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Some of the Pros of Using Micro Four-Thirds Cameras for Wildlife Photography

11 Jul

Micro four-thirds (MFT) cameras have been on the market for 10 years now and have grown to be a preferred option for professionals and amateurs alike. The small camera bodies (you might even say tiny) house high-quality features including high dynamic range, high ISO sensitivity, and 16mp (or greater) sensors.

As the MFT format has gained popularity a range of professional-quality lenses has also been developed. I have been shooting the Olympus Em5 and Em5II since they came on the market in 2013 and 2015 respectively. Throughout my travels shooting wildlife across the U.S., I have been shooting this system with great results.

There are many aspects that micro four-thirds cameras great for wildlife as well as a few drawbacks. I will walk you through my impressions of this system for wildlife photography, both the pros and the cons.

humpback whales - Pros and Cons of Using Micro Four-Thirds Cameras for Wildlife Photography

I took this image of bubble-net feeding Humpback Whales with an Olympus OMD E-M5. All of the images featured in this article were captured using the MFT system.

Intrinsic Advantages (Pros)

The micro four-thirds system has some advantages for wildlife photographers due to the nature of its sensor and technology. These “intrinsic advantages” as I’m calling them are inherent to the system and can assist in your wildlife photography. In the next few sections, I will walk through how a 2x 35mm equivalency, quiet camera, high ISO range, high shutter speed, and high-resolution.

I will also review some features specific to the Olympus E-M5 Mark II system that you may find beneficial.

Micro four-thirds for wildlife - caterpillar

Here I have used MFT to photograph all forms of wildlife. From coastal brown bears to insects.

Pro – Get Closer with the 2x Crop Factor

Everyone who shoots wildlife photography wants to get closer to their subject and this is one way in which micro four-thirds sensors shine. When talking about how a sensor’s size affects the final zoom of your lens, the photography industry standardizes to “35mm equivalency”.

Without diving into the ins-and-outs of that means, here’s the bottom line: if you have a 100-300mm lens the micro four-thirds system effectively makes it a 200-600mm lens. The camera intrinsically doubles the length of your telephoto lens – you can likely appreciate how that doubling of focal length will help you get your wildlife shots!

Micro four-thirds for wildlife - portrait of a deer

2x equivalency is a big deal! You can get closer to wildlife with your enhanced telephoto lens.

small bird with a berry - Micro four-thirds for wildlife

As an avid birder, I appreciate the 2x equivalency to get closer to small birds.

Pro – High Maximum Shutter Speed

The micro four-thirds system is capable of really fast shutter speeds. As a wildlife photographer, it can give you a leg-up on fast-moving animals such as small birds or even insects.

The Olympus OMD E-M5 II is capable of shutter speeds up to 1/8000th of a second! In bright lighting conditions, you can use the fast shutter speed to stop water droplets of an animal walking in a river or the fast pulse of the wings of a hummingbird.

hummingbird in flight - Micro four-thirds for wildlife

Fast shutter speeds will help you stop the wings of a bird even as quick as that of a hummingbird’s!

Pro – 40MP High-Resolution Mode

A feature specific to the Olympus OMD E-M5 II is the 40-megapixel high-resolution mode. Sensor shifting-technology allows the camera to increase the resolution of the image.

One restriction of this process is the subject or animal has to be completely still. However, if you know you have the right conditions and a shot for which you need high resolution, you will find this mode convenient if your goal is to make large prints later.

owls in a tree - Micro four-thirds for wildlife

These great horned owl chicks were sitting so still that I was able to use the high-resolution feature of the Em5II to create a 40-megapixel image of them.

Pro and Con – ISO, and Light

The micro four-thirds system is capable of using high ISO settings to boost your camera’s sensitivity to light. However, high ISO values can create image noise (graininess in the image), and this is one area where the MFT systems fall much shorter than full-frame systems and DSLRs.

You will find that you can comfortably shoot up to ISO 800 or 1600 and be able to post-process out the noise. However, at ISO 1600 you will notice the noise if you crop the image, so be aware of that. Low-light conditions are common for wildlife photography, so consider that this system will not give you the performance of full frame cameras.

great horned owl eyes closed - Micro four-thirds for wildlife

This great horned owl was photographed in low light, so I needed to increase my ISO to capture it.

Pro – A Stealthy Camera

This camera contains no mirrors or moving parts inside the camera – every process occurs digitally. That makes the camera extremely quiet when you press the shutter button and it will not disturb the wildlife you are watching. This helps you keep the animal in range and also be an ethical wildlife photographer that does not negatively impact the wildlife you are shooting.

dragonfly damselfly - Micro four-thirds for wildlife

A quiet camera is very important for capturing skittish animals such as this damselfly!

Pro – Flexibility

This camera can provide incredible flexibility to your kit. In the next sections, I will review some features that I find helpful for wildlife photography.

Pro – Light Body

All of the mirrorless cameras are light which makes them ideal to transport. This is due to the lack of moving parts within the camera such as mirrors – which allow the cameras to be smaller. The lenses native to micro four-thirds cameras are also generally light.

Reiterating my point about 2x equivalency, you can get a 600mm equivalent telephoto lens that only weighs a few pounds. As a traveling wildlife photographer, you will appreciate the light weight in your backpack, carry-on luggage, or strapped around your neck.

micro four-thirds for wildlife - olympus camera

This is the Olympus Em5II body and Lumix 100-300 that I use for wildlife photography. You can see how small the body and lens is!

