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Lume Cube 2.0 review: rugged, portable lights for stills and video

15 Mar

Way back in 2014, Lume Cube Inc. sailed past its fundraising goals when it launched its brand-new, eponymously-named LED lighting system on Kickstarter. Aimed both at still and video shooters, the original Lume Cube offered 1,500-lumen light output and Bluetooth wireless control in a remarkably compact package. And despite measuring just 4 x 4 x 4.5cm (1.6 x 1.6 x 1.75″), it was also both rugged and waterproof.

Enter the Lume Cube 2.0: as portable as ever with some key improvements under the hood. In short, we think it’s an incredibly handy little light with a robust ecosystem of accessories. See our condensed findings below and read on for the full analysis.

Key takeaways:

Compact, size, rugged and waterproof construction inspire confidence and use in a variety of situations
Excellent quality of light, with daylight white balance and a high CRI value
Optical sensor to act as a slave flash for stills shooting
Fine control over brightness
Impressive battery run-time, but longer charge times
Good max brightness for size, but still struggles under sunlight
Excellent, if pricey, accessory system

What’s new?

Although it’s exactly the same size as its predecessor and has the same light output as before, the updated Lume Cube 2.0 now runs for three times as long at full power, and is easier to recharge too. And the light it produces has improved noticeably in terms of its color rendition, coverage and evenness.

The new version also offers an added low-light mode with a 1-10% power range in 1% increments, controllable either from the smartphone app or the Lume Cube’s own physical controls. And the product bundle has been expanded, with a modification frame and two filters included as part of the base product bundle.


The standard Lume Cube 2.0 kit (left, $ 90) now includes the modification frame with diffuser and warming filters. The Pro Lighting Kit (right, $ 300) includes a carry case packing two lights with modification frames, a dozen filters, two grids, and a full set of barn doors, snoot and diffusion bulb for each light.

Who is it for?

As before, the Lume Cube 2.0 is aimed both at still and video shooters, regardless of whether they’re using a sizable interchangeable-lens camera rig, GoPro, smartphone or even a drone.

For standalone cameras, most functionality can be used without a smartphone at all, and the Lume Cube works either a continuous light source or an optically-triggered slave flash. Alternatively, multiple lights can be controlled individually or as a group using an Android / iOS app.

Smarter physical controls and a better-placed optical sensor

The Lume Cube 2.0 looks quite similar to predecessor, and its size and weight are unchanged. The biggest difference is that the optical sensor has moved from the front of the light to its top, sharing its location with the status LED. In its new home, it’s now easier to trigger from a wide range of angles.

It sits in between a clearly-labeled pair of opaque black buttons on the top deck which replace the translucent buttons of the original model. These together provide access to power control, brightness adjustment, optical slave flash, and low-light mode.

The non-swiveling hot shoe mount shown in this image is included in the standard bundle. The Pro Lighting Kit doesn’t include any mounts; the ball head mount shown atop this page costs $ 25.

Charging is quicker and easier, but waterproofing suffers

Around back, the charging port is now a modern, reversible USB-C connector, and is covered by a soft rubber flap. While it’s still a bit fiddly to pull open with recently-trimmed nails, it closes securely, stays in place, and it’s really nice not to have to worry about the lights being affected by rain. (And to be able to take them underwater too, if that’s your thing.)

While less bothersome than the screw-in cover of the original Lume Cube, it’s also easier for water to circumvent, though. As a result the new model is waterproof to a maximum depth of 9.1m / 30ft, down from 30.5 / 100ft for its predecessor. That’s still plenty for snorkeling and probably a pretty significant proportion of recreational scuba too, but if you’re planning on deeper dives you may want to stick with the earlier version.

Wider, more even and daylight-balanced light

On the inside, everything is new. The battery, LED and optics have all been replaced, and while it still has a light output of 1,500 lumens (750 lux at 1m), the Lume Cube 2.0 now has a 5600k daylight color temperature, down from the 6000-6500k of its predecessor.

At the same time, the quality of its light has improved, with a Color Rendering Index score of 95. The Lume Cube 2’s new lens is also less prone to hot spots, and has a wider 80-degree coverage, up from its predecessor’s 60-degree beam angle.

