Ein Beitrag von: Nicola Odemann
Ich bin verrückt nach diesem Land. Nach dieser Weite. Dieser Unendlichkeit der Landschaft, die nie zu enden scheint und die doch so viel Sinn macht. Wie sie mich ausfüllt. Dampfende Erde und Eiszungen aus Bergen. Und türkise Seen, die sich in reißende Flüsse verwandeln. Und dazu eine Schotterwüste, aus der pyramidenartige Berge wachsen.
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin | Fotocommunity
 |
Digital medium format brand Phase One has bought the whole of the Mamiya Digital Imaging Company and has taken over Mamiya’s Saku factory for its Japanese HQ. The Danish company has had a long-standing relationship with the Japanese camera and lens manufacturer, and since 2009 has owned 45% of the company’s shares. Phase One sold customised Mamiya bodies and redesigned lenses under its own brand name, with the 645DF+ being a very close relation to the Mamiya 645AFD III – cameras the two companies launched simultaneously in 2012.
For Phase One the move will almost certainly be about acquiring a closer control over the manufacturing side of its business so the company can enjoy a freer reign over what happens in the factory. What Phase One has been able to do in terms of the bodies it offers has so far been dependent on what Mamiya could or was prepared to do, and with no products of its own Mamiya may not have been able to invest sufficiently to develop significantly different new cameras.
The new president of Phase One Japan, Makoto Honda, hinted that optical design and lens upgrading would also be a major focus in comments in the press release: ‘Phase One Japan is committed to developing new and custom designed masterpiece leaf shutter optics in close partnership with top photographers, imaging companies and long term design partner Schneider Kreuznach.’
At the moment lenses branded ‘Phase One’ are made by Mamiya and require in-body focal plane shutters. All the compatible leaf-shutter lenses are made with help from Schneider in Germany. That may not change, of course, but the buyout gives Phase One more control of what can and can’t be done. What the deal will mean for the future products of the company we’ll have to wait and see.
Mamiya was started by camera designer Seiichi Mamiya in 1940, and produced the wonderful Mamiya Six rangefinder series and then the equally fabulous Mamiyaflex TLRs in its first ten years. Having started in medium format the company went on to produce rangefinder and SLR cameras for 135 film, as well as slim pocket compacts for the miniature ‘spy’ 16mm format film. The modern 6×4.5cm format cameras were introduced in 1975, and it was these that went on to become the basis of the current Phase One digital bodies. Perhaps some of the best loved and revered models the company made were the RB and RZ 6x7cm studio cameras, which were big and heavy but lovely to use.
The company struggled on its own in the digital market and its 2004 ZD integrated digital camera, and the ZD back for Mamiya film bodies didn’t achieve great success. Phase One bought a large stake in the company in 2009, and in 2012 formed the Mamiya Leaf medium format brand.
The original company was also a producer of fishing rods and reels until 2000.
For more information on Phase One see the company’s website.
Press release:
COPENHAGEN, December 2, 2015 — Phase One, A/S, the leading provider of open-platform, high-end camera systems and solutions, today announced that it has acquired the assets of Mamiya Digital Imaging Company, Ltd (MDI) and has appointed Makoto Honda as the new president of Phase One Japan. Terms of the transaction were not disclosed.
Mamiya has held a long and established reputation in the camera sector. As a 45 percent shareholder in MDI since 2009, Phase One has developed detailed insight into the camera & lens design and production process and engineered important improvements through its close collaboration with the MDI team in Japan. With this transaction, Phase One now also takes total ownership for all aspects of design and development of medium format camera systems, central shutters & lenses.
“Phase One is now the only medium format camera company that has full internal control of all critical components in a world class imaging system,” says Niels V. Knudsen Phase One’s Image Professor. “This is the best news in many years for quality-focused photographers and imaging companies as Phase One works to consistently raise the bar in medium format photography.”
“The very successful introduction of the Phase One XF Camera System in June 2015 illustrates the power of our collaboration,” says Henrik Håkonsson Phase One President & CEO. He added, “The Phase One XF Camera System is the new much improved standard for medium format photography, with the incorporation of significantly enhanced technology.”
Phase One’s mission is to keep pushing the limits for ultimate camera systems and imaging quality, meeting the demand of the world’s leading photographers and industrial imaging companies.
Makoto Honda President of Phase One Japan said: “Phase One Japan is committed to developing new and custom designed masterpiece leaf shutter optics in close partnership with top photographers, imaging companies and long term design partner Schneider Kreuznach.”
