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Macphun—the Mac-based software company that launched about seven years ago—branched out onto the Windows platform this year with the debut of its HDR and Luminar products for PC. In light of that, Macphun has decided to change its name to the platform-agnostic moniker Skylum, explaining in a blog post that, “we think that this name is a better fit, since we’re no longer a Mac-only developer.”
The company will fully transition to the Skylum name in early 2018.
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Macphun—the photo editing software company that will rename itself ‘Skylum’ at the end of the year—has just unveiled the latest version of its full-featured photo editing suite Luminar. Meet Luminar 2018: a photo editor and (eventually) digital asset manager that seeks to compete with Adobe’s Lightroom at a time when many Lightroom users are looking for an out.
Available for pre-order starting today, Luminar 2018 features speed improvements, a dedicated RAW develop module, LUT support, AI-powered filters that can do some strange/interesting things like create intelligent light rays, and a digital asset management system (coming soon) that will allow you to organize your photo library sans subscription.
Macphun is very much hoping disgruntled Lightroom users will give Luminar 2018 a go:
Luminar 2018 has been re-built from the ground up for dramatic performance boosts.
[…]
Instead of stuffing menus with boring effects and old technology, Luminar only puts in filters that photographers want and need. Luminar offers more than 40 filters to correct color, sharpen details, and release creativity. New filters include the ability to enhance color with Brilliance, selectively lighten or darken specific areas of an image with Dodge & Burn, as well as the ability to change the lighting in a photo with Sun Rays.
Want a whole new way to stylize images? Try the new Lookup Table adjustments, known as LUTs . Creative color, perfect black and white conversions, and even digital films stocks are just a click away. Lightroom users who rely on custom presets created for Lightroom can also easily convert those presets into LUTs (with a free 3rd party tool) and use them inside of Luminar 2018.
Here’s a closer look at the interface:
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And a few before and after images to show what Luminar 2018 can do when you put it to work on your images:
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Most of the features discussed will launch with Luminar 2018 later this month, with the exception of the DAM, which is scheduled to ship “in 2018.” Pre-orders start today at a special discount price of $ 60 for new users (usually $ 70) and $ 40 for users of the current Luminar (usually $ 50).
To learn more about Luminar 2018, head over to the Macphun (soon Skylum) website by clicking here.
Press Release
New Luminar 2018 delivers a breakthrough photo editing experience for photographers on Mac & Windows with new filters, tools, non-destructive editing, major speed boosts, and a digital asset management platform that will arrive in 2018.
San Diego, CA – November 1, 2017 — Macphun, the California-based software developer today announced Luminar 2018. New users will be able to purchase Luminar 2018 for $ 59, and current users of Luminar may upgrade at a special price of $ 39. Preorders start November 1 at www.macphun.com/luminar.
Luminar 2018 offers everything a modern photographer needs for photo editing, including new filters powered by artificial intelligence, major speed improvements, a dedicated RAW develop module and a forthcoming in 2018 digital asset management platform. Users will also benefit from the new intelligent Sun Rays filter, LUT support, and real-time noise removal. With adaptive workspaces that match styles of shooting, Luminar adapts to deliver a complete experience that avoids clutter and complexity.
Luminar 2018 has been re-built from the ground up for dramatic performance boosts. Existing filters deliver richer colors and depth in less time. A brand new streamlined user interface speeds up working with presets, filters, and masks. With full support of pro options like layers, masks, and blending modes, complex repairs and photo composites can be easily accomplished.
And, importantly, Luminar works on both Mac- and Windows-based desktop computers*.
“We’ve taken the time to listen to photographers, and what they want is performance and quality. The less time photographers have to spend in front of computers, the more time they have for taking pictures,” said Alex Tsepko, CEO of Macphun. “Our mission is to get Luminar streamlined with just the tools and controls photographers need. The goal is simple: enable the best-looking images with the least amount of effort.”
Luminar offers a new RAW Engine that can handle high-quality images faster. Plus, it’s easy to solve image problems caused by camera lenses with Lens Correction features that resolve vignette, distortion, and color aberrations. If the photo has unwanted perspective problems, a new Transform tool can quickly solve them.
