this.. « 360Photography

RSS

Posts Tagged ‘this..’

Thinking about the Panasonic Lumix DC-G95 for video? Read this first

06 Apr

The G95 is being promoted as a video and stills camera, yet its video is more heavily cropped than the G85’s was.

Thanks to its groundbreaking GH series of cameras, Panasonic has developed a reputation for being one of the strongest brands for consumer video. But the release of the Lumix DC-G95 (known as the G90 outside North America) just draws attention to the fact that brand perception doesn’t necessarily convey those qualities across the lineup.

We’ve got used to Panasonic cameras delivering 4K capture from crops of their sensors but it’s beginning to look especially egregious on the G95 for a number of reasons. For a start, we know that Panasonic can do better: the G9 proves that the company is able to provide full-width video. Secondly, Panasonic is explicitly pitching this camera for video as well as stills (the addition of headphone socket and V-LogL speak just as loudly as the press release, in this respect).

But, most pressingly, the standard of the competition has risen: the Fujifilm X-T30 can shoot 4K/30p from a much larger sensor region with no crop (and none of the rolling shutter that holds back Sony’s offering in the class).

The challenges/balances of 4K video

This isn’t easy, of course. Every manufacturer faces a series of challenges (mainly in terms of processing power, battery consumption, heat generation and rolling shutter), and there are various solutions to this problem.

We’ve tried to summarize the trade-offs that each possible solution brings:

	Detail level	Noise performance	Angle of view	Processing demand
Full-width Oversampling	High	High	Minimal crop	Highest
Pixel Binning	Moderate	High	Minimal crop	Moderate
Line Skipping	Low (risks moiré)	Low	Minimal crop	Low
Cropped Oversampling	High	Moderate	Some crop	High
1:1 Capture	Moderate	Low	Some crop	Low

The G95 essentially takes the fifth option here: using a central chunk of its sensor to capture roughly the number of pixels required to produce its 3840 x 2160 video. This isn’t very demanding in terms of processing, so its rolling shutter performance is good and you’ll very rarely need to worry about overheating. But there are significant drawbacks, too.

The G95 / G90 already has a sensor that’s smaller than its APS-C peers, using less than half of it in 4K video mode (area indicated in blue) puts it at a further disadvantage.

The first is angle of view. The roughly 4100 x 2300 pixel region of its 20MP sensor that is used for 4K is pretty small: imposing a significant 1.25x crop. This means that the 12mm ‘wide’ end of the kit zoom ends up giving an angle of view closer to a 30mm lens on full frame, rather than the usefully wide 24mm equiv. it’ll give you in stills mode. That’s likely to be a major creative restriction.

Worse still is the effect on image quality and noise performance. Only using a crop of a sensor is, in essence, the same as using a smaller-sensored camera. The G95 uses a sensor region nearer that of a 1″-type sensor, which means you get noise performance comparable to a smaller (and probably cheaper) camera.

Reality ? reputation

Panasonic is far from alone in offering cameras with disappointing video, despite being well thought-of in this regard. Canon built a reputation for video with its EOS 5D II, but appears to have struggled to live up to it (in its consumer cameras at least). Even Sony, which was first to provide video features such as Log capture seems stuck with 8-bit capture at a time when other brands are providing 10-bit and is still introducing cameras with significant rolling shutter. And, though Fujifilm is beginning to build a reputation for great video, it’s still happy to promote some models as having ‘4K’ when they can only shoot a pitiful 15 frame per second.

Why is this suddenly a big deal?

There are still plenty of people who are adamant that they don’t want video, and perhaps there’s something inherently unfair about expecting every aspect of a new model to exceed the best performance we’ve seen in its class (rather than just showing strengths and weaknesses relative to each specific rival). But to our eyes, the increased crop of the G95’s video doesn’t fit with our expectations of a contemporary camera being pitched as a stills / video tool. Especially not compared to a camera it nominally sits above, and from a company that trades to a degree on its video expertise.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

This online tool calculates the “exposure” you should demand when being asked to work for free

03 Apr

Many photographers (and other creatives) know the situation very well: you’re offered a freelance job but once the conversation turns to remuneration it becomes clear that there won’t be any hard cash but instead you’re expected to accept ‘exposure’ in some vague shape or form as payment.

