Articles from Jaron Schneider

Okay, the post title is a little bit harsh, but hear me out. It will never be the social network it wants to be unless it redesigns the user interface. I love Google products maybe twice as much as the next guy and I have tried very hard, over and over again, to force myself to use Google+ and to like it, but it's just not happening. Since I'm all about user experience, Google+ design doesn't really do it for me. Even though many have said that Google+ has become a photographer's playground, I'd like beg to differ.

Personal feeling: we don’t give our websites enough attention. It’s usually a “good enough” situation. It shows our photos, gets our name on Google and it serves as a place for us to send clients and prospects. That attitude tends to result in an attitude of “settling.” We settle for what we find and it is, again, good enough. Or is it? I wasn't ready to just be happy with "good enough" on my website.

This is a pretty crazy concept, but Fotodiox has just announced an adapter that puts the power of a full-size 645 medium format back into the hands of virtually any photographer utilizing the Sony NEX camera sensor. Called the RhinoCam, it enables photographers at any level to capture the dramatic detail and sharpness only available with a sensor three times larger than even a high-end full-frame 35mm sensor.

The 35mm focal length is one of the most popular primes made, probably only second to the 50mm if second to anyone. It’s popular because it is good for so many things, making us feel like we have to own fewer lenses to capture more amazing images. Most of you know that I’m very attached to my Sigma 35mm f/1.4, but when shooting with Canon’s new 35mm f/2 IS, I did my best to remain objective.

In January we posted an unexpectedly captivating behind the scenes video of the Sigma factory in Aizu, Japan that many of you really liked (and which was shot entirely on Sigma glass). Sigma has just released another piece of eye candy in a new concept video that mixes really stunning visuals with equally beautiful music. It too was shot 100% with Sigma optics.

The finalists for the 3D category of the 2013 Sony World Photography Awards were announced today. Selected by the judges from the World Photography Organization, the three finalists are: Michele Abramo Puricelli (aka Michael Abraham) from Italy, Matjaž Tančič from Slovenia and Nick Saglimbeni, USA, who won the 3D Photographer of the Year title in 2012, the award’s inaugural year.

Previously only available on tablets, Adobe just announced that their mobile fully-loaded editing software is now available on both Android and iOS smartphones. Though there are a number of mobile photo editing choices like Snapseed, Camera Awesome or Instagram, the paid Photoshop App has many of the functions you've grown to love about Photoshop, but in the palm of your hand.

Patric Bergkvist is making a strong case as one of the better Swedish liquid photographers with his fantastic handle on the ideal lighting in very humble shooting spaces. We featured his exploding coffee and milk photo tutorial in early February and now he is back showing how to make a perfect shot of Whiskey. Photo that is.

Some people love filters. I personally really like neutral density filters and I know there are those who swear by UV filters. For those of us who love these little glass lens enhancers, we have to separate from that love when we use ultra wide-angle lenses. That is, we used to. Not anymore thanks to Fotodiox’s Wonderpana system which is designed to give us the freedom to use those filters even on convex front elements.

In addition to the five new cameras released today, Sony has also released three new lenses: the Sony 70-400mm f/4-5.6, the 50mm f/1.4 Carl Zeiss Planar, and the DT 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6. These three lenses span across different uses and customers and it's a nice mix. What's not so nice is the pricing, which could leave a few of you sticker shocked.

Sony has had a busy morning, with the release of five new cameras including three Cyber-shot point-and-shoots, a new mirrorless in the NEX-3N and a new 20.1 megapixel DSLR in the SLT-A58, the last of which is priced incredibly competitively at just under $600.

Sigma has just released the pricing of the DP3 Merrill announced in January. It is the third and final installment of their Merrill line, Sigma's high performance compact camera series. The DP3 is equipped with a 50mm f/2.8 lens and packs Sigma's 46 megapixel foveon sensor. If you're looking to complete your Merrill set, the camera will be available in March for $999.

For those of you with Sigma cameras, today is a good day: Sigma has introduced Sigma Photo Pro 5.5 software, which includes upgrades and updates for both Mac and Windows platforms, as well as a new Monochrome Mode processing interface. This updated software is now available for download for both Mac and Windows operating systems.

Early in February of 2013, Rovio announced a new side project called "Angry Birds Superstars," which juxtaposed athletes with the hugely popular Angry Birds imagery. Though there likely are more on the way, Rovio has started the project with NHL Stanley Cup champion Anže Kopitar and NBA All-Star Veteran Andrew Bynum, both photographed by Jere Hietala. The point? Because it’s fun and awesome.

I'm kind of a huge fan of fantasy novels, and Game of Thrones (along with The Name of the Wind) is probably my favorite modern fantasy epic. I also greatly enjoy the television series on HBO. In this video you can see how the visual effects artists rendered the 3D for the final scene of Game of Thrones Season 1. Please note, this scene does have nudity. Also, SPOILERS.

At Fstoppers, we do our best to stay away from topics that are strictly political in nature. Generally speaking, it's not our place. We are a blog for creative professionals, not any number of sites that poke at hot button issues for the sake of sensationalism. However, once in a while, a situation arises that directly affects photographers and their decisions. One such situation occurred when Weddings Unveiled Magazine rejected a photographer's paid advertisement.

When Adobe launched the Creative Cloud more than a year ago, it was not met with much fanfare from actual users of the software. Those around me heard about it, shrugged and moved on. I’m pretty sure many of us didn’t really fully understand what it exactly was. Fast-forward to today, and Creative Cloud has turned into something that is obviously Adobe's future, begging the question, "Is it good for Adobe, good for consumers or both?"

