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Tokina launches redesigned ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 CF lens for Canon EF, Nikon F mounts

Tokina has announced the release of its new ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 CF lens for Canon EF and Nikon F mount crop-sensor cameras.

The re-designed lens is constructed of 13 elements in 11 groups, including two aspherical elements, a ‘large’ aspherical P-MO element and two all-glass molded low dispersion (SD) elements.

Other features include an aperture range of F2.8-F22, a nine-blade aperture diaphragm, a 77mm front filter thread and a minimum focusing distance of 30cm (11in). Tokina has included its One-Touch Focus Clutch Mechanism for easy switching between autofocus and manual focus by snapping the focus ring forward (for autofocus) or backward (for manual focus).

The Tokina ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 CF weighs 555g (19.58oz) and measures 84mm (3.31in) long. It is currently available for pre-order for $ 449 (Adorama, B&H) and will hit official retailers shelves on November 8, 2019.

Press Release:

Kenko Tokina announces release of the NEW ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 CF lens

NEW ATX-i Series from Tokina updates the Best-Selling super wide-angle lens for crop-sensor DSLR cameras from Canon and Nikon.

Huntington Beach, CA, October 17, 2019: Kenko Tokina, Japan’s leading manufacturer of premium camera accessories, is releasing the Tokina ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 CF super wide-angle zoom lens for crop-sensor DSLR cameras from Nikon and Canon. Distributed in the US exclusively by Kenko Tokina USA, this new lens is ideal for photographers and video content creators who specialize in landscape, architecture, documentary, environmental portraits, and night sky imagery.

The Tokina ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 CF is re-designed for an improved user experience and better image quality. The constant- aperture lens provides excellent edge-to-edge sharpness and resolution. Reduces flare and ghosting, while maintaining excellent contrast and color. A new waterproof topcoat also makes it easier to clean.

Popular among cinematographers too, because the lens provides a wide cinematic feel, minimized breathing, no edge distortion while panning, and the overall weight and internal focus design makes it an ideal choice for gimbal work.

The One-Touch Focus Clutch Mechanism makes switching from AF to manual focus (MF) simple. While in AF mode the user only needs to snap the focus ring back toward the camera to engage “real” manual focus control. This gives photographers an authentic tactile MF feel with hard stops on either side of the focus range like traditional manual lenses. Additionally, the directional rotation of the focus ring matches the direction of proprietary Nikon and Canon lenses.

Tokina ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 CF MACRO

“This lens offers technical advancements over the current ATX version,” said Yuji Matsumoto, President at Kenko Tokina USA. “It offers enhanced performance and a sleek new look that matches the cosmetics of today’s advanced DSLR cameras.”

“It is an excellent upgrade to one of Tokina’s most popular lenses.” said Greg Napoli, National Sales Manager for Kenko Tokina USA. “The original 11-16mm lens has been a staple of our line-up for years and this new version will continue to find its way into more camera bags.”

Kenko Tokina announces release of the NEW ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 CF lens

The new Tokina ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 CF incorporates a complex optical design, with 13 elements in 11 groups. Using 2 aspherical lenses including a large aspherical P-MO element and 2 all-glass molded Low-Dispersion (SD) elements, the lens effectively suppresses chromatic and spherical aberrations. The front element provides super-low distortion and low light fall-off for straight lines and minimal exposure vignetting. Perfect for architectural, landscape, astrophotographers, and cinematographers.

Worldwide sales of the Tokina ATX-i 11-16mm F2.8 super wide angle zoom lens will begin on November 8, 2019 with authorized Tokina USA retailers taking pre-orders October 17, 2019.

Price: $ 449.00

More information is available at https://tokinausa.com.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 18, 2019
5 Questions to Ask Before Buying Used Camera Gear
The post 5 Questions to Ask Before Buying Used Camera Gear appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

I’ve bought a lot of used gear over the last decade.

Cameras.

Lenses.

Batteries.

And more.

A lot of those purchases turned out great. Some of them I still use to this day.

But a large chunk of the used purchases I made?

Trash.

In fact, in my more naive years, I was forced to return over 50% of the gear that I purchased. There were just so many problems: sand in focusing rings, stains on the front element, shutter buttons that couldn’t communicate with the shutter. (Oh, and my least favorite: Fungus inside the lens. Doesn’t that just make you shiver?)

And here’s the kicker:

I bought all of this gear through respectable buyers, who described the equipment as in “excellent condition,” “flawless,” “perfect,” “like new,” – you name it.

It got so bad that I considered leaving the used market entirely and just buying new. But I resisted.

Why?

Used camera gear is a real bargain – if you buy carefully. This is why I took all of my negative gear-buying experiences and turned them into a process for making sure I purchased good used gear.

At the core of that process is a series of questions. Questions that I’m going to share with you today. Some of the questions are for you, the buyer. Others should be posed to the seller before you put any cash down.

Are you ready to discover how to buy used gear effectively?

Let’s get started!

Question 1: Are you buying from a reputable seller with a money-back guarantee?

This is the number one most important thing that you should do when buying used gear.

Purchase from a seller that you trust – and that gives you an enforceable money-back guarantee. You don’t want to purchase a camera online, only to find that it’s full of water damage and sports a cracked LCD.

This means that buying used through Amazon is fine. All of their products are backed by Amazon month-long guarantees.

Buying used through eBay is also fine. Ebay’s buyer protection ensures that you’re not going to get ripped off in such an obvious fashion.

But this makes most forums (if not all forums) off-limits. If the forum doesn’t have a serious money-back guarantee that’s honored by the site itself, then stay away.

This also makes in-person sales off-limits, such as those done through Craigslist. Sure, you can inspect the item upon receipt, but what are you going to do when you get home, put that lens under a light, and realize it’s filled with an army of fungus?

It’ll be too late, and your seller may not be so receptive to a return.

So just don’t do it. Instead, use sites like Amazon, eBay, B&H, or KEH, which all have clear money-back guarantees.

Question 2: Does the seller include actual pictures of the gear?

Sellers not including pictures is a big warning sign, especially on a website like eBay, where pictures are the norm. It should make you ask: Why doesn’t the seller want to show off their “excellent condition” item? Is there something they’re trying to hide?

Another red flag is only showing a stock photo. These are easy to spot; they look way better than anything that a casual, eBay-selling photographer would have taken, and there tends to be only one or two of them.

If you like the price and everything else checks out, then go ahead and shoot the seller an email, asking for in-depth pictures of the item. If the seller refuses, then it’s time to look elsewhere.

You might come across some sellers who are offering many units of the same item (e.g., five Canon 7D Mark II’s). In this case, they likely have shown a stock photo, or a photo of one item, because they don’t want to go through the effort of photographing each piece of kit.

In such cases, you should message the seller and ask for pictures of the exact item that you’ll be purchasing. It’s too easy, especially with these big sellers, to end up with an item that you’ll have to send back.

