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Ten Nikon D5 DSLRs will arrive at the International Space Station tomorrow

Back in August, NASA’s love affair with Nikon cameras made the news when the space agency ordered 53 unmodified Nikon D5 DSLRs that it would use on the International Space Station and for ‘training purposes’ here on Earth. Ten of those D5 cameras are scheduled to make it to the ISS this week.

Packed aboard the Orbital ATK OA-8 Space Station Cargo Resupply Mission that took off this Sunday at 7:19am Eastern time, and are scheduled to arrive at the ISS tomorrow morning around 4:50am (you can actually watch live coverage of the rendezvous on NASA TV starting at 3:15am).

Nikon tells us that NASA is “reusing Nikon lenses and accessories previously launch with the Nikon D4 and D2Xs cameras,” and are planning to keep the D5 cameras in circulation for 12-18 months. With any luck, the astronauts aboard the space station will use them to capture more images like these:

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NASA’s relationship with Nikon began in 1971, when the Nikon Photomic FTN (a modified Nikon F) went to the moon with the astronauts of Apollo 15. Fast forward to 2008, and NASA ordered its first digital cameras for use in space, a set of six Nikon D2XS DSLRs, followed by an order for 11 Nikon D3S cameras in 2009, 38 Nikon D4 DSLRs in 2013, and another 10 D4s in 2016.

The only question now, I suppose, is when is the Space Agency going to replace its glass? NASA’s latest order of Nikon glass was placed in 2010, when 64 NIKKOR lenses were delivered to the space agency. If astronaut photographers are anything like us Earth-bound folk, that means they’ve been drooling over ‘better’ lenses than they currently have since about… three days after they got those lenses.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 14, 2017
Kodak will lay off 425 employees after reporting millions in losses

Kodak recently disclosed its third quarter fiscal results, revealing that it had a GAAP net loss of $ 46 million on $ 379 million in revenues during its Q3 2017. This marks a sharp downturn of fortunes for Kodak, which saw $ 12 million in net earnings during the same quarter last year. “An overall print market slowdown and rising aluminum costs have impacted our commercial print business,” explained Kodak CEO Jeff Clarke in a release.

Clarke went on to explain that Kodak is, “taking immediate actions to accelerate cost reduction and reduce investments to sharpen our focus as we continue to actively pursue changes to the Kodak product and divisional portfolio.” According to New York Upstate, “accelerate cost reduction” translates to the Eastman Kodak Company cutting 425 jobs.

The quarter had its upsides for Kodak, however, which reports that its Kodak Sonora Plates saw a 24% growth in Q3 and its Flexcel NX revenue grew 2% year-on-year. Overall, Kodak’s CFO David Bullwinkle said the company anticipates generating cash during Q4 2017. “We plan to improve our cash balance through reducing working capital and through cost actions,” Bullwinkle explained, “including focusing investments in technologies most likely to deliver near-term returns.”

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 14, 2017
Affinity Photo for iPad Review
Affinity Photo for iPad
$ 20 | Affinity.serif.com | Buy Now

We’ve come to expect less from iOS software on the iPad compared to desktop applications because, in most cases, they’re mobile—and “mobile” has traditionally meant “limited.” A lot of that has been due to hardware: even as the iPad’s main processors improved, most models included a minimal amount of RAM that made it difficult to pull off operations expected of a modern image editor, such as smoothly dealing with many layers and real-time effects.

The arrival of the iPad Pro, along with a commitment in iOS to take advantage of the hardware, has opened the door for more powerful applications. One of those apps is Affinity Photo for iPad, a full-fledged image editor that doesn’t feel as if the developers had to remove features from a whiteboard to make the app a reality. Whereas some companies have chosen to make multiple apps that specialize in a few image editing features—a big photography shop that begins with an A comes to mind—Serif has packed the gamut of features into Affinity Photo for iPad. It’s not a literal translation from the desktop version, nor should it be.

Key Features
- Full suite of image editing features
- Sophisticated layers enable compositing
- Projects can be edited in Affinity Photo for iPad and desktop
- Interface smartly designed for touch operation
Allow me to head off a common talking point at the outset: Yes, devices such as the Microsoft Surface give you a mobile tablet experience running desktop applications, including Serif’s Affinity Photo for Windows. That works for some people, and not for others, for various reasons. A few readers commented in our review of Affinity Photo for Mac that the performance of the Windows version lags on some systems.

Affinity Photo for iPad runs on the following models: iPad Air 2, iPad 2017, iPad Pro 9.7-inch, 10.5-inch, and 12.9-inch.

Importing Photos

If you’re importing photos from a camera’s memory card, they must still be transferred using the default method of copying them first to the Photos app. However, you can also import from cloud sources, such as iCloud Drive, Dropbox, Google Drive, and others. Under iOS 11, this is made easier by tying into the architecture used by Apple’s Files app, which also acts as go-between for other apps that support it. For example, Affinity Photo can copy images directly from the app Cascable, which is a utility for transferring images using the Wi-Fi built into some cameras.

