permission (see our copyright page). We make the originals available for private users to download to their own machines for personal examination or printing (in conjunction with this review), we do so in good faith, please don’t abuse it.

Unless otherwise noted images taken with no particular settings at full resolution.

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Quick and Dirty Method of Using the Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool

21 Jul

Let’s say you use Lightroom and you’ve tried and tried to get rid of those distracting spots using Lightroom’s Spot Removal Tool but no matter how you set it – using Clone or Heal or changing the Opacity or increasing the Feather – you have a giant, obvious repair on your image. Not good!

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - wild horses

This is my final, processed image but I had to dive into Photoshop to get there.

You’re a good photographer

For kicks, let’s agree that in addition to knowing your way around Lightroom, you’re a skilled photographer. You also subscribe to Adobe CC, but honestly, you don’t use Photoshop much. Perhaps you’re even a little bit afraid of it. You loaded the software and update it whenever Adobe tells you to but other than the PS icon looking cool and professional in your dock, you don’t actually use it.

You just don’t use Photoshop

I mean, Layers, Masks, Blending? Ugh. I know. I do 90% of my work in Lightroom. No one has ever called me out on that so I keep on keepin’ on with Lightroom. I love Lightroom but – and it’s a great big but – LR’s Spot Removal Tool is no match for Photoshop’s Spot Healing Brush Tool.

Because I know this issue affects so many of us, I’m going to teach you the quick and dirty method for how to Spot Heal in Photoshop. No layers. No tricky stuff. Just easy, quick simple repairs for the problem areas in your images.

Practice as you read this

Grab an image that has a problem area that you can’t seem to fix in Lightroom and follow along with me. Practice is the best way to learn so repeat these steps a few times today. After you Spot Heal a few images in PS, it will naturally become part of your image processing tool kit.

Step #1 – Process the image in Lightroom

In Lightroom, process your image as normal. Here’s my RAW image before I’ve made any adjustments.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - raw image

Canon 7D Mark II, 70-200 plus 1.4x @ 280mm, f/6/3, 1/1600, ISO 400.

Below is a screenshot of all the adjustments I’ve made on my image. I started with a pretty aggressive crop. You can see the White Balance and Basic adjustments but I also dropped in several Radial Filters to add clarity and brightness to key elements like the horses’ eyes. However, I struggled to get rid of the flecks of mud around the black horse’s eye.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - Lightroom adjustments

Step #2 – Edit in > Photoshop

Right-click on your image. Select Edit in Adobe Photoshop CC.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - Edit in Photoshop

It is very important that you don’t skip this step. Do not open your image directly in Photoshop. For the down and dirty method to be most effective, you must start this process in Lightroom.

NOTE: If you haven’t updated to PS CC 2017 or if you use an older version of PS, you might need to modify these steps. Instead of Edit in Adobe Photoshop CC 2017, you might see Edit a Copy in PS.

Step #3 – Select the Spot Healing Brush

It takes a minute, but eventually, your image will appear in the Photoshop window. Here’s the image I’m working on. Check and make sure your screen looks pretty similar to mine.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - PS interface

Click on the Spot Healing Brush Tool. It looks like a band-aid except that it has a little semi-circle handle over it.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - band-aid icon

If you can’t find this tool, count seven icons down on the tools pallet and right-click on that. Once you right-click, you should see the rest of the tools. Hover your cursor over the band-aid icon that says Spot Healing Brush Tool. Click to select it. It will now show as the active tool.

Step #4 – Setup the Spot Healing Brush

Review the settings for the tool bar that runs across the top of your Photoshop window.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - mode and type

If your Spot Healing Brush Tool doesn’t default to these settings, change them to:

Mode = Normal
Type = Content Aware

Step #5 – Zoom in

Zoom in and increase the size of your image so you can see the problem area more clearly. Click the Command/Alt key and the + (plus) key simultaneously. Click again to zoom in more. If you’ve zoomed in too far, click the Command/Alt Key and the – (minus) key simultaneously to zoom back out. Grab the drag bars on the bottom and right side of the image to reposition the problem area so that it’s in the middle of the screen and easy to see and repair.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - zoom in

Zoomed into 200%, I can see the problem area clearly.

Step #6 – Size the Brush Tool

Hover the Spot Healing Brush Tool over the problem area. You may need to change the size of the brush. The easiest way to do that is to use the square bracket keys on your keyboard.

Click the Left Bracket Key [ to decrease the size of the brush.
Click the Right Bracket Key ] to increase the size.

Notice that as you click on the bracket keys, the Size number in the bar that runs across the top of your image increases or decreases. (If you click on that number, you’ll get more tool options. Don’t worry about those for now.)

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - 20px brush

Using the Left Bracket Key, I adjusted my Spot Healing Brush Tool to 20 pixels and started making small repairs around the eye.

Step #7 – Brush over the bad area

After you’ve adjusted the size of your brush, start clicking on the area of your image that you want to repair. You can also drag the brush to make short strokes.