Here’s a view from the rear, with the Lume Cube on its optional ball head mount atop my personal Pentax K-3. This mount is much better than the basic one included in some kits, as it lets you aim the light in almost any direction.

Smarter firmware and new features

The Lume Cube 2.0 has also received some smart updates in the firmware department. Perhaps most importantly, it now requires a three-second long press of the power button to switch on. This ensures that unlike its predecessor, it won’t switch itself on in your camera bag and drain its battery right before it’s needed.

The new firmware also allows brightness to be adjusted in either direction using the Lume Cube 2.0’s physical controls, unlike the original version which could only increase brightness to its maximum before looping back around to its minimum brightness setting on the next step.

And a new mode accessed with a long press of both buttons at once allows a much narrower 1-10% brightness range with a more precise 1% step size, rather than the full range in 10% steps as is the default. It’s handy if you’re shooting long exposures but still need just a little illumination.

Same accessories and mounting system, but now it’s in the bundle

A wide selection of filters and accessories can be attached to the Lume Cube 2.0 using the exact same modification frame attachment as before, allowing owners of the original Lume Cube to upgrade their lights or add new ones while keeping the rest of their gear.

A wide variety of optional mounts are available, including this spring-loaded smartphone clip ($ 20) to which I’ve attached the ball head and a Lume Cube 2.0 with bulb diffuser.

The frame itself now ships even in the base product bundle along with a pair of warming and light diffusion filters. Each of these uses name-brand LEE filter materials from the company’s LED-specific Zircon line. The level three warming filter drops the color temperature to 4,500 kelvin, and the diffusion filter is the lowest strength available.

Incredibly portable yet decent battery life too

The Lume Cube 2.0 is very solidly built, with not a hint of creak or flex anywhere. It’s also impressively small. Even with a modification frame attached it’d fit in looser pants pockets, and you could easily bring two or three in a jacket pocket and almost forget they were there until you needed them.

Given the compact size and relatively powerful output, I was really impressed by battery life, which is a huge improvement on the previous iteration’s 25 minutes. At 100% brightness, I could manage anywhere from 62 to 90 minutes on a charge, depending on whether or not Bluetooth was enabled, meeting the manufacturer spec precisely.

Battery life impresses, and you can charge the lights while using them

And by dropping to 50% brightness, I managed an average of three hours, 38 minutes per charge with Bluetooth active. That absolutely demolishes not only the original Lume Cube’s runtime, but also the spec sheet, which promises only 2.5 hours!

I must say it surprised me that controlling the lights via Bluetooth decreased the battery life as much as it did, though. The good news is that the Bluetooth radio does eventually go to sleep if the light is left inactive for a while. Once fully asleep, it needs to be woken back up with a physical button press before it’ll respond via Bluetooth again.

Fast charging requires a fast, modern USB-C charger and cable

The only place I didn’t come near the manufacturer spec was recharging. Lume Cube’s documentation promises around 45-60 minutes for a full charge, but using the supplied USB-C to USB-A cable and a wide variety of different chargers capable of up to a maximum of 18 watts per port, I was never able to recharge in less than two hours, 49 minutes.

I used three Lume Cubes for this shot. One was unfiltered on a mini-tripod near the bottom front of the cage, and another with bulb diffuser was pointed straight down from a bit above and in front of the birds. Finally, a third was just out of frame right and, in turn, was aimed to bounce off a small folding reflector just out of frame left.

To get near the claimed time you’ll likely need a recent, high-powered USB-C charger with Power Delivery support, as intended for charging laptops and the like, plus a Power Delivery-compatible USB-C to C cable. Unfortunately, I haven’t one to test with myself to confirm the claimed charging time.

Recharge and use your lights at the same time

The good news is that you can charge and use the lights at the same time if you’re within reach of a power outlet. This can potentially extend run times a lot, especially if you can switch off entirely or dial the brightness down significantly while setting up and between groups of shots.

I did just that while working to get the shot of my pet parakeets above, avoiding having to stress the birds any more than was necessary.

Note, though, that it’s not recommended to go above brightness level 80 while also charging. This is likely due to heat concerns, as after extended periods at 100% power, the Lume Cubes can get uncomfortably hot to the touch even without charging at the same time. (Not enough to burn instantly, but enough that you couldn’t persuade me to hold my finger on it.)