We’re accustomed to simply opening an image file to work on it; as long as your files are stored on some cloud platform or a compatible app, you can do the same on the iPad

This seems like a pedestrian point to make—ooh, thrilling, opening files!—but Apple’s traditional insistence that everything pass through the Photos app has always been just awkward enough to be annoying. In Affinity Photo, it’s possible to open images, including Raw files, without going through the Photos workflow. On the desktop, we’re accustomed to simply opening an image file to work on it; as long as your files are stored on some cloud platform or a compatible app, you can do the same on the iPad.

Interface and Workflow

A long list of features is impressive (and there are plenty of features), but if using them is frustrating, people won’t stick with the app. Affinity Photo has wisely tailored the interface for a small-screen, touch-based experience. The layout of tools and modes prioritizes visibility of the image you’re editing.

Tools are arranged around the edges of the screen, taking up minimal space.

The main tools, called out by pressing the ? button.

It’s an efficient use of space that may seem confusing at first—and occasionally requires some exploration until you’re familiar with it—but the interface has been well thought out.

For instance, the controls for adjusting brush sizes and other tool properties seem almost clumsy at first. Instead of customary sliders for everything, a tool’s options appear at the bottom of the screen as configurable circles. To make a brush larger, for example, drag from the middle of the control up or to the right; the pixel dimensions appear in the middle, and a solid border snakes around the perimeter to indicate how far the value is from the maximum or minimum value. The same mechanism controls opacity, flow, hardness, and other attributes. Tap the More button there to reveal a screenful of other options, such as blending mode, wet edges, and custom dynamics that affect Apple Pencil interaction.

That’s not intuitive if your brain has been wired to use Photoshop, or even Affinity Photo on the desktop. But it’s no coincidence that the control is finger-sized. Since it’s occupying a small portion of the bottom of the screen, you get control without sacrificing a lot of screen real estate. That said, using the gesture seems almost sloppy at times, because the sensitivity depends on the speed and distance you move your finger or Pencil.

Controls are easily available using your left hand, leaving the right hand for applying edits or making selections.

As with the desktop version of Affinity Photo, the app is split into multiple personas (modules). The Photo persona contains most of the editing tools, layers, and the like. Opening Raw files brings you into the Develop persona to apply Raw edits, which you must apply before you can access the app’s other personas and editing tools; you can also edit individual layers in the Develop persona. The Liquify persona gives you control over pushing, pulling, and warping pixels for retouching purposes. And the Tone Mapping persona applies HDR style effects to a layer.

Additionally, “studios” along the side break out tasks and other tools, such as Layers, Adjustments, Filters, Color, and so forth.

Different from the desktop software is a Selections persona that’s dedicated to making selections. It’s a bit odd to switch to a new persona just to select areas of an image, but after a short amount of time I appreciated that its 11 tools were all exposed by switching personas, versus tapping and waiting on a tool to reveal its alternates (which still happens for many of the basic tools), or digging through menus, as in the desktop software.

One thing you’ll find yourself doing often is working two-handed. For instance, with an Apple Pencil in my right hand and working in the Selections persona, I can quickly toggle between the Add and Subtract modes of the Smart Selection Brush tool using my left hand, just as if I were using Option or Alt on the desktop. Commands such as Deselect or Invert Selection are a finger-tap away at the top toolbar. Turning on Left-Handed Mode reverses the interface.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)
November 13, 2017
Professional photographers explain why they shoot Panasonic Lumix

Being a professional photographer used to mean carrying around heavy SLRs and medium-format camera, tripods and cumbersome accessories. As cameras have evolved to become smaller and smaller, those days are over.

Panasonic was a pioneer in the mirrorless camera market, and over the past decade its G and GH-series cameras have been adopted by a wide range of photographers, including professionals in various different fields. In a new video by filmmaker Griffon Hammond, professional photographers Daniel J. Cox, Ben Grunow, William Innes and Jennifer Maring explain why they choose to shoot with Panasonic Lumix cameras.

Panasonic’s latest G-series camera is the impressive flagship Lumix DC G9, which features a suite of powerful features including high frame-rate stills shooting and 4K video.

Read more about the G9 here

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 13, 2017
What is Pareidolia and how to use it in Your Photography

Introduction

Do you often see faces in inanimate objects? Maybe an old man in a fluffy cloud or a toothy grin smiling back at you from the rear of a car? Most people have never heard of pareidolia but almost everyone has experienced it. Pareidolia is a physiological phenomenon where the mind perceives an image or sound where none actually exist. Although it can cause people to see Jesus on a flour tortilla or form dynamic pictures in the inkblots of Rorschach test, one of the most common symptoms of pareidolia is seeing faces in inanimate objects.

As per Meriam-Webster.

A photo of a very smiley cheese grater. Sometimes episodes of pareidolia crop up at the most unexpected of times, in unexpected places.

