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Huawei Mate 20 Pro triple cam offers focal lengths from 16 to 80mm

16 Oct
Huawei Mate 20 Pro

Huawei launched its latest flagship smartphone Mate 20 Pro at an event in London today. Like the P20 Pro, the new device comes with a triple-camera setup on the rear but replaces the P20 Pro’s monochrome camera with a super-wide-angle unit, offering the widest range of focal lengths of all current smartphones. Using a combination of optical and digital zoom the new Huawei offers a zoom range from 16 to 270mm equiv.

The 40MP main camera is the same as on the P20 Pro and comes with large 1/1.7″ sensor, F1.8 aperture and 27mm equivalent focal length. The 8MP tele-camera features a F2.4 aperture and 80mm equivalent focal length.

The new super-wide-angle offers a 16mm equivalent focal length and uses a 20MP sensor with F2.2 aperture lens. A minimum focus distance of 2.5cm allows for better macro performance.

Very high ISO values up to 51200 allow for photography in very dark conditions and a new Super HDR mode that fuses 10 frames at Raw level offers improved dynamic range. New AI features include a Portrait Color video mode that isolates human subjects by desaturating the colors around them in real-time. Spotlight Reel identifies clips with a shared theme and auto-generates a highlight montage.

The 24MP front camera support 3D Face Unlock and can also be used for the authorization of mobile payments.

In terms of non-camera specs and features the Huawei Mate 20 Pro offers everything you would expect from a high-end smartphone in 2018. Google’s Android Pie OS is powered by a Kirin 980 chipset and 6GB of RAM. 128GB of built-in memory can be expanded via a new memory card format: Huawei’s new Nano-SD is 45% smaller than a MicroSD card.

The body offers IP86 water and dust protection and houses a 6.39-inch curved OLED display with 3120 x 1440 resolution and very thin bezels. DCI-P3 HDR is supported as well.

Huawei also launched the Mate 20 which comes with a 6.53-inch LCD display and a 12MP main camera but otherwise very similar specs to its top-end cousin. The Huawei Mate 20 Pro will be available from October 16 for approximately $ 1200 (EUR 1049). The Mate 20 is slightly more affordable at approximately $ 1040 (EUR 899).

Huawei Mate 20

A Higher Intelligence: Huawei Unveils HUAWEI Mate 20 Series

LONDON, United Kingdom—October 16, 2018—Huawei Consumer Business Group (BG) today unveiled the HUAWEI Mate 20 Series, one of the most highly anticipated smartphone series of the year. Representing a momentous milestone in the history of the HUAWEI Mate Series, the HUAWEI Mate 20 Series embodies the pinnacle of innovation.

Designed with the industry’s most powerful and sophisticated process technology, the latest Huawei flagship devices set a new bar by which all 2018 smartphones will be measured.

The HUAWEI Mate 20 Series is powered by Huawei’s densest and highest performing system on chip (SoC) to date—the Kirin 980. Manufactured with the advanced 7nm process incorporating the powerful Cortex-A76-based CPU and Mali-G76 GPU, the SoC offers improved performance and an unprecedented smooth user experience. The new 40W HUAWEI SuperCharge, 15W HUAWEI Wireless Quick Charge and large batteries work in tandem to provide users with the best battery life. The Matrix Camera System includes Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens that lets users not only see wider, but also closer with its new macro distance capability. The Hyper Optical Pattern on the glass back plays with light and shadows, producing an iridescent optical effect that is immediately captivating. The Matrix Camera System adopts the iconic Four-Point Design that exudes personality, giving the device a unique visual identity that is recognizable even at a distance. The HUAWEI Mate 20 Series is shipped with the highly customized Android P-based EMUI 9 operating system, on which consumers can enjoy all productivity and entertainment features easily and conveniently with a few simple taps and swipes.

Available in 6.53-inch, 6.39-inch and 7.2-inch sizes, the HUAWEI Mate 20 Series encompasses four devices: HUAWEI Mate 20, HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro, HUAWEI Mate 20 X and PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS. “Smartphones are an important entrance to the digital world.

The HUAWEI Mate 20 Series is designed to be the best ‘mate’ of consumers, accompanying and empowering them to enjoy a richer, more fulfilled life with their higher intelligence, unparalleled battery lives and powerful camera performance,” said Richard Yu, CEO of Huawei Consumer BG

Ultimate Performance and Battery Life

The SoC at the core of smartphones has a determining factor in a device’s performance and efficiency. Manufactured with the cutting-edge 7nm technology process, the SoC fits 6.9 billion transistors within a die the size of a fingernail. Compared to Kirin 970, the latest chipset is equipped with CPU that is 75 percent more powerful, GPU that is 46 percent more powerful and NPU that is 226 percent more powerful. Furthermore, the efficiency of the components has also been elevated: the CPU is 58 percent more efficient, GPU is 178 percent more efficient, and the NPU is 182 percent more efficient. The Kirin 980 is the world’s first commercial SoC to use the Cortex-A76-based cores. Huawei has

innovatively designed a three-tier architecture that consists of two ultra-large cores, two large cores and four small cores. This grants the CPU the flexibility to allocate the optimal amount of resources to heavy, medium and light tasks for unprecedented levels of efficiency, simultaneously improving the performance of the SoC while enhancing the battery life.

The Kirin 980 is also the industry’s first SoC to be equipped with Dual-NPU, granting it higher On-Device AI processing capability to support any and all AI applications. HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro is the world’s first smartphone to support the 4.5G LTE Cat. 21 standard, allowing consumers to experience download speeds of up to 1.4Gbps. It also supports the world’s fastest WiFi connection speeds–2GB footage requires only 10 seconds to download. The top-end flagship also supports dual-band (L1+L5) GPS positioning technology.

The AI GPS Satellite Selection technology enhances the positioning accuracy across a wide range of scenarios. Besides superb performance, the HUAWEI Mate 20 Series also features groundbreaking improvement on battery life. The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro houses a large, high-density 4200mAh battery, and supports 40W HUAWEI SuperCharge, which gives the device 70 percent charge in 30 minutes. The safety of the technology is certified by TÜV Rheinland.

Moreover, HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro supports 15W HUAWEI Wireless Quick Charge, the industry’s fastest wireless charging solution, and Wireless Reverse Charge, which enables the device to work as a power bank for selected electronic devices supporting wireless charging. The HUAWEI Mate 20 X supports an ultra-large 5000mAh battery, and is equipped with a revolutionary HUAWEI super cool system that uses a combination of graphene film and vapor chamber to deliver outstanding cooling performance. With the cooling system in place, the CPU and GPU embedded in HUAWEI Mate 20 X can remain at full throttle for an extended period of time and deliver the smoothest and most satisfying gaming experience to consumers. The HUAWEI super cool system also marks the first time graphene is utilized to cool smartphones.

