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  • 2017 in review: a look back at September

    Hey look, it’s our whole planet, just a tiny speck floating in a vast nothingness. This image is courtesy Cassini, a spacecraft we sent to its demise in September. Photograph copyright NASA/JPL-Caltech/Space Science Institute.

    September is the month when we finally accepted that 2017 was really happening and it wasn’t all a bad dream. We also found out what it looks like when you don’t heed the advice given in a thousand articles about photographing the eclipse. Spoiler alert: you get melted aperture blades.

    As they are wont to do, more than a few photos went viral. That ridiculous lawsuit over the monkey selfie finally ended, may we never type the words ‘monkey selfie’ again, and we talked to photographer Justin Hofman about his much-shared photo of a seahorse clutching a Q-tip. Oh, and Cassini plunged toward Saturn and burned up in its atmosphere, but it was supposed to do that. Thanks for all the cool photos, Cassini!

    What’s old is new again – and for sale at Nordstrom right next to the handbags

    The Sony RX10 IV and the Fujifilm X-E3 were the most notable conventional cameras launched in September. A little company called Apple also announced some new photo-taking-devices: the iPhone 8, 8 Plus and X. To top it all off, RED announced more details about its Hydrogen One phone, which actually doesn’t cost much more than an iPhone X.

    On the other end of the technological spectrum, Polaroid rode the analog nostalgia wave with the OneStep 2 instant camera. What’s old is new again – and for sale at Nordstrom right next to the handbags.

    See all September content

    Hands-on with the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 IV

    The RX10 IV, as the name suggests, is the fourth in Sony’s series of 1″-type sensor, long zoom compacts. The Mark IV is the first to offer phase detection autofocus alongside a series of changes designed to boost the speed and capability of the camera, for both stills and video shooting.

    See our Sony RX10 IV hands-on

    Hands-on with new Fujifilm X-E3

    In early September, Fujifilm took the wraps off the X-E3. Successor to the X-E2S, we’ll admit that the X-E3 took us rather by surprise. After the release of the X-T10 and X-T20 we had assumed that the rangefinder-style X-E line was all but dead.

    See our Fujifilm X-E3 hands-on

    iPhone X: What you need to know

    Apple’s iPhone X wasn’t much of a surprise by the time Tim Cook told us all about it, but there’s still a lot going on inside the all-screen-all-the-time device. Here’s a recap of the major photography-related highlights.

    Learn more about the iPhone X’s photo capabilities

    Monkey selfie, monkey do

    Ah, monkey selfie, the story that just wouldn’t go away.

    Read the full article

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Instagram rolls out ‘Recommended Posts’ feature, and users aren’t happy

    Instagram is testing and rolling out features at a quick pace. Just a couple of weeks ago, the Facebook-owned photo sharing app started letting users follow Hashtags in addition to Profiles. And now, after testing the feature with a limited number of accounts, Instagram has confirmed to TechCrunch that “Recommended Posts” are being rolled out to everybody’s feed as I type this.

    According to TechCrunch, the feature adds a “More Posts You Might Like” section to the bottom of your feed. But even though this feature isn’t meant to replace posts by people you follow, the response from users who have had the new feature thrust upon them is… expected. Many took to Twitter to voice their displeasure at this latest ‘indignity’ perpetrated on their feeds:

    And there are plenty more where these Tweets came from. Still, just like the infamous switch from chronological order to algorithm, chances are good Instagram won’t bow to the pressure or even give users an option to disable the new feature. To paraphrase Bob Dylan: the feeds, they are a’ changin.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Apple apologizes for iPhone performance issues, offers discount on battery replacement

    In a “letter to our customers” posted on its website, Apple took a more active stance in the iPhone slowdown ‘scandal’ that has been making headlines over the past week. The company once again explained why it was reducing performance on older iPhone models, but the letter went a step further, apologizing to customers for the lack of transparency and offering a few potential solutions to placate angry iPhone users.

    The letter first describes how batteries age, and explains that the company changed its power management system to reduce “unexpected shutdowns” on iPhone 6 and SE models last year. (Apple did the same with iPhone 7 models recently).

    In response to negative feedback from customers (and perhaps lawsuits) Apple will be reducing the price of replacement batteries by $ 50 (to $ 29) for out-of-warranty iPhones. Furthermore, the company plans to release an iOS update that will, “give users more visibility into the health of their iPhone’s battery, so they can see for themselves if its condition is affecting performance.”