What is Pareidolia?

One famous example of Pareidolia the many faces of the Moon. In the Northern Hemisphere, a common Western perception of the moon is its apparent facial features. Dubbed the “Man on the Moon”, the figure’s eyes are formed by Mare Imbrium and Mare Serenitatis. The Man on the Moon’s nose is Sinus Aestuum and its wide open mouth is Mare Nubium and Mare Cognitum.

Another European tradition sees the figure of a man etched into the moon’s surface, carrying a sack on his back. While many stories from Asian folklore and Aztec mythology recognize the presence of a Moon rabbit.

Another space-related pareidolia event came about when a satellite photo of a mesa formation on Mars was dubbed the “Face on Mars”. The face was cited as evidence of extraterrestrial habitation on the planet. It turned out to be a natural rock formation.

But not every incidence of pareidolia happens out in space. Rock or tree formations may come to mimic facial features through weather and erosion. On a smaller scale, cars are often said to have “faces”, constructed from the two headlights which take on the appearance of eyes. Often anything that includes a few circles and a line as a mouth can register as a face to the human eye.

A cute little face formed by holes in a traffic bollard

The windows of an old house form an eerily familiar face.

What causes pareidolia?

Researchers have a few theories as to why pareidolia occurs. Part of it could be due to our evolutionary heritage, a sensitivity to detecting faces for safety. While it has also been suggested that pareidolia is a consequence of the brain’s information processing system.

Constantly sifting through random lines, shapes, surfaces, and colors, the brain tries to pair input with memories stored in our long-term retention of knowledge. This results in ambiguous visual information being interpreted as something we can understand more easily.

Pareidolia and photography

Ever catch your mind wondering, making out faces and shapes in inanimate objects? While you are off daydreaming, your mind continues to work hard at understanding its host’s surroundings. This is a great way to relax and allow inspiration to come to you naturally.

Watching figures in clouds drift overhead isn’t just peaceful, its a reflection on the inner workings of your own creativity. Many artists have harnessed pareidolia as a form of inspiration and insight. Leonardo da Vinci described pareidolia as a device for painters, writing that;

“If you look at any walls spotted with various stains or with a mixture of different kinds of stones, if you are about to invent some scene you will be able to see in it a resemblance to various different landscapes adorned with mountains, rivers, rocks, trees, plains, wide valleys and various groups of hills. You’ll also be able to see diverse combats and figures in quick movement, and strange expressions of faces and outlandish costumes and an infinite number of things which you can then reduce into separate and well-conceived forms”.

As photographers, we often pursue beauty in subjects that go unseen to the casual eye. So it’s not unusual for us to encounter pareidolia on a day-to-day basis. But although shadows in the night and weird rock formations can look a little creepy, pareidolia gives us a great opportunity to harness the phenomena to create psychologically engaging and even humorous bodies of work.

Faces in objects can be extremely evocative for a viewer. It’s almost like holding up a mirror to our own interpretations of a space. Addressing a phenomenon that bridges the gap between the known and the ambiguous adds personality to an image. The shared experience of pareidolia is also a great discussion topic.

Having people gather around an image to discuss and compare what they see creates an energy and a connection with the image and those viewing it. Discussing and comparing what different viewers see in an object creates energetic conversation and a greater bond with a photographic image as well as other viewers.

Do you see faces?

These kinds of personal ties to an image create lasting experiences. So what about you? Do you experience pareidolia? How has it impacted your photographic practice? I’d love to see your findings in the comments section below!

A cute little pair of eyes and an elongated mouth on my iPhone casing.

While cooking I looked at this cross-section of an onion and saw the face of a frog staring back at me!

The post What is Pareidolia and how to use it in Your Photography by Megan Kennedy appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

November 13, 2017
6 Tips for Mastering Your Lenses

Most photographers have a favorite lens (you can read about mine here), maybe even two or three. But do you know how to get the best out of that lens? I’ve used lots of lenses over the years. As a result, I know that it takes time to get to know a lens, and longer still to master it. These tips will help you work your way through that process.

1. Use the lens exclusively for a month

In his book Outliers, author Malcolm Gladwell put forward the now-famous idea that true mastery of a skill takes 10,000 hours of practice. The idea of putting in your 10,000 hours applies to photography as a whole rather than using a single lens. But there’s no doubt that by using the same lens, and no other, for an extended period of time it will help you get to know that lens really well.

You can put this idea into practice in a small way by taking just one camera and one lens out on a shoot. For example, if you have a portrait shoot then take along a short telephoto prime lens. If you’re shooting landscapes, take a wide-angle lens.

I often take just a single lens on a portrait shoot. The only lens I had on me for this one was an 85mm short telephoto.

You can take it further and extend the exercise for a week, a month, or even longer. It’s up to you.

This exercise is easiest with a prime lens. If you do it with a zoom I suggest that you pick one focal length and stick to that. The idea is to get familiar with how a specific focal length behaves. You can’t do that if you are zooming from one to the other.