Matrix Camera System

Building on the foundation of HUAWEI P20 Series’ camera system, Huawei augmented the HUAWEI Mate 20 with a powerful addition—16mm Leica Ultra Wide Angle Lens. This wider perspective creates a sense of spaciousness and a three dimensional effect to the images. The new camera system also supports macro distance, which produces crisp images of objects that are placed as close as 2.5cm from the lens.

The added ultra-wide angle lens and macro support completes the feature set of the camera system, elevating it to a truly all-round camera that is ready to capture any and all action. The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro is equipped with a 40MP main camera, a 20MP ultra wideangle camera, and an 8MP telephoto camera.

Together, the trio of lenses supports a wide range of focal lengths (equivalent to the performance of a 16-270mm zoom lens), enabling it to mimic the results from professional cameras. The HUAWEI Mate 20 Series also features an AI Portrait Color video mode. Using AI, the HUAWEI Mate 20 Series can isolate human subjects and desaturate the colors around them to dramatically highlight the person.

AI Spotlight Reel identifies clips with a shared theme and auto-generates a montage, made entirely of highlights. HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro and PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS both support 3D Face Unlock. The solution quickly and securely authenticates users within 0.6s at a false acceptance rate of below 1/1,000,000. Using the 3D Depth Sensing Camera System located at the front, the two devices can accurately read the facial features of a subject and recognize even small details. Besides user authentication, this suite of sensors also enables the portrait beautification effects to be realized in a more natural and effective way.

EMUI 9 Enables a Quality Life

The HUAWEI Mate 20 Series comes with EMUI 9.0, a smart operating system based on Android P. Through AI self-learning algorithms, an integrated and granular resource allocation system, and a highly optimized Android environment, EMUI 9 delivers an “evergreen” experience—it remains smooth even through extended use. EMUI 9.0 incorporates a unified, ergonomic design and a streamlined settings menu.

The new gesture navigation support allows users to effortlessly interact with their devices using just taps and swipes. It also introduces new AI features that enable the HUAWEI Mate 20 Series to perform or enhance a range of tasks from object identification to food calorie counting12 . Using 3D Live Object Modeling, consumers can even create a fun digital avatar to dance or interact with.

As a key pillar supporting Huawei’s all-connected, all-scenario ecosystem, HUAWEI Share 3.0 delivers a revolutionary improvement in device interconnection, allowing users to transfer files between smartphones and PC. This is an innovative, Huawei-proprietary solution that enables device interconnectivity. It revolutionizes the way people transfer images and videos: all it takes is one tap to establish a connection between a smartphone and PC for easy and fast file sharing3 .

Futuristic Design

As an expression of the HUAWEI Mate Series DNA, all devices carry a FullView display with a high screen-to-body ratio. Compactly engineered, every device from the 6.39-inch HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro to the 7.2-inch HUAWEI Mate 20 X can be comfortably used with a single hand. The grace of natural elements is captured on the design of the HUAWEI Mate 20 Series. In particular the HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro’s chassis is curved on all eight sides—a marvel to behold, and a pleasure to hold in the hand. For the PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS, Huawei and Porsche Design ingeniously combined race track elements with premium materials to create a device that exudes elegance and offers a firm, ergonomic grip.

The Matrix Camera array on the back of the HUAWEI Mate 20 Series features a four-point design with the three cameras and sensor encircled in a polished metal frame, producing an avant-garde look that is both bold and distinct. The flagship series comes in a new Emerald Green colorway, which is as brilliant as its namesake gemstone. The Hyper Optical Pattern on the glass back uses a complex hairline pattern to produce an iridescent effect that is not only highly durable, but also makes the device easy to grip and fingerprint resistant. The devices retain a clean look even when they have been used extensively.

The new HUAWEI Mate 20 Series, as well as HUAWEI WATCH GT, HUAWEI Band 3 Pro will go on sale in countries including the U.K., France, Italy and United Arab Emirates soon. The HUAWEI Mate 20 (4GB + 128GB configuration) will have a MSRP of EUR799 and the HUAWEI Mate 20 (6GB + 128GB configuration) will have a MSRP of EUR849 from 16th October, 2018.

The HUAWEI Mate 20 Pro (6GB + 128GB configuration) will have a MSRP of EUR1049 from 16th October, 2018. The HUAWEI Mate 20 X (6GB + 128GB configuration) will have a MSRP of EUR899 from 26th October, 2018. The PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS (8GB + 256GB configuration) will have a MSRP of EUR1695, and the PORSCHE DESIGN HUAWEI Mate 20 RS (8GB + 512GB configuration) will have a MSRP of EUR2095 from 16th November, 2018.

Embodying exquisite design, powerful performance, extraordinary capturing capabilities and nextgeneration intelligence, the new HUAWEI Mate 20 Series is the partner of choice for professionals pursuing quality of life. For more information, please visit: http://consumer.huawei.com/en

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Nikon Z7 AF tested: Tracking lags behind the D850, mirrorless competition

16 Oct

The Nikon Z7 is slated as a mirrorless equivalent to the D850, but it can’t subject track with the same reliability as its DSLR counterpart. AF performance is otherwise good, except in low light where hunting can lead to missed shots.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Luminosity Masks: What They Are and How to Use Them

16 Oct

Post-processing can make or break an image. It doesn’t matter how much you change in your photo editor of choice, even a small adjustment can damage your image if it isn’t applied correctly.

A common mistake I see with post-processing is applying all adjustments globally (i.e. to the entire image). It’s something we rarely want, which is why we tend to use Lightroom’s Highlights and Shadows sliders to adjust the exposure rather than the Exposure slider. And once you bring your image into Photoshop you can apply more advanced techniques and adjustments.

More than ever, you need to know how to make these adjustments correctly.

And that’s where luminosity masks come into the picture.

What are Luminosity Masks?

If you’ve read any of my previous articles you may have seen me talk about selective post-processing – making adjustments that only affect specific areas rather than the entire image.

Luminosity masks are selections based on a pixel’s luminosity value. This means you can accurately select only the bright, dark or midtone pixels. We can refine these selections to affect only the brightest brights or the darkest darks, and use them as layer masks for our adjustments.

Since they’re based on the pixel’s brightness, we can get extremely accurate selections that target only the specific pixels we want. Having an accurate selection means we avoid certain unwanted artifacts you might otherwise experience.

You won’t find luminosity masks in a list or menu within Photoshop (although third-party plugins can automate the process). Instead, you need to create them manually by making selections based on the RGB channels.

How to Use Luminosity Masks

Now that you know what they are, the next thing you need to know is how to use them. As you probably know they don’t adjust the image themselves. Instead they’re a selection you can apply to any layer or group you can use a layer mask on.

