Photography News

Sony is the most exciting camera brand right now. There I said it. They just keep bouncing from field to field making huge leaps and bounds in technology and the latest example of that is the entirely new, exciting Sony RX0—Sony’s first foray into the action sports world. But it's not exciting for the reasons that you might imagine.

Olympus packed a big punch into a tiny camera today with the announcement of its OM-D E-M10 Mark III. The camera features a 16-megapixel sensor and can shoot at 8.6 fps. These features, added to the 3-inch touchscreen and even the 5-axis in-body stabilization, are nothing new. The treat here is the addition of 4K video with a respectable 102 mbps bitrate and a new 121-point autofocus system — all for the same price that the Mark II sold for yesterday technically still sells for today.

There’s been speculation for some time now, but the wait is over. Today in Berlin, DJI made three major and exciting announcements about their line of drones. Specifically, they've introduced the new Mavic Pro Platinum, the new Phantom 4 Pro Obsidian, and an update to DJI Spark.

On July 25, New York-based Photographer Martin J. Romero-Clark was apprehended due to climbing Ben Franklin Bridge to take some urban scenic photos. As a matter of course, it is dangerous and an illegal act to climb on a bridge, but now he is facing three felonies, each may carry a sentence of up to seven years.

Since Adobe adopted a subscription-based licensing system, many users have started looking at other alternatives. While ACDSee had attractive solutions until now, their latest creation, ACDSee Photo Studio Ultimate 2018, seems to be a serious contender to Photoshop CC and Lightroom. Even better yet, you can process your raw files and then edit them within the very same software, no need for round trips.

Panasonic just published the full release notes of the promised free firmware update for the GH5. Upon release earlier in the year, early adopters of the camera have been blown away with its performance, yet have come across some several teething issues that have been fed back to Panasonic. This release aims to correct some of these issues while also introducing improved All-I modes for higher bit-rate video recording.

The Nikon D850 is all over every photography blog and for good reason. One feature isn't getting too much spotlight though, the ability of the D850 to act as a super high-res 35mm film scanner, converting said image in-camera. Like many Nikon enthusiasts, I stayed awake for the highly anticipated official D850 press release from Nikon this past Thursday. Much akin to my reactions during most of the Game of Thrones season 7 finale, I let out a giddy squeal when I read this short line in the Nikon press release:

Instagram announced a new feature today specifically involving the gallery option for posting multiple photos at once. When Instagram first introduced the gallery option, they introduced it in true old-school Instagram fashion, allowing users to post multiple images at once, but requiring all photos to be in a square aspect ratio. Now, however, Instagram added the ability to preserve your photos' original aspect ratio, even within galleries with multiple photos.

I’m sure everyone at this point has explored the vast array of articles discussing all the technical aspects of the newly announced D850. If you haven’t here is one from your very own Fstoppers writer, Adam Ottke. You can read the announcement here. While I agree with most of the assessments that I’ve read or watched so far in that the camera will be a powerhouse with really innovative features, my thoughts come back to what was in the news just a few months ago. What is the financial health of Nikon? Do they still need help from other companies like Fujifilm? Most importantly, should I invest in new equipment from a company whose financial standing is in question? With all this in mind, I did some research.

While the world grows increasingly digital, there’s something that draws humans to the physical gratification of analog media. Whether it’s the surge in vinyl record or cassette sales or the cult VHS collectors, it’s clear that there’s a deep-seated nostalgia that draws many of us to physical mediums. That nostalgia inspired Fujifilm to make the Instax Square Film that’s now being utilized in the quintessentially retro, “Lomo'Instant Square” from Lomography.

The Nikon D850 features a completely new sensor developed in-house by Nikon. It's also the first backside-illuminated sensor in a Nikon full-frame DSLR. That allows it to perform up to one stop better than the D810, despite the higher pixel count, according to Nikon. But the latest tests look even better. It's now possible that the wealth of positive reviews of the D850 are about to get another, albeit small, addition.

Hang onto your seats, folks. Canon just announced the widely anticipated 85mm f/1.4L IS, the first non-third-party 85mm lens with image stabilization, three new tilt-shift lenses, a new flash, and a new mirrorless camera.

There's no doubt that the Nikon D850 has photographers excited — a lot of them. The demand for the camera is skyrocketing, so much so that Nikon has already issued a statement that it may not be able to fill all preorders in the first batch.

This past June, the Grenfell Tower fire killed over 80 people in West London. Unfortunately, both civilians and police have been forced take measures to stop people from taking selfies at the site to preserve the privacy of and respect for those who lived there and/or perished in the fire.

I'm sure by now everyone reading this is familiar with the work of photographer and interviewer Brandon Stanton and his long-running project Humans of New York. His crisp, shallow depth of field portraits and poignant interviews have gained international attention since the project's start in 2010. For the last four years, Stanton has quietly been filming his interviews, saving the footage for "something special." Now, that special something has arrived, in the form of a video series which will premiere next week on Facebook's Watch platform.