Photoshop is smart and should fill in the area with an appropriate selection but if it doesn’t, click Edit > Undo Spot Healing Brush in the top menu (or Cmd/Ctrl+Z will also undo). That will undo the last thing that you did.

If you want to undo multiple things, go to Edit and click Step Backward repeatedly till you’re at the last point that you liked. Step Backward does have limitations so work slowly and check your repair work often. Note: you can aslo open the History panel and go back to any previous step.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - undo

Step #8 – Save

Evaluate your work. Do you like the repairs? If Yes, go to File > Save in the top menu. Photoshop defaults to saving images as a TIFF file. If it doesn’t, select the TIFF option if/when the menu pops up. This will also import the newly edited image into Lightroom.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - save

If you don’t like the repairs you made, quit Photoshop without doing anything. Photoshop will ask if you want to save your work. Just say No. Go sip some coffee and try again another day when you’re fresh.

Step #9 – Head back to Lightroom

Almost done!

Go back to Lightroom. You’ll still be in the Develop Module with the original RAW image that you were working on still open. Press G for Grid which will take you to the Library Module. Check to make sure that next to your original RAW file is a new TIFF file. Select the two images and view them in Survey Mode so that you can look at them side by side (N on your keyboard).

If the two files don’t show up right next to each other in Lightroom resort your images by Capture Time (or file name), or drag and drop so that they do.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - compare

Side by side of RAW file adjusted in LR (on the left) and TIFF with the addition of spot healing (on the right).

Wait, don’t you have to use layers in Photoshop?

That’s the down and dirty part. When you’re doing simple fixes like this, you don’t need to worry about layers. Why? Well, layers are excellent if you’re doing quite a few things to your image and you want to be able to turn different effects on and off. They’re also important so that you preserve your original image in a background layer (non-destructive editing).

But with this method, you still have your original RAW file. That’s why you want to start in Lightroom and then open your image from there into Photoshop. Lightroom sends a copy of your image to Photoshop. When you save your work in Photoshop in step #8, Photoshop generates a totally separate image file. That new TIFF file shows up in your Lightroom catalog next to your original RAW file.

NOTE: If you haven’t updated to PS CC 2017 or if you use an older version of PS, you might need to modify these steps. You might need to select “Edit a copy” and not “Edit Original.”

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - final image

This is a wild horse so I didn’t go too crazy fixing every little thing, but the distracting mud around the eye and on the neck is cleaned away nicely, don’t you think?

What if the down and dirty method doesn’t work?

This might not work for your image. Some repairs are finicky and this is definitely a hack method that won’t work for everything. My advice is to experiment. Remember the other tools that were grouped with the Spot Healing Brush Tool? Try one of those. Or, keep using the Spot Healing Brush Tool but change the Mode from Normal to Replace or even Multiply.

Remember when we clicked the Size number? Click that again and adjust the Hardness of the brush or the Roundness. Make only one change at a time and make notes on what each change does. If something works, click File, then Save and remember what you did. If nothing works, exit out of Photoshop without saving (and go have more coffee).

You can always experiment again another day because you still have your RAW image. It’s cataloged in Lightroom right next to the TIFF file. As long as you always start in Lightroom, you’ll be able to try again later.

Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool - Essaouira cafe

In this image of an outdoor seafood market in Essaouira, I experimented with a variety of tools to zip out the distracting bit of tree on the left, the construction equipment and the light posts. The RAW image, with Lightroom only adjustments, is on the left. The spot-healed TIFF is on the right.

Share with the dPS community: What hack or down and dirty methods do you use when you process your images?

The post Quick and Dirty Method of Using the Photoshop Spot Healing Brush Tool by Lara Joy Brynildssen appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Quick Review of the Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Lens

22 Jun

In this quick review of the Sigma 135mm f1.8 Art Lens, I will go over some of its features and give you my overall impression of this lens.

Photographers like gear

I belong to several photography groups, both online as well as within my local area, and often times when we meet, we end up talking about our gear. Conversations typically revolve around the gear we have, what we would like to have, and what we want to sell off. On several occasions, I have heard my fellow photographers talk about the Sigma Art series of lenses. They always start the conversation with, “Oh, I absolutely love my Sigma Art lens. The bokeh is so dreamy!” Now, I am a Canon shooter – always have been and always will be. But that does not mean that every once in a while, I don’t like to test out gear from other companies to compare performance, specifications, and price.

Quick Review of the Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Lens

The Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Lens comes with a case and a lens hood.

So when I had the opportunity to test out the Sigma 135mm 1.8 DG HSM Art lens, I jumped at the chance. I spent about three weeks with this lens and used it for a variety of photography assignments – both indoors and outdoors. Here is my review based on my personal experiences with this lens.

Technical Specifications

As per Sigma’s website, the Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art is a medium range telephoto prime lens designed for modern high-megapixel DSLRs. A new large Hyper Sonic Motor (HSM) delivers ample torque to the focusing group for outstanding speed, ensuring exceptionally stable performance even at lower speeds. This state-of-the-art prime lens touts a dust and splash proof mount for guaranteed performance in any condition and its large 1.8 aperture allows for more creative control over imagery.

The Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Lens attached to my Canon 1V film camera.

My telephoto lens of choice is my Canon EF 70-200L lens. It’s heavy and bulky but gives me some of the best picture quality in its class. Compared to that lens, the 135mm felt lightweight and comfortable to carry around all day. Being a fixed lens, there are no moving parts, unlike the zoom ring on the 70-200mm. While this meant that I had to move around to get shots at various distances, it was not an inconvenience. I just used pretended to have a zoom lens by moving my feet!

The lens looks very sharp and clean. The smooth matte black finish of the lens gives it a certain visual appeal. The build quality is very clean and it feels like a solid piece of glass. The lens is a little heavy (at about 2.56 pounds or 1.2 kg) but if you are used to walking around with other telephoto lenses, it’s not any different compared to using those.

Sharpness of the Sigma 135mm F1.8 Art Lens

The legendary quality of having the dreamiest bokeh is very true with this lens. It is super sharp even when shooting absolutely wide open. I typically shoot very wide opened with all my Canon L-lenses which fits my style of photography. The aperture of f/2.0 is my personal sweet spot – the one that I really trust to give me a shallow depth of field and dreamy bokeh (blurry background). This lens did not disappoint at my favorite f-stop.

But even at f/1.8 (the widest aperture on the Sigma 135mm), the lens was tack sharp with very shallow depth of field. Once it was stopped down to f/16, there was some softness on the edges of the frame but it’s not very prominent. With a lens of this quality, the best aperture would be between f/1.8 to f/4 (in my opinion) to get the best of the shallow depth of field and bokeh that we all love.

Shot at ISO 200, f/1.8 – wide open – look at that dreamy bokeh.

ISO 200 at f/2.0

ISO 200 at f/9 – more of the entire scene is clear and visible – with a wider (deeper) depth of field here.

Vignetting

The Sigma 135mm at f/1.8 Art Lens showed slight edge vignetting when shot wide open. But for my style of photography, it’s minimal and nothing I could not fix in post-processing. I was very impressed with the number of tack sharp images that I could keep even when I used the lens completely wide open at f/1.8.

Quick Review of the Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Lens

The image above left was shot at ISO 200, f/2.0 and on the right, the same scene was shot at ISO 200, f/9. There is no visible softness or vignetting at either aperture. The bokeh at f/2.0 is so dreamy (shallow depth of field) and at f/9 more of the background is visible.

Autofocus

The Sigma 135mm has an electronic hypersonic motor. This makes the autofocus very fast and smooth. I found that the lens locked focus easily and did not hunt while focusing. The AF motor was also relatively quiet and smooth as compared to other telephoto lenses like the Canon 85mm f/1.2L II USM that is really slow while hunting for focus in the AF mode.

While hiking my two boys decided they would lead the pack. I really wanted to capture this independent streak and both images are shot less than 2 seconds apart. The Sigma 135mm had no problems tracking focus as they moved up the trail. Both images were shot at ISO 200, f/2.0 and both have the subjects tack sharp and in focus in spite of the movement.

Macro capabilities

While the Sigma 135mm is not described as a macro lens, it did offer 0.2x magnification with a minimum focusing distance of just under three feet. Since I have a dedicated macro lens that I use for my detail shots, I did not pay much attention to this feature. However, in a pinch, this lens could be used to provide some magnification.

Karthika Gupta Memorable Jaunts DPS Article - Sigma 135mm lens review-11

The 135mm zoom was a little tight when I had to take in-studio headshots but once I got the focus locked, it turned out beautifully. Both images were shot at f/2.0 ISO 640, 1/125th.

Summary

Overall I was really very impressed with the Sigma 135mm 1.8 DG HSM Art lens. It is a superbly built piece of gear that was incredibly fast, easy to carry, handle, and use.

The only thing I needed to get used to was the fact that it was a prime lens and not a zoom, unlike my favorite 70-200mm telephoto lens. This meant I had to move around to get shots at different angles and different focal lengths, but I don’t consider that a con. Instead, I feel that shooting with a prime lens makes you more careful and thoughtful about your compositions since you have to physically move around to get a diverse range of shots.

The Sigma 135mm lens is definitely something to look into if you are in the market for a good quality telephoto lens.

The post Quick Review of the Sigma 135mm F1.8 DG HSM Art Lens by Karthika Gupta appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Video: a quick introduction to panning photography

16 Jun

Panning is a cool and simple way to photograph moving subjects or objects. And when executed properly, it can make a subject appear to be moving considerably faster than it really is. Panning is also an easy way to deal with a messy or distracting background – simply blur it away. Plus, it’s just plain fun and can result in some really creative outcomes.