Question 3: How many shutter actuations has the camera fired?

(Note: This section is for buying cameras.)

First things first: A shutter actuation refers to a single shot taken with a camera.

Every camera has a number of actuations its shutter is rated for. Once the shutter has reached around that point, it just…fails. While you can get the shutter replaced, it generally costs enough that you’re probably better off buying a new camera body.

If you want to know the shutter actuation rating of any particular camera, you can look it up through a quick Google search.

Of course, the shutter rating isn’t a hard and fast rule. There are some cameras that go far beyond their predicted shutter count, and there are some cameras that fail far sooner. The shutter count is just an average.

Now, when you look at camera listings online, you’ll see that shutter actuations are reported about fifty percent of the time.

But the other fifty percent of the time, there will be no mention of them.

This is for three possible reasons:
1. The seller doesn’t know about the importance of shutter actuations.
2. The seller can’t figure out how to determine the shutter actuations for their camera.
3. The seller doesn’t wish to share the shutter count because it won’t help the sale.
I would never buy a camera without knowing its shutter count. Therefore, I recommend reaching out to the seller and asking.

If the seller refuses to share the count, then let the camera go. If the seller claims they don’t know how to view the shutter count, explain that they should be able to find it easily, either within the camera itself or through a website such as https://www.camerashuttercount.com/.

If they still won’t give you the count, then don’t buy. It’s not worth risking it.

Question Four: Does the lens have any blemishes on the glass, fungus, scratches, haze, or problems with the focusing ring?

(Note that this is for purchasing lenses.)

This is a question to ask the seller, and I suggest you do it every single time you make a purchase.

Yes, the seller may be annoyed by your specific question. But this is a transaction; it’s not about being nice to the seller! And I’ve never had someone refuse to sell to me because I annoyed them with questions.

In fact, what makes this question so valuable is that it often forces sellers to actually consider the equipment they’re selling. Up until this point, the seller may not have really thought about some of these things. So it can act as a bit of a wake-up call and make the seller describe the item beyond “excellent condition.”

When you ask this question, make it clear that you want a detailed description. You genuinely want the seller to check for scratches on the glass, fungus in the lens, problems with the focusing ring, and more. You don’t want a perfunctory examination.

Unfortunately, there will still be some people who don’t do a serious examination, or who lie in the hopes that you won’t notice the issues (or be bothered enough to make a return). But asking the question is the best you can do.

Question Five: Has the seller noticed any issues with the item in the past?

This is another question to ask the seller before you hit the Buy button. It’s meant as a final attempt to determine whether the item has any issues.

In this case, by asking about the item’s past.

Unfortunately, there will be sellers who have had an item break repeatedly – but, as long as it’s working at the moment they take the photos, they’ll give it the “perfect condition” label. Fortunately, many sellers will still be honest with you. If they’ve had a problem with the item, they’ll say.

So it’s definitely worth asking – just to be safe.

5 Questions to ask before buying used camera gear: Conclusion

Now that you know the five most important questions to ask before buying used camera gear, you’re well equipped to start buying gear online.

Yes, you’re still going to run into the occasional issue, but if you’re careful, and you think about these crucial questions to ask before buying used camera gear…

…the number of issues will be far, far lower.

And you’ll be able to effectively take advantage of used camera equipment!

The post 5 Questions to Ask Before Buying Used Camera Gear appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Jaymes Dempsey.

Digital Photography School
October 18, 2019
Report: Adobe Photoshop CC for iPad is missing key features according to beta testers

Late last year, Adobe promised the future arrival of ‘real Photoshop’ for the iPad, something consumers expected would be a desktop-class offering able to compete with Affinity Photo and other apps already available on Apple’s tablets. The Photoshop for iPad app entered private beta testing in late August ahead of its public launch and now details are starting to roll in from testers.

According to Bloomberg News, some Photoshop on iPad beta testers are reporting a lack of key features they had thought would be available in the app. Some of these missing or stunted features are said to involve core aspects of the software, including raw editing, layer styles, filters, smart objects, the pen tool and parts of mask creation.

One tester claimed the beta version of the app is ‘inferior’ to Affinity Photo and Procreate, two apps available on the iPad.

A promotional photo currently on Apple’s website showing off a demo version of Adobe Photoshop CC, which still reads ‘Coming to iPad in 2019.’

Adobe’s Creative Cloud chief product officer Scott Belsky told Bloomberg that the final version of the software will include more features, which are being added close to launch because the company must work with Apple in order to bring the software to iPadOS. Instead of packing as many features as possible into the software before launch, Adobe told Bloomberg that its engineers focused on features they believed would be most desired by iPad users.

Users can expect the ability to sync their work with the desktop version of Photoshop using Creative Cloud, plus there will be support at launch for all Photoshop files and non-destructive editing. As well, users can expect ‘entirely new tools’ that revolve around native iPad features, namely the Apple Pencil and touchscreen.

Adobe says that it will continue to expand iPad on Photoshop’s abilities over time following its launch in the coming months.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 18, 2019
How to Make Your Images Have Fall Vibes

The post How to Make Your Images Have Fall Vibes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anabel DFlux.

With Fall fast approaching, we will soon be surrounded by beautifully warm-colored leaves and vegetation, filling the air with the sweet scent of Autumn. This is a photographer’s paradise, especially the ones who are also social media mavens following artistic trends. But what if you, like me, are not so lucky to live in a place that actually has seasons?! I live in Southern California, and finding trees that actually change color is…pretty uncommon, to say the least. So what are lonesome Californians to do?! Turn to post-processing, to make your images have fall vibes!

What defines a Fall or Autumn vibe in images?

All there is to portraying specific ideas or ‘vibes’ are color. We associate colors with seasons, inspired by the colors that nature gives us during those times (in locations that actually have seasons. Is my bitterness over Southern California’s lack of seasons showing yet?!). Winter tends to be cold and blue, Spring is rainbow and vibrancy, Summer is warm greens, and Autumn is oranges, reds, and yellows.

Although you can sit there for several hours and recolor every leaf into a different Autumn color, for the most part, Fall vibes can be achieved by playing with and removing colors that are associated with the seasons we are not trying to mimic. Fall is warm and full of reds, oranges, yellows, and more rustic tones.

How to make your images have fall vibes in post-processing

Taken this summer, this is the base image we will be working with to show you how to make your images have fall vibes. I find that images with very shallow depth of field (like the one below) are a bit easier to work with when altering their colors.

For the sake of explanation, the edits shown below are quite extreme. Use your judgment and personal taste to determine how far you take them.

Also, the tutorials I am listing below use Adobe Lightroom and Adobe Photoshop. However, they can easily apply to other editing software too as many feature similar options and sliders. Even the free mobile version of Photoshop and Lightroom have these sliders.