Instead of stuffing menus with boring effects and old technology, Luminar only puts in filters that photographers want and need. Luminar offers more than 40 filters to correct color, sharpen details, and release creativity. New filters include the ability to enhance color with Brilliance, selectively lighten or darken specific areas of an image with Dodge & Burn, as well as the ability to change the lighting in a photo with Sun Rays.
Want a whole new way to stylize images? Try the new Lookup Table adjustments, known as LUTs**. Creative color, perfect black and white conversions, and even digital films stocks are just a click away. Lightroom users who rely on custom presets created for Lightroom can also easily convert those presets into LUTs (with a free 3rd party tool) and use them inside of Luminar 2018.
Luminar 2018 will become available in November 2017, and in 2018 a free update will provide a new image browser/digital asset manager to help photographers manage their image libraries.
Photographers will be able to sort, rate, organize, and backup their photos at great speed. The new digital asset management platform in Luminar will work without subscription and will work with any storage (cloud or local). It will also bring a number of unique features, that the current Lightroom library can’t boast.
* Workspaces, Clone & Stamp, blend modes for layers, luminosity masking, flip and rotate, as well as some other tools and features will be available in the Mac version at launch, and arrive in the PC version with free updates by the end of the year.
** Look-Up Table (LUT) – is mathematically precise way of taking specific RGB image values form a source image – and modifying them to new RGB values by changing the hue, saturation and brightness values of that source image. LUTs are used creatively to impose a specific ‘Look’ on a source image.
Pre-order for Luminar 2018 will run from November 1 until November 16.
Pre-order customers will receive a special price and value-add bonuses such as:
Mixed-computer households can share the same product key for Mac and PC which can be activated on five devices.
Current users of Luminar may upgrade at a special pre-order price of $ 39
New users can purchase Luminar at a special preorder price of $ 59
The retail price for Luminar 2018 after November 16 will be:
$ 49 upgrade for current Luminar HDR users
$ 69 for new users
The digital asset management platform will arrive in 2018 as the free update for all the users of Luminar 2018.
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The winners of the 2017 “Take a View – Landscape Photographer of the Year” contest have been announced—a competition that aims to find the best images of the UK from photographers around the world. This year’s winner of the top prize and title was Benjamin Graham with a nicely uncomplicated view of the dunes at West Wittering in West Sussex.
The competition, which is in its 11th year, has a prize fund of £17,000. £10,000 goes to the Landscape Photographer of the Year, £1,000 to the winners of the four adult categories and the youth prize, and £500 to second placed images in the adult categories.
This year’s winners are:
Landscape Photographer of the Year
Benjamin Graham
Classic view
Rachael Talibart
Living the view
Paul Fowles
Urban view
George Robertson
Your view
Neil Burnell
Youth winner
Andrew Bulloch (15)
The competition also had prizes from sponsors Network Rail (Jon Martin wins a trip to photograph the Forth Bridge in Scotland) and VisitBritain (Graham Niven), and from Fujifilm for the best print, Lee Filters and The Sunday Times. For a full list of winners and to see all the winning images visit the Take a View: Landscape Photographer of the Year website.
The winning images and those in the shortlists will form a book as well as a free exhibition that will be held in London’s Waterloo station from November 20th, 2017 through February 4th, 2018.
Press Release
A photograph of the UK’s stunning coastline wins the top prize for the third year running, as Benjamin Graham’s image of the dunes at West Wittering in West Sussex becomes the eleventh winner of the overall title: Landscape Photographer of the Year. The judges chose Benjamin’s image from thousands of entries celebrating the richly diverse landscape of the UK.
Winning the top prize of £10,000, Benjamin was attracted by the ambiguity of the scene:
“As well as its minimal simplicity, I particularly like the indeterminate scale of the image. The double S-curve could be two metres long or two thousand… It was actually about twenty.”
Charlie Waite, one of Britain’s leading landscape photographers and founder of the Awards spoke about the winning image:
“Benjamin’s image has a hypnotic and contemplative quality that acts as an antidote to turbulent times. When at the coast, we often just stand and gaze out to sea and seem to gain some kind of spiritual well-being from doing so. This image suggests the same emotional experience and the composition leads the eye on to infinite calm.”
