Photography News

Western Digital Acquires SanDisk for $19 Billion

We all know that Western Digital is one of the ring leaders in the consumer storage industry, and buying out SanDisk has now made them a competitor in the solid state drive market. SSDs are used in everyday technology such as laptops, smartphones, and cloud computing. If you are a creative professional, you most likely own or have owned a WD hard drive. Today, they have announced that they will be acquiring all of the outstanding shares of SanDisk for a combination of cash and stock. Yesterday, SanDisk shares went as high as $78.48 but were well below the offer price of $86.50 in cash and stock.

Winners Announced for Fstoppers Survey Participants!

For the last couple weeks, Fstoppers asked our readers to fill out a site survey. In exchange, all entrants were entered to win one of four prizes. The first name randomly drawn will receive a $500 B&H gift card. The second, third, and fourth names randomly drawn will receive an Fstoppers original tutorial of their choice for free. All entrants will receive special discount codes for the Fstoppers store. I wanted to send out a HUGE thanks to everyone who participated and filled out the survey. And now for the WINNER announcement...

Buy The Canon $400 Pro-100 Printer For $50 Right Now

The incredible deal that we discovered a few months ago is back for a very limited time. Right now you can get the Canon Pro-100 printer and 50 sheets of 13x19 photo paper for just $50 after rebate.

DJI Announces the First Fully Integrated and Stabilized 4K Camera System

Lately it seems that DJI has been releasing innovative video tools every single month. Known primarily for their ultra popular Phantom and Inspire 1 drone systems, DJI just announced today that they are releasing their own handheld 4K camera and gimbal called the Osmo. Together with the Ronin DSLR stabilizing system and the Micro Four Thirds Inspire 1 Pro, the Osmo is yet another product that will change the way photographers and videographers can capture stabilized footage on a budget.

Will Microsoft's New Surface Book be the Macbook Pro Killer?

Today I attended Microsoft's press event in NYC. I assume that they wanted me there because I am one of the few photographers who doesn't currently use Apple computers. I was excited to see the new Surface Pro 4, but I wasn't prepared to see a Macbook Pro and iPad Pro killer.

Amazing Deal: The Canon 5D Mark III For $1899

Over the past few months Nikon shooters have been getting an unfair amount of amazing eBay deals. Canon users can finally rejoice because they are getting their own killer deal. The 5D3 is only $1899.

RED's New Raven 4K Camera Is Right Under $6,000

RED Digital Cinema has announced the latest addition to its line of professional cameras, the RED RAVEN priced at $5,590. RED RAVEN is the lightest and cheapest camera among the RED Cinema lineup. This camera is capable of capturing 4K resolution footage at up to 120fps or 2K resolution at 240fps.

Check Out This New Camera Stabilizer That Costs $45,000

The Steadicam was invented in 1975 as a mechanical way of stabilizing video cameras. In 2013 Freefly introduced the Movi, an electronic gimbal that basically made your average Steadicam obsolete. Since then the price of electronic gimbals has plummeted to a level that the average consumer can actually afford. That hasn't stopped Sachtler from creating a hybrid stabilizer that costs $45,000.

The Sony Alpha a7S II Mirrorless Digital Camera Now Available for Pre-Order

With all the hype surrounding the release of the Sony a7SII, the wait to order it is finally over. Sony has created this camera body to revolutionize the way cinematographers shoot with DSLRs. Although the cameras probably won't ship for another month or so, this camera is worth being first in line for.

Today The iPad Takes a Professional Step Forward and Adds Multitasking

The iPad may work as a laptop replacement for casual web and email surfers, but for us photographers, it's not really a professional tool. Many photographers still own an iPad as a digital portfolio or for casual use, but its simplified operating system makes using it professionally very difficult. Apple is taking a big step forward with the iOS 9 update which finally allows multitasking and it's available right now.

ReelSteady Software Can Make Your Shaky Videos Look Amazing

Normally I don't promote software based on their promo video alone but this video was so compelling I had to share it. The ReelSteady plugin for After Effects appears to be made of pure magic, taking cheap looking footage and making it look like Hollywood CGI.