Before we look at how to use them, we need to look at how to create them. You can do this either manually or by using a third-party plugin. I strongly recommend you learn how to create them manually before you start using a plugin to speed up your workflow.

How to Make Luminosity Masks

Let’s create a Brights mask, which will select the bright areas of the image but leave the midtones and darks untouched. Keep in mind this is the broadest brights mask, and you’ll probably need to refine it to target more specific pixels. (More on that another time.)

Start by opening an image in Adobe Photoshop, and follow these steps to create the mask:

  1. Hold down Ctrl/Cmd and click the RGB thumbnail in the Channels Tab. You should now see marching ants around several areas of your image.
  2. Save the selection by clicking the Save selection as channel icon. The selection is saved as a channel and given the name Alpha 1.
  3. Double-click the name of your new channel ‘Alpha 1’ and rename it to ‘Brights 1’.
  4. Hold down Ctrl/Cmd and press D to deselect the selection.

Not too hard, right?

This is what the Brights 1 Mask looks like

We’ll make the Darks mask next. It’s pretty much the same process as making the Brights mask except we need to invert the selection:

  1. Hold down Ctrl/Cmd and click the RGB thumbnail in the Channel Tab.
  2. Hold down Ctrl/Cmd and Shift, and press I to invert the selection.
  3. Save the selection.
  4. Double-click the new channel’s name and rename it to ‘Darks 1’.
  5. Hold down Ctrl/Cmd and press D to deselect the selection.

This is what the Darks 1 mask looks like

Finally, we’ll create the Midtones mask. This one is made slightly differently to the first two masks.

  1. Select the entire image (hold down Ctrl/Cmd and press A).
  2. Subtract Brights 1 (hold down Ctrl/Cmd and option/alt, and click on the ‘Brights 1’ channel’s thumbnail).
  3. Subtract Darks 1 (hold down Ctrl/Cmd and option/alt, and click on the ‘Darks 1’ channel’s thumbnail).
  4. Save the selection and rename the new channel to ‘Midtones 1’.

This is what the Midtones 1 mask looks like

We’ve now created the three basic luminosity masks. The process might seem confusing at first, but soon you’ll find creating masks as easy as one, two, three.

How to Apply and Use a Luminosity Mask

Now that we have our masks, let’s look at how to use them. As I mentioned earlier, you can apply luminosity masks to any layer or group you can use a layer mask on. This includes merged layers, adjustment layers, groups, smart objects and more.

I want to brighten the darkest parts of this image but leave the highlights alone

A typical processing scenario is the foreground being is a bit too dark while the sky is perfectly exposed.We can fix this by increasing the exposure using a Curves Adjustment. But using a Curves Adjustment without a mask will brighten not only the shadows,but also the areas that are already well exposed.

So let’s use the Darks mask.

Hold down Ctrl/Cmd and click on the Darks channel’s thumbnail to activate the selection. (You’ll know it’s active when you see the marching ants.)

With the selection active, create a Curves adjustment layer. Since the selection is active, the Darks luminosity mask will be applied to the Curves’ layer mask. Any adjustments you make on this particular layer will only affect the areas represented by white on the mask.

Now simply pull the Curve up to brighten the darks. You can toggle the mask on and off by shift-clicking the layer mask to see the adjustment with and without the mask. (It makes a huge difference.)

With the luminosity mask applied

 

Without the luminosity mask applied

What Now?

This is just one way you can use luminosity masks. When processing an image I use them several times with a variety of adjustments. They can even be used to blend multiple images.

And while third-party plugins can automate the process for you, you really should learn how to create them manually first. Understanding how they work makes it easier to know how and when to use them – and when not to.

If you’re interested in this subject, take a look at my eBook A Photographer’s Guide to Luminosity Masks where I teach you everything you need to know about them, as well as a variety of other masks and advanced selections.

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ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2019 Review: Face Detection and Recognition

16 Oct

A question seen frequently on photography groups is “What software do I get to process my images in?”. There is the usual flurry of recommendations for the familiar choices and a few random ones thrown in. One option that doesn’t get mentioned as often as it should is ACDSee. In particular the Photo Studio Ultimate 2019 bundle is worthy of consideration for both beginners and more experienced users.

The 2019 version with the newly included Face Detection and Facial Recognition features is a step up from the previous 2018 program, indicating an intention towards AI-based digital asset management.

For anyone wanting a one-stop shop to manage, view, process RAW files, and edit with layers, etc, PLUS only having to pay once for a perpetual licence, ACDSee offers a compelling option in the marketplace.

My background is in Lightroom and Photoshop which is the basis for comparison in this review.

Let us assess this software from the point of view of what it offers a beginner.

CONTENTS

  1. Getting Started – installing and setting up
  2. Layout and Features
  3. Importing and Viewing Images
  4. Editing your RAW Image
  5. Advanced editing with layers
  6. New Features in 2019 version
  7. General Comments

1. Install and Setup

Setup and installation are fairly standard as per most software. ACDSee does require you to set up an account as part of the install process (it’s mandatory and cancels the install if you try to opt out), which then requires an extra registration step with an email confirmation. However, once sorted, no further registration is required. If you have registered before, you can use the previous login details.

It does allow you to choose which drive/directory/folder you want to install it into, as well as if you want to use a non-standard install path. As per the splash page below that opens on Startup—you can auto select the folder to open when the software starts.

Also new is the next screen, which helpfully shows you what the key functions and features are, and where to find them. Both of these can be turned off if desired. You can click on any of the words on the left panel and it will take you to the appropriate screen. Or click through on the NEXT button. Or close it.

 

Once you have navigated the splash pages, you will be taken to the Manage mode screen.

2. Layout and Features

ACDSee has five main modes in separate tabs for each function—Manage, Photos, View, Develop, and Edit.  There are some extra features but these are key ones used in general.

Summary of the features:

Manage mode has access to your computer, direction to find images where they are stored on the computer, and the default option is to view your images in thumbnail view (similar to Grid in LR). It shows EXIF data, histogram, and shot information for a particular image. You can colour code or rate images in Manage Mode.

Photos mode is similar to Manage. It allows a more comprehensive way of viewing image files on your hard drive, and you can drill down to specific day/month/year views.

View mode allows you to view a single image in full screen mode (similar to a single image view in LR) and has some basic editing functions included.

Develop mode is where you edit your RAW image files (similar layout and functions to LR or ACR).

Edit mode is where you can do advanced editing with layers (similar to PS).

There are also the 365 tab, Dashboard tab, and Messages tab. 365 is where you have access to your subscription information, if you opt for it. The Dashboard shows graphical data on image/camera information—if you want to know your most commonly used ISO setting, type, and number of files, it is visible here.