From flower fields and land patterns to romantic castles and historic bridges, the winning photographs in the ‘Take a view – Landscape Photographer of the Year Awards’ not only display the talent of their creators but also inspire visitors to explore and discover the wonders of the British countryside.
The Young Landscape Photographer of the Year title has been awarded to Andrew Bulloch, whose image of an urban skatepark set against a backdrop of the Northern Lights shows a meeting of the man-made world with one of nature’s most fascinating phenomena.
For the third year, the Awards are being held in association with VisitBritain and the GREAT campaign to showcase the diversity of amazing moments and experiences that can be only be had on a trip across Britain. The VisitBritain ‘Home of Amazing Moments’ Award was offered for the photograph judged to best capture the spirit of the campaign. The winning image, by Graham Niven, of an early morning boat trip on Loch Garten in the Cairngorms is taken from a viewpoint that allows the viewer to feel involved and part of the ‘amazing moment.’
VisitBritain/VisitEngland Chief Executive, Sally Balcombe said:
“As Graham’s spectacular image shows, Britain’s diverse and stunning scenery offers a visual feast in which the viewer can imagine themselves at the centre of the experience. It is a fantastic example of how images stir our emotions and fire our imaginations, motivating and inspiring us to explore new locations and landscapes.”
Congratulations also go to the winners of this year’s other Special Awards. The Network Rail ‘Lines in the Landscape’ Award was won by Jon Martin for his view of a train crossing Barmouth Viaduct over the River Mawddach in North Wales (right) and ‘Poppies in a field of linseed’ by Julian Eales, won The Sunday Times Magazine Award. Will Milner wins the Adobe Prize for his photograph of Durdle Door at night, Mark Cornick receives the Fujifilm Print Prize for his architectural view of a London building and Rachael Talibart’s seascape at Birling Gap in East Sussex is awarded the LEE Filters Prize.
The exhibition of winning entries will again be held on the Balcony at Britain’s busiest station, London Waterloo, giving thousands of visitors the chance to see the very best of the British countryside in the very heart of the capital. Opening on Monday, November 20th, the exhibition is hosted by Network Rail and will run for twelve weeks, closing on February 4th, 2018, before heading off on a tour of selected stations countrywide. Admission is free.
All the winning and commended photographs from the competition can be found in the Awards book ‘Landscape Photographer of the Year: Collection 11’ by AA Publishing, which is available now.
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CBS Broadcasting is suing photojournalist Jon Tannen for doing something you (and most people you know) have probably done: sharing screenshots from an old television show on social media. The lawsuit is being characterized a ‘retaliatory strike’ by some, since Tannen filed his own copyright infringement lawsuit against CBS Interactive back in February.
The whole story came to light on Torrent Freak, and serves as a cautionary tale for photographers who are thinking of pursuing infringement claims against the big studios—CBS, ABC, FOX, Warner Brothers, etc.—in court. Often the evidence in these cases is strong and a settlement is reached, but sometimes… the studios fight back.
That was the case with Tannen, who sued CBS Interactive in February of this year over the unauthorized use of two copyrighted photos on the website 247sports.com (the second time this had happened). But what might have turned into a quick settlement has instead been met with a countersuit by CBS Broadcasting, who found screenshots from the television show Gunsmoke (1955-1975) on Tannen’s social media.
The CBS lawsuit brands Tannen a ‘hypocrite’ and seeks $ 150,000 in damages for willful infringement—the same amount Tannen wants per infringement of his own work.
“This copyright infringement action arises out of Defendant’s unauthorized use of Plaintiff’s valuable intellectual property,” reads the CBS complaint. “Tannen hypocritically engaged in this act of infringement while simultaneously bringing suit against Plaintiff’s sister company, CBS Interactive Inc., claiming it had violated his own copyright.”
It will be a while before these lawsuits sort themselves out, but CBS’ retaliation against Tannen is raising eyebrows because this kind of image use is so prevalent online, and almost always assumed to constitute fair use. Of course, whether or not the countersuit has any legal ground to stand on may be irrelevant… CBS has just laid out a blueprint for other major studios looking for a way to retaliate against potential infringement claims.
You can read Tannen’s complaint against CBS here, and CBS’ countersuit here.