So long as you’re not in direct sunlight, the Lume Cube 2.0 is sufficiently bright for daytime use at shorter distances. Compared to the unlit shot (left), a Lume Cube at arm’s length (right) not only fills in shadows, but is strong enough to cast its own.

Best for smaller subjects or in lower ambient light

The Lume Cubes’ small size is great in terms of portability, but it comes at the expense of daytime usability. For what they are, these are pretty powerful lights but they’re simply no match for full sunlight, where they struggle to fill in shadows even at full power from just a couple of feet away.

A small reflector would be a better choice here, using the sun’s own power to provide light where it’s needed. In full shade or even indirect sunlight, though, even just a single Lume Cube can make quite a noticeable difference, so long as it can be kept fairly close to the subject.

That makes it quite well-suited to things like head-and-shoulders portraits, selfies and talking head video capture, and so on. And once you take the sun out of the equation, shooting indoors or at night the Lume Cubes really shine, if you’ll pardon the pun.

This image required just a single Lume Cube. I positioned the camera directly above the cash, then put a sheet of glass at a 45-degree angle in between. I bounced the light from a single unfiltered Lume Cube off this, and shielded the subject from direct lighting.

Up next, let’s take a look at the Lume Cube 2.0’s accessory mounting system, and its Android / iOS app experience, before wrapping up with a final conclusion.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Simulating False-Color Infrared Photography in Photoshop

15 Mar

The post Simulating False-Color Infrared Photography in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.

Simulating False-Color Infrared Photography in Photoshop Featured Image

Let’s get right down to it and say that today, things might get a little weird. The techniques we’re about to discuss aren’t for everyone or every photograph. With that said, I’m about to show you something extremely cool. You’re about to learn how to simulate color infrared photography in Photoshop.

More specifically, I’m going to show you how to approximate the looks of the legendary color infrared film stock, Kodak Aerochrome.

The best part is, this technique is infinitely customizable.

Let’s dive in and enter the overtly surreal world of infrared color photography in Photoshop.

What is false-color infrared photography?

Simply put, infrared photography makes use of wavelengths of light which fall outside the visible spectrum. Specifically, those which range from about 700 nanometers to about 1mm.

Don’t worry, that’s about as deep as we’re going to go into science with this tutorial.

The important thing to note is that while infrared photography stems from this invisible form of light, we can still use it to form photographs – even in color.

This is where the “false-color” aspect comes into play. In particular, the Aerochrome “look.”

The Aerochrome Effect

Kodak Aerochrome is/was an infrared-sensitive, false-color reversal film.

It was specifically produced for practical uses in aerial photography applications for forestry and camouflage detection, as well as other scenarios where specific infrared reflectance photographs could be useful.

For our purposes, it produces some highly interesting effects as far as colors are concerned.

A waterfall of Infrared photography in Photoshop

Primarily, vegetation with high amounts of chlorophyll content appears as pinkish-red instead of the normal green color. This has led some notable photographers and filmmakers to make use of Aerochrome to produce stylistically creative images.

Luckily for us, we can come close to producing this effect with just a few quick tricks inside of Adobe Photoshop.

What images work best?

Naturally, seeing as the original color effects of the false-color Aerochrome worked best with green vegetation containing large amounts of chlorophyll, this is the main subject matter that will work best for our simulation.

However, it’s still fun to experiment with different images ranging from landscapes to portraits, street photography and still life. The results can range from the mundane to the aesthetically startling.

That’s enough of the background. Let’s go through step-by-step and explain how you can produce a digital simulation of the false-color infrared photography effect right inside of Photoshop.

How to simulate false-color infrared photography

The basis of our digital, false-color infrared simulation, centers around switching around the color channels of our photo.

Photoshop allows us to accomplish this switch quite easily using color channels.

Not only that, but we can further tweak the look of our photo to achieve exactly the colorization effects we want. This arguably makes this method more convenient and controllable than its analog counterpart.

To get started, I’ve brought an image into Photoshop that contains a relatively large amount of greens.

Original photo before Infrared photography in Photoshop

The first step is to make a copy of the base layer. With this layer selected, use the keyboard shortcut ‘Ctrl+J’ (Cmnd+J for Mac) to copy the layer.