Problem is, it’s very hard to put a value on exposure. The people behind Photography Domination have now come up with a way of quantifying how many ‘exposures’ your photography is worth.

The Exposure Calculator is an easy-to-use online calculator that lets you input some information about your work, for example your level of experience, the photographic genres you work in, your equipment, the number of followers of your Instagram account etc. When you hit the “Calculate” button you get the number of “exposures” you should asking for as a result.

In a very helpful way the calculator also provides conversion rates to US dollars, leads and exposure to social media followers.

Just in case it wasn’t entirely clear that the calculator shouldn’t be taken too seriously, there are notes saying ‘This calculator is obviously created with parody intentions’ and ‘Of course, if you’re serious about becoming a photographer you should almost never work for “exposure” alone.’

Maarten Mellemans, the creator of the calculator, has also authored a blog post in which he gives advice to photographers receiving ‘work-for-exposure’ offers.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Video: This $100 projector lens has beautiful bokeh and is perfect for portraits

02 Apr

Photographer and YouTuber Mathieu Stern is no stranger to finding and adapting unusual lenses, but his latest find might just be the best projector lens he’s ever come across.

The Isco MC 65mm F2 lens, which can be found for around $ 100 on eBay, is an old projector lens that was used for 35m cinema projectors. As with most previous projector lenses Stern has adapted, there was no official way to adapt it to a modern lens mount. So, Stern got creative and used a little bit of rubber from a bike inner tube along with the barrel of an Helios 44 lens to create a worthwhile body for the adapted lens. From there, Stern used a proper adapter to give the lens infinity focus and it was ready to roll.

Surprisingly, the lens produces impressive results in both photos and video, despite its limitation of being permanently stuck at F2 due to the lack of an aperture diaphragm. In the center, it appears to be sharp, but it does get soft quickly towards the edges. Colors render beautifully and the bokeh looks both distinct and pleasing.

Sure, it might not have the best resolution, but it certainly has a distinct look and considering it only costs $ 100, a few spare parts and a little elbow grease, it’s relatively cheap. To see more unusual lenses from Stern’s collection, head over to his Weird Lenses Museum.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

Review: Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 lens for Canon – At just US$50 could this be the most affordable “nifty fifty”?

18 Mar

The post Review: Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 lens for Canon – At just US$ 50 could this be the most affordable “nifty fifty”? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kunal Malhotra.

The 50mm f/1.8 lens, or as we call it, the ‘Nifty Fifty,’ is one of the most widely used lenses in the market. This is usually the first lens a modern digital camera owner desires to purchase after the kit lenses.

The reasons why this is the most popular lens are fairly simple – the first being affordability, and the second, the ability to produce pleasing bokeh.

In terms of affordability, the Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 lens is ideally the cheapest Nifty Fifty. Priced at less than US$ 50, this is less than half of the Canon variant and works on APS-C as well as full-frame cameras.

However, the Yongnuo lens for Nikon costs around US$ 70 as it includes the focus motor. I recently bought one for my Canon 5D Mark iii, so I thought of sharing my views about this lens.

Build quality and ergonomics

The Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8 lens looks exactly like the Canon 50mm f/1.8 lens (discontinued version). The plastic used in the Yongnuo lens feels a bit cheaper though. Surprisingly, the rubber grip is smooth, and the ‘AF and MF’ switch is similar to Canon.

The construction of the lens consists of 6 elements in 5 groups and has 7 diaphragm blades – the same as the Canon variant. This Yongnuo lens is light to carry as it weighs only 120g – 40g lighter than its competitor. Overall the lens looks and feels good at this price point.

Focus speed and accuracy

I have been using this for almost a month now, during the day as well as night time. The focus speed is a bit slow as the lens hunts for focus, especially in low light conditions. If you are shooting stationary subjects, then it is fine, but if you want to nail the focus swiftly, then you might be disappointed.

Though the focus speed is not that fast, the accuracy is fairly good. It takes time to focus but when it does the focus is accurate. I would not recommend this lens for video shooters as it messes a lot with the focus. However, if you are a hobbyist and casually shoot portraits or still objects, this lens can do the job.