In this how-to video, Josh Katz provides useful tips for getting started and improving your pans. If the concept is new to you, this video is a great place to start. All you’ll need is a camera with the ability to set a custom shutter speed and a moving subject.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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5 Quick Tips for Outdoor Macro Photography

15 Jun

Summer is arriving here in northern Europe, and with it, a whole new world of color, vitality, and humming activity. It’s the perfect time to go outside and explore what all the buzz is about! Doing macro photography outdoors can be a very rewarding and pleasant activity, and no, it doesn’t have to be complicated. Knowing some basics will make it more worthwhile, and it might also help you learn even more from your experiences.

Outdoor macro photography 01

So what are the essential steps of enjoying an outdoor macro photography session? There are a lot of excellent resources on macro photography here at Digital Photography School, so I won’t go through the technical aspects in too much detail. Either way, the most important factors for enjoying doing some macro photography outdoors are pleasant weather and an inquisitive mind. So let’s begin!

https://digital-photography-school.com/everything-you-need-to-know-about-macro-photography/

1. The gear

The great thing about macro photography is that there’s a wide range of gear that you can use; everything from a complicated setup with microscope lenses and focus stacking to using your mobile phone camera. In between those extremes there are point-and-shoot digital cameras that often come with a surprisingly good macro mode, and SLRs in combination with macro lenses, close-up filters or extension tubes.

5 Quick Tips for Outdoor Macro Photography

Here are some dPS articles on macro gear options:

Close-up filters
Using extension tubes for macro photography
Reverse lens macro
Macro lenses
Budget alternatives for macro photography

Once you have some kind of setup for macro photography, you’re ready for the next step!

2. Find a subject

What would you like to photograph? The choices outdoors are many and varied. It can be something small or a detail of something bigger. It might be something you’ve researched and planned for a long time or something you just found. This is where your creativity comes in.

5 Quick Tips for Outdoor Macro Photography

I have a thing for ants, so they are always a go-to subject for me.

If you don’t have a specific idea and are looking for inspiration, lying down in the grass on a sunny day and seeing the world from the point of view of a frog might help!

3. Lighting your subject

You have your gear, you have your subject – now all you need for a photograph is some light. Good exposure can be accomplished either by using natural light or an external light source (such as a flash).

This image was made using only natural light. It was taken late in the day in the shade, but the light was still bright enough to capture this sleeping dragonfly.

In one way, using natural light is easier, as you don’t need anything but your camera of choice. In another way, natural light can be quite tricky. Apart from being unreliable, the very nature of macro photography calls for a narrow field of view, which means that the sensor has to receive enough light from a very small area. In short, there has to be a lot of light – especially if you’re trying to capture something that is moving and you have a ridiculously narrow depth of field.

Here, a flash was bounced off a nearby wall to give the scene enough light.

Using an external light source, such as a flash, is an excellent way to control both the amount and the direction of light. Before you begin, though, it’s useful to learn a bit about the basics of flash photography – as with everything, flash photography also has its own challenges. The look and feel of the photo will also be different depending on whether you use natural or artificial light.

4. Stabilize yourself

Remember that the longer focal length you use, the higher the risk is for getting a shaky image. This means that even if you’re photographing a still subject, your shutter speed needs to be fast – or you need to use a tripod. A tripods is a great photography tool in general, but it is especially useful in macro photography, where there might not be enough light due to the setup and the small field of view. Here, a tripod is essential.

5 Quick Tips for Outdoor Macro Photography

It might sometimes feel like the tripod is restricting your movement and making your photography session a bigger deal than what you want it to be. That’s okay! It’s possible to do fantastic macro photography without a tripod; just remember to keep that shutter speed fast.

5. Telling a story

When photographing something that is technically challenging and conceptually extraordinary, it’s easy to forget about the other aspects of photography. But as with photography in general, some of the most interesting macro photographs are the ones that have a story to tell.

Death and birth.

You can create your own tale or just open your eyes to all the small stories that are being told around you, all the time. If you stop to have a look, there is a lot to be inspired by among the small lives that are being led in the great outdoors – whether it’s a remote wilderness or your backyard.

Ants moving to a new colony – sometimes it takes less energy for the colony if workers carry each other to the new location.

Conclusion

These are the factors I try to keep in mind when I’m heading outside to do macro photography. There are many more that can help you create an interesting photograph of the natural world. What are your best tips? I’d love to hear your thoughts and see your creations in the comments below.

The post 5 Quick Tips for Outdoor Macro Photography by Hannele Luhtasela-el Showk appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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A Quick Exercise to Help You Take Better Self-Portraits

08 Jun

This article will give you some tips on how to take better self-portraits. That is different than doing a selfie – let’s have a closer look at the issue.

A Quick Exercise to Help Improve Your Self-Portraits

Thank you to dPS writer Hannele Luhtasela-el Showk for contributing her self-portrait to the article.

The selfie – what not to do

The selfie has become such an important part of our culture. The invention of the selfie-stick shows just how important this phenomenon has become. Everyone is snapping pics and posting them online. Phones make it convenient to share images and show people the events of your day. But I would argue these images barely scratch the surface. They don’t do much more than give people a brief glimpse into how happy you were while visiting the zoo with your children.