2. Test your lenses at all apertures

Part of mastering your lenses is getting to know how they each perform at various apertures. There are two things to consider here – technical performance and aesthetic quality.

No lens gives consistent image quality across its aperture range. All lenses are softer at their widest and narrowest aperture settings than the middle ones.

If you tend to use small apertures when you take photos (perhaps you are a landscape photographer) then you need to be aware of an effect called diffraction that creates a softening effect as you stop down. Yes, you get more depth of field at f/22, but photos taken at f/11 or f/16 may be sharper overall.

Test your lenses to see where the visible effects of diffraction kick in. That way you know the smallest aperture you are happy using, in relation to sharpness for each lens in your kit.

At the other end of the scale, a lens is always softer at its widest aperture. If your favorite lens is a prime then you probably open the aperture to create bokeh. As you stop down the depth of field increases, there is less bokeh, and the image gets sharper.

The key is to find the balance between bokeh and image quality. For example, I find that when I make portraits with a short telephoto lens I get the best results at f/2.8. More of the model’s face is in focus and the bokeh still has a beautiful quality. You can see the difference in the two portraits below.

3. Zoom lenses – test at different focal lengths

The situation becomes a little more complicated with zoom lenses. This is because you have an extra variable – focal length. Not only does sharpness vary according to the aperture, but focal length has an effect too. Very few zoom lenses give equal optical quality across their entire focal length range.

When it comes to zoom lenses I prefer to think of them as several prime lenses in one. For example, when I owned a 17-40mm zoom I tended to set it to 24 or 35mm for most of my shoots (these focal lengths were conveniently marked on the barrel). At other times I would use 17mm if I wanted a real ultra wide-angle effect or 40mm. So, to me, it was four lenses in one – a 17mm, 24mm, 35mm and 40mm lens.

These photos show the difference between the 17mm and 40mm focal lengths on this lens.

This approach simplifies the task of getting to know your zoom lens because you are getting to know it at three or four focal lengths rather than across the entire range.

4. Zoom with your feet

Regardless of whether your favorite lens is a prime or a zoom it is helpful to zoom with your feet rather than use the zoom ring (of course, if you have a prime lens you have no choice in the matter!) Zooming with your feet is an expression used to describe the process of moving physically closer to or farther away from your subject to change its size in the frame, rather than using the zoom ring on a zoom lens.

For zoom lens owners, this comes back to the earlier idea of a zoom lens being three or four prime lenses in one. For example, if you have an 18-55mm kit lens then your lens behaves very differently at different focal lengths. At 18mm it’s a wide-angle lens ideal for subjects like landscapes. At 55mm it’s a short telephoto lens that you can use for portraits.

In terms of perspective, both focal lengths are very different. You will only learn about perspective and the way it changes as you move closer to or further from your subject if you stick to using your zoom lens at a single focal length. If you use the zoom ring to change subject size, you won’t learn about perspective.

For example, with an 18-55mm lens set to 18mm, you need to get fairly close to the subject to obtain the dramatic perspective associated with wide-angle lenses.

If you are further away from the subject the perspective is much less dramatic.

5. Try different subjects

We tend to think of lenses as associated with specific subjects. For example, wide-angle lenses are ideal for landscapes, and short telephoto lenses are brilliant for portraiture.

But what if you mix it up a little? What happens if you use a short telephoto for landscape photography or a wide-angle for portraiture? The idea is to take yourself out of your comfort zone and find creative ways to use your favorite lenses. Ways that perhaps hadn’t occurred to you before.

If you use a wide-angle lens for portraiture you will soon find that if you get too close to your model then it’s going to create some very unflattering effects. But what if you step back and include more of your environment? Suddenly you’re taking a very different approach than you would with a short telephoto lens. Experiments like these can add new skills and new ways of working to your repertoire.

I made this portrait with my 17-40mm zoom set to 17mm.

6. Push your composition to the limit

The final tip is to push your composition to the limit. It’s all about taking various techniques to the extreme and seeing what you can do with them.

If you have a wide-angle lens, what happens if you get as close to your subject (whatever it is) as you can? What happens if you use the widest aperture setting instead of a smaller one?

If you have a telephoto lens how can you maximize the compressed perspective that those lenses give you? What subjects can you shoot to make the most of the layered effect you can get with a longer lens?

This is a process of experimentation. Not all of your experiments will work. But when they do, just as with the previous tip, you’ll be adding new skills to your repertoire.

Here is a landscape photo that was taken with a telephoto lens.

Next steps

Hopefully, these tips have given you some ideas for working with and getting to know your favorite lenses. Instead of fantasizing about the next lens you are going to buy (dreams are nice, but new lenses are expensive!) how about learning to make the most out of the ones you already own?

You may find that true creativity lays as much in pushing the lenses you already own to their limits as it does with buying new gear.