 

3.  Importing and Viewing Images

Importing is not required with ACDSee. The software will read folders directly off your computer, displaying and respecting its existing folder structure, just like Explorer. However, users can import off of external sources if they wish to achieve other organizational goals at the same time, such as culling, tagging, renaming, etc.

Once imported, you will then want to view them, cull, tag, and select the best ones for editing.

I have all my images stored on a NAS and it found those with no issues.  Above is the Manage page showing the hard drive directory structure and images in thumbnail grid view.

You can rate your images either using numbers or color tags. In the above image it has picked up the color rating I gave one image in LR. If you select the Catalog tab on the left hand menu, you can further refine your search parameters with selecting a specific rating or color tag. In the below example it has used the Red color tag to select images to view.

 

Also visible in the above image is the histogram (color graph below left) with camera settings above it for the selected image. The fine print at the bottom of the window has the name, file format, date/time taken, and file size information.

The full Manage mode window above, with directory tree/histogram/camera data on the left hand menu, and EXIF data for the selected image on the right hand pane, and all the images on display.

Other Image Viewing Options

ACDSee has two other image viewing options included. Photos mode and View mode

Photos mode opens with a splash screen explaining what it does.

It offers another way to sort and view your image files and has some granular control. You can get it down to a specific day quite easily and just see the images shot on that day. Probably very helpful for wedding or event photographers. Below is an example where it shows all the shooting days, with a blue bar that gives an idea of how many photos are stored under that day.

View mode is where you can see just a single image using the full screen size. You can zoom in to check the image quality using various zoom features. There is a floating Navigator panel you can activate and use that to ensure you are viewing the correct part of the image.  Similar to the Navigator in LR/PS.

There are some very basic editing tools available here, but better functionality is had in Develop mode.

4. Editing RAW Files

RAW image editing is done in Develop mode and it is laid out very similarly to LR. By default, the Editing tool panel is on the left but it can be moved.

Image with Edit Tool Panel on the left

It’s not immediately obvious, but the white section of the grey bar that ends with the triangle cut out of the bottom is the active slider. You move the light bar to the desired settings. Or type in a number or use the Up and Down arrows on the end.

There are 4 main tabs in the Tool Panel:

Tune – The usual tools for editing a RAW file, exposure, etc. Very similar to LR

Detail – Sharpening, Noise Reduction, and Skin Tuning

Geometry – Lens Correction, Cropping, Perspective adjustments

Repair – Heal/Clone and Red Eye adjustments

In Develop Mode with the Tune Panel open

In general, I found the sliders a bit fiddly to operate; it wasn’t smooth, but apparently it is easier to incrementally adjust sliders with a mouse wheel. My perception of the program is that its application of the settings is quite harsh, so careful use of the sliders is necessary.

While you can activate a second screen in Develop mode, the only purpose is to maintain a view of the unedited image for comparison.

The Tune tab also has some spot editing features—Develop Brush, Linear Gradient Tool and Radial Gradient Tool—the equivalent of Adjustment Brush, ND Grad, and Radial Tool in LR.

5. Advanced Editing With Layers

Edit mode gives most of the expected features you would find in Photoshop and other programs that offer layer/mask functionality. The Filmstrip is visible (similar to Bridge), although you can turn it off to gain the screen real estate back.

Edit Mode open with all the default settings and panels visible

Edit mode offers quite a few extra or useful features. The 2019 version also has an Adjustment layer for Color LUTs, which is a recent new feature brought into LR.

A new feature in the 2018 version was an Actions Menu—a range of preset creative edits you can apply with one click. The 2019 update to this allows you export and import actions as well.

Some of the actions have a really harsh effect like overdone HDR or similar, which was quite noticeable in the 2018 version. In the 2019 version they have toned down the effect in some of the actions, but not all of them. So it pays to pick and choose as it does depend on which action you choose as to what outcome you get. Also it applies it directly to the image so you can’t do it as a layer and then blend in, unless you duplicate the base layer and blend back which has its own issues.

One of the features that did impress me in both the 2018 and 2019 versions was how good a job the Heal tool did in tidying up spots and other issues. On the above image I have removed several spots and imperfections. On the right hand side, in the center of the flower, was a long black mark on a petal (near the small curled one), and that has been seamlessly removed.

An oddity also visible in the above image—in View mode I applied a LOMO preset and liked what it did, and further edited the image to mute the tones and lower the saturation.However, when you use the Navigator tool, as per above, it shows the original RAW file in its unedited state.

Finally I dragged some texture layers, (can be dragged from a second monitor into the Layer Palette), apply some blend modes, adjust the opacity, and soften areas with a mask to reach the final image.

New Features in 2019

Several new features have been included in the 2019 edition, but one key one is Face Recognition. A short video explains how to use it HERE.

I don’t shoot people/portraits generally but had a few tucked away to test. I could get the Face Recognition to function, however it didn’t automatically find all the other images and assign them correctly.  I suspect this is because I have all my images on a NAS and not in the usual directory. If I clicked on each image individually, it did recognise the face and the person.

General Comments

There are some things I find odd about how the program functions; three different ways to view the image can be a bit confusing. The second monitor view in Develop mode that only holds a copy of the unedited file for a comparison seems like a major waste of screen real estate.

Many new features were included in the 2018 version, and the ones assessed in this review of the latest version have been further enhanced and improved—I am guessing in response to user feedback.

This 2019 version adds a lot of nice new mature touches, and helpful splash screens to introduce you to different features.  More accessible help options is a vast improvement: there are links in the Help menu to a Support Community, a Facebook page, and a Twitter account.

Any new software program takes a bit of getting used to, but once you understand it, ADCSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2019 offers any beginner (and more experienced users) a compelling package. It has all the features you need for image management, RAW editing, and more advance editing in one place, with the advantage of a ‘pay once and it’s yours’ option instead of a subscription.  Although a subscription option is available, if desired.

At $ 149 USD for the single purchase perpetual licence, you get a LOT of capability all wrapped up in one software program.

Rating

8.5 out of 10

Disclaimer: ACDSee is a paid partner of dPS

 

 

 

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Lightroom CC 2.0: What’s new, and where is it headed?

16 Oct

Last year, Adobe shook up its Lightroom ecosystem – and quite a lot of its longtime customers – by announcing Lightroom CC 1.0, a completely new desktop photo management and editing app focused on Creative Cloud integration. The previous version lost its name to the upstart and was rebranded Lightroom Classic CC, leading many people to think, over Adobe’s sudden strenuous objections, that Classic was soon headed for the rejects bin.

Today, Adobe released Lightroom CC 2.0 and Lightroom Classic CC 8.0, both still breathing and both with additional features. In this article I’m specifically looking at what’s new in Lightroom CC and how it fits into the greater Lightroom lineup (which includes mobile versions for iOS and Android), but it’s worth mentioning up front that photographers using Lightroom Classic shouldn’t feel anxious about the immediate future.