Pro – Fast Autofocus

The autofocus system on this camera is very fast and is useful for inflight shots of birds and general wildlife photography. Upgrades to the autofocus systems in the Olympus E-M5 II have provided accurate focus points giving you the ability to target an exact spot in your frame to focus.

One disadvantage is I find that the autofocus hunts in low-contrast situations. So you should be prepared to manually focus in low-light shooting conditions such as at dusk or in a heavy forest canopy.

micro four-thirds for wildlife - eagle in mid-air

A fast autofocus system will help you a lot with in-flight images of birds.

crane in flight - micro four-thirds for wildlife

I relied on the autofocus to capture this sandhill crane as it flew by.

Pro – High Resolution

Almost all micro four-thirds cameras come with a high-resolution (16mp or greater) sensor. The 16mp sensor on the Olympus E-M5 II gives plenty of resolution for enlargements. This is useful for printing and also gives you the ability to crop a shot and maintain sharpness.

I have made canvas prints up to 36” with images from this camera and found the resolution was ample for that as long as you have a sharp shot.

owl in Lightroom - micro four-thirds for wildlife

Here is a 1:1 crop of an image of a great horned owl. You can see that the image maintains decent sharpness even at a large crop.

Pro – Native Lenses and Adapting Lenses

If you are willing to shoot with manual focus it is possible to adapt nearly any brand of telephoto lens (Canon, Nikon, Sigma, etc.) to your MFT camera using an adaptor. This is thanks to the small flange distance of the MFT format. I have had success adapting long telephotos, old Olympus OMD lenses, and even old screw-mount lenses such as a Takumar 35mm that I have.

Why does that matter? Adaptors are cheap ($ 25 – $ 50 generally) and allow you to utilize glass that you may already own bringing down the price-point of your system.

olympus camera and adapted lens - micro four-thirds for wildlife

You can adapt almost any lens to the MFT bodies. Although I do not use this Takumar portrait lens for wildlife, it shows off the ability to adapt even a screw-mount lens such as this one built in the 1960s.

Pro – Sealed Bodies and Lenses

The body of the Olympus E-M5 Mark II is sealed from dust and water. Although that is not the case with all MFT cameras, as long as you do your research you’ll find other camera bodies that are sealed and well-built too.

This is invaluable to a wildlife photographer! I am sure you can think of times that you needed to shoot in the rain, the dust, or perhaps the mist of a waterfall. Having a sealed body will protect your camera and investment.

breaching whale - micro four-thirds for wildlife

On a boat or on land, you need to be able to count on a sealed body to protect your camera.

The Bottom Line

You may have found the features above appealing for your photography needs, so let’s look at the bottom line and the value-to-cost of this system.

You can find micro four-thirds cameras starting at $ 200 and going up to about $ 1,000. For those prices, you are getting a camera capable of shooting high-resolution images with excellent quality. With practice and patience, you can take beautiful images of wildlife and not break your back (or your bank) while doing it.

As I like to say, “pixels are cheap”, so I hope you make lots of them photographing wildlife with a micro four-thirds system.

The post Some of the Pros of Using Micro Four-Thirds Cameras for Wildlife Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Tips for Light Painting and Some Common Pitfalls to Avoid

18 Apr

In this article, I will focus on light painting objects in night scenes during a single long exposure (rather than multiple exposures combined in Photoshop) and some of the pitfalls I have experienced. I hope you will gain an understanding of how different light sources, intensity, and warmth can illuminate your foreground elements in a balanced way to provide a creative twist to your shot.

A beautiful night sky filled with stars is often laced with compelling foreground elements that can provide context and intrigue to your shots. You have likely seen many examples of these things in other people’s work such as a saguaro cactus under The Milky Way in the middle of the desert, a homestead cabin in the middle of an old pasture, or a boat floating on a still lake.

This single exposure captures The Milky Way over a field of yellow wildflowers in central Minnesota. I used light painting to emphasize the flowers which were an important part of the scene.

I am positive you can think of foreground elements in your personal environment. Although silhouettes of those foreground elements can provide you with stunning imagery, you may consider using light painting techniques to emphasize the foreground elements of your shot.

What is light painting?

Light painting is a night photography technique where you use a light source to illuminate an object (in other words you “paint it”). The digital camera era has made light painting much more common as it is easier to check and compensate for your exposure of the shot. Because light painting provides so many creative options there are many forms it can take.

In order to do light painting, you will need to carry a little bit of extra equipment and have some basic knowledge about your camera’s manual settings. A grasp of these basic camera settings will increase the enjoyment of your night out by helping you make beautiful imagery.

Camera Settings

Manual Mode will be necessary to shoot your long exposures. You should be aware of how to switch to Manual Mode and then adjust your aperture and shutter speed. For night photography, you will want to use a large aperture (e.g., f/2.8) and slow shutter speeds of often 5 seconds or more.

ISO changes will be necessary in order for your camera to pick up the most amount of light possible. I recommend beginning at ISO 800 and then adjusting accordingly as you learn about your particular scene and shooting conditions. It is important to remember that a really high ISO will require you to post-process out digital “noise” and each camera model has a range of ISO values it can shoot at before it will become very grainy.

White Balance adjustment is critical to shooting at night and for light painting. Look in your camera’s manual or play with your camera settings to ensure you can access manual White Balance and you can create lower or higher White Balance values. White Balance is measured in Kelvin and most cameras will represent it with “K” after the White Balance value (e.g. 4500K).

I bounced the light off the snow to light this shot because direct light caused the totem to become too bright and out of balance.

