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  • European Union issues common rules on drones for more standardized regulation

    The European Aviation Safety Agency’s (EASA) logo as shown on its social media pages.

    On June 11th, common rules on European drones, Commission Delegated Regulation (EU) 2019/945 and Commission Implementing Regulation (EU) 2019/947, were published to ensure the safety and security of unmanned aircraft operations across countries in the European Union (EU) going forward. The European Aviation Safety Agency (EASA) wants to establish the free circulation of drones and a level playing field within the EU.

    ‘Europe will be the first region in the world to have a comprehensive set of rules ensuring safe, secure and sustainable operations of drones both, for commercial and leisure activities. Common rules will help foster investment, innovation and growth in this promising sector’ said Patrick Ky, Executive Director of EASA.

    The new set of rules will be uniform so that drone operators – both recreational and professional – will have a clear understanding of what is permitted and what is illegal. Each type of operation will be covered in detail, from those not requiring any permission to the most advanced performed by certified remote pilots. Minimum pilot training requirements will be established as well.

    Operators have a year to prepare for a new set of common drone rules that will transcend borders. Remotes pilots are currently required to abide by each country in the EU’s specific set of differing regulations. By eliminating confusion on a country-by-country basis, innovation and growth will flourish.

    ‘Once drone operators have received an authorisation in the state of registration, they are allowed to freely circulate in the European Union. This means that they can operate their drones seamlessly when travelling across the EU or when developing a business involving drones around Europe.’

    ‘Once drone operators have received an authorisation in the state of registration, they are allowed to freely circulate in the European Union. This means that they can operate their drones seamlessly when travelling across the EU or when developing a business involving drones around Europe,’ states EASA in a blog post.

    While the EU regulation will enter into force in the next 18 days, it will officially be applicable in one year. This gives Member States and operators time to prepare and implement it. As of June, 2020, drone operators will need to register in the Member State, where they have their residence, or their main place of business.

    There are some technical requirements as well. According to the same EASA blog post, new drones will have to be individually identifiable, allowing the authorities to trace a particular drone if necessary. A timeline of developments and applicability can be accessed on the EASA drone page.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Samsung project uses Galaxy S10+ to capture 943km panorama of Portugal’s coast

    Samsung Portugal has detailed a unique project that involved its Galaxy S10+ smartphone, a boat trip and the creation of a panorama featuring 943 kilometers (585 miles) captured from the cities Moledo to Monte Gordo. The panorama, which is available to view on Samsung’s website, was created from images of the coastline captured from the water over an eight-day trip.

    The Galaxy S10+ photography project boat trip involved José Gomes as skipper, Carlos Bernardo as ‘chronicler’ and André Carvalho as photographer. Entries from the trip’s logbook detailing each of the 8 days can be found—written in Portuguese—here. The final result is intended to highlight the flagship smartphone’s triple-lens camera, which Samsung refers to as ‘pro-grade.’

    This is one of many massive panoramas, past examples including a 600,000 pixel panorama of Tokyo and NASA’s 360-degree panorama of Mars published earlier this year.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Canon EOS 6D Mark II Review: Full-Frame King?

    Moving from the APS-C to the full-frame world can be a very intimidating thing to do. After all, you’re going to spend a significant amount of money; money you have most likely been saving up for quite some time. There are so many options out there, and we know you want to pick a camera that will give the most Continue Reading

    The post Canon EOS 6D Mark II Review: Full-Frame King? appeared first on Photodoto.


    Photodoto

  • Capture One Pro – Should You Make the Switch?

    The post Capture One Pro – Should You Make the Switch? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.

    This may be a familiar scenario? You’re on a shoot, and you’ve tethered your camera to Lightroom. Everything is going well, but you still have many shots to do. The clock is ticking, and you can feel the time crunch. Out of the blue, Lightroom crashes, and you have to unplug everything and restart your computer. All while your client is tapping their foot and breathing impatiently down your neck.

    Welcome to the reality of tethering in Lightroom.

    Now don’t get me wrong, Adobe Lightroom is a great program.

