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  • How to Easily Make a LUT in Photoshop

    If you’ve ever done any video editing then you’re probably familiar with a little something called “color look-up tables”. These look-up tables are lovingly referred to in the industry as a “LUT”.

    At the basic level, a LUT is a preset that performs color grading and various other visual effects. Each is based on a blindingly complex set of mathematical sorcery that luckily for you (and me) doesn’t need to be explained in this article.

    How to Easily Make a LUT in Photoshop

    But wait…this is Digital Photography School, not Digital Video School. So, why are we talking about LUTs if they only help us when editing video?

    Well, with Adobe’s recent release of Lightroom Classic v7.3 and Adobe Camera RAW 10.3 we now have the ability to use the awesome new Creative Profiles feature which, you guessed it, makes LUTs usable in our photo editing. It’s safe to say more and more photographers will be incorporating custom-made LUTs into their own Creative Profiles. For more information on making Creative Profiles check out this excellent tutorial by Spyros Heniadis.

    So how can you make your own LUTs? There are a number of ways and most of them require purchasing software exclusively engineered for creating a LUT. But what if I told you that Photoshop is capable of exporting LUTs if you don’t want to spend any extra money on new software? And what’s more, making basic LUTs in Photoshop is insanely simple.

    In this article, I’m going to show you just how easy it is to make and export your very own LUTs right inside Photoshop.

    Create Your Edits

    To get started you need an image file. This image can be either RAW or JPEG. If you’re planning on using your LUT in video processing then it’s a good idea to use a screen capture from your video file. For the purposes of this tutorial, I’ll be using a previously processed JPEG.

    How to Easily Make a LUT in Photoshop - original image already processed

    Starting image already processed.

    Once your photo is opened in Photoshop you can begin to make the edits that will be exported as a LUT. You’ll have the power of all the options located in the adjustments panel at your fingertips.

    How to Easily Make a LUT in Photoshop - adjustment panel in PS

    While you change the fill and opacity of the adjustment layers you won’t be able to add in any masking or more advanced filters. This is somewhat of a bummer, but given the fact that we’re doing all of this in Photoshop it’s a limitation we’ll have to live with for now. For this image, I’ve added three adjustment layers: Color Balance, Curves and Black and White.

    How to Easily Make a LUT in Photoshop - 3 adjustment layers

    With all of the edits applied, it’s time to actually export the adjustments in the form of a LUT which can then be used for creating profiles to play around with inside v7.3 Lightroom Classic or ACR 10.3 and a host of other awesome uses.

    Exporting the LUT

    You’ll be happy to know that exporting the adjustments as a LUT is ridiculously easy. Under the main menu at the top click File  > Export > Color Lookup Tables…

    How to Easily Make a LUT in Photoshop - where to find it in the PS menu

    This brings up the export dialog and you now find yourself faced with a few options before you can export the LUT. First, you have the choice to name the LUT. Make it something descriptive.

    If you want, you can bypass this step as you will give the LUT its own filename in just a moment. Personally, I don’t always name the LUT at this time. You can enter in any copyright information you choose.

    How to Easily Make a LUT in Photoshop

    The last two options are the most important. Choosing the quality of the LUT and its file format is essential to be able to efficiently apply the LUT later in whatever application you might be using. Leave the quality set to Medium which will give a good balance between load times and quality.

    The file format you choose will depend on what you’ll be doing with the LUT. For example, if you will be using your LUT to make profiles for Lightroom be sure to save it as a CUBE file. When you’re finished, click OK.

    This brings you to the final step of the LUT manufacturing process. All that’s left to do is to choose where you’ll save the LUT.

    How to Easily Make a LUT in Photoshop

    You’ll notice that you now have the opportunity to again name your LUT. It’s here where you’ll want to make sure you give it a name that is easy to find. Once you’ve decided on file name and destination just click Save to store your brand new LUT!

    Final Thoughts….

