So before the film school nerds explode, let me just explain what a ‘scrim’ actually is and what the term colloquially means to us photographers. Technically scrims are large sheets of black woven fabric that reduce the brightness of a light when placed in front of them (these are usually constant HMI lights that don’t have individual brightness adjusters). There are alternative large sheets of fabric that are placed in front of lights called ‘silks’ and these are actually white in colour....

As visual creators, if and when we begin on that journey from stills to motion, one of the first things we learn is the power of a moving camera. Once confined to the likes of big production companies, camera dollies and tracks have now become an almost essential piece of kit for many filmmakers and timelapse shooters. Rollocam have now entered into this market with The Hercules, a pocket sized, but pretty powerful motorised camera dolly system for both video and motion controlled timelapse sequences....

The promotional video for Microsoft’s new Pix app is very impressive. Sure, sometimes you want to get as much control as you can, so you fire up Camera+ or 645 Pro. Sometimes, though, you just want to bring up the app and grab a half decent snap. Now, Microsoft have now launched Pix, a camera application that takes all the pain out of pointing & shooting with the iPhone. Sadly, there’s no Android version yet, and surprisingly no version for Windows Mobile, either....

According to the police, the incident took place just after 4:40 a.m. on Friday. They didn’t say how many suspects were involved in the incident, but they claim that the work truck that smashed through the front door was stolen. Midwest Photo owner referred to the robbery as “smash and grab.” However, the business still has to figure out what exactly was stolen. But even if it was nothing, the damage to the store is huge....

The case of Jane Doe No. 14 v. Internet Brands, Inc. is one that many were following with great interest, and Internet giants like eBay and Facebook told the court that the lawsuit would have a “chilling effect” on the Internet. While what happened to Doe was tragic, she felt that Model Mayhem were responsible for not warning her of the dangers from other members on the website. Internet Brands purchased Model Mayhem from founders Donald and Taylor Waitt in August 2010....

This year’s winning photos show an extraordinary companionship between one of the world’s last two remaining Northern White rhinos and her keeper. And other than these moving portraits, TPOTY brings us many more stunning images, so let’s enjoy them together. TPOTY had nearly 20,000 images submitted by photographers from 154 countries. The Overall Winner, or the Travel Photographer of the Year 2022, is the Slovenian photographer Matjaz Krivic. His images show 33-year-old Northern White rhino Najin and her keeper, Zachary Mutai, in Ol Pejeta Conservancy, Kenya....

I know that for a lot of people, the cold keeps them inside, but it can be really rewarding to go out in the bitter cold. Tonight I got the bug to go out and shoot, but the air temp was -15, with a windchill of -30. Here are a few reflections: Bundle up. It’s really not optional. In temperatures like this, you can get frostbite in a shockingly fast time (less than half an hour)....

Nanlite has announced its new FS-300B AC-powered bi-colour LED spot light. As an AC-powered light, it’s designed for use in the studio rather than on location and offers 11,130 Lux bare at 1 metre and up to 38×720 lux when using the included reflector. It offers a bi-colour range of 2700K to 6500K with a constant output mode ensuring that your brightness stays consistent throughout the range. It has an average CRI of 96 and TLCI of 97 to help ensure accuracy on-camera and offers 12 built-in practical effects that can be adjusted by brightness, colour temperature and speed....

It seems like Nikon might actually be making an effort with their new mirrorless offering, after all. A derivative of Nox, Latin for “night”, NOCT is Nikon’s latest trademark. And while the registration doesn’t specifically state that it is for a mirrorless system, its uses include cameras, lenses and “mount adapters for lenses”. Filed on May 18th, the trademark application is currently under examination. As well as the nocturnal nature of the new trademark, you might remember that Nikon filed patents for 52mm f/0....

Even though I’m not an Apple fangirl, I have to admit that the iPhone has come a long way when it comes to camera capabilities. It’s the only smartphone that supports Dolby Vision, so Apple wanted to demonstrate what it can do. In this one-minute ad, you can see a preview of all the crazy, creative, and unexpected ways an iPhone 12 Pro can be used in a Hollywood movie....

