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Sony removes a7/R III firmware version 2.0 from its website, says it’s ‘working on the issue’

09 Dec

Two months after releasing firmware version 2.0 for its a7 III (Windows, MacOS) and a7R III (Windows, MacOS) mirrorless cameras, Sony has removed the firmware update from its website.

At the top of the download pages for Sony’s a7 III and a7R III firmware, an update read:

IMPORTANT: We apologize for the inconvenience, but the release of this software update has been delayed. We are working on the issue and will release the update as soon as possible. (Added on 12-07-2018)

DPReview contacted Sony Friday, December 7th, 2018 asking for more detail on why the update was removed. As of publishing this article on Saturday, December 8th, 2018 DPReview has not received a response. This article will updated accordingly if and when DPReview gets a response from Sony.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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DPReview TV: the 2018 DPReview Awards

08 Dec

With the launch of full-frame mirrorless systems from two of the industry’s biggest players, it’s safe to say that this was an especially busy year for the camera world. It’s not an easy job picking out the strongest products and innovations in such a year, but we endeavored to do just that for our yearly DPReview Awards. This year, Chris and Jordan joined us to help celebrate what we think is the best gear of the past 365 days.

See all of our award winners and runners-up, and get new episodes of DPReview TV every week by subscribing to our YouTube channel!

  • Introduction
  • Compact/Fixed Lens of the Year
  • Zoom Lens of the Year
  • Prime Lens of the Year
  • Video Accessory of the Year
  • Accessory of the Year
  • Innovation of the Year
  • Consumer Stills/Video Hybrid Camera of the Year
  • Entry Level Camera of the Year
  • Midrange Camera of the Year
  • High End Camera of the Year
  • Smartphone of the Year
  • Prosumer Drone of the Year
  • Product of the Year
  • Outro

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Colorado Tripod Company introduces ‘world’s first titanium tripod system’

08 Dec

The Colorado Tripod Company has introduced what it claims is the world’s first titanium tripod system, with a crowdfunding campaign on Kickstarter. Not only does the use of titanium make the ball heads lightweight and strong, but the design of the heads also allows the camera to drop to the side below the usual 90 degrees seen in other heads.

The Highline ballhead will be available in either titanium or aluminum. The titanium model will feature a hollow ball to reduce weight. Both versions will have a locking force of 54lb and will offer left-handed controls that allow users to hold the camera and shoot with the right hand. The titanium model will weigh less than 340g (12oz), while in aluminium the same unit weighs 510g (18oz).

To accompany these heads a new line of titanium and carbon fibre legs have also been introduced. The company says that by CNC machining from a solid block of titanium it can make its metal parts stronger than manufacturers that use metal casting. Milling also means the company can make its parts more precisely, and it says it can cut the amount of material used to help reduce weight. The carbon fibre used in the Centennial legs is ten-layered, and comes from Japan.

An additional ball head called the Aspen comes only in aluminium but offers a much wider range of camera positions, as it has no housing around the ball. This allows the camera to drop well below 90 degrees, while making the head quite lightweight at only 454g (16oz).

The Highline ball head in aluminium starts at $ 79 on Kickstarter, while the titanium version can be had for $ 399. The Aspen head costs $ 179 and the Centennial tripod is $ 249 in aluminium and $ 399 in titanium. Various kits combing these products are also available. Shipping is planned to start in March.

For more information see the Colorado Tripod Company’s Kickstarter campaign page.

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

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board is asking visitors to stop geotagging photos

08 Dec

In Wyoming, United States, the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board has launched a campaign imploring visitors to stop the use of geolocation tags when sharing photos of their outdoor adventures online.

As Vox recently pointed out in a video titled What happens when nature goes viral, geotagged photos have become a major issue for landmarks around the world. When photos posted to Instagram, Facebook, and other social networks are geotagged, knowingly or otherwise, it makes it easier than ever for new people to seek out the exact same location and have their own turn at taking a photo, only adding to the problem.

While it might not seem like a problem, the influx of visitors to many of these locations has caused a dramatic change in the environment, physically and otherwise. In Vox‘s example, Horseshoe Bend outside of Page, Arizona, United States, has seen an increase in visitors it isn’t capable of sustaining — at least not without dramatic physical changes to improve the safety of the growing number of spectators.

It’s this same issue the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board is trying to address with its new campaign. ‘Every time someone captures stunning scenery and tags the exact location, crowds follow,’ says the narrator in the above video. ‘The traffic causes unintended harm to pristine environments, plants, and animal habitats.’

