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First Impressions: Sony FE 400 F2.8 GM OSS

First Impressions: Sony FE F2.8 GM OSS

We first gazed upon Sony’s new FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS lens at CP+ earlier this year. This past weekend I had the chance to use it in-person at a Major League Soccer match between the New York Redbulls and Dallas FC.

Paired with the Sony a9 and vertical grip, the combination easily met – and in some cases, exceeded – what I’ve come to expect in terms of AF performance, bokeh and handling for a pro sports camera+lens combo. Continue reading for my first impressions from the field, and check out our full gallery from the match below:

See our Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS samples

Fast AF speed

ISO 1000 | 1/2000 sec | F2.8

This shooting opportunity – arranged by Sony – felt like the perfect real world scenario to put a 400mm F2.8 through it paces. I’ve shot a lot of soccer at the collegiate level over the years, mostly with a 300mm F2.8, but never at the professional level. Despite my inexperience, I walked away with a hit rate close to 98% mostly using the Zone area AF mode; this really impressed me.

Though I initially set the camera up with the intention of using back button AF, I ended up using the half press shutter to activate autofocus nearly the whole time. Most sports photographers would avoid this as it can lead to missed shots: decoupling the two allows you to hit the shutter without the risk of driving focus onto the wrong subject or into a hunt. But the Sony drove focus in the correct direction, locking onto my intended subject, pretty much every time.

Prior to the match, Sony talked about how the lens’ design had been optimized for speed and super fast tracking even at the a9’s top burst speed of 20 fps. I mostly shot at 10 fps, but found the lens kept up marvelously.

Beautiful bokeh and background separation

ISO 1250 | 1/1000 sec | F2.8

While I started the game with the lens slightly stopped down, I opted to open the 400mm up to F2.8 as the sun began to set. These wide open shots in particular display beautiful background separation, with lovely bokeh, thanks in part to an 11-blade circular aperture. For sports photographers, the quality of a lens’ bokeh is obviously second to sharpness and AF performance, but lovely bokeh sure is nice to have.

A little lighter

At 2.9kg / 6.4lb., the lens weighs about 1kg less than the Canon 400mm F2.8, but make no mistake – this is still a heavy piece of kit. Sony says it’s light enough to shoot hand-held. I’ll admit I’m not the world’s strongest man, and 15 minutes of free-arming that lens definitely left me a little sore the next day.

Sore arms aside, it’s worth calling out that Sony’s 400mm feels exceptionally balanced. This is because much of the glass, and therefore weight, is located toward the back of the barrel resulting in a lens that doesn’t tend to pull forward/down as much as some similar telephoto primes. The build quality is also excellent – exactly what you’d expect of a pro-level tele. Above is the lens’ magnesium alloy shell.

Compatibility with teleconverters

ISO 1250 | 1/1000 sec | F4 | 560mm (1.4x teleconverter)

The 400mm F2.8 is compatible with both Sony’s 1.4x and 2x teleconverters. The former provides an equivalent field of view of 560mm and F4, the later 800mm and F5.6. The above is an example taken with the 1.4x teleconverter.

Other bits

As you would expect for $ 12,000, the lens has image stabilization with three different modes for various sports/action scenarios. It also has a customizable ring – located right in front of the focus ring – that can be set to do things like engage the APS-C crop mode on the camera, for more reach. There’s also a drop-in filter tray near the lens mount.

One of my favorites things about this lens is a bit more superficial: the snazzy orange ring around the front of the carbon fiber hood. Perhaps in years to come, we’ll see that orange ring more often along the sidelines.

Final thoughts

ISO 1250 | 1/1250 sec | F2.8

To many, the 400mm F2.8 was the final piece of the puzzle that had been missing in Sony’s glass line up. With this new telephoto prime, Sony is getting closer to being able to claim that it has a lens to meet the needs of any working photographer.

But now that the upper end of the market has been addressed, I implore you Sony, address the needs of the more modest end too. This $ 12K 400mm F2.8 is a huge accomplishment, but how about a reasonably-fast sub-$ 500 prime? A 35mm F1.8 perhaps…

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 27, 2018
dPS Ultimate Guide to Night Photography
In this, the next installment of our dPS ultimate guides, learn what you need to know to get started doing night photography.

Introduction

Tower Bridge, London. Exposure: shutter speed 2.6 seconds, aperture f/5.6, ISO 100.

Night photography immediately solves a huge problem that you confront constantly in photography. That problem is being faced with ordinary scenes that just aren’t very interesting. If you take a picture of a building or a standard street scene during the day, it can be sort of dull. We are all used to seeing shots taken in the middle of the day. That same scene – shot at night – can be a really interesting photograph though.

The actual taking of pictures at night might seem a little bit like magic if you are just getting started. Even those who have been shooting a while may wonder how to get a proper exposure and focus in the dark. Although photographing in the dark certainly has its challenges, in some ways, it is actually easier than photography during the day.

So let’s take a quick look at the essentials of night photography. In particular, we’ll cover the gear you need, how to expose your photos, how to focus at night, great subject matter, and some post-processing tips. Hopefully, this will help open up the world of night photography to you.

What to Bring for Night Photography

Breckenridge, Colorado – Exposure: shutter speed 15 seconds, aperture f/2.8, ISO 3200.

First, let’s talk about what you will need in terms of equipment for doing night photography. The good news is that you will not need much in the way of extra gear. Besides your standard camera and lens, the only thing you will absolutely need is a tripod. The darkness means that your camera needs to use a long shutter speed to gather enough light for a proper exposure (more about that in a second). So you need to be able to hold your camera steady and a tripod is the best choice for that.

Another helpful item for keeping the camera steady is a remote shutter release. I highly recommend that you get one – and the corded ones are very cheap (under $ 10). You can spend a lot on an intervalometer if the extra features will benefit you, but you don’t need that for standard shooting at night.

If you don’t have a remote or find yourself without one on occasion, you can use your camera’s 2-second timer to take the picture so that you don’t touch the camera during the exposure.

Miami, Florida – Exposure: shutter speed 0.3 seconds, aperture f/2.8, ISO 200.

Although not necessary, here are some additional items to consider having on hand for your night photography:
- A flashlight: This will come in handy in a myriad of ways. It will help you with finding your camera controls if you don’t know them cold. It will help you set up your tripod and deal with straps and other attachments. Finally, a flashlight will also help you find things in your camera bag. Just keep a small one (or a headlamp) handy.
- Lens hood: At night you will have bright lights coming at you from different directions – such as street lights and neon lights. Using a lens hood will help keep flares to a minimum.
- Extra batteries: The long exposures you take at night will drain your camera battery at an alarming rate. You may also be using Live View, which drains them even faster. So does cold weather. Therefore, night photography always calls for spare batteries. Don’t take any chances here – a dead battery means your night is over.
If you are going to capture the night sky, you’ll need to be on top of weather conditions. In addition to your standard weather apps, be sure to add an app to your phone that will help you see where the moon, constellations, and Milky Way (if visible) will be. If you don’t already have apps you are using (there are several), I recommend PhotoPills and Star Walk 2.

Exposures for Night Photography

Pigeon Point Lighthouse, California. Exposure: shutter speed of 6 seconds, aperture f/5.6, ISO 1600.

The biggest difference between daytime and night photography is the exposure values you will need to use. The darkness changes everything. Don’t worry though, once you have your camera on a tripod, it is actually not that difficult to get the proper exposure in most cases.