Look back at your Facebook profile. Look at the pictures you’ve uploaded. If you are like the rest of us, I’m willing to bet you’ve filled your profile with images. Superficial images where you are smiling while hiking or maybe you’re shopping with friends. They don’t show much, do they? Sure you’re out having a great time, but there’s more to you than fun isn’t there? These smiling images don’t get at who you truly are. There’s a difference between a selfie and a self-portrait that shows something about you; an image that gets at who you are and tells your story in an intimate way.

We’ve all taken one of these images. You know the ones with terrible quality in low lit areas. This is a typical facebook selfie.

I think this is a pretty typical selfie. We’ve all posted images like this. Even I am guilty. Two happy friends together somewhere.

Self-portraits – take it up a notch

So if you’re like me if you’re tired of the superficial smile, then it’s time to think about how you can step up the selfie game and graduate to full-fledged self-portraits. I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again – good photography needs some forethought. There’s more to quality pictures than using the correct settings. Let’s take a look at a quick exercise you can use to help you create more meaningful, telling and compelling self-portraits.

This was shot after 12 hours working outdoors for a photo shoot. I was exhausted and wanted to show the toll my work took on me. Hopefully, I look exhausted.

Exercise – Discover Treasured Objects

I’m going to ask you to get out a pen and paper. Sorry, but it’s necessary, and I promise it won’t be too onerous. It’s time to do some brainstorming and soul searching.

Let’s pinpoint the things that are really important to you. Think about all the physical objects you hold dear. Start by writing without restraint. Jot down the items that quickly come to mind. Try not to evaluate them too harshly. This is about fleshing out ideas. You can use your judgment later to question whether an object should stay on the list.

If you want to create a list no problem. Or if you’re like me and none of your thoughts are ever linear then maybe an idea web (or word cloud, or a mind map) works better for you, just go for it. Write down your thoughts in the way you are most comfortable. Maybe one of the items you list is a treasured photograph of your grandmother or a plastic beaded necklace a friend gave you. It doesn’t matter just get it down on paper. Try to list at least 10 objects.

Thanks to dPS writer and team member Simon Pollock for contributing his self-portrait to the article.

Here’s my mind map. I struggled to get 10 objects as I’m not someone who has a lot of physical possessions but I will bare my soul to you all.

Here are my brainstorming efforts.

Plan photos around your objects

Now that you’ve got your mind map all worked out it’s time to consider the items you’ve jotted down. How could you incorporate one of these items into a photograph? How will you portray yourself to the world? Use these treasured objects to help you to craft meaningful self-portraits.

Here’s the image I created after completing this exercise. I hate being in front of the camera so this was a big challenge for me. I spent an afternoon twirling around in my aunt’s deerskin dress. She often used this dress during sunrise ceremonies before she gifted it to me. The dress is an important part of my heritage. I wanted to show the world something about that part of my culture.

You don’t have to show your face to create self-portraits. Other details can tell a story.

This is in contrast to the following image. I created this one with my cell phone. I shot it while sitting on my couch watching TV. Is there a story here? Or is this just a nice picture?

A Quick Exercise to Help Improve Your Self-Portraits

Ask yourself this question

It might help to consider the following question when crafting your self-portrait.

“How is this portrait I am creating a story, rather than just a visually interesting image?”

I’m not sure who first asked me that question. It was probably some wise old grizzled photographer with years of knowledge. I wish I could remember. Use this question along with the exercise above to create a meaningful self-portrait.

You can also make idea maps that show important relationships or meaningful thoughts. Be creative, but try to push your self-portraits past the mundane. You don’t have to shoot portraits with a DSLR you can use your cell phone, but take a few minutes to consider the shot before you push the button. Look at the story you’re telling and leave your mark. Show the world exactly who you are.

dPS writer Sean McCormack took this self-portrait using a remote trigger.

Thanks to Hannele for contributing another image to the collection.

A self-portrait can be a silhouette. We don’t always have to see your face. Thanks, Simon for contributing this shot.

The post A Quick Exercise to Help You Take Better Self-Portraits by Erin Fitzgibbon appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Huawei Mate 9 quick review

14 May

The Huawei Mate 9 comes with specifications that are in many ways very similar to the slightly newer P10 model. However, as the Chinese manufacturer’s current flagship phablet, the Mate 9 offers a Full-HD display that is, at 5.9″, quite a lot larger than the P10’s 5.1″ equivalent and is overall a chunkier and heavier device.

Like on all recent Huawei high-end models, the Mate 9’s dual-camera was co-developed with German camera manufacturer Leica. It comes with a 20MP monochrome sensor that is combined with a 12MP RGB chip to achieve better image results than conventional cameras. Both lenses feature an F2.2 aperture, complemented by a 6-axis optical image stabilization system and a 4-in-1 hybrid AF that combines contrast detection, phase detection, laser time-of-flight measurements and depth information. The Mate 9 can also record 4K video and has a front camera features an 8MP sensor and F1.9 aperture.

