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Hands-on with new Sony FE 600mm F4 GM OSS and FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS

Hands-on with new Sony telephoto lenses

Sony has just released two new lenses, aimed at sports and wildlife photographers. The FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS is aimed squarely at enthusiast and semi-pro users, while the FE 600mm F4 GM OSS joins the FE 400mm F2.8 GM at the top of Sony’s professional lens lineup. We were given the opportunity to shoot with both lenses recently at a Sony event in New Jersey – click through for some initial impressions, and more information.

Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS

The FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS is aimed at enthusiast and semi-professional photographers, especially fans of wildlife and sports shooting. As well as full-frame cameras, Sony expects some buyers to pair this lens with the company’s range of APS-C models, at which point it covers an equivalent focal range of 300-900mm.

One of the selling points of the 200-600mm compared to other lenses of its kind is an internal zoom design, which means that the lens doesn’t get any larger when zoomed through its focal length range. This has advantages when it comes to balancing the lens for handheld shooting, and also reduces the risk of dust and grit being sucked in during zooming.

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

The G 200-600mm is equipped with optical stabilization, controllable in 3 modes. Mode 1 is standard, suitable for general photography. Mode 2 is specifically for panning, and according to Sony, Mode 3 provides ‘optimum stabilization for dynamic sports action’.

This shot also shows the main OSS on/off switch, and the 3-position focus limiter, which helps reduce unwanted lens hunting in situations where you can safely keep the lens within a certain focus range (i.e., capturing birds at a feeder, or aircraft at close to infinity).

The 200-600mm’s minimum focus distance is 2.4m (~8 feet). This might not seem impressive, but it’s in the same ballpark as other lenses of this type from competitive manufacturers. Autofocus is driven by a linear direct drive SSM motor, which in our time with the lens provides very fast and near-silent AF in normal lighting situations (tested on an a9).

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

Optical construction of the 200-600mm comprises 24 elements in 17 groups, with one aspherical lens and five ED elements. An 11-bladed aperture ensures circular bokeh even as you stop down modestly, an advantage this lens has over its 9-blade counterparts from competitors. Without the tripod foot attached, the lens weighs 2.1 kg (4.6 lb) which is very slightly heavier than competitive lenses from the likes of Nikon, Sigma and Tamron.

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

Here’s that tripod foot, which can be quickly unscrewed and detached for handheld shooting, or stowage.

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

A large, deep hood is provided to help protect the front element from flare (and rain). While the G-series aren’t guaranteed to offer quite the same resistance to the elements as the more expensive G Master lenses, the 200-600mm is extensively weather sealed.

The G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 will be available in August, for $ 2,000.

Sony FE 600mm F4 GM OSS

The FE 600mm F4 GM OSS is aimed at professional photographers, and joins the FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS at the very top of Sony’s lens lineup, offering the best optical technologies that the company is capable of creating. Sony’s G Master series is designed according to the principle of ‘no compromise’ and we’re told that when it comes to autofocus speed, the FE 600mm F4 should be able to keep up with the autofocus speeds of future generations of Alpha-series interchangeable lens cameras. Put simply, the lens is capable of even faster autofocus communications and speeds than are currently possible with the company’s flagship a9 camera.

Offering an equivalent focal length of 900mm on APS-C, the 600mm F4 can be used on all Sony E-mount cameras, and has been designed to work with Sony’s 1.4X and 2X teleconverters without a significant penalty to either AF speed or sharpness.

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

The GM 600mm F4 is the smallest and lightest lens of its kind currently on the market – just edging out the Canon EF 600mm F4 III at 3,040g (6.7 lb) compared to 3,050g. Like the GM 400mm F2.8, the weight of the lens is mostly concentrated towards the rear, which means that despite its size, the lens can be hand-held for short periods of time without being unmanageable. The lightweight construction is partly achieved thanks to the extensive use of magnesium alloy in the body shell.

Despite its relatively light weight, the 600mm F4 has a complex optical construction, made up of 24 elements in 18 groups, including a 40.5mm drop-in filter. This is compared to 17 elements in 13 groups from Canon’s EF 600mm F4 III. Of these 24 elements, three are fluorite, and two are ED glass. Just like the 200-600mm, the 600mm F4 features an 11-bladed aperture, meaning it can retain circular bokeh as you stop down better than its 9-bladed competitors.

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

The GM 600mm F4 is intended to be used alongside the GM 400mm F2.8. As such, all of the major controls are identical, and can be found in the same places. This is to ensure that life is as easy as possible for a photographer swapping between them at (say) a sporting event. Even the focus rings of the two lenses are the same size and the same distance away from the camera body.

This view also shows the tripod foot tensioning screw, and a dedicated strap lug. While the weight of the 600mm F4 can probably be supported by the lens-mount of an Alpha-series camera for short periods of time, this is not advisable. The rotating tripod ring can be ‘declicked’ if required, and a security wire can be connected to a dedicated socket in the foot (not pictured) to secure it against theft.

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

The GM 600mm F4 has a minimum focus distance of 4.5m (14.7 ft) which is slightly longer than the 4.2m (13.7 ft) minimum focus of its nearest competitor, Canon’s EF 600mm F4 III.

Autofocus throughout the 600mm F4’s focus range is swift and accurate (tested on an a9), thanks to dual XD linear motors, similar to the ones found in the 400mm F2.8. These provide the power required to drive the relatively large, heavy focusing group across its range extremely quickly. In the relatively low light of an artificially-lit sports arena, the 600mm performed very well in our limited testing, even when paired with a 1.4X teleconverter.

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

Here’s the 40.5mm drop-in filter, which is an integral part of the lens’ optical makeup. The filter size is the same in both the GM 600mm F4 and the GM 400mm F2.8.