Adobe Lightroom

I turn to Lightroom for these kinds of color adjustments because it’s quite quick and simple to do. You can also copy the settings and apply them to an entire batch of images rather than having to do each one by one. Our final image will look like this:

The HSL Panel

The HSL panel is the first panel I go to when I want to create a summer vibe in my photographs. Conveniently, this is one of the first open panels in Lightroom.

HSL stands for “Hue, Saturation, and Luminance,” and is a panel box in Adobe Lightroom (with similar panels in other programs). I like to say that this is the panel that adjusts each of the colors individually. Each slider is divided by colors: red, orange, yellow, green, aqua, blue, purple, and magenta.

Hue is the color. On a technical term, the hue is the wavelength of the light reflected. This describes why an object that is a solid color appears different depending on the amount of light that hits it. On the HSL panel, the Hue slider can change how specific colors look. For example, the reds can be made to be more orange in color or more red.

Saturation determines how intense a color is. Pulling the slider to the left makes the color more gray, pulling the slider to the right makes it more true to pure tone.

Luminance lightens or darkens a specific color. Luminance refers to the reflective brightness of colors. I use this slider to make colors that are a bit too light, much darker in photographs so that they don’t stand out to the eye too much.

With the image above, our primary objective is to change the green to more fall colors. In this case, I will make the green more orange. I can achieve this by adjusting the Green color slider under ‘Hue’ and subsequently adjusting the colors surrounding the green. The awesome thing about sliders is that you have full control.

Next, I drop down to saturation and adjust how true to tone each color is and decreasing the color we want to remove altogether (for example, the green).

Finally, with the Luminance slider, I brighten up all of the warmth we have put into the photograph.

Split toning

If you find solely using the HSL sliders isn’t enough, you can add more of the color you want using the Split Toning menu. Split Toning is located right below HSL.

Split Toning is just toning applied to different areas of luminance. You can color your shadows with one color, and your highlights with another. In this case, I toned both the highlights and the shadows to bring even more warmth into the image.

When I do Split Toning, to make it easy to see what I am doing, I bring the Saturation up to its maximum 100 value point and then click on the little color rectangle next to Highlights and then next to Shadows. Clicking this rectangle brings up a color selection box. I then select the color I am interested in and proceed to significantly lower the sliders until I achieve the shadow or highlight coloration I desire.

The settings I used for the image above are these:

Masks

If you’re following along in your own editing program, you may find that making all of these color adjustments have now impaired parts of our image that you may not want to be colored like that. In my photo, the whites of the dog became far too yellow for my liking. You can use Masks to remedy this by selecting the parts of the image you do not want the effect applied to.

Locate Masks at the very top of the right-hand tabs when clicking “Develop.” I like to use the Adjustment Brush which is the long selectable line directly under “Histogram” in the screenshots below. Then, you paint on the image and can make adjustments on the painted section independent from the overall image. In this case, I removed the warm effect from the dog and brightened the dog a bit. The red haze shows you where you applied the mask.

Adobe Photoshop

There are many, many, many different methods of achieving the same end result in Adobe Photoshop.

Photoshop is a large, and at times, complex program. To keep it simple, I’ll explain my favorite color adjustment methods similar to the adjustments in Adobe Lightroom. For another example of a Fall-vibe in a more muted tone than the edit above, we will replicate the image featured below:

Before we even get started, in the Layers panel, duplicate the Background (main) layer and work on that. As a rule of thumb, never work on the original layer and make all adjustments on a new layer. This helps you remedy mistakes, give you the flexibility to change your mind, and use masks to remove the effect from the parts of the image it shouldn’t apply to!

Hue/Saturation

The term ‘saturation’ in general describes the level at which something is absorbed. For example, a sponge heavily saturated with water. In photography, saturation refers to how pure a color is. How red is red? How blue is blue? You can imagine a color “absorbed” in the photograph like a sponge, with a higher saturation resulting in a more significant color.

Hue is a color attribute that explains how discernible a color is to its true color (for example, how green is the green?). Hue is based on color wavelength and is completely independent of a color’s lightness or darkness and intensity.

You can use the Hue/Saturation slider in the Image > Adjustments window!

Where it says “Master” (which will adjust everything simultaneously) you can select individual colors to adjust. This is great to use on images that don’t involve a lot of color variation.

Selective Color

The Selective Color in Photoshop (also located in Image -> Adjustments) is similar to the HSL sliders in Lightroom. Selective Color allows you to modify each color (located in the drop-down menu under “Color”) by either adding or decreasing CMYK colors (Cyan, Magenta, Yellow, and Black). CMYK is the color mode that a printer operates in.

I like using Selective Color with images that feature a lot of white because I don’t necessarily want my whites toned the same as the rest of my image. You can adjust the white itself in Selective Color, which is pretty cool. This allows me to keep the white dog more authentic to the original rather than making the Great Dane orange.

Color Balance

Another way to adjust the colors in the image is by utilizing the Color Balance sliders. This can also be located under Image -> Adjustments. Color balance is the global adjustment of the intensity of the colors. This what I use the most when trying to create some fall vibes in my photographs.

I prefer this method because it’s the fastest slider set to use – but the end result does tend to look a lot like a filter. If that’s the look you’re going for; awesome! But if not, Selective Color may be of better use to you.

Conclusion

Whatever method you implore to make your images more Autumn oriented, enjoy those warm fall vibes and glow up that Instagram feed!

Do you have other tips on giving your images fall vibes? Try these methods and share your images with us in the comments below!

The post How to Make Your Images Have Fall Vibes appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Anabel DFlux.

Digital Photography School

October 18, 2019
How to Use a 16-Stop ND Filter for Extreme Long Exposure Photography
The post How to Use a 16-Stop ND Filter for Extreme Long Exposure Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

Long exposure techniques are a fantastic way to inject interest into your photography. By nature, these techniques present your images in a way that is different to how the world is perceived by the human eye. Blurring moving elements within your frame (whether that be water, people or clouds) can also be a tool to help you isolate and focus on the elements of a scene that you want your viewers to focus on. This makes long exposures a valuable asset for composition and design. While most long exposures last for a matter of a few seconds, there are tools available that will allow you to do extreme long exposure photography – even in the middle of the day.

This tutorial will show you how to use a 16-stop neutral density filter to do extreme long exposure photography. It will take you step-by-step through the equipment you need, the steps you need to take to get started, and the considerations you need to make to overcome some technical issues. There is also a list of tips at the end to help you get the most out of your 16-stop ND filter.

Why 16 stops?

Using the long exposures provided by a 16-stop ND filter, you are able to blur moving elements (such as clouds and water) to simplify your frame and reduce visual clutter.

Long exposures, even with strong 10-stop neutral density filters, are usually limited to low light situations. For the most part, this is fine as that means you will be out at golden hour or blue hour when the light is at its very best for most types of photography.