Let’s back up and cover things that you might already know. Your camera’s exposure is a result of three controls (the exposure triangle) – shutter speed, aperture, and ISO. Because of the darkness, you need to let more light into the camera, and you can only do so by affecting one of these three controls. We’ll cover how to do that for each of them now.

Toledo, Spain – Exposure: shutter speed 8 seconds, aperture f/8, ISO 200.

Shutter Speed

During the day, you will typically use shutter speeds that are a small fraction of a second. At night, however, the camera will use shutter speeds that are longer than one second – sometimes significantly longer. Think of it this way: because it is dark, the camera needs a longer period of time to gather light for a proper exposure.

The shutter will now be open for a longer period of time, so the camera needs to be held steady or the picture will move during the exposure process, causing your image to be blurry. That is why a tripod is required equipment at night. You can leave the shutter open as long as you want, as long as the camera is steady and does not move at all.

Millennium Bridge and St. Paul’s Cathedral, London – Exposure: shutter speed 4 seconds, aperture f/5.6, ISO 400.

Aperture

The aperture is the opening in the lens that lets light into the camera. The size of the aperture determines the amount of light being let into the camera for a given shutter speed, and it also affects the depth of field.

For the most part, there is no difference between how you will use the aperture at night versus how you use it during the day. The only difference is that the camera will struggle to get enough light for a proper exposure, so a small aperture will often require ridiculously long shutter speeds. In addition, the background is usually black, so you don’t need to worry as much about achieving a wide depth of field.

Both of these factors (needing more light, and not needing a wide depth of field) tend to mitigate toward using larger apertures at night.

When you are shooting a scene like this where everything is far away, you don’t need a wide depth of field. Hence you can get away with a larger aperture. New York, New York – Exposure: shutter speed 0.3 seconds, aperture f/4.0, ISO 400.

ISO

The third exposure control, ISO, is a measurement of the sensitivity to light of your digital sensor. Higher ISO values make your digital sensor more sensitive to light and thereby allow you to use a shorter shutter speed or a smaller aperture.

But, there is no free lunch here, and using higher ISOs will result in more digital noise in your pictures. Since dark areas of your picture tend to show more digital noise than lighter areas, it is often a problem with night photos. Therefore, resist the temptation to crank up the ISO at night if you can help it.

Since you will be using a tripod, you can usually avoid the need to use a high ISO. In other words, the tripod allows you to use a longer shutter speed, and that long exposure allows more light into the camera such that you don’t need to use a high ISO. However, in those cases where you cannot use a tripod or you have a moving subject, you will need to increase the ISO.

I needed the foreground sharp in this image, so these exposure settings are brighter than the typical night sky shot, which you will learn more about shortly. Shutter speed 30 seconds, aperture f/2.8, ISO 3200.

That is certainly bad news, but the silver lining is that cameras are getting better and better at handling higher ISOs without showing much digital noise. In addition, post-processing software continues to improve at noise reduction, so you should be able to remove the digital noise later.

A Starting Point for Proper Exposure

It might seem a little silly for me to even try to give you some night photography default exposure settings, but that is what I’m going to do anyway in an effort to get you started.

Let’s say you are in Aperture Priority mode, which is what I find a lot of people use. If you are still using an automatic mode, give Aperture Priority a try, as it is still semi-automatic (meaning the camera will set the shutter speed for you to create a correct exposure), but you get to set the Aperture and ISO.

So, let’s talk about the aperture setting first. Start by setting your aperture to f/5.6, which is a fairly moderate choice that lets in a healthy amount of light. It won’t give you as much depth of field as you might like, but remember that you typically don’t need an extremely deep depth of field since the background will be black.

Next, set your ISO. Start at about 400, which is high enough that you won’t have to use an extremely long shutter speed. At the same time, most cameras can shoot at ISO 400 without digital noise becoming a problem.

After that, just see where the shutter speed ends up when you line up your shot. I’m assuming you are using a tripod for this example, by the way. You know the shutter speed is going to be long – probably a few seconds. I have tried to keep the other settings such that you won’t be standing in one spot for a minute or more while the camera creates the exposure.

Chicago River – Exposure: shutter speed 30 seconds, aperture f/13, ISO 200.

That’s not to say you should never do that. Depending on the scene and subject, you might want your shutter speed to be measured in minutes – but it is not the norm.

If you don’t have a tripod, your options are limited. In fact, there is only one option, and that is to open up the aperture all the way, crank up the ISO to at least 1600 (probably 3200 or 6400), and then use whatever shutter speed the camera sets.

Even with a wide aperture and high ISO, the shutter speed is likely to be long enough that camera shake will still be an issue.

Exposing the Night Sky Photo

There is one specific exposure setting I can tell you right now because it is often the same. It is the exposure settings for photographing the night sky. Your exposure settings will be:
- Shutter speed: 15 seconds.
- Aperture: f/2.8
- ISO: 6400
This is not set in stone, and you’ll notice that my night sky photos add a little exposure to these settings, but it is a good starting point. But what if your lens doesn’t open up to f/2.8? Then you have to just increase the ISO or the shutter speed by the corresponding amount.

For example, if your lens’s maximum aperture is f/3.5 – which is the case with many kit lenses – you’ll need to find another 2/3 of a stop of light. Either add that to the ISO, the shutter speed or just increase both by one click (remember one click of your dials is 1/3 of a stop).

Big Bend National Park, Texas. Okay, the exposure settings don’t have to be exactly the same. I wanted this brighter to accentuate the Milky Way. Shutter speed was 13 seconds, aperture f/2.8, ISO 6400.

You might be tempted to lengthen your shutter speed a lot on the premise that you are using a tripod. After all, that would seem like a good way to reduce your ISO to control digital noise and also to use a smaller aperture so you don’t have such a narrow depth of field. Don’t do it!

The stars in the sky are moving (okay, it is really the earth’s rotation, but they appear to be moving across the sky). If you lengthen your shutter speed too much, the stars will have little trails which appear as a blur in your shot. You may not see it until you get the pictures home and look at them on the computer screen, but it will be there and will ruin the shot.

Big Bend National Park, Texas. Look closely at this picture and you will see little star trails. This was the result of using a longer shutter speed than I mentioned above. Shutter speed 165 seconds, aperture: f/4.0, ISO 1600.

For more in night photography exposure, please read Tips for Getting Proper Exposure for Night Photography.

Picking a Subject for Night Photography

Now that you have the right gear and know how to expose your photos at night, you have to pick a good subject for night photography. For the most part, that is no different than what you do during the day. A good subject is a good subject. Still, things will look different at night.

Let me introduce you to some of the things I like to photograph at night. Hopefully, these will give you some ideas, which you can take in your own directions.

The Night Sky

If you are out in the countryside, you need nothing more than a clear night to get a great photo. Moonless, clear nights are the best. If you can happen to catch the Milky Way (usually possible from March through October, and best from May to September), all the better.

Check out an app called Star Walk 2 to help you get a handle on the timing of these things. If you can add an interesting foreground to the shot, even better.

Museums and Public Buildings

The Louvre, Paris. I was forced to hand-hold this shot (it was taken from inside the Louvre), so I really had to crank the ISO and open up the aperture. Shutter speed 1/8th of a second, aperture f/4.0, ISO 3200.

Well-lit buildings are an obvious choice for a nighttime subject. You almost can’t go wrong here. Although the concept is obvious, when executed well the result can still be great. You can also use this as a starting point for your night photography. You will have additional ideas as you stand there waiting for your pictures to expose.