    The battery replacement program will begin in January and run throughout 2018. More information will be posted soon on apple.com.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Apple facing several lawsuits over intentionally slowing down old iPhones

    Photo by Robin van der Ploeg

    Earlier this week, we shared the news that Apple had admitted to slowing down older iPhones—an accusation originally leveled at the company by several Redditors and bloggers who found their phones’ performance had been cut in half, and would only return to full performance with a battery replacement.

    This admission, in which Apple defended this ‘feature’ as benefiting users, has now sparked several lawsuits.

    Background

    Last week, Apple confirmed that older iPhones—specifically iPhone 6/Plus, iPhone 6S/Plus, and iPhone SE—were indeed being slowed down on purpose, but denied any malicious intent (e.g. trying to trick people into upgrading to a newer iPhone).

    Instead, in a statement to The Verge, Apple said the ‘feature’ had been implemented, “to deliver the best experience for customers” by preventing sudden shut downs or damage to the internal components that can be caused by an older battery trying to provide peak current it just can’t handle anymore.

    This explanation makes sense, and several technologically savvy commentators online (and even some readers in the DPReview comments) speculated that other companies likely do this same thing. But the lack of transparency—essentially only admitting that this was being done after being called out publicly—left many Apple users upset… and a few of them are doing something about it.

    And Now

    According to USA Today and The Verge, several lawsuits have been filed against Apple over this iPhone throttling. In the United States, suits have been filed in Los Angeles, Chicago, and New York among others, but the lawsuits over this admission extend as far as Israel, according to Reuters.

    One of the first, a proposed class-action lawsuit in Los Angeles filed last Thursday by two consumers, claims breach-of-contract because users never agreed to allow Apple to slow down their iPhones.

    The latest suit, filed by five iPhone users in New York, New Jersey, and Florida, seeks class-action status and accuses Apple of fraud, deception and breach-of-contract for not notifying users that it was slowing down old iPhones. The lawsuit states that, had they known batteries were to blame for their phones slowing down, these plaintiffs would have chosen to replace their batteries instead of purchasing a new phone.

    Apple has not released any comment on the lawsuits filed thus far.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Canon and Sony dominate Lensrentals’ most rented gear of 2017 list

    Lensrentals has released its most rented gear of 2017 list, and the results are very interesting. You can check out the full list here, but we thought we’d point out the three things that immediately caught our eye.

    1. Sony’s claim that it’s beaten Nikon to take the #2 position in sales of full-frame interchangeable lens cameras (ILCs) is backed up by the rental data. According to Lensrentals, for the first year ever, Sony has out-rented Nikon and “is slowly closing the gap to Canon.”

    2. That said, Sony’s top renting piece of gear—the Sony a7S II—only reached the number five spot behind four Canon products; the Canon 24-70mm F2.8L II, Canon 70-200 F2.8L IS II, Canon EOS 5D Mark III, and Canon EOS 5D Mark IV took the numbers one, two, three, and four spots, respectively. Canon may not have released anything overly exciting this year, but there’s no doubt it’s still the best-selling camera brand in the world.

    3. Finally, the last bit that caught our eye is that a battery—Sony’s NP-FW50, which was recently replaced the the NP-FZ100 that our own Richard Butler loves so much—took the number 6 spot, beating out some seriously popular gear like the Canon 50mm F1.2L and Canon 6D. This just foes to show: upgrading the Sony a9 and a7RIII to the much bigger FZ100 battery was an absolute necessity.

    To see the full list and breakdown, or dive into a few other categories like last year’s most-rented list or the most popular new equipment rented in 2017, head over to the Lensrentals blog.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Most Popular Post-Processing Articles of 2017

    If you’ve been reading over the last couple of days you may have seen these already:

    • The Best Landscape Articles on dPS in 2017
    • Top Portrait Photography Tips of the Year on dPS in 2017

    Next up in this summary is post-processing.

