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Advanced Shooting Modes: What They Are and When to Use Them
Are you ready to get off Auto? When most people get started in digital photography, the first thing they do is set the shooting mode dial on the top of the camera to Auto. It makes sense to let the camera make decisions about things while you’re just getting used to using it.

In Auto mode, the camera makes decisions not only on the Aperture, Shutter Speed, and ISO but also on many other factors such as White Balance, Focus Mode, Focus Points and Metering Mode.

After awhile, you might start to choose one of the automatic scene modes such as portrait, sports, landscape or night, if your camera has those options. This gives the camera a bit more information about what you’re shooting so it can make better decisions for you.

But at some point, you are going to want to take control and make those decisions for yourself. Your camera is smart, but it’s not an artist! This is where the advanced shooting modes come in.

The Exposure Triangle

Before we get into discussing advanced shooting modes, you need to understand the concept of how the exposure triangle works.

First, there is shutter speed – the length of time that the shutter is open. This is the easiest part of the triangle to understand; the longer the shutter is open, the more light comes in and hits your camera’s sensor.

ISO 100, 24mm, f/22, 80 seconds

Second, there is the aperture – the variable opening in your lens through which the light passes. The opening is round and works just like the pupils in our eyes. On a bright day, you squint, making the pupil smaller to let in less light. When the light is dim, your pupil is larger to let in more light.

Generally speaking, a small aperture opening and a long shutter speed may allow the exact same amount of light in as a large aperture opening and a short shutter speed. Choosing this balance between aperture and shutter speed is the key, and your choice will depend on what you are trying to achieve with your photograph.

The third and final factor in determining exposure is ISO – the sensitivity of your camera’s sensor to light. For those of you who remember the film days, ISO is similar to ASA, the speed of the film. Essentially, it’s best to leave ISO at a low setting such as 100 (other photographers will recommend using high ISO as needed – do your own research and experiment with your camera). But if you’re in a low-light situation, you might need to increase it so that less light is required to make a good exposure.

Big Bend Ranch State Park, Texas. ISO 200, 10mm, f/18, 1/10th of a second.

Advanced Shooting Modes

There are five main advanced shooting modes available on most digital cameras:
1. P for Program Mode
2. A or Av for Aperture Priority Mode
3. S or Tv for Shutter Priority Mode
4. M for Manual Mode
5. B for Bulb Mode
Many professional photographers frown upon using anything other than Manual Mode. But I respectfully disagree. A camera is just a tool and a smart one at that! There’s nothing wrong with letting your camera do what it’s good at as long as you are controlling the factors that are important to you.

Program Mode

In Program Mode, your camera chooses the shutter speed and aperture. You can control other factors like white balance, focus mode, focus points and metering mode. Program mode is a good place to start when you’re just coming off of auto mode and learning how to use your camera settings. But it isn’t where you want to stay because aperture and shutter speed are the key to taking control of your images.

Aperture Priority Mode

When you use Aperture Priority Mode, you tell the camera what aperture you want to use, and it will calculate the appropriate shutter speed to make a good exposure. The size of the aperture affects depth of field, which is a critical concept when you want to take creative control of your images.

When you have a very large aperture opening, such as f/2.8, you are going to have a shallow depth of field. That means that whatever you focus on will be sharp, but everything in front and behind it will be out of focus.

On the other hand, when the aperture opening is small, such as f/22, you have a large depth of field, so more things that are in front and behind your focus point will also be sharp.

Try them all

The best way to understand this is to try it out for yourself. Put your camera in Aperture Priority Mode and take the exact same photograph using each aperture setting. Then look at the photos on your computer and you’ll see the effect that aperture has on the depth of field.

What you’ll find is that photos with a large aperture have a soft background and photos with a small aperture have a background that is in focus. For me, depth of field is the most important factor in my photography, so I almost always use Aperture Priority Mode.

ISO 100, 33mm, f/18, 1/25th of a second. For this image, it was important to keep everything sharp from the closest cactus in the foreground to the mountains in the background. So I chose a small aperture to ensure I had good depth of field.

F-Numbers are Tricky

Before we leave this topic, there’s one thing that many people find confusing and that is the f-stop numbers. A large aperture opening is represented by a small number and a small aperture is represented by a large number. I don’t want to get into too much math here, but my trick for remembering how this works is to think of it like a fraction. 1/2 is larger than 1/8, so f/2 is a larger opening than f/8.

