We heard that this was going to happen, but now it's official: GoPro has filed for IPO after their 2013 sales shot up 87.4% to $985.7M. Amidst other camera companies like Sony and Nikon who are struggling of late, GoPro is stands tall with outstanding growth and sales.
Sony posted some pretty staggering losses last week, and Nikon is apparently not faring much better as the company stock value fell "4 percent to 1,567 yen, its lowest close since March 2011. The company announced net income of 46.8 billion yen for last fiscal year, missing its own forecast of 50 billion yen.*" When peering at the chart of stock value over the last year, it's not a great outlook.
If you have been wanting to get into using the new Sony full frame compact cameras, they're on instant rebate today. The a7 is $200 off and the a7r with the E-mount adapter is $250 off. Before you pick one up, make sure to check out our review. If nothing else, the sensors are beautiful.
Fstoppers has partnered with the awesome folks at ViewBug to bring you sweet, sweet contests weekly! This week you can Nikon 1 J1 mirrorless camera and a NIKKOR 10-30mm VR Lens by submitting your "Dirt Road" photo. This contest will be judged by Vitaliy Zalishchyker, a photo student based in Hamburg, Germany.
A few weeks ago I released a video featuring my friend and fellow photographer Blair Bunting in the backseat of an F16. The video blew up on Reddit (#1 in r/Videos making it to the top 5 of the front page), was featured on Gizmodo, Jalopnik, Daily Mail, Telegraph, CNN, ABC World News with Dianne Sawyer, hundreds of other blogs and even was officially recognized by YouTube. But for reasons still unexplained to me, it has been removed from YouTube and there is nothing I can do about it.
Sony, a company I think many of us really want to succeed in the imaging space, posted their fiscal year results that ended March 31, 2014. The company reported a $1.29 billion loss overall with the imaging division down 2% over last year, the third straight year of losses for the division.
There has been significant chatter on both the Fstoppers staff and in the general comments we've been hearing and reading regarding Canon's move to introduce slower lens iterations, but with image stabilization, of their older faster glass. We've heard arguments on both sides of the table, but we're curious: what do you think?
Canon has added another STM (stepping motor) lens to their lineup for those of you who are already fans of the 70D and Rebel T5i (though the T5i does not take advantage of the STM technology nearly to the degree the 70D Dual Pixel Sensor does). The 10-18mm f/4.5-5.6 EF-S IS STM LENS has just been announced, and though it's not what many of us desire in a lens, being the unpleasant combination of variable aperture and slow, it does come in at a very enticing price point.
Sound is critical to a successful video. Clear sound. Crisp sound. Real sounding sound. Once you get into audio (and I mean really get into it), it's hard to get out. "Pictures say a thousand words? Sounds say 10,000 words." It's rather literal, but it's true. Sound is often under-appreciated in video and that's a shame. This video is an ode to sound.
Fstoppers has partnered with the awesome folks at ViewBug to bring you sweet, sweet contests weekly! This week you can win a Tamron SP 24-70 F/2.8 Di VC USD by submitting your best golden hour photo. This contest will be judged by Michael C. Snell, a travel photographer based in Lawrence, Kansas.
If you've been a long time reader of Fstoppers, you might recall one of my original editorial pieces: How China Changed the American Lighting Industry. At the time of its publication, I had just come off a recent spell of a few years at an American photographic lighting company and got to see first hand how American greed led to a Chinese takeover of the industry. In the years following that article, the problem hasn't gotten any better. If anything, it's gotten far worse, and to the detriment of you as a consumer.
Earlier this week Samsung showed me their new NX3000 consumer-level camera via video call. You might not know it, but Samsung is flying up the sales charts in the mirrorless interchangeable lens compact camera market. They're number two behind Sony, mostly because their aimed specifically at the very wide consumer market with well-priced items. The new NX3000 is no different at $529 and will fit into the current line between the NX300 and the NX Mini.
Check out this footage taken at the Monterey Bay Aquarium in Montery, California (my old stomping grounds!) from Cheesycam.com. The footage is, because it is on Vimeo, not 4K obviously since it's not supported, but you can download the original footage here. What do you think?
It seems that anyone can make a camera, but it takes a true visionary to craft a truly excellent camera. It's not the camera we want, but the camera we need. the WALLEY POS-86 is that camera, and it's going to redefine what we think of cinematography from this point forward. 16-bit RAW processing, 3D capabilities, beautiful on-camera light built-in, and all in a compact and well-built ergonomic design.
Fstoppers has partnered with the awesome folks at ViewBug to bring you sweet, sweet contests weekly! We're starting things off with a bang by giving away your choice of a Canon 5K Mark III or a Nikon D800, arguably two of the best DSLRs on the market. The theme of the contest is "Creative Compositions." The contest will be judged by Dan Carr, a senior photographer for the Canadian ski magazine Skier.
Videos like this help bring awareness of disaster situations which in turn brings aid and funding for recovery efforts. It can be argued that videos like this are pivotally important in the modern age for any area of the United States to get the help they need. But the FAA, still miffed about drones in general, is considering fining the videographer $10,000 for taking the footage.
Sony has announced the successor to the α77 in the α77II. The camera, according to Sony, is designed for "advanced amateurs" and has enhanced features like "the world's highest number of AF points in a new phase detect autofocus system with 79 focal points" and can "shoot at up to 12 fps for 60 total frames with continuous AF." Sony has also purportedly increased the sensor sensitivity by 20%, which means better low-light performance.
Quick note about a deal that is really had to pass up. The Sony 16GB SDHC Class 10 UHS-1 Memory Card is on sale for a very low $12.50 right now. I personally use a few of the 64 GB cards of the same class for all my video work and have found them to be very reliable. If you need a backup card or just want to pick up some cheap memory, now is your chance. [Go to Deal]
"Here come the G's." Words that might not mean anything to you sitting at your computer, but if you're strapped into the back seat of an F-16, it means remember your breathing training and don't pass out. Blair Bunting, recent addition to the Nikon Ambassadors list, took to the skies with the United Air Force Thunderbirds in part to see if he could sustain 9 G's.
Tamron's VC technology can't be beat: it's simply the best option out there for any type of optical stabilization. I can't live without it when it comes to video, and it's so good it often makes using a steady cam unnecessary. Common complaints with Tamron is often the build quality and sharpness, so let's see how their latest super zoom, the 150-600 f/5-6.3 handled a wildlife shoot.