What a 16-stop ND filter allows you to do is to extreme long exposure photography in the middle of the day when the light levels are at their highest. For example, a shutter speed of 1/125th of a second (sunny 16 rule) turns into an 8-minute and 44-second exposure when you put 16-stops of neutral density filter on the lens. This kind of exposure time turns the water and clouds into an almost ethereal, milky texture that works well visually. By blurring these elements, you are also potentially reducing visual clutter and contrast in your scenes, making them more visually appealing.

What you need

Apart from the filter, this technique is going to require a few other pieces of equipment as well.
- A camera with a Bulb setting.
- A sturdy tripod that will hold still for several minutes or more.
- A release that will allow you to trigger the camera without touching it.
- An exposure calculator.
- A 16-stop ND filter. (This tutorial will work the same with any strength of ND filter.)
How to do it

Once you’re out on location, setting up for a long exposure is pretty easy. In fact, these steps remain the same whether you are using a three-stop filter or a 16-stop filter.

Step 1: Set up your camera and line up your composition.

Make sure to attach all of your releases or filter holders at this point as well. Anything you can use to reduce the chance of camera movement between now and the time your exposure finishes will help to ensure there is no camera movement affecting your images. Take your time with this step and if you need to, take as many test shots as possible. Once you put the filter on, you will be stuck in place for several minutes.

Be sure of your composition before you get to that point.

Step 2: Meter and calculate exposure

Here, a metered shutter speed (without the filter) of 1/160th of a second becomes 6 minutes and 49 seconds once the 16-stop ND filter is applied.

If you’ve taken test shots, you already know what your exposure is (without the filter). If not, read the camera’s meter. Take the exposure it has given you and input it into the exposure calculator of your choice to calculate the exposure required for 16-stops of ND filter. This will give you your required exposure for your final image.

There are a lot of exposure calculators available on iOS and Android. They all provide the same end result, so pick whichever one you would like.

Step 3: Set focus

Set the focus where you want in the frame and then place the camera in Manual Focus mode. Autofocus will not work at all with a 16-stop filter. It is way too dense. Putting your camera into manual focus will make sure that the camera does not attempt to focus when it can’t, thereby rendering your photos out of focus.

Step 4: Switch to Bulb

Put your camera into Bulb mode to allow it to keep the shutter open for as long as your exposure requires.

Step 5: Attach the filter

With everything in place, you can now attach your filter. If you’re using a rectangular slot-in variety, attach the holder to the ring you’ve already placed on your lens. If you’re using a screw-in variety (shown), be very careful not to jostle your set-up because, if you do, you will have to start the process again.

Step 6 – Input shutter speed

My trigger is controlled by my phone, so the shutter speed is inputted into the app as shown.

With the filter set up, you just need to input your shutter speed into whatever trigger you are using. In these examples, I am using a Pulse trigger which allows me to control it from my phone. There are a lot of available options at a variety of price points. Be sure to choose one that doesn’t require you to hold down a button for ten minutes though.

Step 7 – Release the shutter

With that done, the only thing left for you to do is to start your exposure and wait.

Easy as that

This process may seem like a lot of steps, but it is quite easy. As long as you take care not to move the camera throughout the process, you will be fine. You will be able to set it up in a minute or so once you have practiced a bit. The key here is to know your equipment and to practice the movements so you can perform them as second nature.

Considerations

Now that you know how to create long exposures with your 16-stop ND filter, there are a few technical considerations you should bear in mind.

Noise

Noise is a problem when taking long exposures and is especially prone to showing up in the shadow areas of your images. Be prepared to take care of it.

Unfortunately, long exposures with digital cameras mean noise. The longer the exposure, the more noise appears in your images. If you use a higher ISO to achieve shorter exposures, that will also increase the noise levels in your images.

To alleviate this as much as possible, try to avoid really, really long exposures if they are not necessary. If your camera has a Long Exposure Noise Reduction (or similar) feature, turn it on (remember that this will double your exposure time). It will also help if you to familiarize yourself with noise reduction software, either inside Photoshop or Lightroom, or other third-party program.

Hot pixels

The two circled white dots are hot pixels. They’re easy enough to clone out just as long as you are aware of them in the first place.

Hot Pixels are an unfortunate side effect of long exposures using digital cameras. While there is no way to truly avoid them, you need to be aware of their existence as they have the potential to ruin your efforts. These defects happen when your sensor gets hot during a long exposure (a simplified explanation, but it will serve).

To deal with them, you can heal, patch, or clone them out in Photoshop. Alternatively, you could use the Long Exposure Noise Reduction (or similar feature as appears in your camera system), but be aware this doubles your exposure time. If your exposure is close to nine minutes, that now means that all of your exposures will take about 18 minutes.

Light leaks

While light leaks of this nature can be easy to take care of, there are a few steps you can take to make sure that they don’t appear in the first place.

With such long exposures, light leaks can be a common problem. These happen where excess light falls onto your sensor. This can happen where the filter attaches to the lens, or it can happen where the lens attaches to the camera. It can also happen through the viewfinder.

If you’re worried about light leaks, you can buy dedicated accessories that help to prevent them. If the leak is coming from the lens mount, you can also wrap material around it for a cheaper option. Some camera brands have a little rubber rectangle attached to the camera strap. This handy little feature is used to cover your viewfinder during long exposures. Simply slide off the exterior case over your viewfinder, and slide the rubber rectangle from your camera strap in its place. This will stop the light leaking in through the viewfinder.

Another option is to shoot a wider composition than you need and crop the light leaks out. This wouldn’t be my preferred method, but it will work in a pinch when you have no other choice.

Changing light

This image is underexposed by several stops. Although it was taken at the exposure the meter dictated, the light dimmed significantly during the exposure, meaning the original exposure time was inadequate.

In the middle of the day, your exposure will be close to a near-constant. Later in the day, however, light levels can start to change rapidly.

If you meter for a long exposure of a hypothetical half hour in the late afternoon, it is entirely possible the light will lower in intensity during that time. Therefore, the actual time required for correct exposure will be much much longer. This will result in underexposed images.

You can compensate by preparing for that possibility beforehand. Choose a longer shutter speed than your meter dictates if you suspect that the light will change on you. This will be mostly guesswork based on plenty of experience though, so be sure to be out practicing as much as possible.

Filter size

For the most versatility, consider opting for a filter system that will fit the complete range of your lenses so you have the choice to use it at all of your available focal lengths.

Alternatively, feel free to shoot wide and crop in. Not ideal, but this works just fine. Cropping is also a useful way to get rid of light leaks that appear at the edges of your images like in the example shown.

If you opt for the screw-in variety of filters, you may find yourself limited with the lenses you can use. In my case, I bought a filter that would fit my 16-35mm wide-angle zoom, and almost immediately found that I wanted to put it on my 70-200mm to crop in close on a particular building.

I was convinced that I wouldn’t want to use it on anything but the wide-angle lens. You can always buy stop-down rings, but if you think that you’ll use your filter on a variety of lenses, a filter that fits a slot-in system may be the better choice for you.