Sharpness and Image Quality

Before clicking photos using the Yongnuo 50mm f/1.8, I had much less expectation from this lens. To my surprise, this lens produced amazing sharpness and image quality. I did not compare it side by side with its competitor lens, but I am sure it is on par with it.

The few image samples that you see are all shot at an event during the sunset/evening time. The images are tad sharp, and the colors also look natural. I had done a test on vignetting performance, and at f/4 it was almost gone. This lens worked for me when I was shooting stationary subjects as well as when shooting performing artists at an event.

For me, the bokeh shape was a bit unpleasant at f/1.8, and I’m not sure exactly why. I used this lens at f/2.8 and achieved sharp and crisp images with minimum vignetting and shallow depth of field effect.

Conclusion

This lens by Yongnuo is for someone who has just started with photography or has a tight budget but still wants to achieve the f/1.8 look at 50mm. The focus speed is something that might irritate you, but once it focuses the image quality is quite impressive. I would suggest this lens to someone who shoots still subjects or portraits without much movement. If you are a wedding, event or a professional portrait photographer, you might be disappointed.

Have you used this lens? What are your thoughts?

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Video: Watch this cannon shoot (and destroy) a Canon at 264mph in a tornado projectile test

12 Mar

A compact camera reached speeds of 264 miles per hour during a test to demonstrate the dangers presented by normal domestic objects flying around during tornado. And no, it didn’t survive.

The test was carried out by storm-footage stock library owner Martin Lisius with the help of a pneumatic cannon housed at the National Wind Institute’s Debris Impact Facility in Texas Tech University. The unit usually studies what happens when large lumps of wood caught in storm winds strike building materials, but for this test Lisius wanted to show what happens when smaller more common objects get picked up and thrown around.

A Canon Sureshot 60 Zoom, known as the Autoboy Juno in Japan, was loaded into the cannon and when fired reached speeds of 264mph before meeting a messy end against a concrete wall. According to Lisius, the shape and relative density of the film camera helped it travel much faster than the researchers expected.

The twenty four year-old camera, which could only manage 1fps in its highest drive setting, was filmed at 240fps as it met the wall. Even with that frame rate though it is hard to see exactly what happened on impact. I’m certain the research was useful for something, but even if it wasn’t it makes interesting viewing. To see other videos of things hitting other things at high speed see the National Wind Institute’s Debris Impact web pages.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

5 Ways to Become a Better Photographer this Year

04 Mar

The post 5 Ways to Become a Better Photographer this Year appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.

Are you looking to improve your photography this year? Perhaps you want to take your skill level up a notch or even get into a business. If you are already in business, perhaps a more lucrative client roster is one of your goals. No matter where you are at, let’s make this year the year that we run toward our photography goals!

I have been at this photography thing for 9 years now and have found that there are specific disciplines I engage in that really propel my work forward. More often than not, the changes are not major but instead little things that make a difference for me. I am resolving this year to dive into these habits again and am sharing the 5 that I have found make the biggest impact with you!

#1 Photographing often, perhaps even committing to photographing every day

Practice makes perfect and the more you pick up your camera, the more comfortable you will be with the buttons, menus, and functions that make your camera work for you. Even more, committing to photographing often helps you to see what scenes draw you in, what subjects interest you and can allow you to ‘read’ light more quickly. You may notice and develop patterns in your work that can become your style.

I have said this before, and I say it again, there is no such thing as bad light! Light is just different and learning to read light is an important skill to have if you want to improve your photography. You will find yourself getting excited to try out and photograph different lighting situations. The more you practice, the more comfortable you become with light.

Set a loose goal to shoot more often or engage in a project like the 365 Project or Project 52 that give you more concrete deadlines and expectations. Whatever it takes, make this year the year you take more pictures. Even consider sharing your work on social media to keep you on track. Hashtags like #365photos #project52 are great for inspiration and to keep a schedule.

5 Ways to Become a Better Photographer this Year - Karthika Gupta Photography Memorable Jaunts

Chicago Downtown Skating Near The Bean © Karthika Gupta Photography Memorable Jaunts

#2 Share your work freely

If you are like me, sometimes it can feel strange to share photos when you are trying something new or experimenting with your photography. Will anyone like it and will they get it? Will they think you lack skills or judge your capabilities? Stop letting these voices of doubt hold you back. The truth of the matter is that sharing your work is a great way to get feedback and keeps you accountable when you are participating in a photography project.

