DxO has announced the Nik Collection 3, the latest version its popular plugin suite that brings multiple new features and an entirely new plugin, Perspective Efex.
The new Perspective Efex fixes geometric distortion in your images via automatic corrections or manually placed reference lines. Perspective Efex can correct distortions such as keystone distortion in architecture images and is able to address lens distortions such as barrel, pincushion and fisheye distortion.
The new Perspective Efex plugin allows users to fix distortion in their images and adjust perspective. This example shows before (left) and after (right) when using Perspective Efex to fix distortion. Distortion correction can be applied automatically by the software or manually by the user through the use of placed reference lines. Image credit: DxO
In addition to being used to fix issues with distortion, Perspective Efex also includes a Miniature Effect tool, which allows you to control shallow depth-of-field effects. This allows you to replicate the effect of using a tilt-shift lens just with only software.
Nik Collection 3 includes a revised Nik Selective Tool. This tool allows the user to quickly access the suite of plugins within Nik Collection 3 from inside Adobe Photoshop. The redesigned Selective Tool lets you select favorite filter presets or revisit a prior edit, which DxO promises will result in a faster and more efficient workflow.
Speaking of workflow improvements, Nik Collection 3 introduces a non-destructive workflow option when working with Adobe Lightroom Classic. After you have made edits to your raw image in Lightroom Classic, you can export images as TIFF files from LR Classic into Nik Collection 3 and adjust plugin edits indefinitely while maintaining a completely reversible editing process.
In total, Nik Collection 3 by DxO includes eight plugins: Color Efex Pro, Viveza, Silver Efex Pro, Dfine 2, Sharpener Pro, Analog Efex Pro, HDR Efex Pro and Perspective Efex. Between all the plugins, you can perform tasks such as preset application, localized editing, black and white conversions, noise reduction, sharpening, film emulation, HDR creation and perspective adjustments. The local editing tools in Nik Collection by DxO are particularly popular with users due to Nik’s famous U-Point editing technology, which was a primary reason for DxO purchasing Nik from Google in late 2017.
This screenshot shows Color Efex Pro in Nik Collection 3 by DxO. This popular plugin allows users to add and adjust various filters to their images. You can adjust the individual application of filters and their strengths through the Nik Collection’s U-Point technology. Image credit: DxO
Nik Collection 3 by DxO is sold as a lifetime license. For a limited time, users can purchase Nik Collection 3 for $ 100 USD. Existing Nik Collection by DxO owners can purchase Nik Collection 3 at a reduced price. A free trial is also available, which you can download here. Nik Collection is compatible with DxO PhotoLab, Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom Classic.
The post Sony to Announce Ultra-Wide 12-24mm f/2.8 GM Lens appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
If you’re a landscape photographer, you’re in for a treat.
Sony is preparing to announce its brand-new, ultra-wide 12-24mm GM lens, which will offer a great range of focal lengths, an impressive f/2.8 maximum aperture, and (likely) stellar optics.
Let’s take a look at what we know.
First, the lens specs:
The Sony 12-24mm will feature a focal length range custom-made for landscape photographers. At 24mm, you’ll be poised to capture some wide images. And once you zoom out to 12mm, you’ll have wide-angle capabilities that few lenses can match, able to capture sweeping vistas that would normally be impossible to shoot.
A consistent problem with ultra-wide lenses is a bulbous front element, which makes it impossible to mount circular polarizers and neutral density filters. But Sony seems to have addressed this too, with the (rumored) inclusion of a rear-mounting filter option. That way, landscape photographers can take advantage of drop-in filters, and don’t have to choose between a wide focal length or enhanced image quality.
As for the optics:
Given the G Master designation, we can expect the lens to offer excellent sharpness from corner to corner, very limited chromatic aberration, and more.
In other words, the new Sony 12-24mm is a landscape photographer’s dream.
Note that Sony does already offer a 12-24mm lens, one that’s well-known for its optical prowess. But the current 12-24mm only shoots as wide as f/4, and while this is fine for most landscape situations, there’s one area of landscape photography where a wider maximum aperture is almost always better:
Astrophotography.