Releases, triggers, and remotes

As mentioned, there are a lot of options to fire your shutter without touching your camera. It doesn’t matter which you pick. However, it would be best to altogether avoid any releases that require you to hold down a button for the entire duration of the exposure. For thirty seconds, this may not be a problem, but in terms of ten-minute exposures, you are just increasing the chance that you might slip and ruin your frame.

Tips

Here are a handful of tips to help you get the most out of the technique.

ISO

If you want shorter exposure times without using a different filter, you can increase your ISO. Here, changing the ISO from 100 to 400 (2 stops) has cut the exposure time by over 75%.

If you don’t want to wait around for, say, ten minutes for an exposure, you can halve it by upping your ISO one stop. This may introduce some more noise to your images, but as long as you don’t try to go past ISO 800, and your exposures are under or around 10 minutes, you should be fine as long as you are aware of the possibility.

Lighting

In overcast conditions, the effect of the 16-stop filter can emphasize the flatness of the lighting. This may or not work with what you are trying to achieve.

Conversely, the technique also helps to emphasize hard lighting and the contrast in such scenes. Use this to your advantage.

This is no rule, but I’ve found that this technique works well with subjects in direct light as the heavy contrast suits the technique. In overcast conditions, the flatness of the light is emphasized, and the results can feel a little less than inspiring. Again, this is not a rule and if you have no choice but to shoot in overcast conditions, do so anyway.

Moving things

On a rare and anomalous sunny day in Manchester, this river was full of numerous boats that constantly went through my frames. The near ten-minute exposures have caused all evidence of them to disappear.

The longer your final exposure, the less any moving thing will show up in your frame. Is there a lot of river traffic in your scene? A bunch of tourists? Chances are those things will have left your frame by the time your exposure is finished. If you’re at a particularly crowded spot, see if you can make your exposure as long as possible to increase the chances that every unwanted element is removed from your frame.

Be sure of your composition

This technique is a very slow and deliberate form of photography. If you get something slightly wrong, it will cost you a fair amount of time to try again. To prevent having to do that, take your time with every single step in the set-up process and make sure that it is right. Composition, in particular, is vital for you to get right before you press the shutter release.

Embrace the time

Whilst your camera is recording your exposure, you will have a lot of time standing around. Take advantage of it. Take the opportunity to appreciate the scene around you without the viewfinder to your eye. Mindfully think about any other compositions in the area. It’s easy to start worrying about the remaining time on the exposure clock, but I encourage you not to. Instead, take a quiet few minutes for granted when you have nothing to do but stand next to your camera.

Be aware of your surroundings

I was aware of the tide coming in here (I was counting on it) but did not expect it come this far in less than ten minutes.

Because you are going to be standing around for at least a good few minutes, it’s important that you pay extra care to your surroundings during your exposure. During normal-length exposures, you won’t usually have a problem with things like the tide coming in and submerging your tripod during the exposure. With exposures that last into the minutes or hours, that’s more than a possibility.

Simply put, pay attention to your environment and keep yourself and your equipment safe.

End results

Finally, here are a few examples of some of the results you can expect to achieve with a 16-stop ND filter.

That’s it

If you already have experience with long exposures, the only thing new to you with this technique is the amount of time the shutter will be open. The skills may be basic, but the extra few stops of ND filter can lead to wonderful results.

I encourage anyone interested in long exposures to give the technique a try. If nothing else, experiencing the mindful, deliberate, and slow approach to photography that this technique commands are well worth the effort. Also, it is a nice departure from the faster-paced styles of photography.

Share your extreme long exposure photography with us in the comments below!

The post How to Use a 16-Stop ND Filter for Extreme Long Exposure Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by John McIntire.

Digital Photography School
October 18, 2019
These are the winners of the 2019 Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

Winners of the Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition

The winners of the 55th annual Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition were announced earlier this week during a ceremony at the Natural History Museum, in London, which develops and produces the international event.

Over 48,000 images were submitted from 100 countries. The 19 category-winning images will be on display at an exhibition that opens Friday, October 18th, at the National History Museum before touring across the United Kingdom and internationally to locations including Canada, Spain, the USA, Australia and Germany.

The Grand Title Winner, titled ‘The Moment’ and captured by Chinese photographer Yongqing Baoas, is a humorous shot of a Himalayan marmot being scared by a Tibetan fox determined to find food for its three young cubs.

Open to photographers of all ages and abilities, entries for the next Wildlife Photographer of the Year competition will open on Monday, October 21st and close on December 12th. Find out more, here.

Winner, Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner 2019, Grand Title Winner: The Moment by Yongqing Bao

About the photo: This Himalayan marmot was not long out of hibernation when it was surprised by a mother Tibetan fox with three hungry cubs to feed. With lightning-fast reactions, Yongqing captured the attack – the power of the predator baring her teeth, the terror of her prey, the intensity of life and death written on their faces.

As one of the highest-altitude-dwelling mammals, the Himalayan marmot relies on its thick fur for survival through the extreme cold. In the heart of winter it spends more than six months in an exceptionally deep burrow with the rest of its colony. Marmots usually do not resurface until spring, an opportunity not to be missed by hungry predators.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS-1D X + 800mm f5.6 lens; 1/2500 sec at f5.6 (+0.67 e/v); ISO 640; Manfrotto carbon-fibre tripod + 509HD head

Winner, Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year

Winner 2019, Young Wildlife Photographer of the Year Grand title winner: Night Glow by Cruz Erdmann, New Zealand

About the photo: Cruz was on a night dive with his dad when he saw a pair of bigfin reef squid in the shallow water. One swam off but Cruz quickly adjusted his camera and strobe settings, knowing that the opportunity was too good to miss. He shot four frames of the remaining squid before it too disappeared into the inky blackness.

Bigfin reef squid are masters of camouflage, changing their body colour and pattern using their reflective and pigmented skin cells. They also alter their appearance to help them communicate. During courtship, males and females display complex patterns to indicate their willingness to mate.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark III + 100mm f2.8 lens; 1/125 sec at f29; ISO 200; Ikelite DS161 strobe; Aquatica 5D Mk II Pro housing

Winner, Animals in their Environment

Winner 2019, Animals in their Environment: Snow-Plateau Nomads by Shangzhen Fan, China

About the photo: A small herd of male chirus makes its way to the relative warmth of the Kumukuli Desert. These nimble antelopes are high-altitude specialists found only on the Qinghai–Tibet Plateau. For years, Shangzhen made the long, arduous journey to observe them there. Here he drew the contrasting elements of snow and sand together.

Underneath their long hair, chirus have a light, warm underfur called shahtoosh. It grows tightly against their skin and can only be harvested by killing and skinning the chirus. Protection since the 1990s has seen their once-decimated numbers increase, but there is still demand – primarily from Westerners – for shahtoosh shawls.