    If you need a quick and easy way to make your own color lookup tables then you needn’t venture any further than your old friend Adobe Photoshop. While there are a few limitations when compared to dedicated color grading programs the ability to create LUTs directly from Photoshop can save you time and money.

    If you’re like me and do a lot of work on the road, knowing how to make your own LUTs on the go will come in handy and make your life a LUT (haha) easier.

    The post How to Easily Make a LUT in Photoshop appeared first on Digital Photography School.


    Digital Photography School

  • Drone buying guide updated with a new top pick

    We’ve updated our Best Drones buying guide and there’s a new winner (hint: it’s made by DJI). Find out which model was our favorite and learn more about all of your choices in our updated guide.

    Read Best Drones buying guide

    View all Buying Guides

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Nikon D850 sensor confirmed as Sony-made

    It can be interesting, for the more tech-inclined photographer, to speculate about where camera makers are getting their sensors from. However, to be truly certain, you’d need to tear the camera apart and see what’s printed around the edge of the chip.

    ChipMod – a camera modification company – has done just that, and has posted its findings on the AstroCN forum, showing that the D850’s sensor has a Sony product code stamped on the back of it.

    This will come as no surprise to anyone who’s been curious about the issue: DPReview forum user Bobn2 (a computer science professor whose areas of expertise include imaging) pointed out immediately that all the published images of the chip showed a wiring pattern consistent with previous Sony designs. The sensor’s performance then revealed it to have a dual-gain design that’s been a feature of recent Sony chips (something we believe was licensed from Aptina, making Sony one of the only companies able to offer it).

    Nikon’s D850 is one of the most capable DSLRs on the market, boasting class-leading image quality from its 46MP full-frame sensor.

    However, claims by Israeli chipmaker TowerJazz that it supplies to “a DSLR manufacturer” were taken by some to be evidence that it was the source of this chip. We still don’t know which company TowerJazz was referring to, nor how precisely it were using the term ‘DSLR.’

    What’s interesting, though, is that this news confirms what Sony told us about the way its semiconductor company deals with external clients: other companies can commission Sony Semiconductor to make them a sensor and can include their own intellectual property in the design, without that information (or the rights to use it) being available to Sony’s camera division. Hence the D850 features the BSI and dual gain designs that Sony uses in many of its own cameras but is also able to provide an ISO 64 mode that allows the Nikon to rival some of the latest medium format cameras, but that Sony cameras don’t offer.

    This would also help explain how Nikon justifies its statements that the sensor is “designed by Nikon.”

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Behind the scenes of Drew Gardner’s gigapixel shot of British royal family

    Drew’s 2.3 gigapixel image is made up of more than 100 50MP files, shot with the Fujifilm GFX 50S. Click the thumbnail to launch the interactive image at www.telegraph.co.uk

    Photographer Drew Gardner has been a photographer for more than 30 years, and since 1999 he’s worked mostly in the commercial world. Following a recent move into 360-degree imaging, he accepted a commission from British newspaper The Telegraph to shoot a gigapixel image of the queen’s birthday parade. Earlier this week we spoke to Drew to learn more about how the project came together.

    Following a career working in local and national press, I decided to move away from newspapers and into commercial and advertising photography, in 1999. These days I shoot extensively for magazines around the world, so the commission has to be something really special to entice me to work with newspapers again.

    When I was asked to shoot a gigapixel photo for the Daily Telegraph, it was a trip down memory lane for me in many ways, but with the latest technology so I leapt at the chance. I was approached about two weeks before the event, and I spent many hours working out the sequence of events and the best position to place the camera.

    I work with a wide variety of gear but this occasion seemed a perfect opportunity for a medium format camera, where ultimate resolution would be very useful.

    ‘The final image doesn’t represent one moment, but rather many different moments’

    I like shooting gigapixel photos to record events. The final image doesn’t represent one moment, but rather many different moments. This provides a better overall feel of what it was like to be there. When I say many different moments, the final gigapixel image is made up of more than 110 50 megapixel images, shot on a Fujifilm GFX 50s with a 250mm F4 lens. The result is a 2.3 gigapixel file.