For photographers who shoot skies in complete darkness, an f/2.8 aperture allows for a shutter speed fast enough to freeze the stars without boosting ISO too much. The difference between f/2.8 and f/4 may not seem huge, but it does matter; at f/2.8, you’ll often come away with a sharp, clean shot, compared to the blurry or noisy result you get at f/4.
Of course, a lens that offers such impressive specifications is bound to come with a matching price tag. While Sony has not yet revealed any details, rumors suggest that the 12-24mm f/2.8 GM will cost around $ 4000 USD.
Is this pricier than I would like?
Absolutely.
But it’s bound to be one heck of a lens!
So keep an eye out for further news; you should see a Sony announcement sometime in the next few weeks.
Now over to you:
What do you think about this new Sony lens? Do you think that $ 4000 USD is too high a price? Or will the lens be worth it? Share your thoughts in the comments!
The post Sony to Announce Ultra-Wide 12-24mm f/2.8 GM Lens appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.
Total shipments of digital cameras (DSCs) worldwide for the month of April 2020 (Orange) compared to 2019 (Black) and 2018 (Blue).
Japan’s Camera & Imaging Products Association — better known as CIPA — has released its latest numbers, showing what camera shipments looked like for the major manufacturers through the end of April 2020. As is to be expected in these turbulent times, the numbers are down across the board.
As a whole, shipments of digital cameras in April 2020 were down to 550,000 units, a decrease of 63.7% year-over-year (YoY) compared to April 2019. Interchangeable lens and built-in-lens camera shipments for April 2020 were at 300,000 units and 252,000 units, respectively, a YoY decrease (compared to April 2019) of 63.7% for both unit types. Further split up, CIPA’s numbers reveal DSLR and mirrorless sales were down 60.8% and 67.0, respectively, YoY for the month of April.
Total shipments of interchangeable lens cameras (both DSLR and mirrorless cameras) worldwide for the month of April 2020 (Orange) compared to 2019 (Black) and 2018 (Blue).
While these decreases are alarming without context, they shouldn’t be surprising considering the current state of the industry (and world as a whole through this COVID-19 pandemic). In addition to slower sales due to COVID-19, the pandemic also all but froze supply chains and production for many camera manufacturers. CIPA’s numbers reveal production for April 2020 was down 56.4% for all digital camera units compared to April 2019.
Nearly every camera manufacturer has made it clear in some form or another that things will get worse before they get better and CIPA’s April numbers further confirm those sentiments. It remains to be seen how much the market recovers as more of the world opens up following the COVID-19 pandemic, but with more countries easing stay-at-home orders and quarantine restrictions, there’s a chance we’ll start to see some semblance of a recovery, even if it takes a few months to show in the numbers.
You can find CIPA’s graph and detailed breakdown on its report page.
Microsoft has been sued over alleged copyright infringement by photographer Matilde Gattoni, who has accused the corporation of using several of her images for an MSN article without permission or a proper license. The lawsuit was filed on May 19 in the Southern District of New York and seeks damages potentially amounting to $ 150,000 per image allegedly infringed upon.
Gattoni’s images are featured in an article titled ‘These are the women leading China’s wine revolution,’ which appears on the Wall Street Journal’s website and on the MSN website, which includes a Washington Post header on the article, indicating that it is a syndicated work. Before both of those posts, the article with the same images was published in December 2018 by SCMP.
The new lawsuit is directed only at Microsoft, which is accused of using the images from that article on its MSN news website without permission or license.
The lawsuit alleges, in part:
Microsoft is not, and has never been, licensed or otherwise authorized to reproduce, publically display, distribute and/or use the Photographs … Upon information and belief, the foregoing acts of infringement by Microsoft have been willful, intentional, and purposeful, in disregard of and indifference to Plaintiff’s rights.
