Articles from Ryan Mense

Lately it’s been a road of uncertainty for A-mount system users, as Sony remained quiet on specific plans for their DSLR line while making leaps and bounds in the mirrorless world.

The latest member joining the beautiful Zeiss Loxia line of manual focus lenses is the 85mm f/2.4. Much like the other lenses in the Loxia family, the new 85mm is suited for both stills and video users of the Sony E-mount cameras. Shipping in early December, the telephoto lens will be priced at $1,399. 

Today Macphun launched Aurora HDR 2017, their latest version of the HDR photo editing software for Mac.

If you’ve ever felt the need to take on a crazy project despite consequences, photographer Blair Bunting knows exactly how you feel. In an effort to recreate a scene from the classic movie “Top Gun,” Bunting put his guts where his mouth is and attempted to photograph a jet flying 500 feet off the ground while his own jet flew upside down above it only a short distance away.

Musicbed, the popular music licensing platform for creatives looking to perfect their stories while supporting musical artists, has announced an all new app for iPhone. Touted as not “just some update,” the app has been completely rebuilt to share the same experience of the new Musicbed website that was launched earlier this year.

Last week Apple unveiled the iPhone 7 and 7 Plus, the later featuring a 28mm wide-angle and a 56mm “telephoto” lens, and both sporting a faster f/1.8 aperture with a 12-megapixel sensor. At today’s Titans-Vikings game, Sports Illustrated photographer David E. Klutho shot some of the first images with the iPhone 7 Plus before the phone’s September 16 release date. 

Over the past few years, the team at SmokyMountains.com have created a map showing time predictions for peak fall colors in the United States. The 2016 version of this interactive map is now live just in time to make those camping reservations or other travel plans to get the best photos of the season. 

Expanding upon the high-end manual focus line of Milvus lenses for DSLR cameras, today Zeiss announced they are adding three new additions. These new lenses — a 15mm f/2.8, 18mm f/2.8, and 135mm f/2 — will feature the same solid optical quality housed within a beautiful barrel design that the Milvus line is known for.

Continuing their approach of creating high-value products that people can’t seem to get enough of, Sigma has introduced a whole new line of CINE lenses specifically designed for cinematographers. The new lenses come in three different categories: the High Speed Zoom Line, the FF Zoom Line, and the FF High Speed Prime Line.

First launched in December 2013, the Tamron SP 150-600mm f/5-6.3 Di VC USD ultra-telephoto lens is now seeing its first update. The second generation (G2) lens will feature improvements to several areas including faster speed and better accuracy. Canon, Nikon, and Sony A mount versions of the lens start shipping September 28 at a cost of $1,399. 

Today the Sony Digital Imaging team announced their latest lens addition, the FE 50mm f/2.8 Macro for full-frame E-mount cameras. Shipping at the end of September, the new lightweight macro lens will offer a 1:1 reproduction and 6.3-inch minimum focusing distance. See all the specifications here as Fstoppers gets a first look at the FE 50mm f/2.8 Macro. 

Today DJI is adding an upgrade to their Osmo handheld gimbal with the new Osmo Plus. The Osmo+ features a 3.5x optical zoom camera with an extra 2x digital lossless zoom (while shooting 1080p), which gives it a 22-77mm focal length. Now available for $649 on the DJI website, the Osmo+ is an $80 increase of price over the regular Osmo handheld gimbal. 

Due to be released in the fall of 2016, Wine Country Camera’s Filter Holder System is a smartly crafted piece of equipment that is seeking to go beyond anything else currently on the market. I never realized that filter holders could be so awesome until seeing what this could do. 

Let’s be honest with ourselves. We don’t always need to bring four or five lenses, two camera bodies, and a portable lighting studio with us every time we leave the house. Sometimes it makes sense to own a lightweight secondary grab-and-go day pack that offers more than just camera storage.

Announced today, Nikon has updated their popular entry-level D3xxx series of cameras with the new D3400. Highlights of the new DSLR include always-connected Bluetooth for automatic sharing with mobile devices, double the battery life of the previous D3300, and image quality that is a step up from mobile photography.

In September, Samyang will ship a new full-frame 14mm f/2.8 autofocus lens for Sony E-mount. The lens will have Ultra Multi Coating, be compatible with contrast and phase detect autofocusing, and be shorter in length than the non-AF version. With the popularity and image quality of their 14mm f/2.8 manual focus lens, this is a welcomed addition to their lineup. 