Photographing landmark buildings when you visit a new place, or even places closer to home is a great way to get stand out photos. Often the architectural beauty of the natural or man-made landmark will make the image dramatic, you simply need to compose the photo well.
In this article, you’re going to see the standard photo, and then how to make more creative images of well-known landmarks. You’ll see a case study of how to shoot one particular landmark in many different ways.
This photo was taken from the Trader’s Hotel in Kuala Lumpur. It shows the Petronas Twin Towers.
Ahead of photographing more creative images of landmarks the aim is to make the best standard photograph you can. Chances are that a quick search on a photo sharing site like 500px.com will reveal this, so there is no need to re-invent the wheel here.
Once you know which landmark you want to photograph, the next step is to find out where that photo was taken from, if the same image has been taken many times there will likely be a viewing platform.
Once you are in position it’s time to compose your photo. It’s better if you can use a slightly different composition to those used before, perhaps try a vertical shot.
The last step is to ensure you have good images to process once you return home. Bracketing your images when the sky is brighter than the foreground will allow you to use creative post-processing techniques like digital blending. Alternatively, you can use graduated neutral density filters, and get your photograph exposed correctly in camera, with a single frame.
This photo shows how light painting can be used to create your own image.
One of the most creative things you can do in photography is light painting. There are several forms of this technique and each can give you dramatic results.
This is innovative in that the results will be your own, and difficult for someone else to replicate. Let’s take a look at the different forms of light painting that you could try.
Camera rotation is a good way to make a creative image of a landmark.
Make creative images of landmarks by using infrared photography! There are several avenues to achieving this look, and you have a choice of in-camera or post-processing.
The classic infrared photos show lots of foliage, sky, and usually a water element. The effect creates a dreamscape image by turning the sky black, and the foliage white. Infrared photography is best done on a clear sunny day, with a few clouds to create more interest.
The following are the three avenues open to you to create these photos when shooting with a digital camera.
Though this photo uses the same composition of a previous one above, the mood is changed by using an infrared technique.
It’s always a good idea to take some detail photos of a landmark, these are texture images that often use repeating patterns. When photographing a landmark building, whether it’s old or new, you can use bricks or glass windows to create these texture photos.
Photos of natural formations will also have good details. Cliff faces may, for instance, have good lines and textures in them. The aim with this type of photo is to show detail, but at the same time make it obvious which landmark you are photographing. This could be structures that are unique to that particular landmark.
When shooting glass windows, is there a reflection in those windows that will give the photo context? When photographing landmarks always try to get detail photos to add more variety to the set of photos.
Creative images of landscapes can be achieved using detail photos. The metallic structure of the tower and the Malaysian flag lend context.
An alternative way of producing a unique landscape image is through using refraction. A transparent spherical object will be needed for this, there are several options available. The best objects for producing this effect are a wine glass filled with water, a crystal ball, or perhaps a clear marble.
This is a great way of capturing a large area of your scene, with the effect in the refracting object being similar to a fish-eye lens. The image inside the ball will be upside down, so managing this aspect of the photo is important. This technique is a lot of fun, though the need to carry around a heavy glass ball can be taxing.
Refraction is a great method of producing a unique image, this one also shows a reflection.
A great way to produce creative images of landmarks is to play around with long exposures. This is a variable that can be used in different ways to great artistic effect. It’s more common to carry out long exposure at dusk, or during the night; however using an ND filter will allow you to take long exposures during the day.
Here are three ways you can use long exposures:
All good landscape photographers carry a tripod, and anyone planning this type of photo will need one. Your exposures will be anywhere from one second to several minutes long.
Long exposure photos of car light trails are a staple of photography. Here the road leads up to the Petronas towers on the horizon.
The angle that you photograph a landmark at can have a dramatic effect on the type of photo taken. Today the sky literally is the limit, as drones allow for the overhead photos that were previously out of reach.
But a drone is not the only way to achieve a good photo by changing your vantage point. The standard photo is that at street (eye) level, so any variant on that changes the type of photo.
The challenge with this is finding a good location that allows a view of your landmark. In the city, this will mean getting access to a rooftop, or viewing platform. In a more rural setting, it means climbing a mountain!
A worm’s eye view can give you a different style of photo.
There are many ways to photograph a famous landmark in your own unique way. How do you go about putting your own stamp on a location that has been photographed many times before?