About Phase One
Phase One is the leading provider of open-platform, high-end camera systems and solutions. Phase One camera systems and lenses are designed to deliver superior quality image capture and investment value. Phase One’s Capture One Pro and Media Pro software help streamline capture and post-production processes for both medium format and 35mm cameras. Phase One products are known for their quality, flexibility and speed enabling pro photographers and industrial imaging companies shooting in a wide range of formats to achieve their creative visions without compromise.
Phase One is based in Copenhagen with offices in New York, London, Tokyo, Cologne, Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Tel Aviv. Phase One and Capture One are registered trademarks of Phase One A/S. Mamiya is a trademark licensed by Phase One A/S. All other brand or product names are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective holders.
About Mamiya Digital Imaging
Mamiya Digital Imaging is the digital successor to the reputable Mamiya brand, an innovative company fresh with enthusiasm and dedicated to continuing a legacy of excellence. Mamiya has consistently been a forerunner in medium format camera design, and Mamiya lenses, manufactured following a tradition of precision and quality, are celebrated worldwide. Mamiya Digital Imaging is headquartered in Tokyo with a factory in Saku, Japan and totals a team of 80 dedicated engineers and technicians, and distributors in more than 100 countries.
[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]
An experiment in intentional synesthesia, this combination of sculpture, music and technology enables us to actually see the physical form of individual songs. ‘Reify’ is a collaborative project that creates a new way to experience music, transforming it into a tangible object that transforms before our eyes. So-called ‘totems’ are made to visually represent an artist’s song, and encoded with music and interactive visual experiences that can be viewed on a smartphone or tablet.
Musicians, sculptors and app designers got together to build a platform that lets artists express their music in physical form. Each totem is a sculptural object in its own right, entirely unique in shape, 3D-printed from plastic or cast in bronze. Simply gazing upon these visual translations of sound is cool enough, but then comes the app that truly brings them to life.
Load up the Stylus app, point your mobile device at the totem and you’ll be treated to an interactive visual experience that plays along with the song. “Each experience is unique in style and content,” say the designers. “Some are game-like. Some are conceptual explorations. Others are both… and neither. All are direct expressions of the artist’s creative vision.”
While a Kickstarter campaign held in July didn’t raise enough funds to move forward with the project, it’s a really cool look into how various forms of creative expression will continue to evolve along with technology, and the potential for more crossover. Check out another cool project exploring what music looks like in 3D.
The rings displaying a tree’s age in a cross-section of its trunk are translated into somber piano music by a record player and music software.
Click Here to Read More »»
Is this shantytown in New Orleans the most musical neighborhood in the world? Every tiny shack here is a functional musical instrument.
Click Here to Read More »»
Spin this black globe and you’ll hear the music of the world. The Sound of the Earth by Yuri Suzuki is a spherical, interactive record player.
Click Here to Read More »»
[ By Steph in Gadgets & Geekery & Technology. ]
[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]
 |
Vallerret, a Norway-based startup, is looking for funding on Kickstarter for some cold weather photography gloves. Currently in prototype form, the Vallerret Photography Gloves are designed for adventurous photographers who shoot outside in cold temperatures, aiming to eliminate the hassle that comes with bulky, cumbersome gloves while protecting hands from snow and ice.
Vallerret’s gloves are made with ‘flip-tech’ finger caps that can be peeled back when it is time to adjust dials and change settings. The knuckles and cuff are made of neoprene, the interior features a merino wool liner and the palm and inner fingers are coated with a non-slip grip, though there’s no mention of capacitive touch screen capability, which is increasingly common. Catering specifically to photographers, the design includes an SD card pocket just above the cuff and a microfiber strip for cleaning a lens. Vallerret has partnered with a ski glove manufacturer, hoping to tailor the gloves to active photographers who might also wear them snowboarding.
The campaign has raised more than half its funding goal, and offers a pair of Vallerret Photography Gloves for a pledge of 550 kroner, or about $ 64. Shipping is estimated to start in March 2016, assuming the campaign and manufacturing progress as planned.
Samsung has today officially launched a new generation of its A-series smartphones, and although the new devices range below the high-end Galaxy S and Note models in the Samsung line-up, they come with promising-looking specifications – especially in the camera department. Read more
When I first got my digital camera, words like Aperture and ISO were foreign to me, and it took me a couple of weeks of reading and studying a lot before the lightbulb turned on in my head. You might be feeling a little confused, and you may even feel like you will never get your camera out of Auto mode, because it’s just too hard to understand.
So, if you are unfamiliar with your camera, or just starting out, you might appreciate a little explanation of the basics. Sometimes reading about these things in slightly different words helps something new to click each time.
