When I see the phrase “for those of you following along at home” in a teardown article, I know it’s going to be a good one. This is especially so when it’s the first public teardown of such a new and expensive lens. Nikon announced the 105mm f/1.4E back in July to much fanfare. Many photographers who managed to get their hands on one instantly fell in love. So, what’s caused this teardown now?...
In a detailed technical blog I compare six AI-based noise reduction programs for the demands of astrophotography. Some can work wonders. Others can ruin your image. Over the last two years, we have seen a spate of specialized programs introduced for removing digital noise from photos. The new generation of programs use artificial intelligence (AI), aka machine learning, trained on thousands of images to better distinguish unwanted noise from desirable image content....
While we were at IBC 2019, we heard Blackmagic had a new toy for live streamers. The Blackmagic Atem Mini. It’s a four HDMI device switcher designed specifically for live streaming with multiple cameras or other devices with HDMI outputs. We went over to their stand during the show to check it out and find out more about it. If you’ve ever tried live streaming some kind of presentation to a platform like YouTube or Facebook, you know what a pain it can be when you’re limited to just your phone, a webcam or, if you’re fancy, a single actual camera and an HDMI capture device....
Cameras these days are simply amazing! Not just with the image quality we get, but also the vast array of features which are often packed into them. Features which include WiFi that enables us to have control from our phones or other devices. What if you wanted a stronger, faster connection or even the ability to add WiFi to a camera that doesn’t already have it? This is where the CamFI Pro Plus comes in handy....
The Comedy Wildlife Photography Awards competition has never failed to make me laugh with its selection of comical photos of animals. And this year’s gallery is no exception. The contest has announced its 2020 finalists and they caused me to laugh out loud, and I’m sharing them hoping to get you to laugh, too.Advertisements The team behind the contest describes it as “almost probably the world’s funniest photography competition.” If you ask me, it is the funniest photography competition, at least to my knowledge....
It’s being reported by Fuji Rumors that the Fuji press event coming before Photokina opens up will be to announce a new medium format camera. The GFX 50R has been rumoured for a while now, but it seems that it’s finally coming. And it’s coming on September 25th – not the 23rd as many have been reporting. FR says that they have the announcement confirmed by multiple trusted sources and that it will cost “around $4,500”....
I probably own more bags than probably any other item of photography gear. Which is saying something coming from somebody who owns 15 Nikons. None of them, though, can handle everything. I certainly wouldn’t feel comfortable taking any of them on, a kayak trip, for example. For things like that, I use individual dry bags. But they’re a hassle. Photographer and inventor Oliver Sun, though, has combined dry bags with a camera bag to produce the Inrigo....
Another record has been broken on DxO when it comes to smartphone cameras, and the new title-holder is the iPhone 8 Plus. The camera of Apple’s new smartphone scored 94 on DxO test, thus beating Google Pixel and HTC U11. It’s worth noting that DxO has expanded the criteria, so they now test zoom, bokeh, low-light ability and camera in motion, among other things. And with these expanded test protocols included, iPhone 8 Plus got the highest mark so far....
One of the great things about the recently released Rode Wireless GO II over its predecessor is that the transmitters have built-in recorders. This allows them to keep recording internally even if they suffer from interference or go out of range of the receiver plugged into your camera (if you’re not in the USA). Well, Rode has now released a new firmware update for the Wireless GO II microphone system that allows the transmitters to act solely as audio recorders completely independently, without the receiver having to be plugged into your camera or even turned on....
The Canon EOS R3 was announced a few days ago, and its specs are quite impressive. One of the interesting features is the up to 30fps continuous shooting with the electronic shutter, and Geng Hui Tan shares how it sounds in this short video. Spoiler alert: it sounds epic! “With a maximum shutter speed of 1/64,000s and continuous shooting at 30 fps (electronic shutter), this feature would be most welcome by sports, action, wildlife and press photographers,” Geng Hui writes....
As Earth passes through the trail left by comet Swift-Tuttle, the night sky will come alive this month. More commonly known as the Perseid meteor shower, it will peak on August 12th this year. That’s this Friday. Starting in mid-July and lasting for about 5 weeks, the Perseids have become a regular annual attraction for many photographers. Indeed, the perseids will continue this year until about August 24th. You’ll probably want to do it before the full moon on August 18th, though, if you want the best view....
NASA’s Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (MRO) has been boldly going where no one has gone before in the orbit of Mars for the past 13 years. It’s captured some of the most detailed images of the Mars surface that we’ve ever seen. Now, it’s spotted a particularly familiar looking landmark. The photo was first spotted by the camera team at MRO HiRISE (High-Resolution Imaging Science Experiment) at the University of Arizona a few days ago....
Dronestagram is the first social network dedicated to aerial photography. Four years in a row, they’ve been choosing the best of the best aerial images. In partnership with National Geographic, they have recently published the winners of their 2017 drone photography contest. There were about 8,000 photos submitted. Photographers all over the world sent their works, both professionals and enthusiasts. The winners have been chosen in three main categories: Nature, Urban, People; and the additional category: Creativity....
“Ugh, what did you take that photo with, a potato?” Well, the guys from Corridor Crew would answer this question with a yes. They literally made a camera out of a potato and even took some shots with it. In this fun video, they share the process of making, as well as some challenges they faced along the way. Niko of Corridor Crew took up the challenge of making the camera....
The name Mike Olbinski has become fairly synonymous with with amazing weather timelapse films. And he’s kicked 2017 off to an amazing start with Pulse, a 4K black & white timelapses showing some absolutely incredible storms and tornadoes. We’re so used to seeing these things full of vibrant colour, that black & white often looks quite dull by comparison. Pulse, however, is beautifully processed, adding nothing but drama and a heightened sense of nature’s overwhelming power....
Remote control is always handy, especially when it comes to video. If you’ve got your camera locked off on a tripod, especially if it’s hidden within a cage or somewhere not in easy reach, it’s an invaluable ability to have. There are a number of ways to control your Blackmagic Pocket Cinema 4K and Pocket 6K cameras out there already, but this one’s easy to keep with you, because it’s always on your wrist....
I don’t know about your country, but people in mine often wear a seatbelt only in order not to pay a ticket. However, being financially fined is definitely not the worst thing that can happen if you don’t buckle up. In fact, wearing a seatbelt can make a difference between life and death. Clemenger BBDO Wellington, a New Zealand-based creative marketing and advertising firm, decided to point it out in a series of moving, powerful portraits of crash survivors....
No sooner does one new timelapse impress the hell out of us than another one comes along to do it all over again. This time, it’s from the folks at Visual Suspect, with an amazing timelapse of Hong Kong called The Allegory of the Cave that’s going to seriously mess with your head. Like something plucked right out of Inception, chopping and mirroring frames along various axes while occasionally rotating the footage keeps will get you watching parts of this over and over to figure out exactly what’s going on....
Even though Nikon D850 isn’t an action camera, it’s surprisingly tough and resilient. In a recent video published by Nikon Asia, you can see how the company’s experts test the durability of the Nikon D850. It turns out that you can use it in pretty harsh conditions without worrying that it will get damaged. When you work in a challenging climate, you need a camera that can handle all sorts of conditions....
Sometimes the simplest solutions give the best result. After all, finding simple and cheap solutions is one of the main reasons why we turn to the DIY approach. Canada-based photographer Rafal Wegiel made his own bokeh wall using nothing but tin foil. With color gels and the right lighting, he shot amazing, colorful portraits in his own home. We chatted with Rafal about how he did it, so you can try this neat idea in your studio or even at home....