Fountains

Buckingham Fountain, Chicago – Exposure: shutter speed 10 seconds, aperture f/18, ISO 100.

Perhaps my favorite nighttime subjects are fountains. Many times they are lit with different colors as well, adding additional interest. The long shutter speeds you use at night make the fountain appear to be flowing.

Bridges

Brooklyn Bridge, New York – Exposure: shutter speed 15 seconds, aperture f/11, ISO 200.

It seems like every city or town has a bridge. It may not be the Golden Gate Bridge, but there will likely be a bridge and it will be well lit at night, which makes it an interesting subject. Plus the long exposure time you use for night photography will cause the water under the bridge to blur, and the traffic to appear as streaking lights.

Streetlights

Pay close attention to streetlights when you are doing night photography. They can be useful in a lot of different contexts. They can add a point of interest to it otherwise blank area of the picture. If there are multiple lights, they can create a nice leading line into your picture.

Washington, D.C. For this shot, I wanted the twinkle or starburst effect from the streetlights, so I used a smaller aperture. Exposure: shutter speed 8 seconds, aperture f/16, ISO 800.

Car Light Trails

Dallas, Texas – Exposure: shutter speed 20 seconds, aperture f/16, ISO 100.

A really fun thing to include in your night photos is streaking light trails from moving cars. These are created when a car or other vehicle drives through the frame while you have the shutter open. The camera picks up the lights, but since the car has gone all the way through the frame while you had the shutter open, it shows up in your picture as streaks of lights.

Try to time your pictures so that vehicles move all the way across the frame while you have the shutter open. Read: How to Create Dynamic Photos of Car Light Trails for more tips on this technique.

Reflections

Reflections in London, U.K. – Exposure: shutter speed 1.3 seconds, aperture f/8, ISO 200.

A benefit of the longer shutter speeds you will be using at night is that reflections show up better on the surfaces of water. This is obviously true on ponds and lakes. But it is also true for puddles. After a rain can be a great time for night photography.

Overlooks and Vistas

Let’s end with overlooks and vistas. Some of the best night photography I have ever seen are nighttime views of cities. You can often get great skyline shots. Be careful though – a great view often does not translate into a great picture. Make sure you have an interesting foreground and/or a strong center of interest in the picture.

New York City from the Manhattan Bridge – Exposure: shutter speed 10 seconds, aperture f/8, ISO 200.

When picking subjects for night photography, it is important to note that things will not look the same to the camera as they do to you. Take some test shots whenever possible. If the idea of a long exposure test shot seems tedious due to the wait time, crank up the ISO for purposes of your tests which will allow you to use a short shutter speed. When you go to take the final picture you can reduce the ISO and increase the shutter speed by a corresponding amount.

Nashville via drone – Exposure: shutter speed ½ a second, aperture f/5.6, ISO 310.

Focusing

One final difficulty you will face in night photography is that it is often tricky to focus your camera. That is because most cameras focus by detecting contrast. If the scene is too dark, there is no contrast for the camera to pick up. There are a few things you can do to get your camera to focus though.

The first is to focus on a bright light in the picture. A streetlight works well for this. Try focusing on the edge of the light (between the bright part and the black background), which will give you the necessary contrast. Be sure you are focusing the same distance away as where want your final picture to be focused. Once you have the focus set, recompose your picture and press the shutter button to take the picture.

U.S. Capitol, Washington D.C. – Exposure: shutter speed 30 seconds, aperture f/16, ISO 400.

Another trick to allow you to use your autofocus is to break out the flashlight and shine it on the thing that you want your camera to focus on. If it is close enough, the flashlight should provide sufficient light for your camera to focus.

Finally, if none of that works, you will need to manually focus your lens. Just put the camera in Live View and look at the LCD as you compose the picture (zooming in if possible) to see if your picture is in focus.

Henry Street, New York – Exposure: shutter speed 1/13th second, aperture f/5.6, ISO 3200.

Processing Your Night Photos

You can make your night photos look a lot better with a minor amount of post-processing. Of course, given all the different types of night shots you may face, giving specific editing advice here is difficult. Still, there are a few general things you might want to consider.

Lincoln Memorial, Washington, D.C. Another benefit of night photography is that you get to take pictures of memorials without any people in your shot. Exposure: shutter speed 6 seconds, aperture f/11, ISO 200.

Highlights

The first thing to consider is how to handle the highlights. Given the nature of night photography, you are doing to be dealing with some really dark areas, and some really bright areas. Many times those highlights will be slightly blown out. Even if they aren’t completely blown out, they are still bright enough that they would look better toned down a bit.

It wasn’t too long ago that this might have required using HDR (high dynamic range) software, but not anymore. Most RAW editors can bring back the highlights a bit (assuming you’ve’ shot in RAW format).

If you use Lightroom or Photoshop (Adobe Camera Raw or ACR), all you need to do is find the Highlights slider and pull it to the left a bit. That will decrease those highlights. As an added benefit, it will often make those same highlights appear a bit more colorful.

Westminster Bridge, London. Here I used a 5-second exposure to capture the lights of the bus passing by. Shutter speed 5 seconds, aperture f/8, ISO 200.

Shadows and Blacks

Now you have to deal with the dark areas of your photo. There will be parts you want to brighten, but at the same time, you should allow the darkest parts of the photo to go pure black. There is no point in attempting to preserve detail in a black sky.

To accomplish both of these goals, I have another quick move for you. Pull up on the Shadows slider, and then pull down on the Blacks slider. Areas of detail you want brighter will benefit from the increase in the Shadows, but you will maintain contrast by pushing down the Blacks.

Salt Lake City, Utah. In this shot, I needed a wide depth of field to keep both the fountain in the foreground and the Tabernacle building in the background sharp. I used a long exposure, which also created a flowing effect to the water, but I still had to raise the ISO a bit. Shutter speed 6 seconds, aperture f/16, ISO 400.

Sharpening

Sharpen your night photos the same as you would any others, but you will likely need to deal with digital noise more than you are used to. If the whole picture is noisy, then give it a global noise reduction. In Lightroom and ACR, there is a Noise Reduction section in the Detail panel, and you just pull up on the Luminance slider to the right.

You might just need to reduce noise in specific sections of your photo though. Noise often manifests itself in the darkest areas of your image. In that case, apply a local adjustment. If you are using Lightroom or ACR, use the Adjustment Brush, paint where you want the noise decreased, and increase the Noise slider. That should take care of it.

You have to watch noise reduction though. Applying too much of it will reduce detail in your photo. That’s why you don’t want to apply a global adjustment if you don’t have to. If you have a serious noise problem and want to fix it without sacrificing detail, there are some plug-ins that are truly wonderful. I use Noiseware and I am often shocked at what a good job it does of reducing noise but preserving detail. Other good products are Noise Ninja and Dfine by Nik.

The Golden Gate Bridge from the Sausalito side – Exposure: shutter speed 30 seconds, aperture f/6.3, ISO 200.

Read more on noise reduction in my article here: Good, Better, and Best Noise Reduction Techniques

Getting Started with Night Photography

Night photography is a great way to get really interesting and unusual pictures. It is also a great time to go shoot since it is not during business hours (you’ll be off work) and others will be asleep (notably spouses and children).