These three things work together to expose your picture perfectly, and after experimenting for a while, you may even find that you can use your knowledge of these three things to manipulate your picture for different effects.
The aperture or f-stop is how wide open your lens is. Imagine a hole: if it’s open just a teeny bit, there won’t be very much light coming through. If it’s a big hole, lots of light will come through. The tricky thing with aperture is that often confusing numbering system.
That confused the heck out of me at first, but now it’s second nature. It will become second nature to you too, after some practice!
Another thing that can be affected by aperture is depth of field, or how much of your picture is in sharp focus. A wide open aperture (small number) will make less in focus, and a closed down aperture (big number) will make more in focus. Let’s look at some photos that demonstrate depth of field:
With the aperture set to f/3.5 on the left, you have a blurrier background (my favorite). Also notice that the shutter speed (1/640th) is fairly HIGH, we’ll get to this later.
A little bit smaller aperture (bigger number), makes the background come into focus a bit more, and the shutter speed is slowed down.
See what I mean? If you want to play around with Aperture, try putting your camera in Aperture Priority mode (A on Nikon, Av on Canon – if you have a different camera, check your manual).
Now, remember that all three parts work together? You probably started seeing how if you noticed the shutter speed changing with each of those different aperture values in the pictures above.
The shutter speed is how fast the shutter opens and closes. If the shutter is open longer, more light is let into the camera. If it opens and closes really fast, less light is let in.
If you have a wide open aperture, your shutter speed will need to be faster, because you’re already letting a lot of light in the lens opening. If your aperture is small, your shutter will need to move slower, so there is more time for light to get to the sensor.
If you want to freeze the action, or hand-hold your camera, then a faster shutter speed is needed. If you want to create blur, then you need a slower shutter speed. For example:
The vehicle in the photo on the left was driving past my house quite fast, but since I had the shutter speed set to 1/2000th of a second, it froze the action. It looks like the vehicle could be sitting still in the middle of the road.
The truck on the right is a blur going past, but everything else is still. 1/10th of a second was slow enough to blur the truck as it sped past. Notice the f-stop. Since the shutter was open for so long, the opening in the lens needed to be smaller to balance the exposure.
Try putting your camera in Shutter Priority mode (S on Nikon, Tv (time value) on Canon) to experiment with different shutter speeds. As you play with these different priority modes, notice what the camera chooses for the rest of your settings. The more you pay attention to these things, the more knowledge you’ll have to be able to set everything yourself in the future.
Okay, so now you’re probably asking, how does ISO fit into all of this?
The ISO is your camera’s mood. It can be all uptight and picky, or it can be easy-going and laid back. If you have the ISO set to a low number (100) your camera will want light, and plenty of it, because it’s going to take a smooth, crisp picture, and this requires perfect conditions. If you have your ISO set to a high number (3200) it can handle low light, because it’s not going to work as hard – a noisy (grainy) picture is good enough for Mr. High ISO.
So, how does this apply to your photography? Let’s say you wanted to take a picture in the evening, and you don’t want to use a flash. Just bump the ISO up, and it will allow you to have a faster shutter speed, or a smaller aperture (bigger number) and still accept the light conditions to expose correctly. Or, if you’re taking pictures at a sporting event, and you want to make sure you catch that action, but the light isn’t great, bump the ISO up. Or you may even want that moody grainy effect (it can be really cool)!
If you ever get frustrated because there’s just not enough light, and your pictures are blurry because the shutter speed isn’t fast enough, and you’re about to scream – just remember to bump the ISO. You could also leave this on Auto, but I usually don’t. My camera always seems to choose a higher ISO than I feel it needs. However, don’t forget to put it back down after you’re done. You don’t want to take a whole bunch of photos in the middle of the day at a 3200 ISO because you forgot to change it after your evening indoor party photos the night before.
Here’s a little demonstration:
ISO 3200
The photo above was taken in a very dimly lit room. Notice the digital noise?Notice the crispness of the photo below?
ISO 100
Well, that’s the exposure triangle in a nutshell. I hope this helped, especially if these three exposure factors have been confusing to you in the past. Please ask any questions in the comments, and I’ll answer them the best I can.
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
tablet_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_tab-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78623” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
mobile_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_mob-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78158” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
The post Mastering the Exposure Triangle for Newbies by Melinda Smith appeared first on Digital Photography School.
 |
Fall in Seattle means two things – the return of cold drizzle and University of Washington Husky football. Veteran sports shooter and DPR staffer Jordan Stead recently took advantage of a sunny afternoon game to do a little more testing of the Canon 35mm F1.4L II USM. We’ve updated our initial sample gallery with a few more images that capture the unique energy of Husky Stadium as two rivals collided in the Apple Cup.