You can learn more about lenses, and how to get the most out of them, in my ebook Mastering Lenses. It also contains a buying guide to help you make wise choices when you buy your next lens!

The post 6 Tips for Mastering Your Lenses by Andrew S. Gibson appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School

November 13, 2017
Shooting an Olympic sailor in action using remote high speed sync

This article was originally published on Luminous Landscapes, and is being republished in full on DPReview with express permission from Terry McDonagh.

In January of last year, I was commissioned to shoot some dramatic action shots of an Olympic sailor; however, I did some image research and wasn’t overly impressed by any images I found, so I decided that a good approach would be to try and light the subject and by doing so I could afford to underexpose the available light.

This would help add to the drama, plus in doing so I would be able to get some light into the water spray coming off the boat. In order to get this shot, I needed to freeze the action using a high shutter speed and combine that with flash, so how was I going to achieve all that?

Obviously, I needed to use flash, but I knew I would be shooting at a high shutter speed, so it had to be high-speed sync (HSS). The beauty of HSS is that it allows you to shoot at a high shutter speed whilst still syncing the flash, which was unheard of a few years ago.

I decided that I would use two flashes, both for the extra power and to avoid any redundancy due to the high risk of this particular situation. I was attaching a flash to a boat which could easily capsize, and I was doing it in January when, due to it being 3°C, the batteries weren’t going to last too long. In other words: I was only getting one chance to nail this job, so I had to minimize the chances of anything going wrong.

Flashes facing Starboard

I had used HSS before, but never remotely and not on the water, which was all a bit daunting.

To prepare, I did a bit of research on trigger systems and decided on a Phottix Laso trigger for a couple of reasons. Firstly, it would trigger my Canon 600EX-RT directly, via the built-in radio on the flash. Second, it came with a separate receiver for my Canon 580 EX-ll, which meant I could control both units remotely from one base unit. And finally, the receiver had a metal hot-shoe mount, which I wanted, as I knew that the gear was going to get bounced around out there so I wasn’t risking any plastic hot-shoe mounts.

Flying along flashes pointing to starboard

The next part of the jigsaw puzzle was the batteries, as HSS is really hard on batteries and the faster the shutter speed, the higher the power drain. I did some more research and came across some ‘Panasonic Eneloop pro rechargeable’s’, apparently the best. I purchased a few sets of them, tested them in the cold, and found they were amazing.

Which brought me to my next major problem: waterproofing the flash units. There was a strong chance that they would be submerged if the boat capsized, and having sailed a Lazer, the boat that I would be shooting, a few times, I knew that these boats flip over very easily. To counter this issue, I developed a triple bagging system using some freezer bags.

When I submerged the flash in a bucket of water to test, it stayed watertight: Happy Days!

The trick was to place one bag over the complete unit and then mount it to the hot-shoe. Then I placed another bag over this, but upside down, and a third one over the spigot so that it was completely sealed.

Flashes bagged up and tethered.

Then it was just a matter of pushing the spigot into the Manfrotto clamp which was attached to the boom of the boat.

Flashes pointing to port.

I headed down to the yacht club to do a technical recce and try to attach the gear to the boat and figure out all my settings.

I settled on mounting the units upside down, firstly so that the sail would not damage them, and also because I was afraid they might rotate with any impacts, plus I reckoned there would be fewer forces on them if they were not top heavy. I used a Manfrotto super clamp as it has a secondary safety lock, so I was able to instruct Annalise how to open the clamp and rotate the speed-lights.—every time she did a tack she rotated the units so they were always facing her, and she was brilliant at doing it. Her sailing wasn’t too shabby either.

Total control

So, I had designed a system that I could remotely fire, adjust exposure and rotate, and it was waterproof… pretty cool! Next thing was to get out there and see how it all worked.

On the day of the shoot, conditions were perfect: overcast, but with some nice contrast. I was getting a light reading of around 1/640 @ F3.2 iso 500. I underexposed by around two stops to try and get some drama into the images but without making it look too much like nighttime.

We headed out to sea about 4 km out as that’s where the wind was and I wanted little or no background buildings etc. in the images. To preserve the batteries I left the units off until we reached our destination, This proved to be a bit of a mistake as the boats were dancing around a lot, so much so that I almost fell in trying to locate the switches on both speed-lights and the receiver, and through the Ziploc bags it proved very tricky.

Luckily my very quick-witted boatman spotted this and grabbed me at the last moment, otherwise I honestly would have gone into the water with a 5DSr and a 70-200mm lens plus my phone etc. Thank god is all I can say.

We shot for approximately an hour, as that was long enough for both Annalise and me, and the batteries were getting very low on energy. I reckoned I had the images I needed in the bag.

Annalise loving the conditions.

I was shooting on a Canon 5DSr with a 70-200mm lens. Final settings were 1/640 @F3.2 and iso160. I had considered using a faster camera but the flash wouldn’t have kept up with it so I just stuck with the higher 50MP camera, which was important as we were using the image on billboards etc. so the higher the quality the better.

