When we heard the news, a few people in our office assumed it was a joke; maybe it was written by The Onion. Playboy magazine, which exists because of nude photography, will not longer feature it.
When DJI announced the Inspire 1 drone, I didn't get it. It was a much larger and more expensive quadcopter that had only a slightly better camera attached to it. I had no interest in the Inspire 1 until they announced the new Zenmuse X5 Micro 4/3 camera/gimbal system. I currently have one and I can tell you, it's pretty amazing.
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.
If you thought the megapixel war was over years ago then you might shocked by the latest cameras released by Nikon, Sony, and Canon. The D810, A7RII, and 5DsR are the biggest and baddest pieces of artillery on the front line, and today the team at Fstoppers is going to determine once and for all which camera is the best. With enough megapixels to challenge some of the most popular medium format cameras, these compact full frame cameras pack a lot more punch than you would think. Don't believe us? View the full high res images and take the poll yourself!
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.
Yesterday we released the iPhone Bikini Shoot, a video in which I do a professional quality photoshoot with minimal gear. The point of the video wasn't to say that the iPhone was a better camera than a professional DSLR, it was meant to inspire photographers to use the gear they currently own to create beautiful images. Obviously the iPhone is infinitely worse than any current DSLR for stills but surprisingly it appears to be a far better video camera than my $3000 DSLR when there is enough light present.
Five years ago I filmed the iPhone Fashion Shoot, a 10-minute video in which I take professional looking images with the iPhone 3GS. That video was supposed to inspire photographers who assumed that their work was suffering because their gear wasn't ultra expensive. The video became extremely popular and became very polarizing. The majority of people thought my images looked good because I used fancy lights.
Today I got an iPhone 6s and the only feature that really excites me is the option to shoot in 4k video. As I've said before, I don't care to export videos in 4k, I just want higher quality 1080p footage. I decided to do a quick test comparing the 4k capabilities of the iPhone 6s to the hottest camera on the market today, the Sony A7RII.
It comes up when I'm driving someone around and they ask where my car charger is (I don't have one). Or when I'm having a party at my house and my guests asks to go into my office to plug their iPhone into my computer. You don't have to live like this anymore. There is another way.
Casey Neistat got his hands on the new iPhone 6s before its official release. He took the phone around Manhattan and captured a range of 4k footage. Although YouTube does compress everything, it looks good, and I'm excited to put this phone to the test myself.
The original Holga camera was made in 1981 as an ultra-cheap medium format camera for families in China. 35mm film came out soon after destroying the 120 film market, but the Holga camera was then picked up in foreign markets by photographers looking for surrealistic, lo-fi looking pictures. This camera comes full circle today with the creation of the Holga Digital.
The Movi gimbal stabilizer by Freefly changed the video world when it was released a few years ago, and the new "Mimic" controller aims to make the system even better. Instead of controlling the camera movement with a standard controller with joysticks, you can now use your arms as though you were the one holding the camera.
Dave Hill has become known for his amazing, over the top compositing work, but last year Scion hired Dave for something very different. A large photo and video campaign that needed to be shot mostly natural light and without heavy retouching.
The camera/printer deals have been pretty big recently but this may be the best deal so far. Today only, grab this incredible deal on an entire camera setup and photo printer worth over $1200 for just $399 after rebate.
Majo Chudy set up a small studio in his home using grow lights and some blankets to capture perfectly lit time-lapses of flowers blooming. As you might imagine, it wasn't quite as easy as it sounds.
We see computer-generated effects every day of our lives, but very few of us fully appreciate the amount of time and talent they take to create. It's easy to believe that these effects and characters are "computer-generated," but in reality, very talented artists are the ones creating this photo-realistic content; computers are simply the tool.
This amazing two-minute video was created using 48 DSLR cameras stacked side-by-side and a RED Epic camera shooting at 120 fps. The result is an amazing video that combines fire, slow motion, and bullet time into one amazing spectacle.
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.
Nick Saglimbeni teamed up with the visual effects guru Raffael Dickreuter to create a lighting tutorial unlike anything I've ever seen before. Instead of simply filming their location, they completely recreated it in 3D to teach photography and lighting on an entirely new level.
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.