NASA has a long history of sending cameras to space. Most notably, Hasselblad medium-format and Nikon SLRs and DSLRs have been NASA's go-tos for decades. But in a recent order that must be amongst the largest in its history for a single order of camera bodies, NASA just bought 53 Nikon D5 cameras worth over $340,000. What off Earth could NASA be doing with all those D5s?

The new Nikon D850 is a monster of a camera, so much so that even this Canon shooter is longingly peering over the fence a bit. In a recent interview, the company revealed a bit more information about the soon-to-be-released camera.

Through its Deal Zone, B&H currently has the B+W Kaesemann Circular Polarizer MRC Filters for about more than half off for the rest of the day (until midnight ET). The 77mm size is just $49.95 (58% off of $119.95 normally) while the 58mm size is also available for $29.95 (67% off of $89.95 normally). The B+W brand is a well-known, high-end filter brand, and its multi-coated Kaesemann filters are its own gold standard.

I know that the solar eclipse on Monday made you feel young again. Maybe it made you feel energetic, inquisitive, motivated to keep exploring. But by now those effects have surely started to wear off, and I have some bad news for you. You’re getting old. How do I know that? Because the hashtag just turned 10.

The Nikon D850 was announced tonight. With an extremely high-resolution 45-megapixel sensor, 7-plus fps shooting, and a ton of professional improvements to its predecessor, this really is the camera to do it all — and the price is on the low end of previous estimates at $3,296.95. Pre-orders are now up and are promised to begin shipping in September with free expedited shipping.

We'll have to wait to get our hands on one to see if this camera really can be the Swiss army knife of DSLRs that it seems to be, but we now have details from Nikon's official D850 announcement, including the U.S. price.

Wide-gamut images have been supported by the latest smartphone and high-end computer displays for some time, but the software and the Internet has some way to go before the average consumer can enjoy accurately rendered, wide-gamut images across their entire digital experience. Between what Apple called "Wide Color" in the iPhone 7 display and Android Oreo's support for "Deep Color" in similar displays, we're almost here. But none of that matters for the average consumer if websites continue to compress that data, stripping wide color information in the process. The real change has to come from websites like 500px, which just announced support for fully color-managed images.

In order to evolve as photographers, we need to keep making pictures and push our personal and professional boundaries. Stagnation can be one of the most demotivating situations to experience, as a photographer and as a human being. On a day off, AKA the freelancer's life, with nothing more to do than reading, watching tv shows or browsing the web, it can be difficult to motivate yourself to get up and do something productive. (Of course, slow times are important, but I'm sure you know what kind of days I am talking about.)

If you're an avid user of Instagram, you know one aspect that leaves a bit to be desired is the commenting system. Happily, Instagram has revamped that system by introducing threaded comments.

The sudden convergence of consumer-level prices and professional-level capabilities has caused an explosion of drone usage in the last few years. Unfortunately, these devices are sometimes repurposed for nefarious endeavors, with this example being one of the most brazen yet.

As I wrote in my previous article, 3DLUT Creator is a magnificent piece of software for color grading, and it has become an essential part of my coloring processes both for video and still work. There are now more buying options for those who don't need all the extra features that some might. Meet the Grading Edition.

Last month, Godox announced that they were working on a flash unit that was specifically designed for smartphones. Now, they've made the Godox A1 available for presale. We already knew that the A1 would be capable of being used as an off-camera flash, a constant video light, or as a trigger for other Godox flashes. With the release of the product, we now have more specifics about the flash.

Google recently demonstrated research that makes the process of identifying and removing watermarks from images automatic, which would obviously introduce a huge problem for stock agencies. Luckily, they also showed an easy solution for protecting the images.

In responding to the events at Charlottesville, former President Barack Obama tweeted a Nelson Mandela quote and a picture taken by former White House Photographer Pete Souza. The tweet has gone on to break records, becoming the most popular of all time.

When Picktorial 3 was released, it promised a solid support of Fuji RAF files. Today, it’s getting even better by offering film simulation color profiles. The profiles are available as an add-on specifically designed for Picktorial 3 and Fujifilm X-Trans sensor cameras. Using the Fujifilm Film-Simulation look this way will allow you to retain all the details and data of your X-Trans Sensor output to take the most out of your raw files.

It's becoming increasingly apparent that Canon will be announcing an 85mm f/1.4L lens with image stabilization fairly soon, and as the time draws nigh, more detailed specifications are beginning to emerge. The lens is sure to be a hit and a major competitor to the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art.