The shoot worked out brilliantly. The hardest bit was trying to maintain focus on Annalise, and trying to keep the horizon level; plus, watching all the other elements meant that after an hour of this type of thing you’re pretty burnt out.

When we finished, Annalise nearly fainted when she heard that there was approximately €2k worth of gear attached to her boat. She said had she known she wouldn’t have sailed so hard! I didn’t believe that for one minute.

Wind just died, time for home.

Based in Dublin, Terry works for leading advertising, design and architectural agencies throughout Ireland and often abroad in the areas of industry, architecture, products, people and food.

He provides a fast and reliable digital retouching and manipulation when required, and shoots live action commercials too. Feel free to contact Terry for more information.

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 12, 2017
Sony a7R III Pixel Shift lifts a veil off your landscapes

Sony’s replacement of its popular a7R II comes packed with new features, most of them aimed at performance, ergonomic and autofocus improvements. But there are image quality improvements as well, like more dynamic range, but also a new Pixel Shift feature that hasn’t yet been talked about much.

Cameras with sensor-shift mechanisms are increasingly offering these pixel shift modes by precisely moving the sensor in one pixel increments to sample each color at every position, thereby overcoming the downsides of the Bayer filter array. And getting you sharper images with less moiré, with potentially less noise thanks to multi-sampling and less math required to figure out the R, G and B colors at each pixel. How does this look in the real-world? Explore our Pixel Shift vs. non-Pixel Shift Raw comparison below (Raws processed using Sony Imaging Edge with all sharpening and noise reduction settings zeroed out, and only tonal adjustments applied to deal with the high scene contrast):

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Move around the image and you’ll see a marked increase in clarity almost everywhere. The buildings’ windows are sharper and clearer, all the foliage far more defined… these Pixel Shift results are frankly astounding for static scenes. It’s like a veil has been lifted off your scene: something landscape photographers will simply love. All details are clearer, crisper, and there is no hint of moiré anywhere. The last time I saw this jump in clarity was going from a Rebel with kit lens to a 5D with L-series lens, to put this in perspective.

Last time I saw this jump in clarity was going from a kit lens on a Rebel to an L-lens on a 5D

And it’s not because of extra sharpening (which would come at the cost of more noise, which we don’t see), but because of the extra sampling. We’d also expect a decrease in noise, but we can’t quite tell here because of the non-standard workflow and because – to the credit of the a7R III’s dynamic range – this sunset scene still doesn’t have enough dynamic range to challenge the a7R III and make shadows visibly noisy.* That’s saying a lot.

This sunset scene doesn’t have enough dynamic range to challenge the a7R III. That says a lot.

What’s more: Sony’s recent lenses have enough resolving power to take advantage of this mode. You see the resolution increase at least partly because the lenses have enough resolving power to take advantage of the extra pixel-level sampling (theoretically, increasing the resolution of any part of the imaging chain has the potential to increase sharpness, but your lens needs to resolve enough to begin with to see the dramatic differences we’re seeing here). You can’t always take that for granted (see the limited increase in resolution of Pixel Shift modes on Micro Four Thirds cameras in our studio scene, for example).

Studio Scene Comparison

We know you’re itching to compare these results to all our other cameras, including those with their own Pixel Shift modes. Well, here you have it (Phase One 100MP camera is included as a benchmark so you know what the details are actually supposed to look like in our scene):

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The first thing you might notice is the lack of moire in our saturated color wheels, something even the Phase One 100MP sensor fails at. The Pentax K-1 offers a similar performance here: sampling three primaries at each pixel position helps overcome the color aliasing typically associated with Bayer filters.

Pixel Shift removes color aliasing in the newspaper print$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-3794–1566952198”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(3794); }); }) as well (check back above). It also produces less moire in the black and white text$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-3798-785963340”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(3798); }); }) of our scene. The lack of moire and increased resolution allows you to read down to the last line with ease – something the a7R II can’t claim.

You can even start to see the texture in our color wheel$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-3795-1120823446”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(3795); }); }) that not even the Pentax in Pixel Shift mode (much less the original a7R II) can resolve. The Phase One and Pentax medium format cameras are the only other cameras sharing that honor.

Traditional cameras with Bayer arrays particularly resolve less in saturated colors, where the lower resolution of the red or blue pixels really starts to show. So take a look at the massive increase in resolution in our saturated threads$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-3796–2100605088”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(3796); }); }). You can resolve individual strands the a7R II – or a7R III without Pixel Shift – don’t show. The K-1 does well here too, but remember the a7R III images are processed through Sony ‘Imaging Edge’, and we expect things to improve once Adobe provides support (which, to our understanding, it will).

Just generally speaking there’s more detail throughout our scene: take a look at our Beatles patch$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-3797–29172716”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(3797); }); }). You can make out individual threads otherwise only visible to the Phase One. The increased resolution of the a7R III over the K-1 probably helps resolve more threads, though the incredibly sharp Sony FE 85/1.8 may have some role to play here as well.