Tamron Announces Lenses That Break Them into the Prime Game

Tamron has announced two new lenses that break new ground for the well-known lens company. This morning, as part of their rebrand and push towards better optics, Tamron announced a new 35mm f/1.8 Di VC USD and 45mm f/1.8 Di VC USD for their lens lineup. Tamron invited me to test these lenses out.
Serif Releases Free 10 Day Trial for Affinity Photo

A couple of weeks ago, Serif released its powerful photo editing software called Affinity Photo. This Adobe Photoshop competitor has since been downloaded by numbers of users and has already seen a couple of improvement through an update. Its price and its speed are probably two of the most notable advantages the software offers over Photoshop. While the reviews are slowly making their way to different websites, many photographers and retouchers seem to be wondering if the software is worth its price.

You Can Now Post Portrait and Landscape Oriented Photos on Instagram

We never thought this day would come, but Instagram now allows you to natively post portrait and landscape oriented photos and video. The days of cropping, white backgrounds, and 640x640 pixel photos and videos are over (unless you don't want them to be).

Canon Announces Third-Generation EOS M3 for The US Market, Available for Pre-Order

Canon's EOS M was a good first-try mirrorless, compact APS-C camera that fell a bit short. After withholding the EOS M2 for other markets, the M3 comes to the United States after two generations of much-needed improvements. Those features, however, just might launch the platform into best-in-class territory -- at least on paper.

Canon Announces The 35mm f/1.4L II USM

Canon's rumored 35mm follow-up is finally here. Apart from the obvious general increase in quality with the standard aspheric and ultra-low dispersion elements, the new lens specifically promises to further reduce chromatic aberration (important for wide-aperture lenses) while being the "ideal complement to the latest generation of Canon's high-resolution DSLRs" (i.e. the 50-megapixel Canon 5DS and 5DS R cameras).

One of the World's Best Compositers Reveals His Complete Workflow and Retouching Techniques

Erik Almas, one of the best commercial composite photographers, has recently teamed up with the team at PRO EDU to create a fully comprehensive tutorial on his complete shooting and retouching process. In this video Almas takes us through an hour-long tutorial, retouching and completing the backplate for one of his tutorial images. I'm always impressed when photographers and retouchers, especially those at the top of our industry, open the doors and reveal their entire process and Almas has done no less here.

Alien Skin Products Are 40% Off Through August 26th

If you’ve been on the fence about upgrading or picking up your first copy of Exposure, now would be a great opportunity. I just got word that the team over at Alien Skin is offering 40% off ALL of their products until August 26th, starting today!

Gitzo Revamps Travel Tripod Lineup with Stronger Carbon Fiber, Better Leg Locks

The tripod is an essential piece of gear for many photographers, and as they become lighter and more portable they become less of an inconvenience to carry. Gitzo has just released a sleek-looking line of travel-friendly tripods that aim to be smartly compact while increasing stiffness and performance over previous versions.

HAZMAT Surfing Video Predicts a Dangerous Future for Our Oceans

Earlier in the week, we shared Michael Dyrlands, HAZMAT Surfing photo series. To recap, HAZMAT Surfing is a photo series that gives a futuristic look at what surfing could be like twenty to twenty-five years down the road and spreads awareness of our oceans contamination. Dyrland came up with the idea after he was unable to enter the water on a trip to LA because of ten billion gallons of run off that had polluted the ocean after an evening of heavy rain. Dyrland has now released a video version of HAZMAT Surfing, which continues to spread awareness of the contamination of our oceans.

Fuji X Mount Lenses App Lets You Test and Compare Lenses Without Leaving Your Couch

We have all been there when trying to pick a new lens. 14mm or 18mm? How big of a difference does that 4mm of focal length make? What sort of differences in depth of field will I see when comparing this zoom lens at f4 to this prime lens at f2.8? Well Fuji has come to the rescue and has released an app to iTunes and Google Play that will let you test all of their lenses from your phone or tablet.

Get The $400 Canon Pro-100 Printer For $50 Right Now

We currently own 4 Canon Photo printers and they are the best printers I've personally ever owned. They never clog and they simply work every single time. Right now you can get a brand new Canon Pro-100 photo printer for just $50 from B&H with a little trickery. Let me show you how.