To protect and preserve the two National Parks near Jackson Hole, the video implores visitors to use the new, vague location titled ‘Tag Responsibly, Keep Jackson Hole Wild.’ In addition to tagging the more general location, the Jackson Hole Travel and Tourism Board has also created a series of posters advising against using specific location tags.

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Sometimes users are completely unaware that their images are being tagged. Most phones nowadays feature automatic geotagging and although a number of image hosting sites and social networks strip the metadata, there are others that use it by default. If you feel called to be a part of the campaign, be sure to check whether or not the information is being automatically uploaded — and if it is, remember to use more general location tags when traveling around.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Canon patent shows off EOS M speedbooster-style adapter for EF lenses

08 Dec
This diagram from the patent shows the optical construction of the Converter Adapter (labelled CL) with a Master Lens (labelled ML) in front of it.

A new patent application filed by Canon, and first detailed on Canon News, lays out the schematics for its own version of a speedbooster adapter that would enable Canon EOS M users to adapt EF lenses onto the EF-M mount.

Japanese patent application 2018-189864 details an adapter that includes both a 0.8x focal length reducer, as well as a ‘variable flare cutter.’

As with the speedbooster adapters, Canon’s adapter would use a series of lenses to reduce much of the full-frame field of view onto an APS-C sensor, such as those used inside Canon’s EOS M cameras.

Where things get interesting is that Canon isn’t stopping there. Similar to how Canon has introduced a line of EF to RF adapters with added features, including an integrated control dial and drop-in ND/CPL filters, the adapter detailed in this patent adds yet another component: an adjustable aperture or set of apertures that effectively mask off sections of the adapter to reduce the potentially negative impact of stray, non-image forming, light rays.

This diagram from the patent highlights two separate locations where the variable aperture could be located within the converter (the front of the converter being the left side and the rear of the converter being the right side).

The patent explains this is done by calculating, on the fly via communication through integrated contacts, the ideal pupil sizes and locations of the in-adapter apertures, based on the attached lens’ current aperture and focus distance. With this information, the the adapter could ideally adjust its multiple variable flare cutters.

Within the patent, an example scenario is detailed showing how a full frame 50mm F1.4 lens would effectively become a 40mm F1.2 lens with an image height of 13.66mm and 18mm back focus — precisely the size needed for EOS M cameras.

The resulting combination would act as a 64mm F1.9 equivalent. Not quite as wide or with such a bright equivalent aperture as the full frame lens used on full frame, but still better than using a pass-through adapter.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Weekly Photography Challenge – Shadows

08 Dec

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

Your weekly photography challenge – SHADOWS!

Still River in black and white by caz-nowaczyk

This week, I challenge you to embrace shadows in your photography. Shadows can be used to tell stories, create drama and mood, as well as mystery.

Your photos can be color, or black and white, and be landscape, portraiture, street photography or any other genre. Either way, I can’t wait to see them!

Check out today’s video on embracing shadows as well as some of the articles below that may give you inspiration for shooting and editing Shadow pictures.

Here are some cool insta pics for inspiration too:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Manuel Pena (@manolobrown) on

 

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Julia Coddington (@juliacoddington) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Dilerious Dilettante (@loulou_mcphee) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Jeremy Perez-Cruz (@sleepingplanes) on

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Gregory Urquiaga (@eight_spicey_ducks) on

Add Impact to Your Photos by Including Shadows

5 Tips for Mastering Shadows in Your Photography

How to Use Shadow and Contrast to Create Dramatic Images

24 Dark and Mysterious Shadow Images

25 Shadow Images to Inspire You

Still Waters in black and white by Caz Nowaczyk

Weekly Photography Challenge – Shadows

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

Share in the dPS Facebook Group

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

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

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


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Filmborn film camera app updated with new presets, iOS 12 support and bug fixes

08 Dec

Seattle-based Mastin Labs has released a large update for Filmborn, its camera app for iOS, adding additional film looks, free access to all current editing tools, support for iOS 12 and the three newest iPhone models and updates to the original film preset appearances.

Filmborn provides iPhone users with true-to-film presets that give images captured by the phone a realistic film appearance. Users are able to create up to three in-app camera kits containing customized specifications, as well as adjust exposure and white balance using gestures and curves using Filmborn’s Custom Curves tool. Other features includes last photo review, live film previews, and highlight clipping.