Photographs taken by intrepid photojournalists and documentary photographers have been informing the public and galvanizing people to take action on social issues for over one hundred years. The disturbing images coming out of the recent protests in Charlottesville, Virginia are a powerful reminder of how much impact an image can have, and how much responsibility a photographer bears when telling a story.

I've reviewed the earlier version of Samsung's T-series SSD drive, but today, they've announced a new version with better performance across the board. Up from 450 MB/s, the Portable SSD T5 now offers up to 540 MB/s read and 515 MB/s write speeds. It also comes in new colors. The 250 GB and 500 GB sizes will come in Alluring Blue while Deep Black will be reserved for the 1 TB and 2 TB capacities.

HDR is a beautiful but rather complicated editing process, or at least that was the case until Aurora HDR was designed by Macphun and photographer Trey Ratcliff. It’s now become an effortless and unintimidating retouching technique to bring the most out of your architectural and landscape images. Today, the California-based developer announced the release of Aurora HDR 2018 and it promises to make HDR photography even easier and more fun!

Despite being a multi-billion-dollar, state-of-the-art warship, the HMS Queen Elizabeth was recently visited by a visitor that went completely undetected by those aboard: a consumer drone.

Snap Inc’s wearable camera sunglasses, aptly titled Spectacles, launched with plenty of momentum and seem to be a hit among those who have already purchased the device (since Snap recently begun selling Spectacles on Amazon, user reviews are predominately positive). However, according to Snap’s Q2 earnings, interest among perspective buyers may be waning.

In a two-part release, NikonRumors posted the Nikon D850's presentation slides. Although written in Japanese Chinese, we can infer a number of specifications about the D850 (and anyone who speaks Chinese is welcome to help us translate the rest!). Some highlights include greater viewfinder magnification, 9 fps at full resolution, and up to 14 fps, perhaps, in bursts of up to 51 of some kind of uncompressed raw-format images with an MB-D18 battery grip.

Photographers are especially intrigued by the Microsoft Surface line of computers, which offer a full-fledged operating system coupled with touchscreen input. Of course, that's all for naught if the devices don't have good longevity, which Consumer Reports now says is the case, with one in four devices expected to fail within two years.

I'm a bit obsessed with space and the beauty associated with the vastness beyond our mortal coil. These new images from Mars Curiosity Rover are particularly stirring, though. Check them out!

I can’t be the only one who dreamt of knowing which image would perform best on Instagram before posting a set or simply what picture people like best amongst a selection. A great photographer should be able to pick his images on his own, but sometimes, when it comes to social networks, it’s more complicated than that. Being able to know what is going to work best to schedule the images accordingly is a huge advantage. Well, there might be a solution out there, and it’s called Cinnac.

In a bit of a surprise, a blog posted today from Lensrentals explains the different options of drone systems now available for rent, including a short list of rules and tips for flying for both recreational and commercial use. While I've seen many requests online from people asking where they could rent a drone for a one-time shoot, most companies have stayed away. So is this a good idea or a bad idea?

The National Press Photographers Association (NPPA) reported Bill Frakes, a former Sports Illustrated photographer and 1983 Photographer of the Year in the Pictures of the Year competition, will not return to his position as a lecturer at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln after a Title IX harassment complaint was filed against him. The complaint was accompanied by notes from "at least ten other students" including photojournalim majors and those from other universities who also worked with Frakes.

Many have accused Canon of being less innovative than other manufacturers, and while that may or may not be true when it comes to camera bodies, they do have some pretty extreme lenses out there. As they prepare to announce their next batch, there could be some very intriguing pieces of glass coming to the market.

If you fly your drone near United States military areas, you'll want to be even more careful than before: the Pentagon has approved and disseminated a new policy that allows military bases to shoot down drones that intrude upon their airspace.

It is no secret that Apple is an incredibly secretive company. But they also have a rather large marketing arm. Still, Apple has waited until today to launch its first official Instagram account.

Today, Adobe has announced its Rising Stars program, which aims to highlight the work and stories of 10 up-and-coming photographers from across the world. Fstoppers has an exclusive first look at the program and its artists.

You may remember back in May we reported on TriLens, a Kickstarter-funded project that aimed at improving the ease of changing lenses. After overcoming legal obstacles during the product’s initial campaign, the team behind it is gearing up for a global roll-out of its invention.

Even though Apple had claimed to have doubled down on the secrecy of their products it seems they made one major oversight. One iOS developer has dug into the readily available firmware for its yet to be launched HomePod and found some confirmations of what the iPhone 8 will be like.

National Geographic Travel Photographer of the Year has announced their 2017 winner. The prestigious competition brought over 15,000 entries from 30 different countries. This year’s grand prize winner was Sergio Tapiro Velasco of Mexico. His photo, “The Power of Nature,” captures an erupting volcano while it is simultaneous being struck by lightning.

A 45 percent chunk of Leica is up for sale, and Zeiss may be in line to buy it.