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

This view shows (R-L) the wide and deep focus ring, the ‘adjustment ring’ and one of the four focus hold buttons which are standard on professional lenses of this kind. The adjustment ring is effectively a ‘nudge’ control which can be customized to perform various actions, one of the most useful for sports photographers being a ‘focus position recall’, to quickly jump to a preset ‘home’ focus position of your choosing.

Hands-on with new Sony GM 600mm F4 and G 200-600mm F5.6-6.3

The Sony FE 600mm F4 GM OSS will be available in August for $ 13,000.

Sony FE 600mm F4 GM OSS sample gallery

Sony FE 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS sample gallery

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 12, 2019
7Artisans 60mm F2.8 APS-C macro lens for mirrorless cameras now available

Chinese company 7Artisans has launched the 60mm F2.8 APS-C macro lens that first appeared earlier this year. The new manual focus lens features a minimum 26cm (10in) focusing distance, F2.8 to F16 aperture, 8 elements in 7 groups, a 39mm filter size, de-clicked aperture ring, and 550g (19.4oz) weight.

The new 7Artisans macro lens is made from aluminum alloy and supports extension attachments for shooting 2:1 and 3:1 macro images. 7Artisans says its new lens offers ‘excellent image quality at infinity and 1:1 macro conditions.’ Below is a collection of sample images provided by 7Artisans:

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The new 7Artisans model is available for Canon EOS M, Canon EOS RF, Fujifilm X, MFT, Nikon Z and Sony E mounts.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 12, 2019
Why You Need a Digital Photo Frame
The post Why You Need a Digital Photo Frame appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

One of the unsung heroes of modern photography is the tried-and-true digital photo frame. These simple devices have been around for years, and yet they are rarely discussed in photography circles. With huge televisions adorning our walls, and smartphones stuffed into our pockets, one might wonder why there is any reason to own a digital photo frame. In the past few years, I have grown to greatly appreciate these devices, and I have realized how valuable, useful, and downright practical they are. If you or someone you know needs a good solution to viewing photos, a digital frame might be just what you’re looking for.

When digital frames first came on the market back in the mid-2000s, they were a great idea severely hampered by bad technology. Bezels were huge, the screens were small, and the images were dim and blurry. Setting up frames required toiling through a myriad of menus with nonsensical buttons and on-screen context clues.

Adding images to a digital frame was an exercise in frustration and required many steps on the part of the user. Plus, transitions between pictures were garish and often unbecoming of the memories on display.

It’s no wonder most people have stopped thinking about digital frames!

If this sounds like you, you’re not alone.

I was in the same boat until recently. However, the more I investigated what modern technology offers, the more impressed I became. In contrast to their counterparts from a decade ago, today’s digital frames have bright displays, show large high-resolution photos, are thin and sleek, and cost less than you might think. They often have cloud-based interfaces, offer companion smartphone apps, and can even show video clips.

The Nixplay Seed Wave has a large screen and wi-fi connectivity.

One-Trick Pony

One of the best reasons to get a digital frame isn’t because of what they can do, but what they can’t do. It seems silly to have yet another device in a world where screens already surround us, but the digital frames eschew the traditional idea of a computer screen by turning it on its head. They follow the adage of doing one thing and doing it well.

Most digital frames don’t let you do anything but view pictures. And this is precisely what makes them so great. They don’t run thousands of apps, let you surf social networks, or make video calls. They don’t play games, won’t let you binge-watch Netflix or YouTube, and don’t bombard you with notifications.

Digital frames sit there, passively doing only one thing: showing your pictures.

The Aura Digital Photo Frame has facial-recognition built into its companion app and a touchscreen for navigating options.

In an era where every device and gadget continually begs for our attention, digital frames are like an oasis in the middle of the desert. It’s downright refreshing to see a bright digital frame sitting on a shelf, knowing you can’t do anything with it other than look at pictures.

You don’t have to worry about software updates, and your viewing experience isn’t cluttered with dozens of icons and bubbles vying for your attention. In a media-saturated world, digital frames are a great way to slow down and enjoy, appreciate, and reflect on your pictures without distraction.

Some smart appliances like the Amazon Echo Show and Google Nest Hub act as photo frames, but I prefer the simplicity and focus of a dedicated frame. Other devices like that are nice, but the features they offer can often distract you from just enjoying your photos.

Advanced frames like the Google Nest Hub Max do lots of things, but I prefer simpler frames that don’t have built-in cameras, digital assistants, or alert bubbles begging for your attention.

To print or not to print

Like many people, my wife and I have struggled for years with the question of what to do about getting prints made of our pictures. We’ve made yearbooks that adorn our end tables, mounted framed snapshots on dressers, and festooned our walls with large prints and canvases. These are great, and we enjoy them a great deal, but every one of them eventually grows old over time.

When that inevitably happens, we have to consider what to do next. Do we keep the old prints around? Do we put up new images in place of what was once there? There are also practical concerns, like where to get prints made, what size to make them, and what happens when our favorite photo book publisher goes out of business?

We enjoy seeing prints as much as anyone, but the logistical hassles have added layers of stress and indecision onto what should be an enjoyable process.

The Pix-Star 15-inch frame lets you see your photos without printing them.

A digital frame solves almost all of these problems. Our 8×10″ Nixplay Seed sits in our living room showing a massive assortment of images without any effort from us. In the course of a single day, we see photos of family vacations, our kids when they were infants, and old slides that we scanned from negatives. We don’t have to think about switching photos out, spend entire evenings trying to decide which images are worth printing, or wonder whether a particular photo is worthy of being displayed for all to see.

Of course, there are still plenty of reasons to get pictures printed. But if you want a simple way to enjoy your pictures without the hassle of making physical copies, a digital frame might be right for you.