    I have used it for years. It’s a powerful database for your image files. Lightroom has excellent color management tools and other features, such as noise reduction and spot removal, that make it the only program that many photographers use. In fact, the speed and stability of tethering in Lightroom is one thing that has improved by leaps and bounds in 2019.

    But if you shoot a genre of photography that requires tethering, like food or still life, or if you’re a portrait photographer, you still may want to consider moving over to Capture One Pro (COP).

    For years, I personally resisted making this change. I didn’t want to learn yet another program or complicate my workflow. But when Lightroom kept crashing and freezing on a career-changing shoot with a big ad client, I decided to make the switch. As a still-life shooter, I find that COP is unbeatable.

    If you’re a pro-shooter, or semi-pro, I would say Capture One Pro is a must. If you’re a hobbyist, you still might find learning this image processor worth your while.

    This article is not meant to be a tutorial. Rather, I want to walk you through the features and benefits of using Capture One Pro. There are tons of resources online if you want to learn how to use the program, many of them found in Capture One Pro when you log onto the interface.

    What is Capture One?

    Capture One Pro is a RAW file editor and management system. It’s been around for about 20 years and is made by Phase One, a Danish manufacturer of open platform-based medium format cameras.

    The software supports Phase One’s own cameras of course, as well as over 400 DSLR’s, such as those made by Canon, Nikon, and Sony.

    In fact, COP has entered into a relationship with Sony. If you’re a Sony user, Capture One Express is a free imaging editor that comes with your camera that includes some of the essential editing and workflow features found in Capture One Pro.

    Getting started with Capture One

    The first thing to know when getting started with this software is that the interface is nothing like Lightroom. For those used to using Lightroom, Capture One Pro will be confusing to you.

    This is often what frustrates Lightroom users in the beginning, causing them to give up before they get started.

    There are many differences between the programs. What has become intuitive for you to do in Lightroom, may not work in COP.

    COP has the library features of Lightroom with the advantages of Photoshop to work in layers.

    It’s an all-in-one solution for many photographers.

    Advantages of using Capture One

    So why is Capture One worth a new learning curve? Let’s take a look:

    Superior tethering

    As you may have gleaned from the introduction, tethered shooting is incredibly stable in COP, whereas Lightroom is known to be super-glitchy.

    Another advantage is that COP has a built-in Live View function.

    If you’ve used the Live View function on your camera, you may have noticed that you can only use it in natural light, or when you’re using a constant light source like an LED or the modeling lamp on a monohead.

    However, Capture One offers a Live View function within the program itself.

    If you’re a food, product or still life photographer, this feature will drive your productivity through the roof. You and your stylists can make the incremental tweaks necessary in still life photography, all while viewing the components within the frame on a computer or laptop monitor.

    In addition, it has an Overlay feature. It allows you to upload cover art, such as a product packaging layout or a magazine cover, so you can make sure that your subject fits into the parameters required by the project.

    Sessions versus Catalogs

    Both Lightroom and Capture One Pro double as RAW photo editors and organization software for your image files. However, their organizational structures are not the same.

    Lightroom can open one Catalog at a time. These Catalogs can be divided into multiple Collections and Collection Sets.

    In COP, photos are organized into Sessions. These are ideal for separating single client sessions, and various collections. For example, stock photography or personal photos. This is a better approach to large sets of images.


    Similarly to Lightroom’s Collections, you can create Session Albums and move your images from several folders on your hard drive to a Favorite Session folder without physically moving them.

    COP creates an automatic folder structure within the Session. It creates four default folders every time you start a new session: Capture, Selects, Output, Trash.

    The Capture Folder contains all the images that were shot tethered or imported from your SD card. Once you make a selection of your favorite images, they will automatically be moved to the Selects Folder. If you want to delete specific images, they will be moved to the Trash folder by default. However, they are not permanently erased – you can move them back.

    The Output Folder is the folder where your exported images will be sent unless you choose a different folder.

    The power of Layers

    Capture One Pro offers the functionality of the Lightroom Library interface, with the power of Photoshop Layers.