Equipment

An appropriate light source is necessary to do light painting. You should consider bringing multiple light sources that have both wide and narrow beams as well as multiple color temperatures. You may consider things such as a headlamp, cell phone, flashlight, or professional lighting as these have different beam widths and intensities.

To determine the warmth of your light source, check the box as it may tell you the temperature rating. For instance, many lightbulbs from the store will say 4500K on the side of them. Some professional lighting sources will allow you to adjust both the temperature and intensity of the light, so you may consider those as you progress and become more proficient at light painting.

Beyond the camera and a light source, a tripod is the next most important thing you can bring when shooting long exposures. Ensure your tripod can remain stable for long (up to several minutes occasionally) exposures.

A friend is a great addition to a night of light painting! Your friend can help sidelight objects while you take the photos, provide for creative solutions to problems, and keep you safe as you move around in the dark.

I use this LED light panel which allows me to control the light intensity and color.

Basic Light Painting Techniques

Each night has unique conditions that need to be accounted for, but I like to begin each night with a familiar set of steps. Set your camera up on a tripod and take a few test shots. I usually start at f/2.0, ISO 800, 10-15 seconds, and 4500K.

From those base settings, you can experiment with ISO, shutter speed, and set a White Balance that looks good to you. Once you have the settings for the scene right, set up a composition you like and which ties together the necessary foreground elements. Begin your exposure then use a light source to paint the foreground in front of you.

This image of the Aurora Borealis captures the beauty of the boreal forest and the subtle aurora behind it. I used standard settings (ISO 2000, f/2.2, 20 seconds) and a light panel to make this image.

Selecting a light source is important. Its qualities will determine how it can be used. There are three considerations you should think about:

What is the intensity of the light?
How wide is the beam?
What is the color temperature of the light?

Keeping these things in mind will help you immensely when you go out to shoot. A wide beam can help you light close objects while a more focused beam can light a more distant one. I often use a professional light panel because it gives me control over the beam intensity, width, and warmth.

A good light source will help you get over the pitfalls identified below.

Pitfall #1: Not matching the color balance

When I first began doing light painting, I had a really hard time matching the color of my light and the context of my scene. Your camera will key in on bright objects in the shot such as the moon, a street lamp, or the Aurora Borealis which will become the dominant temperature in the shot.

Keep this in mind as you take your test shots because you will need to adjust your White Balance according to those light sources. If the White Balance of your light source is adjustable set it to the same as the camera. If you cannot control the temperature of your light source (e.g., a cell phone) then consider adjusting the White Balance of your camera to match the light source. You will know the light source and camera are calibrated together properly when the color of your foreground elements look natural (neutral) to your eye.

I’ve provided some examples of images below which came out well and some that did not (according to my eye) due to incorrect White Balance calibration. You should be able to spot images demonstrating the matching warmth pitfall that we just reviewed. I’ve left some thoughts in the captions of the images to reflect on each further.

It is not too hard to diagnose what’s wrong with this image – I did not properly calibrate the temperature of my camera and light source. The light source is too cold compared to my camera’s settings.

The calibration of camera and light source were close on this one, but the temperature was a bit too cold on the light source as evidenced by the bluish tinge to the tree on the left.

A good match! I was able to use the white of the American Flag to calibrate the light source and camera to get good colors from both the flag and the aurora.

This is a good match on the color balance. There were a moon and aurora on this night, so I only used a headlamp to softly light this sled dog that appears to be watching the aurora.

Pitfall #2: Not balancing the light in your scene

Choosing the right beam width and intensity will help you balance the lighting of the foreground elements to the rest of the scene. A digital camera set at ISO 800 or above is incredibly sensitive to light and it is very easy to “blow out” a shot by overexposing the foreground elements. Here are a few tips to help balance the light in your scene.

A broad beam will help evenly light an entire scene and a narrow beam can light specific aspects of the scene. I have provided thoughts and examples below about when my light source width was appropriate and when it was incorrect.
If you have close foreground elements consider bouncing your light source. I often use reflective surfaces like snow to indirectly light the foreground through bouncing. If you cannot bounce the light, try side lighting or lighting the object from behind.
You can decrease the exposure by closing down the aperture. I have found increasing the aperture (say from f/2.0 to f/4.0) and increasing the exposure time make it dramatically easier to create a balance of light in the scene.
It stands to reason that if you paint an object for a long time with the light it will show up brighter. You will find that duration is critical when light painting and often less is more. Try light painting the object in a short burst of one half, to one second of light and see if it adequately lights the object.

Blowout! I was light painting these autumn aspens to capture the fall colors with the Aurora Borealis. However, my beam was too narrow for the work I wanted to do.

A small beam allowed me to light up this “old man’s beard” hanging from spruce trees in Southeast Alaska. A wide beam would not have worked here as it would have lit the entire scene.

Here I wanted to capture the glacier face and the aurora together so I placed my light panel behind a block of ice. This masked it from direct view and allowed me to bounce the light off the snow.

A passing car provided the lighting for this shot, and I liked the warmth of the light a lot! The broad beam was most appropriate here.

Food for Thought and Wrapping Up

I hope this article can help you get over a couple of the steep learning curves of light painting. Remember, any light source at your disposal can be used to light your scene and each may have its own unique benefits. Experiment with headlamps, cell phones, car headlights, and professional lighting sources to see what each can provide to the shot.

I hope you enjoy your night out! As I always like to say, “Pixels are cheap”, so make lots of them as you learn light painting.