Next, we’ll invert the layer we’ve just copied by using the keyboard shortcut ‘Ctrl+I’ (Cmnd+I for Mac).

Inverted layer for Infrared photography in Photoshop

Note the readily apparent psychedelic change. We have essentially converted the photo to a negative image.

From here, we’ll change the blend mode to ‘Color’. Alternatively, the ‘Hue’ blend mode will produce similar results.

With the blend mode changed to ‘Color,’ much of the heavy lifting is already done for us. Next, we’ll need to switch around the color channels to make the false-color infrared effect become more apparent.

Remember, we’re looking for a reversal of certain colors; namely blue and red. This is easily done using the “Channel Mixer.”

Select the ‘Channel Mixer’ icon to add the mixer adjustment. This is where the magic happens. And it couldn’t be easier.

Channel mixer selected for Infrared photography in Photoshop

Select the red channel from the drop-down and set that slider value to ‘0.’ Next, set the blue slider to ‘100.’

Red channel swap for Infrared photography in Photoshop

From here, select the blue channel. Set the red slider to ‘100’ and blue slider to ‘0.’

Blue channel swap for Infrared photography in Photoshop

What we’ve done is ‘reversed’ the blue and red channels much the same way as false-color, infrared photography does with infrared color-reversal film.

At this point, our core processing is completed. However, there are other ways to make the effect much more refined depending on your photo.

Fine adjustments of your false-color infrared photography

While we have finished the bulk of the false-color infrared conversion, we can go a bit further and adjust the hues and color temperature of our photo. After all, this effect is not born simply from Aerochrome film but also the filters used during shooting and the subject matter itself.

Hue and Saturation

The greatest control over the effect comes from adjusting the hue and saturation of the false-colors we’ve just created. We can adjust these by creating a ‘Hue and Saturation’ adjustment layer.

Use the hue and saturation to dial in the exact look you like.

Color Temperature

When shooting with true infrared color-reversal film, such as Kodak Aerochrome, you must use lens filters.

Often times these are yellow and orange color filters which generally “cool” the tone of the colors within the image. We can simulate this by adding a “cooling” filter in Photoshop. This is optional, but I find it lends a much more authentic feel to the final photo.

Infrared photography in Photoshop with cooling filter applied

After adding the cooling filter, it’s a good practice to go back and adjust your hue and saturation layer to tweak the resulting balance of the individual colors a bit further.

Final mage after Infrared photography in Photoshop

Parting thoughts on false-color infrared photography

The advice that can be given when dipping your feet into simulating false-color infrared photography in Photoshop is to view true false-color infrared photos made with this type of film.

I suggest the images of Richard Mosse and his work in the Congo to give a great example of the effects of this sort of photography.

Of course, there are many other examples, and a quick Google search will help you immensely. As you move forward, here are a few tips that will aid your image selection and processing for your simulations:

The infrared effect is based on the reflectance of chlorophyll, so choose images that have healthy green vegetation for the best results.
When shooting, go for the brightest lighting conditions possible.
The bright, mid-day sun makes for the best lighting. After you make your base color swaps using the channel mixer, experiment with adjusting the hue and saturation of the individual colors within your photo.
Don’t forget the benefits of creating Photoshop Actions! You can save all the adjustments for easy one-click applications later.

Perhaps the best part of creating the false-color infrared effect is that it preserves the unique effects of this sort of analog film photography, which as of 2007, is no longer produced.

It’s a dying art that we can enjoy for years to come with our digital photography. Again, it’s not for everyone, but it is a great way for you to create stunningly-surreal color images that will stand out from anything else.

Also be sure to check out my very first experience using an infrared-converted DSLR here!

Try out this effect of simulating false-color infrared photography in Photoshop, and please share your resulting images with us in the comments section. We’d love to see them.

The post Simulating False-Color Infrared Photography in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Adam Welch.

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Adobe announces free at-home Creative Cloud service for students and educators impacted by COVID-19 outbreak

15 Mar

Adobe has announced it will be providing students and educators at-home access to Creative Cloud applications free of charge due to the increasing amount of remote learning current taking place amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. In order to qualify for this service, a student must otherwise only have access to Creative Cloud applications on campus or at a school computer lab.

