The post The Sony a7S III May Be Announced in Late June appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Over the past several weeks, rumors of a new Sony full-frame camera have been on the rise.
And, taken together, it looks like we may have a Sony a7S II successor before the summer is out.
One rumor, originally reported by Sony Alpha Rumors, suggests that a Sony full-frame camera (and a full-frame lens) will debut at the end of June.
Another rumor, also revealed by Sony Alpha Rumors, tells of a Sony a7S II successor in “late June.”
According to this second report, the a7S III should be launched toward the end of next month, with the camera “scheduled to be on the market by late Summer,” assuming that coronavirus doesn’t cause further, unexpected issues.
Put these two reports together, and an a7S III seems very likely, though it is possible that we’ll be surprised with an a7 IV.
An a7S II successor is long overdue; the a7S II launched way back in 2015, and since then much has changed in the camera industry. Note that the a7S III would be part of Sony’s video-centric stills lineup, which focuses on high-quality video over features such as huge megapixel counts and insanely good autofocus tracking.
So what can we expect from this new Sony snapper?
First, the a7S III should feature at least 4K/60p (the old a7S II offers 4K/30p), but there’s also a possibility for a jump in resolution to 6K or even 8K.
A June-announced 8K camera would be poised to compete with the upcoming Canon EOS R5, which will leapfrog over other mirrorless bodies to offer 8K/30p recording. Personally, I’m doubtful as to whether Sony could pull this off; it’s far more likely that we’ll get 4K/60p, or maybe 6K.
We should also see some standard Sony features: touchscreen capabilities, IBIS, faster AF, and a relatively compact body. The a7S II was (and is) a powerful low-light shooter, so the a7S III may take that even further, offering top-of-the-line high-ISO performance.
As for the price:
The Sony a7S II is currently available for around $ 2000 USD, but it debuted with an MSRP of $ 3000 USD; we can expect that the a7S III will start at this mark, though it’s possible we’ll see a higher price if the camera offers some unexpected features (such as 8K video).
So if you’re a hybrid shooter looking for your next camera, keep an eye out for updates over the next couple of months!
Now over to you:
Are you excited about the potential release of the a7S III? What do you think the camera will offer in terms of video and stills capability? Share your thoughts in the comments!
The post The Sony a7S III May Be Announced in Late June appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
The post Color Photography Exercises to Help You Improve Your Skills appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
Learning to use color in your photographs well will help you, in many ways, to take better pictures. Many photographers tend not to practice with the aim of improving their skills. We all like to take good photos. Doing some color photography exercises will help you build awareness. You can learn how to incorporate color into your photographs with more meaning.
“The ability to see the quality of color and it’s different relationships is an art, as well as a skill that must be honed through continual exercise.” ~ Nevada Wier, travel photographer and author.
In this article, I want to encourage you to practice looking a the colors in your compositions. Understanding how colors in a picture interact will help you add more feeling to your photography.
Mix color theory with practical photography exercises
Understanding of color and how to use it well is a good skill to acquire. Like any skill, it takes study and practice. Getting a little theory in your head is rarely enough – you need to put it into practice to begin to comprehend it in practical ways.
These color photography exercises are designed to help you be more aware and considerate of how you use color in your photographs.
The color wheel
The color wheel has been in use by artists and scientists since Sir Isaac Newton first developed the design in 1666. There are now many variations. But the basic color wheel can provide you with enough relevant information. It will help you understand the relationships between different colors. This basic wheel is displays three types of colors:
Primary Colors
Secondary Colors
Tertiary Colors
Primary Colors
Three primary colors make up the simplest color wheel. Red, yellow and blue are primary colors. These cannot be made by mixing other colors. All other colors are combinations of primary colors.
Secondary Colors
Secondary colors are green, orange and purple. They are created by mixing two primary colors together.