Gear and specs: Nikon D5 + 600mm f4 lens; 1/1250 sec at f6.3 (+0.3 e/v); ISO 125; Gitzo GT5532S 6X tripod

Winner, Animal Portraits

Winner 2019, Animal Portraits: Face of Deception by Ripan Biswas, India

About the photo: Ripan was photographing a red weaver ant colony when he spotted this slightly strange individual. It may have the face of an ant but its eight legs give it away – on closer inspection Ripan discovered that it was an ant-mimicking crab spider. By reverse mounting his lens, Ripan converted it to a macro capable of taking extreme close-ups.

Many spider species imitate ants in appearance and behaviour. Infiltrating an ant colony can help them prey on unsuspecting ants or avoid being eaten by predators that dislike ants. This particular spider, says Ripan, seemed to be roaming around the colony, looking for a solitary ant that it could grab for a meal.

Gear and specs: Nikon D500 + 18–55mm lens (reverse mounted); 1/160 sec; ISO 200; Godox V860II flash

Winner, Behavior: Amphibians and Reptiles

Winner 2019, Behaviour: Amphibians and Reptiles: Pondworld by Manuel Plaickner, Italy

About the photo: Every spring for more than a decade, Manuel followed the mass migration of common frogs. He took this image by immersing himself and his camera in a large pond where hundreds of frogs had gathered. There he waited until the moment arrived for the picture he had in mind – lingering frogs, harmonious colours, soft, natural light and dreamy reflections.

Rising spring temperatures bring common frogs out of their winter shelters. They head straight to water to breed, often returning to where they were spawned. Though widespread across Europe, their numbers are thought to be declining due to habitat degradation from pollution and drainage of breeding sites.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark II + 17–40mm f4 lens at 20mm; 1/640 sec at f8 (+0.7 e/v); ISO 800; Seacam housing

Winner, Behavior: Birds

Winner 2019, Behavior: Birds: Land of the Eagle by Audun Rikardsen, Norway

About the photo: Audun carefully positioned this tree branch, hoping it would make a perfect lookout for a golden eagle. He set up a camera trap and occasionally left road-kill carrion nearby. Very gradually, over the next three years, this eagle started to use the branch to survey its coastal realm. Audun captured its power as it came in to land, talons outstretched.

Golden eagles typically fly at around 50 kilometres per hour but can reach speeds of up to 320 kilometres per hour when diving for prey. This, along with their sharp talons, makes them formidable hunters. Normally they kill small mammals, birds, reptiles or fish, but they also eat carrion and have been known to target larger animals too.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 11–24mm f4 lens at 11m; 1/2500 sec at f14 (-1 e/v); ISO 800; Canon Speedlite 600EX II-RT flash; Camtraptions motion sensor; Sirui tripod

Winner, Behavior: Invertebrates

Winner 2019, Behavior: Invertebrates: The Architectural Army by Daniel Kronauer, Germany/USA

About the photo: By day this colony of army ants raided their surrounds, mostly hunting other ant species. At dusk they moved on, travelling up to 400 metres before building a nest for the night. Positioning his camera on the forest floor, Daniel was wary of upsetting thousands of venomous army ants. ‘You mustn’t breathe in their direction,’ he says.

Army ants alternate between nomadic and stationary phases. These ants are in a nomadic phase, building a new nest each night using their own bodies. The soldier ants interlock their claws to form a scaffold while the queen stays inside in a network of chambers and tunnels. During the stationary phase they will stay in the same nest while the queen lays new eggs.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 7D + 16–35mm f2.8 lens at 16mm + extension ring; 3.2 sec at f22; ISO 100; Canon Speedlite flash

Winner, Behavior: Mammals

Winner 2019, Behavior: Mammals: The Equal Match by Ingo Arndt, Germany

About the photo: The guanaco turns, terrified, his last mouthful of grass flying in the wind as a female puma attacks. For Ingo, this is the culmination of months of work tracking wild pumas on foot, enduring extreme cold and biting winds. After an intense four-second struggle, the guanaco escaped with his life, leaving the puma to go hungry.

Because they are so abundant in Patagonia, guanacos are common prey of pumas. These big cats are solitary and hunt by patiently stalking before they pounce. Their robust hind legs allow them to take on animals bigger than themselves but they can also feed on smaller animals, such as rodents and birds.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS-1DX Mark II + 600mm f4 lens; 1/3000 sec at f4; ISO 1000; Gitzo tripod

Winner, Urban Wildlife

Winner 2019, Urban Wildlife: The Rat Pack by Charlie Hamilton James, UK

About the photo: On Pearl Street in Lower Manhattan, brown rats scamper between their home under a tree grille and a pile of rubbish bags full of food waste. Lighting his shot to blend with the glow of the street lights and operating his kit remotely, Charlie captured this intimate, street-level view.

Urban rat populations are rising fast worldwide and their association with spreading disease in humans inspires fear and disgust. Rats are smart and capable of navigating complex networks such as subway systems. Being powerful swimmers, burrowers and jumpers makes these rodents particularly well suited to city living.

Gear and specs: Sony ?7R III + 16–35mm f4 lens at 24mm; 1/20 sec at f11; ISO 4000; Sony flash; PocketWizard trigger

Winner, Earth’s Environments

Winner 2019, Earth’s Environments: Creation by Luis Vilariño, Spain

About the photo: Red-hot lava from K?lauea volcano instantly boils the cool Pacific Ocean where they meet at the Hawaiian coast. As Luis’s helicopter flew along the coastline a sudden change in wind direction parted the plumes of steam to reveal the fiery river. Quickly framing his shot through the helicopter’s open door, he captured the tumultuous creation of new land.

As the lava boils the seawater, it produces acid steam and tiny shards of glass, which combine to create a lava haze or ‘laze’. This eruption was K?lauea’s largest in 200 years. For three months in 2018, lava spewed from the summit and surrounding fissures, eventually destroying over 700 homes and solidifying to create hundreds of acres of new land.

Gear and specs: Sony ?7R III + 100–400mm f4.5–5.6 lens at 196mm; 1/4000 sec at f5.6; ISO 800

Winner, Black and White

Winner 2019, Black and White: Snow Exposure by Max Waugh, USA

About the photo: In a winter whiteout a lone American bison briefly lifts its head from its endless foraging. Max purposefully slowed his shutter speed to blur the snow and ‘paint lines across the silhouette of the bison’. Slightly overexposing the shot and converting it to black and white accentuated the simplicity of the wintry scene.

Swinging their huge heads from side to side, American bison sweep away snow with their muzzles to eat the grasses and sedges buried beneath. Originally a common sight, their largescale slaughter for meat and hides brought them close to extinction in the nineteenth century. But populations are recovering and wild American bison now thrive in national parks.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS-1D X + 100–400mm f5.6 lens at 200mm; 1/15 sec at f22 (+1 e/v); ISO 100

Winner, Wildlife Photojournalism

Winner 2019, Wildlife Photojournalism: Another Barred Migrant, Alejandro Prieto, Mexico

About the photo: It took Alejandro two years to take the perfect photo of a male jaguar. Under a luminous, star-studded Arizona sky, he projects it onto a section of the US–Mexico border fence to symbolise ‘the jaguar’s past and its possible future presence in the United States. If the wall is built,’ he says, ‘it will destroy the jaguar population in the United States.’