Have you tried any of the above suggestions? Can you revisit one of your previous photo locations, and photograph it totally differently? We’d love to see the results of your work past and present, please share with the community in the comments area below.
The Petronas Towers in Kuala Lumpur has been photographed many times. It can be a challenge to find a unique photo.
The post 7 Tips to Get More Creative Photos of Well-Known Landmarks by Simon Bond appeared first on Digital Photography School.
Picture this: You’re standing in front of an awe-inspiring natural wonder, a giant mountain or an extraordinary monument. Eagerly, you raise your camera to your eye and *click* you snap a shot.
There, on the LCD screen on the back of your camera, you see that all the majesty of the scene has disappeared.
A photo of Skogafoss waterfall in Iceland, taken to show the scale and majesty of the scene.
In its transition from reality to the screen on your camera, your subject has lost its grandeur and sense of scale – there’s no true representation of how impressive the scene is. Has this happened to you?
Photography works with only two dimensions, for the most part. The world, on the other hand, is viewed in three dimensions. Missing that extra dimension can be a big deal.
Without giving a bit of thought to your composition, you can lose a lot of the sense of scale – making even the most remarkable subject matter look completely unremarkable on camera.
A camera doesn’t necessarily see the same thing our eyes do. Depending on your type of lens, and how much zoom you are using, there can be quite a difference between the image and reality.
Wide-angle lenses can make a real mess of perspective, making objects close to the camera seem significantly bigger than ones farther off. This can be used to your advantage for creative shots, but it will completely ruin the sense of scale.
From up close and seen with a wide-angle lens of 17mm, this gigantic-looking gnome looms over the fence it is sitting on.
A gnome photographed from a distance to show how lens distortion influences scale.
At a focal length of 55mm, the sense of scale is restored and we can see that the gnome is actually quite small compared to the fence.
The more you zoom in (use a longer focal length), the less distorted your object will appear. Unfortunately, if you are taking pictures of large buildings or natural wonders, this has fairly limited application. It isn’t always possible to jog several hundred meters down the road in order to have room to zoom into 200mm when photography a tall building.
If we want to get the entire object in the frame, we’ll need to make some compromises with lens distortion, which leads us to our next trick for properly showing scale.
So how can we tell if something is big?
Well, it’s not usually a problem in real life to know if an object is big or not. But in photography, we don’t always have the same opportunity to glance around and get a sense of proportion. This bothersome little detail can mean that even a huge, incredible wonder in real life can look insignificant.
A photo of a mountain, with a reference point of a village below to show scale.
So how can we make sure that immense size is properly appreciated? Provide a familiar reference point to define scale. By including people or common objects in a scene, the viewer can quickly understand the scale.
Skip giving that reference point and your mighty mountains could just as well be macro shots of pebbles, for all your viewer knows.
This is the incredible Gullfoss in Iceland, but without a clear point of reference, we don’t have a strong idea of its scale.
Use of a longer lens helps us to see that those tiny specks on the rock are actually hikers – and helps us to understand that this waterfall is massive!
How can we tell if something is far away?
Again, it isn’t difficult to recognize distance in real life. Once again, two-dimensional pictures have a habit of looking extremely flat without paying a bit of attention to what is included in the frame.
Well, for starters, you can use depth-of-field to provide a sense of depth. When the background drops off into a blur, it helps the viewer to more easily recognize distance.
Depth-of-field refers to the amount of area that is in focus in a picture. You can make sure that the background falls out of focus by using one or combining multiple of the following methods:
A man exploring the mountain photographed to show a narrow depth of field.
But you’ll need to do more than just shoot with a wide aperture if you want a mountain range to look imposing.
Another good technique you can use is to layer your background elements. This is easiest to recognize with mountains.
Sometimes showing the true scale of a scene requires a bit of give and take – you need to make a few compromises.
Zooming in and capturing expressions or the human element can cause you to lose the sense of scale. On the other hand, zooming out can cause your image to lose any interaction or interest.
The hiker is sitting on the edge of a cliff – but without zooming back the viewer has no idea how big the drop is.