The post Tips for Light Painting and Some Common Pitfalls to Avoid appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Behind the scenes with some incredible camera robots

05 Apr

Tech YouTuber Marques Brownlee of MKBHD recently took a trip to Portland, OR to meet up with the team behind Motorized Precision and show off some of the incredible camera robots they’ve built. The resulting behind the scenes videos show you why these robots exist, and the kinds of shots they’re able to get that are just plain impossible for a human to recreate with the tools we currently have available.

Forget stabilizers and dollies and tracks and sliders, a human would have a very hard time capturing a shot like this:

Which was done like this:

You might recognize this robot and its CGI-like moves from the commercial that introduced Microsoft’s Surface Studio to the world. Anything that wasn’t CGI or visual effects in that commercial was shot using the KIRA robot:

Brownlee and the team at Motorized Precision set up several example shots using both the KIRA—MP’s most powerful and capable robot—and the smaller MIA. Both of these are controlled by a piece of software called MP Studio, which also allows you to manipulate the robot using an XBox controller, something Brownlee also demos.

Check out the full ‘Dope Tech’ video at the top to see more interesting behind-the-scenes shots.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Adobe Premiere Pro CC just got some really useful AI-powered features

05 Apr

Yesterday, Adobe announced a ‘massive update’ to Adobe Camera Raw, Lightroom CC, and Lightroom Classic CC, adding new Adobe RAW and Custom profiles that showed the company was taking color and tonality more seriously. But that wasn’t the only update to come out of Adobe this week.

In preparation for NAB 2018, Adobe has also updated its video editing applications with useful new features for both After Effects and Premiere Pro users, and some really cool Adobe Sensei AI integration specifically for Premiere Pro.

The video above gives you a good overview, or you can can keep reading to dive a bit deeper.

Adobe After Effects

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After Effects received a few interesting new features, including a new Advanced Puppet tool for creating complex motions, and Master Properties that allow you to apply changes to individual effects across multiple versions of a composition. Or, to let Adobe explain it:

With Master Properties, you can create compositions that allow you to control layer properties in a parent composition’s timeline. You can push individual values to all versions of your composition or pull selected changes back to the master.

Adobe has also added Immersive Environment into After Effects, providing 360-degree and VR content creators with a more efficient workflow.

Adobe Premiere Pro

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Master Properties and the Advanced Puppet tool are pretty neat, but to see the most useful and impressive new features you’ll have to open Premiere Pro.

First and foremost, the new Color Match feature leverages the Adobe Sensei AI to automatically apply the color grade of one shot to another. This feature comes complete with Face Detection so Premiere can match skin tones where necessary, and a new split-view allows you to see the results of your color grade as you go, either as an interactive slider or as a side-by-side comparison.

You can see the feature demoed in the video below:

In addition to Color Match and Split View, Adobe has used the Sensei AI to make some audio improvements as well. Autoducking will automatically turn down your music when dialog or sound effects are present, generating key frames right on the audio track so you can easily override the automatic ducking or adjust individual key frames as needed.

Finally, Adobe has also added Adobe Stock integration into the apps for purchasing and pulling in stock video footage or motion graphics, and a new Learn panel in Premiere Pro gives new users “a place to start with targeted tutorials that guide them through the foundational steps of video editing.”

To learn more about all of these updates, head over to the Adobe Blog where there’s a good breakdown of all of the most important new features in both Adobe After Effects CC and Premiere Pro CC. Or, since these updates are live right now, update your Creative Cloud apps and give the new features a try for yourself.

Press Release

Adobe Creative Cloud Empowers Creatives to Thrive in the Video Age

New Release Accelerates Workflows for Color, Graphics, Animation and Audio with Adobe Sensei

SAN JOSE, Calif. — April 3, 2018 — Ahead of the 2018 NAB Show, Adobe today announced a major update in Adobe Creative Cloud, giving video professionals new tools to automate and expedite time-consuming production tasks without sacrificing creative control. Available today, the updates include powerful new capabilities for refining color, creating graphics and crafting audio, along with enhanced VR tools, improved collaboration, integration with Adobe Stock and advanced artificial intelligence powered by Adobe Sensei.

With the growing demand for video, the opportunity for content creators has never been greater, but video professionals are faced with new pressure to deliver more work in less time while ensuring content stands out and meets high audience expectations. In addition, creators must optimize for different platforms, ensure accessibility, meet required broadcast standards and deliver numerous versions of content across languages and regions. This tremendous shift in the way video professionals work requires more refined and streamlined workflows to reduce time to production, giving video creators more time to focus on their craft.

“The demands and pace of video content creation are reaching levels we’ve never seen before. The time pressure on video professionals means the need for powerful and efficient creative tools has never been greater,” said Steven Warner, vice president of digital video and audio at Adobe. “Adobe video apps like Premiere Pro and After Effects give them that power which, combined with the services available in Creative Cloud, provides broadcasters, media companies, filmmakers and YouTubers a complete ecosystem to bring their stories to screen faster than ever.”

Ranging from Hollywood to Sundance, feature films to premium television channels, a growing number of industry-leading professional editors are using Adobe Premiere Pro CC to bring their creative visions to life. Projects that premiered this year include The Florida Project, The Square, Only the Brave and 6 Below; indie hits RBG, Clara’s Ghost and Search; and award-winning series MINDHUNTER and Atlanta.

Attendees at this year’s NAB Show can get a closer look at the newly available features and hear from industry experts at the Adobe booth (#SL4010, South Hall in the Las Vegas Convention Center) and at over 140 partner booths from April 9–12.