Shutter Priority Mode

When you use Shutter Priority Mode, you tell the camera what shutter speed you want to use, and it will calculate the appropriate aperture to make a good exposure. This mode is most useful when you have moving objects in your frame and you want to either freeze the motion or blur the motion.

For example, if you are photographing a bicycle race, you probably won’t be happy with just any old shutter speed. You’ll likely want to use a relatively long exposure, such as half a second or one second, to blur the motion of the bicycles going by. Or you’ll want a fast shutter speed such as 1/500th of a second to freeze the motion. Anything in between would look out of focus.

Shooting waterfalls is another good example of when to control the shutter speed for the silky water effect.

ISO 100, 180mm, f/22, 1/10th of a second.

Manual Mode

When you are in Manual Mode, you must tell your camera both the aperture and the shutter speed you want to shoot at. You will use your camera’s light meter to determine whether the settings you have entered will create a good exposure, then adjust the settings based on whether you have too much or not enough light.

In Manual Mode you are in complete control and practicing with it will give you a good grasp on how aperture and shutter speed work together. Once you understand this, it may be more convenient to use either Aperture Priority Mode or Shutter Priority Mode to accomplish your goals.

Bulb Mode

Bulb Mode allows you to extend the shutter speed beyond the camera’s built-in limit, which is usually 30 seconds. You can use this mode to photograph the streaks of clouds moving across the sky, or at night to photograph star trails.

To use Bulb Mode, press the shutter button and hold it down. The shutter will open and stay opened until you release the shutter button. But of course, this method isn’t practical because you can’t just stand there holding the shutter button down for 10 minutes! Plus, having your finger touching the camera during a long exposure will cause camera shake and your photo would be blurry.

This photo was made using an intervalometer programmed to make a 7-second exposure every 15 seconds for two hours. Then all the images were stacked to create the star trails.

The best way to use Bulb Mode is to use a shutter release cable (or a remote trigger). This allows you to press the button on the cable to open the shutter and then lock it opened so you can walk away and come back later to release it. Another option, instead of using a cable release, is to use an intervalometer which will allow you to program how long you want the shutter to be opened and even program multiple shots. For example, you can set it to take a 2-second exposure every 5 minutes for an hour.

Conclusion

Remember, the camera is your tool to use any way you like to make your art. The shooting modes are just some options that are available to you so you can accomplish your creative goals. Have fun and experiment!

Shooting modes are just one of the camera settings you’ll want to master to take control of your camera and your photography. My new eBook Taking Control: Essential Camera Skills for Beginners will help you understand what all the knobs and dials on your camera do and how to use them for creative control over your images.

The post Advanced Shooting Modes: What They Are and When to Use Them by Anne McKinnell appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
April 6, 2017
10 Reasons Why Photography is a Great Hobby
People start doing photography (versus taking snaps or selfies) for many reasons. It might be a major life event coming up – new baby, wedding, special birthday – or that overseas trip saved up for over many years. It might be that the capabilities of your phone frustrate you enough to want to get real about photography. However it happens, suddenly you find yourself with an empty bank account and some form of camera gear that you now need to figure out how and where and maybe even, why to use it.

10 Reasons why photography is a great hobby
1. Recording events and capturing memories
2. Have fun
3. Learning is good for the brain
4. Health and fitness
5. Creativity
6. Travel
7. Meet new people
8. Join a photographic community
9. Develop a personal style
10. It’s all about the light
#1 Recording events and memories

Photography allows you to create images of events, times, and places. To both record what happened and allow you to share them with friends and family, either in digital format or more permanently with prints or photo books. By being able to capture a special moment in time, you carry the memory of that event forward with you, allowing you to share it and remember it with those that were there. Those memories become part of your history, perhaps family lore, not just stories passed down through the generations – but images as well. As the popular idiom says, “A picture is worth a thousand words”.

Memorable moment capturing the rare NZ Falcon

#2 Have fun

So much fun can be had with a camera. You could be out with the family at the beach or a picnic, local sports games, randomly roaming your city streets photographing strangers without them noticing, stalking wildlife, hiking up a mountain for a stunning view, or standing under the stars at 2 a.m. watching the Milky Way slowly move across the heavens. So many opportunities to do new, interesting, and fun things with your camera that you likely may not have otherwise done.