Hopefully, this guide will help you get started with night photography. As you get ready for your next outing, just remember a few things:
- The only additional items that are necessary for night photography are a tripod and remote shutter release. Some other helpful items are a flashlight, a lens hood, and an extra battery.
- For exposure, start with moderate ISO (around 400) and aperture (around f/5.6-8) and see where that puts your shutter speed. Adjust from there with an eye toward getting the shutter speed (exposure time) you want.
- Pick a subject that lends itself to night photography. Remember that things look very different at night, so take some test shots.
- Focus your camera by finding or creating areas of contrast and setting the autofocus on those areas. When necessary, switch to manual focus.
- When you get home, edit your images as you wish, but you might try decreasing the Highlights, increasing the Shadows, and pulling down the Blacks slightly.
If you have these things straight, you should end up with some impressive night photos. Good luck!

The post dPS Ultimate Guide to Night Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
June 27, 2018

Sony’s 400mm F2.8 G-Master will arrive in September for $12,000

Sony’s previously announced 400mm F2.8 GM OSS received a full introduction today. The pro-grade lens will ship in September for $ 12,000, and aims to deliver superior autofocus and handling. The lens is a (relatively speaking) light 2.7kg / 6.4lb, and Sony claims it’s well-balanced for monopod or even handheld shooting. The company also says that its FE 400mm takes advantage of two new linear motors with 5x faster tracking performance on the a9 compared to the 300mm F.8 G2.

Unlike the 500mm F4 for A-mount, which was front heavy, most of the glass in the new 400mm F2.8 GM is in the center and rear of the lens.

Optical stabilization is offered in three different modes, the third of which is designed to make framing easier when following moving subjects. The lens is made of magnesium alloy for durability, and a drop-in filter slot accepts 40.5mm filters – including a new circular polarizing filter that will go on sale in December.

Firmware version 3.0 for the a9 is also announced, mainly adding support for the 400mm as well as the ability to record camera serial numbers to EXIF data.

For more on the 400mm F2.8 GM, read our first impressions and take a look through our Major League Soccer match sample gallery below.

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Press release

Sony Introduces the Long-Awaited 400mm F2.8 G Master™ Prime Lens

New Large Aperture Super-Telephoto Prime Lens is World’s lightest in its class, with outstanding AF performance, innovative optical design and exceptional image quality

SAN DIEGO, Jun. 27, 2018 – Sony – a worldwide leader in digital imaging and the world’s largest image sensor manufacturer – has today announced the highly anticipated FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS large aperture super-telephoto prime lens (model SEL400F28GM).

The product of extensive research and testing, Sony’s new FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS lens is the first large aperture super-telephoto prime to join the E-mount lineup. This exciting new lens produces brilliant image quality with extraordinary focusing speed and precision, while also boasting the lightest weight in its class and an extremely balanced design. It’s the ideal choice for professional sports, wildlife and nature photographers, and a perfect complement to Sony’s extensive lineup of high-speed E-mount bodies including ?9, ?7R III and more.

“We’re extremely excited and proud to officially introduce the new 400mm F2.8 G Master prime lens,” said Neal Manowitz, Vice President of digital imaging at Sony Electronics. “The latest in our flagship series of G Master Lenses, this new lens offers exceptional image quality and an innovative lightweight design that will give professionals a level of flexibility with a 400mm lens unlike anything they’ve ever experienced. Combined with the unmatched shooting speeds and autofocus capabilities of our full-frame E-mount cameras, it will allow them to capture and create in ways that were never before possible.”

World’s Lightest 400mm F2.8 Prime with Ideal Balance for Monopod or Handheld Shooting

Weighing it at only slightly more than 6 lbs., the new FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS lens provides a level of portability and handheld maneuverability that has never before been achieved in a lens of its class. The remarkably light weight of this lens is achieved through an innovative optical design that includes three fluorite elements, with a reduced number of elements deployed at the front of the barrel, as well as the liberal usage of durable magnesium alloy components.

Repeated field tests and evaluation by professional photographers across the world have led to a lens design that is not front-heavy, reducing moment of inertia that resists rotation by up to 50% as compared to the SAL500F40G , ensuring quicker, more precise panning when shooting handheld or on a monopod.

Fast, Precise Autofocus

To best take advantage of the rapidly evolving shooting and focusing speeds of Sony’s latest cameras, the FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS lens features two newly developed high-speed XD (extreme dynamic) Linear Motors that drive the lens’s focus group, achieving up to a 5x improvement in moving-subject tracking performance. These motors are supported by specially developed motion algorithms to minimize lag and instability, and control noise levels, resulting in exceptionally quick, accurate and quiet autofocus performance. This allows the lens to capture dynamic, fast moving athletes or wildlife with ease.

G Master Image Quality and Bokeh

A member of Sony’s flagship G Master series lenses, this new large aperture super-telephoto prime lens features an incredible level of image quality and detail, with outstanding contrast and resolution maintained all the way to the corners of the image. The unique optical design includes three fluorite elements that help to minimize chromatic aberration and suppress any amount of color bleeding. The lens has also been coated with Sony’s original Nano AR coating to suppress any unwanted reflections, glare, or ghosting.

In addition to the impressive resolution, the lens features an 11-blade circular aperture mechanism that allows it to produce extremely natural and beautiful background defocus or ‘bokeh’.

The new FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS is compatible with Sony’s 1.4x and 2.0x E-mount tele-converters, producing outstanding imaging performance at extended focal lengths while maintaining fast, precise AF performance.

Durability, Reliability and Control

To withstand the harsh conditions of sporting events and wildlife photography, Sony’s new FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS is built with a durable magnesium alloy and a strong, lightweight carbon fiber hood. The lens is also dust and moisture resistant , and its front element is coated with fluorine to resist dirt and fingerprints.

There is also an ample number of hard controls on the lens, including customizable focus-hold buttons in four different locations on the lens barrel, which can be programmed for control of features such as Eye AF functionality, if desired. There is also a ‘Full-Time DMF’ switch to immediately engage manual focus at any point, and a focus ring that features Linear Response MF for fine, responsive manual focus. Additionally, the new lens includes built-in optical stabilization for dynamic action and three different ‘Mode’ settings, including a brand new Mode 3 setting with an advanced algorithm that ensures easier framing when following moving subjects. It also features a function ring with selectable ‘Preset’ and ‘Function ’ settings, which is a first for any Sony lens.

The FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS includes a drop-in filter slot that accepts ø 40.5mm ND and other filter types, as well as the optional VF-DCPL1 Drop-in Circular Polarizing Filter. The VF-DCPL1 filter can be rotated to achieve the desired polarization while installed in the lens.

?9 System Software Update to Support FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS

The latest system software update (Version 3.00) for ?9 (ILCE-9) provides support for the new FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS (SEL400F28GM) lens to optimize optical image stabilization performance, and enables continuous shooting with auto focus tracking, even when aperture is greater than F11.

The update also provides added option to input the camera serial number to the Exif data, a feature that has been strongly requested by professional sports photographers and photojournalists. Additionally, several other updates to the ?9 camera have been implemented with the new firmware, including improved auto focus speed in low light conditions, enhanced continuous AF performance when tracking a moving subject, and reduced release time lag when shooting with flash.

Pricing and Availability

The new FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS large aperture super-telephoto prime lens (model SEL400F28GM) will ship in September for about $ 12,000 US and $ 16,250 CA. The optional Drop-in Circular Polarizing Filter (model VF-DCPL1) will ship in December for about $ 400 US and $ 550 CA.

Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS specifications

Principal specifications
Lens type	Prime lens
Max Format size	35mm FF
Focal length	400 mm
Image stabilization	Yes
Lens mount	Sony FE
Aperture
Maximum aperture	F2.8
Aperture ring	No
Number of diaphragm blades	11
Optics
Elements	17
Groups	23
Special elements / coatings	1 fluorite and 3 ED elements, Nano AR and fluorine coatings
Focus
Minimum focus	2.70 m (106.3″)
Maximum magnification	0.16×
Autofocus	Yes
Motor type	Linear Motor
Full time manual	Yes
Focus method	Internal
Distance scale	Yes
DoF scale	No
Focus distance limiter	Yes
Physical
Weight	2895 g (6.38 lb)
Diameter	158 mm (6.22″)
Length	359 mm (14.13″)
Materials	Magnesium alloy
Sealing	Yes
Colour	White
Filter thread	40.5 mm
Filter notes	Drop-in filters
Hood supplied	Yes
Hood product code	ALC-SH155
Tripod collar	Yes

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 27, 2018

5 Camera Filters That Can Enhance Your Photography
Photography can be an expensive hobby, with equipment improvement really making a hole in your wallet. What if I told you there was an inexpensive piece of equipment, which can greatly improve your work! You’d want to know what that is right? Well, step forward the humble camera filter.

Although in truth, there are some camera filter systems that are quite pricey, you can also get ones that are a great value. So let’s take a closer look at what camera filters are all about.

What is a camera filter?

In the age of smart phone filters, it’s worth explaining what the term “filter” used to mean in photography. A filter is something that attaches to the front of your camera lens and is used to alter or adjust the light coming into the camera in some way.

Camera filters allow you to add more creativity to your photography.

Filters come in two different shapes
- Circular Filters – These filters screw directly onto the front of your lens. You’ll need to buy a filter of the same diameter of the front of your lens (look at the back of your lens cap for the correct size). It is also possible to buy step-up or step-down rings that will allow you to attach your filter to camera lenses of different diameters.
- Square Filters – These sometimes come as a rectangular filter, and always as part of a system that allows you to attach them to the front of your lens. There is typically a bracket, which itself attaches to a round ring, that you will screw onto the front of your lens. Systems like this make stacking filters easier and are better for graduated filters.
There are in fact many different filters which you can use, and not all of them are going to be mentioned here. Many people like to use a UV filter to protect the glass on the front of their lens. This is a functional use, and this article seeks to look at the creative use of lens filters.

A few notable omissions to this list are the starburst filters, and the softeners/diffusers used in portrait photography. With all this covered, let’s take a look at the five best camera filters that you can use to enhance your photos.

Circular filter are one of the main options out there.

#1 – Circular Polarizing Filter

The circular polarizer is a great filter, it’s a must-have in your bag. Its primary use is for landscape photography, though it can be useful for outdoor portrait scenes as well. This filter works by only allowing polarized light into the camera, that means light traveling from one direction. This has several effects on your photo.
- Reflections – A circular polarizing filter can enhance or remove reflections from a scene, depending on what you desire. As you rotate the filter, you will see the reflection either increase or decrease.
- Saturation – This filter can also add more saturation to your photo, giving it more impact with the viewer. You can adjust how much by rotating the filter.
- Clouds – Related to the increase in saturation, is the enhancement of clouds. On days where there is a mixture of sky and cloud, this is especially effective.
Circular polarizing filters are great for enhancing skies like this one.

#2 – Neutral Density Filter

Neutral density filters are ones that block the light in varying amounts depending on the strength of the filter. The strength ranges from the ND2 to ND1000, weakest to strongest respectively. These filters are mainly used for either portrait work, or landscape work with the stronger filters used in landscape photography.

The darkness these filters add is referred to as a stop, and a stop means one exposure value (1EV). That means an ND2, which is a 1 stop filter, darkens the photo by -EV1. The ND1000 filter is referred to as a 10-stop camera filter.
- Portrait filters – ND2, ND4, and ND8 filters can broadly be described as portrait filters. They are used with prime lenses when there is too much light for that lens to be used with a large aperture. Their other function, when using a strobe (flash), is to block enough light so you can use the flash at the camera’s regular sync speed (without the need for high-speed sync HSS).
- Landscape filters – While there are times you might want to use some of the weaker ND filters for landscape photography, typically you’ll be using an ND110 or ND1000 for landscape photography. This allows you to make dramatic long exposure photos during the day, ideal for moving water or clouds.
- Solar eclipse – Should you be lucky enough to witness a solar eclipse, you’ll want to use the 16-stop ND100000 filter (a special solar filter).
If you want to take a daytime long exposure you’ll need a strong ND filter.

#3 – Graduated Neutral Density Filter

These filters are the domain of landscape photographers. Graduated Neutral Density filters come in two types, hard and soft. They’re used to make the sky darker, so it balances out the exposure of the image in relation to the foreground.

Purist photographers who like to create their photos from a single image, and avoid techniques like HDR or digital blending like to use these filters. Even those who like to blend their images will use them, as it makes post-processing easier later on.

If you’re looking to buy one you should look at the square variety, as this gives you the ability to adjust where the horizon line is. Let’s look at the types you could use.
- Hard – This means there is a sharp line between the dark and light areas of the filter. They are more difficult to use but create nice results when applied correctly.
- Soft – Soft graduated filters have a more graduated transition from dark to light. Easier to use, and better when the horizon line isn’t sharp if it contains buildings or trees.
- Strength – As with the regular ND filters these vary with strength. You can get ND2, ND4 and ND8 graduated filters.
Note – The quality of the ND filters will be better the more you spend. Cheaper varieties may introduce a color cast to your image and are therefore not entirely neutral. If you have the money to spend, the Lee filter system is highly recommended.

Read these dPS reviews for more on these filters:
- Comparison – HDR Versus Graduated Neutral Density Filters for Landscape Photography
- Review of the Vü Professional Filter System
- Review of the Wine Country Camera Filter Holder System
- How to Use Graduated Neutral Density Filters for Landscape Photography
The square shape is best for graduated filters.

#4 – Graduated Filter

Progressing on we now look at the Graduated Filter. These are used to enhance the color in the sky. They work just like the graduated ND filters but instead add color. This type of filter will often be used to make a sunset sky even more dramatic, by making the sky orange, or perhaps rose red.

Other options for graduated filters are adding sepia to the top half of your photo. Even more experimental is adding one color to the bottom of the image, and another color to the top by using two of these filters together. This is a great camera filter to be creative with, but you need to apply it to the right place.

Those wishing to try their hand at this type of photography with a filter should look at this excellent guide.

You can use filters to add color to the sky, even when it’s not there yet.

#5 – Infrared filter

Do you want to create a dreamscape from your photos, with foliage that looks like it’s from a snowstorm? Then you’ll need to learn how to make infrared photos.

One of the most accessible ways to do this is by using a filter. When you buy a filter like this it will appear black, that’s because the human eye can’t see the infrared spectrum of light. A popular filter for infrared photography is Hoya’s R72. Even with a filter, you’ll need a camera that will perform with this filter attached, and some cameras are better at this than others.

Most manufacturers will block infrared light from reaching the sensor to some extent, the stronger that block is the less effective this filter will be. Should you choose to use this kind of filter on a non-converted camera expect your exposure times to range from 30 seconds up to 4 minutes, depending on your ISO and aperture settings.

