Photography News

Neill Blomkamp directed "District 9" and "Chappie" and now he's released a short film of a dystopian future where aliens have taken over earth and the humans have to fight with whatever they can to survive and before it's too late. It's done in the style you kan expect from Blomkamp, in a way I believe only he can do, and it's got all the action, suspense, and gross details of brain implantation and alien creatures that he's become known for.

Our blockbuster action films have become so advanced with regards to the 3D and special effects that I'll go watch a movie just to watch it, and forgiving the lame dialog or bad acting just as long as the movie pushes the barriers to what I've experienced. Now Rokoko has made a suit that someone can wear that can generate a character of any kind to embed into a realistic computer generated space in real time. It removes the cameras and the time it takes to add in these characters in post production, and it happens in real time, so it's a massive saving for the production houses. It leads to new possibilities with regards to character movement and creating something that looks indistinguishable from reality.

Nikon announced their 100th Anniversary commemorative cameras, lenses, and special collectors items today. Founded in 1917, Nikon Corporation's 100th Anniversary is coming up on July 25th of this year. According to Nikon's press release, "Authorized Nikon retailers will be accepting orders for these commemorative products and special collection items starting today, June 15 through August 31, 2017."

Sneaky advertising is annoying. People often use their social media following to their advantage, featuring paid content to promote products, but the problem is that they often don't disclose that, leaving the consumer possibly tricked into believing it's an honest endorsement. With both the FTC and Instagram itself taking notice of this problematic trend, the company is introducing a new feature to help eliminate the issue.

Adobe Stock continues to expand in terms of both capability and content. In addition to adding content from multiple editorial and premium outlets, Adobe has also introduced the ability to filter images by certain aesthetic attributes, making the process of finding the desired shot much easier.

Announced earlier this year at CES 2017, Kodak's Kodachrome Magazine is now available for sale in the United States. Kodak's new publication is coined as a "new journal for anyone who loves art, film, and analog culture... Each issue, we bring you stories and conversations from around the globe that showcase our shared fascination with creation, craft, and inspiration."

After updating the firmware for many of their lenses just a couple weeks ago, Sony today has released firmware updates for many of their popular full-frame and APS-C mirrorless cameras. The updates mainly focus on overheating indicator issues as well as resolving the “star eater” problem that was introduced in a prior firmware version, plus other various support and stability fixes.

In what seems like a long overdue move, Flickr posted on its blog on Tuesday that it’s unveiling a new “showcase” section to profiles. Photographers can feature specific photos in a large grid when users click on their information. It’s not unlike an Fstoppers profile page, actually.

Preset lovers rejoice: today Phase One announced new products in the form of Capture One Styles Packs. With a drag-and-drop installation, these Styles are made to be integrated with one’s Capture One workflow and provide creative support as well as speed up the image editing process.

In a story that's either a case of camera and computer technology taking a step forward or another nail in the coffin of privacy, the South Wales Police recently arrested a man using a mobile automatic facial recognition (AFR) system deployed in a van.

Rokinon announced the latest in their line of autofocus lenses made for Sony E-mount cameras with the 35mm f/2.8 FE. Joining the AF 14mm f/2.8 FE and AF 50mm f/1.4 FE, the company once known for its comparably inexpensive manual focus lenses remains on course to gain momentum with the new autofocus releases.

Today Serif released their fully featured photo editing app Affinity Photo for iPad on the App Store. The new app uses the same backend engine used in the desktop version while also focusing its capabilities for the iPad’s hardware, touchscreen, and Apple Pencil. “The result,” said Serif’s Managing Director Ashley Hewson, “is a genuinely unique new way to interact with your images and your iPad.”

Just a few days ago we got information on the new Canon C200, a 4K video camera with a number of interesting features including internal raw recording. While people were scoping the new Canon camera and talking about how it fit into the market with BlackMagic and Sony products, there was no mention of Panasonic for good reason – they didn't offer a feature-rich 4K capable camera, with interchangeable lenses, around the $7,500 mark. But coming this fall, that's going to change with the AU-EVA1.

Today, Nikon announced three new lenses targeting different users. The new AF-S 28mm f1.4E ED was highly expected this year. Also, Nikon is finally out with its first FX zoom fish-eye lens, the 8-15mm f/3.5-4.5E ED, and the AF-P DX 10-20mm f/4.5-5.6G VR wide-angle lens for DX users.

The rumor mill was spinning the last few weeks, talking about a new Canon Cinema camera that was on the way, and sure enough, they were right. A new EOS C200 has just appeared on B&H and I’ve got some interesting specs to share on this new beast, as well as a video from Kai at CVP.