    Both Lightroom and COP provide global adjustments that alter the entire image, as well as a set of tools for local adjustments you can apply to smaller portions of the image.

    However, COP includes the option to create local adjustments on multiple layers. Lightroom users have to switch from Lightroom to Photoshop to access multiple layer adjustments.

    COP’s layers options are less powerful than those in Photoshop but more powerful than Lightroom’s single layer tools.

    Sure, you can do some masking type of adjustments with Lightroom with the adjustment brush and other tools. After all, the adjustment tools in Lightroom have improved with every upgrade.

    But if you’ve made several adjustments and need to go back a few steps, remembering which adjustment you made can be confusing.

    With COP, you have a clear overview over of all the adjustments that you applied to the image.

    You can create radial masks and linear masks, and you can fill masks over the whole layer and erase parts of the mask. Also, you can create masks by luminosity, applying adjustments to only the highlights or shadows in your photo.

    Last but not least, you can change the opacity of these masks.

    For example, if you’ve have created a color treatment you had in mind, but the colors are too saturated and bold, you can turn down the opacity to reduce the strength of those colors. All while keeping your color treatment intact.



    Better color management

    There is so much flexibility when it comes to color management and color grading in COP.

    First of all, Capture One has individual color profiles for every camera. So, when you import the image files, you get something similar to the preview on the back of your LCD screen.

    Lightroom files, however, have a more neutral starting point. This is great for photographers who favor more muted palettes.

    Conversely, in COP, the colors look brighter and more vibrant before you make any adjustments. The adjustment options in both programs will give you similar results, but the starting point will be slightly different.

    The color tools in COP are also incredibly powerful and versatile.

    While Lightroom has the HSL (Hue-Saturation-Luminance) panel with sliders and RGB curves adjustments, COP offers a few more ways to work with color.

    You can use the Levels Tool, Tone Curve, Color Editor, or the Advanced Color Editor.

    The color options include shadow, mid-tone, and highlight adjustments for Color Balance and a channel dedicated just to adjusting skin tones. COP also has a luminance curves adjustment option.

    Some disadvantages to using Capture One

    One caveat to using Capture One is that as a less-popular image processor, there are far fewer options when it comes to supporting third-party products like presets and plug-ins.

    However, COP has a feature called Recipes, which are similar to presets.

    The other major disadvantage is cost.

    For US$ 10 a month, you can have both Lightroom and Photoshop.

    COP is US$ 20 USD a month if you choose the subscription option. It’s $ 180 USD if you pay for an entire year at once.

    Unlike Adobe, however, Capture One also offers the option to buy the latest version of the software outright for $ 299. Adobe now offers a subscription-based service only – much to the ire of many photographers.

    Take Capture Pro for a test run

    The best way to get started with Capture One Pro is to download the 30-day free trial and import some of your images from your hard drive.

    Set aside some time to go through the tutorials and really get to know the program. Think about how you might set up a workflow were you to make the switch from another RAW editor such as Lightroom.

    To sum up

    Like any program, there are advantages and disadvantages and there. There is no perfect program.

    The bottom line is that you want to make an informed choice. Hopefully this introduction to Capture one Pro has helped you understand some of its benefits.

    Do you use Capture One Pro or considering making the switch? Share your thoughts with us in the comments below.

     

    capture one pro - should you make the switch?

    The post Capture One Pro – Should You Make the Switch? appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Darina Kopcok.


    Digital Photography School

  • Hong Kong photojournalists attend press conference in riot gear following protests

    Yesterday, the Hong Kong Police Force (HKPF) witnessed an unusual sight as they held a press conference following a series of city-wide protests regarding a controversial extradition bill. Photographers and journalists who attended the meeting were clad in various riot and protest gear, including high-visibility vests, helmets, gas masks and more following a request from the Hong Kong Journalist Association as a means of meta-protesting the HKPF’s treatment of citizens and journalists throughout the month-long protests taking place in the city.