Tertiary Colors
Tertiary colors are created by mixing a primary and a secondary color. These are:
Yellow-orange
Red-orange
Red-purple
Blue-purple
Blue-green
Yellow-green
Complementary color photography exercises
Complementary colors are opposite each other on the color wheel. Used together they produce high contrast and high impact.
They are:
Red-Green
Yellow-Purple
Blue-Orange
Find or create photos using complementary colors boldly in your compositions. You might find a red flower and frame it so you can only see grass or foliage behind it. You could slice an orange or papaya and photograph it against a blue background.
You could find two objects that have complementary colors. Photograph them against a plain, non-colored background.
Have a look around your home or garden and I am sure you’ll find things of strong primary colors that you can photograph together.
Analogous colors are sets of three colors that lie next to each other on the color wheel.
Using combinations of these colors creates a harmonious feeling in photographs. These colors often occur in nature and are pleasing to the eye. Choosing one color to dominate and the others to support will help you create more relaxing images.
This exercise may be a little more challenging because you need to find things with three colors that are close to each other on the color wheel. Don’t fret if you cannot find colors that match the color wheel perfectly – close enough is good.
You might find something of a primary blue and place it in a composition with a blue-green and green. This will create a photo with a cool, harmonious feeling. Choosing warmer colors, such as orange-red combinations, produce photos with a positive feeling.
Look around. You may find these combinations happening naturally in your garden, or you may have to create some still-life setups.
A triadic color scheme is a combination of three colors that are evenly spaced around the color wheel. Red, blue, and yellow together are triadic. As are orange, green, and violet and the set of three tertiary colors.
Look to use these sets of colors with one dominant and the others to accent it. You might have a red and a blue pen on a yellow background. Or a green apple and an orange on a violet background.
Try various ways to compose your photo so that one or other of the colors is more dominant in your photos. Look for different angles or, if you can, move your subjects around and arrange them alternatively.
Shades or tints of a single color used together can produce very interesting color photographs. Shades are colors with varying degrees of black added to the color. Tints are colors where white has been added.
Find items around your home or in your garden that you can create monochromatic compositions with. The color will all be essentially the same. The interest will be determined by the degrees of shade and tint you can include.
Green against green is the most common monochrome we see in nature. Or, depending on where you live and the season, it may be brown on brown.
Think imaginatively as you look for different things to photograph. Try and create interesting photographs with color use as the main subject. The purpose is to learn and practice how colors relate to each other in a photograph.
When you practice anything enough, it becomes second nature. Doing these exercises may seem a little odd because you may not be taking great photos. Color photography exercises like this help you develop your color awareness more. Once you are well-practiced, you will ‘see’ color and color combinations more naturally.
So, try these color photography exercises and share your results with us in the comments section.
The post Color Photography Exercises to Help You Improve Your Skills appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Kevin Landwer-Johan.
At the time of its announcement on February 12 this year, Nikon said its flagship D6 DSLR was expected to ship in April 2020, with pre-orders starting the day of its announcement. However, due to component supply issues caused by the COVID-19 pandemic, Nikon was forced to issue a ‘notice of delay’ on March 9 stating the first units wouldn’t be shipping until May.
Nikon has held true on that promise, confirming in a press release today that the first D6 units will start shipping to customers on May 21. In addition to the new shipping date, Nikon also shared a few images captured with the new DSLR as a teaser of sorts to tide over customers (and pixel-peepers alike):
You can read more about the Nikon D6 in our initial coverage linked above, as well as in our hands-on coverage from our time with it at WPPI. Pre-orders are still live at retailers acros the globe, with the D6 DSLR body-only going for $ 6,500 (Adorama, B&H).
Press release:
Nikon Inc. Announces Retail Availability of the Flagship Nikon D6 DSLR
MELVILLE, NY (May 7, 2020) – Today, Nikon Inc. announced the retail availability of the new Nikon D6 DSLR, which was unveiled in February of this year. The D6 will be available in the U.S. starting on Thursday, May 21 for the suggested retail price (SRP) of $ 6,499.95* for the body-only configuration.