    Drew Gardner has been a professional photographer since 1979. Based in the UK, Drew’s work spans local and national press, and commercial photography for clients including Manfrotto and Suzuki Motor Corporation.

    Check out more of Drew’s work at his website, drewgardner.com

    I love the Fujifilm GFX 50S. It really suits the way I shoot medium format camera, and it weighs less than most DSLRs. Image quality is stunning and it has proven very reliable.

    What I really like about the GFX is its high ISO performance. Even though the light was excellent I shot at ISO 1600 to allow me to stop down to F11-16 for better depth-of-field. To move the camera I used a Seitz VR drive motorized head – the same head that I use for all my 360 degree still images, too.

    I’m a huge fan of Brian Storm of Mediastorm who is a great advocate of the use of audio and this was the perfect occasion to record ambient audio of the event with a Zoom H2N audio recorder. Audio is all too often overlooked and yet it is a very easy way of adding another valuable dimension to a gigapixel or 360 panorama image.

    View the final gigapixel image at www.telegraph.co.uk

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Video: How to take your photos to the next level with sub-framing

    At some point in your photography career, you’ve probably come across the phrase ‘frame within a frame.’ While it might sound like nonsense, what it’s referring to is a composition technique referred to as sub-framing.

    In his most recent video, YouTuber George Tomlin breaks down the concept of sub-framing and explains how it can be used to bring an otherwise unlikely scene to life.

    As he explains in the seven-minute video, sub-framing is the practice of shooting through objects to frame a subject within the frame of the image—thus the term ‘frame within a frame.’ Rather than simply explaining how it works, Tomlin uses a 3D rendering to show how a particular scene in a made-up cityscape can yield multiple sub-framing opportunities.

    In one of the four examples he shares, he shows how shooting through the windows of a vehicle can not only make the image more interesting from a composition standpoint, but also give a bit more context to the scene.

    After he gets through the examples of sub-framing opportunities in the 3D scene, he turns to his own work to show off how he’s recently used sub-framing. The examples aren’t shining ones, necessarily, but they do work as solid foundations to build upon in your own work.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Xiaomi launches affordable Mijia smartphone gimbal

    Modern high-end smartphones can shoot impressively smooth and stable video at 4K resolution, thanks to intelligent combinations of electronic (EIS) and optical (OIS) image stabilization. However, for a real steady-cam effect, you’ll need a gimbal.

    Chinese manufacturer Xiaomi has launched an affordable smartphone gimbal option under its Mijia sub-brand which already offers a gimbal designed for action cameras. The new model can accommodate phones with a width of up to 86mm and a weight of up to 200 grams which easily covers even larger devices such as the Huawei P20 Pro or Google Pixel 2 XL.

    The Mijia provides 3-axis stabilization and comes with a dedicated app offering 360-degree auto-tracking and a function for creating time-lapses

    The gimbal is capable of supplying power to the phone via its built-in 5000 mAh battery, allowing for extended shooting sessions. If not used for charging the phone, the battery should last up to 16 hours. The gimbal itself weighs 476 grams and comes with a standard tripod-mount at the bottom.

    The Mijia provides 3-axis stabilization and comes with a dedicated app offering 360-degree auto-tracking and a function for creating time-lapses. The new Mijia gimbal will be available in China from June 16 and set you back CNY 600 (approximately $ 95). There is no word yet on international availability.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Leica introduces limited edition Zagato M10 – and two watches

    Leica has announced a 250-piece limited edition M10 kit, designed by custom luxury car manufacturer Zagato. The M10 ‘Edition Zagato’ will come with a special Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 lens that will feature a new integrated lens hood, and the body will feature a new design to incorporate a handgrip on the right side.

