Photography News

Good news for Windows users: after an eight-year wait, darktable, the free Lightroom alternative for editing raw photos, is now available.

In its seemingly inevitable march toward becoming another version of Facebook, Instagram recently confirmed that recommended posts will now be a part of what users see, further muddying already fragmented feeds. The reaction from most people has been negative, which is unsurprising.

If you're looking to get into the Fujifilm world, it's hard to go wrong with X-T1. Though it was recently replaced by the X-T2, it's a highly capable machine that puts out amazing files and feels like a camera that was designed by photographers for photographers. Today only, B&H is offering a crazy deal, taking almost $1,000 off X-T1 bodies and kits.

It's no secret that college tuition is expensive. Nikon has an opportunity for eligible students to ease some of that financial burden. As part of its 100th-anniversary celebration, Nikon announced "The Nikon Storytellers Scholarship" earlier this year. On December 14, they began accepting applications from students in the U.S. and Canada. This is an amazing opportunity for qualified students to further their education, become the content creators of the future, and leave school with less debt in student loans.

One of the most epic documentary series ever created, BBC Earth’s “Planet Earth II,” is now available to stream on Netflix in the United States. Debuting in November 2016, this six-episode cinematic wonder reflects on our diverse planet and its most fascinating and unusual inhabitants.

Amazon is not the only company planning on using drones for shipping. Following the trend, Santa Claus enrolled the professional drone pilots from Team BlackSheep to expedite the massive gift delivery operation. Here is an inside look at the Christmas mission operated directly from Finland.

Pantone, the worldwide standard for color communication and inspiration, has announced what shade will replace the current color of the year in 2018. Which color did they choose, and why does it matter to photographers?

The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM Art is a ludicrous lens, being the world's first constant f/1.8 zoom lens for DSLRs. And of course, the 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art is the long-awaited Art version of the classic portrait lens that has been enjoying rave reviews. Both are on sale today only.

By now, you should already know the importance of backing up your data, and while storage (even cloud storage) isn't all that expensive these days it's still an expense. So here is my holiday gift to you: unlimited Google Drive storage for free. See for yourself if you qualify.

I regularly view vlogs and how-to videos on YouTube. It's a vital resource for any photographer or videographer, and we all know that it's been a compliment to our businesses in the visual arts industries. I've noted that the vloggers don't just monetize their YouTube channels with the ads that are displayed before the video starts. No, they use affiliate links to all the gear they used to make the video in the description below the video on YouTube. What will it mean for us if Amazon starts their own video platform like YouTube?

There aren’t many brands that have been so thoroughly lambasted over the past few years as Canon, and for good reason. Despite their reputation as a manufacturer of durable, functional camera tools, they are notoriously tight fisted with their technology. But what has looked like antiquated engineering is starting to look more like a calculated long-term strategy to play the field as it lays. With rumors emerging about a new 6K cinema camera to rival Sony’s Venice, Canon looks like it might be ready to play a new game.

Apple has now confirmed long-existing rumors about purposely slowing down their customers’ iPhones, although they dispute it being a tactic to make consumers buy their newer models.

The Calgary Herald reports that tip-offs from members of the public posted on social media have been instrumental in leading to arrests over $27,000 worth of stolen gear from The Camera Store on the weekend.

Adobe announced yesterday their 6.14 update for Lightroom is now available. The new update addresses bugs that were introduced in the previous release as well as additional camera raw support and profiles. Good news, right? Well, this will also be the last update released for perpetual customers.

If you haven’t heard of the Help-Portrait movement, the idea is pretty simple: photographers and other volunteers get together and donate time and resources to provide portraits to those who can’t afford them. Its founder, Jeremy Cowart just announced that the non-profit organization that runs Help-Portrait is dissolving, but he wants the movement to live on.

Andy Grimm, who was shot twice after having his camera and tripod mistaken as a weapon, had previously been quoted as saying he didn’t want Sheriff’s Deputy Jake Shaw to lose his job over the incident.

This month, Canon announced three new options for pro-level and enthusiast videographers. These new camcorders are lightweight and compact. They all offer a 20x optical zoom lens, record full HD 1080p video, and range in price from $999 to $1,899. The lack of 4K capabilities has many consumers wondering who will buy and use these products.

Over the last few years, there have been a number of significant burglaries. Sadly, another has occurred, this time at Calgary-based store The Camera Store, with over $27,000 of stock missing.

Netflix is using AI to follow viewer habits. The AI then chooses the best image or photograph to present and advertise movies that it thinks you would like. It makes sure the movies put their best foot forward and shows you the best side of it, based on your preferences. If you're an action movie type, it's going to choose photos of the movie that best shows this side of the movie. If you're one for romantic films, it'll show images that portray emotions that you'll experience watching the film.