Gattoni’s images are registered with the U.S. Copyright Office. The lawsuit seeks either actual damages, among other things, or statutory damages up to $ 150,000 per copyrighted image allegedly infringed upon. The MSN article contains a total of 15 of Gattoni’s images, which, assuming Microsoft paid $ 150,000 for each, would amount to $ 2,250,000.
The legal document is, at this point in time, quite short with no mention of the Washington Post, the header for which is featured on the MSN article. It’s unclear what license the WaPo received for the article and images, how that license may impact MSN’s use of the content and, ultimately, the viability of the copyright lawsuit.
This isn’t Gattoni’s first copyright lawsuit. As we detailed in 2017, Gattoni had sued the clothing retailer Tibi over its alleged use of her photos without permission or license. In that case, the lawsuit had accused Tibi of cropping one of Gattoni’s Instagram images, which had been published alongside a copyright notice; its copyright registration was still pending in the US at that time, however.
In that case, the judge had ruled that while Gattoni could go after Tibi with a DMCA claim, the copyright infringement claim couldn’t proceed because the copyright registration was still pending at the time. Photographers can register their works with the U.S. Copyright Office through its online eCO registration portal.
Microsoft is the latest in a long line of big companies and news publications sued over alleged copyright infringement. In April, for example, a New York court ruled that digital media website Mashable didn’t infringe upon an image copyright by embedding an image a photographer had uploaded to Instagram after a long squabble over the matter. Likewise, photographer Carol M. Highsmith sued Getty Images for $ 1 billion in July 2016 over its alleged infringement of more than 18,000 of her images.
Do you want to learn how to use light in photography? Photograph a flower. A flower in and of itself is an interesting subject. Flowers have different textures, bright colors, and won’t get bored of sitting still while you adjust your settings. But a quick snap of a flower, while beautiful, can be boring. If you really want to bring Continue Reading
The post How To Take Good Pictures of Flowers- An Easy Step by Step Guide appeared first on Photodoto.
Cosina has announced the upcoming release of its latest ‘Stills Edition’ (SE) lens, the Voigtlander Nokton 40mm F1.2 SE lens for Sony E-mount camera systems.
The manual 40mm F1.2 SE lens is nearly identical to its non-SE version. It’s constructed of eight elements in six groups, features an aperture range of F1.2 – F22, has a 55-degree field of view and uses a ten-blade aperture diaphragm. The SE version also features the same built-in encoder for metadata and distance, which works alongside Sony’s in-body image stabilization to offer the best results.
As with other lenses in the SE series, the only notable difference compared to the non-SE version is a slightly changed external design, different groves on the rings and the removal of the aperture de-click button. Below are a few sample photos from Cosina, captured with the lens (the images feature borders and aren’t high-res):
The lens weighs 340g (12oz), has a 58mm front filter thread and comes with a lens hood. Cosina’s website says the lens will be released on June 24 at a suggested retail price of 100,000 yen (~$ 930).
The post How to Photograph Long Exposures to Create Dreamy Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.
Many new photographers may not know how to photograph long exposures, or even what that means to their photography. Thanks to the development of camera accessories and filters, capturing long exposures is becoming a very popular medium of photography for enthusiast photographers.
Long exposure photography is a technique used by many landscape, cityscape and seascape photographers. Have you ever seen a picture of the city where clouds show motion, the car lights have been made streaky or the seawater is rendered blurry? Well this will usually be the result of using a filter to achieve a long exposure that captures the movement of the subject.
Before we look at how to photograph long exposures, it is first worth considering the meaning of a long exposure, and the different types of photography you can apply the method to.
A long exposure is “a timed exposure of a long duration where the shutter is open for a speed of several seconds where the purpose and aim of long exposures is to sharply capture and minimize movement of static objects within the frame whilst blurring the elements with motion.”
Samples of long exposure photography
There are a variety of different styles of photography where using long exposure photography techniques can result in great images. Some examples of popular subjects include landscapes, cityscapes, seascapes, astrophotography (such as creating star trails), street scenes, and even abstract scenes.
Applying the technique of long exposure photography to landscape scenes can be a great way to create drama in skies or foregrounds with moving clouds or foliage.