Video and Audio Workflows: Streamlined and Fine-Tuned

New feature highlights include:

Edit more powerfully with color and light in Premiere Pro CC – Powered by Adobe Sensei, Color Match two shots with one click, applying editable Lumetri adjustments from one clip to another to achieve visual consistency in scenes and across whole projects. Compare shots using the new split-view.
Create animation and graphics more quickly in After Effects CC – Stacked behaviors and effects in combination with timeline-based animation now make the creative process more visual and intuitive. Apply changes to individual effects across multiple versions of a composition with a single adjustment using new Master Properties. Also, complex motions can be made to any surface mesh with the new Advanced Puppet tool.
Sound even better with Sensei-powered audio workflows – Automatically adjust soundtrack audio around dialog, whether for a single clip or an entire project, with Sensei-enabled autoducking, now available in Adobe Premiere Pro.
Bring art to life faster with Character Animator – Animate personas more quickly and efficiently with a library of behaviors and custom triggers. Drag layers from the Puppet panel into the Triggers panel to apply and refine existing behaviors or create new ones with intuitive new drop targets.
Add 360 degrees of creativity with improved tools for immersive content – Adobe Immersive Environment is now available in After Effects CC, simplifying the immersive workflow to move more efficiently through clean-up and effects tasks. New support for the Microsoft Windows Mixed Reality platform offers a wider range of headsets to choose the best tools for the job.
Collaborate more easily in Team Projects – For the ultimate in project collaboration, real-time presence shows when teammates are online and new badges indicate when a project has been updated.
Get content you need with Adobe Stock – With direct access to millions of curated HD and 4K videos, select clips for establishing shots, fill in the final gaps in projects or enrich storytelling with visual variety. Add sophistication and polish to video content with professionally designed Motion Graphics templates, including animated titling and lower thirds graphics with editable effects and text.
Learn panel for new users – Premiere Pro beginners now have a place to start with targeted tutorials that guide them through the foundational steps of video editing. The new Learn panel is just a click away whenever it’s needed.

Pricing and Availability

The new features for Adobe Creative Cloud announced at NAB are now available with the latest version of Creative Cloud.

For more information on pricing, visit https://www.adobe.com/creativecloud/plans.html.

Multiple subscription plans for Adobe Stock are available at https://stock.adobe.com/plans.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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East River helicopter tragedy prompts FAA to halt some doors-off flights

20 Mar

Doors-off flight experiences promoted by FlyNYON. Last Sunday’s tragic flight was booked through the company, and operated by Liberty Helicopters.

A photo tour helicopter crash in New York’s East River that claimed the lives of five passengers has prompted closer scrutiny of doors-off flights. For now, the Federal Aviation Administration has ordered a stop to such flights involving restraints that can’t be released quickly in the event of an emergency.

FAA Statement 1/3: #Helicopter operators, #pilots & consumers should be aware of the hazard from supplemental restraint devices during an emergency evacuation during “doors off” flights. The FAA will order operators & pilots to take immediate action to control/mitigate this risk.

— The FAA (@FAANews) March 16, 2018

Doors-off helicopter tours are popular among sightseers and aerial photographers, and typically involve sturdy restraints so that passengers can safely lean toward the open sides of the aircraft for better views. Unfortunately, as was the case in last Sunday’s crash, these harnesses can also prevent passengers from escaping a helicopter in the event of an emergency water landing.

Not all doors-off flights operate with the same kinds of harnesses. Some use restraints that allow less freedom of movement, but can be removed more quickly in an emergency. Travel Resource Editor Michael Bonocore wrote recently about his experience in such a doors-off flight.

Less restrictive – and harder to remove – harnesses allow passengers to capture popular ‘shoe selfie’ shots as they can move with more freedom. Last Sunday’s flight employed these kinds of harnesses, as demonstrated for the Associated Press in the video below.

The FAA states that in addition to ordering operators to mitigate the risks of these kinds of harnesses, it will also review its own regulations to identify any potential misapplications.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Instagram is testing a four-photo grid, and some users are freaking out

20 Sep

Facebook-owned image sharing behemoth Instagram (heard of ’em?) is testing a new change to its app, and the internet is collectively freaking out about it. According to some users, Instagram is already rolling out a new 4-across profile grid to replace the current 3-across setup that people know and (apparently) love.

Not a huge deal, you might think, but many photographers and casual users alike use that 3-across grid to create interesting mosaics that help their profile stand out. And those people are not reacting well to news of the test:

INSTAGRAM MIGHT UPDATE ITS FEATURE FROM A 3-ACROSS TO A 4-ACROSS PHOTO GRID AND IVE NEVER BEEN THIS DEVASTATED IN MY LIFE. MY FEED OH NO

— nikki regalario (@spicycinderella) September 17, 2017

I’m going to be fuming when Instagram changes to a 4 grid!! My theme will be ruined. ??#bloggerproblems

— The Beauty Kingdom (@BeautyKingdomUK) September 19, 2017

Anyone else’s Instagram showing a 4 in a row grid? This is going to ruin everything ? #gridview #instagram #aesthetics pic.twitter.com/XmCLyv5lx1

— LouAnne (@louannedias) September 15, 2017

Instagram starts 4-pic grid? RETHINK!!! Too many beautifully curated feeds will be ruined… @instagram #instagrid #instaupdate #gridview

— Jousianne Propp (@jousianne) September 13, 2017

Literally no one wants the 4 grid instagram change. Listen to your users @instagram this might be the beginning of your end

— FC (@ATM__R) September 15, 2017

Thoughts and prayers to the people who curated their instagram based on the three column grid.