Whether on an assignment or in the studio, Nikon’s flagship D6 DSLR always delivers. The D6 incorporates Nikon’s most powerful AF to date, featuring a high-density system with 105 selectable cross-type AF points to help capture pivotal moments again and again, even in the most challenging conditions and environments. Since every second counts, the uncompromising D6 incorporates important upgrades to enhance photographers’ workflow and accelerate file transfer capabilities, offering time-saving and customizable options during and after capture. Additionally, the D6 offers robust reliability, unrivaled low-light capability, amazing versatility, 4K UHD multimedia capabilities and a mechanical shutter frame rate that can capture at a blazing fast 14 frames-per-second (fps).
Blackjet has two relatively new storage peripherals: the new TX-4DS four-bay Cinema Dock with Thunderbolt 3 and the TX-1CXQ reader for CFexpress Type B and XQD cards. Both products offer rapid data transfer speeds up to 40Gb/s due to the inclusion of Thunderbolt 3, making them suitable for users who often shoot Ultra HD footage, manage data-heavy projects or who need to rapidly transfer large batches of images between drives.
The Blackjet TX-1CXQ Thunderbolt 3 hub features support for CFexpress Type B cards and Sony XQD / XQD 2.0 cards with ingest speeds up to 1600MB/s and 500MB/s, respectively. The hub is powered by the Thunderbolt 3 cable that connects the device to the user’s computer. The TX-1CXQ works with Windows 10 and macOS 10.12 and higher.
The model is priced at $ 199 but is listed on multiple online retailer websites as on backorder without clear availability or shipping dates at this time.
Joining the card reader is the Blackjet TX-4DS Thunderbolt 3 Cinema dock, which features four M.2 NVMe SSD enclosures, dual Thunderbolt 3 ports for daisy-chaining up to five Thunderbolt devices (displays, external drives, etc.), and optional reader modules for directly turning the inputs into CFast 2.0, XQD, SDXC, SSD, SxS and CFexpress card readers.
The TX-4DS features a built-in cooling fan and can be configured with RAID 0, RAID 1 and JBOD using the included software. The unit measures 120 x 145 x 155mm (4.7 x 5.7 x 6.1in); it is compatible with Windows 10 and macOS 10.12 or higher.
The enclosure is available from numerous retailers, including Amazon and Adorama, for $ 499.99—the price doesn’t include SSD drives, which are sold separately. You can find out more information on Blackjet’s website.
DJI has lifted the veil on its latest commercial drone platform and its first hybrid camera series, the Matrice 300 RTK (M300 RTK) and the Zenmuse H20.
While the M300 RTK and Zenmuse H20 are both packed with features designed specifically for commercial use-cases, the systems feature a number of groundbreaking technologies and features that will inevitably make their way into more consumer-centric drones.
M300 RTK
The M300 RTK features a unique design with a top-mounted body and bottom-mounted blades, opposite of its 210 predecessors. This unique design allows advanced AI-powered technologies to get a more expansive overview of the environment for less obstructed viewing. The chunky array atop the drone features a six directional sensing and positioning system that offers a maximum object-detection range of up to 40m (130ft) horizontally, as well as an Anti-Collision Beacon for making the drone more visible in low-light environments. DJI has also included its AirSense (ADS-B) technology that will alert pilots if other aircraft or drones are nearby.
DJI has also improved its OcuSync Enterprise technology to enable triple-channel 1080p video transmission up to 15km (9.32m) thanks to its 2.4GHz and 5.8GHz connections, which will switch in real-time based on what offers the clearest connection.
Together these systems work together to power the Primary Flight Display (PFD) that ‘merges real-time flight and navigation data into one integrated display.’ Aside from the usual flight telemetry, the pilot will also see obstacle data and other details to ensure a proper flight path in tricky conditions.