All sorts of things become interesting when they can provide you with material for photographic adventures. Cultural festivals, parades, sports events, a wander along the beach, exploring parts of your city previously undiscovered, architectural details on buildings, intricate details of flowers, people watching, difficulties of photographing wildlife, meeting people who have different interests and hobbies – just for a few ideas. Most people are willing to share their passion with you if you take some time to talk to them. There are endless opportunities for photographic inspiration – even the contents of your fridge or pantry can be fascinating when viewed through a macro lens. All you need to do is make an effort to look.

Hanging out with the zombies at a Zombie Run event.

#3 Learning a new skill is good for your brain

Research has shown that learning a new skill helps the brain and improves memory, and the more difficult the skill, the more improvement you get. Coupled with exercise, these two things are considered important for long-term brain health and neuroplasticity. Studies show that slower learning over time helps build strong new linkages within the brain.

New knowledge will accumulate over time, as you keep putting effort into learning a new skill. Given that photography has so many elements, the science of light, the technology of the camera and the creative artistic side, there is a lot to learn. So whatever your age, now is the perfect time to start learning photography.

#4 Health and fitness

Getting out of the house, walking about, or even hiking is often a side-effect of getting into photography. If you are into landscapes then you have to go to where the landscape scenes are, and that often means some form of exercise. Once you have enough camera gear – likely a body, some lenses, and a tripod – it can weigh a reasonable amount and you will need a bag of some kind to carry it comfortably if you are traveling any reasonable distance.

Some people prefer a more gentle form of exercise – for health or mobility reasons. Others may prefer multi-day hikes into stunning mountain scenery. Mountain biking, horseback riding, kayaking and similar sports are often popular modes of transport to get you to a new landscape and allow for photography along the way.

Camera gear is heavy, so it’s important to be aware of any health or safety concerns. Carrying heavy cameras on straps around your neck for a long time can be quite painful. People with disabilities or limited mobility might prefer a lighter weight option and there are many available these days. Although one of the downsides of digital photography, especially if you shoot RAW, is the amount of time you can spend in front of your computer, processing the images, so that needs to be considered into your fitness regime as well.

#5 Creativity

In her book, “Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear”, Elizabeth Gilbert writes a great deal about creativity and inspiration. She says it is good for us as individuals, and that the world is a better place for having art in it. That feeling when you finally get the awesome sunrise photo or the perfect candid, maybe the aurora or a meteor shower, or whatever your passion is, that feeling when you finally get the image, makes it all worthwhile.

Being creative is something we don’t tend to allow ourselves to do as adults. Photography is a very acceptable form of creativity that allows endless flexibility in how you adapt it to your own personal style. That style can grow as you learn more and start to experiment with different things. Creativity is fun and it provides a necessary balance against the stressful demands of the modern lifestyle.

#6 Travel

Traveling to different parts of your own city or country, and if you are lucky enough to afford it, other parts of the world is a likely outcome of taking up photography. There is so much interesting stuff to photograph in other places including landscapes, wildlife, architecture, and people from other cultures. Travel broadens the mind and exposes you to new concepts and ideas and is an excellent learning opportunity, provides so much creative

Travel broadens the mind and exposes you to new concepts and ideas and is an excellent learning opportunity. It provides so much creative variety and possibilities for personal growth. Taking the opportunity to travel, even just a couple of hours drive or bus ride away, can provide entirely new situations and vistas. Be brave and venture forth.

#7 Meet new people

Meeting interesting new people in your travel and adventures is often an unintended side effect. Asking the locals for advice on how to find the way to a certain viewpoint may lead to them showing you the way. Chance encounters with people curious as to what you might be photographing can lead to directions to other points of interest. Maybe you organize a meetup with local photo enthusiasts in your area and you make a new friend, a new adventure buddy. A random chat in a cafe might lead to a new client.

If you are friendly and courteous with your camera, many people are often happy to pose. In some cultures, it may be appropriate to thank them with a small cash payment, so research that in advance. Engaging with other people, even with the barriers of language, means you make more of a connection, and the resulting images may be much more powerful and emotional. While keeping personal safety in mind, be brave and say hello.