Shooting water with long exposures can also benefit your images. Capturing moving water can bring an ethereal look and feel to seascapes as waves break or crash. Using a long exposure, you can capture the swell of the ocean or motion of tides for dreamy-looking images.
How to achieve long exposures
When considering how to photograph long exposures,
you will initially need to think about the kit that you will require, how to
set this up and the steps to capturing your image.
The Lee Big and Little Stopper Neutral Density (ND) Filters are great for long exposure photography.
Kit required
A tripod is an essential piece of equipment to enable your camera to remain still during the image capture time when the shutter is open.
Next, you will need a cable release, or wireless remote so you can start and stop the long exposure. Please note this is only required if you need to extend your exposure time beyond 30 seconds. If you shoot below 30 seconds your cameras self-timer will be sufficient to trigger and close the shutter.
A filter holder is another essential item that is required to achieve long exposures. These are used to hold the filters in place that will be used to slow the exposure time down.
The filter holder with the Lee 6-stop ND Filter attached to the camera.
With regard to using filters, neutral density (ND) filters are recommended to minimize the light entering your camera.
These vary in strength and the effect they can create. The darker the coating, the greater the number of stops of light and the stronger the filter will be. For example, a 10-stop filter will block out more light than a 3-stop or 6-stop filter, and enable you to achieve longer exposures. Examples of these filters include Lee Filters Big Stopper (10-stop) and Little Stopper (6-stop).
St Nectain’s Glen waterfall, Cornwall, England Canon 5DSR, EF24-70 f2.8 USM II | 1.5sec f/4.5 ISO 100
Leaving your shutter open for an extended amount of time can result in some really interesting shots. With this shot of a waterfall, I wanted to make the water more blurry, so I set the camera up on my tripod and photographed it using an ND filter and a longer exposure. By increasing the exposure time, you can see I have been able to create a milky, smooth effect on the water, giving a pleasing result to the image.
Set Up
Once you have found a composition you like, you will need to place your camera on the tripod, attach your cable release and affix your filter holder. Next, focus the camera manually (using the MF button on the side of your camera) before putting the filter in place.
Ponta do Rosto, Madeira Canon 5D Mk IV, EF16-35 f2.8L III USM | 241sec f/11 ISO 100
Steps to photographing long exposures
Once your kit is set up, here are some simple steps on how to photograph long exposures using the equipment mentioned above to achieve sharper images.
1. Bulb mode
Arrange your camera so that you are shooting in bulb mode. This allows you to keep the shutter button open for longer. It will stay open as long as you hold it open.
2. Set your aperture and ISO
I recommend setting a small aperture of over f/8 to f/22. The larger the f/number the longer the exposure you can achieve and a low ISO of 100.
3. Exposure times
Depending on the strength of the ND filter you are using, your exposure time will change. Based on an initial exposure time of ½ second using a 6-stop filter, you will need to shoot for 30 seconds or 8 minutes using a 10-stop filter, for example.
Land’s End, Cornwall, England Canon 5DSR, EF16-35 f2.8L III USM | 1.5sec f/4.5 ISO 100
Press the self-remote timer and lock the shutter open
or if you are using the cameras self-timer press the shutter button gently on
the camera. When you are ready to close the shutter unlock the cable release
(if you are using the self-timer the image will finish by itself).
4. Extra tips
If you are using a DSLR, it is also a good idea to use your mirror lock-up so that the mirror going up and down during your exposure doesn’t cause camera shake. Also, be sure to cover the back of the viewfinder to prevent light from entering and potentially ruining your pictures during the exposure. Many cameras have a little rubber cap that comes attached to the camera strap, to cover your viewfinder. That will stop any light leaking through.
Conclusion
In summary, shooting long exposures is a great technique you can use to enhance landscapes, seascapes and images of water where movement is added to the image by extending the exposure time.
When you are looking at how to photograph long exposures, be sure to get the right kit for the job such as a tripod, filter holder, ND filter and a cable release. Remember to follow the steps required above to capture your long exposures, and share the images you take with us below. It will be great to see what you capture.