As is the case with most digital gadgets these days, storage space is not the same constraint as it used to be. Many frames have internal storage of at least 8GB, which is enough for almost 10,000 images. If that’s not enough, you can look for one with a removable memory card slot to add even more space.

Modern digital frames have more than enough storage space for your pictures. Unlike your walls and bookshelves, which can quickly fill up with physical prints.

Image quality

If you think that displaying your images on a digital frame means sacrificing overall quality, think again. This might have been true in 2005, but now, frames are leaps and bounds beyond where they used to be. As recently as a few years ago, many frames had resolutions of about 72 or 96dpi – similar to that of older computers.

This resolution is fine if you’re viewing your images from a distance, as often is the case when using frames in a household setting. However, frames today often have much higher pixel densities or anywhere between 150-300dpi that put them on par with most laptop screens and even that of some mobile phones.

This means that your images, even when viewed up close, are as crisp and sharp as you would see if you got them printed and you’ll be able to make out every detail from wisps of hair to blades of grass.

Aura makes a 9.7-inch frame with 2048×1536 resolution, which shows your memories in crisp, clear detail.

Most modern digital frames use bright screens that are now viewable from any angle, unlike older versions which required you to stand in the right spot to see your images. Your pictures appear bright and colorful, and some digital frames even let you show video clips alongside your images.

Worry-free sharing

With all the recent problems regarding data privacy on social network sites like Instagram and Facebook, it’s no wonder so many people are deleting their accounts! If you, or your friends and family, are limiting your social media usage but still want to see pictures of the important things in your life, a digital frame is just the answer. To illustrate this, I’m going to use my in-laws as an example.

My wife’s parents aren’t on any social media at all, and they prefer to spend their time reading, gardening, walking the dogs, and going out with friends. This means they don’t get to see any pictures of their grandchildren unless we send them physical prints, which they have to find a spot to display. A few months ago, my wife and I bought them a digital photo frame and have since populated it with well over a thousand images of us and our kids.

Do you have friends or family members who aren’t on social media? Get them a digital frame and fill it with photos for them to enjoy.

We shared their frame information with other family members who have also sent pictures to the frame. My wife’s parents love it! The frame sits in their living room, showing photos of the people they love without any effort on their part. And, they didn’t have to join a social network or share any personal data.

If you have people in your life who are concerned about data-mining and privacy, consider a digital frame as a happy medium. It allows you to share pictures on a more limited and intentional basis than sites like Instagram or Flickr. But the tradeoff is, you are in full control of the images, and none of your personal information is sold to third-parties for advertising.

This simple Tenker 7-inch frame, and others like it, won’t send your photos off to be analyzed for advertising.

Tips

Here’s a few more tips that might help you with digital frames.
- Set your display to change pictures less often. Every hour or less is much better than every 30 seconds. It will seem slow at first, but you’ll get a lot more enjoyment in the long term. You won’t feel like you’re seeing the same images over and over.
- Export your photos to the resolution of your frame to save on storage space. Sending a 24-megapixel image to a 3-megapixel frame won’t do you any good at all.
- Set your friends and family up with sharing permissions so they can send you photos. Then make sure to return the favor and send photos to their frames too.
- You can build your own photo frame with a cheap Android tablet and some software, but I recommend getting an off-the-shelf model. It’s just easier and will probably make your life a lot simpler in the long run.
- Most modern frames have built-in memory but also sync with cloud storage options like Dropbox and Google Drive. You might have to configure a few settings, but it can make the already-easy process of sending pictures even simpler.
Do you use a digital photo frame? Or, are there reasons why you don’t? Feel free to share with us in the comments below.

The post Why You Need a Digital Photo Frame appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Simon Ringsmuth.

Digital Photography School
June 12, 2019
OPPO patents foldable phone with pop-up camera

Back in February at the 2019 Mobile World Congress, we saw the launch of a new form factor for smartphones: several manufacturers showed phones with folding displays, including Samsung with the Galaxy Fold and Huawei with the Mate X.

OPPO’s foldable prototype got less media coverage but the company had already filed for a foldable-phone-patent with the World Intellectual Property Office (WIPO) back in October 2018. Now the patent has been published, including several design sketches and full color renders.

The new design’s stand-out feature is the pop-up camera that allows for reduced bezel sizes and means that pictures and videos can be recorded in both in the phone’s folded and unfolded states. Additionally, the camera hardware could be used for selfie-shooting although camera control and image processing would likely have to be modified for front camera use.

As this is a design patent no specs are available but, like with the MWC prototype, the screen folds outwards and there’s also a 3.5mm headphone jack.

Samsung’s foldable phone has been delayed indefinitely due to technical issues and the Mate X has not made it into shops yet. This said, it’s likely a temporary delay and it’s only question of time before consumers will hold foldable phones in their hands. We are looking forward to seeing how other manufacturers will design camera implementations for the new form factor and how the design can help take mobile photography to the next step.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 12, 2019
Skylum Luminar 3.1.1 update brings speed improvements and new features

Skylum has updated its photo editing software Luminar to version 3.1.1, bringing improvements and new features to both the Windows and Mac versions of the application. The company says the new version of its software improves navigation on Windows and Mac by enabling users to right-click on an image and go straight to the folder in which it is stored.

For Windows users, right-clicking on an image also now presents the option to view other images that were taken on the same day. Skylum presents these two features as a way to easily find other content that may be related to a current project, such as other images taken during the same photo shoot.

For Mac users, Luminar version 3.1.1 can create albums faster and now supports changing the software’s language independent of the operating system’s settings. Both the Windows and Mac versions of the software have received launch time improvements, as well, drastically reducing the software’s startup time.

Luminar version 3.1.1 is available now. Windows users can find the update by clicking ‘Help > Check for update’ in the top toolbar; Mac users can update by clicking ‘Check for updates’ in the Luminar 3 menu option in the system’s top bar.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 12, 2019

‘Future lenses for today’: Sony’s Yasuyuki Nagata talks high-end optics

Yasuyuki Nagata, Head of Sony’s global Interchangeable Lens business, pictured at the press event where US journalists got our first look at the new G Master 600mm F4.

We were in New Jersey recently, for the unveiling of two new Sony lenses – the G Master 600mm F4 OSS, and the more enthusiast-focused 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G OSS. During the event, we spent some time with Yasuyuki Nagata, head of Sony’s global interchangeable lens business, to discuss the new products, and Sony’s approach to mirrorless lens development.

These products use technologies developed for the 400mm F2.8 – how has that product performed in the market?

The sales have been much higher than we expected – more than double. We thought at the first stages of development for the lens that there were only a few people who would shoot sports with our products – for example only Alpha 9 users, or photographers who shoot smaller small sporting events. But after we launched the 400mm, we have seen demand from many of the top sports photographers working at large events.

Do you have a sense of how many professional photographers are using that lens, versus enthusiasts?

Almost 70% of the [customer base] for that lens are professionals. But we have prioritized allocation for agency photographers. Availability is still capped – there is a long waiting list.

Who do you see as the target market for the new lenses?

Compared to the 400mm, the 600mm is more targeted at high-end amateurs. Photographers that shoot birds, wildlife, aircraft. Maybe 70-80% will be wildlife photographers. That’s why the market is bigger for the 600mm than the 400mm.

The 200-600 will appeal to the same audience [to some extent] but some people who use those kinds of lenses will use them with APS-C cameras. To get more reach.

The new GM 600mm F4 is a big lens, but it’s the lightest in its class, coming in at just 10g less than the similarly-styled Canon EF 600mm F4 III

What are the specific differences between the two new lenses that account for the difference between ‘G’ and ‘GM’?

With G Master lenses we always include the latest, innovative technologies. We never compromise. Always the latest technologies. With the 200-600mm, there are some compromises, for example in the materials, or the body. We didn’t use magnesium-alloy, or the [newer XD linear autofocus] actuator.

The key concept is ‘future lenses for today’

Affordability is also important for the G series, to expand the size of the market. And sometimes it’s practicality. We don’t actually need to use the XD linear actuators with a small focusing group for example [like the one in the 200-600mm].

What were the major priorities for the design of the 600mm?

Basically we’re targeting the best of the best. Without compromise. Every time we plan to make a G Master series lens, we aim for ‘no competition’. Which means the highest spec. We don’t compromise on anything. Autofocus, image quality, light weight. What I mean by that is we develop new technologies every time. So there’s not a particular standard for G Master, we just include innovative technologies every time. Technologies that didn’t exist before.

We’re always listening to our professionals. And after we launched the 400mm, a lot of professionals told us they wanted a 600mm. We also consider camera bodies that will come in the future as well. The key concept is ‘future lenses for today’.

All of the main controls on the 600mm F4 are the same size, and in the same position as those on the 400mm F2.8. This is deliberate, and intended to make it as easy as possible for photographers to use the lenses alongside one another at events.

So when you’re designing a lens like this are you planning for even more focus calculations per second and faster frame rates than the a9 can achieve, for example?

Yes.

If we assume that this is a lens that will be used by a lot of a9 photographers, what kind of camera do they want next?

They always request more speed, less weight, greater usability. I think that every professional photographer wants something different. We gather all those voices and we use that feedback to plan what we should do.

When you develop a lens like the 200-600mm, how important is the requirement for video shooting?

It must support video functions. Convergence from the video side is a very obvious trend, even in the US market. That’s why we use linear action autofocus actuators. Part of it is mechanics, and part of it is optics.

The integration with our camera bodies is much better than our competitors

In zooms we’re always trying to reduce focus breathing for example, and axial shift. All of the characteristics in zooms which [can] make it a challenge to use them for video.

How would you summarize the competitive advantages of these new lenses compared to existing products on the market?

If you shoot seriously, the 600mm is for you. The spec of the lens itself, its weight and its resolution is perhaps almost the same [as the current best competitive alternative]. But the integration with our camera bodies is much better than our competitors, I think. So if photographers want to maximize the performance of their camera body, they should use this lens. At this moment, there is no competition to the Alpha 9. Its performance is the best.

The 200-600mm is a more comfortable lens to carry, at a reasonable price. We want many customers to use the 200-600mm. And we made it compatible with our tele-converters. We want to expand that field.

The 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 is a pretty long lens, but a lot of that length is the removable hood. Unlike most lenses of its kind though, the zoom is internal, so it doesn’t get longer when zoomed in.

How much difference does the body make to lens focus performance? For example if someone is using a first generation Sony Alpha 7, how different will their experience of this lens be to someone using an a9?

It will be a totally different experience. We’re always saying that we try to see the future of cameras, and this lens is capable of much [faster] performance than the current specs of the a9. So this lens will be able to keep up with the next generation. It has much more potential [than the specifications of the current generation cameras].

Is the speed of electronic communication between the camera and lens a big part of that?

Yes. We hear some manufacturers talking a lot about the number of channels of communication between camera and lens, but if the autofocus actuators in the lens can’t keep up, it doesn’t matter.

The biggest challenge is keeping the size and weight down

When we design lenses we’re always thinking about the camera bodies. Compatibility between the mechanical parts, electrics, even software. These lenses are designed specifically for our mirrorless cameras.

What are the major challenges in making such a small, lightweight lens with such a fast autofocus actuator?

The biggest challenge is keeping the size and weight down. The optical components are determined largely by [the constraints of] optical physics. There aren’t any magic technologies to reduce the size of optical elements, and the diameter of the elements can’t be reduced because it determines the F number. The electronic parts on the other hand, like the autofocus unit, we can introduce innovative technologies which make the difference. Size and weight is the most difficult thing.

This schematic shows the weight distribution of the older 400mm F2.8 compared to the last-generation 500mm F4 for the DSLR A-mount. The new 600mm F4, like the 400mm, concentrates is weight towards the center-rear of the lens, which helps a lot when shooting with a monopod or for hand-held work.

What does Sony need to do with its optical lineup to become the number one manufacturer in terms of sales?

I can’t disclose future plans, but there are a lot of opportunities, both on the telephoto side and the wide-angle side. Every segment of the lineup, there are opportunities to expand.

What is the attachment rate for teleconverters with the 400mm F2.8?

It’s at least 10%. Teleconverter compatibility was a big priority with these new 200-600mm and 600mm lenses.

Clearly the GM line is where the premium technologies are introduced – will they filter down into consumer products?

It’s possible, depending on timing. Over time we’ll introduce new technologies, and then the [existing] technologies will cascade down, one by one. Lenses are on the market for a long time, not like bodies which can launch every couple of years. But lenses it’s easily more than five years. It’s very hard to compare the camera and lens markets.

You talk about these lenses as being designed for the next generation of cameras – how long do you think these lenses will stand as benchmark performers?

Much longer [than camera bodies], I think maybe about 10 years.

Editor’s note: Barnaby Britton

When I last spoke to Mr. Nagata in 2017, he spoke of the increasing importance of professional photographers to Sony, and his ‘dream’ of seeing Sony cameras and lenses at the Tokyo Olympics in 2020. With the new G Master 600mm F4, he and his designers have taken one step further towards that goal, providing a lens which – like the G Master 400mm F2.8 – represents an almost symbolic position in any ‘serious’ camera system’s lens portfolio. It’s clearly very important to Sony that the brand is taken seriously by professional sports and wildlife photographers, and with lenses like these – and cameras like the all-powerful a9 the company is making a very strong case.

In my opinion, the a9 is the most effective camera on the market today for shooting sports. A lot of people will argue the point, but I think the technical evidence, if you care to go looking for it, is clear. That doesn’t mean that overnight, professionals will ditch their Canon and Nikon gear for Sony, of course. Without the lenses – and the professional service support – that they need, the a9 is little more than a curiosity. According to Mr Nagata, the entire concept of the G Master lens lineup is ‘future lenses for today’. This means two things. Firstly, that the lenses should offer the kind of image quality which won’t look out of date in a number of years, and secondly, that they’ll be able to keep up with – and take advantage of – future Sony camera technologies.

Older D/SLR lenses were not designed for 20fps capture using on-sensor phase-detection autofocus

The a9 is a seriously powerful camera, capable of communicating with compatible lenses at a rate of sixty times per second, but at some point it will be replaced by something even more powerful, with a higher sensor resolution, and capable of even greater performance. A lens like the G Master 600mm F4, with its twin high-speed ‘extreme dynamic (XD)’ linear focus motors, has to be designed with this kind of development in mind.

While Mr. Nagata is perfectly candid that in terms of image quality and basic specs alone, it might look similar to existing lenses from other manufacturers (the newest version of Canon’s EF 600mm F4 being the most obvious reference point), those older D/SLR lenses were not designed for 20fps capture using on-sensor phase-detection autofocus. ‘No competition’ indeed…

Slightly further down the lineup, the 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 is a more mass-market lens. Despite its lower positioning, it’s actually likely to be more important to, and more widely used by, enthusiast photographers and DPReview readers. It’s not a small lens, but the internal zoom and focus keep it relatively compact when out and about, and in my experience of shooting with it, the versatility – and sharpness – is impressive. This is the kind of lens that Sony has to release, in order to ‘expand the size of the market’ and hit Canon and Nikon where it hurts – in the high-end enthusiast market segment.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 11, 2019

DPReview TV: Hands-on with Sony’s new super-telephoto lenses
Chris and Jordan, along with Senior Editor Barney Britton, traveled to New York for a hands-on look at Sony’s newest super-telephoto lenses: the FE 200-600 F5.6-6.3 G OSS and the FE 600mm F4 GM OSS. Find out what they think so far, and vote to tell us who shot the best sample images.

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

Don’t forget to view the sample galleries and vote in the poll! (Below)
- Introduction
- Shooting soccer (football)
- Halftime switch
- 600mm F4 design and build
- 200-600 F5.6-6.3 design and build
- Sharpness
- Teleconverter support
- Video capability
- The contest
- Who are these lenses for?
- Wrap-up
Have your say

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Who shot the best sample photos?

Chris wins

Barney wins

They're both terrible – send me next time

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Sony 200-600mm F5.6-6.3 G FE OSS sample gallery

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Sony 600mm F4 GM FE OSS sample gallery

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
June 11, 2019
Catalog Photos Like a Pro: ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 Review
The post Catalog Photos Like a Pro: ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

ACDSee software has been around since the earliest days of digital photography. For 20 years, it’s been competing with Adobe Photoshop. Today, with Adobe offering its top image-editing programs by subscription only, there’s more room than ever for alternatives. ACDSee offers a compelling subscription model of its own, but it also maintains a full suite of standalone products. Photo Studio Standard 2019 is among them, and I’ll review it here.

The default layout in Manage mode of ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019. You can move things around as you wish and close any panes you don’t need.

Aimed at keen photographers with growing photo collections, ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 is ideal for sorting, finding, and viewing photos. It also has a set of editing tools that will quickly make your pictures look good for the web or printing. We’ll look at all this in detail. To avoid wasting anyone’s time, this program recognizes and opens raw files but it’s not a raw editor or metadata editor – it’s a pixel editor. You have no control over how raw files are processed and can only save 8-bit files.

Preview of a DNG file. You can embed ACDSee metadata into DNG files, unlike other raw formats.

This review of ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 will include the following:
- Starting up
- Manage mode
- Photos mode
- View mode
- Edit mode
- Other features
- Conclusion
Starting up

One thing that struck me immediately about ACDSee software was how quickly it opened. Sometimes I wait 2-3 minutes for Photoshop CC to start. There are technical reasons for that, like the plug-ins I have loaded into it and its sheer girth. Perhaps it connects to my Adobe account, too. Whatever. Photo Studio Standard 2019 opens in around 15-20 seconds every time.

Manage mode

Digital asset management (DAM) is the great strength of ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019. In Manage mode, the software offers all you need for sorting and locating your images. Like many people, you may already have your folders arranged chronologically. This is handy for sifting through them using the folder pane of ACDSee, but the software gives you lots of other ways to find pictures.

Here, I’m using the folder pane in Manage mode to browse photos. I’m not the best organizer, but I do have most folders labeled chronologically.

Calendar pane

I latched onto the Calendar pane within minutes of opening ACDSee. Even if you have your folders arranged by date, it’s so quick to rifle through your photos month by month using the calendar. You can widen the search by choosing multiple months or use single days to narrow it. I used this feature straight away to dig out a few files I might’ve overlooked as potential stock photos.

Catalog pane

The ACDSee Catalog pane gives you several ways to find what you’re looking for: color labels, keywords, ratings, saved searches, categories, and auto categories. Of course, you have to add most of this info yourself to the images, but that’s easy using the software. Auto categories come from EXIF data, so you can filter results by the lens or aperture used, for instance.

There are various ways to filter photos in the Catalog pane, some of which rely on you having rated, keyworded, labeled, tagged, or categorized your photos already. In this screenshot, I’m looking at photos taken with a particular lens.[/

Map pane

ACDSee includes a Map pane. Drag your photo(s) onto the place where they were taken, hit Save, and the GPS coordinates are automatically embedded into the EXIF data. Cool! That wasn’t a feature I expected at this price point (Lightroom has it), but it does show how thorough this software is in what it does.

Dragging a photo or several photos onto a spot on the map and hitting “Save” embeds GPS coordinates into the metadata.

Shortcuts pane

The Shortcuts pane offers a way of bookmarking files you know you’ll often need. It makes it that little bit quicker to find any special photos – perhaps a collection of your best-ever shots.

Image Basket

Another neat feature of Photo Studio Standard 2019 is the Image Basket. Normally, when I’m preparing a gallery for the web, I create a new folder on my desktop to work from. The Image Basket is a way of gathering original files together without having to copy them elsewhere.

Keywording in ACDSee

Keywords are an invaluable way of quickly finding what you’re looking for, but they can be time-consuming to add. ACDSee is ahead of Adobe in this respect. It’ll import any keywords you’ve added elsewhere to the IPTC data, but it has excellent keywording capability of its own.

The ability to create large keyword sets of up to 250 is enough to satisfy any lexicologist. I wouldn’t normally need that many, but 40 or 50 isn’t uncommon. Adobe software is restrictive in this respect.

A welcome feature of the new ACDSee ‘Quick Keyword’ tool is the ability to use 25 rows by 10 columns of words (i.e., up to 250 keywords). In Lightroom, you can only have 9 keywords max per set – a source of frustration for many users. ACDSee has its own metadata field that is stored in the database rather than embedded in the file, but you can embed it into suitable file formats.

Photos mode

In Photos mode, ACDSee catalogs all images from the location(s) of your choice and puts them on display so you can scroll through them. Like the Calendar pane, it’s an easy way for you to search visually and find pictures. Hovering the cursor over a thumbnail brings up a larger preview with vital info such as image dimensions, file size, and folder location.

Photos mode on the daily setting. You can scroll through your whole database, but it’s still divided by daily, monthly or yearly headings.

View mode

Double-click on a photo in Manage or Photos mode and you’ll bring up a large view of the image in ACDSee’s View mode. Various viewing options are available as well as useful editing tools like Auto Light EQ and Auto Lens. You can rapidly scroll through files in this mode and tag images or add ratings, labels, keywords, and categories. It’s an extension of Manage mode if you want it to be. Clicking on Edit mode from here takes the open picture into editing.

View mode is the place to be if you want to browse large previews of your pictures. Double-clicking on any picture in Manage or Photos mode brings you here, too. You can also perform a few basic edits in this space or categorize photos.

Edit Mode

ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 has plenty to offer in terms of editing but something has to be sacrificed at this price point, and that’s parametric (non-destructive) editing. Photo Studio Standard is a pixel editor only, so you make physical changes to rendered images. You can still leave the original file untouched, but as soon as you finish editing and save a file, there’s no going back and tweaking your adjustments. This is more important if you’re in the habit of reworking pictures or if you edit extensively and want your work to be reversible.

Repair

There are a couple of tools under the “Repair” heading. The red-eye reduction tool is something I’d probably never have a need for, but I tested this with a public domain image. Works well – easy to use.

With this close-up view, I found myself wishing the size of the adjustment would go slightly larger, as it barely covered the dilated pupil. But still, the red-eye has gone. Most portraits won’t be as near to the subject. Photo: Wikimedia Commons.

One of the few glitches I encountered in ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 was a malfunction among the repair tools. I can get the Heal tool to work, and it does a nice job of blending the sampled pixels into a new area. But the Clone tool hasn’t worked for me even after a reinstall. I just get a blacked-out image. This appears to be a bug in the program, as it works flawlessly in other ACDSee software I have on my PC.

Add

Under the “Add” heading you can insert text into your photos or a watermark (the Watermark feature is new in 2019). The default watermark is the ACDSee camera logo, but you can use your own graphic if you want. There are also borders, vignetting, special effects and tilt-shift choices here.

The Tilt-Shift tool makes Manhattan look miniaturized.

Personally, I’d be most likely to use vignetting out of these, as it helps direct the viewer’s eye and is a useful photographic tool. It can be fun to add borders to your photos, too, which you can customize in this case with a wide selection of textures or any color you choose.

I counted 54 special effects in ACDSee’s collection, and each is modifiable in some way. Even the ones that don’t instantly appeal might work for you with some adjustment, so there’s a lot to go at. Among my favorites are Collage, Lomo, and Orton. The latter is great for creating a dreamy look.

This is the Orton special effect, making a peaceful scene even dreamier.

Geometry

Under “Geometry”, ACDSee provides rotate, flip, crop, and resize tools. There are some thoughtful touches among these tools, like the ability to control darkness outside the crop area. The Rotate tool also has a cropping feature, so you can level the picture up if necessary and correct wonky horizons.

When resizing, the default algorithm is Lanczos, but it’s worth experimenting, depending on what you do with your photos. Lanczos gives a sharp result when downsizing, for instance, but if you want to back off that a little and achieve smoother edges, try Bicubic.

Exposure/Lighting

ACDSee offers some powerful tools under “Exposure/Lighting,” not least its excellent Light EQ technology alongside traditional tools like levels and curves. Light EQ is similar to curves, only better in some respects since it treats highlights, mid-tones, and shadows separately. That’s only possible to a degree using curves without layers.

Here, I’m using ACDSee Light EQ to adjust the tone of the image. By having the Exposure Warning switched on, I can ensure a good tonal range without losing detail in the shadows or highlights. As soon as pixels appear in red or green, I back off the adjustment slightly. I have the histogram showing the blue channel, as that’s the nearest to clipping at both ends.

The auto buttons in these exposure/lighting controls are also worth a hit every now and again. Personally, I find the auto setting in Light EQ tends to make things too bright, but it might provide a better starting point.

You can set your black and white points using eyedroppers in levels and also define the clipping limits under “tolerance.” (Don’t worry if this means nothing to you – it’s only one of several options.

I should mention, too, that ACDSee provides an Edit Brush and gradients with many of these controls, so you can apply edits to selected parts of the image.

Color

Under “Color,” you’ll find White Balance, Color Balance, Convert to Black and White, and Color LUTs. The White Balance tool is excellent, though, like all white balance tools, it relies on neutral tones in the image to use as reference points.

You could also correct color using the Color Balance tool, especially in conjunction with the floating histogram. A good thing about the ACDSee histogram is you can stretch it out as far as you like for a detailed look at tonal distribution. There’s a hue/saturation tool alongside color balance.

You can make the floating histogram as compact or elongated as you wish.

“Convert to Black and White” is new to ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019. Based on the colors you know are in the image (e.g. blue sky), you can adjust their brightness to alter the contrast of the final result. This also lets you emphasize different areas of the photo. Good stuff! Contrast is also affected by the RGB percentages, which must always add up to 100. A high proportion of red usually creates more contrast in cloudy blue skies, for instance. Colorized monochrome images are possible, too, under Convert to Black and White.

Using the new “Convert to Black and white” feature, I’ve increased the brightness of cyan a fair bit to make the fire-escape steps stand out more. Then I’ve colorized the picture with sepia-like brown tones.

One of the best things in ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 Edit mode has to be Color LUTs. These let you alter the look of your photos (often drastically) via numerical color shifts. They’re like photo filters on steroids. ACDSee LUTs are good, but you can also download LUTs from the web and load them into the program.

The lower half of this picture has the ACDSee “Turin” Color LUT applied to it. Look closely and you’ll see it’s darker with deeper blue windows and yet has a more cyan sky. You can use the Edit Brush or gradients on many edits.

Detail

Sharpen, blur, noise, and clarity all lie under the “Detail” heading. These are all pretty standard. The sharpen tool is like unsharp mask with amount, radius and threshold settings. Typically, you use a low radius for high-frequency photos with a lot of fine detail or a higher radius to bring out coarse detail across a wide area. A sharpening mask slider would be a nice bonus here if I were compiling a wants list. That would be quicker than selective sharpening with a brush.

Other Features

In case all the above isn’t enough, there’s more. For instance, the external editor feature in Manage mode lets you swiftly open images in other programs. Perhaps that will be Photoshop or it could be ACDSee Photo Editor 10, which would complement Photo Studio Standard well.

ACDSee also has a dashboard that gives you stats on equipment used, database size, and photo counts that show you how prolific you’ve been at various times.

The ACDSee Dashboard, indicating prolific use of a Sony RX100 in my case. There are numerous other stats available.

You can create PDFs, PowerPoint files, slideshow files, zip archives, contact sheets, and HTML albums straight out of ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019, too. There really isn’t a lot you can’t do.

More new stuff

ACDSee also introduced AutoSave and Auto Advance features in 2019. AutoSave does away with the “do you want to save changes?” dialog when you move onto another image. Auto Advance is good for rating, labeling, or categorizing photos, as it moves onto the next image automatically once you’ve clicked.

Also new in 2019 are customizable keyboard shortcuts, support for HEIF files (used on later iPhones), and print improvements that let you adjust for differences between what you see on screen and what your printer produces.

Conclusion

As much as I understand the benefits of SaaS and subscription software models, I think there will always be a market for standalone products that consumers can update when they want.

ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 is, first and foremost, a great photo organizer. I’ve never seen better. It’s quick as a browser – doesn’t hold you up – and it gives you workflow choices. There are lots of nice touches to make tasks easier. It’s not especially advanced as a photo editor, but you can achieve a lot without layers, 3rd-party plugins, and even Adobe’s unassailable repair tools.

If like me, you prefer taking photos to organizing them, ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 is the ideal way to get your collection under control. It drills into your database from several directions and helps you find any picture. Many people will want to supplement the editing capabilities with other programs, but you won’t find much better than this for photo management.

Disclaimer: ACDSee is a paid partner of dPS

The post Catalog Photos Like a Pro: ACDSee Photo Studio Standard 2019 Review appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Glenn Harper.

Digital Photography School
June 11, 2019
NYC’s iconic 101 Park Avenue skyscraper was turned into a giant camera last month

Photographer Brendan Barry, founder and director of Positive Light Projects and creator of numerous unusual cameras, recently transformed the 46th floor of NYC’s 101 Park Avenue skyscraper into a massive camera obscura. The camera was part of the larger Skyscraper Camera Project installation that was live from May 13 to 16 in the iconic Manhattan tower.

Barry, accompanied by photography students, looks over a negative captured as part of the Skyscraper Camera Project.

Barry has crafted different types of cameras out of a variety of unexpected materials, including a medium format camera built in a pineapple, a 4×5″ camera that incorporates a log and a 35mm ‘butternut squash camera.’

According to the CBS affiliate WLNY, Barry gathered with 20 photography students on Saturday, May 11, to blackout 160 windows in the 46th floor of 101 Park Avenue. Lenses were installed in the dark space, enabling the team to project large images onto screens inside of the skyscraper. Below is a short feature WLNY created on the project:

The project was conceived by Favorite Child Creative founder and director Nicholas Kalikow, according to The Phoblographer. The 46th floor of the skyscraper was available during that time, offering a 360-degree view of the Manhattan skyline and the unique opportunity for this installation.

One of the many images captured with the skyscraper camera obscura.

During the workshop, Barry and participants produced what may be the largest analog photographs of New York City; they measure up to 45″ x 93″. The photos were developed in an on-site darkroom. In addition to transforming the floor into a large camera, the team also created a functional camera replica of the skyscraper.

Below is a collection of behind-the-scene images from the project that Barry kindly shared with DPReview:

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Barry’s other work can be found on his website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 11, 2019
DJI Studio quietly releases new STORM drone
When it comes to new releases, DJI isn’t exactly known for being quiet. Unplanned leaks typically surface in various online communities a few days ahead of every official announcement. Even with speculation leading up to an event in the form of photos and product descriptions, the world’s top drone manufacturer hosts glitzy, high-end affairs for media and industry insiders to introduce its new products. The Osmo Pocket, for example, launched last December at ‘Good Morning America’s’ New York-based television studio in front of a live audience.

This is why it’s surprising that DJI chose to officially introduce a new professional-grade drone, through a provider, at Cine Gear Expo in Los Angeles. The four-day event, which took place from May 30th to June 2nd, attracted top-tier creators in the technology, entertainment, and media industries. What’s even more perplexing is that the video announcing the release of the STORM was uploaded to DJI’s YouTube channel back in January and remained under the radar until DroneDJ first discovered it.

Why has DJI been relatively silent about STORM, along with its DJI Pro service which was released last December after being available in Asia for close to two years? To start, the STORM is not for sale. The Verge recently confirmed that one company outside of China, Helinet Aviation, based in the U.S., claims to own one and is testing it out.

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On display in the Helinet booth at Cine Gear will be the DJI STORM – the X8 drone made by DJI to seamlessly carry the industry standard DJI RONIN 2 gimbal. This drone is the only one in America. Cine Gear will be your chance to see this beast in person and grab some photos! @djiglobal @djipro BOOTH B106 in the B-Tank ?: @robgluckman_photography Helinet Aviation is the worldwide leader in aerial camera movement with solutions including Helicopter, Cinejet, Learjet, Moviehawk and Drone platforms led by world renowned Aerial Coordinator Kevin LaRosa II @k2_larosa Helinet Production Group: @k2_larosa @chad_daring @broby_thimpson @jfburton2 @aexandraalejandro @michaelfitzmaurice @fad2blk @dronepilotmike @cameronfitzmaurice @jaredslater @scherbas @bruno_04cl7 @airborneimages @bentonward @joe.kocsis @paddymoynahan @robgluckman_photography @jip_01 @steve_koster @insdangraming @tj.millard @mrsteelefpv @stingersswarm @helinetaviation @helinetmoviehawk @cinejet #philpastuhov #jasonlafargo

A post shared by @ helinetdrones on May 25, 2019 at 10:38am PDT

How does a production company obtain access to this new-and-improved rig that can carry the heaviest, most advanced payload yet? It appears that DJI may be planning to offer the STORM for rent, packaged with the DJI Studio Custom Aerial Cinematography Service that includes a van and and professional crew. Comparable heavy-lift drones in its class, such as the xFold Dragon X12 start at $ 30,000.

Some STORM specs:
- Comes equipped with eight propellers
- Max speed: 49.7 mph (Sport mode) / 37.2 mph (GPS mode)
- Operating temp: -10°C/14°F to 40°C/104°F
- Flight time: 8-15 minutes
- Max Payload: 40.8 pounds
Compared with DJI’s professional-grade Matrice 600, which starts at $ 5,000 and can carry a payload of around 5.9kg (13lbs), the STORM can handle up to 18.5kg (40.8lbs). This allows cinematographers to place and easily maneuver more sophisticated cameras on its DJI Ronin 2 PTZ gimbal including Arri and RED models.

U.S. representatives for DJI have not confirmed if more STORM models will be made available in the near future, stating they will have to check with Shenzen, China-based headquarters.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
June 11, 2019