As the curator for the Fstoppers Photo of the Day and our Instagram feed, I happen to read a lot of comments and criticisms thrown out at images by semi-anonymous people from all over the world. One thing I can be sure of is that when I post an image that is a composite or incorporates some sort of digital art, some people get offended.

Never underestimate the smartphone as a tool for video. That’s the lesson we learn from “Flying Into Dusk,” an impressive aerial short film completely shot using the iPhone 6s. With the use of a stabilizer and the Filmic Pro app, filmmakers Toby Harriman and Jaron Schneider have created a 4K high-quality video that rivals those filmed with far more expensive gear. 

Announced today, Datacolor is introducing the Spyder5CAPTURE PRO bundle for a managed color workflow from capture to editing.  The new product includes the Spyder5ELITE colorimeter, SpyderCHECKR, SpyderCUBE, and SpyderLENSCAL.

To preface, most professional photographers are of course only doing their best to help others when they speak from past personal experiences and while giving advice. However, even the most well-intentioned words from somebody may create negative consequences for the listener. Sometimes it’s not even in the words, but the examples they tell through their actions.

If you need a break from the overly technical photography articles that seem to have taken over the Internet, look no further than “More Than a Rock: Essays on Art, Creativity, Photography, Nature, and Life” by Guy Tal.

Sometimes photography can be difficult, but what keeps us going is our passion for creating images that satisfy something inside us. However, if your passion happens to be wildlife photography, then you have a whole other level of difficulty coming your way.

For outdoor and adventure photographers, knowing your terrain and location is essential for a safe journey. With that in mind, National Geographic created an easy-to-use website to find and print USGS quad maps to use for planning or while out on assignment. 

The Nikon Coolpix P900 has one monster zoom lens. With a 24-2000mm 35mm equivalence, this hybrid point-and-shoot camera really opens up the possibilities of what we are capable of capturing. In a new video from Sci-Tech Universe, we are able to see just how astonishing the results can be when they record video of the moon at full zoom. 

Note: The video contains some NSFW language. Relevant point in the video starts at the 41 minute mark.

Released today as a free upgrade for existing users, Astropad 2.0 brings major performance improvements and new features to the popular iPad-to-Mac graphics tablet app. Described as a “Wacom Cintiq alternative,” the app allows for a stylus-wielding iPad user to perform photo retouching in a way that many prefer over clicking with a mouse. 

F-Stop Gear has been a respectable camera bag company for many years and they’ve created some highly-trusted packs for the adventure photographer. Several of them have been reviewed with praise on Fstoppers.

Today, Instagram announced a new feature rolling out over the next couple weeks called Instagram Stories. Appearing at the top of your home feed, you can now watch and create your own temporary stories that do not appear on your profile grid. 

Serif has announced that a big update is coming to their Affinity Photo software in early autumn. In a sneak peek video showing off version 1.5, we are shown the software’s new abilities such as HDR image merging, a new tone mapping workspace, and a new way to view and work with 360-degree images.

In partnership with Schneider Kreuznach, Phase One has added two Blue Ring zoom lenses to their impressive lineup of high-end imaging products. These new full-frame 645 lenses, the 40-80mm LS f/4.0-5.6 and 75-150mm LS f/4.0-5.6, promise prime lens quality with improved precision and advanced electronics.

For the next four days, from July 18-21, the Republican National Convention is taking over Cleveland, Ohio. There will be around 15,000 credentialed media in attendance, and according to Wired, some of the photographers will be suiting up for the worst possible scenarios. 

In the latest installment of the “More Than Just Parks” series, filmmakers Will Pattiz and Jim Pattiz journey through Grand Teton National Park and capture breathtaking visuals of the natural vistas and wildlife. Their video series aims to document all 59 national parks through beautiful imagery in order to promote the protection and enjoyment of these lands.

A major update is now available for Creatic, the free iPhone photo editing app. In Creatic 2.0, users now have access to many more editing tools, a preset manager, live filter camera, and a newly designed discover tab for browsing and interacting with the community.

There’s no question that if Sony wants their mirrorless system cameras to succeed, they must be supported with a vast and varied collection of lenses. Today they unveiled the FE 50mm f/1.4 ZA lens, a large aperture prime lens utilizing a Planar design that will soon be found in portrait, wedding, and street photographers’ bags.

Today Sony finally announced pricing and shipping times for their upcoming release of the FE 70-200mm f/2.8 G Master OSS lens and teleconverters. First introduced in early February alongside the FE 85mm f/1.4 GM and FE 24-70mm f/2.8 GM lenses, the 70-200mm GM will be shipping in July and cost $2,600.