In order to access a temporary license to use Adobe Creative Cloud software at home, an IT admin must request access for students and teachers from Adobe. The access application can be found here. Once access is granted, users will be able to remotely access Creative Cloud apps through May 31, 2020, or until their educational institution reopens if this occurs before the end of May.

Remote education can be challenging, especially for students who are only able to access certain services on campus, so it’s nice to see Adobe working to help those affected. Per PetaPixel, the initial request for help came from RC Concepion, a professor at Syracuse University. He told PetaPixel, ‘We have been running around—like every other university—quickly coming up with an action plan to keep serving our students through COVID-19. Teaching communications, we rely a huge amount on Adobe Software—reporters, cinematographers, photographers, designers. It dawned on me that a lot of student access was here at school and that with any students at universities, there would be many that couldn’t afford using the software.’

Image credit: Adobe

In addition to free at-home access to Adobe Creative Cloud for students and teachers, Adobe announced earlier this week that it would make Adobe Connect, its web conference application, free to all users until July 1, 2020. This decision has been made to facilitate remote business and education, and also allow healthcare and government institutions to coordinate their efforts in real-time. Of the decision, Adobe states, ‘We believe that Adobe Connect has a vital role to play for enterprises looking to continue business operations despite travel restrictions, canceled conferences and delayed projects, all while keeping their people safe.’

As more students, educators and other workers are forced to work remotely, access to technological services becomes even more important. It’s great to see a large company such as Adobe working to make people’s lives easier in what are trying times for many.

Adobe Enables Distance Learning Globally for Schools Impacted by COVID-19

March 12, 2020: The past few weeks have shown us that, even in times of uncertainty, our schools and business communities remain strong and resourceful, all while continuing to find creative ways to maintain learning and business continuity.

With many schools facing physical campus closures and moving to online learning due to COVID-19, we’re announcing that we’re giving greater access to Adobe Creative Cloud desktop apps to facilitate distance learning. We believe that doing so will make it possible to keep coursework, teamwork, and student progress on track through at-home access to Creative Cloud for students and educators.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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A Look at the Fujifilm X100V in Action for Street Photography (video)

14 Mar

The post A Look at the Fujifilm X100V in Action for Street Photography (video) appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this video from Moment, Taylor takes the puts the new Fujifilm X100V in action on the streets to see how well it performs.

For street photography, the camera is the perfect size and weight to carry with you anywhere you go. The flip screen allows you to shoot from the hip – which is a great advantage when shooting street photography less obtrusively.

The fixed 23mm lens on an APS-C sensor is the equivalent of a 35mm lens on a full-frame camera.

Also, the famous Fujifilm film simulations are another great feature of this little camera.

So check out some of the images that come from this camera.

DPReview TV: Best budget lenses for Canon APS-C DSLRs

14 Mar

New lenses are getting better than ever, but sometimes it feels like prices are rising to stratospheric levels. Chris and Jordan share their picks for the best budget lenses for Canon APS-C DSLRs.

Want us to make similar videos for other brands? Let us know in the comments! Also make sure to check out our sample galleries for some of the featured lenses below.

Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week.

Introduction
The kit lens
Ultra-wide
Normal primes
Standard zooms
Telephoto
Super telephoto
Telephoto prime
Conclusion

Canon EF-S 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 IS STM sample gallery

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Canon EF 50mm F1.8 STM sample gallery

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Sigma 17-70mm f/2.8-4 DC Macro OS C sample gallery

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Tamron 70-210mm F4 Di VC USD sample gallery

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Weekly Photography Challenge – Purple

14 Mar

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Purple appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

This week’s photography challenge topic is the color PURPLE!

Another fun challenge. You can capture the color purple in so many ways.

You can photograph a still life, flowers (macro or not), landscapes (think the beautiful purple tinges between the Golden and Blue hour), cityscapes (think light trails as the sun has just gone down leaving a purple hue in the sky), bokeh lights, abstracts, live music photography (think purple lighting), use colored purple gels on your lights, or people wearing purple clothing.

Alternatively, you may like to do some purple split toning in post-production.

There are so many options!