#8 Join a photographic community

Being part of the photography community can be very supportive. Sharing your passion with other people around the world, who speak your language, understand your challenges, and have had similar experiences can very helpful. Online forums can be good places to find those secret local waterfall spots, where certain rare birds might be nesting or come to feed. People may be willing to offer assistance with problems, critique on your images, and it’s just generally a welcoming place to hang out and chat about your hobby.

Join our dPS community on Facebook!

Photographer in their natural state at a PhotoWalk

#9 Develop a personal style

There are many different types and styles of photography. Some people prefer to label things, put them into boxes and tell you that you have to fit within their preconceived ideas. Rubbish! One of the great joys of photography is its ability to be adapted to every individual’s desires, needs, or preferred style. There is space for all different approaches within photography from the classic landscape, nature, wildlife, street, portrait, sports styles to all the different variations in between.

Whatever your passion is, you can explore it via photography in whatever creative way you want. When starting out it pays to have an understanding of the basic guidelines for composition, but don’t let them limit you to always stay inside them. Challenge them, break them, and see what happens. It might work, it might not, but either way, it will be a learning experience.

#10 It’s all about the light

Whatever light you have at any given moment is the light you need to work with. Modification of the light might be required – it may need filtering, shaping or diffusing. You might need special gear to adapt to certain light conditions, e.g. astrophotography has certain types of lenses that are recommended, fast glass is recommended for situations where light levels will be poor – sports events inside gyms, music and stage events, churches for weddings, etc.

Too much light can also be a problem with harsh shadows and blown out highlights. Differential light where you have patches of bright light and shadow within the area you are working, which makes it difficult to get a good exposure. Learning to use a flash or another artificial light source has its own challenges as well as added costs in buying the hardware required.

Learning to work with the light available and knowing how to adapt to it to get the best image possible is one of the biggest challenges photographers face. Light has color, depth, dimensionality, texture, tone, shadow, and behaves in certain ways, dependent on some fundamental rules of physics. One day there will be a moment when you finally “see” the way a photographer does when you see how light falls, how light and shadow are interdependent, and how you can use them to add depth and drama to your images.

Summary

Photography adds so much value to our lives, by recording special events, people, or places, as well as helping us learn and grow as people. It allows you to share your life and experiences in more meaningful ways via images, either online or printed and given as gifts. Or perhaps you might be quietly puttering away in your home studio, perfecting the art of the macro lens.

Photography is a hobby that offers so many possibilities for creative expression, technical expertise, and sheer variety of ways to capture an image. Age is not a barrier to learning a new hobby and you can start with the camera on your phone if that’s what you have available. Start getting real now!

The post 10 Reasons Why Photography is a Great Hobby by Stacey Hill appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
April 6, 2017

Canon introduces EF-S 35mm F2.8 macro lens with built-in ring light

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Canon has introduced a compact 35mm F2.8 IS STM macro lens for crop-sensor DSLRs. Similar to the EF-M 28mm F3.5 Macro lens introduced a year ago, the 35mm F2.8 has a built-in LED ring light.

The lens, which is equivalent to 56mm when mounted on crop body, has a minimum focus distance of just 3 cm (1.2 in.). It uses Canon’s ‘Hybrid’ IS system, with up to four stops of shake reduction. Canon says that the lead-screw-type STM motor allows for quiet AF operation, which is ideal for video capture. The lens has seven rounded aperture blades as well as a glass-molded aspherical element.

The EF-S 35mm F2.8 IS STM lens will ship this June with an MSRP of $ 349.

Press Release

UP CLOSE AND PERSONAL: CANON ANNOUNCES NEW EF-S 35MM F/2.8 MACRO IS STM LENS TO HELP EXPLORE THE BEAUTY OF MACRO PHOTOGRAPHY

New Compact and Lightweight EF-S Macro Lens Opens Up a World of Photographic Possibilities and Helps Capture Close Subjects with Incredible Detail

MELVILLE, N.Y., April 6, 2017 – Compact and lightweight, the new Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM, announced today by Canon U.S.A., Inc., a leader in digital imaging solutions, is the widest-angle Macro offering in Canon’s popular EF-S lens series. The new lens is designed to help both entry-level and advanced amateur DSLR photographers discover the incredible possibilities of macro photography. Capable of capturing close-up subjects with incredible detail, Canon’s new EF-S macro lens is also the first in the series to feature built-in Macro Lites that allow users to control lighting with ease.