The best way to account for this is to simply be aware of it as you set up your shot. Balance the objects in the frame and decide what is the priority and purpose of the shot. If you want to show the scale of a scene, you probably won’t be able to take a tight shot that shows reactions or emotions.
By pulling back a bit, we can see the entire cliff – but now we can’t see the hiker’s expression!
Sometimes capturing the majesty of a scene requires a creative perspective. Many photographers forget to explore the potential that comes from mixing up the camera’s point of view.
Taking a low shot can help add emphasis or might to a scene.
A low angle shot of a waterfall, showing its grandeur
Using a drone to cruise overhead and look down over an area can also be a fun way to show scale. The bird’s eye view perspective can be used to discover new angles of looking at otherwise familiar landscapes.
Drone – image by dPS author Suzi Pratt.
Lines have always been an important element of any composition. They give an image a sense of movement and can direct the viewer’s eye around a shot, especially when they all tend towards a single vanishing point on the horizon.
The strong lines in this image help us to understand the size of this mountain trip.
Using leading lines is also a way to provide a sense of depth and show distance. You get a quick comparison of the distance between objects in the frame, giving you a quick point of reference to work with for the rest of the picture.
Recognizing and using natural lines in a scene is a surefire way to create a dynamic and interesting composition.
By having the different techniques that can be used to show a sense of scale top of mind when you are out exploring with your camera, you can increase your chance of coming back with some real keepers.
It’s a common complaint of beginner or casual photographers that they can’t quite seem to make their pictures look as impressive as real life. But with a bit of practice, you can shoot pictures that leave your audience in awe!
The post How to Show a Sense of Scale in Your Photography by Frank Myrland appeared first on Digital Photography School.
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When we got our hands on Chinese camera maker YI’s first mirrorless camera, the YI-M1, we didn’t have a lot of positive things to say. Despite a great sensor, the camera was… unrefined. But the company just released a new firmware version for the M1 that promises to smooth out some of its rougher edges.
Key updates include (much-needed) improved AF speed, the addition of a RAW+JPG shooting option, exposure control in P, A, S and M modes when shooting video, AF/MF control during video capture, and the addition of a histogram in live view while shooting both stills and video.
We’ve updated our review model to the latest firmware and are taking it for another spin to possibly update our review, but in the meantime, check out the release notes below to see what all YI has improved and fixed on the M1 with this newest update.
Release Notes
{PressRelease}
New
Fixed
Fixed some known bugs, and improved the overall stability of the system.
Changed
Change the thumbnails in each screen from 9 to 12 images.
{/PressRelease}
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BenQ has launched a new monitor designed for professional photographers who need both high resolution and extremely accurate colors: the 27″ SW271. This model builds upon the company’s previous SW2700PT display, offering support for HDR10 alongside a 4K 3840 x 2160 resolution and the maker’s AQCOLOR technology.
With the AQCOLOR tech, users are given total control over the display’s color via hardware calibration and the maker’s Palette Master Elements software. The inclusion of advanced hardware color calibration helps enable the SW271 to meet strict color accuracy standards, according to BenQ, which says its display is ideal for “color-critical applications.”
Users have the option of viewing content simultaneously in different color spaces via GamutDuo, plus there’s a Hotkey Puck for toggling between the monitor’s various modes, including: 99% Adobe RBG coverage, 100% sRGB/Rec. 709 coverage, 93% DCI-P3 coverage, plus a Black & White option.
Monitor connectivity includes DisplayPort 1.4 and HDMI 2.0; there’s also an SD card reader, USB-C, and a USB 3.1 port. The shade featured in the above image is included with the monitor and can be removed. The monitor is available now for $ 1,100 USD.
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Press Release
COSTA MESA, Calif. — Nov. 1, 2017 — BenQ America Corp., an internationally renowned provider of visual display solutions, today introduced a new 27″ 4K UHD (3840×2160) monitor that offers professional photographers unprecedented color accuracy through new AQCOLOR technology, high specifications and picture-perfect performance.
Building on the success of its award-winning predecessor the SW2700PT, the SW271 sets a new benchmark for image quality. The HDR10-enabled monitor allows users to see their images and videos in a wider dynamic range than a typical monitor. The sleek display is user friendly and offers colors so true that it brings out the fine detail and creative essence of every photo, whether it’s been taken by a seasoned professional or an amateur hobbyist.