— Mary (@marysilvestre) September 14, 2017

Hey @instagram, people have spent years perfecting their feeds. No 4 grid update please. pic.twitter.com/hPuCJthKb6

— Abhimanyu (@ItsMisterJadhav) September 14, 2017

Of course, by now Instagram is used to these kinds of reactions—it seems like every change they make is met by a deluge of fear, anxiety and threats of abandonment. The algorithmic feed has been a boon for the company, but it set the community into a panic; and even smaller changes like the ability to block comments automatically or by keyword are usually met with at least some skepticism.

But for those photographers who have built their Instagram ‘brand’ in part by making creative use of the 3-across grid on their profile, this change would represent a swift kick to the mosaic.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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3 Ways Luminar May Cure Some of Your Post-Processing Headaches

13 Sep

Lately, I’ve been playing around with Luminar by Macphun. I’ve found that this program reduces the number of my editing headaches. I’ll share a bit of my experience with it, and you can see if it can help solve some of your headaches or challenges as well.

Processing is a chore

I’m the impatient type; I hate sitting down. I spend my life trying to find ways to keep moving and being active. I love to create and build and explore. Sitting down to edit photographs is a true chore. You all know a photographer like me. They spend their time carefully composing, adjusting lighting, and building the image in the camera, so they don’t have to spend hours editing their images.

Let’s be clear I’m not criticizing those who build images using several layers and masks. Some of my favorite photographers are editing masters, and I truly appreciate the skills they use to create their work. It’s incredible. But it’s not me. Editing is a headache for me. I hate it, but I’m too possessive of my work to ever considering outsourcing my post-processing. So anything that reduces the time I spend behind a computer is a bonus for me.

Lately, I’ve been playing around with Luminar by Macphun. I’ve found that this program reduces the number of my editing headaches.

I used the presets in Luminar to help process this image. I’ve been on an abstract kick lately and the blue of this painted wall drew me to photograph all the cracks in the paint.

Luminar is very quick to use. The program works as a stand-alone application, or you can install and use it as a plug-in for Lightroom and Photoshop. I chose to edit using Luminar as the standalone version. So here are three of my editing headaches that Luminar helped reduce.

1) Finding a starting point for processing the image

Often we photographers shoot with a finished look in mind. We know we are going to convert an image to black and white or we want to create a luminous light filled look, and we shoot accordingly. However other times we struggle to picture the finished image. We can’t figure out a starting point for processing the photo. That’s where presets come in.

You can use presets as an idea bank that helps to get the creative juices flowing. The only issue is viewing these presets and finding the right starting point. In Luminar the presets are large, and you can easily scroll through each look using the slider bar. The display of presets is easily accessible at the bottom of the screen. You can click through several different looks and return to the one you like.

3 Ways Macphun's Luminar Cures Some of My Post-Processing Headaches

Here you can see the open screen and all of the presets are displayed at the bottom.

The other bonus to this method is the slider located on each preset. If the look is just a little too strong for your liking, it’s easy to dial it back. You can adjust how strongly each preset affects the image. For someone like me who tends only to make global adjustments to images, these types of features are really useful. I am able to select a preset then gently adjust the image to my liking.

Luminar helps with ideas and possibilities

This is the image I created in Lightroom. The color version is more like the picture I had in my head but when I saw the preset in Luminar it sparked some creativity.

The image you see below was pretty much a quick snap on my way out the door. I was in Cuba and waiting for my aunt to get ready before we caught the bus. I had no vision for the shot other than a quick sighting of something interesting. So when I returned home, I struggled with what to do.

I would never have thought of doing a black and white conversion for this image if it were not for one of the presets in Luminar. A headache solved, the program gave me an idea. I used the preset as a base and tweaked the image slightly. In total it took me about five minutes to edit the image.

I would never have thought of processing the image in black and white if not for the presets provided by Luminar.

2) Soooo many buttons to manage and remember

For those of us who want to edit images quickly, it’s difficult to remember all those keyboard shortcuts, and it’s time-consuming to keep checking the cheat sheet by our desks.

In Luminar, the interface is very simple, and it’s quick to use with just a few simple buttons. It’s easy to crop, compare, and apply a brush or a gradient to your work. It’s easy to make both global and more isolated adjustments quickly and effectively.

As you can see I quickly added a layer to this image. I wanted to use the brush to apply some very specific adjustments just to some areas of the image. Notice the clean interface.

Here you see the simplified interface with some of the options hidden (presets and histogram). It is a workspace called Quick & Awesome which you can select from the pull-down menu.

3) Layers can get complicated and confusing

Managing layers and masks can be confusing in Photoshop and for some of it’s a real headache. In Luminar, the layers are easy to access and utilize.

You can add filters to an image by creating another layer or apply them directly to the image. I used the filters and brushed them into the image on separate layers.

Pushing the plus (+) button adds a layer quickly in Luminar. The layers can be used to overlay a second image, like a texture or to apply filters, brushes, etc. It’s easy to apply a preset to an image, globally. Then if you want to apply a preset to just a few areas of an image you can also create another layer and brush the preset onto specific areas of the image.