Read more: My First Time Shooting Infrared Photography

Infrared photography is a lot of fun to try. This photo was shot with the Hoya R72 filter.

What camera filters do you use?

There are lots of methods you can add creativity to your photography, a good camera filter is one of those ways. In this article, you’ve seen five of the best filters available to add that little extra to your image.

Have you used any of these filters? Is there another filter that you use in your photography, that can add more creativity? Those who take black and white photos will no doubt point to the effects that red, orange and yellow filters can add to this genre. As always we’d love to see examples of your photos in the comments section, together with hearing about your experience using filters.

Filters can be used to darken the sky in landscape photography. This can make it more dramatic.

The post 5 Camera Filters That Can Enhance Your Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
June 27, 2018
MagnetMod launches Kickstarter for new ‘revolutionary’ softbox system

MagnetMod has launched a new crowdfunding campaign for a trio of new products that makes up what it calls a ‘revolutionary new softbox system,’ The three new products are the MagShoe, MagRing and MagBox and as the naming scheme suggests, these products are made to work together to create an easy-to-use studio setup on the go.

The first piece of the puzzle is the MagRing. Designed to simplify softbox setup times, the MagRing is a magnet-based speedring that lets you mount one or two speedlights to a tripod in a matter of seconds. The MagRing is constructed of a metal base with two locking plastic doors to keep your speedlight(s) in place.

Next up is the MagBox, ‘the world’s first magnetic softbox,’ according to MagnetMod. Hyperbole aside, the MagBox is a 24-inch octabox that includes a built-in gel holder, a zipper for easily swapping out gels, and a unique set of diffusers to help you get just the look you’re going for.

Specifically, the MagBox includes a standard cloth diffusion panel that you’d find inside most soft boxes. However, it also includes what MagnetMod calls the FocusDiffuser. This internal diffuser is designed in such a way that it supposedly recreates the look of a gridded softbox or beauty dish without the light loss you’d get actually using a grid. Based on the GIF below, it appears to work as advertised.

If you’re worried about magnets being the only thing holding the MagBox to the MagRing, there’s not much reason for concern. As MagnetMod shows, the hold is strong enough that a small ‘Magnetic Field Disrupter’ is needed to release the MagBox from the MagRing. In the words of MagnetMod, ‘even if you tilt your softbox at a deep angle or (for some reason) shoot inside a wind tunnel, the MagBox and the MagRing are staying put.’

The last of the three new products is the MagShoe, ‘the baller coldshoe of the future.’ This redesigned coldshe attachment improves upon traditional mounts in almost every way imaginable. Speedlights lock into place with a simple twist of a lever and a squeeze trigger makes it easy to tilt back and forth to get the angle you want. It even has a built-in hole for mounting an umbrella.

As will all of MagnetMod’s past Kickstarter campaigns, this new trio of products has surpassed its $ 100,000 goal with 57 days to go. Pledges start at $ 49, which will get you a single MagShoe, and go up from there. To find out more and secure your pledge, head on over to the Kickstarter campaign.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 27, 2018
Rumor: Samsung Galaxy S10 to feature triple-camera

We only recently published our Samsung Galaxy S9 Plus review but the smartphone business is extremely fast moving and we are already seeing the first rumors surrounding Samsung’s next generation Galaxy S10 models which should be due for release sometime around the end of February 2019.

The S10 will mark the 10th anniversary of the Korean manufacturer’s high-end Galaxy S line and is expected to come in three variants, with the the top-of-the-line model featuring a Huawei P20 Pro-style triple camera.

Little is known about Samsung’s approach to the triple-camera concept but it’s fair to assume it will offer similar features and specifications as Huawei’s solution

On the Huawei a wide-angle RBG camera is combined with a monochrome sensor and a tele-camera with 3x zoom factor. So far little is known about Samsung’s approach to the triple-camera concept but it’s fair to assume it will offer similar features and specifications as Huawei’s solution. That said, Samsung is expected to develop and implement its own sensors to differentiate the Galaxy S10 from the competition.

The Galaxy S10 base model is rumored to come with a single-camera and a 5.8″ display. The second variant in the line is expected to offer a dual-camera, likely an upgraded version of the Galaxy S9 Plus setup, and the same display size, albeit with with Samsung’s trade-mark curved edges.

The top-end version could feature a larger screen with under-display fingerprint reader and the aforementioned triple-camera. For now Huawei’s P20 Pro is still the only smartphone with a triple-camera in the market but it looks like next year could see both Apple and Samsung enter the triple-camera segment.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 26, 2018
Understanding Creative Profiles in Lightroom Classic CC

In April of 2018, Adobe took a much-anticipated advance in the way it allows users to process their images in Lightroom. Beginning with the version 7.3 release of Lightroom Classic (and ACR 10.3) Adobe now offers the use of something called “Adobe Profiles” as well as “Creative Profiles”.

For us photo nerds, this is a BIG deal.

Image courtesy Adobe Blog https://theblog.adobe.com/april-lightroom-adobe-camera-raw-releases-new-profiles/

But exactly what are these new “profiles” and how can you use them in your everyday image processing? Well, sit back and relax because I’m about to tell you all about the brand new creative profile section in Lightroom Classic. If you can’t tell…I’m really excited about this!

What are Creative Profiles?

Before we go too far it’s important to note that you’ve probably used profiles before either in Lightroom or right inside your camera. All those settings in your camera for things like Vivid, Standard, Landscape or Portrait are all considered profiles.

All of those modes found in your camera are just a way that your camera’s tiny internal computer can process your images. When you shoot RAW, those profiles are simply bypassed in favor of more control in your editing later. The new creative profiles in Lightroom Classic work in essentially the same way.

Think of the profiles as ways to “cook” your RAW files while not needing to sacrifice any editing power. Furthermore, Lightroom’s new profile feature harnesses the user-friendliness of develop presets and integrates that creative simplicity with the power and flexibility of what’s called a color LUT (look up table). I won’t go too far into explaining LUTs in this article but just know that they are used extensively to color grade images.

The great thing about the creative profiles is that they allow you to use custom made LUTs in your editing.

How to Use Creative Profiles

Making use of the new profiles feature in your editing is extremely easy. These profiles can be applied just like develop presets…only not. What I mean by this is that a profile is similar to a develop preset in that it instantly performs edits for you with simply a click of the mouse. But this is where the similarity between profiles and presets end.

The difference comes down to how the nature of the profiles and how they apply their edits. Develop presets are simply saved blueprints of adjustment slider settings. This means that develop presets override the current setting of each adjustment slider and set each slider according to the saved value on the preset.

While develop presets are a powerful tool for any workflow, you can still run into trouble when you begin to use multiple develop presets while editing the same image.

Applying Profiles

A creative profile works differently from a preset in that it does not rely on the adjustment sliders to make changes. This means that a profile can be added at any time during your processing workflow without affecting the edits you might have already made. Let me show you.

This image has had some basic processing and now I’m going to apply one of my presets.

Have a look at the adjustment sliders before…

…and now after the develop preset is applied.

The preset will automatically change the respective sliders that I saved when I made the preset. This can cause some problems especially if you choose to apply the preset at the end of your editing. It can be one big post-processing headache.

Next, we’re going to take that same image and apply a creative profile.

Just look at the image and the sliders as compared to before we applied the profile. The profile has applied edits without affecting those we already have made.

I don’t have to tell you how extraordinarily convenient it is to be able to impart a certain look to the photo without disrupting the things I’ve already adjusted.