    Most Popular Post-Processing Articles of 2017

      1. 5 Common Post-Processing Mistakes to Avoid
      2. A Step by Step Guide to Processing Portraits in Lightroom
      3. Basic Portrait Post-Processing Workflow Tips to Help You Save Time and Stay Organized
      4. Don’t Fear Photo Post-Processing – Shooting is Only the First Part of the Image Creation Process
      5. How to Match Your Image Processing Using Reference View in Lightroom
      6. 4 Tips for Post-Processing Images on the Road
      7. Overview of the Intuos Pro Wacom Tablet and the MobileStudio Pro for Post-Processing
      8. How to Choose the Right Monitor for Photo Editing
      9. Overview of Photo Studio Ultimate 2018 for Windows by ACDSee
      10. Image Editing Software Review: PortraitPro 15
      11. How to Speed Up Your Photo Editing with the Right Lightroom Workflow
      12. How to do Non-Destructive Editing in Photoshop
      13. How to Merge and Combine Images in Photoshop
      14. How to Remove People from Your Photos Using Photoshop
      15. How to Create a Rim Light Effect Using Photoshop
      16. The dPS Ultimate Guide to Getting Started in Lightroom for Beginners
      17. Tips for How to Think and Use Lightroom More Artistically
      18. How to Understand the Lightroom Tone Curve
      19. 3 Handy Lightroom Features I Discovered by Accident
      20. Review of Macphun’s Aurora HDR 2018
      21. How to use Macphun’s Luminar for Beginners
      22. Luminar The Ultimate Lightroom Plugin

    Whew, that is a lot, but it’s a big category with lots of options now available to you for processing your images.

    Can you help us with a quick poll? Since there are so many new photo editing software options – please fill in any that you are using below. It will give us a better idea of what to cover in the upcoming year! Thanks for your assistance and for reading.

    Note: There is a poll embedded within this post, please visit the site to participate in this post’s poll.

    The post Most Popular Post-Processing Articles of 2017 by Darlene Hildebrandt appeared first on Digital Photography School.


    Digital Photography School

  • The Best Promotional Alternatives To Social Media For Photographers

    There is a love/hate relationship the majority of us have with social media. We promote our work there, but we also waste a huge amount of time on it.  What are the best alternative to social media then? Where can we publish our work in order to gain visibility and, why not, some paid projects? Let’s step back for a Continue Reading

    The post The Best Promotional Alternatives To Social Media For Photographers appeared first on Photodoto.


    Photodoto

  • 2017 in review: a look back at August

    This may not be your favorite photo from August, 2017, but it’s mine. A scene in which five Richard Butlers debate the merits of five Fujifilm X100’s in a conference room.

    We were really busy in August. Not only were there important announcements, but it was also nearing the end of the sunny season in Seattle – and even that late into the summer, we were out taking photos all the time, from sunup (around 6am) to sundown (around 9pm).

    Without a doubt, the announcement of the month was Nikon’s D850. With 45.7 million pixels, revamped ergonomics, really good 4K video and up to 9fps burst speeds with the battery grip, the D850 is an astoundingly good camera. Yes, it’s big. But so is its full-frame sensor. If you like an optical viewfinder, it really is the camera to own for just about any type of photography.

    Sony’s RX0 large-sensor action camera cruised onto the market, and we got our hands on Ricoh’s new Theta V

    On the opposite end of the size spectrum, Sandisk introduced a MicroSD card with 400GB of capacity – never has it been so easy to lose so many photos at once between the couch cushions. Nonetheless, the 100MB/s speed is solid, and the card gives suitably equipped smartphone users a valuable option for maximizing their phone’s storage capacity.

    Sony’s Cyber-shot RX0 large-sensor action camera cruised onto the market, and we got our hands on Ricoh’s new Theta V. Olympus brought out the OM-D E-M10 Mark III, which we were big fans of for its combination of beginner-friendly guides, as well as enthusiast-friendly ergonomics. Canon had a good month as well, releasing the Gold-winning EOS M100 and a new stabilized EF 85mm F1.4L lens.

    And, just in case you’ve missed it, Richard penned an opinion piece on how marketing isn’t a dirty word, which is the excuse reason for the image at the top of the page.

    Portrait shootout: Sony a9, Canon 1D X II, Nikon D5

    After watching this video ourselves, we still don’t agree on which of these cameras is the best. What do you think?

    We had an eclipse

    This is highly un-recommended.

    This year included a total solar eclipse visible across parts of the USA, unfortunately not including Seattle. We did, however, get a partial eclipse, and we took plenty of photos of both the sun and the strange things that those around us were also doing.

    Click here to see our Eclipse coverage

    The upscale yet entry-level OM-D E-M10 III

    Olympus really impressed us with the OM-D E-M10 III. This is an entry-level camera with a reasonable price, super-stable 4K video, great image quality, and tons of controls. It’s a great option for beginners and advanced users alike.