Version 1.4 update makes all of those tools free for users who purchase Filmborn. The app’s size and user interface have both been optimized, performance and responsiveness have been improved, and Mastin Labs has added haptic feedback for tool buttons when pressed in Camera view.

A number of bug fixes are included with this update, most notable being a fix for the iPhone X telephoto lens issue users previously experienced. Filmborn now offers a lens toggle under Camera view for dual-camera iPhone models, as well. The iPhone XS, XS Max, and XR are all now supported by the app.

The new preset packs available in Filmborn version 1.4.

In addition to the app update, Mastin Labs has also added three new film preset packs to Filmborn’s store: Kodak Everyday Original, Fujicolor Pushed, and Portra Pushed. Filmborn is available to purchase from the iOS App Store for $ 2.99. Additional preset packs are available as in-app purchases for $ 1.99.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Embracing Shadows in Photography – A Lesson for Light and Life

07 Dec

The post Embracing Shadows in Photography – A Lesson for Light and Life appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.

In this fantastic video by Sean Tucker, he takes a look at the ways shadows can be used in photography to create mystery and depth.

 

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Shadows in film

Throughout this process, he examines the work of cinematographer, Roger Deakins, and looks at stills from his films Skyfall, Bladerunner, Jarhead and Unbroken. Using these amazing film stills, he analyses how the Deakins uses color, backlight, selective lighting and loads of deep shadows to create mystery and mood in his images.

According to Sean, many photographers say that using film as a point-of-reference for this type of photography is difficult because the same type of images cannot be captured in stills. As photographers, we simply don’t have access to million-dollar lighting set-ups and set design.

Photographers who tell stories through shadows

So, as part of this perspective, Sean also looks at photographers, Constantine Manos, Ray Metzker, Saul Leiter, and Trent Parke who manage to capture shadows in creative ways. These photographers manage to do this through the use of natural light and in the genres of landscape, portraiture and street photography. Through these images, they sculpt light, create character and tell stories with an interesting narrative. These images draw the viewer in and tell richer stories.

In the video, Sean also discusses the limitations of cameras to see the full dynamic range of the eye. He shows us exactly how this theory works with our camera through a diagrammatic presentation. A helpful tool for those wanting to understand dynamic range.

You may also find the following articles helpful:

Add Impact to Your Photos by Including Shadows

5 Tips for Mastering Shadows in Your Photography

How to Use Shadow and Contrast to Create Dramatic Images

24 Dark and Mysterious Shadow Images

25 Shadow Images to Inspire You

The post Embracing Shadows in Photography – A Lesson for Light and Life appeared first on Digital Photography School. It was authored by Caz Nowaczyk.


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Panasonic LX100 II: solid image quality in studio and real-world shooting

07 Dec

We’ve been shooting with the LX100 II both in and out of the studio, as part of our ongoing review. We’ve written about the camera’s operation and handling, analysed the studio scene and the camera’s dynamic range, and expanded the sample gallery.

Click here to read our expanded First Impressions Review

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Hasselblad Phocus 3.4 update adds new shadow/highlights tool, adjustment layers, more

07 Dec

Hasselblad has released an update to its medium format post-production program Phocus. Focus version 3.4 adds improvements across the board, including improved shadow and highlight tools, new adjustment layer tools, expanded live view options, new lens profile, and more.

The enhanced Shadow Fill and Highlight Recovery tools have been ‘significantly enhanced.’ Hasselblad says the updated algorithm ‘enables photographers to fully utilize the dynamic range available in their images,’ although exactly how it’s changed remains a mystery. In the event the updated methodology isn’t what a user wants, or the a user is working with previously-corrected images, Hasselblad has also included the old algorithm under a selectable version option.

Hasselblad has added Shadow Fill and Clarity options to the adjustment layer tools so they can now be used as local adjustments with the brush tool and linear and radial gradients. A new Detail tool has also been added under the exposure toolset. This new tool is used alongside the Clarity tool to fine-tune the local contrast in an image.

Focus 3.4 also includes a new Live View Aperture option that lets users ‘to automatically open to the widest aperture possible or to use the selected aperture instead when activating live view.’

Also new is an updated Noise Filter tool and additional lens profiles for the following lenses:

• XCD 2,8/65
• XCD 1,9/80
• XCD 2,8/135 with X Converter 1.7

To download Hasselblad Phocus 3.4, head over to Hasselblad’s Phocus download page.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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