The M300 RTK also features DJI’s new Advanced Dual Operator Mode, which gives two separate pilots equal access to flight controls, telemetry and other data. ‘Now, if one pilot becomes compromised or their controller loses battery or connection, the other pilot gains full control over the M300 RTK and its payloads,’ says DJI. This feature can also be used for training new pilots, where the teacher can take over control of the drone if need be.
When paired with the new Zenmuse H20 camera system, the M300 RTK will also offer two new means of syncing the drone’s location with objects of interest for more precise location tracking in coordinated missions, such as search-and-rescue operations and critical infrastructure repairs. The first is PinPoint, ‘a function that allows users to mark the subject of interest and instantly share the precise location data to a second operator or if necessary to ground teams via DJI FlightHub.’ The second method is Smart Track, ‘which allows users to automatically detect and track a moving object, even at extreme distances, while synchronizing the subject’s dynamic location in real time.’
The M300 RTK is capable of carrying up to three payloads—two on the bottom of the drone and one on the top. Below are a few product photos, including a trio of images showing one-, two- and three-camera setups.
Additional data collection tools include Live Mission Recording, AI-Spot Check and Waypoints 2.0. Below is a description of each of the three systems from DJI:
‘Live Mission Recording [is] for recording sample automated missions in real time; AI-Spot Check which enables data collection from exactly the same location every time, greatly improving the accuracy of automated missions. After photos from a sample waypoint inspection mission have been recorded, operators are able to mark the subject of interest. During subsequent automated flight missions, AI algorithms perform a comparison between the marked subject and current live view, thus correcting the camera orientation accordingly to deliver accurate and consistent results; and Waypoints 2.0 [is] an improved mission planning system offering up to 65,535 waypoints, while supporting an array of consecutive actions, 3rd party payloads, and more.’
DJI says the M300 RTK offers up to 55-minutes of flight time on a single battery, offers AES-256 Encryption of its data between the drone and its connected controllers, has IP45 Protection with an operating temperature window of -20 to 50° C (-4 to 120° F) and a self-heating battery when running in the lower temperatures.
Zenmuse H20
While the M300 RTK can be used with other payloads, including previous camera systems from DJI, the Zenmuse H20 series is designed to make the most of the new technologies inside DJI’s latest drone. The H20 series comes in two versions: the H20 and the H20T.
The H20 is a triple-sensor unit with a 20MP, 23x Hybrid Optical Zoom Camera, a 12MP Wide Camera and a Laser Range Finder that covers distances from 3–1200 meters (3–1312 yards). The H20T, on the other hand, adds an additional Radiometric Thermal Camera (640 x 512 pixels), that ‘allows operators to see what is invisible to the human eye thanks to high thermal sensitivity.’
DJI has also updated its Pilot app to make it easier to switch between the various sensors onboard the H20 series payloads and added a few new modes to make the most of the multi-camera array. One-Click Capture will capture photos or video from all three cameras simultaneously without having to switch between cameras mid-flight, as well as a Night Scene mode that will capture better low-light images when lighting conditions are less than ideal.
Both the M300 RTK and Zenmuse H20 series payloads are available to pre-order from authorized DJI Enterprise dealers. the first units are expected to ship in the second quarter of 2020.
The post Four Essential Beginner Photographer Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
If you are new to photography the possibilities can seem endless and the options almost overwhelming. Buttons, dials, apertures, shutters, flashes…where do you even start? Of course, it’s always good to learn basics like the exposure triangle, but there are some simple beginner photographer tips that will immediately elevate your picture-taking prowess.
The first of the beginner photographer tips is tho look for the light.
Does your camera have a flash? Great!
Does it turn on all the time? Not so great.
This is usually a sign that your camera thinks your picture is too dark, so it tries to add a bit of light to fix things. From that perspective, the flash makes a lot of sense, but often it can end up ruining what might otherwise be a perfectly good photo. Instead of a pleasing, well-lit image, you end up with red eyes, harsh shadows, and bright spots of light reflecting off windows.