Lightroom CC 2.0 Gets More Cloud-y

One of the primary reasons for building a cloud-focused version of Lightroom is to be able to share an entire photo library among multiple devices. Lightroom CC uploads everything to Creative Cloud by default, even Raw files, and from that high perch it can ensure that the images and edits are in sync in Lightroom clients on the desktop, tablets, and phones. (You can also optionally store your photos on a local drive; the cloud isn’t the only repository, but it acts as the master record.)

In Lightroom CC 2.0, Adobe’s Sensei machine-learning technology is responsible for many of the marquee new features

Having a photo library in the cloud opens up possibilities for working with the image data on Adobe’s servers. The company already uses it to deliver better results when clicking the Auto button in Edit mode, and to search for objects and scenes based on visual recognition. In Lightroom CC 2.0, Adobe’s Sensei machine-learning technology is responsible for many of the marquee new features.

People View

Facial recognition is a processor-intensive task, as anyone who’s waited for Lightroom Classic to churn through a local library knows. In the new Lightroom CC People View, the library is indexed and analyzed in data centers instead of your computer. It appears as a category under My Photos, along with the All Photos, Recently Added, and By Date categories.

The People View in Lightroom CC 2.0.
Viewing photos where Lightroom – actually, Adobe Sensei – has identified a person.

Lightroom CC presents a circle for every person it’s identified, so you can assign names; it doesn’t tie into your contacts database or anything outside Lightroom. Since inevitably some photos of the same person don’t get matched, a merge feature lets you combine them. You can also hide people from the list, such as when it pulls unknown individuals out of group shots or public scenes that you don’t want to see all the time.

Search Improvements

When you type within the Search bar, Lightroom presents possible metadata matches as you type, including camera, lens, and shooting data. Each term you add stands on its own, so to find boats at sunset, you’d type “boat,” press Return, and type “sunset” and press Return again. However, there’s no AND/OR/NOT logic to the field; typing “boat” and “sunset” brings up images of boats and images of sunsets, not necessarily boats at sunset. Oddly, folks you’ve identified in the People view are not included in text searches, but a new People filter presents named people as a way to narrow the results.

A search for “boat” and “sunset” has brought up photos that include one or both terms. Or maybe Lightroom assumes a boat owner lurks somewhere in that forest at the top right.

Tying search to Sensei, however, means there’s no local search capability. If your laptop is offline, the Search field doesn’t even work (but the Filter options do). Or, if you do have Internet access, but you’ve paused the sync feature, the search feature won’t pick up any photos you’ve imported that aren’t yet copied to Creative Cloud.

Share Tab

The web component of Lightroom at lightroom.adobe.com lets you view and edit your library in any web browser. It’s also the heart of Lightroom’s options for sharing albums or individual photos via a link, versus transmitting image files themselves. The new Share tab collects shared items in one central place.

The Share tab collects the albums and individual images you’ve shared via the web. At lightroom.adobe.com, you can also apply filters (such as showing only photos marked three stars and higher, for example) and preview the display of the page before it’s shared.

On the Mac and Windows versions of Lightroom CC 2.0, a new Connections feature is the foundation for sharing photos to third-party services. Right now the only option is to tie Lightroom to an Adobe Portfolio site, but the company hopes to add vendors such as photo labs or photo book printers.

One annoyance with the Share tab is that its button is an icon that looks like two people, which is where folks are going to click when attempting to open the People view. I’ve been using the beta for a while and I still do it.

Apple Photos Migration

If you’ve decided that the Lightroom CC ecosystem is the way forward, and you use a Mac, a new Apple Photos Migration tool can copy the contents of an Apple Photos library into Lightroom. It applies only to the system library, not any separate libraries you may have created. Any photos stored in iCloud Photo Library that aren’t on the local disk when the migration happens are not included; for example, if Photos is set to optimize the library, some images are deleted and replaced with proxies to free up disk space until the originals are needed again.

The People view, search improvements, and Share tab features also appear in the iOS, Android and Chrome OS versions of Lightroom.

Thoughts on Lightroom CC a Year On

When Lightroom CC first appeared, I used it almost exclusively for several months because I was writing a book about it. Since then, I’ve stuck with it, for a few reasons:

  • I like having my photo library available on my iPad Pro and iPhone. I find myself often making edits or culling photos on the iPad when I don’t want to bring out my laptop. It’s also convenient to edit photos and share them directly to Instagram or Facebook. Although I still use Lightroom Classic as well, it’s not designed for sharing among devices as well. When you import photos into Lightroom CC, the originals are uploaded to Creative Cloud to sync to other devices. If you import into Lightroom Classic, you must specify which collections will sync, and then the images are converted to lower-resolution Smart Previews before being uploaded. In terms of image quality and making edits, Smart Previews are perfectly workable: edits are synced back to the original images in Lightroom Classic. However, if you’re editing them in Lightroom CC and export the shots to Photoshop for any extra adjustment work (the retouching tools, for instance, are still better in Photoshop), you’re starting with a lower-resolution copy to work with.
  • The performance of Lightroom Classic has improved over the year, but working in Lightroom CC is faster, plain and simple. For some people, this is reason enough to switch.
  • One of my favorite features of Lightroom CC is how it handles images on disk. My MacBook Pro doesn’t have enough storage for my entire library, so Lightroom invisibly removes older originals to conserve disk space, and downloads them on demand from the cloud when needed. But I also save original copies of each image to an external drive in my office. When that disk is not connected, newly-imported photos are kept on the laptop’s storage; as soon as I connect that external drive, Lightroom automatically moves the files from the MacBook Pro to the external. In Lightroom Classic, you have to manually move and copy images. Lightroom CC also supports storing your library on a NAS (network-attached storage) device.

That said, a year on, Lightroom CC 2.0 still presents some significant hurdles for some people.