You can share your work freely in many different ways. Sometimes it is as simple as opening a social media account and sharing your photos. Sometimes it is setting up a website and showcasing your work. Alternatively, it can even be as simple as printing a few of your photos and sharing them with your family and friends.

Putting yourself out there might feel scary, but it’s a great way to overcome your roadblocks and to grow.

Collaborating with other creatives is a fantastic way to grow and make friends in the industry plus we all share knowledge, tips and techniques to become better.

#3 Find your tribe of photography buddies

I belong to a few different photography groups and forums. One of the biggest reasons that I advocate this is because it has given me a group of friends who understand me. When I talk photography lingo, they get it. If I am excited about the latest gear, they share in my excitement. When I am stumped about client work or even in a creative rut, they offer advice on how to get over it. Don’t get me wrong, I have a very supportive family, but I can only talk so much photography before their eyes glaze over, and they tune out.

Whether it is a local group of enthusiasts or an online group that is participating in a shared project, find the people who push you and encourage you to be a better photographer. Chances are, they will become more than just photography friends and will become friends that make life that much sweeter.

A bridal shoot that had 8 vendors who all collaborated to create content that could be used across everyone’s portfolios – the best way to make friends!

#4 Critique photos (yours and others)

Getting your photos critiqued is a tough thing to do at times. However, if you take the stance that critiquing is getting objective feedback on what you see versus what others see is a great way to grow. When I first started, a photographer friend told me that she felt my photos were a second too late. Like I had just missed the crucial moment. It took me a bit to accept and react to that statement. Now it is something I remember and keep an eye out for when I take photos. Am I a second too late or did I accurately capture the moment?

If you have a chance to critique the work of others, do it. Critiquing the work of others helps train your eye to see things in your own work. The separation between yourself and the moment gives you a more objective view. It helps you to see flaws and successes in composition, light, and processing more clearly. Then, when you pick up your camera and photograph, you’ll know to pay attention to these things in your own work. However, remember when critiquing the work of others, be objective, be nice and more importantly be civil. The best critiques don’t tear someone down; they open doors to opportunities to improve.

Photographers are people too!

If you are not comfortable giving or receiving critiques (I hope you will be because it is a great way to grow), you can do self-critiques. Pick up magazines and make a note of what you like and what you don’t like.

I love playing with light and shadow especially with horses in a barn we visit. And I love sharing them with my friends who are equestrian photographers just to see how they think the photos turned out.

#5 Commit to learning something new

The best part about photography is that there is no finish line. There is always something new to learn, and I am just not talking about technique. At a recent photo conference, I taught a class about travel photography and also took a class on food photography. I am a terrible cook and always wanted to try food photography. The instructor was amazing and made me realize that you don’t have to be a great cook to take amazing food photos (hello! Grocery store cheesecake!).

Also, the concepts on lighting, the rule of thirds, and the golden triangle are all the same across many genres of photography. There are no experts, and there is no final mastery of photography. Instead, it is an evolving art where there is always something to learn and always more to improve.

My friend, and instructor, Allison Jacobs, photographs food for stock while teaching a class on food photography.

Me trying out food photography on a Sony camera, which was new to me. I have more photos where I missed focus and cut elements out of the frame than I care to admit, but it was a great learning experience.

So this year, be intentional about learning something new to you. Whether it is technique, tool or craft, there are no dearth of options when it comes to learning something new in photography.

This year is going to be great, and I can’t wait to grow and improve alongside all of you.

The post 5 Ways to Become a Better Photographer this Year appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Karthika Gupta.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

Canon EOS RP Full-frame Camera – Why Some People Won’t be Buying this Camera

02 Mar

The post Canon EOS RP Full-frame Camera – Why Some People Won’t be Buying this Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Canon have released their new Canon EOS RP full-frame mirrorless camera, and not without some controversy. The Canon EOS RP is it’s entry-level mirrorless camera that comes in at US$ 1299.