Luminar 4 is only days from being released, and Skylum is gradually revealing the AI-powered features it’s going to offer. After automatic sky replacement and smart background enhancement, Skylum is now showing off the automatic Skin Enhancer & Portrait Enhancer. They’re made to assist your retouching process and make it faster than ever before. Both Skin Enhancer & Portrait Enhancer features are AI-powered, just like the other Luminar 4 tools Skylum previously demonstrated....

Zhongyi Optics has released Mitakon 85mm f/2.8 1-5x, a new super macro Lens for full frame cameras. It features a wide magnification range for photographing subjects at different sizes. It also offers a very long working distance, so you don’t scare away your subjects by getting too close. As the name suggests, the Mitakon 85mm f/2.8 1-5x has a pretty wide magnification range, from 1x to 5x. When it comes to the working distance, Zhongyi writes that this lens has “one of the longest working distance” of any super macro lens in the market....

Nigeria’s advertising regulator has announced a ban on using foreign talent in television advertisements. The first-of-its-kind move means that foreign models and voice-over artists will be completely banned. The measure will take effect from October 2022 and is expected to boost work available for home-grown talent. Up until now, the Nigerian advertising sector used a large proportion of white British models and voice-over artists. “All advertisements, advertising, and marketing communications materials targeted or exposed on the Nigerian advertising space are to use only Nigerian models and voice-over artists,” the Advertising Regulatory Council of Nigeria (ARCON) stated....

Other than the new Z9 camera, Nikon has also added two new zoom lenses to its mirrorless lineup: the Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S and the Nikkor Z 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 VR S. In addition, the company has also launched a new FTZ mount adapter in case you’d rather use your mirrorless lenses with your new Z9. So, let’s see what each of them has to offer. Nikkor Z 24-120mm f/4 S The new 24-120mm lens from Nikon is pretty much “one lens to rule them all....

Earlier this week we reported on the closing of Sony factories in Southern Japan due to a series of tragic earthquakes and aftershocks that left at least 41 people dead and many buildings damaged. Although Sony was the first company to release a statement on the closing of its factories, it appears Sony might not be the only camera company affected. Today, Nikon announced that a few of its recently announced cameras will be delayed....

Well, we new something was coming, but we were all a little wrong with the name. Instead of the Z6s and Z7s, they’re actually going to be the Z6II and Z7II and Nikon is planning to official announce them on October 14th – according to a new teaser that’s popped up on the Nikon website. A couple of successors to the Z6 and Z7 have long been rumoured, hoping to see some features added (like dual card slots) or refined....

A new, huge lens has joined the Nikon family. NIKKOR 180-400mm f/4E TC1.4 FL ED VR is a super-telephoto lens with a built-in 1.4x teleconverter. It lets you extend the focal length from 180-400mm to 252-560mm on full-frame cameras. Used with crop bodies, that’s the equivalent field of view to full frame 378-840mm with the teleconverter activated. The lens seems to be designed with sports and wildlife photographers in mind....

Recently, Nikon announced that they were going to be releasing a beta of their new “Webcam Utility Software” that allows certain Nikon DSLRs and Z mirrorless cameras to act as webcams when connected to a computer without any type of capture device. All you need is a USB cable. Well, Nikon has now finally released that software. Well, a beta of it. It’s compatible with all of the Nikon Z mirrorless cameras (including the new Nikon Z5) as well as some of their recent DSLRs including the Nikon D6, D850, D780, D500, D7500 and D5600....

If someone would ask me what digital camera brand is the most different from all the others, I would definitely answer Leica. A couple of weeks ago I bought my first Leica rangefinder, after using virtually every other camera brand on the market. I went for the cheapest one available, the Leica M8. In this article, I have written down my notes on what the biggest differences are from other digital cameras I have used over the years....

Adding some motion to the camera is one of the simplest ways to give your footage a bit of interest. Today, we have more options than ever when it comes to how we can get that motion. For Matt and Kim’s latest music video for their song, Let’s Run Away, they decided to try something a little different using an evolution of Nicolas Vuignier’s Centriphone technique with a coat hanger and a GoPro....