    The bill, officially called the ‘Fugitive Offenders and Mutual Legal Assistance in Criminal Matters Legislation (Amendment) Bill’ was first published by the Government of Hong Kong on March 29. Immediately, the bill faced backlash, as Hong Kong residents, civil rights organizations, journalist organizations and foreign governments fear the bill will require the city and its residents to abide by Chinese law and subsequently subject them to a China’s court system if suspected of a crime, even if the individual has never stepped foot on Chinese territory.

    Protests have been ongoing since the bill was first revealed, but on June 9, hundreds of thousands of protestors took to the streets of Hong Kong to object to the bill and call for for the resignation of Hong Kong Chief Executive Carrie Lam. In the days following, the Hong Kong Free Press has reported the HKPF has used excessive force on photojournalists, journalists and protestors, including the use of more than 150 rounds of tear gas and multiple instances of firing bean bags at protestors.

    The solidarity to show up to the press conference covered in riot gear came after the Hong Kong Journalist Association called upon the media to show up in protective gear, according to a report (tweet embedded above) from the Hong Kong Free Press.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • 10 Questions to Ask a Tour Operator Before Signing up for a Photography Tour

    The post 10 Questions to Ask a Tour Operator Before Signing up for a Photography Tour appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.

    The company has an entrancing website and bedazzling photos. The itinerary looks all-encompassing and the testimonials seem positive. You’re excited and have your credit card ready for the deposit.

    Slow down, partner.

    Before you hand over your money, it’s a good idea to ask a number of questions of the photography tour operator.

    Asking questions before paying for a photography tour is all about setting expectations – both yours and the operators. It’s also a chance to learn about the professionalism of the person or company you are signing up with.

    Here then are 10 key questions to help you with your tour choice.

    1. Do they have insurance? And what will it cover?

    Protecting yourself is important with any tour, and it’s important to know what your tour operator has in place before you sign up. With the proliferation of photographers jumping to offering tours, it’s possible not all have put serious thought into insurance matters.

    At the least, your operator should have insurance covering accidents during the trip – both ones they cause and ones out of their control.

    The reason operators may skimp on insurance is simple – it’s expensive. And that cuts into profits. It’s also often the reason two operators who offer roughly the same itinerary will differ in price by 10-20%. Make sure you are covered before paying your deposit.

    2. What is their guest to instructor ratio?

    Everyone has their own ideal when it comes to instructor-to-guest ratios. Some enjoy one-on-one instruction all the time, and others prefer a small group of maybe five or six. Still, others may love the anonymity of a large 15-person group so they can do their own thing without interference.

    I prefer groups no larger than six guests per instructor. This allows for some hands-on, one-on-one time. It also ensures the instructor is not being asked 5,000 questions while you wait for your chance.

    Also, realize that an instructor may have a low ratio, but the over-group size might be larger, meaning they may bring in other instructors to help out. This is usually not a problem, but if you are hoping to hear directly from the lead instructor who attracted you to the tour, be aware you might not get the amount of facetime you’re expecting.

    3. Is this a tour or workshop?

    What’s the difference between a workshop and a photo tour? Susan Portnoy has a good comparison on her site, The Insatiable Traveler.

    A tour is a chance to be guided through an area typically rich in photographic content. There is less direct hands-on instruction, moment to moment, and the subject matter can cover a large spectrum.

    A workshop, by contrast, is usually more hands-on and directed to a specific goal. An example of this is a one day workshop on street photography. Your instructor will be close at hand to make all those small course corrections and critiques needed for improvement.

    4. Do they have any other assignments during this trip or is this their only gig?

    I’ve run across this myself while taking a tour. The instructors brought us to a scenic overlook and then POOF! Gone.

    It turned out they had an assignment in that area. While they only headed off five minutes away, it was rather disconcerting to think I, and the other guests, were less important for that hour of ‘other work.’

    It’s important to also realize that having other work isn’t necessarily horrible for you. However, it’s important to know about it up front, and then you can decide if it is acceptable. Most of us are okay with some deviation if we know about it in advance.