See our updated Canon EF 35mm F1.4L II USM gallery
[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]
Imagine your grandmother presenting you with a knitted facehugger, dwarven helm or a life-sized boyfriend pillow for your birthday instead of a scratchy wool scarf. The world of knits goes far beyond beginner’s patterns for sweaters and caps, occasionally encompassing entire rooms or covering military tanks. This collection of weird knitted and crocheted things might even inspire you to break out a pair of needles yourself.
Well, isn’t that cute. It’s a cozy little alien face hugger, just like you always wanted.
‘Brutal Knitting’ is a fitting name for this ongoing project by artist Tracy Widdess, which stretches the craft far beyond its humble origins of warmth and practicality. Her highly unusual knit works include some of the most bizarre hats you’ve ever seen, and a replica of the Lament Configuration puzzle box from Hellraiser.
Australia’s oldest man, 109-year-old Alfred Date, put his 80 years of knitting experience to work to create the world’s cutest sweaters for a bunch of oil-covered penguins after a spill on the Australian Phillip Island. The sweaters keep the penguins from ingesting toxins and prevent water from getting trapped under their oily feathers, which can cause them to freeze.
“The helm I based directly on the helm that Gimli wears in the Lord of the Rings movies, the beard was my own design with massive creative input from my brother,” says DeviantArt member SadDaysCrochet of this creation.
If it’s a little lonely in your bed, but you don’t have the patience that a real flesh-and-blood boyfriend requires, there’s a solution. ‘My Knitted Boyfriend’ can be worn like a terrifying bodysuit by a real person, or stuffed to create a life-sized man-shaped pillow.
The fiber artist known as ‘Olek,’ who’s responsible for yarn bombing practically every surface you can think of, knitted an entire gallery space for a piece called ‘Keith Meets Arch of Hysteria,’ a tribute to artists Keith Haring, Annie Leibovitz and Louise Bourgeois.
Rocking-Knit by students at Switzerland’s ECAL university is a rocking chair that knits red beanie caps as you rock, making you part of a low-tech hat factory.
Click Here to Read More »»
When it comes to knit graffiti, yarn bombing or urban knitting, NYC-based artist and crochet queen Agata Oleksiak (known as Olek) has got it all sewn up!
Click Here to Read More »»
Has there ever been a cozier-looking bus cruising around the streets of London than this neon yarn-bombed double decker dubbed the No. 7up? The beverage brand …
Click Here to Read More »»
[ By Steph in Art & Sculpture & Craft. ]
[ WebUrbanist | Archives | Galleries | Privacy | TOS ]
Das Bild des Tages von: Martin Dietrich
Im Ausblick: Nachteile der Viralität, ein Video über Peter Lindbergh und Instagram.
kwerfeldein – Fotografie Magazin | Fotocommunity
Taken at ISO 800 (shutter speed of 30 seconds and aperture at f/8.0)
ISO has long been called the third corner of the exposure triangle, but was it really? In the film days you couldn’t even change your ISO, except by changing your film. In the early days of digital, you could change your ISO after each shot, which was a definite improvement. But, if you dared to increase the ISO, your picture would probably end up with a lot of digital noise in it. The reality is that most of us were confined to a very narrow range of ISO values when making our exposures.
Times have changed though. Newer cameras offer a lot more flexibility when it comes to ISO. First of all, they are capable of taking pictures at higher ISOs. Cameras now will routinely shoot at ISO 25,600 (and higher), which was almost unheard of just five or six years ago. Secondly, when newer cameras do shoot at higher ISOs, they produce less digital noise. Check out this chart from DxO Mark showing the ability of cameras to shoot at higher ISOs without being ruined by noise:
The chart shows the maximum useable ISO for given cameras introduced over the last 12 years. Notice how the dots are higher on the chart the further you go to the right. The newer cameras are to the right of the graph and the tests show that they can shoot at higher ISO values with less digital noise.
In addition, seemingly mindful of the desire of photographers to change their ISO more frequently, camera manufacturers have made it easier to change ISO on the fly. Some, like Fujifilm, have even put ISO on par with shutter speed and aperture by giving ISO its own dial. As a result, it is easier to change the ISO and it truly has status as an equal partner in the exposure triangle.
Even beyond cameras, however, we now have a much greater ability to remove digital noise from our pictures. Much of this improvement is thanks to Lightroom. With a quick slider adjustment, we can eliminate much digital noise from our pictures, without making them blurry. Further, if you have a severe noise problem, there are dedicated plug-ins like Noiseware and Photo Ninja, designed to reduce noise in your pictures, which have continued to improve.