If you’re curious how well the 50MP Canon 5DS R compares: not so well. Individual threads are not well resolved$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-3800–1236522308”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(3800); }); }) (if not noisy, particularly in the reds), and color aliasing$ (document).ready(function() { $ (“#icl-3801–202191445”).click(function() { ImageComparisonWidgetLink(3801); }); }) can be an issue.

Are we impressed?

How could we not be? Landscape, cityscape and architecture photographers will absolutely love this new feature paired with the already excellent sensor in the a7R III – as long as they steer clear of (or clone out) moving objects in the scene. The increase in resolution and decrease in aliasing Pixel Shift brings is obvious in both our studio scene and real world result. It’s frankly dramatic in the latter.

Are we impressed? How could we not be? Landscape, cityscape and architecture photographers will love this

There can be obvious artifacts in anything moving though, so that’s a potentially significant (albeit expected) caveat for landscapes with motion (water, fast clouds), telephoto shots prone to movement from wind and vibrations, etc. You’ll want to use a sturdy tripod with a remote release or self-timer. Furthermore, for now, using Sony’s ‘Imaging Edge’ software is clunky, but once Adobe incorporates support, we can’t wait to start shooting landscapes and perhaps tougher subjects in this mode to see how well it copes.

* That said, this was still a high dynamic range scene that we exposed for the highlights and tone-mapped in post using Sony’s ‘Imaging Edge’ software (the only option for processing Pixel Shift files at the moment). So shadows have been lifted many stops – yet remain noise free. You’ll have to excuse the somewhat flat result, as we didn’t have access to the tools we’re used to to tonemap HDR images while retaining proper local contrast. More to come…

Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 12, 2017
Real-world test: Long exposures with Panasonic G9’s high-res mode

Out-of-camera 80MP JPEG using the Panasonic G9’s high-resolution mode. Lots of detail, and some strange-looking pedestrians.
Panasonic Leica DG 12-60mm F2.8-4 | ISO 200 | 1/500 sec | F4

New to Panasonic’s G9 flagship is a high-resolution mode, which shifts the sensor by half-pixel increments eight times, and generates an 80MP final image. As with similar technologies from Ricoh and Olympus, it’s not necessarily recommended for scenes with moving subjects in them. But we wanted to see if we could make it work.

You’ll notice in the above image, the pedestrians are sharply ‘ghosted’ in the foreground; this is due (obviously) to the eight exposures being taken, but also partially the 1/500 sec shutter speed. What if we purposely chose a slower speed, so that they would blur more naturally into each other?

These are only initial findings on a gray Seattle day, but we’ve got some interesting results.

Panasonic Leica DG 8-18mm F2.8-4 | ISO 200 | 1/30 sec | F8

For this situation, in order to get a proper exposure without either an ND filter or stopping down to diffraction-inducing levels, I figured I’d give 1/30 of a second a try. As you can see, there’s a little ‘repetition’ around portions of the pedestrians in the foreground and across the street, and while there’s lots of detail in the scene, you may want to just use the normal 20MP file for this one.

What if we go with a little longer of a shutter speed, though?

Panasonic Leica DG 8-18mm F2.8-4 | ISO 200 | 1/8 sec | F8

This looks to our eyes to exhibit some improvement. We overall found that a shutter speed between 1/4 sec and 1/8 sec gave a reasonably natural look to the average pedestrian in motion – of course, for faster and slower moving objects, you’ll have to adjust accordingly. Do take note, though, that there are some interesting colorful streaks in our moving subjects, and a reduction of resolution in static objects that can be seen behind them.

If you’re thinking about an even slower shutter speed, once you get down to 1/2 sec or so, pedestrians largely just disappear from your frame, leaving barely a shadow for you to notice. Of course, this could be an advantage if you’re wanting to eliminate people from your photos, without necessarily needing an ND filter and a 30-second exposure.

There were some people on these stairs, I promise.
Panasonic Leica DG 8-18mm F2.8-4 | ISO 200 | 1/2 sec | F8

We tried an even longer exposure to see if we could get the motion artifacts to ‘disappear’ with subjects moving fast enough across the scene, but we still could see some – check out the car taillights and the ground surrounding them in the below image. The rest of the image, predictably, shows good detail, but once you start inspecting the areas of motion too closely, the image starts to look a little strange. That said – you’d probably have to have someone point it out to you to really notice it in real life.

Panasonic Leica DG 12-60mm F2.8-4 | ISO 200 | 1.3 sec | F4

In any case, the high res mode on the G9 is something we want to continue to look into as we progress with our review. Raw support is coming shortly, and we’re looking forward to examining the Raw files from both real-world shooting as well as our test scene.

For now, we’ve added these images and their corresponding ‘normal’ 20MP equivalents onto the end of our existing image gallery for you to inspect.