Jaguars are mainly found in South America but historically also roamed the southwest of the United States. Over the past century, hunting and habitat destruction have resulted in the species disappearing from this area. Any hope of establishing a breeding population in this region rests on the contentious border remaining partially open.

Gear and specs: Nikon D850 + Sigma 14–24mm f2.8 lens at 16mm; 30 sec at f2.8; ISO 1600; remote control; Gitzo tripod; Epson projector

Winner, Rising Star Portfolio Award

Winner 2019, Rising Start Portfolio Award: Frozen Moment by Jérémie Villet, France

About the photo: Entwined in each other’s thick spiral horns, two male Dall sheep pause during a fierce clash. For years, Jérémie had dreamed of photographing pure-white Dall sheep against a snow-clad alpine backdrop. Lying in the snow nearby, he battled with strong winds, heavy snow and bitterly cold temperatures, determined to capture this moment of both ‘purity and power’.

Dall sheep thrive in arctic and subarctic regions of the world. They depend on steep, rugged cliffs and outcrops to provide them with places to escape from predators, while using nearby open grass and meadows to feed. In winter they favour areas with strong winds that remove snow and expose forage.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 400mm f2.8 lens; 1/1600 sec at f2.8 (+1.3 e/v); ISO 500

Winner, Plants and Fungi

Winner 2019, Plants and Fungi: Tapestry of life by Zorica Kovacevic

About the photo: Festooned with bulging orange velvet, trimmed with grey lace, the arms of a Monterey cypress tree weave an otherworldly canopy over Pinnacle Point, in Point Lobos State Natural Reserve, California. This tiny, protected coastal zone is the only place in the world where natural conditions combine to conjure this magical scene.

Though the Monterey cypress is widely planted (valued for its resistance to wind, salt, drought and pests), it is native only on the Californian coast in just two groves. Its spongy orange cladding is in fact a mass of green algae spectacularly colored by carotenoid pigments, which depend on the tree for physical support but photosynthesize their own food. The algal species occurs widely, but it is found on Monterey cypress trees only at Point Lobos, which has the conditions it needs – clean air and moisture, delivered by sea breezes and fog. The vibrant orange is set off by the tangles of grey lace lichen (a combination of alga and fungus), also harmless to the trees.

After several days experimenting, Kovacevic decided on a close-up abstract of one particular tree. With reserve visitors to this popular spot confined to marked trails, she was lucky to get overcast weather (avoiding harsh light) at a quiet moment. She had just enough time to focus-stack 22 images (merging the sharp parts of all the photos) to reveal the colorful maze in depth.

Gear and specs: Nikon D850 + 70–200mm f2.8 lens at 112mm; 1/4 sec at f8; ISO 64; Really Right Stuff tripod + ballhead.

Winner, Under Water

Winner 2019, Under Water: The garden of eels by David Doubilet

About the photo: The colony of garden eels was one of the largest David Doubilet had ever seen, at least two thirds the size of a football field, stretching down a steep sandy slope off Dauin, in the Philippines – a cornerstone of the famous Coral Triangle.

Doubilet rolled off the boat in the shallows and descended along the colony edge, deciding where to set up his kit. He had long awaited this chance, sketching out an ideal portrait of the colony back in his studio and designing an underwater remote system to realize his ambition. It was also a return to a much-loved subject – his first story of very many stories in National Geographic was also on garden eels.

These warm-water relatives of conger eels are extremely shy, vanishing into their sandy burrows the moment they sense anything unfamiliar. David placed his camera housing (mounted on a base plate, with a ball head) just within the colony and hid behind the remnants of a shipwreck. From there he could trigger the system remotely via a 12-meter (40-foot) extension cord.

It was several hours before the eels dared to rise again to feed on the plankton that drifted by in the current. He gradually perfected the set-up, each time leaving an object where the camera had been so as not to surprise the eels when it reappeared. Several days later – now familiar with the eels’ rhythms and the path of the light – he began to get images he liked. When a small wrasse led a slender cornetfish through the gently swaying forms, he had his shot.

Gear and specs: Nikon D3 + 17–35mm f2.8 lens at 19mm; 1/40 sec at f14; ISO 400; Seacam housing; aluminum plate + ballhead; remote trigger; Sea & Sea YS250 strobes (at half power).

Winner, Wildlife Photojournalist Story Award

Winner 2019, Wildlife Photojournalist Story Award: Show Time by Jasper Doest, The Netherlands

About the photo: For 17 years Riku has performed skits three times a day in front of large audiences in a theatre in Japan. The appeal of these traditional and popular performances lies in the anthropomorphic appearance of the trained macaques. It took Jasper a long time to gain permission to take pictures of the performance, and he was appalled that an animal once considered a sacred mediator between gods and humans was now being ridiculed for commercial gain.

Gear and specs: Canon EOS 5D Mark IV + 24–70mm f2.8 lens; 1/160 sec at f10 (-1.7 e/v); ISO 2000

Winner, Wildlife Photographer Portfolio Award

Winner 2019, Wildlife Photographer Portfolio Award: The Art of Conception by Stefan Christmann, Germany

About the photo: Stefan was lucky to find this isolated couple courting – many pairs had already mated by the time conditions allowed him to access this remote spot. The serene backdrop of sea ice and a distant stranded iceberg softly lit by the setting sun gives no hint that the Antarctic winter is about to intensify.

Emperor penguins form a new bond each year and are monogamous for the season. Males perform a courtship call until chosen by a female. The female lies on the sea ice and signals that she is ready before the male climbs onto her back. ‘The male struggled to keep his balance,’ says Stefan.

Gear and specs: Nikon D810 + 400mm f2.8 lens; 1/400 sec at f5.6; ISO 800

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 18, 2019
Travel Like A Pro, Take Travel Photos Like A Pro

Travel is the best excuse to pull out your camera and take photos until your memory is full. The sights, people, culture, food — everything about going to a new place calls for a photo opportunity, one that you wouldn’t want to miss. Taking the perfect travel photo, however, isn’t just a simple click. Sometimes, it can be challenging to Continue Reading

The post Travel Like A Pro, Take Travel Photos Like A Pro appeared first on Photodoto.

Photodoto

October 17, 2019
Instagram is rolling out new privacy features for third-party app authorizations

A number of third-party services allow users to link their Instagram accounts in order to access certain features, such as photo printing services that enable customers to directly order prints of their Instagram images. Going forward, Instagram is offering its users more control over these authorizations, including which services are connected and when they were authorized.