    Technically the same as the production M10 bodies, the Zagato edition will use aluminum for its top deck, base plate, body shell and the control dials and knobs, as this is the material Zagato uses for its cars. The new body shell will make the camera 70g lighter than a stock M10, according to the company. A series of ribbed grooves will replace the usual leather around the body and the new handgrip will make the body easier to hold.

    The Leica M10 ‘Edition Zagato’ will retail for £18,000 from selected Leica stores.

    At the same time Leica has introduced a pair of mechanical watches made in a new part of the company’s factory in Wetzlar. The Leica L1 and L2 watches will be manufactured in the Ernst Leitz Werkstätten next to the camera plant, and have been designed with glass that resembles the front of a lens. The watches use a stainless steel case, but in true Leica style a limited edition L2 will be available in rose gold.

    No price has been announced yet, but the watches are expected to go on sale this autumn. For more information see the Leica website.

    Press releases

    The fine arts of German craftsmanship meet Italian Design: Leica Camera AG presents the new, strictly limited Leica M10 ‘Edition Zagato’.

    Wetzlar, 15 June 2018. With the Leica M10 ‘Edition Zagato’, Leica Camera AG presents a timelessly beautiful special edition that unites the best of German craftsmanship and Italian design. Comprising a camera and a Leica Summilux-M 35mm f/1.4 ASPH. lens, the set takes its name from Dr Andrea Zagato, owner of the design house and automotive styling specialists of the same name, who personally designed the limited edition, restricted to 250 pieces worldwide. This collaboration is now the second special edition created between the two long-established companies – 2015 saw the launch of a limited series of binoculars with a strikingly elegant design, the Leica Ultravid 8×32 ‘Edition Zagato’.

    Founded a century ago, Zagato has been the creator of the most beautiful coachbuilt bodies in the history of automobile construction. The quintessential Italian brand is particularly well known for its innovative use of aluminium in automobile design and construction. Today, the company continues to create special, and traditionally strictly limited, editions of cars with unique styling in Milan, where the story of success began with the brand’s founder Ugo Zagato in 1919.

    Both Leica and Zagato uphold a strong passion for aesthetics and precision in many respects. Both have intrinsic links, as well, to photography: “Photography plays an

    essential role in our work. Without the possibilities offered by photography, we would never have had the invaluable pictures to be able to reconstruct vehicle models, and would not be able to present our work from the last decades in such an impressive way” emphasises owner Dr Andrea Zagato, who, together with his wife and Art Director, Marella Rivolta-Zagato, now heads the family company in its third generation.

    The ‘Edition Zagato’ is the first special edition of the Leica M10 camera and offers extraordinary visual and tactile highlights. The top deck, the baseplate, the outer casing and the control elements of the camera are all manufactured from aluminium. This makes it 70g lighter than its serial production counterpart. Instead of the usual leather trim, the bodyshell of the camera is finished with fine grooves, which, together with details like the red shutter release button, lend the camera its unique look and feel. The integrated handgrip at the left of the body visually distinguishes the special edition from the serial production model of the M10 and makes it a delight to hold and handle. The M10 ‘Edition Zagato’ is the first Leica camera to have its own special serial number engraved on an aluminium badge on the base of the camera that is revealed only when the baseplate is opened.

    The Leica Summilux-M 35mm F1.4 ASPH. lens in the special edition set has an integrated lens hood that can be pulled out and locked in place in a single motion – a new feature for a 35mm lens that simplifies its handling. The design of the focusing aid on the lens pays homage to a typical styling signature of Zagato automobile design, the double-bubble roofline of many Zagato models. The unmistakeable ‘Zagato’ logotype on the lens ring also indicates the role of the prominent design partner in this collaboration. In all other aspects, the technical specifications of the camera and lens in the Leica M10 ‘Edition Zagato’ set are identical to those of its serial production counterpart.

    In addition to the camera and lens, the set also includes a carrying strap in red full- grain leather embossed with the Zagato logotype. This M-Camera is the first to feature rectangular strap lugs in the same design as those of the Zagato binoculars. The certificate of authenticity graces the packaging of the set in the form of an aluminium plate with an engraved serial number.