This Kickstarter smashed its goal in one day – and now stands at almost double the original target.

Memorial Day is a day set aside in remembrance of those members of the Armed Forces who have made the ultimate sacrifice. This Memorial Day, photographer Kate Woodman released a series called War Widow, that gives an intimate look at the life of those left behind. The series manages to honor the families of the fallen by approaching the pain, grief and loss they suffer with a raw, unflinching eye.

In another classic tale of a large company purchasing out a beloved product only to abandon it, Google is now dropping development of Nik Collection. After Google bought out Nik in 2012, they made all the Collection plugins free last year and have incorporated some of its features into their Snapseed mobile app. Sadly, a new notice posted on the Nik Collection website informs us it’s the end of an era.

The Sony a9 might be the most hotly anticipated camera in quite some time, as it's the first time a mirrorless camera has taken such direct aim at the flagship DSLR bodies. While a lot of the excitement has been about its shooting speed and autofocus capabilities, another important characteristic is dynamic range, which you can now see measured and compared to those other bodies.

Fujifilm and Sony are keeping their products fresh and up to date by releasing many firmware updates for their cameras, lenses, and software. Check out everything that’s been updated right here with links to all the downloads.

As consumer-level and professional drones become more and more capable, filmmakers are increasingly turning to them for the unique perspective they offer and as a way to augment existing work. Building on this, PolarPro has just released 12 new cinematic LUTs specifically for DJI's most popular models.

DJI just announced their latest drone, the $499, borderline pocket-sized Spark. The Spark is smaller than a dinner plate, weighs less than a can of Coke, and packs some of DJI's coolest tech inside its teensy tiny body.

Today Microsoft announced the next generation of Surface Pro. This new laptop has been redesigned inside out and greatly improves the battery life as well as performance, and even introduces LTE Advanced for working anywhere. Corporate Vice President of Microsoft Devices Panos Panay called the new Surface Pro a “powerhouse laptop and a mobile creative studio” all “in one thin, lightweight device.”

Manfrotto’s new Manhattan line of camera bags are feature-rich and highly adaptable based on what’s in your kit. As lifestyle bags for the city, presentation and durability are also key elements in their design. Here’s a closer look at the three introductory options of the Manhattan collection, the Mover-50 backpack, the Speedy-10 messenger, and the Changer-20 shoulder bag.

DJI issued a press release this past Saturday detailing their "new application activation process" that will go into effect at the end of this week. Users who do not register their drones with the site will find their units subject to "restricted operations."

As Instagram continues to evolve as a platform serious photographers use to showcase their work and gain new clients, the app continues to introduce features that make those tasks more easily accomplished. Starting today, users can archive posts, making them viewable only to themselves.

There’s nothing quite like being able to materialize your photography by printing a stunning, professional-quality print. From a business standpoint, it can also be quite profitable to cut out the middleman and produce your own prints for your clients. B&H has an incredible offer going on right now that makes printing your images easier and more affordable than ever.

Just over a week ago, Matthew Allard from News Shooter reported that several Premiere Pro 2017.1 users were having media files suddenly disappear, with some having their footage deleted completely. Adobe scrambled, and it looks like they have resolved the problem.

We all know someone that has an older photo taken in black and white and many of us have seen those request to transform those photos into color. Converting old black and white photos to color may have just gotten easier with a new app.

The Intrepid Camera Co. is on a roll. With the lofty goal of bringing low-cost large format film photography to the masses, they launched their initial 4x5 model's Kickstarter in the fall of 2014. Although plagued with fulfillment issues and mixed reviews (You can see our review of the original model here), enough attention was garnered to warrant a follow up of a much more refined model in 2016. Now, Intrepid is stepping up and hoping to swing for the fences with a big boy: an 8x10 camera.

Have you ever watched a Marvel Avengers movie wishing you had your own personal AI just like Tony Stark? At Google I/O 2017, Google CEO Sundar Pichai revealed a new technology lovingly branded "Google Lens" which aims to bring mankind a breath nearer to each person having their own personal Jarvis. Google Lens is a new technology designed for Android devices that allows a user to point their camera phone at any object in order for contextual information to be gathered about that object and to convey it back to the user.

It's a great time to be a Sigma user. With the release of numerous exciting and innovative lenses priced competitively, the company is changing the lens market in a big way. Now, the 100-400mm f/5-6.3 DG OS HSM Contemporary is available for preorder.

Last October, New York City became the place in the country to pass a law protecting the rights of freelance workers. Today the bill known as the Freelance Isn't Free Act, officially went into effect.

Anyone who uses off camera lighting is familiar with the Profoto brand name; the Swedish company has been revolutionizing the market for years, continuously upping the ante with the products they release.