The Verge and Gizmodo have featured a video found on Youtube that shows Adobe's CEO, Shantanu Narayen, masterfully avoiding answering a very direct question: "How can Adobe justify selling the Creative Suite for $1400 more in Australia than in the United States?" Rather than talking about the pricing of the Creative Suite, Narayen continually deflects to the Creative Cloud.

Martin Schoeller is a very successful portrait photographer whose work has been featured in The New Yorker, Outside Magazine, Entertainment Weekly, Rolling Stone, Time Magazine, GQ, Esquire, and Vogue. The style of these portraits is beautifully simple regardless of the nature of the person in front of the lens, and the guys at PHLEARN wanted to try and recreate his unique style.

I really like the team at PLEARN because they consistently come up with great photo shoot concepts, but they don't just leave it at that. They also show you have to make those images yourself in a casual yet informative manner. This week they show you how to create a composite that takes a woman and puts her in a room that's just a little too small.

Sigma's latest addition to their new lens lineup, the 17-70mm f/2.8-4.0, became available for purchase today from B&H. Along with the release, Sigma published a preview of what you can expect from the lens in terms of performance. If it is up to snuff, it will be a great option for those in the market for a wide-angle APS-C lens.

B&H is having a SanDisk 1-day sale that is offering some pretty good prices, like a 64 GB SD card for $41. Also you can grab a refurbished Nikon D600 or D800 for a bargain. Rounding out the product news, Sigma's new 17-70mm f/2.8-4 lens has arrived in stock for $500.

Ah the ProDot, tied for the win as recipient of the most baffled and confused responses from photographers along side Tiffen’s confusingly expensive flashlight. Many of you laughed aloud when you saw this product hit the market, and even more after you watched the launch video. But is it possible that you might actually like the ProDot? Actually, yes.

So much is done as computer graphics these days that I've grown to really respect photographers who still want to truly make an image. Last week Fstoppers twitter follower Patric Bergkvist asked us to take a look at an image he made, and I'm glad we did.

Sometimes your favorite shot out of a series would be perfect if only one little thing was fixed. For me, that is often shadows obscuring details I really wish were more visible. PHLEARN has released an extensive tutorial on how to get those shadows to reveal details in a way that doesn't look super fake, which an issue I have with other methods I have seen.

The micro four thirds format has really taken off in the past two years, and now that the market has shown staying power more companies are supporting the hardware. Adding to Sigma's news announced earlier, Tamron added to the party with their 14-150mm F/3.5-5.8 Di-III VC.

Continuing on the internal restructuring found in the Sigma Global Vision, Sigma today announced the release of four new lenses for APS-C format, E-Mount and Micro Four Thirds lenses filed under the "Art" line. The four lenses are the 30mm f/1.4 DC HSM, the 60mm f/2.8 DN, the 19mm f/2.8 DN and the 30mm f/2.8 DN.

Telephoto lenses are a key part in nearly every photographer’s camera bag. Having a solid long telephoto lens in our arsenal lets us be prepared for numerous scenarios without having to switch out our primes and possibly miss the shot. Tamron’s latest lens revamp is the 70-200mm f/2.8 DI VC USD, and it’s a solid option for those looking at this focal length.

Photographing a Cirque Du Soleil show requires a bit of acrobatics from any photographer up to the challenge. Matt Beard is one of the few photographers, hand picked by Cirque, to bring his talent and experience into capturing both live action and beautifully staged shots. He has worked with Cirque for many years, under the wing of master photographer Veronique Vial (as a photographer’s assistant) and had gained first hand experience in the ways of a Cirque shoot.

Market testing happens all the time. It's not uncommon for brands to test identical products under different names in different markets or cultures. It is rare, however, to see one company brand three competing products against each other in the same industry in the same country/culture. That is what Samyang Optics appears to be doing in the United States with their Bower, Samyang and Rokinon brands.

Though they've each been a player for some time, Samyang, Bower and Rokinon have each grown in popularity over the course of the last year or so. Recently releases by Samyang and Rokinon in particular have garnered a lot of attention from gear heads. But unlike mainstays like Canon, Nikon, Sigma and Tamron, consumers generally aren't as familiar with Samyang, Bower and Rokinon. So I ask you, which would you buy?

Everyone, thanks to your support Fstoppers was nominated as one of the top ten Online Media/News Resources for the 2013 [Framed] Awards! The nomination itself is a huge honor, and we would be hugely appreciative if you would help us win by voting for us.

Samsung announced their new NX300 and 2D/3D lens last week in anticipation of CES 2013, so we had them take us through a quick rundown of the new NX300 mirrorless camera as well as their new 2D/3D lens, a first of it's kind.

I love it when teams can keep churning out interesting tutorials or behind the scenes videos regularly and still keep the quality high, and one team that continues to do just that is PHLEARN. We've featured them a few times in the past, and today they released this new video on shooting beauty, but with sparklers.

Sigma has unveiled the latest iteration of their extremely powerful compact camera series in the DP3 Merrill, a 46 megapixel monster with a 50mm f/2.8 macro lens (a focal range equivalent to 75mm on a 35mm SLR camera) and Sigma's signature Foveon X3 sensor. It includes an advanced user interface and the capability of seven-frame continuous shooting. It is designed to be paired with its DP Merrill predecessors, the DP1 and DP2, as a complete compact camera tool set.