    The Leica M10 ‘Edition Zagato’ is available from 15th June 2018 in selected Leica Stores at a RRP of $ 21,600 / £18,000 (including UK VAT). Additionally, a few pieces of the Leica Ultravid 8×32 ‘Edition Zagato’ limited edition binoculars are still available. In addition to the binoculars and a case in Zagato design, the set includes a matching carrying strap and a leather wrist strap.

    The publication of the second volume of the coffee-table book trilogy, ‘Leica and Zagato – Europe Collectibles’, coincides with the launch of the Leica M10 ‘Edition Zagato’. The fascinating pictures show 33 Zagato models from the entire history of the brand in evocative European settings.

    Ernst Leitz Werkstätten: Opening of the manufacture and presentation of the Leica Watch

    Wetzlar, 13 June 2018. With the inauguration of the third phase of the Leitz Park – Leica Camera AG’s headquarters complex in Wetzlar, Germany – the “Ernst Leitz Werkstätten” commences operation and establishes a completely new and exclusive product line in the Leica Camera AG portfolio: mechanically highly complex and sophisticated watches made in small series. The Ernst Leitz Werkstätten is housed on the latest phase of Leitz Park and offers a fascinating insight into the elaborate production of ‘Made in Germany’ watches through the manufacture’s viewing windows. The premises include an assembly workshop, a consulting studio and a store.

    Two models – the LEICA L1 and the LEICA L2 – will initially be available for the launch of the Leica Watch. Both variants draw their design inspiration from the creativity and precision, the hallmarks, of the world-famous brand from Wetzlar. Both models were designed by Professor Achim Heine who has overseen the design of many Leica Camera products over the years and who has extensive knowledge of the company’s design principles. The Leica signature look can be found in the countless design elements and features of the watches: the elegance of the hands and indexes, the shape of the finely-detailed, stainless-steel case, the special fluting on the crown and the cambered shape of the glass which is reminiscent of a camera lens.

    Both models are operated by a mechanical movement with manual winding which has been newly developed and can be viewed through the glass case back made of robust sapphire crystal. For Leica, the ‘Made in Germany’ aspect is particularly important, hence the collaboration with Lehmann Präzision GmbH. The development, design and a large proportion of the components come from the manufacture situated in Germanys’ Black Forest and help the watches to achieve a very distinct vertical range of manufacture.

    Design and technology complement each other perfectly in Leica watches: both the front glass and the back case cover are made of scratch-resistant sapphire crystal, with the front being anti-reflective on both sides, and each model has the patented push-piece crown with a corresponding status display on the dial. The combination with the zero setting of the second hand is another special feature – the crown is therefore not only aesthetically appealing, but also adds a useful function to the watches.

    The design, which is reduced to the essentials and coupled with uncompromisingly high quality, make the LEICA L1 and LEICA L2 not only a functional instrument, but also a real statement piece.

    Dr Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and majority shareholder of Leica Camera AG, on the Ernst Leitz Werkstätten: “I am very happy that this long- term project can now be finally presented. I believe that together with our partners we have succeeded in developing a ‘Made in Germany’ watch that is worthy of the name Leica and which represents the values of our premium brand extremely well!”.

    Markus Lehmann, Managing Director of Lehmann Präzision GmbH, on the cooperation with Leica Camera: ‘We built precision machines for Leica years ago, independently of this project. It has of course been very interesting to work with

    Leica in these two very different areas, although the watch project was and is a project very close to my heart. We knew in the run-up to this project that this cooperation will be fruitful, which helped to intensify our partnership significantly.’

    The LEICA L1 and the LEICA L2 will be available in selected Leica Stores including the Leica Store Mayfair as well as at watch dealers worldwide from autumn 2018. The L2 model will also be available in a version with an 18 karat rose gold case. To mark the occasion of the Ernst Leitz Werkstätten commencing operation, limited special models of the two stainless steel versions with a red dial will be released.