I shot this in a well-lit room with a lot of windows letting in the sunlight. Nikon D750, 50mm, f/5.6, 1/90 second, ISO 6400.
Instead of relying on the flash, look for the light that’s already available and reposition yourself accordingly. If you are indoors, put your subject in front of you and put your back to a window. If you are outdoors, look at where the sun is. Move yourself and your subject so that the light is behind you, not behind the person or object you are shooting. Better yet, re-compose your shot so your subject is in the shade and evenly lit.
Nikon D7100, 50mm, f/2.8, 1/750 second, ISO 100.
In the picture above, the light was so bright that my kids were entirely shrouded in shadow, creating a silhouette.
The only way to save the photo was to make it black-and-white in Lightroom! I could have also waited until the light was more overcast to get a more even exposure. Or I could have intentionally used the pop-up flash as a fill flash to add a touch of light to the two shadowy subjects.
This technique works for casual snapshots, formal portraits, or pretty much any style of photography.
To get this group photo of three generations of women in a park, I had to get a little creative with light and positioning. I found a spot that was in the shade of a tree, so all their faces were well lit. You can see a swath of light going across the foreground that would have wreaked havoc on the photo if everyone was two steps forward.
Nikon D750, 70-200mm f2.8, f/4, 1/200 second, ISO 360
Looking for the light is one of those beginner photography tips that sound constraining, but with practice, it will become second nature. You will automatically find yourself thinking about light and shadow and how to create the best composition without resorting to that pop-up flash. It’s also one of the most impactful things you can do to differentiate your photos and make people think twice when considering you as more than just an amateur.
Use Continuous Autofocus
Modern DSLRs and mirrorless cameras are outstanding when it comes to autofocus – certainly much more than their counterparts from a few years ago.
Modern focusing systems can track people, objects, and animals with ease. The latest mirrorless cameras can even lock focus on a single eye and reacquire in an instant if the person turns their head or another object momentarily blocks your view.
Nikon D750, 140mm, f/2.8, 1/3000 second, ISO 100
Action shots are almost impossible without rock-solid autofocus. Almost any camera you get is probably going to be up to the task as long as you’ve got the right lens.
There’s one mistake that a lot of beginner photographers make that can really hold back your action shots or even just everyday photos of people or pets. They use single-shot autofocus instead of continuous autofocus.
When you half-press the shutter button you probably here a sound to let you know that your shot is in focus. It might be a quick beep-beep along with a little dot or square lighting up to indicate that your picture will be tack sharp. Continue pressing your finger and you’ll get just what you expect: a crystal clear image in bright, vivid color.
Nikon D7100, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/6000 second, ISO 100
This is all well and good, but what if your subject moves in that brief moment between the time you lock focus and press the shutter button fully? Worse, what if you want to take another picture?
You have to lift your finger off the shutter button, do a half-press to acquire focus, and then push the shutter down all the way to complete the shot. It might not sound like much, but a lot can happen in that short time!
The solution is to enable your camera’s continuous autofocus setting.
Instead of focusing once, continuous autofocus means your camera will keep your subject locked no matter where your subject goes. It will be in focus as long as you never fully lift your finger from the shutter button. This technique is incredibly useful for everyday shots and almost mandatory for fast action, especially when paired with back-button focus.
This child moved around a lot! Continuous autofocus helped me make sure these images were sharp. Nikon D750, 120mm, f/4, 1/250 second, ISO 1400.
Every camera does this a little differently and you’ll find it by looking in the menus under the focus settings.
While it’s not always required, especially if you are shooting still objects or doing macro work where manual focus is preferred, I have found that I generally prefer continuous autofocus in most situations. If you are shooting with a prime lens wide open, where depth of field is razor-thin, it can really help you get better photos with minimal effort.
Use Program instead of Auto
The next of the beginner photography tips is to use Program Mode instead of Auto.
