Like most parameters in photography, resolution has an upper limit dictated by the laws of physics. However, a team of clever scientists have discovered a way around that fundamental bound, creating new possibilities for imaging in many realms.
While there are many insurance companies that are out there for photographers and drone pilots, Verifly is the first drone liability insurance company that protects pilots and allows them to pay on demand. I recently interviewed Verifly CEO Jay Bregman to find out more about his new company and what they are doing to help drone pilots all around the country. One of the first things you will see about Verifly is that they cover up to $1,000,000 in liability within a flight radius of a quarter of a mile with any drone under 15 pounds. All operators have to do is select their area, after which they are instantly approved and provided with on-the-spot insurance to fly and proof of coverage to show to anyone who needs to see it.
Bad news for drone owners in Sweden! The country has now effectively ban camera drones in its airspace. And if you thought you could bring your drone on your next trip to Sweden, well you better think twice unless you’ve got a permit.
It's already Tuesday, but if you're like me – always open to sponge up as much learning and information as possible – you'll still be in time to get on with a free course on LinkedIn through their "Week of Learning," available until October 31. Last year, LinkedIn bought educational site, Lynda.com, one of the largest online training and tutorial networks. Even though LinkedIn isn't one of the networks that members of the creative industries are most active on, there's still a lot of useful information, and the workshops and tutorials are actually very well produced.
Depth of field fakers rejoice, Apple has just released the official build of iOS 10.1. This update notably includes the heretofore beta Portrait Mode for owners of the iPhone 7 Plus, allowing users to simulate depth of field effects on photos taken with the 7 Plus' new secondary camera. The update is available now via over-the-air download or by updating your phone via iTunes.
Vimeo is a great platform for uploading and showcasing your videos. Although YouTube is still the reigning leader, Vimeo has been the way for many movie-makers to show the world what they have to offer.
Since I fell in love with portraiture I've daydreamed about traveling the world to take pictures of people. It's not a unique dream and it's not an overly farfetched dream, but it isn't a job that often comes up. One of the ways in which artists get commissioned to do something along those lines, however, is the Lavazza Calendar. It has seen the likes of Mark Seliger, Annie Leibovitz, and Steve McCurry behind the camera for them in recent years and this year, Joey L got the nod.
The entire Fstoppers office and many of the Fstoppers writers are at PPE this year. Today we will be wandering around the convention center and we hope you'll come say hello. Tonight at 8pm we're throwing a small get-together with a few big names in the industry.
Eastman Kodak and UK-based Bullitt Group yesterday announced a new smartphone which capitalizes on image-making. The 21-megapixel Kodak Ektra comes with a 6-axis optically stabilized f/2 front camera which sports a 26.5mm equivalent lens and uses a 1/2.4-inch Sony Exmor RS IMX230 sensor.
Snapchat is fun and all, but Instagram is better. Well, in my eyes, Instagram is better for a few reasons, and I quickly deleted the face-filter app that took up just shy of 1 GB of space on my iPhone because I felt Instagram's version of stories had the greater potential. One of the largest reasons I see more potential in Instagram Stories over Snapchat is the virality and reach my Story can have. Today, Instagram announced they will be adding people's public stories to the Explore page, which will essentially let them be seen by more people. If you have not caught on, this means there's more potential for my stuff to go viral.
We have two, fantastic reasons to be happy today in the form of two, long-awaited lenses. First, Nikon announced an update to its flagship 70-200mm f/2.8 professional zoom that features fluorite lens components, an electromagnetic diaphragm, and a slew of other quality and durability improvements. Meanwhile, a new PC 19mm f/4E tilt-shift also features Nikon's latest electromagnetic diaphragm and fills a wide-angle tilt-shift gap where Canon has held an advantage for years.
We know that if something is narrated by David Attenborough, it's going to be special. And to make it even more of a go-see, the original score is produced by award-winning Hans Zimmer who gave us the score to Lion King, Pirates of the Caribbean, and Inception to name a few. BBC used the latest filming technologies to get up close and personal to these creatures we seldom see or think about as being part of this eco-system on Earth.
Famed landscape photographer Ansel Adams' Arca-Swiss 4x5 camera that he personally owned and used from 1964 to 1968 will go up for auction at the end of this month via Heritage Auctions in New York. Bidding will open at a staring price of $35,000 on October 27th, so if you have some extra change lying around, you can bid on this one-of-a-kind piece of photographic history.