  • It’s still missing features from Lightroom Classic that I pine for on occasion, such as creating HDR images and panoramas. You can send images to Photoshop for those tasks, but the tools in Lightroom Classic are faster and more straightforward. There’s no option for printing or making books, so if that’s important, you want to stick with Classic. And the metadata support is still bare-bones, with just a basic keywords field and most IPTC fields hidden from view.
  • This is perhaps one of the biggest limiters for many people: To really take advantage of Lightroom CC, you need a robust, always-on Internet connection. If you’re on a low-bandwidth connection, it’s impractical to upload gigabytes of data in any reasonable amount of time; and some service providers limit the amount of data you can transfer every month. And although it is possible to use Lightroom CC without syncing, many features rely on Sensei. If your library isn’t synced to Creative Cloud, you miss out.
  • Even if you do have a good Internet connection, Adobe charges for additional cloud storage. The Creative Cloud Photography plan starts at $ 9.99 per month, which includes 20 GB of storage. That plan, which includes Lightroom CC, Lightroom Classic CC, and Photoshop CC, goes up to $ 19.99 per month for 1 TB of storage. Beyond 1 TB, there are 2 TB, 5 TB, and 10 TB upgrades that cost an extra $ 9.99 per month per terabyte. So, moving up to 2 TB of storage ends up costing about $ 30 per month, and 10 TB costs about $ 120 per month. (There’s also an option to get just Lightroom CC and 1 TB of storage for $ 9.99 per month.) And to reiterate a common complaint, those are subscription prices to rent digital storage, an approach many people don’t like.
  • To dovetail with the topic of being online, as I mentioned earlier, you must be connected to use some features. The one that gets me every time is the lack of local search: it’s unacceptable that my laptop needs to be connected to the Internet to perform even a keyword search of the photos in my library. Even recently-imported photos aren’t searchable until they’ve been uploaded and indexed by Creative Cloud.

The Future of Lightroom CC

Last year I said that I believe Lightroom CC is the future of Lightroom, and that at some point, but not soon, Classic will be replaced by CC. Predictably, some people thought this meant Classic is on its last legs, and the software they’ve invested large numbers of photos and hours was about to pull a swift disappearing act. The photographers who use Lightroom Classic saw what happened when Apple dropped Aperture, and were no doubt aware of Apple’s even more abrupt abandonment of Final Cut Pro in favor of the dramatically redesigned Final Cut Pro X. Those are actions that continue to reverberate among the people who were impacted by them.

Will Lightroom CC ultimately become the one true Lightroom in the future? I believe so, but Adobe doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get there

Adobe is wisely undertaking a more gradual transition, continuing to develop both Lightroom CC and Lightroom Classic simultaneously without an apparent rush to supplant the latter. In fact, the inclusion of the People view, and not the tools for working with HDR and panorama images – which Adobe representatives confirmed last year were on the roadmap for Lightroom CC updates – points to a measured approach to the software’s development.

Will Lightroom CC ultimately become the one true Lightroom in the future? I believe so, but Adobe doesn’t seem to be in a hurry to get there yet. In the meantime, I think Lightroom CC is becoming more compelling, but Lightroom Classic photographers, especially if they rely on Classic-only features, will continue to watch for it to get more interesting.

Disclosure: Jeff Carlson has done contract work for Adobe in the past.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Looking Through One Eye and Looking Through Two

16 Oct

Most of us look at the world through both eyes. But whenever we take a photo, we close one.

I want to encourage you to reverse this practice.

Why it's worth having both eyes open when you take a photo

© Pansa Landwer-Johan

Why Look at the World Through One Eye?

With a few exceptions, cameras don’t have two lenses. They record an image through a single lens, which is why the results are always two-dimensional.

But when you look through two lenses, as you do with binoculars, you’ll perceive more depth in the scene.

(That’s why we see with two eyes. It helps us perceive depth and distance between objects.)

Closing one eye lets us see a scene in the same two-dimensional manner our camera will record it.

This can be helpful in pre-visualizing a photo. When you use one eye, you’ll see the relationship between objects in your field of view differently. This can be particularly helpful when making a portrait, or photographing anything you want isolated from the background.

With both eyes open, you may not notice something ‘growing’ out of your subject’s head. Closing one eye lets you see distractions relating to your subject more easily.

Looking Through One Eye and Looking Through Two

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Experiment Now

Hold your index finger up and stretch your arm out towards a glass or similar object two or three meters in front of you. If you look at it with both eyes open you’ll  still see the object. But if you close one eye you’ll be able to hide it behind your finger.

Looking Through One Eye and Looking Through Two

Closing one eye and holding your hand to shield the sun helps you see where the clouds are and whether one will soon block the sun.

As you become accustomed to how this works, you’ll start looking through your lens in new ways. Knowing you have less depth perception looking through one eye and one lens can help you position your camera with more precision.

This is particularly helpful when photographing an isolated subject. When the background contains distracting elements, even a slight change in camera position can help hide them. By moving left, right, up or down a little, you can eliminate things from view. Similarly, it can help to close one eye while preparing to take a photo.

Looking Through One Eye and Looking Through Two

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Why Look Through Your Camera Viewfinder With Both Eyes Open?

With both eyes open you can be more aware of what’s happening around you. It’s easy to get consumed by an interesting subject while looking through your viewfinder. You may not see something else interesting happening nearby.

Being aware of someone potentially walking into your composition can also help you time your photos better. With both eyes open you can see who’s coming and choose whether or not to include them in your photo.

When you’re making portraits with a shortish lens (70mm or wider on a full-frame camera), having both eyes open makes you less anonymous to your subject. And they’ll be able to relate to you more easily if they can see one of your eyes.

Using a longer lens and keeping both eyes open gives you a more open view of your surroundings. When you focus through a long lens, it’s easy to lose some sense of depth in relation to your environment.

When photographing with a bright light in front of you or off to one side, closing your non-viewfinder eye will be less distracting.

Looking Through One Eye and Looking Through Two

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Don’t Expect to Master This Today

Concentrating on what you see in your viewfinder is more difficult when you have your other eye open. Learning to split your vision and scrutinize what you see through your lens and with your other eye is challenging.

Like anything else you want to learn, you must practice. Even when you’re not taking photos, you can still discipline yourself to leave your other eye open while your main eye is at your camera’s viewfinder. The more you do it, the more natural it will become.

Repetition will build muscle memory, and you’ll get used to separating the two fields of vision.

Looking Through One Eye and Looking Through Two

© Kevin Landwer-Johan

Conclusion

Most people who do anything exceptionally well are usually somewhat different – even eccentric. Closing one eye to look at the world and then keeping them both open while looking through your camera may seem a little weird. But don’t worry about what other people might think.

These two simple techniques will take some getting used to. But once you do you’ll  see so many things in new ways and take better photos of them.

So set yourself the task of practicing one eye closed and both eyes open. Stick with it until it feels natural, and you’ll soon appreciate the benefits.

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A fully-featured Photoshop is finally coming to the iPad

15 Oct

Earlier this year, Adobe Chief Product Officer, Scott Belsky, acknowledged Adobe was working on a full version of Adobe Photoshop for iPad. Today, we were given a glimpse into the fruits of its labor, with Adobe previewing Photoshop CC on iPad on stage at Adobe MAX 2018 in Los Angeles.

While much of the underlying code remains the same as its desktop counterpart, Adobe Photoshop CC on iPad is redesigned to be used on mobile devices, with a cleaner interface and buttons large enough to be tapped with a finger or stylus. Adobe Photoshop CC on iPad will also seamlessly sync with the desktop version of Photoshop CC via Creative Cloud so you can start on a project on one device and finish it up on another.