Find out the reasons why some people won’t be buying this new camera in these great videos by Jared Polen, Matti Haapoja,and SLR Video Shooter.

You’ll be surprised by the results.

The disappointments of Canon EOS RP for people shooting video:

While this is one of Canon’s lightest full-frame cameras, some people will be highly-disappointed to know that the camera has no 24p video capabilities in HD. It only offers it when shooting 4k. So for many photographers who also like to do video, this will be a major source of disappointment.

The other major downfall is when you use crop sensor lenses on this camera, you lose the ability to shoot in HD. What?!

So, unless Canon comes out with a firmware fix to these issues, you will likely want to choose an alternative camera for video.

However, If you are wanting to use this camera for photography, you will likely find this a great lightweight, affordable, full-frame, mirrorless camera.

So, will you be buying the Canon EOS RP, or will you stick to the Canon EOS R?

You may also find the following articles helpful:

Best Vlogging Cameras for 2019

Fujifilm X-T3 versus Fujifilm X-H1: The Best Mirrorless Camera for You?

9 Recommended Accessories for Your New Sony a7R III or a7 III Camera

Camera Comparison – The Fujifilm X-H1 Versus the Sony a7R III

Gear Review: Canon EOS M50 Mirrorless Camera Kit

The post Canon EOS RP Full-frame Camera – Why Some People Won’t be Buying this Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

Digital Photography School

Comments Off

Posted in Photography

USB 3.2 specification arrives this year with confusing new naming structure

01 Mar

The USB 3.2 specification announced by the USB Implementers Forum (USB-IF) in 2017 will be arriving soon, and it’ll bring a relatively convoluted new naming structure with it. As was the case when the USB 3.1 specification launched, the new USB 3.2 spec will absorb the previous generations before it, designating them as Gen 1 and Gen 2.

The new USB 3.2 specification, which brings speeds up to 20Gbps, will be known as USB 3.2 Gen 2×2. Joining this will be USB 3.2 Gen 1, which originally launched as USB 3.0 and was later renamed USB 3.1 Gen 1; this specification supports transfer speeds up to 5Gbps.

Between the two will be USB 3.2 Gen 2, which originally launched as USB 3.1 and was late renamed USB 3.1 Gen 2; this specification supports transfer speeds up to 10Gbps. In order to hit the 20Gbps speed, USB 3.2 Gen 2×2 will utilize two of these 10Gbps high-speed channels.

To help consumers understand which version they’re getting, the USB-IF suggests manufacturers use the following terms:

USB 3.2 Gen 1: ‘SuperSpeed USB’
USB 3.2 Gen 2: ‘SuperSpeed USB 10Gbps’
USB 3.2 Gen 2×2: ‘SuperSpeed USB 20Gbps’

According to The Verge, the new USB 3.2 specification will hit the market sometime this year.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

This website uses AI to generate portraits of people who don’t actually exist

16 Feb

A new website called This Person Does Not Exist went viral this week, and it has one simple function: displaying a portrait of a random person each time the page is refreshed. The website is pointless at first glance, but there’s a secret behind its seemingly endless stream of images. According to a Facebook post detailing the website, the images are generated using a generative adversarial networks (GANs) algorithm.

In December, NVIDIA published research detailing the use of style-based GANs (StyleGAN) to generate very realistic portraits of people who don’t exist. The same technology is powering This Person Does Not Exist, which was created by Uber software engineer Phillip Wang to ‘raise some public awareness for this technology.’

In his Facebook post, Wang said:

Faces are most salient to our cognition, so I’ve decided to put that specific pretrained model up. Their research group have also included pretrained models for cats, cars, and bedrooms in their repository that you can immediately use.

Each time you refresh the site, the network will generate a new facial image from scratch from a 512 dimensional vector.

Generative adversarial networks were first introduced in 2014 as a way to generate images from datasets, but the resulting content was less than realistic. The technology has improved drastically in only a few years, with major breakthroughs in 2017 and again last year with NVIDIA’s introduction of StyleGAN.

This Person Does Not Exist underscores the technology’s growing ability to produce life-like images that, in many cases, are indistinguishable from portraits of real people.

