EyeEm, a photo sharing platform and image marketplace, has released an update to its iOS app, taking it closer to the recently-overhauled Android version. The redesign attempts to put more focus on the images by changing font sizes and moving controls around, and the new EyeZoom feature lets you zoom into images by tapping on them. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
We weren’t wowed by the HTC One M8’s Duo Cam features in our review of the device, partly because its corresponding re-focusing effects could only be used on the phone itself. HTC has changed that with a Gallery App update, allowing users to share the experience with others through a web interface. Read more
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Recently we ran an article on – Updating your Camera’s Firmware – What is it and Why it’s Important. Funny thing is, I had never updated mine on any camera up to that point. As I edited and read the article I figured, yeah I guess I should do that. So I went ahead and updated the firmware on my Canon 5D Mark III.
What happened is that my Canon batteries continued to work just fine. I went away to Oregon for 3.5 weeks and took three batteries with me – should be plenty right? Wrong! One ran down so I went to switch and got an error message on the screen that looks like this (excuse the iPhone photo, it’s hard to take a photo OF your camera).
Okay so now what? I was afraid to just choose “OK” not knowing if doing so would then somehow damage my camera. I wasn’t prepared to take that risk. So I chose “Cancel” which basically caused the battery to be ignored and therefore the camera to have no power.
LP-E6 battery alternative
So I was left with one other third party battery, and one Canon battery for my trip. I hadn’t tested them before I left home (I use them all the time but lesson learned, don’t do what I did – test all gear before you go away anywhere) and apparently the Canon battery is completely dead. Not even the charger recognizes it. Nothing – nada – el zippo!
I had one battery left for the duration of my trip, one off-market one that didn’t produce the error. Luckily I have a handy charger that is portable (can charge batteries without being plugged in long as you charge it up first) and we weren’t out and about for long enough for me to fully drain it on any given day.
I did some digging on the internet and found that this is a common issue and that Canon has built that into the firmware update – aha! I knew the cause now – but what is the logic here? Apparently Canon wants you to only use their batteries and limit or eliminate the off-market ones.
So tell me – what do you think about this? Have you been affected by this firmware update too? I’m personally not crazy about being forced to use a given product, or the fact it killed my existing battery. Or did it really? What if I choose “OK” and it’s just fine but Canon just wants to freak me out, to which end they succeeded!
Why would one off-market brand get singled out and not work, when the other did just fine? Did the firmware update somehow affect my Canon battery too? It was fine last time I used it. Makes me wonder.
Do you use third party batteries? If you don’t, do you even care one way or the other?
But also let’s think about this, where does it end? What about filters, lenses, flashes? Will that mean that soon we may not be able to buy a Sigma or Tamron lens to fit? Or use a Hoya filter or a Metz flash?
How do you feel about this new policy? Tell me in the comments below. Let’s talk about this!
Disclaimer: this site does not advocate the use of third party of off-market batteries or products, do so at your own risk.
The post Discussion – Camera Firmware Update Causes Third Party Batteries to Fail by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.
The Galaxy S4 Zoom, Samsung’s first attempt to fit a zoom lens into an Android-powered smartphone-style body, is getting an update with the latest Android version: 4.4 KitKat. The new software version will give S4 Zoom users access to the KitKat improvements which include faster performance, a redesigned status bar, wireless printing support, full-screen album art in the media player and a camera shortcut on the lockscreen. Read more at connect.dpreview.com
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Adobe has updated both the iOS and Android versions of its free Photoshop Express mobile app. The new version comes with a number of added features and improvements but to many photographers the most useful new function will be the ability to edit Raw files. We gave it a try – read more on our sister site, connect.dpreview.com.
Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Fujifilm has announced firmware updates for a number of X-series and FinePix cameras. Full details of the firmware updates were announced on the company’s blog, and the new firmware versions are now available for download from the global Fujifilm site. Included in this round of updates are the X-T1, X-Pro 1, X-E1, X-E2, X-M1, X-A1, XQ1, FinePix S1, FinePix XP70 and FinePix XP200. Read more
related news: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Sleep, quiet and relaxation are the three things I have not had in my month long blogging hiatus. As you can tell from the photo above that is because we have a new member of our household. Grant, my second son, arrived on the scene May 27th right between 2 holidays and 3 (nuclear) family birthdays (all with in 6 weeks of each other). Needless to say my wife and I have been elated that Grant is here, but to be honest we’ve been pretty tired.
Ah good times.
As you’d imagine I’m incredibly excited to introduce Grant to the natural world and photography as I have been with Blake. It’s an amazing process to hear the raw interpretation of our world from a child’s perspective. Not only do these innocent and candid interpretations of the world ground you, they help you see the world in new ways. Such experiences are a great reminder for myself to keep pushing for new visual and interpretive perspectives.
Photo Details:
[left] Grant at 21 days (left)
[center] Blake with mustache via Playskool ShowCam
[right] Blake celebrating his 4th birthday
Copyright Jim M. Goldstein, All Rights Reserved
Domestic Adventure Update: Sleep, Quiet & Relaxation
The post Domestic Adventure Update: Sleep, Quiet & Relaxation appeared first on JMG-Galleries – Landscape, Nature & Travel Photography.
Following last week’s video teasing the release of a new feature coming to Photoshop CC, Adobe has made the update official. In addition to the ‘Focus Masks’ feature that we already knew about, today’s official announcement brings a host of mostly minor new features including new blur effects, updates to content aware fill, and improvements to tools like smart guides. Read more
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Instagram is one of the most popular image filter and sharing apps for mobile devices but its feature set has remained almost unchanged since it was introduced, with a relatively small number of effects, and little control over them. The latest version 6 update to the Android and iOS versions of Instagram now offers control over filter strength and a range of new editing options, including brightness, contrast, warmth, saturation, highlights, shadows and vignette. Click through to read more at connect.dpreview.com
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
Google again updates its Camera App, this time with self-timer, 16:9 aspect ratio and two more panorama modes. This addresses a point of criticism raised by users when an update in April removed the self-timer function. Other features that come with the new version of the app include wide angle and fisheye panorama options that are based on the Photo Sphere technology.
News: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
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