So, check out these pics to give you some ideas, have fun, and I look forward to seeing what you come up with!

abstract flower photography aster — Photo by dPS writer, Jaymes Dempsey © Jaymes Dempsey

How to apply compositional theory to still life photography — Photo by dPS writer, Darina Kopcok © Darina Kopcok

Check out some of the articles below that give you tips on this week’s challenge.

Tips for Shooting the color PURPLE

Mastering Color Series – The Psychology and Evolution of the Color PURPLE and its use in Photography

A Beginner’s Guide to Abstract Flower Photography

How to use Colored Gels to Create Unique and Creative Portraits

How to Create a Delicious Blurry Bokeh Background in 4 Easy Steps

How to Create Abstract Images With a Soft-Focus Look Using Vaseline

How to Apply Compositional Theory to Still Life Photography

5 Product Photography Tips to Improve Your Images

Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge.

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

You can also share your images in the dPS Facebook group as the challenge is posted there each week as well.

If you tag your photos on Flickr, Instagram, Twitter or other sites – tag them as #DPSpurple to help others find them. Linking back to this page might also help others know what you’re doing so that they can share in the fun.

The post Weekly Photography Challenge – Purple appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

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Film Fridays: Thinking about spending a stack of cash on a film camera? Read this first!

14 Mar

We recently launched an analog forum and in a continuing effort to promote the fun of the medium, we’ll be sharing an article from our film friends over at 35mmc on Fridays. This week’s article addresses the ever-inflating second-hand film camera market and the realities of what you get for your hard-earned cash. So don’t drop $ 300 on an Olympus MJU II before reading this first!

Thinking about spending a stack of cash on a film camera? Read this!

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Canon confirms the EOS R5 will capture internal 8K/30p video, offer ‘advanced animal AF’

14 Mar

In an uncharacteristic move, Canon Australia has published a press release revealing a number of new details pertaining to the specifications of its upcoming EOS R5 mirrorless camera, in what appears to be an effort to quiet the ongoing speculation regarding what ‘8K’ capabilities the camera will offer. Spoiler alert: Canon’s video-limiting days may be over.

Canon confirms in the press release the EOS R5 will offer 8K internal video recording using the full width of the sensor at up to 30 frames per second (fps). In addition to no crop shooting, Canon notes all 8k modes for the EOS R5 will support Canon’s Dual Pixel CMOS AF technology.

Canon also says the R5 will support ‘advanced animal AF – recognising dogs, cats and birds, relying not only on the eyes of the animal but also the face and body for situations when the eyes are not visible.’

Historically, Canon has been suspected to limit the video capabilities of its non-cinema camera products in order to minimize cannibalization, a name given to the problem of losing sales within a company’s own product lineup by putting what’s considered premium features and capabilities in lower-cost products.

These new details don’t confirm Canon has taken an entirely altruistic approach to its EOS R camera development, but it does show Canon is getting serious about video in its mirrorless lineup and is determined to make a statement in the market compared to the likes of the Sony’s a7 III and Nikon’s Z7, two full-frame mirrorless cameras that have, until now, been above and beyond what Canon has offered with its EOS R and RP mirrorless cameras.

Sydney, AUSTRALIA, 13th March 2020: Canon INC has today released further development specifications for its recently announced Canon EOS R5, the next-generation full-frame interchangeable lens camera in the company’s EOS R System. These additional details come exactly one month since Canon released the development announcement of the EOS R5 and shut down speculation that some of its revolutionary specifications are ‘a fantasy’.

Signalling a new phase of Canon 5-Series imaging and a revolution in the mirrorless full camera category, Canon’s EOS R5 will offer every photographer – not just professionals – access to high-quality imaging, cutting-edge 8K movie recording, new approaches to in-body image stabilisation, and revolutionary subject detection and tracking performance features.

New possibilities for movie performance
Unleashing new possibilities, Canon Inc. confirms the EOS R5’s video capabilities will exceed that of competing cameras on the market¹. With its ability to internally record 8K using the full width of the sensor at up to 30p, the latest Canon EOS R camera is set to redefine mirrorless with its market-leading features. In addition, in all 8K modes the EOS R5 will support Canon’s renowned Dual Pixel CMOS AF.