“Macro lenses are an amazing way to explore the worlds that exist all around us, and the new Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM lens is the ideal starting point for amateur photographers eager to capture incredible, up-close details on the go,” said Yuichi Ishizuka, president and COO, Canon U.S.A., Inc. “Whether capturing a delectable dessert or the subtleties of a backyard flower, users will be challenged to find new colors and shapes that turn everyday moments into art.”

The new Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM captures stunning images and is a terrific companion lens for entry-level users eager to expand beyond their existing Canon EOS DSLR kit lens. Capable of shooting as close as 30mm from the end of the lens to the subject, aspiring photographers can get up close to a fruit or flower for an entirely new perspective, while capturing high-quality images with beautiful background blur. Additional technologies built into the new Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM lens include:

Popular 35mm focal length (56mm equivalent) and wide f/2.8 aperture
Hybrid IS system offers up to four stops* of shake correction
Smooth Movie Servo AF with Lead Screw-type STM ensures quiet AF operation
Full-time Manual Focus

In a first for the EF-S lens series, the new Canon EF-S 35mm lens sports built-in Macro Lites that allow photographers to carefully arrange macro lighting without using special equipment. With built-in LED lights on each side of the lens, users can create compelling shadows on either side of a subject or adjust intensity to give images a sense of dimension. Once the scene is set, the lens uses superb rendering performance to capture high contrast, sharp images.

While specialized for high magnification photography, the Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM is still a versatile option for day-to-day use, easily capable of capturing portraits, landscapes or snapshots. As the latest addition to the lineup of EF-S lenses, Canon continues its commitment to providing a wide-range of affordable lens options for photographers of all levels.

The Canon EF-S 35mm f/2.8 Macro IS STM lens is scheduled to be available in June 2017 for an estimated retail price of $ 349.99.

Canon EF-S 35mm F2.8 Macro IS STM specifications

Principal specifications
Lens type	Prime lens
Max Format size	APS-C / DX
Focal length	35 mm
Image stabilization	Yes (4 stops)
Lens mount	Canon EF-S
Aperture
Maximum aperture	F2.8
Aperture ring	No
Number of diaphragm blades	7
Optics
Elements	10
Groups	6
Special elements / coatings	Glass-molded aspheric element
Focus
Minimum focus	0.03 m (1.18″)
Maximum magnification	1×
Autofocus	Yes
Motor type	Stepper motor
Full time manual	Yes
Focus method	Internal
Distance scale	No
DoF scale	No
Focus distance limiter	No
Physical
Weight	190 g (0.42 lb)
Diameter	69 mm (2.72″)
Length	56 mm (2.2″)
Sealing	No
Colour	Black
Filter thread	49.0 mm
Hood supplied	Yes
Tripod collar	No

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

April 6, 2017

Cold Yet Comfortable: 13 Surprisingly Inviting Concrete Home Interiors

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

It may be cold to the touch, but concrete doesn’t have to make a home feel uncomfortable and unwelcoming, even when it makes up most of the surfaces throughout the interiors. In fact, concrete proves to be surprisingly versatile – polished to a mirror finish, molded with wood or given a rocky, irregular texture for visual interest – and setting it off with timber, glass, greenery and natural light strikes just the right balance.

Courtyard House by NOA Architecture

This stunning intergenerational house by NOA Architecture is programmed “as an inhabited landscape contained within a modernist slab,” with a single glass-wrapped layer between a floor and roof plane, so the concrete floors, walls and other surfaces are offset with views straight out onto the lush green landscape of Aurora, Oregon. The best part is that oculus-style atrium in the center of the living room.

Pitch House by Iñaqui Carnicero

The dramatic ‘Pitch House’ of Madrid by Iñaqui Carnicero uses textured concrete to transition visually into its sloped, rocky surroundings. Using wood as formwork for concrete, and leaving the resulting textural imprint behind, lends a richness that the material usually doesn’t have. Glazed walls reflecting a crystal-clear swimming pool on the terrace don’t hurt, either.

Casa Dem by Wespi de Meuron Romeo Architetti

From street level, this blocky concrete house doesn’t look like much, but its beauty is hidden on the other side of the slope. Casa Dem by Wespi de Meuron Romeo Architects was made with several different types of concrete, including smooth, minimalist textures and rougher, more gravelly textures for an unexpected and beautiful contrast. The house is defined by its many square- and rectangle-shaped cutouts, from the smaller ones on the facade to the openings for windows and doors.