Rokinon Announces New Affordable Professional Grade Cine Lens System

Rokinon is announcing their new professional grade cine lens system, which offer professional optical quality, features, specifications, and the performance that is expected out of a superior cine lens system, all for a significantly lower price. The three XEEN lenses are 24mm, 50mm, and 85mm which all feature a constant aperture of T/1.5 and full frame coverage. The lenses will be available in mounts for Canon EF, Nikon F, Sony E, Micro Four Thirds and even PL with additional focal lengths scheduled to be introduced throughout 2015 and 2016.
This Camera Will Edit Video for You in a Click of a Button

The day has finally come, a camera the will automatically edit video for you. The Graava has five different sensors: a camera, microphone, accelerometer, GPS, and a heart rate monitor. It will detect objects entering the frame, your change of speed, changes in sound frequencies, and will even monitor your heart rate to detect excitement. These sensors help the camera determine which moments are interesting and which moments are boring. That way it know which parts to keep and which parts to delete.

Instagram is About to Become One of the Largest Advertising Businesses on the Planet

Big news comes out of Instagram this week as they open their advertising API to the masses of potential clients around the world. The third-party partners are now plugging their information and creative campaigns into the API making this weekend the most ads I have seen in years. Though the quality of the imagery doesn't seem to stray too far away from what I am used to seeing its interesting to see where this goes for Instagram, I believe it could be the next big advertising company.

Photographer Travels to 60 Countries for 3 Years Around the World

New York City Photographer, Walter Chang, has returned home after a trip many photographers would be jealous of. He traveled around the world, to 60 different countries, for three years, creating his photography and film project, "We Call This Home."

Stand Out Photo Workshops Are Coming - Learn From Industry Leaders

If you hadn't heard of it before, the Stand Out! Photographic Forums is a huge photography industry event (taking place in New York City, Toronto, and Los Angeles) loaded with affordable workshops taught by some of the biggest and most successful names in the industry. You can learn directly from legends like Mark Seliger, Pratik Naik, and Michael Muller. Phase One was even nice enough to ask me to come and teach classes on digital teching and shoot pre-production. You should read below to learn more about all of the classes and offerings.

The New Superhero That Could: The Pentax K-3 II, How Nikon and Canon Are Lagging Behind, and Why It Doesn't Matter

Do you want your sensor to shift in-body to create a higher-resolution image? Want 4.5-stop image stabilization built into the body so we can benefit from its use with any lens? Want to be able to decide for every shot exactly what level of anti-aliasing you want in order to balance moiré and sharpness? It’s all possible with the new 24-megapixel, APS-C Pentax K-3 II. And, it'll likely be possible in their rumored full-frame camera. Pentax is great, but why aren’t we seeing the “bigger” brands pony up with groundbreaking features?

Is It Possible To Produce High End Video With A $600 Point & Shoot?

If you’d asked me this question last week, I would have said no. What a difference a few days makes. Ruslan Pelykh, a New York City-based videographer and photographer, is creating outstanding video with a Leica D Lux 6, a 10 megapixel, $600 point and shoot. This post is a kick up the butt for anyone hanging on for a piece of gear as being the reason they can’t create with what they have. Welcome to creating more, with less.

Phottix Announces The Indra500 TTL - A 500w/s Strobe With TTL and HSS

Last year, I reviewed the Profoto B1 Strobe, and named it the best strobe on the market today. Phottix is looking to take that crown with their newly released Indra500 TTL, a 500w/s studio strobe with an optional battery pack. What puts it ahead of the competition? How about TTL built in, as well as High Speed Sync.

New, Comprehensive Canon Lens Experience Through the Eyes of 15 Photography Greats

B&H has launched what is easily the most comprehensive platform for understanding Canon glass that we have ever seen: the Canon Lens Experience. Backed by 15 powerhouse photographers including Gregory Heisler, Jeremy Cowart, Jim Wark and Randy Kerr, the new platform lets you get a very in-depth look at lenses, what they do and what images taken with them look like.

How To Master Lightroom with Ben Willmore

As a wedding photographer, I don't know what I would do without Lightroom. I can remember when I first started using Lightroom, I knew practically nothing. Even though I've learned a few tips and tricks from Pye over at SLR Lounge, I still think anyone can benefit from learning more about the programs they use on a day-to-day basis.

Win a Canon 6D or Nikon D600

We're doing it again! We're giving away another camera! This time, we're giving away a Canon 6D or a Nikon D600 (winner's choice) with our two friends at SLR Lounge and UNDFIND.