Scroll to the end of our sample gallery to see our updated high res images

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Articles: Digital Photography Review (dpreview.com)

November 12, 2017
Why it’s Important to Have a Good Relationship With Your Camera
I don’t like upgrading my camera; I’m rather content with the old one I have. I’m not one to worry so much now about the changes in technology. These days it seems there’s nothing really new under the sun. My trusty Nikon D800 is like a close friend, we have a good relationship.

The advancements in camera technology have now slowed down and we already have more than enough megapixels to overflow our hard drives. So in my opinion, being content with a (slightly) older camera can help improve your photography more than if you are continually hankering for an upgrade.

Is your camera good enough?

Recently we had a customer on one of our photography workshops tell us they’d bought a few new lenses and were happy with them and next they wanted to upgrade their camera. I pointed out the camera they already have is way more advanced and can produce higher resolution photographs than most of the cameras I have ever used, (over the last 35 years I have used quite a few).

My wife also loves her Nikon D800.

Having a close relationship with my camera is important to me. We need to know each other. The feeling I have for my camera enables me to obtain more interesting, dynamic, and relational photographs than I could make if I was using a brand new camera, (especially if was a brand of equipment with which I am not familiar). Having such a close and good relationship with your camera will make you a better photographer.

Use your camera with ease

If you can get to know your camera so well that you don’t have to consciously think every time you want to change a setting, you will have more energy to focus on your subject and the creative aspects of picture making. Being able to enjoy photography without your camera being the main focus of your attention is far more conducive to making great photos than having a brand new camera that you are unfamiliar with.

The keys to any good relationship are:
- Compatibility
- Frequent connection
- Meaningful communication
- Positive feelings
Working with a camera you are just not comfortable with will not result in a good relationship. If you have small hands and your camera is large, you will struggle to operate it easily and it will be uncomfortable for you to hold. Likewise, if you have large hands and a small camera you will not find the experience of making photos as pleasurable as when you have a camera that suits you better.

If you find the controls awkward to manage, the image resolution disappointing, etc., you might want to consider a camera that’s more compatible. However, most cameras these days are well designed and crammed full of technology that produces incredible quality images. So you are probably better off committing more time to getting to know your current camera better.

Use your camera often

Frequent connection with your camera, as with your friends, will produce a richer relationship, especially when it’s a meaningful connection. Finding a subject, a location, or style of photography you really enjoy will ensure you want to spend more time with your camera in your hands.

This can take time, and can change over time, but when you have a passion for something or someone you naturally want to dedicate more of your time to that relationship.

When you are so familiar with your camera that your attention is more focused on your subject, the timing, composition, and lighting, you will find a far greater enjoyment in photography. You will also likely see a big improvement in the photos you are producing.

Know your craft

In our modern consumer societies you are constantly reminded by advertisers there’s something else you must buy. I believe if you constantly upgrade you are potentially missing out on the depth of artistry that can be achieved by being intimate with your camera and your craft.

A while ago I had a wonderful experience photographing two men putting finishing touches to some beautiful artworks. I was in the Grand Bazaar in Istanbul looking for the copper workers quarter which I had read about. I spent quite some time searching for it and literally walked around in circles and ended up back at the same place more than once. But I was determined to find this place as I really love making photos of craftspeople working.

Eventually, I heard a “tink tink tink” sound and followed my ears down an ancient arched alleyway. I went up a staircase, and into a courtyard surrounded by two-story buildings with hundreds of pots, pans, lamps and other items all crafted in copper.

I continued farther to the source of the sound and was welcomed into a small workshop. With no common language, I gestured to my camera and received a thumbs up for me to take photographs there. The two men working on the art pieces were being watched by an older man, (I learned he was the father of one and uncle of the other.)

Another man arrived after a while and some discussion took place. That man was a customer coming to buy their art and he spoke some English. I asked him to help me because I had a question. How long, how many generations, had this family been working with copper and creating such art?

The lost art of generations

My question was translated and a long discussion ensued. Then all three family members looked at me and shrugged. They did not know. Their families have been copper craftsmen for so long and been passing on the skills of this lifestyle so long that nobody knew the answer to my question.

I was not surprised. Looking at what they were producing and at the pride on the older man’s face, it was evident they were not novices. They know their craft and their tools so well they made it look like what they were doing was somewhat effortless. But this is the result of a generations-long relationship with their materials and tools, (some of which may be generations old) frequent use of them, and an obvious passion for what they do.

Conclusion

For more on loving your camera, watch the video below:

As you are pushed to spend money, rather than time, on your creative photographic expression, I believe you are in danger of losing touch with the depth and meaning that can be obtained by a more conscious connection with the camera you already own.

So if you are tempted to upgrade your camera let me encourage you to consider holding on to the one you already have for a while. Learn to love it and you will see the results in an improvement in your picture making.

The post Why it’s Important to Have a Good Relationship With Your Camera by Kevin Landwer-Johan appeared first on Digital Photography School.

Digital Photography School
November 12, 2017