Instagram detailed the new control on its press blog this week, explaining that users can now pull up a list of third-party services that are actively authorized on one’s Instagram account by tapping Settings > Security > Apps and Websites.

The menu now displays ‘Active’ authorizations given to third-party services, including the name of the app, the date the link was authorized, direct links to the privacy policies for these linked services, and the ability to terminate the authorization by tapping a ‘Remove’ button.

Beyond that, Instagram has also launched a new authorization screen that appears in the Instagram app when third-party services request info from the user’s account. This screen shows the name of the third-party service, which profile information it is requesting, and what kind of data it wants access to. Instagram users will need to manually authorize or cancel the request.

According to Instagram, users will see these new features rolling out ‘gradually’ over the next six months.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 17, 2019
Hands-on with the Olympus E-M5 Mark III

Hands-on with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III

Meet the newest member of the Olympus Micro Four Thirds family: the OM-D E-M5 Mark III. Coming in more than four years after its predecessor was released, Olympus has really stepped up the specs of the E-M5 III, managing to fit an awful lot from its higher-end E-M1 Mark II into a much smaller overall package. Is it worth the wait? Let’s take a closer look and find out.

New sensor, autofocus system and stabilizer

To start, the E-M5 III comes with a new 20MP sensor and 121-point phase-detection autofocus system which are backed up by a new ‘Truepic VIII’ image processor, all of which are lifted from the E-M1 II. The resolution bump is welcome, of course, over the E-M5 II’s 16MP of resolution, but the older camera only utilized contrast-detection autofocus. The adoption of phase-detection should make the E-M5 III a more tempting option for users that want to photograph moving subjects.

There’s also an updated, more compact in-body image stabilizer, promising 5.5 stops of shake reduction with a non-stabilized lens, while putting on a stabilized lens gets you 6.5 stops using ‘Sync IS’. That means you should be able to hand-hold pretty slow shutter speeds and still get sharp results, so you can keep your ISO value down in low light or simply leave a tripod at home in some situations.

Lastly, the new sensor and AF system now allow the E-M5 III to fire at a maximum burst rate of 10 fps with full autofocus and auto exposure (and up to a 30 fps mode with manual focus), and Olympus claims equal tracking performance to the E-M1 Mark II. It also gains a Pro Capture mode, which captures 30fps bursts, but saves 15 of them prior to the moment you hit the shutter – a great feature for peak action moments.

Top-plate controls

The top plate of the camera has been extensively redesigned, and is far more similar in layout to that of the E-M1 II. The power switch is in the same place as the old model, but the mode dial is now on the right side of the viewfinder hump instead of the left, and the left shoulder adopts drive and display buttons that are also customizable.

Clip-on flash

Just like its predecessor, the E-M5 III has no built-in flash, but Olympus includes the FL-LM3 compact clip-on unit that allows for tilting and bouncing. The external design helps the camera stay smaller and better sealed, but the fact that it can articulate makes it much more versatile than a fixed or pop-up strobe that’s built in. It’s a really nice touch, and as an added bonus, the flash is advertised as being splash and dust resistant.

Rear controls

The E-M5 III’s rear control layout is actually pretty similar to the older model, which isn’t a bad thing – but the ‘Fn’ rocker switch is now textured for easier operation, and the top right thumb pad gains a dedicated ISO button. The screen is unchanged, coming in at 3″ and 1.04M dots. Olympus has added the ability to drag your finger around on the touchscreen to move your autofocus point while the camera is to your eye – and you can quickly enable or disable this feature by double-tapping. Pretty snazzy.

The viewfinder has seen some updates as well, including…

OLED Electronic viewfinder

…an increased eyepoint spec, which should make it easier for eyeglass-wearers to get the full view of the 2.36M-dot panel. Plus, that panel is now OLED, which is a welcome update to the previous model’s LCD tech thanks to greater contrast. Unfortunately, there has been a tradeoff – the magnification has fallen from approximately 0.74x to 0.68x.

Ports

Like the older model, the E-M5 III comes with a microphone port to get you better audio when recording video (and more on video very shortly), but no headphone port to monitor audio during recording. The other ports have been updated, though – gone is the proprietary USB / A/V-out connector (hooray!), and in its place are standard micro USB, micro HDMI and remote trigger ports. The camera can also be charged over its USB connection, but Olympus still includes a dedicated charger in the box, which we always like to see.

Video

The E-M5 III is, like Olympus’ other models, now capable of shooting 4K video at up to 30 frames per second with no crop. We haven’t yet been able to test its quality, but we expect it to look quite good. Even the lower-end E-M10 III can capture impressively detailed 4K footage, and the E-M5 III inherits that camera’s effective digital stabilizer on top of the already good in-body stabilizer to smooth out hand shake. It also gains a DCI 4K video mode from the E-M1 II, with a theoretical maximum bitrate of ~237Mbps.

If high-speed video is more your thing, the E-M5 III tops out at a respectable 1080/120p.

Battery

Olympus has changed the type of battery the E-M5 III uses; it’s now the BLS-50 unit that we first saw in the PEN-F, as opposed to the BLN-1 from the E-M5 II. It’s more of a packaging and design consideration than anything else, as the new battery’s capacity isn’t much diminished (1210mAh compared to 1220mAh and 8.7Wh rather than 9.3Wh), and CIPA-rated battery life is likewise unchanged at 310 shots. As with all CIPA ratings, you can expect to get more shots than that in real-world use, but this rating looks a bit low against the competition.

UHS-II card slot

Another welcome update is the inclusion of a UHS-II card slot, which should speed up write times with compatible cards. This isn’t especially common in this class of camera, and will come in handy if you’re using the 30 fps Pro Capture burst mode.

Weather-sealing

Although the older E-M5 II was also described as weather-sealed, the Mark III now gains the same official IPX1 rating that Olympus’ sports-shooting E-M1X earns. This technically means that it can withstand dripping water for 10 minutes, which may not sound super impressive, but the fact that these interchangeable lens cameras have ratings at all sets them apart from most of the market. Of course, we’re not advocating you go and run your brand-new E-M5 III under the tap, but it should stand up well to shooting in inclement weather or environments.

And that’s about it! We’ve long been fans of the E-M5 lineup, and we’re happy to see that Olympus has crammed plenty of updates and refinements into the Mark III, all while keeping the size similar and even losing a few grams of weight. After all, so many cameras are so capable these days, we generally expect to see refinements of already good cameras rather than revolutionary changes.

But what do you make of Olympus’ latest camera? Do you think it’s worth the wait? Let us know in the comments.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 17, 2019
Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III sample gallery

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We recently joined Olympus in Moab, Utah for some preliminary shooting with the OM-D E-M5 III. That’s why you’ll find plenty of classic American Southwest scenery among our first sample images taken with the newest Digital OM camera – see for yourself. We threw in a few shots from the Olympia, Washington area for good measure.

See our Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark III sample gallery

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

October 17, 2019