    About the Ernst Leitz Werkstätten
    The Ernst Leitz Werkstätten, which derive their name from the founder of the Leitz Werke that opened in 1869, namely Ernst Leitz I, specialise in the design and manufacture of luxury products and are located in the newest part of the Leitz Park in Wetzlar, State of Hesse, Germany. As an independent division of Leica Camera AG, they were founded by Dr Andreas Kaufmann, Chairman of the Supervisory Board and majority shareholder of Leica Camera AG. Visitors can gain an insight into the work of the Ernst Leitz Werkstätten thanks to their large viewing windows. More information is available at www.ernst-leitz-werkstaetten.com.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Photography Challenge – Street Photography

    Street photography is a fun and popular genre of photography that anybody can do. But it’s not as easy as it looks to get really good, storytelling images.

    street photography challenge - shot on a street in Colombia

    I shot this in Retiro, Colombia a little town not far from Medellin. It had a very old-world feel so I processed this image to match that style.

    For this week’s photography challenge you’ll need to hit the streets and show us your best. If you need some tips, here are some ideas:

    • The Ultimate Guide to Street Photography
    • Panning and Other Tips for Adding Motion to Your Street Photography
    • 4 Ways To Make Better Street Portraits While Traveling
    • Which Street Photography Lens is Right for You?
    • 7 Tips for Capturing the Decisive Moment in Street Photography
    • 8 Advanced Street Photography Tips to Get You to the Next Level

    Weekly Photography Challenge – Street Photography

    Simply upload your shot into the comment field (look for the little camera icon in the Disqus comments section) and they’ll get embedded for us all to see or if you’d prefer, upload them to your favorite photo-sharing site and leave the link to them. Show me your best images in this week’s challenge. Sometimes it takes a while for an image to appear so be patient and try not to post the same image twice.

    Get some people in your street photography.

    Try panning for something different.

    Share in the dPS Facebook Group

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

    The post Photography Challenge – Street Photography appeared first on Digital Photography School.


    Digital Photography School

  • SLC-1L-04: A Hack for Manual Flash at Sunset

    Manual flash is great for its consistency and repeatability throughout a shoot. But working in a fluctuating ambient environment, such as against a fast-waning sunset, can get hairy.

    Today in the Lighting Cookbook, how to easily control the exposure level of both your subject and background without your eye ever leaving the viewfinder. Read more »
    Strobist

  • Leica launches 15x zoom C-Lux compact with 20MP 1″ sensor

    Leica Camera has announced a new compact camera that will feature a 24-360mm f/3.3-6.4 zoom lens and which will be fitted with a 20MP 1” MOS sensor. Essentially a re-badged Panasonic Lumix TZ200, the Leica C-Lux will save raw and JPEG files, will offer 4K video and has a viewfinder with a 2.33-dot resolution.

    Video users will be able to extract 8MP JPEGs from the camera’s 4K video feature, which will have a fastest frame rate 30fps and a best bit-rate of 100mbps. Focus and the shutter can be activated via the 3in touch-screen and the camera will have a Wi-Fi function to allow images to be sent to a smartphone or the camera to be controlled remotely.

    Using a combination of electronic and mechanical shutter mechanisms a maximum exposure time of 120 seconds can be achieved via the camera’s T setting, and a longest timed shutter opening of 60 seconds will be available via mechanical operation. The electronic shutter will run from 1 second to 1/16,000sec.

    The Leica C-Lux will go on sale from mid-July priced £875, and a range of accessories, including straps, jackets and pouches will follow. For more information see the Leica Camera website.