As a result of all of this, you have a lot more flexibility when it comes to ISO. But how does this really impact your photography? And where should you set your ISO in different situations?
If you are just getting started, you might be bewildered by the numbers, or perhaps don’t even know where to start. If you have been shooting for a long time, you may be locked into some habits that were engrained before all these changes in technology. Either way, here are some tips to help you put ISO to work, to improve your photography.
If you have been shooting for a long time, you might be in the habit of keeping your ISO at 100 to keep noise out of your pictures. As mentioned above, given the state of camera technology, this was a prudent practice. Now, however, there is almost no discernible difference between a shot taken at ISO 200 and ISO 100 in most cameras. You may as well use ISO 200 as a default to give yourself an extra stop of light. It will result in better pictures. How so? In one of two ways:
By using ISO 200 instead of 100, you will enjoy a little extra flexibility in your exposure settings, without an increase in digital noise. It is pretty much a case of something for nothing.
Do not hesitate to move the ISO up to 400 (or even higher depending on your camera) when the need arises. If you are outdoors and there are any clouds, or if the sun is starting to move toward the horizon, go ahead and move to ISO 400. You will find there is very little increase in digital noise in most cameras at this level.
Even though this was a bright, sunny day, the need for a super-fast shutter speed meant that I needed to increase my ISO to 400 to get this shot. Exposure info: 1/8000th, f/2.8, at ISO 400
Previously, you faced a dilemma when trying to stop the action. Should you:
Obviously, neither choice was ideal. But now, with better cameras and noise reduction tools, there is no reason not to increase your ISO when you are photographing action (assuming you are not trying to blur it). In that case, start by moving the ISO up to 800.
As soon as you move indoors, increase your ISO to 1600 if there is reasonably good light. Move it even higher if the lighting is poor. There is a lot less light indoors, even though it often doesn’t look that way to you (your eyes adjust very quickly).
It was not possible to use a tripod in the Opera Garnier in Paris. Hence, ISO 3200 for this picture (actually pictures, since it is many pictures stitched together)
Note: If you have, and can use a tripod then keep your ISO lower if possible (there is no moving subject).
I was recently trying to take pictures of a high school play, featuring my daughter. I faced a toxic combination of extremely low light, and a moving subject (flash was not allowed). I had a pretty fast lens, opened all the way up to f/2.8. To keep the subject from being blurred, I needed to use a shutter speed of at least 1/400th of a second. To get a proper exposure, I required ISO 6400. I used it, and then gave it a dose of Lightroom noise reduction later, to get the following picture.
Exposure info: 1/500th, f/2.8, at ISO 6400
Perfect? No. But if I had hedged at all, it would have been blurred and completely ruined. The point is that ISO 6400 might not get you perfection, but it will get you a shot, when the alternative is no shot at all.
Nobody wants to use very high ISO values. But when you’re faced with the choice of a shot at ISO 6400 or 12,800 (which will probably have a noise problem), versus a blurry shot from using too slow of a shutter speed, take the noisy picture every time. You have some hope of curing a noisy picture in Lightroom. You have no hope of fixing a blurry subject.
This was shot through a window from inside the Louvre, and using a tripod was not possible. Since I was hand holding, I needed to use ISO 3200. I didn’t like using an ISO that high, but it beats not getting the shot at all (or having it blurry from too slow of a shutter speed). Exposure info: 1/8th, f/4, at ISO 3200
I recognize that, in a sense, this entire article could be summarized as: It is okay to increase your ISO. There is more to it than that though, and that is particularly true if you are just starting out, or getting used to a new camera. I have used hard values in this article to give you default numbers, for some different scenarios. That said, of course, every situation you will face as a photographer is different. Just use these as starting points and adjust from there. In time you will get your own starting points.
Further, your use of ISO will depend on your camera as well. Obviously, newer and more expensive cameras have better low-light performance. How does yours stack up? You can check the DxO Mark rating to start. The best thing to do is to test your camera, which is easily done by taking the exact same picture at different ISO values (while adjusting shutter speed to keep the exposure the same) and then comparing them on your monitor (at 100%). Having done so, you will be well poised to use ISO to improve your pictures.
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
tablet_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_tab-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78623” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
googletag.cmd.push(function() {
mobile_slots.push( googletag.defineSlot( “/1005424/_dPSv4_mob-all-article-bottom_(300×250)”, [300, 250], “pb-ad-78158” ).addService( googletag.pubads() ) ); } );
The post 6 Tips for Using ISO Effectively With Your Camera by Jim Hamel appeared first on Digital Photography School.