A beast for subject detection and tracking performance for animals and people
Canon Inc. also confirms the EOS R5 supports advanced animal AF – recognising dogs, cats and birds, relying not only on the eyes of the animal but also the face and body for situations when the eyes are not visible.

Jason McLean, Director – Consumer Imaging & Services, Canon Australia, said: “Our EOS 5-Series was developed fifteen years ago to make full-frame cameras accessible to consumers, not just professional shooters. Today, that purpose remains steadfast as we continue achieving the ‘impossible’ to deliver the hybrid needs of content creators who are demanding uncompromised performance to generate more still and motion visual content than ever before.”

“With its game changing 8K movie capabilities, new approaches to image stabilisation, revolutionary subject detection, and compatibility with Canon’s full suite of EF² and RF lenses, the EOS R5 represents a category revolution as opposed to product evolution in the interchangeable-lens camera market.”

The EOS R5 specifications previously confirmed by Canon include:
• The EOS R5 offers a step-change in performance with an incredible 12fps using the mechanical shutter and the electronic shutter offering 20fps
• The EOS R5 takes Canon’s cutting-edge image stabilisation technology to the next level, by including a newly Canon-developed, in-camera image stabilisation system – which works in combination with the lens stabilisation system
• With content delivery just as important as image and video capture, the EOS R5 supports automatic transfer of image files from the device to the image.canon cloud platform³
• The highly anticipated EOS R5 will feature dual card slots
• Upon launch, the Canon EOS R5 will also be supported by Canon Australia’s 5-year warranty when purchased from an authorised local dealer⁴.

To stay up to date with the latest news and information regarding the EOS R5, register here: www.canon.com.au/preference-and-settings/in-focus.

¹ As of 13th March 2020
²When used with Canon’s EF-Series lens mount
³Automatic file transferring, available for cameras equipped with the automatic file transfer function, beginning with the currently-in-development EOS R5 (announced on 13 February 2020), requires users to connect the camera to a Wi-Fi access point that has been registered in advance
⁴For full details on Canon Australia’s 5 year warranty, visit https://www.canon.com.au/support/warranty

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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Video: Fotodiox tutorial transforms portable scanner into a 4×5 digital camera back

14 Mar

Photography gear company Fotodiox has published a new video showing viewers how to turn a portable scanner into a 4×5 digital scanner back for use with large format cameras. The video tutorial is based on a concept published by Randy Sarafan on Instructables.

In Fotodiox’s version of the project, the team uses a Flip-Pal Mobile Scanner, which costs around $ 180 on Amazon; other models could also be used, video host Sean notes in the tutorial. The scanner is paired with a CameraDactyl 4×5 camera ($ 200) and a 5×7 Fresnel sheet ($ 5).

Sean notes that the digital back cannot provide the same level of quality as 4×5 film, but he says that it’s ‘such a cool idea, I had to try it.’

The project kicks off with Sean grinding the scanner’s glass using 600 grit silicon carbide and a small piece of glass. This transforms the panel into ground glass, which is then paired with the sheet of Fresnel glass for more even light distribution. The ground glass is reattached to the projector and the Fresnel is attached to it using ordinary duct tape.

The camera was then duct-taped to the projector, as well, with Sean noting that he used the CameraDactyl model partly because it is very lightweight.

After opening the aperture and focusing the image, Sean covered the back of the camera with a dark object to keep light out, then hit the ‘scan’ button on the digital back. The scanning process took about 20 seconds and the result was a ‘4×5 film look’ from a digital scanner.

As far as downsides go, Sean notes that this scanner arrangement can’t capture color images and that the image is captured off the ground glass, which means the texture from the glass results in grainy images. Photographers may also have to deal with scan lines in some images.

Ultimately, though, Sean explains: ‘I get a really shallow depth of field. It just has this really nice vintage 4×5 film look.’

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

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New firmware brings improved AF usability: Read our updated Nikon Z6 and Z7 reviews

13 Mar

Nikon’s release of firmware 3.0 for its Z6 and Z7 cameras is significant. Not just for the changes it brings, but the significance of those changes in the context of the company’s history. Like Canon, Nikon has historically brought DSLR cameras to market that you could be sure would work exactly the same in ten years as the day you bought it. There simply wasn’t any expectation that you would gain additional features, refinements or enhancements over the life of the product.