To illustrate this point, I’ve quickly applied a black and white preset to an image using the brush tool. You can see how quick and easy it is to make very specific adjustments to an image by painting in the preset as a layer mask, similar to tools like Adobe Photoshop. However, Luminar can take things even one step further. Filters themselves can also be applied in the same manner. To do this, simply click on the brush tool, then click on the title bar of a filter (not a layer). When you begin painting in the mask, you’ll see a small mask preview thumbnail appears in the title bar. After creating the mask, adjust the filter sliders as desired to apply the effect to the mask. Once you get the hang of filter masks, you’ll find it’s an extremely efficient way to make selective edits to your photos.

Filters themselves can also be applied in the same manner. To do this, simply click on the brush tool, then click on the title bar of a filter (not a layer). When you begin painting in the mask, you’ll see a small mask preview thumbnail appears in the title bar. After creating the mask, adjust the filter sliders as desired to apply the effect to the mask. Once you get the hang of filter masks, you’ll find it’s an extremely efficient way to make selective edits to your photos.

Managing layers and masks can be confusing in Photoshop and for some of it’s a real headache. In Luminar, the layers are easy to access and utilize.

I really like how the program displays all the masks and layers I’ve created. I found it easy to manage.

In conclusion

For some of us, editing is a chore. It depends on your personality and your style. Post-processing is an essential part of the photographic process, but it doesn’t have to ruin your love of photography.

Many of the features in Luminar help to alleviate those editing headaches from which many of us suffer. The program simplifies complicated processes and allows users to create beautiful images in a fairly short amount of time.

Here’s a finished image I completed using Luminar.

The Mac version of Luminar is available for a free trial or purchase here.. If you’re on a PC, download a free public beta version of Luminar for Windows here.

Disclaimer: Macphun is a dPS advertising partner.

The post 3 Ways Luminar May Cure Some of Your Post-Processing Headaches by Erin Fitzgibbon appeared first on Digital Photography School.

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Sigma warns of aberration bug affecting some of its lenses on Canon DSLRs

11 Aug

Sigma has issued an advisory for five of its lenses over an error that occurs when they’re used with select Canon DSLRs.

The issue crops up when the cameras’ “Lens aberration correction” function is turned on. According to the company, having the lens aberration feature enabled on the Canon EOS 6D Mark II, EOS 9000D (77D), EOS Kiss X9 (EOS Rebel SL2), or the EOS Kiss X9i (EOS Rebel T7i) cameras will result in an error when paired with the following lenses:

SIGMA 30mm F1.4 DC HSM | Art
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art
SIGMA 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM
SIGMA 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM
SIGMA 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM

Affected users are advised to keep the lens aberration function disabled until a fix is released.

Full Product Advisory

Dear Canon EOS 6D Mark II, EOS 77D, EOS Rebel T7i, EOS Rebel SL2 Users

Thank you for purchasing and using our products.

We have found that some SIGMA interchangeable lenses for CANON are not fully compatible with EOS 6D Mark II, EOS 77D, EOS Rebel T7i, EOS Rebel SL2.

When certain lenses are attached to these cameras and the “Lens aberration correction” function on these cameras is set to “Enable” for Live View shooting, an error would occur.
Please set the “Lens aberration correction” function of the cameras to “Disable” when using SIGMA’s interchangeable lenses for CANON.

In addition, please also refer to other notice below, related to the usage of EOS mount SIGMA lenses on Canon cameras.

[Phenomenon]
When the lenses listed below are used on EOS 6D Mark II, EOS 77D, EOS Rebel T7i, EOS Rebel SL2 and the “Lens aberration correction” function on the camera is set to “Enable” for Live View shooting, an error would occur.

[Products concerned]

SIGMA 30mm F1.4 DC HSM | Art
SIGMA 35mm F1.4 DG HSM | Art
SIGMA 30mm F1.4 EX DC HSM
SIGMA 50mm F1.4 EX DG HSM
SIGMA 85mm F1.4 EX DG HSM

[Usage Notice for customers who are using EOS mount SIGMA lenses on CANON cameras]
When using the SIGMA lenses for CANON, “Peripheral illumination correction”, “Chromatic aberration correction”, “Diffraction correction” as well as “Distortion correction” from the “Lens aberration correction” function of the camera are not supported. Therefore, we recommend you to set them to “Disable”.
If those functions are set to “Enable”, the performance of the lenses may not be accurate.

For further information, please contact your nearest authorized SIGMA subsidiary / distributor.
http://www.sigma-global.com/en/about/world-network/

We appreciate your continued support for our company and products.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Nikon updates software suite to accommodate D7500 – and fix some bugs

31 May

Nikon is preparing for the imminent shipping of its latest APS-C sensor DSLR by issuing updates to some of its supporting software applications. New versions of Capture NX-D, Camera Control Pro, ViewNX-i and Picture Control Utility have been made available in readiness for the Nikon D7500, which will begin to be distributed in early June in some regions.

Most of the updates deal principally with compatibility for the new camera, but Nikon has taken the opportunity to tackle a few bugs and to make some minor improvements to the user experience as well.

At the same time, new firmware has been issued for the KeyMission 170, which Nikon says makes the connection between the camera and iOS version of SnapBridge more reliable.
For more information, and to download the updates, see the support pages of Nikon’s website.

Manufacturer’s information

Capture NX-D

Changes from Version 1.4.3 to 1.4.5

• Added support for the D7500.
• Added support for Picture Control > Auto.
• Changed the Crop tool 11:7 crop to 10:7.
• Improved thumbnail display quality for JPEG images that contain only small thumbnails.