Low-Cost Modernist House by Terra e Tuma Arquitetos

Cement blocks are more commonly associated with prisons than residential architecture, and when you hear that they’ve been used to create a remarkably low-cost home, your expectations might be low. But Terra e Tuma Arquitetos pulled off quite a feat with Vila Matilde, an ultra-affordable modernist home in Brazil. Despite these cheap and typically ‘cold’ materials, the space feels comfortable and homey, with special thanks to plenty of natural light and a clever design incorporating a plant-filled courtyard.

Casa Brutale Cliffside Concept

On the other side of the spectrum is Casa Brutale, a residence so luxurious and dramatic it seems like it could never be real. But this modern villain’s lair cut directly into a cliffside by OPA is actually under construction, with most of the interior spaces tucked beneath a glass-bottomed swimming pool for lots of watery reflections.

Next Page – Click Below to Read More:
Cold Yet Comfortable 13 Surprisingly Inviting Concrete Home Interiors

Cliff Diving: Dramatic Concrete Home & Pool Cut into Precipice

File this dramatic cliff-hanging, swimming-pool-topped home called Casa Brutale under ‘fit for a villain in every possible way.’ Practically begging to be used as a base for unsavory …

Concrete Retreat: 100 Sq Ft Home in WWII Dutch Defense Bunker

Sleek and multi-functional custom wood, glass and steel elements are set against a little-modified industrial concrete and metal backdrop in this stunning subterranean conversion project, turning …

Concrete House on Stilts in Austria Has a Surprising Interior

A concrete rectangle hovers in the air, implausibly balanced feet above the ground on just four stilts. And as if the curiously gravity-defying qualities of the exterior aren’t enough, the …

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Houses & Residential. ]

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WebUrbanist

April 6, 2017
Looping Bicycle Bridge Lets Cyclists Ride Right Over a School Roof

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

Many a cyclist has fantasized about being able to bike right over the chaos of a city, avoiding traffic, intersections and trouble areas so they can just enjoy the ride. A Dutch architecture firm has made this fantasy into a reality with a continuous bike bridge that crosses the Amsterdam-Rhine Canal in Utrecht and then loops right over an adjacent university building’s roof. Officially open this week, ‘Dafne Schippers Bicycle Bridge’ by NEXT Architecture reclaims urban space for people who aren’t driving vehicles.

It’s unusual to see a bridge so seamlessly integrated into adjacent infrastructure on land in a way that’s interactive with the public, while also performing an important service. Measuring 360 feet long, the bicycle bridge connects the old Oog in Al section of Utrecht with new district Leidsche Rijn.

Open to both cyclists and pedestrians, it lifts up off the ground in Victor Hugo Park, reaches a pinnacle of nearly 115 feet above the surface of the water, and continues onto the roof of a local Montessori school.The bridge then loops around a public garden before once again reaching ground level.

Commissioned by the city of Utrecht, the structure will save more than 7,000 cyclists time on their route each day. The architects wanted the bridge to connect the bicycle route, park and school in a single fluid movement, creating a cohesive landscape. With the bicycle bridge on the south side, space for a recreational area is created on the north side, oriented toward a park.

It would be cool to see architects take inspiration from NEXT’s creation to the next level, building something even more complex that’s lifted above the busy streets of an urban center.

Recycled Cargo Container Bridge Spans Environmental Gap

Ariel Sharon Park in Israel is planned to be a stunning ecological retreat in the middle of a densely populated urban area. The site was once an enormous landfill, but today it is being turned …

Apostrophe-Shaped Bridge Doubles as a Ride for Pedestrians

Shaped like an apostrophe and bearing a shark-inspired fin, the Scale Lane Bridge in Hull, England allows pedestrians to go along for the ride when it swings open to allow ships passage. Made of …

Grass-Covered Bridge in Amsterdam Doubles as Public Park

In the ‘Venice of the North’, bridges over the many 17th century canals are plentiful, but nearly all of them are for vehicles and bicyclists. The Iconic Pedestrian Bridge competition by AC-CA …

[ By SA Rogers in Architecture & Cities & Urbanism. ]

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WebUrbanist

April 6, 2017
Honor 8 Pro combines big screen with dual-cam and large battery

Huawei’s sub-brand Honor has today released its latest flagship – the Honor 8 Pro, which plays on a very similar level as the main brand’s Mate 9 and P10 high-end models. The 8 Pro features the same Kirin 960 chipset as the Huawei handsets and combines it with a generous 6GB of RAM and 64GB of built-in storage that can be expanded via a microSD-slot. Despite a large 4,000 mAh battery the device is very slim and the front is covered by a 5.7″ Quad-HD display.