Adjusting Profile Density

Not only can profiles be used completely autonomously of the current image adjustments, but you can also control how much of the profile is applied. Think in terms of opacity and intensity.

You can now determine how much or how little of the effect you need and then dial in the desired setting using the amount slider.

Here’s the profile effect at approximately 75%…

…and now with about 25%

Something to keep in mind when using profiles is that even though they are more flexible than develop presets that doesn’t mean they don’t come without their limitations.

The main one being that you can only apply one profile at a time. So don’t get any ideas of stacking profiles…at least not yet.

Final thoughts on Creative Profiles

I love presets. I love making presets. In fact, a good bit of my work revolves around the developing and constructing of develop presets for Lightroom. So when I say that I love the direction Adobe is heading with the profiles feature in their latest versions of Lightroom Classic CC hopefully you’ll want to give them a try as well.

Profiles are extremely similar to develop presets in that they allow you to perform a lot of processing in the fraction of the time it might normally require. The difference between profiles and presets is not in their outcome but rather in the little detours each one takes to reach the final destination.

Will profiles ever totally replace develop presets? I don’t think so, at least not for a while. And why should they? Like most aspects of photography, each small link in the chain serves to pull together a greater whole; it’s in this way that presets and profiles complement each other.

Once you understand the basics of using Adobe’s new creative profiles each one of them will serve you extremely well. As always, use presets and profiles up to and never beyond the point of your own creative vision for your images. Less is usually more. Have fun and enjoy shooting!

The post Understanding Creative Profiles in Lightroom Classic CC appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

June 26, 2018
Leica SL 16-35mm F3.5-4.5 sample gallery

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The 16-35mm F3.5-4.5 is currently the widest lens in Leica’s full-frame SL system, and it’s one that the company hopes will cover a lot of use-cases for SL owners. With a loaner lens in hand and plenty of daylight hours to burn, we’ve been out shooting with the 16-35mm long enough to determine that it’s very, very sharp. It’s no lightweight of course, and feels every bit as solid as its 990g / 2.2lb suggests. Take a look through our sample images and see what it can do.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 26, 2018
Amusement Parks to go to This Summer months months months

As summertime time approaches, quite a few vacationers pack up and head to a amount of of North America’s most well-known amusement parks. When hordes of thrill seekers head in to the domestic staples like Disney and Cedar Trouble, many of America’s best subject issue parks deliver different hours of spouse and youngsters entertaining with distinctive touches you will not routines within the mega-parks. Tourists in search of to improve up the Disney routine undoubtedly have to study out the subsequent amusement parks home page.

Indiana Seaside entrance front, Monticello, Indiana

Indiana Seaside entrance has every thing you can want along with the strategy park, which include things like thrilling rides also a h2o park, with distinct touches together with lake-front cabins and cottages, a boardwalk, in addition being a whole golfing schooling education class. In essence by far the most worthwhile portion is generally that Indiana beach is refreshingly affordable.

Knoebels, Elysburg, PA

Knoebels payments by alone as conventional subject matter make any difference park, showcasing free of charge of demand admission and fairly priced journey price ranges. This Pennsylvania strategy park has rides which will go on to help keep the many family and friends shoppers joyful, furthermore the park is harmless ample to permit additional mature tiny styles operate wild freely.

Storyland, Glen, New Hampshire

Nestled in New Hampshire’s White Mountains, Storyland will be the quintessential spouse or partner and youngsters amusement park. You’ll find much more than numerous sights for youthful youngsters, and almost all rides make certain it truly is feasible for additional mature individuals right now and kids to journey, so homes could potentially get satisfaction from jointly. Not similar to a large amount of overpriced matter parks, Storyland’s meals items and souvenirs are within your means.

The post Amusement Parks to go to This Summer months months months appeared first on Photonovice.

Photonovice

June 26, 2018

Sony RX100 VI vs Panasonic ZS200 vs Panasonic ZS100: which is the best travel companion?

Intro

Sony’s RX100 may have ushered in the era of the 1″ sensor compact, but it took Panasonic to combine these larger sensors with the long-lens flexibility that defines a travel zoom. This shouldn’t be a surprise, since Panasonic spearheaded that type of camera back in the days when small sensors ruled the Earth.

The RX100 VI, with its 24-200mm equivalent lens, marks Sony’s entry into the travel zoom sphere, pitching it squarely up against Panasonic’s ZS/TZ models: the ZS100 and ZS200. So how do they compare?

Body

The Panasonics, with their longer lenses, are a little larger in every dimension. They have viewfinder eye-pieces extending slightly from their upper left-hand corners. This extra space finds some use, though, with both cameras offering control dials on their top right shoulders, which the Sony lacks. The ZS200 even finds space for a rubber strip down the front of the camera, making it much easier to grip in a stable manner.

The RX100 M6 is still a pretty reasonable size for an 8x travel zoom

The Sony comes closest to counting as pocketable. The RX100 series have added a couple of mm here and there over their lifetime, but although they’ve been creeping up in size compared with enthusiast compacts, the RX100 M6 is still a pretty reasonable size for an 8x travel zoom.

All three cameras have metal bodies but in each case it’s a fairly thin shell, so don’t expect any of them to put up with much rough-and-tumble.

Lenses

The Lumix DC ZS200 has by far the greatest lens range of this trio but, in order to keep the size of the camera down, also has the least bright lens of the three. Its F3.3-6.4 maximum aperture is the most limited in terms of low light performance, and it gives a little less control over depth-of-field at traditional portrait focal lengths.

The ZS100 sits in the middle of the group, with a 25-250mm equivalent lens and F2.8-5.9 maximum aperture, while the Sony opts for the most modest zoom range (~24.5 to 200mm equivalent) but in combination with the brightest aperture range.

The RX100 VI maintains a value of F4 up to and a little beyond 100mm equivalent, meaning it can shoot passable portraits

F2.8-4.5 isn’t much to shout about if you compare it with the short, bright zoom on the RX100 V, but it’s noticeably brighter than those of the Panasonics. The RX100 VI maintains a value of F4 up to and a little beyond 100mm equivalent, meaning it can shoot a passable portrait, as well as a wide range of holiday snaps.

Autofocus

We’ve been pretty impressed with the autofocus performance of the Panasonic ZS / TZ cameras. It’s not pro sports level but it’s pretty good at subject tracking and produces a pretty reasonable hit-rate, even when shooting at 10 fps.

However the RX100 VI is playing at a rather different level. One of the main things you’re paying for in this camera is its fast sensor with on-sensor phase detection. This, along with algorithms Sony developed for its a9 pro sports camera, means hugely impressive autofocus performance. Even at its maximum shooting rate of 24 frames per second, it’s able to track moving subjects very effectively.

Sony’s Eye AF system outperforms the Panasonics by a significant degree, in terms of both speed and accuracy.

Even if you don’t shoot fast-moving subjects or rattle-off 24 fps bursts, the RX100 VI’s autofocus can be very useful. While the Panasonics are able to identify and focus on subjects’ eyes as part of its Face Detection mode, the Sony’s Eye AF system outperforms it by a significant degree, in terms of both speed and accuracy. If you hold down a button to engage Eye AF you can essentially depend on your subject being perfectly focused.

Viewfinders

All three cameras feature viewfinders, which is hugely useful when shooting in bright light, adding to the flexibility of all these cameras. The ZS100 has the smallest, lowest-resolution finder of the three, followed by ZS200, with the RX100 VI offering the highest resolution as well as the largest viewfinder image.