Since TTL and other fancy features have been introduced to strobes, flash manufacturers have had to develop a different remote for each camera brand. Profoto and others have tried their best to offer as much choice as possible, but the Fujifilm compatibility was lagging behind. A few days ago, Broncolor announced their RFS 2.2 for Fuji would arrive before the end of the month, and today its Profoto turns to introduce its Air Remote TTL-F.

B&H has discounted two of Canon’s latest and greatest DSLRs with less than a week left before Christmas. With same-day shipping, this could be a perfect last-minute gift.

World-renowned photographer Clay Cook decided to bring Christmas a bit early by hosting a livestream on the topic of marketing for photographers. Cook is an editorial and advertising photographer who works very heavily in the commercial space shooting editorial portraiture. Cook has worked with a myriad of national brands and celebrities throughout his career and is poised to offer great advice to any budding photography looking to begin a career in any commercial photography market.

Have you ever wished that your phone would do more with the photos and videos you take? Google has announced the first installment of "appsperiments:" Storyboard (Android only), Selfissimo! (iOS and Android), and Scrubbies (iOS only). These experimental apps are based on the idea behind Motion Stills, an attempt to take technology in development at Google and turn it into useable apps.

If you've been in the photo industry long, you've certainly at least seen the bright orange USB cables marketed by Tether Tools. Along with their high-visibility cables and other tools for tethering your camera to a computer and otherwise having a secure workstation while shooting, they are, apparently, a company that still has some semblance of a moral compass -- a rarity, it seems, for large companies in 2017.

With Christmas right around the corner, now is the perfect time to be buying gifts for family, friends, and significant others. As drones continue to become more and more popular, it shouldn’t be a surprise that these will be one of the hottest holiday gifts for anyone who is into photography and videography. With DJI being the leader in the drone industry, there are several drones on the market to choose from, but which one will suit as the best gift?

With Apple’s iMac Pro shipping this week, it’s only right that their video editing suite gets a much anticipated update today. Final Cut Pro X is growing up, and it’s ready for the future.

Today, Broncolor has released the RFS 2.2 F, the Fujifilm version of their HS transceiver system. This allows those with Fujifilm cameras to take advantage of the Broncolor HyperSync system, allowing the photographer to move to sync speeds of up to 1/8,000 s on supported lights, enabling far more shooting possibilities.

Edelkrone has a knack for creating technology that captures the imagination in ways that other brands don’t. With the release of the original Edelkrone SliderONE, we saw that ingenuity manifest itself in what looks like the future of video camera support. That same ingenuity has guided the development of the new SliderONE PRO.

A couple of weeks ago, I bought my first drone: a DJI Mavic Pro. I’d been eyeing one for months, trying to decide if it was worth it and if I could justify its use for my business. I pulled the trigger right after Thanksgiving, have been trying to learn all of the rules about using it, and have been studying for the FAA Part 107 test ever since. And there are a lot of rules. And one of those rules is about to change — again— thanks to a bill President Trump signed yesterday that requires all drone flyers in the U.S., including hobbyists, to register with the FAA.

Two new Instagram features emerged this week: the ability to follow hashtags and the addition of "recommended for you" into a user's feed. This might be great news for freebooters, and not so great news for users who are already disillusioned with Instagram's algorithms.

Adobe has called the new additional Effects menu category "Immersive Video." They've made it easier to apply transitions and to add text or logos that look natural to the viewer. I'm a regular screen viewing type of person, and I can't imagine buying some head gear so I can walk around in a virtual space, but in an industry that moves as fast as the video and photography industry, I think we should know what the latest developments are and how the software we use enable us to edit great videos. Clients are going to start asking for 360-degree videos, and you will either be able to do it or not. This video shows what you'll be able to do in Premiere Pro when editing "Immersive Videos."

The Christmas Wish, which has become an annual viral sensation put out over the last few years by The Heart Project is back and even bigger for 2017. In 2016, the project created holiday magic for 30 sick children from one hospital. This year Karen Alsop, the lead photographer behind the project, took it countrywide in Australia reaching even more people in need and this is just the beginning.

Buying a new camera can be a very exciting thing, and most of us probably can't wait to see how good images from the new camera are compared to the old. The problem is whether or not your current raw editing software supports your new camera. Fortunately, ACD systems have released a great new update to their photo managing and raw editing software, ACDSee Photo Studio. The new Ultimate 2018 software is a fantastic alternative to some of the other raw editing platforms, and provides some very intuitive and useful file managing features. The latest update to this software further improves it and makes it a very viable option for working professionals.

Serif have just announced a flash, two-day sale of their professional photo editing software, Affinity Photo for iPad. You can buy the software until 7 a.m. EST, Saturday, December 9 for $9.99, a saving of 50 percent on this powerful app.