    Press release

    New: Leica C-Lux

    The versatile compact camera with a 15x zoom, a practical touchscreen and exceptional design

    Wetzlar, 15 June 2018. With the launch of the Leica C-Lux, Leica Camera AG expands its product portfolio with a versatile compact camera that unites speed, an intuitive handling concept and stylish design. Featuring a Leica DC Vario-Elmar 8.8–132 mm f/3.3–6.4 ASPH. lens and a high-performance, 20-megapixel sensor for continuous shooting at a rate of up to 10 frames per second, the Leica C-Lux adapts quickly and flexibly to every situation and effortlessly delivers high-quality pictures of subjects at any distance. Its 15-fold optical zoom with focal lengths from 24 to 360mm (35mm equivalent) offers enormous creative scope that is further expanded by 4K video recording capability. Thanks to an integrated connectivity concept, still pictures and videos can be quickly and easily shared with family and friends by a simple tap of a finger on the touchscreen display. Available in the two colours, Light Gold and Midnight Blue, the Leica C-Lux impresses not only with its precision, but also with its exceptional design and range of stylish accessories.

    From the lens to the 1-inch image sensor, all components of the Leica C-Lux are precisely matched to one another and deliver brilliant pictures in RAW or JPEG format in a quality that remains equally impressive in large-format prints. With an impressive maximum ISO sensitivity of 25600, the C-Lux guarantees pictures with natural colours

    and exceptional quality, especially when used for available-light photography. Thanks to its versatile zoom lens, fast autofocus and face detection, the camera also offers enormous flexibility in almost all areas of photography, and especially in spontaneous situations. The C-Lux’s fast autofocus with 49 metering points, ensures that subjects are sharply focused on in an instant, and a continuous shooting rate of 10 frames per second ensures that even the most fleeting moments will never be missed. Intuitively selectable scene modes provide valuable assistance when shooting landscapes, portraits or at night and enable users to concentrate exclusively on their subjects.

    Thanks to the viewfinder’s high resolution of 2.33 megapixels, the clarity and contrast of the viewing image is outstanding at all times – even in particularly bright, ambient light. As the viewfinder covers 100% of the image field, framing of subjects is extremely precise and users have complete control of composition. The camera also offers dioptre compensation settings that allow spectacle wearers to use the viewfinder without any problems.

    The 3-inch touchscreen display ensures particularly easy handling in all shooting situations. As with a smartphone, many of the camera’s functions can be controlled by simply touching the monitor screen, for instance the transfer of still pictures and videos via Wi-Fi or Bluetooth. The ‘Leica C-Lux’ app that supports this function can be downloaded free of charge and installed on iOS or Android devices. The display screen features a special repellent coating that prevents annoying marks and protects it against fingerprints.

    The high-definition, 4K-resolution, digital video recording function expands the spectrum of features offered by the Leica C-Lux. Thanks to exceptional resolution – four-times higher than full-HD – and up to 30p & 100 Mbit in MP4 format, the C-Lux

    delivers all the technical prerequisites for shooting your own, personal short film. What’s more, still pictures can be extracted and saved from video footage at a resolution of up to 8 megapixels.

    The compact Leica C-Lux impresses not only with its technical features, but also with elegant design and a portfolio of stylish accessories. An extensive range of accessories in matching and complimentary colours is available for both versions of the camera. These include, for example, carrying straps and wrist straps for the camera in the colours taupe, blue and red. The portfolio also offers an extensive collection of premium quality camera cases, protectors and soft pouches that make the C-Lux an elegant companion for every occasion. Particularly eye-catching are the two vintage models in finely polished brown leather: a cleverly designed wrap- around vintage pouch and a vintage case with a concealed snap fastener. Also available is an outdoor bag in hardwearing, water-repellent fabric. A range of elegant cases in various styles, colours and types of cowhide completes the portfolio. Thanks to a detachable, adjustable carrying strap, two of these models can be used not only as a shoulder bag, but also as a handbag or for stowing things away in a day bag.

    The Leica C-Lux will be on sale in the colour options Light Gold and Midnight Blue from mid-July 2018 at RRP £875 including VAT. The range of accessories will also be available when sales of the camera begin.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)