    5. Will there be daily opportunities to review work?

    Some people love to have constant feedback and need that on their tour. While others could not care less because their art is a personal endeavor.

    If you want regular feedback, ask about it. Again, it’s about setting expectations, so you’re not disappointed when your needs aren’t being met.

    Sometimes the reviews are just back-of-camera check-ins to see what you’re seeing and offer correction or encouragement. Or maybe you want an hour of the instructor’s time every three nights in front of a laptop so you can get more in-depth critiques. Either way, know before you go.

    6. Why do they run tours to this location?

    This is a big question that should be easy for any operator to answer. I believe the best answer is, “Because I love the area/region/country!” Often, the answer in the background is, “Because it is highly profitable or super popular.”

    There’s nothing wrong with making a profit or leading tours to popular spots, but I feel it is important to know why the operator is running the tours they run. If it’s for the love of an area, you’re more likely to get hard-to-acquire information, background details, and unique locations. Experience certainly matters in the photography tour business for access to hidden experiences.

    7. What is their cancelation policy?

    This item is pretty straightforward. You should ask this for tours, workshops or any time you are plopping down a large sum of cash for a service. Do they offer full refunds? What is the deadline for canceling without a fee? Do they offer to reschedule if extenuating circumstances or family health are involved?

    What about the operator canceling a tour? Will they try to rebook you with another, similar operator? How quickly will they offer a return of all funds?

    8. What is a typical day like?

    The advertisements and website you researched looked incredible! Beautiful images and exotic locations abound in that slick presentation.

    But what will it really be like when you’re on the tour? Sure, no two days will be the same if you’re traveling all around. However, it is important to understand if you’ll be on a bus for five hours each day or if dinner is planned without thought to sunset timing each night. It’s often the difference between a photo tour and a regular tour.

    In my mind, a photo tour should be a balance of exposure to opportunities with time to reflect and take a break. Food is also very important to keep energy up for shooting all day. If you’re always on the move, you won’t have time for photos. If your itinerary covers too much ground, you’ll see a lot of things through car or bus windows without many opportunities.

    Pacing can be essential during a week or two-week long tour. If every day is packed with 18 hours of photography and instruction, you’re going to be exhausted by Day 3. Flexibility is also important so that one event taking extra time doesn’t make the rest of the day’s itinerary crumble.

    9. How much instruction can you expect?

    This question is also a chance to make your expectations known. If you want hand-holding the whole time, and have barely touched a camera, let the operator know so they can decide if the trip will be a good fit.

    Perhaps you have a particular skill set you want to develop. Letting the operator know early will help them prepare, and both of you can work on a simple plan to help you improve during the tour. Everyone on your trip will have different aspects of photography they want to improve. Expressing your desires will help all involved.

    10. Do they handle all logistics or work with local operators?

    This is another question that has no right or wrong answer, but it’s important to know in setting your expectations. Some operators, to increase profits or because they desire more control, will want to book all the hotels, events, admissions, etc., themselves. This can also lead to a lower cost for guests. But it can also lead to the operator taking more time away from instructing.

    On the other hand, an operator who hires a local guide or tour company should have more time for instructing. It can also help to have a local when things go sideways, and a deep understanding of local customs and protocol is essential. It allows for a division of labor; the local guide can go ahead and check the group into a hotel and have rooms ready while the group continues to soak up a particularly beautiful sunset.

    Conclusion

    Many of the questions I posed here have no right or wrong answer. However, I feel they are all important to ask in setting expectations before investing time and money in a tour. Asking them can also help expose a guide who is not organized or ready to take a group on a trip due to lack of diligence.

    Can you think of other important questions to ask? We’d love to hear them in the comments section below.

     

    photography tour questions

    The post 10 Questions to Ask a Tour Operator Before Signing up for a Photography Tour appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Peter West Carey.


    Digital Photography School

  • Sony adds Animal Eye AF to the a6400 with new 2.00 firmware update

    Sony has released firmware version 2.00 for its a6400 mirrorless camera, bringing with it Animal Eye AF, support for the RMT-P1BT wireless remote commander and other improvements to help with stability.