With a dual 12MP-camera setup the camera specification is on paper identical to the standard Honor 8 but the new Kirin chipset’s more powerful Image Signal Processor should slightly improve image quality compared to its slightly older cousin. As on all Huawei dual-cam a monochrome and a RGB sensor are combined to optimize image detail, noise levels and dynamic range as well as produce a simulated shallow depth-of-field effect. Both lenses come with F2.2 apertures and the camera is capable of recording 4K video. There is no optical image stabilization, though. The front camera uses an 8MP module with F2.0 aperture.

The Honor 8 Pro has, at least at this point, been officially announced for European markets only and will cost you £475/590 in the UK which makes it an interesting alternative for those who want high-end looks and specs at an affordable price point. It will go up for pre-order today on the Honor vMall store and will be available in regular stores from April 20.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

April 6, 2017
Zeiss formally announces Batis 135mm F2.8

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Zeiss has announced a new medium telephoto full-frame Batis lens for Sony E mount: the Batis 2.8/135. The Apo Sonnar optical design comprises of 14 elements in 11 groups inside a smooth metal body with an OLED display with distance and depth of field information. As with all lenses in the Batis line, it offers AF, and a robust build with weather-sealing. It also features image stabilization, like the Batis 85mm.

The lens will be available in May 2017 with an MSRP of $ 1,999.

Press Release:

The new ZEISS Batis 2.8/135 is the first 135 mm AF focal length for mirrorless full-frame cameras from Sony

OBERKOCHEN/Germany, 05/04/2017.

Fans of Sony’s mirrorless full-frame cameras have a reason to smile: ZEISS has added a further tele lens focal length to its ZEISS Batis lens family. The new ZEISS Batis 2.8/135 is the first 135 mm AF focal length for Sony’s Alpha 7 system with E-mount. Like all lenses from the ZEISS Batis range, this new addition is equipped with fast and precise autofocus. To avoid shaking, which can occur very easily with tele lenses, an optical image stabilizer has also been incorporated into the design. The ZEISS Batis 2.8/135 proves it worth particularly in portrait photography: “The tele focal length means the subject can stand out nicely against the blurred background”, says Product Manager Michael Pollmann from ZEISS. “The bokeh works very well indeed, and the optical design – an Apo Sonnar – ensures outstanding images time and again.” The new ZEISS Batis could also be a great option for event and wedding photography.

“Compact, lightweight, top quality”

“The advantage of Sony’s mirrorless full-frame system is that despite its compact size, it delivers exceptional image quality,” says Pollmann. ZEISS has continued to bring the design of the ZEISS Batis 2.8/135 into line with the needs of Sony photographers. “It was important to build a comparably handy lens – in spite of the rather long focal length. We made a conscious decision to strike a balance between compactness, weight and light intensity.”

OLED display visualizes depth of focus

Like all ZEISS Batis lenses, this latest addition features an OLED display that enables precise visualization of the depth of field. So you can be sure that the image is in focus in all the right places. The metal housing gives the lens its robust and durable character. ZEISS assures us that its dust and dirt shield means photo shoots in poor weather are a walk in the park.

The image quality leaves nothing to be desired: “We have put a lot of effort into the optical design and into correcting our lenses,” says Pollmann. “For example, we are experimenting with special types of glass in order to rule out as many kinds of image errors as possible. We have thus been able to ensure corrected chromatic aberration in the ZEISS Batis 2.8/135 so that we have virtually no image errors.” 14 lenses have been built into 11 groups in the camera lens.

Price and availability

The ZEISS Batis 2.8/135 will be available from specialist dealers starting May 2017 and will retail at 1,999 euros incl. 19 percent sales tax (RRP).