If you want to go deeper into long exposures, see this article by DPS writer, Rick Ohnsman.
The post How to Photograph Long Exposures to Create Dreamy Images appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jeremy Flint.
While many other manufacturers are going all-in on computational tricks and tons of megapixels with their flagship smartphones, Sony is betting on a more ‘back-to-basics’ approach with its Xperia 1 Mark II. Each of its three cameras comes with just 12MP, but they’re pretty big pixels, as a result – especially on the 1/1.7″-sized main sensor. We took the Xperia to a few of our favorite locales (while maintaining social distancing, of course) to get an idea of what you can expect in terms of image quality from those jumbo pixels.
Ever since we published our full review of the Fujifilm X-T4 review last week, we just can’t seem to put the camera down. It really is that nice to use. As for the image quality, we’ll just let you be the judge of that!
Hungry for more X-T4 sample images? Check out the previously published pre-production gallery as well.
See our Fujifilm X-T4 full-production sample gallery
A photograph of the state capital building in Lansing, Michigan, during the protest on Sunday, May 31.
Over the past week, protests have been taking place around the United States (and across the globe) after George Floyd, an unarmed black man, died in police custody. The officer concerned has since been charged with his murder.
Nearly every major city in the United States has seen some kind of protest in recent days. While many stayed peaceful, others have resulted in disorder, which has seen special police units, SWAT, National Guard and even federal agencies deployed in an effort to keep things under control.
Reuters photographer Lucas Jackson, who was hit by a rubber bullet in Minneapolis on Friday night, had his camera smashed on Saturday by a protester wielding a crowbar pic.twitter.com/TXUjvmwwuO
— Reuters (@Reuters) May 31, 2020
When violence erupts, regardless of where it happens in the world, the media are on the front lines – with all of the risks this entails. For example, during violence in Minneapolis over the weekend, Reuters photographer Lucas Jackson had the lens attached to his Canon 1DX Mark II destroyed by a ‘protester wielding a crowbar’.
Most experienced photojournalists could tell similar stories, but increasingly, members of the press are reporting coming under threat from law enforcement officers, too.
From television news anchors being arrested live on air to camera operators and photographers being targeted by non-lethal rounds, credentialed members of the media and freelance photographers covering the protests have found themselves under threat from law enforcement. So much so that the matter has attracted international attention.
One of the first instances of police apparently targeting the press came in Louisville, Kentucky when officers started firing non-lethal projectiles at a reporter and camera operator for local NBC affiliate WAVE 3 News:
Linda Tirado, a freelance photographer, was covering the protests in Minneapolis on Friday night when she was hit in her left eye by what she believes was a rubber bullet fired by police. Speaking with The New York Times, Tirado said she ‘put [her] camera down for a second, and then my face exploded.’
Hey folks, took a tracer found to the face (I think, given my backpack) and am headed into surgery to see if we can save my left eye
Am wisely not gonna be on Twitter while I’m on morphine
Stay safe folks pic.twitter.com/apZOyGrcBO
— Linda Tirado (@KillerMartinis) May 30, 2020
Tirado was carried away by protestors and was taken to a hospital, but has since been told by doctors that she is permanently blind in her left eye.
an update: I am permanently blind in my left eye, and the docs absolutely refuse to let me go back to work for they say six weeks. I’m definitely not allowed to be near smoke or gas.
Usually if I had to stay home I’d spend a lot of time amplifying folk but reading hurts today
— Linda Tirado (@KillerMartinis) May 30, 2020
It’s unclear whether Tirado was deliberately targeted, but it seems that some members of the press have been. According to data compiled by Neiman Labs and others, during the ongoing protests, photojournalists and other members of the media have reported being attacked ‘at least 100 times’ by authorities, in many cases despite presenting press credentials.
The Columbia Journalism Review has shared a comprehensive summary of police attacks on the press throughout the recent protests:
You must be logged in to post a comment.