As described by NVIDIA last year, StyleGAN can be used to generate more than just portraits. In the video above, the researchers demonstrate the technology being used to generate images of rooms and vehicles, and to modify ‘fine styles’ in images, such as the color of objects. Results were, in most cases, indistinguishable from images of real settings.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

Comments Off

Posted in Uncategorized

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review – 5 Things I Love and Dislike About this Camera

11 Feb

The post GoPro Hero 7 Black Review – 5 Things I Love and Dislike About this Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Suzi Pratt.

The GoPro Hero 7 Black is hands down the best action camera on the market right now. With meaningful updates such as incredible stabilization, improved built-in sound, and better app integration, GoPro makes a compelling case for even its most loyal user base to upgrade to the latest model. If you’re on the market for an action camera, read on to find out 5 big reasons why the GoPro Hero 7 Black is the best one for you.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

Specs

GoPro released three new action cameras in September 2018: the Hero 7 Black, White, and Silver. The Hero 7 Black is their most premium model at US$ 399, with the other two being stripped down versions. GoPro’s mid-tier camera is the Hero 7 Silver. Priced at US$ 299, the Silver has most of the features of the Hero 7 Black minus Hypersmooth; it’s also capped at taking 10-megapixel photos compared to the Hero 7 Black’s 12 megapixels. GoPro’s new entry-level camera is the Hero 7 White. At US$ 199, you get the same 10-megapixel sensor as the Hero 7 Silver. Most features are retained except for the ability to shoot in 4K video.

Besides the price difference, the Hero 7 Black is also the only model to receive three new key features: HyperSmooth, live streaming, and TimeWarp video. More on all of these features below.

Look and feel

The Hero 7 Black retains the same rubberized design that was first introduced with the Hero 5 Black. Side-by-side, it looks almost identical to the Hero 6 Black. Both cameras have the same 2-inch touchscreen, button placement, and the same ports (USB-C and micro HDMI). They even use the same replaceable batteries.

Before you gripe about GoPro retaining the same camera design, consider this: reusing old designs means you can keep using the same GoPro accessories. This is key as GoPro, and many third-party manufacturers such as Joby have created some truly helpful accessories to get more use out of the camera. So if you have mounts, cages, or adapters for the Hero 5 or 6, rest assured that you can use them all with the Hero 7 Black as well.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

5 things I love about the GoPro Hero 7 Black

1. Hypersmooth

Hands down the best feature about the GoPro Hero 7 Black is Hypersmooth. GoPro claims it is the very best in-camera video stabilization on the market, adding gimbal-like stabilization to video footage. After profuse testing, it’s hard to argue. Shooting with Hypersmooth enabled does indeed produce ultra-smooth footage akin to what you would get if you used a gimbal. In turn, this seems to kill the GoPro Karma Grip gimbal as it seems the Hero 7 Black can record video just fine without it.

You can shoot in Hypersmooth even when shooting at 4K 60fps at full resolution. Just be mindful that Hypersmooth can’t be enabled when shooting in 4:3 aspect ratio, and also when shooting in Full HD at 240fps and 120fps.

2. TimeWarp

Also new on the Hero 7 Black is a feature called TimeWarp. In a nutshell, this is timelapse video with HyperSmooth applied. The resulting effect is being able to capture timelapse videos that are ultra stable. This is key for time-lapsing anything with movement, such as driving, hiking, walking, running, or biking. When using TimeWarp, you have the option to record at several different speeds including 2x, 5x, 10x, 15x, and 30x.

3. Same form factor as Hero 5 and 6

On the outside, GoPro made almost no change to the Hero 7. It looks exactly the same as the Hero 5 and 6, and even uses the same batteries. This is actually a good thing. If you’ve invested in GoPro cages or batteries before, you can reuse them with the Hero 7. Also, many third-party companies have created accessories for the Hero 5 and 6. You can use these just fine with the Hero 7.

One design change I’d love to see in future GoPros: a camera that comes with its own mount and doesn’t need to be put in a cage.

4. Touchscreen with revamped UI

While GoPros have had touchscreens for several models now, the user interface has been revamped in the Hero 7 Black. Key information such as resolution and framerate are condensed at the bottom of the screen, while battery life and remaining memory card space are in the upper portion of the screen. Portrait mode has also been added, allowing you to shoot vertical photos and videos for platforms such as Instagram Stories or IGTV.