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

April 6, 2017
New York Times reportedly more than doubles photographers’ pay rate

The New York Times has more than doubled its photographers’ pay, according to a new report, increasing its day rate from $ 200 to $ 450. The report’s sources also claim that the publication’s pay rate for photographers working less than a day is now $ 300, though it isn’t clear what the previous rate was. This follows a report the company published in January stating, among other things, that it ‘need[s] to expand the number of visual experts who work at The Times and also expand the number who are in leadership roles.’

The Times discussed its ‘strategy and aspirations’ in its 2020 report published in January 2017. Chief among the details about many changes the publication needs to make is discussion of photography and its role in modern journalism. ‘Too much of our daily report remains dominated by long strings of text,’ the report explains, detailing ways it could improve articles using visual elements.

In addition to enabling reporters and others to improve their visual storytelling capabilities, The Times says, ‘We also need to become more comfortable with our photographers, videographers and graphics editors playing the primary role covering some stories, rather than a secondary role.’

Via: PetaPixel

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

April 6, 2017
Elinchrom launches improved Deep Umbrellas

Elinchrom has introduced its new Deep Umbrellas line of affordable umbrellas to replace the Varistar series. The new models are available in white, silver and translucent and feature a deep shape that provides an even quality of light. 16 fiberglass rods are utilized to maintain a consistent circular shape. The umbrellas include a portable sleeve and are available in sizes of 41” or 49”.

In addition to the new umbrellas, Elinchrom has also introduced a range of compatible diffusers and reflectors that can convert the umbrella into a “fold-up” softbox, giving photographers another lighting tool without adding hardly any extra bulk. Pricing for the umbrellas ranges, depending on color and size, from $ 96.95 to $ 136.95. Diffusors start at $ 32.95. More information on specifications and features is available on Elinchromus.com.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

April 5, 2017
Hasselblad X1D-50c First Impressions Review
The Hasselblad X1D-50c is a 50MP mirrorless medium format camera and is an important product for the storied Swedish company.

Hasselblad is a company with a long history of making high-end cameras. Its boxy 6 x 6 format cameras (latterly dubbed the ‘V’ series) were beloved of generations of photographers and perhaps reached their apogee when used to capture man’s first ventures to the moon.

The ravages of history, the decline of film and changes of both management and ownership have seen the company make sporadic attempts to expand beyond its core, high-end professional medium format market, but the X1D is the move that best fits with the brand’s strengths and history.

The first camera in the ‘XCD’ system, the X1D is built around 44 x 33mm medium format sensor (or ‘cropped’ medium format if you’re going to demand that digital directly mimics film formats). The assumption has to be that it’s a similar 50MP chip to the one included in Ricoh’s Pentax 645Z and Fujifilm’s GFX 50S. What’s interesting is how different each camera ends up being.

Key Features:
- 50MP 44 x 33mm medium format CMOS sensor
- 12.4MP preview JPEGs or ‘3FR’ 16-bit losslessly compressed Raws
- 2.36M-dot electronic viewfinder
- 920k-dot (VGA) 3.0″ touchscreen
- Designed to use leaf-shutter lenses
- Tethered shooting over USB 3.0 or Wi-Fi
- Full TTL compatibility with recent Nikon Speedlights
Whereas the 645Z is medium format DSLR, built around Pentax’s existing 645 film system, and Fujifilm’s GFX is a DSLR-shaped mirrorless camera with a focal plane shutter, Hasselblad has used the expertise it’s gained in high-end studio cameras to create the smallest camera of the three by pushing the shutter out into the lenses. This move not only keeps the camera small, it also means that the camera can sync with strobes across its entire shutter speed range.

To an extent it reminds us of the original Sony a7, which appeared to be the bare minimum amount of camera built around a full frame sensor. The Hasselblad does the same thing, but with a sensor 70% larger. However, what will be interesting to see is whether the Hasselblad is able to take full advantage of that extra sensor size if its lenses are significantly slower than those available for the smaller, ‘full-frame’ format (which, in theory at least, gives you the chance to open the aperture, let in more light and cancel out all of the larger sensor advantage, so long as you don’t run out of dynamic range).

Initially, Hasselblad has promised three lenses for the XCD system: a 30mm F3.5 (24mm equiv), a 45mm F3.5 (35mm equiv) and a 90mm F3.2 (70mm equiv). As with so many things in life, what you gain on one side (the faster sync speeds of a leaf shutter), you lose on another (it’s increasingly hard to get a leaf shutter to quickly open and close across a large distance).

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
April 5, 2017