The 5 Day Deal team is back again with another giant pack of photography resources. Included this time are materials from Trey Ratcliff, Nicole S. Young, Lindsay Adler, Joel Grimes, and a host of other educators and resource creators. If you haven't checked them out before, this is a great time to get on board and score a huge collection of photo swag while supporting some great charities. As an added bonus, they're also running a giveaway that is sponsored by industry giants like Adobe and Fujifilm.
The cult of chasing the most interesting, characterful bokeh is as strong as ever. A trend has begun to take shape that involves feverishly hunting for older, unique lenses to be brought revived with the help of modern optical quality, as an alternative to many mainstream lenses which tend to prioritize optical perfection over distinct character when designing lenses. A month ago Meyer Optik added a new competitor to a quickly growing market by launching a Kickstarter for a 58mm f/1.9 lovingly named the "Wonder Bokeh."
After various setbacks and delays over the past two years, Italy's FILM Ferrania has begun preparations to make slide film for analog still and movie cameras. This puts the company back on track to make a first batch of film for distribution to backers of their Kickstarter project.
Hoya has just debuted a new series of neutral density filters called Solas IRND, bolstering there array of already stellar filters for photography and video. This new line of IRND (Infrared Neutral Density) promises to produce no color casts in your images and videos, which is a very common issue when using ND's.
When LG invited me to their OLED exhibition at the Natural History Museum in London, my ears pricked up. This is for two reasons: the first is that a couple of years ago, I wrote a piece on OLED lighting and how I think it will change how photographers light their subjects in the coming years. The second is because, well, I love technology. LG's OLED 4K TVs and monitors are the epitome of digital clarity, and while I suspected that to be the case, seeing it in the flesh did more than confirm my suspicions.
Today Sony announced a new addition to their APS-C E-mount camera line, the a6500. This 24.2-megapixel camera takes over as the flagship model for Sony's crop sensor interchangeable lens system bodies. There are many upgraded features over the a6300 that was first announced just in February of this year, so let's dive right in.
It's difficult to follow every single photographer out of New York City, but one that comes to mind for me has always been Christopher Serrano, also known as Heavy_Minds on Instagram. His photos of feet dangling from rooftops and outstanding vantage points has always helped me visualize all that I believe NYC to be. Sadly, news has broke that Serrano has passed away scaling a train car.
Just as the Digital Bolex is put to bed, Leica announced a new concept camera that's not too far removed. It may be in the land of dreams, but they certainly mean business when it comes down to the future of cameras. Leica's new cinema camera concept debuted at Photokina, and has proved an interesting foray into digital cinema. Although not their first entry into the market by any means, it's certainly eye-catching and hopes to inspire ideas surrounding what consumers want from a camera.
Phase One introduces its third feature update for the XF camera system. The freshly released firmware adds a couple of new features, including the world’s first complete electronic shutter in medium format photography. The Danish manufacturer proves once again its devotion to offering its customers a future-proof system that can evolve with time and professional photographers’ needs.
In the past week or so we have seen a lot of big things happening in the drone industry. It seems that there is almost a battle for portability, where drones should be able to be used anywhere by anyone. That being said, GoPro came out with an awesome new system that packs into one slim bag and can be brought and flown just about anywhere. The GoPro Karma folds up and packs into one small bag fitting the drone with the props on, the batteries, the remote, and the camera attached to the gimbal. On top of their drone idea, they decided a consumer may not always want to fly, but might still want to film some stable footage. In this case, they made the gimbal on the Karma removable so it can also be hand held and steady.
A prominent civil rights attorney and Arkansas state representative who sponsored the passage of a 2015 bill protecting the right of citizens to film events in public places was arrested along with another attorney today while filming police.
Drones are becoming more popular, cheaper, smaller, and overall better than the ones released years ago. Many more are being sold each day. With that comes new experiences for many of us. Recently, Mike Rowe took to Facebook with his recent experience, or should I say recent invasion. We all know when it comes to celebrities, privacy is always being pushed to the limits. They usually experience cameras sneaking into their daily and private lives, but this is a particularly intrusive instance.