But times have changed, and with the Z6 and Z7, Nikon has clearly taken industry feedback to heart. Of course, this isn’t the first major firmware update for these cameras – firmware 2.0 brought us eye detect autofocus – but 3.0 changes some of the autofocus system’s fundamental operation in an attempt to make it more familiar to users of the company’s DSLR cameras.

Alright, enough with the pontificating. Here’s what firmware 3.0 brings to the table.

Refined autofocus tracking implementation

The most significant change in FW 3.0 (to us, anyway) is the refinement in the behavior of the Z6 and Z7’s tracking autofocus. Up until now, you had to hit the ‘OK’ button while in the Auto AF area mode to bring up the tracking box. You could place that over your subject and initiate autofocus, and it would track around the frame. But when you released the shutter button (or AF On button), the box would continue to track your subject until you canceled it with the ‘OK’ button, and then the tracking box would reset to the center of the frame, regardless of whether you’d moved it around before initiating autofocus. You then exited tracking with the ‘Zoom out’ button.

You can now have either the Fn1 or Fn2 buttons initiate tracking AF. Our opinions on staff differ, but I personally find these buttons fall naturally under my middle and ring fingers, and are easy to press.

Now, with FW 3.0, you have the option to assign Tracking mode to one of the Fn buttons on the front of the camera, which are easier to manipulate with the camera to your eye. And once you’ve initiated tracking, releasing the shutter or AF On buttons will see the camera cease tracking, and the box return to wherever it was when you initiated tracking.

It actually makes a remarkable difference in everyday shooting, and we’ve found that we can use the Z6 and Z7 more comfortably, and in a similar way to how we’re used to shooting with Nikon’s DSLRs.

It’s not quite perfect though. Firstly, if you enter playback or menus, or power-cycle the camera, you’re back into non-tracking Auto area AF mode. We’d love to see it remember your chosen mode or, better still, be offered as a distinct AF area mode. Secondly, initiating tracking on a face does not switch to face and eye-detection, as it does on Sony and Canon cameras with the latest firmware.

But on the whole, it’s a welcome improvement and makes the Z6 and Z7 much more usable, further improving on cameras that already had great ergonomics and handling. We discuss how this new behavior interacts with the cameras’ other AF features in our Nikon Z7 review.

Pet eye detection and CFExpress

Firmware 3.0 also brings the ability to focus on the eyes of pets, for all you pet portraitists out there. Depending on the pet (in essence, on how similar their eyes looked to human eyes) some Z6 and Z7 users with the old firmware might have found that their cameras already did a decent job of this, but now it’s official. With Firmware 3.0 you get more reliable and stable pet detection tracking, when you enable the requisite menu function.

Lastly, the Z6 and Z7 cameras are now compatible with CFExpress cards. This won’t impact you too much if you already have a bunch of XQD cards laying around, but CFExpress is the future, and broader compatibility is always a plus.

The reviews

Our reviews of both the Z6 and Z7 now have updated autofocus sections, updated conclusions, and we made tweaks to the scoring. Neither received a higher overall numerical score – they both scored very highly to begin with – but the ‘metering and focus’ category of the scoring widget has received a noticeable boost on both. We’ve also updated our Pros and Cons lists at the top of the conclusion pages to reflect the changes.

To see all the changes for yourself, hop on over to our full Nikon Z6 and Z7 full reviews.

Key takeaways:

What’s new?

Who is it for?

Smarter physical controls and a better-placed optical sensor

Charging is quicker and easier, but waterproofing suffers

Wider, more even and daylight-balanced light

Smarter firmware and new features

Same accessories and mounting system, but now it’s in the bundle

Incredibly portable yet decent battery life too

Fast charging requires a fast, modern USB-C charger and cable

Recharge and use your lights at the same time

Best for smaller subjects or in lower ambient light

What is false-color infrared photography?

The Aerochrome Effect

What images work best?

How to simulate false-color infrared photography

Fine adjustments of your false-color infrared photography

Hue and Saturation

Color Temperature

Parting thoughts on false-color infrared photography

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Refined autofocus tracking implementation

Pet eye detection and CFExpress

The reviews

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