    It’s been roughly two months since Sony launched firmware updates for its a7R III and a7 III, which brought with them, amongst other things, Sony’s new Animal Eye AF. Now, Sony has brought the system to its crop sensor mirrorless cameras.

    As a refresher, Animal Eye AF is an autofocus mode that uses AI-trained algorithms to find and focus on the eyes of wild animals and pets. It works with AF-C focus mode and is activated when the shutter is half-pressed or when assigned to the AF-ON button.

    As with the firmware updates for the a7R III and a7 III, Animal Eye AF can’t be used at the same time as Human Eye AF and, due to the extra processing power required to get the job done, it won’t be nearly as fast as the Human Eye AF. Sony has put together a full documentation page detailing the intricacies of Animal Eye AF.

    Firmware version 2.00 has also added support for Sony’s RMT-P1BT wireless remote commander and a number of other bug fixes that improve the overall stability and functionality of the a6400.

    Firmware version 2.00 can be downloaded from Sony UK’s website for macOS and Windows computers. Installation instructions can be found on the respective download pages.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • DPReview TV: Shooting with the Fujifilm 200mm F2 in Japan

    While on assignment in Japan, Chris and Jordan had a couple days to shoot with the Fujifilm XF 200mm F2 telephoto lens, which Chris nicknamed ‘The Big White Sharp’. To make things more interesting, Jordan filmed this entire episode using the new Fujifilm GFX 100 medium format camera.

    Get new episodes of DPReview TV every week by subscribing to our YouTube channel!

    • Introduction
    • Greetings from Japan
    • Samples
    • Design and handling
    • Sharpness
    • Autofocus
    • Video performance
    • Who's it for?
    • Wrap-up

    Sample gallery from this episode:

    $ (document).ready(function() { SampleGalleryV2({“containerId”:”embeddedSampleGallery_5715796182″,”galleryId”:”5715796182″,”isEmbeddedWidget”:true,”selectedImageIndex”:0,”isMobile”:false}) });
    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • We’re hiring! DPReview is looking for a Software Development Engineer and Senior Product Manager

    We’re looking to add a Software Development Engineer and a Senior Product Manager to our team! Each role is uniquely positioned to help shape the future of the site. The Senior Product Manager will own DPReview’s product roadmap, working closely with our engineering and editorial teams. The Software Development Engineer will help build the next generation of web and mobile experiences for DPReview, shaping products from concept to delivery.

    If you’re passionate about photography and ready to help build the future of DPReview, take a look at the full job descriptions linked below and learn how to apply.

    Apply now: Senior Product Manager

    Apply now: Software Development Engineer

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Shiftcam returns to Kickstarter with a 12mm aspherical smartphone lens

    Most current high-end smartphones come with multi-camera modules with integrated ultra-wide-angles that typically offer an equivalent focal length of approximately 16mm, but if you need something even wider, or are using an older single-camera phone, Shiftcam’s latest offering could be worth a closer look.

    The company, which has previously completed several successful smartphone lenses on Kickstarter, is back on the crowdfunding platform, this time with a 12mm ultra wide aspherical lens.

    Like other lenses in the Shiftcam Pro line, the 12mm can be attached to iPhones via a specific case or to all other phones with a universal lens mount. The company also offers a counterweight for use on gimbals and a filter adapter.

    The lens itself features six elements in four groups. The body is made from aluminum, the front element comes with a nano-coating to reduce flare and Shiftcam says the lens is practically distortion-free.

    Pledges start at $ 89 for the early-bird lens and mount and go up all the way to $ 299 for the entire Shiftcam Pro lens kit. The funding goal has already been exceeded multiple times, so the project will go ahead. Delivery is estimated for August 2019. You can find more information including a full list of compatible device’s on the project’s Kickstarter page.

    Disclaimer: Remember to do your research with any crowdfunding project. DPReview does its best to share only the projects that look legitimate and come from reliable creators, but as with any crowdfunded campaign, there’s always the risk of the product or service never coming to fruition

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)