In terms of imaging features, the Mate 9 offers everything you would expect from a true high-end smartphone. The camera app’s Pro mode gives you manual controls and DNG Raw capture. There are panorama and HDR modes and some dual-cam based features, such as a portrait mode with a simulated shallow depth-of-field effect.

The Mate 9 camera app allows you to adjust all essential shooting parameters using virtual sliders.

The rest of the specification is all worthy of a flagship model as well. Android 7.0 and Huawei’s EMUI 5.0 launcher are powered by the in-house Kirin 960 chipset and the large 4000mAh battery comes with Huawei’s own quick-charging system.

Key specifications:

Dual-cam with 12MP RGB sensor and 20MP monochrome sensor
F2.2 apertures on both lenses
Optical image stabilization
Hybrid AF with contrast detection, phase detection and laser measurement
4K video
Manual control over shutter speed
DNG Raw capture
8MP / F1.9 front camera
5.9″ LCD IPS display with 1080p
Android 7.0
Kirin 960 chipset
4GB RAM
64GB storage and microSD-slot
4000mAh battery with quick charging

Image quality in good light

In good light the Mate 9 camera captures images with good exposure and pleasant colors that are vibrant but still natural. The dual-cam setup is also capable of maintaining better highlight detail than many competitors, making the Huawei a good choice for shooting in high-contrast situations.

The Leica lenses provide very good sharpness across the frame and into the corners. When viewing the Huawei’s low-ISO image output at a 100% there are no artifacts such as chromatic aberrations, color bleeding or moire but blue skies show noticeable luminance noise. Fine low-contrast textures, such as distant vegetation, are a little smeared by noise reduction but overall the Huawei captures very good detail.

ISO 50, 1/1751 sec

In the scene below the Mate 9 camera maintains very good highlight detail in the bright sunshine.

ISO 50, 1/1307 sec

The Huawei Mate 9 colors are vibrant but not quite as punchy and unnaturally saturated as on some competitors.

ISO 50, 1/1715 sec

In the portrait scene below the camera does a very good job at balancing exposure between in the bright sunlit background and the shaded subject.

ISO 50, 1/428 sec

Image quality in low light conditions

In low light the Mate 9 camera performs very well across the ISO range. Color response and white balance are good, even in mixed light situations, and the camera produces good exposures down to very low light levels.

Noise and the effects of noise reduction become more intrusive as the ISO value goes up but the Huawei always maintains a good balance between noise reduction and detail retention. Chroma noise is well under control and grain tends to be fine and less intrusive than on some competitors. Even shots captured in very dark scenes still show some finer textures and decent edge detail. Overall the Mate 9 camera performs very well in low light, letting the Huawei compete with the very best in dim conditions.

At ISO 100 a very minor reduction of detail is just about noticeable but you have to zoom in to a 100% view to see. Color and exposure are very good.

ISO 100, 1/100 sec

The ISO 250 shot below was captured in a tungsten-lit interior. The white balance system is doing a good job at producing a fairly neutral color response that preserves some of the scene’s warm atmosphere. At full-size view luminance noise becomes visible but the grain size is very small and much less intrusive than the smeared ‘noise blobs’ on some other cameras.

ISO 250, 1/33 sec

The camera does a good job in the difficult light conditions of the indoor scene below. The optical image stabilization usually keep things steady but, like on most smartphone cameras, at slow shutter speeds even minor subject motion leads to slight softness.

ISO 640, 1/17 sec

For the night scene below the camera’s auto mode selected ISO 1250. In these difficult conditions noise is visible even at smaller image sizes and a lot of fine detail has been eradicated by noise reduction. However, in comparison to many competitors the Mate 9 is still doing a very good job. Some low-contrast textures are preserved and noise levels are comparatively low. The auto exposure system is also doing an excellent job at balancing the bright portions of the scene against the darker elements.

ISO 1250, 1/4 sec

Flash

The Mate 9’s dual-LED flash performed well in our testing. When using the flash the camera tends to keep ISO pretty low, allowing for good detail and low noise levels. Exposure is good with subjects across the table but can get a little too dark at slightly longer distances. Auto white balance usually ensures natural skin tones, even in mixed light situations.

ISO 320, 1/25 sec

Front camera

The Mate 9’s front camera comes with an 8MP resolution and resolves good detail in bright light. It also offers better dynamic range than most front cameras we have seen and deals very well with bright backlit scenes, such as the one below. As you would expect, image quality starts suffering as light levels get lower but a display flash function allows for self-portraits even in very dark situations.

Front camera, ISO 50, 1/1427 sec

Panorama mode

The Mate 9’s panorama mode works in the same way as on other recent Huawei high-end models. You can capture both vertical and horizontal panoramas and a guide line helps you keep things as straight as possible during recording.

At usually just over 10,000 pixels wide the Mate 9’s panorama images are quite a bit smaller than on recent iPhones or Samsung Galaxy models and only cover a 180 degree angle of view. However, image detail is pretty good, there are only minor stitching errors and the mode deals well with moving subjects in the scene.