BenQ’s AQCOLOR technology allows users to have complete color control over images. AQCOLOR uses a combination of hardware calibration, BenQ’s signature Palette Master Elements software and Technicolor® Color Certification, which ensures the monitor meets the strict color accuracy standards used in Hollywood and the entertainment media.
“We are proud to present the SW271, which joins our full line of professional monitors developed for photographers,” said Steve Yang, Senior Director at BenQ America Corp. “The SW271 brings users specialized tools and advanced hardware calibration for color-critical applications. It also has USB-C™ connectivity for transmitting video and data signals using just one cable for convenience.”
With 99% Adobe RGB, 93%DCI-P3 and 100% sRGB/Rec. 709 coverage, users are given an unrivalled image performance for visual perfection in professional photo editing. The SW271 also features Delta E?2, with its true 10-bit IPS panel and advanced 14-bit 3D lookup table (LUT). GamutDuo enables users to view content simultaneously in different color spaces side-by-side, and a Hotkey Puck allows users to effortlessly switch between a variety of modes, such as Adobe RGB, sRGB and Black & White modes.
The monitor also features an SD card reader, USB 3.1, USB Type-C, HDMI 2.0, and DisplayPort 1.4 ports. A detachable shading hood is also included to reduce the monitor’s screen glare.
The BenQ SW271 monitor retails at $ 1,099. For more information on the SW271, see http://www.benq.us/product/monitor/sw271 and to view the full line of BenQ creative class monitors, visit http://www.benq.us/product/monitor/creative_class/.
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Upsampling image and video files usually leads to pixelation and soft textures, simply because algorithms are not capable of replacing non-existing image detail. But scientists at the Max-Planck Institute for Intelligent Systems in Germany have come up with a clever solution that is capable of producing better results than anything we’ve seen so far.
The team has developed a tool called EnhanceNet-PAT, which is capable of creating high-definition versions of low-resolution images, using artificial intelligence. It’s not the first attempt at solving the super-resolution task but the approach is a new one.
Talking to Digital Trends, Mehdi M.S. Sajjadi, a member of the research team said
“Before this work, even the state of the art has been producing very blurry images, especially at textured regions. The reason for this is that they asked their neural networks the impossible – to reconstruct the original image with pixel-perfect accuracy. Since this is impossible, the neural networks produce blurry results. We take a different approach by instead asking the neural network to produce realistic textures. To do this, the neural network takes a look at the whole image, detects regions, and uses this semantic information to produce realistic textures and sharper images.”
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To train the technology, large image libraries were fed into the AI-based system to accumulate knowledge of textures. The neural network is then given the task of upsampling previously downsized images. Finally, the research team compares the results to the original high-resolution image and modifies the algorithm to correct for errors or inconsistencies—this way, the algorithm keeps improving and after some time can work without any human help.
According to the team, photographic applications for the network include upsampling old movies to 4K resolution or restoring old photographs. However, the system could also be used to enhance object detection, for example in image search or mobility applications, such as self-driving cars. It seems that cheesy “Enhance!” trope from CSI is about to become reality…
To learn more about this technology, check out the full research paper here.
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Apple’s ‘Portrait Mode’ on the company’s dual-camera iPhones is a cool feature that produces some neat photos. But if you’re not a fan of the fake bokeh Apple’s standard camera app generates, you might want to check out a free new app called Focos.
Created by the same indie developer behind the apps Colorburn and MaxCurve, Focos takes your iPhone 7 Plus, 8 Plus or X’s Portrait Mode shots and makes them look more ‘professional’ by adding more realistic and customizable bokeh effects.
Focos allows you to pick custom bokeh ‘shapes’, generate more professional-looking bokeh by selecting options like ‘creamy’ or ‘swirly’, import your current Portrait Mode photos and re-edit the background, and re-focus Portrait Mode photos after the fact. And since it’s already capturing 3D data, the app allows you to access that data and apply filters based on depth.
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The results should ostensibly look better than what Apple is generating with its own Camera app, but at the very least they’ll be more customizable so you can find a more appropriate effect for every photo.
To learn more about Focos or pick up the free app for yourself, head over to the Focos website or go straight to the iTunes App Store.