Every camera has a few different exposure modes, and if you are new to photography, you might find comfort in using the familiar green Auto setting. And there’s nothing wrong with that! Auto is great for a lot of people, and camera manufacturers have tweaked the auto setting so well that it really does produce good results.
Most of the time.
My dad shot this photo of me when I graduated with my Master’s Degree. He shoots in Program Auto all the time, and he’s able to get lots of great shots with it. Canon Rebel T4i, 270mm, f/6.3, 1/50 second, ISO 1600.
Even though there’s a lot to be said for learning Aperture or Shutter Priority, or even going all the way with Manual Mode, there’s a good middle ground that a lot of beginners don’t know about. It’s called Program Auto, and if you want a little more control than what Auto has to offer, it might very well be the solution for you.
Program Auto is kind of like regular Auto, but you get a little more control over the exposure. The camera starts by setting a value for lens aperture and shutter speed that it thinks will give you a properly-exposed image. You can see these numbers in the viewfinder or on the rear screen, but if you don’t like what the camera selects all you do is turn a dial.
Canon Rebel T4i, 270mm, f/7.1, 1/400 second, ISO 320. Shot in Program Auto mode.
You’ll see the aperture and shutter change but the exposure will remain constant.
Want a little more depth of field? Rotate the control dial on your camera until the aperture value is larger.
Want a faster shutter speed? Spin the dial until the shutter speed increases. Program usually lets you control the ISO as well. And if you still don’t like your picture, you can use exposure compensation to make it brighter or darker.
While the green Automatic mode on cameras is a great way to get started, Program is a good way for beginners to take a bit more control over their photography without getting too confusing.
Adjust your eye level
This final of the beginner photography tips applies no matter whether you have a fancy expensive DSLR or a basic mobile phone. It’s about getting yourself on the same plane as your subject or shooting your subject from a more interesting angle. It’s particularly useful when taking pictures of children, but applies in almost any photographic situation.
I had to lay on the ground to get this picture. It’s a lot more interesting than if I had stood up and shot at a downward angle. Nikon D750, 122mm, f/3.3, 1/500 second, ISO 100.
The default position for a lot of beginner photographers is to take a picture from an eye level that works for you. It’s usually standing up, sitting down, or whatever position you happen to be in when a picture opportunity presents itself.
For better photos, it’s important to move around and look for a more interesting, compelling, or exciting vantage point.
A normal flower became much more interesting when I shot it crouched down and positioned with the sunlight coming from behind. Nikon D7100, 50mm, f/1.8, 1/2000 second, ISO 100.
This a simple thing to do, but it takes repeated practice until it becomes second nature. If your subject is short, crouch (or lay) down to get a more interesting shot, and if your subject is tall, find a way to elevate yourself.
It might not be easy or even comfortable, but your pictures will be much better because you took the effort to adjust your eye level.
This young man was so tall I brought a stepladder to his photo session. I had to elevate myself about a meter off the ground to get on his eye level! He and his family were extremely pleased with the results. Nikon D750, 200mm, f/3.3, 1/250 second, ISO 110.
Conclusion
These four beginner photography tips are just the tip of the iceberg. There’s so much more to learn when you start down your exciting journey to learn more about photography.
Everyone has to begin somewhere and if you’re not sure where to start, give these a try. If you have any recommendations from what you have learned over the years, share your thoughts in the comments below!
The post Four Essential Beginner Photographer Tips appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.
Ultra-wide lenses pose special challenges when shooting video, but can create dramatic effects. We review the Laowa 12mm T2.9 Zero-D Cine lens, which shares the same optical formula as the company’s 12mm F2.8 lens for full frame cameras.
Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.
Introduction
Using ultra-wide lenses for video
How the Cine version differs from the standard Laowa 12mm F2.8 Zero-D
Adorama’s house brand Flashpoint has formally announced the much-anticipated XPLOR 300 Pro. The 300W/s battery-powered monolight, which is a rebranded version of the Godox AD 300 Pro, is available starting today for $ 499.