Speaking of social media, the Hero 7 Black now allows for live streaming. Using WiFi or cellular service, you can conduct a 720p live stream on Facebook. At this time, live streaming to other platforms (ie. YouTube) isn’t yet enabled.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

5. Seamless smartphone integration

One of my biggest gripes about modern cameras is how terribly unreliable their smartphone integrations are. While most cameras offer Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity for remote control via smartphones and easily transferring images, it’s always hit or miss whether or not these features will work. With the GoPro, connectivity is the most responsive and reliable I’ve ever seen on a camera. This makes it very easy to use your smartphone to control the GoPro and review photos and videos immediately after capture. Well done, GoPro.

5 things I dislike about the GoPro Hero 7 Black

For all of the things that GoPro improved in the Hero 7 Black, there is still room for improvement. Here are 5 features in particular that I would like to see refined and improved in future generations.

1. Unresponsive screen

While the Hero 7 Black’s touchscreen is largely improved, it has one major shortcoming: it’s not very responsive! This problem also extends to GoPro’s other two buttons. In general, it’s hit or miss whether the GoPro will react to buttons being pushed or the touchscreen being swiped. This can be very frustrating, especially when trying to shoot spontaneously.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

2. Voice commands are unreliable

Another feature that is hit or miss is voice control. New on the Hero 7 Black are two voice commands that can control the GoPro: “GoPro capture,” and “GoPro Stop capture.” While useful in theory, these voice controls seem to work about half of the time.

3. No mic jack

In the past, GoPro was notorious for having awful built-in microphones. All of that changed with the Hero 7 Black, which offers remarkably improved in-camera sound. However, there are still instances that require enhanced sound capture via a lavalier (lapel) microphone or shotgun mic. Unfortunately, GoPro has withheld the mic jack from the Hero 7 Black, opting instead to give us USB-C and micro HDMI ports. GoPro does offer a solution in the form of a mic jack adapter. However, it is bulky and expensive, and you must use GoPro’s adapter (other brands will not work).

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

4. Battery life

Of all the things GoPro improved in the Hero 7 Black, one thing that remains unchanged is battery life. It’s hard to give an estimated battery life as it depends on how you are using the camera. But in general, one battery lasts about an hour when shooting in 4K. Luckily, all three Hero 7 models come with a USB-C port to allow for charging via a wall socket or external battery. However, it is still a wise idea to carry several spare batteries with you.

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

5. Low light performance

All three Hero 7 models have an f/2.8 aperture. This means they are decent at shooting in low light, but the video and photo quality still leaves room for improvement. In the case of the Hero 7 Black, it also seems that HyperSmooth is automatically disabled in low light conditions, further worsening the low light performance. In general, you’ll get the best photo and video performance out of your Hero 7 if you use it in daylight or good lighting conditions.

In Conclusion

Despite some shortcomings, the GoPro Hero 7 Black is easily the best action camera on the market right now. GoPro made significant and actually useful improvements on this camera and it is worth using not only for action scenarios but everyday use as well. Agree or disagree? Let me know in the comments below!

GoPro Hero 7 Black Review

Posts Tagged ‘this..’

The challenges/balances of 4K video

Reality ? reputation

Why is this suddenly a big deal?

Build quality and ergonomics

Focus speed and accuracy

Sharpness and Image Quality

Conclusion

#1 Photographing often, perhaps even committing to photographing every day

#2 Share your work freely

#3 Find your tribe of photography buddies

#4 Critique photos (yours and others)

#5 Commit to learning something new

The disappointments of Canon EOS RP for people shooting video:

You may also find the following articles helpful:

Specs

Look and feel

5 things I love about the GoPro Hero 7 Black

1. Hypersmooth

2. TimeWarp

3. Same form factor as Hero 5 and 6

4. Touchscreen with revamped UI

5. Seamless smartphone integration

5 things I dislike about the GoPro Hero 7 Black

1. Unresponsive screen

2. Voice commands are unreliable

3. No mic jack

4. Battery life

5. Low light performance

In Conclusion

You may also like these reviews from Suzi: