Many photographers own two cameras – a DSLR plus lenses for ‘serious’ photography and a compact camera of sorts to carry around for unexpected photo opportunities. Or else they may opt for a so-called ‘bridge’ camera with a built-in zoom lens. Some of these are almost the size of a DSLR which may then lead to the need for a Continue Reading
The post What are the Best Phones for Photographers? appeared first on Photodoto.
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Photo software developer On1 has introduced an update to its Raw photo processing application that it claims is up to 50x faster than the previous version and which includes a host of new features. The company says that every feature added and each improvement made in Photo RAW 2019.5 is a direct result of customer feedback.
The greatest speed increases will be felt when exporting processed images, though preview images taking on the effects of pre-set adjustments and other exporting functions happen in less than half the time they did before, according to On1.
New features include an edit history that can be rolled back, the ability to run the edit and browse windows on different screens, as well as a new keyword system that allows creating keywords inside keywords to separate a collection even more.
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The changes make the software quicker to use and easier to archive images so they can be search more thoroughly, making On1 Photo RAW a bit more of an alternative to Adobe’s Lightroom.
Compatibility with 21 additional cameras has also been included in the update with the company promising it is working on bringing support for Canon’s CR3 files to the application as soon as it can. Photo RAW 2019.5 also brings compatibility with 29 additional lenses.
Below is an introduction video from On1 that walks through On1 Photo Raw 2019.5 and its latest features:
On1 Photo Raw 2019.5 is available to download immediately and will cost from $ 63.99 for new users. The update is free for existing users of the current edition.
For more information see the On1 website.
Press release:
{pressrelease}
In April we announced the upcoming release of ON1 Photo RAW 2019.5 and today we are excited to announce it is officially available for the ON1 community. Since the first release of ON1 Photo RAW, we’ve given our community a say in the features and technologies they want in their photo editor of choice. Every feature and improvement we’ve made in the latest release is a result of community input through the ON1 Photo RAW Project. We want to take this chance to say, thank you. We’ve come a long way and are excited for what the future holds here at ON1.
One of the most significant improvements in the latest release is performance and speed in several areas. Some of these optimizations give customers up to a 50x improvement compared to the previous version. Here are a few of the areas where customers will notice a significant increase in speed.
New Features in Version 2019.5
Additional Enhancements in Version 2019.5
Added support for these cameras
Sony SLT-A55V, A33, A6400, RX100VA, Olympus OM-D E-M1X, Panasonic FZ1000 M2, TZ95 (ZS80, TZ96, TZ97), S1, S1R, Ricoh GR III. Note: we are still working on Canon CR3 support and it is a high priority to come in the next free update to ON1 Photo RAW
Added lens profiles for the following lenses or non-interchangeable lens cameras
Canon EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM, Canon EF-M 11-22mm f/4-5.6 IS STM, Canon FD 200mm f/2.8 SSC, Canon PowerShot A1200 & compatibles, Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark III & compatibles, Canon PowerShot G3 X & compatibles, DJI FC2103 & compatibles, Hasselblad L1D-20c & compatibles, Huawei Huawei P10 Lite & compatibles, Huawei Huawei P20 Pro & compatibles, Leica DMC-LX10 & compatibles, Leica X Vario 18.0-46.0 mm f/3.5-6.4, Leica Camera AG Summicron TL 1:2 23 ASPH, Minolta Minolta AF 85mm f/1.4G (D), Nikon AF-P Nikkor 70-300mm f/4.5-5.6E ED VR, Nikon Nikkor AI-S 85mm f/2.0, Nikon Nikkor Z 24-70mm f/4 S, Nikon AF Nikkor 24mm f/2.8D 54, Nikon AF-S Nikkor 18-35mm f/3.5-4.5G ED, Nikon AI 80-200mm f/4.5 Zoom, OLYMPUS M.12-200mm F3.5-6.3, Olympus M.Zuiko Digital ED 14-150mm f/4.0-5.6 II, Opteka 15mm f/4 Wide Macro 1:1, Panasonic DC-ZS200 & compatibles, Pentax smc Pentax-A 50mm f/1.4, Pentax smc Pentax-F 28mm f/2.8, Samyang 10mm f/2.8 ED AS NCS CS, Samyang AF 35mm f/2.8, Sigma 14mm f/1.8 DG HSM | A, Sigma 18-300mm f/3.5-6.3 DC Macro OS HSM, Sony DSC-RX100 VI & compatibles, Sony E 18-135mm f/3.5-5.6 OSS, Sony FE 35mm f/2.8 ZA, Sony 35mm F1.4 G (SAL35F14G), Sony Carl Zeiss Planar T* 50mm F1.4 ZA SSM (SALF0F14Z), Tamron SP 70-300mm f/4-5.6 Di USD, Venus Laowa 60mm f/2.8 2X Ultra-Macro, Venus Laowa 9mm f/2.8 Zero-D, Voigtländer Super Wide-Heliar 15mm f/4.5 III, Zeiss Milvus 1.4/50.
{/pressrelease}
The post TOP 13 Landscape Photography Accessories Under $ 100 appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
Following on from last week’s video share from Mark Denney “Which Landscape Photography Camera Should You Buy?“, I thought I’d also share his video on affordable landscape photography accessories.
These are, of course, Mark’s opinions and not mine. I’d be interested to know your thoughts and if you have any to add to this list.
In the video, Mark mentions these accessories in order of price, starting at number 13.
While the Samsung 500GB SSD doesn’t have massive storage, it is perfect for travel because of its size and portability. It’s lightweight and durable and fits in your pocket.
NRS Boundary Socks are water socks and keep your feet warm and dry when standing in water. They have a seal around the top so that water cannot enter the top. These are also handy for getting better shots because you can get into the water and shoot from better angles.
The Vallerret Photography Gloves are perfect for photographers because the thumb and forefinger tips flip back to allow you to adjust your camera controls while still keeping your hands warm and dry. They also have a non-slip surface on the palm so that you can grip your camera confidently.
This Hoya Circular Polarizer is a great option if you are on a budget. The quality is high and the results are great. You may not always use it, but they are great to have.
This Black Diamond Headlamp is great for when you are shooting sunrises and sunsets, blue hour, astrophotography and you have to hike in and out of places in the dark, and set up your camera in low light. Having it on your head leaves your hands free. The headlamp is also super-bright – with 3 levels of brightness.
Tripod Spikes are great for digging your tripod into the surface to give your tripod extra stability.
The Pelican SD Card Case is tough, durable, and waterproof. It fits several cards safely. It protects one of the most important parts of your gear because that is where your photos are stored.
The Shimoda small accessory case is ideal for storing your extra camera batteries, chargers cables, and anything related to power. It has a clear plastic side so that you can see exactly what is in the case too. The fact that it is bright blue means that you can find it easily in your suitcase or backpack.
The Small Moleskin Case can be used for keeping tools, such as Allen keys, flathead screwdrivers, or backup tripod plates.
Backpack Rain Covers are ideal for covering your backpack and also for covering your camera when it is set up ready to take shots near waterfalls or if it is rainy. Shower caps are also a good solution for covering your camera in the rain.
The Think Tank Red Whips are amazing cable ties for keeping your cables organized.
All photographers should have one of these. The Giottos Rocket Blower is perfect for blowing the dust off your lens and camera. It’s strong and
The Zeiss Microfibre Cloth is ideal for cleaning your lenses and filters.
Do you have anything to add to this list? If so, please share in the comments below.
The post TOP 13 Landscape Photography Accessories Under $ 100 appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.
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Asus has revealed its latest its latest high-end device, the ZenFone 6, and the new model comes with quite a unique design feature: a rotating camera module. This means there is no requirement for a front camera (and therefore no display notch), as the main module can simply be rotated to point towards the front.
It also means you get rear camera image quality when taking selfie images or recording selfie videos, which could be a real bonus for some users. The rotation angle of the module can be adjusted via the camera app, so the feature is also useful for capturing subjects that are located further down or higher up.
Asus says the camera module housing is made with Liquidmetal technology that is 4x stronger than stainless steel but lighter. It has been tested for 100,000 actuations and closes automatically when a drop is detected. In addition, the rotation mechanism can be used to automate panorama panning or to help with motion tracking to keep your subject in frame.
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Inside the rotating module Asus has implemented a 48MP Sony IMX586 Quad-Bayer sensor that produces 12MP image output for a wide dynamic range and low noise. It is combined with an F1.8 aperture lens. There is also a 13MP ultra-wide-angle camera with a 125-degree field of view but, likely due to space constraints, no tele.
In video mode the camera can record 4K videos at 60fps with electronic image stabilization and like most recent high-end devices, the Asus also comes with a multi-frame-based night mode that offers better image quality in very low light.
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Images can be viewed and composed on a 6.4” IPS LCD that covers 92% of the front. The device is powered by a Snapdragon 855 chipset and up to 8GB of RAM. Up to 256GB of storage is available and storage can be expandable via a microSD card. The 5,000mAh battery should provide plenty of usage time.
The ZenFone 6 will first be available in Europe for €500 (approximately $ 560). No information on pricing and availability in other regions has been released yet.
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The latest in a line of celebrities caught using pictures without permission, singer Ariana Grande is being sued over images she allegedly posted on Instagram without permission.
Two pictures she posted to promote her album ‘Sweetener’ at the end of last year were liked over three million times, and photographer Robert Barbera is claiming $ 25,000 for each of them in damages because Grande allegedly didn’t have the rights to use them. Below is an Instagram post from Barbera with one of the images Grande allegedly posted without permission.
View this post on InstagramSweetener is out!
New York-based Barbera describes himself as a celebrity photographer, supplies paparazzi images to agencies such as Corbis and Splash News and goes under the name ‘Papculture’ on Instagram. He has an extensive collection of street-shot pictures of music, fashion and film stars on his page and has over 37,000 followers of his own.
The pictures Grande allegedly used without permission feature her holding a bag with ‘Sweetener’ written upside down on it, and she posted them on the day her album was released. She has since taken the pictures down but not before many of her 154 million followers had viewed and liked them.
According to the London Evening Standard, other recently sued by photographers for using pictures without permission include Jennifer Lopez, Gigi Hadid, 50 Cent, Jessica Simpson, and Khloe Kardashian.
Photo credits: Image by Melissa Rose, used under CC BY 2.0
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Earlier this year, SanDisk announced the impending arrival of what it claims is the ‘world’s fastest’ 1TB microSD card. Now, the ridiculously dense memory card is available for purchase and, as you might expect, it doesn’t come cheap.
The 1TB SanDisk Extreme UHS-I microSDXC card features read speeds up to 160MBps and write speeds up to 90MBps (30MBps minimum). It’s rated as a Video Speed Class 30 (V30), UHS Speed Class 3 (U3) card with the SD Association’s A2 specification.
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The card isn’t labeled as ruggedized, but it’s quite robust according to SanDisk’s specifications. According to the SanDisk, the card is shockproof, waterproof, X-Ray proof and capable of operating in temperatures between -25 to 85°C (-13 to 185°F).
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The SanDisk 1TB Extreme UHS-I microSDXC card, which comes with an SD adapter, is currently available to pre-order on B&H for $ 449.99, although that appears to be a temporary discount of $ 25 through May 18, 2019.
The post Pros and Cons of Adobe Portfolio For Your Professional Gallery appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ian Johnson.
I am going to tell you one of the worst parts about running a photography-based website, and you can tell me if you agree with me: maintaining your image galleries. Galleries are one of the greatest ways to show off your content to the world and to show everyone what you are all about. As you grow as a photographer, you need to continually update your public face and what you want to tell your followers. However, curating the content is so time-consuming that I often wonder if it’s worth it! I, (and surely you) would rather be out making more images and bringing visions to life, not spending more time in front of the computer. I have great news – you can use Adobe Lightroom’s workflow, coupled with Adobe Portfolio, to create beautiful and dynamic galleries in record-breaking time!
This collection set in Adobe Lightroom syncs directly to my Adobe Portfolio. Any edits that I make to images in this collection sync automatically to the online gallery making it incredibly easy to keep up-to-date galleries on a website
Adobe Portfolio is Adobe’s online website-for-dummies platform to display your images in stunning galleries. It links directly to Adobe Lightroom using collection sets. Updating the gallery is as easy as adding or removing an image from the collection! If you are already paying for their annual Adobe Cloud membership, you have access to Adobe Portfolio without paying another dime. This is a great option if you run your own low-budget website and are doing your best to keep your costs at a minimum.
This is a look at my Adobe Portfolio website in design view. Adobe Portfolio offers easy website creation with dynamic, beautiful galleries connected directly to Lightroom.
To set up your Adobe Portfolio there’s really three main steps:
Presto! In his article, Andrew Gibbon claims you can set up a full Adobe Portfolio website in 15 minutes. His step-by-step tutorial makes it easy! Since making a tutorial as thorough as Andrew’s would be simply re-writing the wheel, I’d like to instead turn to the pros and cons of Adobe Portfolio so you can determine if this service is right for you.
I always like to get the bad news before the good. So here’s a couple of cons for your consideration.
If selling your imagery through a savvy e-commerce solution is what you most desire, then Adobe Portfolio is not for you. Technically you can hyperlink your image to a sales page, but the likelihood of losing the shopper is high. There are multiple other web platforms such as Fine Art America, Smug Mug, Square Space, Weebly, and so many others that allow you to sell your imagery directly.
If you run a website through another host, you will need to connect your websites. I outlink the galleries using a custom link in my WordPress site. If you feel you need to keep people on your primary website to sell them something or deliver a message, then you may choose to avoid Adobe Portfolio and look for integrated gallery options. I will say though; Adobe Portfolio gives you lots of options on their templates to re-direct people where you want them to go (such as sales) after they view your gallery.
I outlink to my Adobe Portfolio galleries which directs traffic away from my primary website. If you need to keep traffic on your primary website, then Adobe Portfolio may not be for you.
The templates within Adobe Portfolio do not give you access to CSS or other mechanisms to customize them. Although you can change the color of the theme, your options are very limited here.
The way I want to use Adobe Portfolio, the pros outweigh the cons. The pros below are listed in importance (most important to least) for my own workflow and website needs.
How many times do you re-edit an image? There are so many reasons why you continue to tweak an image. In most website galleries, a new image edit would require taking down the old edit and uploading the new. Not so with Adobe Portfolio. Any edits sync (color, crop, clarity, any of them!) to your Adobe Portfolio and can be updated on your website with just a few clicks. In my eyes, this is the #1 reason that Adobe Portfolio shines for my needs.
In each of these thumbnails, you can see a double arrow in the upper right-hand corner. That means all changes are automatically synced to my gallery online!
There’s a good chance that you do not want to pay for more services than you already do. Camera gear, website fees, and everything else add up! As long as you already pay the annual membership for Adobe Creative Cloud, Adobe Portfolio is included.
Adobe Portfolio’s galleries are very beautiful. Even though a RAW file is being synced to the Adobe Cloud, they automatically reduce the resolution of the image to optimize load time and viewing. This also makes it is less useful to a copyright thief. Having this built-in functionality removes any need to research optimal DPI, web color space, and pixel widths you would need to do if exporting your images for the web.
I mentioned in the cons that you have to outlink to your Adobe Portfolio. However, all of the Adobe Portfolio templates provide lots of links back to your other work.
This landing screen of my Adobe Portfolio has five links where viewers can click to redirect back to my website and two links to my social media websites. In my opinion, if you can hook them with your beautiful galleries it is likely they will follow your links.
In Adobe Portfolio, collections act as a page on your website. There are no limits to the number of pages you can create. This gives you a huge amount of flexibility because you can create very specific collections (say for an individual wedding or a species of animal) and have personalized galleries for each one.
There is absolutely zero coding needed to set up an Adobe Portfolio website. If you want to have heavy customization privileges over your website, this isn’t for you. However, I found most of the templates to have characteristics that I liked, and I’m not looking for a lot of control over this website. That’s in stark contrast to my WordPress site where I like to have CSS control for each element in a theme.
The bottom line is there are SO many ways to display your images on a website – many ways to “skin that cat” if you will – that finding the best solution for you can be challenging. I think many users will find the ease of creation and low cost of Adobe Portfolio to be very appealing, but it may not be desirable for high-level web users.
I’m all ears and happy to discuss Adobe Portfolio further, and my experience or yours. Please provide your constructive thoughts, and I’ll be sure to respond!
The post Pros and Cons of Adobe Portfolio For Your Professional Gallery appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Ian Johnson.
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Instagram has launched a redesigned Explore tab that adds Stories, topic shortcuts, and direct access to ‘more immersive’ IGTV and Shopping experiences. With the update, Explore now provides users with direct access to Stories, a feature utilized by more than 500 million users daily. Users will now see personalized Stories recommendations in the Explore grid.
Explore recommendations include Stories that are relevant to each user’s interests based on topics they interact with. Users will start seeing these personalized Stories recommendations in Explore in the near future; Instagram says it will be rolling out the addition ‘over the coming weeks.’
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Additionally, the redesigned Explore tab features shortcuts in the navigation bar that direct users to topic channels, such as Travel and Art. Users will also now see shortcuts that take them directly to IGTV and ‘Shop,’ the latter of which will produce category filters for specific product types directly in the navigation bar. The IGTV link directs users to the recently updated video home page with a personalized feed of suggested video content.
The redesigned Explore tab is intended to help users find new content they’re interested in viewing, and will likewise help photographers gain exposure to potential new followers interested in the types of content they share.
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| Honor 20 Pro, night mode |
The Honor 20 Pro, the latest flagship smartphone of Huawei’s Honor sub-brand, is scheduled to launch next week but Zhao Ming, President of Honor smartphone, has already given us a preview of the device’s camera capability, revealing some sample photos captured on the phone.
Two images were captured with the upcoming device’s new night mode and the results looks pretty promising, with similar exposure and dynamic range to what we’ve seen on the Huawei P30 Pro. The EXIF-data also reveals that the 20 Pro will be the first smartphone to come with an ultra-fast F1.4 aperture.
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| Honor 20 Pro, night mode |
The third shows a capture from the 20 Pro’s 12MP ultra-wide angle camera.
Additional information provided by the manufacturer confirms a quad-camera setup including a time-of-flight depth sensor, a 48MP primary sensor that will likely output 12MP images for improved noise levels and dynamic range. In combination with the fast aperture and night mode that could make the upcoming a Honor an interesting option for smartphone night photography.
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| Honor 20 Pro, ultra-wide-angle |
Other specs that are already known include a 6.26″ IPS display with FullHD+ resolution, a Kirin 980 chipset and 6GB of RAM. Looking at the sample shots and specs the Honor 20 Pro could potentially be the 2019 smartphone of choice for those mobile photographers who don’t want to spend Huawei P30 Pro or iPhone XS Max money. We’ll know more next week.
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Let’s face it, we’re all on a journey to improve our shooting, and some shots can be especially challenging in video work. There are lots of situations where incorporating some camera movement can create additional interest in shots. I’ve recently started using a combination of tools that have proven quite useful in this respect.
The Edelkrone DollyONE (DO) is an app-controlled, motorized flat surface camera dolly. The dolly can be used either in a simple track along a straight line or an arc around a subject.
The FlexTILT Head 2 (FTH2) is a lightweight head. The head extends, tilts and pans and it can to be mounted on any standard 1/4″ or 3/8″ screw mount or it can be used on its own on a flat surface.
Combining these two products allows easy camera mounting, re-positioning and movement either for video work or time lapse photography.
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| The DollyONE with the low profile FlexTILT Head 2. The vertically extending head is a really great idea. |
I first discovered Edelkrone as a company some years ago when they launched their unusual take on the slider, the SliderPLUS. Then later I found out that they had launched a motorized system and I was very interested in using some of their products to help with my work. While not cheap, they have a very professional feel to them and their customer service is second to none. I’ve been using Edelkrone’s sliders for a couple of months, and decided that maybe I should be looking at branching out to some longer tracking shots and more importantly, some arcing ones.
While I tried to get similar-looking shots with my existing equipment, I just wasn’t happy with the results. The fact that this combination allows you to combine long tracking shots with the time-lapse function in the app meant that I could explore other avenues in my work.
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| The dolly operates on a single Canon LP-E6 battery. |
On picking up the box I was first struck by the weight of the DollyONE, measuring 160 x 160 x 57.5mm (6.3 x 6.3 x 2.26 in) and weighing in at 1.6 kg (3.52 lbs), while the dolly itself can handle loads of up to 6.8 kg (15 lbs). In addition to the DollyONE I chose to use the FlexTILT Head 2 to mount the camera to the dolly. It is possible to use a small tripod head instead, as the dolly uses a standard retractable 3/8″ screw for mounting.
Why then use the Edlekrone head? It offers the ability to vertically extend the camera position and tilt it without having to change the height of the dolly, something I found incredibly useful. I couldn’t use a tripod with the dolly by its very nature so I needed a way of easily changing the height of the camera. The maximum vertical extension is 180mm (7.25 in) which doesn’t sound like much but covers quite a lot of situations for me in close-up product work.
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| The FlexTILT Head 2 can be used without a mount. |
The head also allows panning, though not quite through 360 degrees. At first this might seem like a problem, however there is a good reason for this; it allows you to easily tighten the head on to the screw mount on the dolly. This is achieved by rotating the head until the stop is reached and then using the end stop to tighten the head down. The mount on the head is a standard 3/8″ screw thread and Edelkrone includes a couple of 3/8″ to 1/4″ adapters in the box for other applications.
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| Tensions on the FlexTILT Head 2 can be altered for tilt and extension. |
The FlexTILT Head 2 also provides the ability to adjust the tensions on each of the joints, and this includes the pan friction. I did this almost immediately as with a Sony a7 III and Sony 24-105mm F4 it was a little too loose. Your setup will probably be different but the the head is rated for loads up to 2.5 kg (5.5 lb) so some adjustment may be necessary. I’m pleased to say I’ve not encountered any loosening of the joints since I adjusted them. The Hex keys required to make all these adjustments are included in the box. One other feature is a small leveling bubble embedded into the base.
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| Tensions on the FlexTILT Head 2 can be altered for panning as well. |
As with the other Edelkrone products I’ve used before the setup on the DollyONE was quick and easy. There are no buttons on the unit, just two adjustment wheels for tension and two sockets for camera control. There’s not even a power button.
After attaching the FlexTILT Head 2 to the dolly, inserting the battery in the base (Canon LP-E6) and waiting for the confirmation beep I could then start the app. This is the only way to control the Edelkrone range of motorized products. There is a single app for all product combinations and it is available for iOS and Android devices.
When starting the app it checks for neighboring compatible Edelkrone devices that are powered up. It is possible to use 3- or 4-axis control and there are a number of Edelkrone products which can be controlled at the same time. This includes the HeadONE and HeadPLUS, the SliderONE V2 and SliderPLUS, the DollyPLUS and even the Focus Module. The interface itself changes according to the devices it finds, in this case as I had only one device it offered a relatively simple 1-axis control.
The first thing to do is decide what sort of movement you need as you have three choices when selecting the ‘Path’ button on screen: Slide, Arc or Dolly In/Out.
Of course you can choose to pan the camera on the head so that the movement is not either directly parallel or at 90 degrees to the direction of travel.
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The three options available when choosing the path of the dolly: A basic slide with the lens pointing perpendicular to the direction of travel. An arcing movement. The angle is calculated when the camera moves automatically to an off center position. You have to angle the camera with an on screen button for the arc to be calculated. An in out move, note here that the lens is at 90 degrees to the arrow on the dolly. |
The result is that you can create three distinctive movements depending on how you program the device in the app. The video below shows some real world examples of these movements.
My first attempt at a move was a simple dolly move from left to right. After setting the path type I was then able to set preset positions with the pose button. There are three positions available to start with, which increases to six when the first three have been used. The pose buttons allow saving shots from the camera on a smart device; the photo is saved on the pose button to act as a reference. Simply tapping the respective button will initiate the move.
At 100% I was slightly worried that the dolly might not stop the first time I selected it – it’s that quick. I shouldn’t have been concerned though. It’s also possible to set it to a crawl, and with a gentle in and out curve it’s incredibly slow. I set it to make a move with the speed set to 1% and the ease in/out set all the way to the left. A move over a distance of 44cm (17.25 in) took eight and a half minutes, at 100% set to minimum ease in/out it took four seconds.
When initiating any move you get a read out on the button of the time remaining, which changes when you adjust any of the sliders. Although the move can’t be updated live you need to stop the current move for the new settings to take effect. However, sometimes the real-time readout of how long this is going to take doesn’t update every second when moving very slowly.
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The app has a simple single axis control with just a DollyONE. Power Mode adds more torque for heavier payloads. The Path lets you choose between Slide, Arc or Dolly In/Out. The three pose buttons allow you to set individual dolly positions. You can move between them by tapping, You can also save reference photos to each position. When all three are set these buttons shrink to reveal three more. Speed control from scarily fast to hardly perceptible. Ease In/Out can have a huge effect on overall movement duration. Additional Time-Lapse and Stop Motion functions which are highly configurable. |
The speed of this move and the ease in and ease out dynamic can be adjusted with the appropriate slider underneath the row of pose buttons. You can cancel or delete moves by tapping the pose button at the top right hand side, denoted by the usual ‘x’. You can also quickly reposition the dolly by double tapping on the pose button. Another function is the ability to loop back and forth by tapping simultaneously on the two poses that you want the dolly to move between.
The app also offers some additional buttons, one is a very tempting ‘record’ button that doesn’t do much at the moment apart from bringing up a ‘feature that we’re working on’ message. I reached out to Edelkrone about this and they told me that it’s going to be enabled for the DollyONE in the near future. It is available when using other Edelkrone products.
This button will allow the recording of bespoke timings using the on screen controls via a macro record function. This will allow an amazing flexibility in terms of moving between poses in a non-linear way and even allowing movement to be terminated and reinitialized if required mid-move. This becomes even more powerful when you combine this with other Edelkrone motorized products. It’s even possible to convert these movements into time lapse and stop-motion tracking movements.
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The main time lapse option page. It also offers the ability to change the interval dynamically as well as the step size. Intervals can be set in 0.1 second increments. Number of exposures can be set here. |
The app also easily enables you to send feedback messages to the customer support team. I found myself doing this on a few occasions, to ask questions or suggest new ideas. Customer support with Edelkrone products has been excellent. Included in the app are links to the various product set-up videos on YouTube which can be really useful.
The app contains some other functions behind the buttons on the bottom. Time lapse and stop frame both can be used with the correct cable by plugging into the right hand socket to trigger the shutter on your camera. The left hand socket is for LANC control which is going to be supported in upcoming updated firmware.
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| The LANC and remote shutter sockets. |
In actual use I found the app very intuitive, a minor issue was getting the timing right for the tapping on two pose buttons to get the loop function working. Due to limitations of this sort of system i.e. a Dolly that isn’t on tracks, there is some drift in repeated looping movements. Edelkrone advise that repeated movements are only accurate for around five to ten loops. Set-up is key to getting the best performance.
The two tension controls on the side of the dolly need to be set appropriately for the weight of the camera, lens and head. They have to be set so that the dolly doesn’t drag across the surface it’s on, but they also have to be set so that there is no rocking of the dolly during movement. This can be tested by gently pressing alternately on the sides that don’t house the tension wheels to see if there is any side to side movement.
In practice I found that I was able to get acceptable results over quite a few more than that with careful adjustment – around 100. While there was a drift of around 12mm (1/2 in) perpendicular to the move it was almost perfect along the length of travel. Your mileage will vary as this depends on the balance of the camera and also the resistance of the surface you are using.
The tension adjuster, one per dolly wheel.Setting up arcing movements was also easy. You do need to follow the instructions in the app to first place the camera at the start position, line it up with the on-screen controls and then the DollyONE will move slightly to one side. You then need to use the on-screen buttons to re-center the camera – this provides the dolly with enough information to derive an arc which can then be used for 360-degree movements around a subject. You can of course make a different sort of arcing move and re-orient the camera so that it faces outward. This can be useful for parallel moves around subjects placed in an arc.
I got around 90 minutes of battery life when setting it up in loop mode at 30% over a 75cm (30 in) move. Edelkrone states that the expected life is 60 minutes when set to 100%. I did find that the in-app battery level meter was rather pessimistic. It showed the battery to be exhausted when in fact I had around 30% of life remaining. An update to make this more accurate is being worked on by their R&D department.
You may find from time to time that the main control slider disappears and is replaced by the message ‘recover path’. You then have to select this option and the dolly relocates itself to recalculate the original position. This only tends to happen if the DollyONE gets moved manually either deliberately or by accident.
While using the dolly I found that there are surfaces you should avoid – basically ones that are glossy and uneven. Glossy will cause issues with traction; heavily varnished wood for example isn’t great. Uneven ones can also cause traction problems but will also introduce some vibration and can be noisy if that’s a consideration. You can’t use it on carpet and rugs as the clearance of the wheels underneath is only about 5mm (0.2 in).
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| One of only 2 dolly wheels. |
As usual nothing is perfect and there are a few things that could be improved. I’d like the ability to use external power as the run time with a single LP-E6 can be a little limited when using the time lapse function over extended periods.
One thing that is not as easily available as it could be with the DollyONE is the ability to rotate 360 degrees around its own center axis via a single button press. It is feasible to make your own 360 degree arc. You do this by setting it up in such a way that the second position that you choose to orient the dolly is 90 degrees to the first position. This is not as intuitive as it could be but I’m told that a simpler way of doing this will be added at a later date.
For the FlexTILT Head 2 I do wish that the tension adjustments were tool-less. I realize that accommodating this and maintaining a low profile head might prove difficult. Although not having to adjust up to eight hex bolts would be beneficial, even though the need for it is rare.
What at first may seem like quite niche products have actually given me more inspiration for new shots than I thought possible. I haven’t even touched on the fact that you could actually mount things on the DollyOne and use it as a movable platform for some subjects. I’m sure there are many more uses that I haven’t even considered yet.
These are not budget products but I’m a firm believer that you get what you pay for. My old, cheap dolly skater and head were used once and they haven’t been out of their boxes for over two years. The DollyONE and FlexTILT Head 2 are a natural pairing and I eagerly await the updates that will make this system even more creativity-inspiring.