Vertical panorama, 11274 x 3072 pixels

DNG Raw capture

When shooting in its Pro mode you can set the Mate 9 camera to save DNG Raw files in addition to JPEG images.

Out-of-camera JPEG, ISO 50, 1/1000 sec

The Raw sample below was converted in Adobe ACR. We applied some negative digital exposure compensation and slightly lifted the shadow areas for an overall more natural tonal distribution and applied some small-diameter sharpening. If you click through to the full-sized version you can see that by doing so you can achieve noticeably better detail and reduce highlight clipping on some of the brighter elements in the scene (though the better highlight roll-off has as much to do with being able to access ACR’s cleverness as anything the phone is contributing).

DNG Raw file, converted in Adobe ACR

Video

The Huawei Mate 9 can capture video in up to 4K resolution and 120 fps slow motion clips at 720p. The 1080p Full-HD sample below shows good color and detail but panning is not quite as smooth as the best in class. The quality of the stereo sound recording is good in most situations.

Conclusion

The Huawei Mate 9 comes with high-end components that are wrapped up in a solid metal body with a premium look and feel, a comprehensive imaging feature set, a well-structured camera app and very good image quality across all light levels. In bright light the Mate 9 camera lags very slightly behind the best in class in terms of image detail and noise but delivers excellent dynamic range, making it a great camera for shooting in high-contrast situations.

In lower light the camera maintains an excellent balance between noise reduction and detail retention at all light levels and even images taken in very low light still show some fine textures, making the Huawei an excellent choice for mobile photographers who like shooting in dim conditions. Panning in video mode is not quite as smooth as on the iPhone or Google Pixel devices but if video is not too high up your list the Huawei Mate 9 is a very powerful tool for mobile photography.

If you prefer smaller smartphones you should have a closer look at the Huawei P10, which offers very similar all-around specifications in a noticeably smaller package.

Huawei Mate 9 sample gallery

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Adobe’s Lightroom Coffee Break videos give quick time-saving tips

11 May

It’s over ten years since Adobe’s Lightroom emerged from beta, and it’s evolved a lot since then. The company’s ‘Coffee break’ series of videos introduces features you might not know. For a minute of your time, these tips can help speed your workflow.

For instance, the video above (as highlighted on PetaPixel) shows you how to set the default processing applied to all your files. You can set it to a different preset per camera or even per ISO setting, if you have a preferred noise reduction and sharpening system.

In this video, Lightroom team member Benjamin Warde explains (in 46 seconds) how to define a new starting point for when you work with new files. That’s got to be worth a moment of your time, hasn’t it?

Click here to see the Coffee Break playlist of 34 sub-minute video.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Food photographers rejoice: Camera-enabled Samsung Family Hub 2.0 fridge quick review

02 Apr

Introduction

Source: Samsung

All of Samsung’s new Family Hub 2.0 line of camera fridges come in three or four door configurations, have 21.5” 1080p LED screens, and of course, internet connectivity and cameras with enough resolution to allow you the freedom to count your yogurt cups from anywhere in the world.

Electronics giant Samsung has been largely absent from consumer digital imaging lately, save for its ongoing lineups of smartphones and tablets (please, don’t say ‘phablets’ within earshot of anyone, anywhere). That all changed at CES 2017, where the company has shown a renewed vigor in the digital imaging space with an update to its Family Hub refrigerator-based camera technology.

At the heart of this system is the large LED screen on the front of the units, which will allow you to load web pages, place food orders, leave notes for your family, and of course, frame your photographs of the food that is being cared for by the very device doing the photographing. The 21st century sure is grand.

Key Specs

Camera type: Fridge
Price as tested: $ 3499
Resolution: Good enough
ISO: Good enough
Image stabilization: Weight-based (334 lb. shipping weight)
AF Point Selection: Dunno
Battery life: AC power only
Fingerprint resistance: Standard

So who, then, is the Samsung Family Hub 2.0 camera fridge for? For the budding food photographer, it doesn’t get much easier. If you’re a landscape shooter though, you may run into some limitations.

In practice

The Family Hub 2.0 line of camera refrigerators makes basic food photography as easy as can be. The camera fridge acts essentially as a large softbox or cove, with ample space to style your food with ease.

Your photos with your camera fridge will look nothing like this, because this is a camera in a fridge, not a camera built into a fridge door. Important distinction.

A full internal LED lighting setup provides bright, constant illumination to allow you to capture your stylized creations or past-due eggs with a flattering (or maybe just flat) look, and internet connectivity lets you share these works with literally anyone in the world, even if no one wants to see them. In other words, this could be the perfect food-focused Instagrammer’s main camera.

There’s also an argument to be made for the eccentric product photographer who prefers to shoot primarily on bright reflective white, or the accomplished portraitist who wants some variety for his or her ‘Trapped Businessman’ portfolio (note, the ‘similar images’ listings on that page show a similar theme, ‘Trapped,’ but for some reason, the businessman is nude – fair warning).