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To achieve this, Adobe had to create an updated version of its PSD file format it calls Cloud PSDs. In Adobe’s own words, “when we ship Photoshop on the iPad, [Cloud PSDs] will also run and automatically show up on your desktop…Suddenly, you’ll have this cloud-powered roundtrip experience akin to a Google Docs experience, where literally the source of truth of your Photoshop creation is in the cloud.” Gone are the days of having to figure out how to export files in a compatible format and send them to various devices.

The Verge was granted exclusive access to Photoshop for iPad and has created a wonderful first-look at what you can expect from it.

Adobe Photoshop CC on iPad won’t arrive until 2019. In the meantime, you can sign up for a chance to be included on the beta version on Adobe’s website.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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Tips For Using a Grid in Off-Camera Flash Photography

15 Oct

An off-camera flash lets you create your own light, giving you new and powerful options for bringing your vision to life.

But one of the biggest challenges of striking out as an off-camera flash specialist isn’t getting the necessary equipment, or even learning how to properly expose a picture.

It’s learning how to control the light. You need to harness it, not to let it roam free.

Portrait taken using a grid

Firing a strobe into an umbrella or a softbox for the first time and instantly creating soft, even light you can use for flattering portraits is an awesome feeling. Unfortunately, the artificial light usually spills everywhere, including the places you don’t want it to go—all over your background, back into the camera to create lens flare, etc.

As we know from the inverse square law, light loses its intensity the further it travels. But if you’re lighting a portrait in a tight environment you may not have the luxury of the light falling off. Your carefully lit shot could be ruined by light bouncing here, there and everywhere.

Fortunately, a bevy of creative options are available for controlling and limiting how your flashes splash light across the image. And one of the more popular options is using a grid.

What is a grid?

A grid fits over your flash and, using a series of honeycomb tubes, restricts the direction of the light output. Grids come in a variety of sizes to give you either a narrower beam of light or a wider spread. A 10-degree grid casts a narrower beam of light, while a 40-degree grid creates a wider beam.

A grid modifier for speed light flashes

With this level of control over your light you can create the precise lighting setup for the picture in your head.

A grid modifier fitted over top of a flash unit

While other options are available for restricting light (such as snoots), a grid provides the best balance between controlling the light and providing a pleasing effect with a gradual light falloff.

When is the best time to use a grid?

As I mentioned earlier, the challenge is to stop the light where you want it to. That perfectly placed light that’s highlighting your subject might also be throwing light over other parts of your picture, ruining the delicate balance.

Where a grid really shines is in providing a precise and restricted beam of light. You can use it to highlight a detail, create intrigue, or add drama in any other way you can imagine.

An image shot with an umbrella modifier on the flash

This shot is lit using an umbrella. The light is soft and covers a wide area.

 

Image taken with a bare flash

This shot is lit with a flash but no modifiers. The light is harsh, but narrower than the umbrella.

 

Image taken using a grid

Finally, this image is taken using a grid. The light is still quite harsh, but it’s restricted to bring more focus to the subject.

Using a grid on your key light

A grid is a fun way to create drama or heighten contrast. This is typical for low key images where a grid is used to purposefully show or hide key details.

For example, you can use a grid to mimic a shadowy and dark “film noir” image. The grid restricts the light, keeping it from spilling all over the scene and helping to maintain that dark, low key effect.

A Low Key portrait taken using a grid modifier

Using a grid on a secondary light

In a multi-light setup, you may need to use a grid on your secondary lights so you don’t ruin the balance provided by your key and fill lights.

Let’s say you already have the lighting you need on your model, but you want to emphasize a background detail. A bare flash would send a lot of new light careening around the image, whereas a grid lets you achieve the look you want with the precision you need.

Lens flare from secondary light

The light from the secondary light behind and to the left of the subject is causing lens flare. Putting a grid on the light would restrict the beam and stop it from happening.

Another useful application for a grid is where your rim light is pointed back towards the camera. You may need it to separate your model from the background. But if that light spills into your lens you’ll have to deal with lens flare and lowered contrast when editing later on.

The solution? Slap a grid on your rim light. The light will be directed only where you want it to go, potentially saving you hours of post-processing work.

Give it a shot

A grid is a handy tool in any off-camera flash photographer’s bag. Their simple design makes them an affordable option and, as I said earlier, they can be used creatively on either your key or secondary lights.

Making the most of a grid is an excellent step to take towards becoming the best flash photographer you can be.

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Canon RF 35mm F1.8 Macro IS STM sample gallery

15 Oct

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The weather and has most definitely taken a turn toward fall here, and our shooting opportunities have followed suit. We brought the Canon RF 35mm F1.8 along to a harvest festival of sorts and a few of our usual haunts. The lens is currently the widest native prime for the RF system, and priced at $ 500 for its launch in December, is also the cheapest lens to debut with the RF. Take a look through our gallery to see how it performs.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

 
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How to pick the perfect camera for kids

15 Oct

As a parent, one of the most enjoyable aspects of photography for me is sharing my love of photo-taking with my two kids. My wife and I enjoy taking pictures of our two boys, looking through old family photos with them, and involving them as much as we can when we are using our cameras.

However, when our oldest was about five years old he started wanting to get in on the action as well, and that’s when we hit a bit of a road block. We wanted to get him and his younger brother a camera, but with so many options we didn’t even know where to start. Fortunately we found a solution that has worked wonders for us and could be great for you too.

The Options

When we started looking more seriously into cameras for our kids we realized we had several options, all of which we ended up discarding for the following reasons.

Let them use our cameras. As much as we wanted them to get a real hands-on experience with photography, the cameras and lenses we use for formal photo sessions are much too expensive to hand over to our little boys. When they’re older we will certainly let them use our camera gear, but not at such a young age.

Invest in rugged point-and-shoot cameras. Some cameras made by Olympus and Panasonic are designed to take a bit of punishment and seem ideal for kids, but we didn’t want to spend hundreds of dollars on a camera that our kids might enjoy for a few days and then put aside in lieu of something else. (As parents we have learned that our kids’ enjoyment of a particular toy or object is rarely correlated with the amount it costs, and just because something is expensive by no means ensures they will like it or use it more than once!)

I have no idea why, but my six-year-old is obsessed with taking pictures of ceiling fans. This has led to some good discussions about shutter speeds and also the effect of flash when freezing motion.

Purchase a kid-oriented camera. If you search online you can find dozens of kid-oriented cameras that have big buttons and bright colors, but all the ones I have used have been quite unimpressive. Tiny low-quality LCD screens, slow response times, horrible image quality, and awful sound effects all seem like they are designed specifically to suck the enjoyment out of photography altogether.