    Check out our launch coverage of the E – M10 III

    World Photo Day

    To mark World Photo Day in August we wanted to show off some of our favorite images.

    See our World Photo Day slideshow

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Tamron sets up ‘VIP Club’ for users with four or more registered lenses

    Loyal Tamron users who own four or more lenses made by the third party lens maker might qualify to be a part of the company’s new VIP Club in 2018. Announced yesterday, the program creates three “membership” tiers that offer a variety of perks like free T-shirts, lens rebates, non-warranty repair discounts, an invitation to participate in a VIP-exclusive contest, and much more.

    Anybody who has purchased and registered four or more Tamron lenses between May of 2011 and January 18th of 2018 is eligible for one of the tiers. Four lenses purchased and registered between those days will earn you a Silver membership, five earns you a Gold membership, and six or more earns you a Platinum membership.

    You can read all about the perks available to the various tiers below, but remember: you must register your lens purchases to qualify. So if you’ve bought four more more lenses in the past 6 years but never registered them, you’ll want to get on that at the Tamron website.

    Membership Perks

    If you’ve purchased and registered four lenses between May 2011 and January 15th, 2018, you’re a Silver member, which entitles you to:

    • Welcome gift
    • Tamron magazine mailed three times per year
    • $ 50 bonus rebate towards any Tamron lens
    • 50% off of one Tamron event ticket (excludes summit)
    • 10% discount on non-warranty repair
    • Invitation to participate in VIP Member contest
    • Membership Card with lanyard

    If you’ve purchased and registered five lenses between May 2011 and January 15th, 2018, you’re a Gold member, which entitles you to:

    • Welcome gift
    • Tamron t-shirt
    • Tamron magazine mailed three times per year
    • $ 75 bonus rebate towards any Tamron lens
    • 50% off of two Tamron event tickets (excludes summit)
    • Free pass to one Tamron event (excludes summit)
    • 15% discount on non-warranty repair
    • Invitation to participate in VIP Member contest
    • Membership Card with lanyard

    And, finally, if you’ve purchased and registered six or more lenses between May 2011 and January 15th, 2018, you’re a Platinum member, which entitles you to:

    • Welcome gift
    • Tamron t-shirt
    • Tamron LL Bean vest
    • Tamron magazine mailed three times per year
    • $ 100 bonus rebate towards any Tamron lens
    • 50% off of three Tamron event tickets (excludes summit)
    • Free passes to two Tamron events (excludes summit)
    • 20% discount on non-warranty repair
    • Lifetime Limited Warranty on any new lens purchase from year of Club induction
    • Free shipping on repairs (Tamron USA will send a pre-paid shipping label to receive your lens)
    • Free 2-week lens loaners (if available, with signed loaner agreement)
    • Exclusive Tamron Photo Tips Hotline for questions about photo techniques and tips on how to use your lens and camera
    • Invitation to a Tamron Workshop Summit
    • Invitation for chance to be profiled on website
    • Invitation to participate in VIP Member contest
    • Membership Card with lanyard

    For more details, check out the full press release below or head over to the Tamron VIP Club website by clicking here.

    Press Release

    Tamron USA Announces the Launch in 2018 of New VIP Club for Owners of Multiple Registered Tamron Lenses

    December 26, 2017, Commack, New York – Tamron USA announced the development of a new VIP Club for registered owners of multiple Tamron lenses. To be launched in 2018, the VIP Club will include select users who have registered their Tamron lenses through the company’s online warranty registration system since May 2011 through January 15, 2018 (certain exclusions apply, see website for rules and details). There are three VIP Club levels: Silver for those having registered four purchased lenses; Gold for those having registered five purchased lenses; and Platinum for those having registered six or more purchased lenses. Club membership will be evaluated each year to include new members who qualify and to increase the level of existing members if applicable. The VIP Club will be in effect February 15, 2018 and 2018 members will be notified by email. Complete rules and details of the program are available at www.tamron-usa.com/vipclub.

    2018 Silver Level Benefits (Four Registered Lenses)

    Tamron owners who have purchased and registered four lenses during the time-frame of May 2011 and January 15, 2018 are eligible for these 2018 membership perks: Welcome gift; $ 50 bonus rebate each year of Silver status towards any Tamron lens; 50% off one Tamron event ticket each year of Silver status; 10% discount on non-warranty repairs; invitation to participate in the Tamron VIP Member contest; and three issues of the new Tamron magazine mailed to the member’s home.