Christmas is only a few weeks away which means that you are probably procrastinating so that you can experience the magnificent panic of last minute shopping. Perhaps this could be the year you mitigate that stress by getting your shopping done early in the month! B&H Photo is helping out with a big sale on a large variety of small video accessories (along with a few larger ones).

Freefly has spent the last several years making some of the most impressive handheld gimbal-based stabilization systems and high-end drones for use with cinema cameras and advanced DSLRs. Today, however, Freefly introduced the Movi, a small stabilizer for your iPhone that brings their gimbal tech to the masses.

In many areas, animals are often illegally captured to generate money from tourists who jump at the chance to take a selfie with an exotic species, a practice that is highly dangerous for the animals involved. Instagram is taking action against the practice by providing in-app warnings and education.

Two rental giants are teaming up to create the strongest rental company in the United States. Together, they’ll be able to reach 300,000 customers. So what’s going to change?

Stories are dominating the internet and from the content creators’ perspective, there are still some features missing on platforms like Instagram and Facebook. The online video resizer tool Kapwing offers a solution for those who hates posting vertical videos on social media.

You're walking along the street minding your own business when bam, out of nowhere something hits you hard in the chest, winding you. You fall backward and lose your feet, landing on the sidewalk. You've been hit by something solid, then you feel wet and cold. Looking down you realize that you are saturated and there is ice on the floor, with what must have been a full one-liter take-out cup of coke. As you come back to your senses a truck drives past, with a couple of guys in the front howling with laughter, the remainder of their drive-through now covering you.

Take a 5.5-inch cube you can hold in your hands and imagine it can put out 30,000 lumens of daylight-balanced light. You change intensities and color temperatures not by switching out the bulb, but by switching out light cards. And if you could then snap the lights together via hidden magnets to double or quadruple your power, you'd now have the new Anthem One. You would be right to be wary of all the new products claiming to do everything better and at less cost than its competitors. But Anthem One isn't some Kickstarter project that will be delivered next year. It's already for sale and will ship in just a couple months.

Over twenty years ago Chuck O'Rear took a photo that soon became part billions of peoples everyday lives. He captured Bliss on his way to see his girlfriend, he pulled over when he spotted the perfect scene in Sonoma County California. On the side of the road with his medium format camera, he took what would soon become the most viewed image of all time as a staple of Microsoft. After twenty-one years of unimaginable fame, O'Rear is back with a tribute to the epic American nature and a reminder for us all to cherish our earth's beauties.

I had the feeling they would do it. When I saw Instagram take it from Snap, and then use it for Whatsapp and Facebook too, it became tangible, something you could take and use if you have a platform with creators who make content as a career path. YouTube is giving creators the ability to create "reels," their name for what Instagram calls "stories." It won't appear on top of the app window at first, but they told TechCrunch that if it takes off they'll consider moving it to a more hands-on part of the app.

If you're a crop-sensor shooter looking to go full frame, or if you're just really into getting great deals on camera gear, B&H is bundling some serious savings into a pair of Canon full frame body kits through Saturday at 11:59 p.m. B&H is heavily discounting the ever-popular Canon 5D Mark IV to $2,849 (after a $350 Canon mail-in rebate) , and the 6D Mark II to $1,349 after rebate, and bundling them both with some great extras.

The competition is really hotting up for Adobe these days. With Luminar, Capture One, and Exposure 3, all creating super fast, intuitive, and non-destructive raw photo editing software, it's no wonder that Adobe has just announced an update to their notoriously uncooperative selection tool, because today, Pixelmator have now thrown their hat into the ring by announcing that they have released Pixelmator Pro, a photo editing application with full raw support, available only to macOS users.

While cameras haven’t yet caught up the standard, the HDMI forum has no problem pushing the envelope out and looking far off into the future.

Today Phase One has announced the release of their updated image editing software, Capture One Pro 11. Alongside the expected performance improvements that comes with new versions, Capture One 11 brings exciting changes to the way layers are handled throughout the application and annotations for journaling or collaborations.

The Pansonic GH5 is our video camera of choice. We currently own five of them and I've considered buying a sixth. Today only, you can buy one for 25% off.

The rumor has been floating around for a few days, but new information appears to confirm that Panasonic is about to announce a low light variant of the GH5 camera on December 15. This new camera, potentially called GH5s, would feature a lower resolution sensor in order to improve the low light performance. Here is what we know.

The Sigma 18-35mm lens was famous from the moment it was announced. How in the world could Sigma create a zoom lens with a f/1.8 aperture and still retain image quality? Well, they did it, and today the lens is the lowest price we have ever seen.