But as an enthusiasts’ all-rounder, the Family Hub 2.0 camera fridge leaves something to be desired. First of all, to photograph anything besides what’s actually in the fridge, you will have to literally saw the back of the fridge off (DPReview in no way endorses this activity). And though the immense weight will be a boon to those photographing landscapes in windy conditions, the lack of any sort of control over image capture settings makes long exposures of waterfalls, grassy knolls and the like exceedingly difficult to capture with any sense of motion or grandeur.

There goes a brave man.*

For wildlife, you’re going to need a very long extension cord to keep the generator noise far enough away to keep from frightening your subjects, to say nothing of the rustling you’d make wheeling the camera up to a confused and soon-to-be angry Grizzly. And as for sports, the lack of a zoom will be limiting for anything besides a slot-car track built inside the fridge itself; wheeling a fridge up and down the sidelines of your local football match is likely to cause health problems.

Lastly, there’s no Auto ISO or Raw support (besides supporting the chilling of various raw meats), and these are both features that are present on many competing camera models in this price range. Of course, none of those competing models comes with a fridge built-in. So you just can’t have it all, it seems.

The wrap

Overall, we’re pleased to see Samsung’s continued commitment this new (ice) age of digital imaging. Their Family Hub 2.0 line of camera fridges offer easy-to-use Wi-Fi connectivity in solid, well-built packages. But we can’t help but feel that the camera fridge phenomenon as a whole will be given the cold shoulder by the broader photography community.

After all, the price of entry for a camera that primarily appeals to food photographers is fairly steep. And even if you can appreciate the stabilizing heft, there will be those for whom a hand truck is just one photography accessory too many. Perhaps most importantly, if you need to photograph anything besides what you place in the fridge, it’ll require a couple of warranty-breaching hours with a hacksaw.

In the end, the Family Hub 2.0 line of camera fridges is going to appeal to a very select niche, and if it’s the right camera for you, who are we to judge? But if you need a more well-rounded solution for your photography, we have to recommend that you hold off and put that pre-order on ice.

*In accordance with Creative Commons 2.0 and 3.0 licensing, image is a composite with credits to Rob Bixby for the photographer, Samsung for the fridge and someone whose alias is Traveler100 for the bears.

If you hadn’t caught on yet, we’re having a little April Fool’s Day fun her. We in no way endorse taking a hacksaw to a refrigerator, or really using a refrigerator for anything aside from refrigeration.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Insta360 Air 360-degree camera for Android quick review

17 Mar

Insta360 Air
$ 129/£139 | www.insta360.com | Buy Now

The Insta360 Air is a smartphone add-on that turns your Android device into a fully-fledged 360-degree VR camera. It’s capable of capturing still images and video, and comes with a live-streaming function. It only weighs 26.5 grams / ~1oz, comes with a protective rubber case and attaches to your phone either via the microUSB or USB Type-C port. We got our hands on the latter version and have tried it out on the Huawei P10 and Motorola Moto Z Force.

Key specifications:

Phone Compatibility Android phones
Dual-fisheye lenses
F2.4 aperture
3008 x 1504 (3K) still image resolution
2560 x 1280 video resolution (3008 x 1504 with some smartphones)
30 frames per second
Real-time stitching
37.6mm / 1.48in diameter
26.5 grams
Available with microUSB or Type-C connector


The Insta360 Air is small and lightweight enough to always be carried anywhere.	A rubber case provides protection on the go.

Operation


The capture screen offers a good range of features, including filter effects.	Optionally images and videos can be exported in ‘tiny planet’ format.

Using the Insta360 Air is very intuitive. Plugging the camera into your phone’s USB-port launches the Insta360 app which lets you capture images, record video or live-stream to YouTube or a web-address. When shooting images or video you can apply exposure compensation or Instagram filters, which are applied to the preview image.

The integrated viewer allows you to create albums and see your recorded content in all its 360-degree glory. There is also a range of sharing options which let you choose between sharing full 360-degree photos/video or ‘tiny-planet’ style images or animations. Overall the app is nicely designed, works reliably on our test phones and reacts swiftly to user input.

The Insta360 Air can also be used as a 360-degree webcam on Skype and other video-chat applications after connecting to a PC’s USB 2.0 or 3.0 port. 360-degree webcam support for Mac should be provided soon via a software update.

The Insta360 Air can also be used as a 360-degree webcam.

Stills

In still image mode the Insta360 Air captures photos with a size of 3008 x 1504 pixels. That’s less still image resolution than you’ll find on cameras like the Samsung Camera 360, the LG Cam 360 or the Ricoh Theta SC and when viewed in 360-degree mode on a large screen the levels of fine detail aren’t great. That said, images usually show good color and exposure, and the stitching algorithm that joins the two halves of the images does a very good job. Very occasionally, minor ghosting can be visible but otherwise images taken in good light are relatively free of artifacts.