    2018 Gold Level Benefits (Five Registered Lenses)

    Tamron owners who have purchased and registered five lenses during the time-frame are eligible for these 2018 membership perks: Welcome gift; T-shirt; $ 75 bonus rebate each year of Gold status towards any Tamron lens; 50% off two Tamron event tickets each year of Gold status; free pass to one event per year of Gold status; 15% discount on non-warranty repairs; invitation to participate in Tamron’s VIP Member contest; and three issues of the new Tamron magazine mailed to the member’s home.

    2018 Platinum Level Benefits (Six or More Registered Lenses)

    Tamron owners who have purchased and registered six or more lenses during the time-frame are eligible for these 2018 membership perks: Welcome gift; T-shirt; Tamron apparel; $ 100 bonus rebate each year of Platinum status towards any Tamron lens; 50% off three Tamron event tickets each year of Platinum status; two free passes to any Tamron event per year if available (excludes Summit); 20% discount on non-warranty repairs; lifetime limited warranty on any new Tamron lens purchased and registered within two years of Club induction at Platinum level; free shipping on any lens sent in for repair; exclusive Tamron Photo Tips Hotline; free 2-week lens loaners, if available; invitation to a 4-day workshop (The Workshop Summit, details below) if qualified; invitation to participate in the Tamron VIP Member contest; invitation for chance to be profiled on the Tamron website; and three issues of the new Tamron magazine mailed to the member’s home.

    The Workshop Summit

    Members of the Tamron VIP Club Platinum level whose latest lens purchase and lens registration was within the past two years as of January 15, 2018, will be invited to a 4-day/3-night Workshop Summit scheduled for Fall 2018. The Workshop Summit is limited to 25 participants, first-come/first-serve. Invitations will be sent to qualifying Platinum Level members in Spring 2018 by priority mail. The Workshop Summit includes three nights hotel, meals, transportation to/from hotel/airport in destination city, workshop transportation, workshop and loaner lenses. Airfare, home airport transportation, and other incidentals are not included. The Workshop Summit will be offered each year, and Platinum level members may participate in one Workshop Summit during the life of the program.

    Tamron VIP Program Rules and Details

    Complete rules and details are at www.tamron-usa.com/vipclub.

    Registering Tamron Lenses

    Tamron lens owners are encouraged to register their new purchase at www.tamron-usa.com (click link to go to registration page). Registration is quick and easy and owners enjoy these benefits: Instant serial number verification to ensure that a Tamron USA imported lens with 6-Year Limited USA Warranty and eligible for any qualifying rebate has been purchased; access to product information in the event of loss or theft; custom support if service is ever required; priority contact in the rare event we discover an issue with the registered product; and if subscribe is selected, invitations to local workshops, seminars and sales events, subscription to the Tamron e-newsletter and exclusive promotional offers. And now, registration has the benefit of becoming a Tamron VIP Club Member when membership level requirements are met.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

  • Free Lightroom alternative Darktable is now available on Windows

    Free Lightroom alternative Darktable was recently updated to version 2.4.0, an update that is joined by a new milestone for the open source software: for the very first time, it has been ported to Windows. The Windows port is incomplete at the moment, lacking a few features like printing support, but the team said in a blog post that, “we are confident that it’s quite usable already and hope you will enjoy it.”

    Darktable is an open source “virtual lighttable and darkroom for photographers,” and one that frequently pops up on “free Adobe alternative” lists online; however, until now, it had only been available for Linux and Mac. Version 2.4 brings numerous changes and some new features, including: tweaks to design elements, support for the basic import of Lightroom 7 settings, removal of the 51200 ISO limit, some usability improvements such as the ability to make new module instances using the middle mouse button, and a new haze removal module (among others).

    The update also applies numerous bug fixes, adds new camera, noise profiles, and white balance preset support, changes some dependencies, and adds new software translations.

    As for the Windows port, Darktable says this version currently has “a few limitations,” such as needing special drivers to tether. It also has some bugs, one of which is apparently a lack of non-ASCII character file name support when exporting and importing TIFF files. Still, the Windows version gives PC users something to play around with until the next update… and the one after that. Before long, Darktable for Windows might become a very popular Adobe alternative that will cost you 0 dollars and 0 cents.

    Darktable 2.4.0 can be downloaded now from GitHub. The full version changelog can be found in the team’s announcement post.

    Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)