Yesterday a cyber attack hit corporations, governments, organizations, and home users as well, and according to the press, it keeps spreading around the globe. This cyber attack is a ransomware called "WanaCrypt0r 2.0" and it encrypts the data on Windows-based computers. This is quite terrifying for photographers too, as there is still a risk for those who work on Windows PCs and keep their photo archive on PC-mounted hard drives.

Bots have been used on social networks for as long as I can remember. They are a way of growing one’s community without much effort and getting more attention than by doing everything manually. However, it’s not organic, and thus social media companies have tried to shut them down for a while. Instagram recently launched a witch hunt and managed to get Instagress to close down. Yesterday, another big bot service, Mass Planner, was taken down. Is it the end of the bot era?

Phase One announced today their new, first-of-its-kind 101-megapixel achromatic medium format digital back. The IQ3 100MP Achromatic, which is manufactured without a Bayer filter, does not record any color information which allows “all available light to be captured unaltered and unobstructed.”

With the introduction of new features such as TTL, HSS, HS, and the likes, flash manufacturers have been forced to develop a different remote for each camera brand. Profoto has its Air TTL system for Sony, Canon, and Nikon, but was lacking micro four third systems compared to Elinchrom. It’s now a thing of the past with the release of the Air TTL-O remote.

A few weeks ago, I wrote an article on my favorite camera, the Mamiya RZ67. Even though such a camera sells for peanuts compared to its original cost decades ago, buying into a new system can be costly. Well, in celebration of May the 4th, KEH, a used camera gear reseller, is having a fantastic sale on Mamiya gear.

Phase One has rolled out the first major update to Capture One Pro 10 today with the release of Capture One Pro 10.1. The latest update has several exciting improvements that will simplify users' workflows and even offer better file handling for people editing Fujifilm X-Trans raw files.

You think your camera is fast? Check this out. A group of researchers at Lund University in Sweden have developed a camera that is way faster than yours. I guarantee it. Their camera captures at a frame rate equivalent to five trillion images per second, a rate faster than previously thought possible. It’s so fast that even captures light in flight.

We're always on the lookout for good camera deals and this definitely caught our attention. There is currently a highly rated eBay seller providing brand new Sony Alpha a7R II Mirrorless Camera Bodies for only $2,199.99. That's $500 better savings than any other major camera distributor is providing online right now. Usually we give a little caution with gray market cameras but the seller says these are direct import cameras and they come with a one year US Warranty through the seller. That's a hard price to beat. The cameras come in a limited supply so make sure to act quick.

Welcome the newest member of Microsoft's Surface family, the Surface Laptop, along with the new Windows 10 S and an updated version of the Surface Arc Mouse. The Surface Laptop falls right between the Surface Pro 4, a powerful tablet made to replace your laptop, and the Surface Book, a laptop that can function as a tablet. This new device serves as Microsoft's first clamshell-style laptop and is a clear response to Apple's MacBook built with both the latest hardware and plenty of style.

Right now, B&H is running some awesome specials on Nikon cameras, Sigma Art lenses, and more. Now is a great time to pick up some new gear!

Last week at NAB, G-Technology announced upgrades to a range of its products that combine Thunderbolt 3, USB C, and their highest capacity drives yet with the addition of 12 TB, 7,200 RPM single drives that give products such as the dual-drive G-RAID system at a staggering 24 TB storage allotment.

For anybody that's been looking to get a good quality camera setup all in one basket, now's the time to do it. The team over at B&H Photo have listed the Sony a6500 for a whopping $400 off the normal price tag. But wait, there's more. Included with the camera in this package deal are a 64 GB SD Card, shoulder bag, extra battery, and most importantly, two lenses.

Color theory for photography and retouching is more important than many would like to admit. Knowing how to create a visually strong color photography starts there. You can always go by the feeling, but failing to plan is planning to fail. Learning all about colors takes time and finding the proper resources is not an easy task. But thanks to Wacom, digital artists now have a place to get the needed materials to get familiar with all the theory necessary to get started.

Fashion photographer Lindsay Adler, who is known for her lean, bold, and graphic style is hosting a free webinar on May 1, 2017 to help you train your eye to identify posing problems and fix them in your images.

In what has the potential to be a landmark case in U.K. news history, a freelance photographer is taking legal action against the broadcaster for their usage of his photo, which they included by embedding a tweet.

Supermodel Gigi Hadid has become the latest high-profile celebrity commissioned to shoot for an international fashion feature. Following in the recent footsteps of Kendal Jenner and Brooklyn Beckham, the V Magazine Special Edition is made of backstage Polaroids taken by Hadid, laid out in collages alongside handwritten notes.