Fixed the following issues:
– White would print as light grey when Use this profile when printing was selected for Color Management > Printer Profile.
– Capture NX-D would quit unexpectedly if the Retouch Brush tool was displayed in full-screen view.

Camera Control Pro 2

Changes from Version 2.24.0 to 2.25.0

• Added support for the D7500.
• Picture Control Utility 2 can now be launched from a Picture Control > Edit button in the Image Processing panel.

ViewNX-i

Changes from Versions 1.2.4/1.2.5 to Version 1.2.7

• Added support for the D7500.
• Added support for Picture Control > Auto.

Fixed the following issues:
– Facebook login could not be used.
– Images modified using Exposure compensation or White balance with On selected for Auto Red-Eye would sometimes not display correctly.

Picture Control Utility 2

Changes from Version 2.2.2 to 2.3.0

• Added support for the D7500.
• With the release of Camera Control Pro 2 version 2.25.0, Picture Control Utility 2 can now be launched using the Edit button next to Picture Control in the Camera Control Pro 2 Image Processing panel.

KeyMission 170 Firmware

Changes from Firmware Version 1.1 to 1.2

• Made improvements regarding an issue which resulted in connections between the camera and iOS 10.2-compatible versions of the SnapBridge 360/170 app becoming unstable.

Note: Users of iOS 10.2 will also need to upgrade the SnapBridge 360/170 app to the latest version, which supports iOS 10.2.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Some Annoying Things About Photography and Cameras

26 May

Photography gave me a creative outlet in life, and I owe so much to it. It’s my form of escape and a way to relax. It pushes me to explore new places and it gets me out the door. I love it dearly.

That being said, there’s a lot about photography that annoys the heck out me, and here’s a list of everything I can’t stand. As a side note, I hope you don’t mind that I illustrate this article with some zen photography instead of pictures of the things that annoy me. That would just get my heart rate up too high.

Disclaimer: This article is meant to be tongue-in-cheek and have some fun. Don’t take it at all seriously, please!

Everything that annoys me about photography and cameras

Buttons

Have you seen a Nikon camera these days?? Most people will never need half of those buttons in their lifetime. Can’t they invent a camera that only needs a few buttons? Where is Apple when you need them?

But seriously, I wish more camera companies put extra time into thinking about ergonomics, design, and making everyday use more pleasant rather than trying to pack each camera with new unneeded features just to lure people into an upgrade.

Everything that annoys me about photography and cameras

Lens dust

Last time I changed lenses, I was literally in a vacuum chamber and still a piece of dust got stuck smack in the middle of the sensor. And is there anyone who can clean it easily near me? Nope, because Nikon stopped making repair parts available in order to shut down third party repair companies. So not only do I have to send my Canon camera to the factory for small repairs because my local shops couldn’t stay in business without the Nikon business, but I can’t even find someone locally to quickly clean my sensor.

Yes, I know I can do it myself, but I’d rather have someone trained so that I don’t screw something up.

Everything that annoys me about photography and cameras

Filters

Remember that time when you thought you needed all these expensive filters to be a good photographer? While you do need a few filters, everyone goes overboard at some point and now has a filter graveyard drawer.

Everything that annoys me about photography and cameras

Megapixels

We don’t need more megapixels Sony! Our computers and external hard drives can barely keep up. Instead, give us better ergonomics, better ISO, faster focusing, and better dynamic range. Which brings me to the next point.

Everything that annoys me about photography and cameras

Small cameras with big lenses

What’s the point in a tiny mirrorless camera with a massive 20-pound lens? Is it impossible to make that 24-70mm lens that everyone uses just a little bit smaller? Please take the money from the megapixel blitzkrieg department and put it into the making lenses smaller department.

Everything that annoys me about photography and cameras

Tripods

Why are all $ 300 tripods designed to fail after a year of use? I can’t imagine how much money the Planned Obsolescence Manager at Crap Tripod Inc. makes. We all learn this the hard way. We suffer until we get fed up and spend way too much money on a Gitzo that lasts us the rest of our lives and makes us really happy.

People walking in the way of your shot to get a closer shot

You’re pretending you don’t see me. I’ve been here for an hour. I’m a peaceful man, but I will strangle you with my remote shutter cord and break this tripod over your skull (not really, I’m just kidding!). Oh wait, it’s a Gitzo. This Gitzo will break your skull and then continue to work perfectly fine.

Neck pain

Please don’t carry your tripod over your neck. Use a backpack sometimes instead of a shoulder bag. Pick one lens before you go out the door instead of five. Stretch. Your body will thank you in 20 years when you’re not walking around like the Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Everything that annoys me about photography and cameras

Taking an iPhone photo of some sweaty person at a party with overhead lighting and them thinking it’s going to be amazing because I’m a photographer

I’m not Saint Theresa – I can’t perform miracles. Now stop trying to look like a duck.

People saying, “Isn’t everyone a photographer these days?”

You know, photography is a way for all types of people in all walks of life to find a creative outlet, and there’s a vibrant community of so many fun and interesting people that are drawn to it. But whether you meant it or not, that statement has a demeaning and devaluing undercurrent to it. All of us are completely different as photographers, just as anyone with a pen will write in a completely different way. Just because this amazing community is growing, does not mean that photography should be devalued.

Everything that annoys me about photography and cameras

When we’re traveling and I can’t skip out on all the fun stuff to take photos

You mean I have to go to a nice dinner at a fun looking place on the water with someone that I love dearly? What the heck – I want to go walk down this dirty alleyway for the next hour to take some moody photographs!

Everything that annoys me about photography and cameras