As its name alludes to, the CPLOR 300 Pro offers 300W/s of power with nine stops of control, a minimum flash duration between 1/220 and 1/11490, a recycle time between 0.01 and 1.5 seconds depending on the power level and a 2,600Ah battery that can fire off up to 320 max-power flashes on a single charge. The light also features a bi-color 12W LED modeling light, TTL metering, high-speed sync up to 1/8000th of a second and a 328-foot range when used with Flashpoint’s R2 Pro Mark II trigger.
The XPLOR 300 Pro measures in at 19cm (7.48”) long, and 10cm (3.94”) in diameter, and weighs just 1.25kg (2.76lbs). It comes with a Bowens S-Type bracket, but Flashpoint also offers a number of adapters for mounting lighting modifiers from Broncolor, Elinchrom and Profoto.
Below is an overview video of the Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro from Adorama:
As is the case for many of Flashpoint and Godox products, the XPLOR 300 Pro is meant to be a direct competitor to Profoto’s more expensive 250W/s B10 monolight, which retails for $ 1,695—more than three times the price. You won’t get all of the extra controls or fine-tuning the B10 offers, but for less than 1/3rd the price, Flashpoint drives a hard bargain.
The Flashpoint XPLOR 300 Pro is currently available to purchase at Adorama for $ 499 and comes with the monolight, a single rechargeable Li-Ion battery, the flashtube, a charger with a power adapter, a basic reflector, a protective cap and a case to carry it all in. While the light is also sold as the Godox AD 300 Pro, the Flashpoint unit carries a two-year warranty when purchased in the United States through Adorama.
A documentary film maker from Utah has designed and built a series of battery holder magazines that he says help to solve the problem of knowing which batteries are fresh and which are depleted. The 3D printed magazines hold three or four batteries from common cameras and allow the batteries to be inserted contacts up for dead batteries and down for fresh ones.
Tim Irwin, who is printing the magazines in his basement, had been meaning to come up with a solution to this problem for a while, and had tried downloaded plans for 3D printed magazines in the past, but found they always broke. ‘I originally found files on Thingiverse that worked for a bit. But all the designs I tried from there ended up breaking because of a weak point in the print’ he explains. ‘When the travel restrictions around Covid 19 hit every one of my gigs was cancelled or postponed, so it seemed like prefect time to dive into this side mission. I designed my own from scratch and refined it over a long period of time until I was happy with the product. I’m always looking for ways to make my kit more efficient, quick, and organized. The Battery Mag was born out of that.’
Tim has designed the magazine so that when fresh batteries are loaded with their contacts down they are isolated from each other and from anything else the magazine might come into contact with, so the risk of shorting is avoided. And with deads loaded with the contacts facing up it is easy to see at a glance which battery to reach for next in fast moving situations.
Tim, who owns Functional Films, makes commercial video documentaries and says he is usually on the road shooting about 140 days a year. That has all stopped due to the coronavirus out-break, so this is how he is filling his time.
The Battery Mags are available for Panasonic DMW-BLF19, Canon LP-E6/N, Pentax DLI90, Sony NP-FZ100, Sony NP-FW50 batteries and he says a unit for Panasonic S cameras is also in production. The magazines are $ 9, $ 10 and $ 14 each, respectively, and can be ordered via the Battery Mag website.
For examples of Tim’s work see his Instagram page.
There's something about shooting medium format — especially in black and white. The look is unmistakeable: creamy highlights supported by lush, detailed shadows.
So it's perfectly understandable why many photographers shell out big bucks for pricey medium format gear. In fact, it's possible that some of you are at this very moment casually thinking about how cool it would be to shoot with a MF camera system.
And why not? I mean, don't you deserve it?
Except for, a) the photo above was shot with a small-chip Fuji, and b) those shadow gradients were made with a second, $ 69 speedlight. Read more » Strobist
