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In August 2016, Sony made a firmware modification to the a7R II and a7S II cameras. Among the changes was a new algorithm designed to reduce noise during long exposure photography. Unfortunately, the new noise reduction approach was a bit too aggressive and the astrophotographer community quickly realized that the new filtering method was removing minor stars during exposure longer than 3.2 seconds. They named this issue the “star-eater” effect and many specialists called Sony for a change. Photographer and time-lapse expert Drew Geraci is happy to report that the problem has been fixed in the new Sony a7R III.

Back in August, NASA purchased 53 unmodified Nikon D5 bodies. Over the weekend, ten of those went on the OA-8 International Space Station (ISS) resupply mission. The ten new bodies will join the current D4 cameras that are currently used for both photographing Earth and checking solar panels and other external systems on the ISS.

"Hell Is Here" is the title of Biplab Hazra's photograph of a burning elephant calf that got him this year's Wildlife Photographer Of The Year Award from Sanctuaryasia.com, which describes itself as India's leading nature and wildlife conservation portal.

Reflex is a new brand aiming to give 35mm film photographers a new camera option instead of going with a dated SLR design (the 13-year-old Nikon F6) or buying in the used market. But it’s not just a rehash of the classic film SLR design. Users can change film using a special “I-Back” system, and even change out the lens mount quickly and easily.

Snap Inc. is still alive and well but they begin to look at new ways to revive its social presence with Snapchat. Snapchat has been getting some bad press for months in the wake of Facebook and Instagram essentially stealing their entire platform and adapting it to their own social networks just over a year ago. Though Snapchat still continues to grow, every so slightly, each quarter with monthly active users they are no match for Facebook and Instagram Stories. Their answer, to begin paying top contributors to the app like YouTube has done with their biggest creators.

Panasonic have just announced the Panasonic Lumix G9, a high-end Micro Four Thirds camera that is photography focused. Similar in size and spec to the video feature rich GH5, Panasonic describe the G9 as their ultimate stills offering.

When I photograph events, I do my best to become a “fly on the wall.” I try to stay out of the way, to be unobtrusive, to not affect what’s happening around me and just document what I see. To be a photographer in the White House and be a fly on those walls — surrounded by high stress, classified this and that, diplomats, dignitaries, tragedies, and achievements, while being charged with capturing all of it, 24/7/365 — would obviously be a job that would take all you’ve got. And to do it for not one, but two presidents? That’s nuts. But there’s one guy who did it. His name is Pete Souza.

First announced back in September, Pixelmator Pro is an upcoming photo editing app for Mac that introduces an improved workflow and utilizes macOS High Sierra’s Core ML (machine learning) framework and Metal 2. Today in a new blog post, the release date and pricing has been revealed.

Every year as we panic a week before Christmas trying to find the best gifts for our most cherished loved ones we vow to start a smidgen earlier the following year so that things aren't quite so hectic in December. Here is your chance to get a jump on that shopping right now. Nikon, Canon, and Olympus have added some amazing rebates to help get your shopping started for that special photographer in your life. With up to $800 in savings, these end-of-year deals might just be the perfect time to buy a present or two for yourself as well.

Hasselblad has announced five new lenses for the X1D. This is fantastic news because ever since the X1D was released, its biggest problem was its lens line up. If you've been considering buying the X1D, now may be the perfect time.

GoPro announced its first profitable quarter of the past in two years. After a series of commercial failures and employee layoffs, the action camera manufacturer might be on the path to recovery thanks to the newly launched HERO6. "GoPro has turned a corner, restoring growth and profitability to our business," said CEO Nicholas Woodman. In a call to investors, he also revealed that his company will launch a new camera next year.

Whether you like it or not, Instagram has become a big part of our life. And not just for seeing what our friends are up to, but also networking and showcasing our work as photographers, models, and other industry people. Using hashtags can help your photo come across new eyes as they search the countless numbers of photos on the social media platform, but which ones should you use?

The first episode of "Blue Planet II" was aired in the U.K. this week to critical acclaim, showcasing some of the most remarkable camerawork ever seen on the seas, and even giving us a behind-the-scenes look at the huge efforts undergone in capturing this international TV event.

When the Panasonic GH5 came out, it was intended to be targeted towards video people. This camera tops out the GH4 by far with its in-body stabilization and variety of frame rates and recording options. However, when the GH5 first came out, it seemed that it still needed a bit of work. Now with the V2.0 firmware upgrade, these problems seem to be solved and this camera has been beefed up pretty good when it comes to video.

Video is so hot right now. If you are a videographer, you are doing very well with the number of opportunities at your disposal on the freelance and commercial front. If you are a photographer, you have an entire world of chances to jump into the scene quickly, cheaply, and with access to high-quality equipment across the board. What about 360-degree video though? That is where Rylo comes in, a 360-degree camera that claims ultra-smooth cinematic footage for the everyday creative. 

The first sales of the holidays are starting to trickle in and with them comes an exclusive deal for MacBook Pro laptops. Apple is setting out to discount select MacBook Pro model signature laptops up to $700 off with their Apple Care campaign. Not only do you get instant savings on a new laptop, Apple Care is also being offered at 15 percent off. 

First shipped on September 8, 2017, the successor to the popular Nikon D810 is still potentially months away from hitting some customers' hands. For those who waited until the official launch of the camera, finding a D850 body before the holidays could prove to be challenging from some of the larger retailers.

A lot of information came out of NikonRumors regarding the current status and future of the XQD format, which is so far only used by Nikon's high-end DSLRs since the D4. Lexar's XQD cards recently showed as discontinued on numerous online stores, leaving Sony to be the sole manufacturer of the fast (but expensive and sometimes unavailable) cards. Now, the future looks much brighter for XQD with Lexar announcing they will still distribute and fill stock of their own XQD cards and rumors of Hoodman's entry into the market. There's even news of developments with CFexpress, which will replace XQD in the future.

In news that's mostly unsurprising, Nikon has announced that they will discontinue operations of Nikon Imaging (China), a manufacturing subsidiary of their imaging business, citing the rise of smartphones and the consequential fall of compact cameras as the main reason.

In the last two months, at least 10 journalists have been arrested while covering protests in St. Louis, leading to multiple press advocacy groups to call on Mayor Lyda Krewson to launch an investigation into the conduct of the police department.

The Fstoppers crew is currently at PhotoPlus Expo in New York City having the time of our lives. While we're there, B&H has announced a ton of great deals just for the event, so if you're looking for a new camera, lens, lights, computer, or accessories, now is the time to check out what's available.

As a key player in the transition from SD to HD, the CineForm codec has enjoyed a long history as one of the codecs continually on the cutting edge of video compression. GoPro has decided that moving forward it will be officially open sourcing the CineForm codec in order to better allow developers access to what it feels is the codex that will usher 360-degree video into the future. With the arrival of GoPro's new Fusion camera in November, the open sourcing of the CineForm codec appears to be a great step towards expanding interest in GoPro's new platform.

For the past few years, the popular Nik Collection has had an interesting journey starting back in 2012 when Google originally acquired the photo editing plugin. Over the course, the collection has gone through a price drop and ultimately landed as a free download which made several photographers happy. Who doesn't like free stuff, and for free it was a pretty solid collection of plugins.

Sigma announced a new contemporary series lens to its mirrorless compatible “DN” product line. The new 16mm f/1.4 will be the widest Sigma lens available for APS-C Sony and Micro Four Thirds mirrorless cameras.

Pushed as the lightest and smallest in its class, Sony has introduced their 23rd full-frame lens in just four years, the FE 24-105mm f/4 G OSS zoom lens.