Tiffen has introduced a new range of neutral density filters that aim to allow stills photographers to shoot extreme long exposures without incurring the red colour cast that is so common with ND filters. The XLE series comprises three 10-stop ND filters with differing infrared-cut characteristics, ranging from none in the XLE Axent, to moderate in the Advantix and complete IR suppression in the Apex. Learn more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Delkin has introduced a new trio of rugged SD cards suitable for photographers who shoot in harsh environments, reducing the odds of losing photographs because of card damage. Delkin’s new ‘Black’ SD cards are designed to handle extreme temperatures, as well as exposure to dust, water, and crushing forces. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
We’ve updated our first impressions review of the Nikon D4S with our JPEG Tone Curve and Dynamic Range measurements. Included are real-world examples of Nikon’s Active D-Lighting modes, which can significantly help in dealing with scenes containing challenging ranges of (dark to bright) tones. Have a look and, as always, you can compare the D4S to any other camera in our database. Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Giotto’s has announced four new lightweight and compact tripods designed for travel. Coming in both aluminum and carbon fiber models, they all feature four-section legs for portability, a Y-shaped center column and include a carrying case. The new ‘Air’ tripods will retail from £180-£334 ($ 301-$ 559). Learn more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Nikon introduces its Coolpix P600, P530 and S9700 high zoom cameras with 16MP BSI CMOS sensors. The Coolpix P600 and P530 feature built-in electronic viewfinders and 60x and 42x optical zoom ranges, respectively, while the Coolpix S9700 travel zoom compact has a 30x optical zoom. Both the P600 and S9700 offer built-in Wi-Fi, and all three cameras provide 1080/60i HD video recording.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
The folks at Magic Lantern are no stranger to adding new features to Canon DSLRs, courtesy of their EOS Camera Tool software. Their latest creation, Dual ISO, increases the dynamic range of the 5D Mark III and EOS 7D by four stops, bringing the total dynamic range to 14EV. This allows you to pull detail out of the shadows with a lot less noise than with the ‘stock’ firmware. Click through for more details.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
We’re working on Sony’s flagship compact camera, the 24MP RX1R, and as part of our usual testing we’ve updated our preview with noise and noise-reduction analysis, and our standard page looking at dynamic range. This is in addition to our studio comparison scene pages, and a real-world samples gallery showing just what the RX1R – which lacks an AA filter – can do. Click through for a link to our updated preview.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Miles Hecker’s Geotagged location for this month is The Wind River Range.
"Michael’s and Jeff’s tutorial videos are absolutely awesome, not only because of the information transmitted but also because of the casual, conversational style which somehow really makes things stick in your memory."
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The Luminous Landscape – What’s New
US technology company Rambus has unveiled ‘Binary Pixel’ sensor technology, promising greatly expanded dynamic range for the small sensors used in devices such as smartphones. Current image sensors are unable to record light above a specific saturation point, which results in clipped highlights. Binary Pixel technology gets around this by recording when a pixel has received a certain amount of light, then resetting it and in effect restarting the exposure. The result is significantly expanded dynamic range from a single-shot exposure. The company has demonstrated the technology using a low resolution sensor, and says it can easily be incorporated into CMOS sensors using current manufacturing methods.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Olympus has announced the TG-830 iHS and TG-630 iHS, two new additions to the company’s TOUGH series of travel-friendly waterproof compact cameras. The mid-range TG-830 iHS is waterproof to 10m (33 feet) and has a 5x optical zoom lens to go along with its 16MP back-side illuminated CMOS sensor. Video can be recorded in 1920 x 1080 resolution, with the option to capture high speed clips at 120 fps in 720 resolution mode, for slow motion playback. The entry-level TG-630 iHS is waterproof down to 3.9m (13 feet). Both models will be available in March in a range of colors.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)