Let them use an old mobile phone camera. This seems to make a lot of sense given the prevalence of tablets, phones, and other devices with cameras and touch-screen technologies, but we ultimately decided against it. We didn’t want the hassle of dealing with internet restrictions and app downloading, especially when our kids are so young. In the future we might open this door, but for now we’re more comfortable giving our kids an actual camera instead of a device that has many functions, including a camera.

The more we looked at choices available to us the more we seemed to hit dead ends, until we came up with a solution that seemed to check many boxes all at once: we would buy each of our kids a used point-and-shoot camera.

Old point-and-shoots can’t match modern cameras, but they’re not too shabby either. And when a kid can snap a picture of a sunrise with their very own camera, it’s a fun moment to witness.

The solution

A used point-and-shoot camera hit every one of our criteria. And the more research we did, the more we realized that this plan had almost no drawbacks and a variety of benefits including…

Price. You can look on eBay or used gear sites like KEH.com for used point-and-shoots and find plenty of options for $ 25 to $ 50. That’s well within the range that we are comfortable spending on a toy, and if our kids lose interest or break their cameras accidentally, we haven’t lost a lot of money.

Selection. The sky really is the limit when it comes to selecting a used point-and-shoot, and no matter your budget you can probably find one that suits your needs – especially if the goal is to give it to a child. As a starting point search for “Powershot”, “Coolpix”, or “Cyber-Shot” and sort by price to see plenty of low-cost point-and-shoot options.

A quick eBay search for Canon PowerShot digital cameras between $ 25 and $ 50 turns up dozens of results.

Features. I owned a few small pocket cameras way back in college and over the years I had forgotten how many features these old things had! Most of the ones we looked at included things like optical viewfinders, video recording, optical zoom lenses, self-timers, limited manual controls, white balance options, various metering modes, macro/portrait modes, custom scene settings, and instagram-style filters. Some of these require digging through menus, but it’s all there for children to explore and figure out, which is part of the fun of photography in the first place.

Image quality. Can a decade-old point-and-shoot match the quality and megapixels of a modern DSLR or smartphone? Of course not. Most of the cameras you are likely to find will be in the 3-megapixel range, which pales in comparison to any modern camera. And good luck taking pictures at high ISO values. But the point is to use this as a way to get kids interested in photography, and no child I know is going to balk at having only 3 megapixel images. That’s plenty big enough to crop and print. (Remember, a 4×6 photo at 300dpi is only 2 megapixels.)

Image quality on a used point-and-shoot can’t rival a DSLR, but it can be easily and cheaply replaced if dropped in water when taking pictures of turtles. And that’s almost what happened when this photo was taken.

After all our investigating we ended up getting our boys each a Canon PowerShot DS450 Digital ELPH from eBay. We paid $ 27 for one and $ 29 for the other, including shipping. Our kids (age 6 and 3 when they received them) were so thrilled they could hardly put them down. They called them their “Professional Cameras” and quickly started taking pictures, experimenting with different options, and figuring things out in the menu screens while teaching each other what they had learned.

Over time our kids have learned a lot more about photography and how to use their cameras to get the images they want. And they really enjoy experimenting with the self timer and taking short videos too. We made albums for each of them within our Apple Photos app. Over the past year they have built their libraries up with thousands of pictures which they like looking through and sharing with others.

This picture of grandma and grandpa’s dog isn’t going to win any awards, but my son had fun taking it and it helps him remember this visit.

At times their interest has waxed and waned, and sometimes a month will go by without them picking up their cameras. But that’s how kids are with most toys, and I don’t think the situation would be any different had we spent $ 200 on a brand-new kid-friendly point-and-shoot. The situation isn’t all sunshine and roses though, and there have been some drawbacks and risks that any parent would need to take into account when buying a used camera.

The risks

Purchasing anything used, whether it’s a camera or a car, carries with it its own set of risks and parents should be aware of what they are getting into.

Gear condition. If you get a new camera, whether it’s a brightly-colored toy camera or an advanced drop-resistant point-and-shoot, you can be fairly certain that the product you pay for is the same as the product you receive. It will also likely come with a warranty, but neither of these is the case with used cameras. Reputable sites like KEH, B&H, and Adorama rate their items with a scale that gives you a pretty good expectation of their condition, but what you get in the mail might have scratches, dents, or other defects you might not expect.

Both of the cameras we got on eBay had dings and dents, but my kids didn’t mind at all and I would suspect most kids (especially very young ones) wouldn’t even notice.

Beware of auction sites. If you have never used eBay or other auction sites before, navigating their options can seem like a bit of a digital minefield. Look closely at seller ratings, return policies, and buyer-protection options before making a purchase. And if you come across a camera deal that seems too good to be true, it probably is. The same goes for cameras you might find on Craigslist or Facebook Marketplace. Don’t be afraid to ask questions of the seller.

Accessories not included. Depending on where you get your camera it may or may not come with niceties like a wrist strap, a memory card, or even a charger or working battery. The cameras we got for our kids had batteries that barely held a charge, so we got a pair of third-party batteries for about $ 15. It wasn’t too big of a deal but it served as a good reminder of the difference between buying used vs. buying new. Things like this aren’t deal-breakers and your pocketbook will be still be much happier, even if you do have to buy some of these additional items.

On a recent trip to the local botanic gardens my kids finally got to be the ones taking pictures of daddy, not the other way around. Simple wrist straps definitely helped them keep track of their cameras in the process.

The lesson here is one that has rung true for ages, ever since humans began trading for goods and services: caveat emptor—let the buyer beware. If you do a little bit of research, ask questions, and trust your instincts you will probably end up with a perfectly good camera that will be great for kids.

It’s been well over a year since my wife and I got used point-and-shoot cameras for our boys, and despite a few hiccups, the experiment has been a resounding success. It has not ignited some latent passion for photography, but our boys have had fun experimenting and exploring and creating – and thus far they haven’t broken their cameras either.

My three-year-old took this with the pocket camera we bought him for under $ 30. I asked him why, and he told me he just liked the colors of the bike.

Meanwhile my wife and I rest easy knowing that they can’t access harmful internet sites or download strange apps onto their 2005-era digital cameras. And if our kids do end up breaking or damaging their point-and-shoots it will be a very cheap problem to solve. (As a bonus, if they do break their cameras we plan to use it as a financial lesson and make them save up for replacements.)

If you or someone you know has kids who are interested in photography, I highly recommend checking out the many used cameras available to you before shelling out hundreds of dollars on a brand-new model or buying a cheap kid-friendly camera with actual bells and whistles, but limited capacity for photography. The risk is fairly minimal, the results can be quite rewarding, and you might even find yourself renewing your own excitement for photography simply by helping teach the younger generation what makes the art form so special to you.

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