Camera	Resolution	Magnification (35mm equiv)	Technology
Panasonic Lumix DMC ZS100	1.17m dot equiv	0.46x	Field-sequential LCD
Panasonic Lumix DC ZS200	2.33m dot equiv	0.53	Field-sequential LCD
Sony Cyber-shot DSC RX100 VI	2.36m dots	0.59x	OLED

The Sony has the upper hand in this respect, since it has a bright contrasty OLED viewfinder, whereas the Panasonics use field-sequential lower contrast LCDs. These refresh one color after another, rather than showing red, green and blue at the same time. The resulting ‘rainbow effect’ can be off-putting for some users and becomes more visible in low light.

Image Quality

All three cameras perform very well in terms of image quality, compared with older travel zooms or contemporary smartphones, thanks to their large, 1″-type sensors. A 13.2 x 8.8 mm chunk of silicon isn’t much when compared with most interchangeable lens cameras, but it’s enough to offer in the region of a 3EV difference to a smartphone shot at the same F-number (though multi-shot and computational techniques allow some of the latest phones to compete).

Panasonic and Sony have historically ranked somewhat poorly in our estimation when it came to JPEG color, but both have made significant improvements with their recent models. These improvements, combined with some of the most sophisticated noise reduction and sharpening available see us leaning towards the Sony when it comes to JPEG quality.

Lens performance tends to be somewhat variable with the complex, collapsible lenses used in this class of camera

Lens performance tends to be somewhat variable with the complex, collapsible lenses used in this class of camera but we’ve been impressed by what we’ve seen of the Sony lens, so far, whereas we haven’t encountered a ZS200 that could maintain sharpness across its full (extensive) zoom range.

Low light performance is somewhat hindered by the cameras’ relatively slow maximum apertures, which give them less access to light, meaning noisier images than you can get with the likes of the RX100 V or LX10 with their shorter but brighter lenses.

Video

All three cameras offer 4K video at up to 30 frames per second but they achieve it in very different ways. The Sony samples the full width of its sensor then processes and downsizes this higher-res footage to UHD 4K resolution. This allows it to capture more detail than the Panasonics, which use a 3840 x 2160 pixel crop from the center of their sensors.

Using a crop means the Lumixes are effectively using smaller sensors, which means less total light capture and noisier footage, as well as losing any wide-angle capability from their lenses. The Sony also offers a range of advanced video features such as the ability to shoot Log footage.

However, a major drawback for all three cameras is that none of them incorporate ND filters in their lenses, nor do they include filter threads for attaching one. This suggests video was fairly low down on the list of priorities in their design.

A major drawback for all three cameras is that none of them incorporate ND filters in their lenses, nor do they include filter threads for attaching one

Aftermarket options exist that glue a threaded mount onto the front of the lens. However, given how delicate these lenses are, we think you’d have to be pretty committed to shooting video to take this approach (and, ideally, fairly careful each time you apply torque to attach a filter).

The Panasonics limit their 4K recording to 15 minutes, while the RX100 VI claims only 5. In each case, these results are likely to be even shorter when shooting in warm environments, which may further restrict your shooting.

Add to this the lack of mic sockets on all three cameras, and you can pretty much rule them out for serious video work, unless you’re really fond of the booming, rasping interruption of wind noise or are willing to give up the convenience and compactness of the camera by carrying a separate audio recorder.

Controls

All three cameras have comparatively limited direct control. Each has a mode dial from which it’s entirely possible to engage P, A, S or M exposure modes, but none of them appears designed with constant settings changes in mind.

As alluded to earlier, the Panasonics do have an edge here though, thanks to the additional control dial on their top right corners. The function of this dial can be reconfigured, which you may wish to do, depending on how you like to shoot. This ability to customize the dial’s function and its more convenient location make it much more convenient than the small, fiddly dial on the back panel of the Sony, which you need to re-arrange your hand position to reach.

The RX100 VI has the most sophisticated Auto ISO system, whereas the ZS200 doesn’t offer quite so much scope for fine-tuning

The RX100 VI has the most sophisticated Auto ISO system, reducing your need to directly control this, the ZS200 doesn’t offer quite so much scope for fine-tuning and the ZS100 is the least clever, with you just having to hope it’ll make the right choices for you.

All three cameras have free-rotating dials around their lenses. These are great for controlling continuously adjustable settings, such as zoom or manual focus but give no tactile feedback to help indicate when you’re adjusting discrete settings, such as aperture value, ISO or exposure compensation, which can lead to accidental settings changes.

Touchscreen

The RX100 VI is the first of its line to include a touchscreen and, like other recent Sonys, this can be used to position the AF point, both when the rear screen is being used and as a touchpad when the camera is to your eye.

Panasonic was the first brand to use the rear screen as a touchpad, so it probably shouldn’t come as a surprise that its touchscreen implementation is rather more polished. The Lumixes may lack the ability to specify which areas of the screen should/shouldn’t be active in touchpad mode, but they allow the use of the touchscreen for a much wider range of functions.

Panasonic was the first brand to use the rear screen as a touchpad

The menus in the ZS100 and 200, while different, are both touch sensitive. Both cameras also offer a customizable version of their Q.Menus, which are designed with large, easy to press buttons. You can customize the Sony’s comparable ‘Fn’ menu but you can’t interact with it via the touchscreen.

Conclusion

Overall, then, it looks like an easy win for the Sony. It’s the smallest, and has the brightest lens. It may be the shortest zoom of the three, but it includes a range that will be enough for most applications, so this shouldn’t be limiting.

Our impressions so far are that it also has the best lens, the best autofocus and video that’s both cleaner and more detailed. There are also a couple of things the RX100 does that the Panasonics can’t. Its frankly ridiculous continuous shooting performance may be a differentiator for some photographers, and its Eye AF performance alone would make a huge difference for anyone taking portraits.

Where it loses out is in terms of control. The Panasonics have an extra control dial and make much more extensive use of their touchscreens, which makes it easier to take control over them when you’re shooting. They also trounce the Sony in terms of battery life, offering between 25 and 50% longer battery life depending on the model. This may be a deciding factor for anyone traveling.

The Sony certainly promises a lot more but you also have to pay for that.

Then, of course, there’s the price. Even at list prices, the RX100 VI’s $ 1200 price tag makes it 50% more expensive than the ZS200 and 70% more expensive than the ZS100. This price difference on the street is likely to be still larger, given how long the ZS100’s price has had to drop since launch.

The Sony certainly promises a lot more but you also have to pay for that. Whether it’s worth it for you is something we’ll try to establish in our forthcoming review.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

June 26, 2018

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Other bits

Final thoughts

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What to Bring for Night Photography

Exposures for Night Photography

Shutter Speed

Aperture

ISO

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Exposing the Night Sky Photo

Picking a Subject for Night Photography

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Focusing

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Highlights

Shadows and Blacks

Sharpening

Getting Started with Night Photography

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Sony FE 400mm F2.8 GM OSS specifications

What is a camera filter?

Filters come in two different shapes

#1 – Circular Polarizing Filter

#2 – Neutral Density Filter

#3 – Graduated Neutral Density Filter

#4 – Graduated Filter

#5 – Infrared filter

What camera filters do you use?

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How to Use Creative Profiles

Applying Profiles

Adjusting Profile Density

Final thoughts on Creative Profiles