Awesome child portraits by Sergey Piltnik, a talented photographer, and artist based between Moscow, Russia and Minsk, Belarus. Sergey focuses mainly on portraiture, kids, and lifestyle photography. He has over 26,400 followers on Instagram and counting. Piltnik uses Canon 5D Mark II camera. More info: Instagram The post Beautiful Children Portrait Photography by Sergey Piltnik appeared first on Photogrist Photography Magazine.
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Nemeio is a portable keyboard that uses e-ink technology to allow for complete customization for any app you want to use it with, including Adobe Photoshop, Lightroom and other image or video editing apps. The keyboard features mini-displays in each of the 81 keys, so users can create specific key-layouts for any app they are working with and switch between them using the Nemeio companion software. Icons can be dragged and dropped in the latter's virtual keyboard and then immediately show up on the real one. The Nemeio can also be set to change its layout automatically with the app you are using. For example, you could use a standard keyboard layout while typing emails or writing a letter. Once you open Photoshop the keyboard would then automatically change to a different layout with editing shortcut icons. The Nemeio comes with a brushed-metal body and measures only 12x7x0.43-inch (30.5×17.8×1.1cm), making it easily portable. It can connect to any device with Bluetooth keyboard support. The Nemeio is not quite available yet but shipping is expected some time this year. Pricing could be an issue, though. Engadget reports the keyboard could cost somewhere between $300 and $500. Over the past several years I've found the ColorChecker Passport to be an invaluable tool for my photography. It lets me get consistent colour weeks or months apart, even using different cameras. But it has one slight drawback. It's only really compatible with Adobe Lightroom and Photoshop. And more recently, DNG Profile support was added […] The post The ColorChecker Passport is finally compatible with Capture One appeared first on DIY Photography. Striking aerial shots by Malthe Zimakoff, a talented 24-years old self-taught photographer, videographer, and drone pilot from Copenhagen, Denmark. Malthe focuses mainly on adventure, travel and landscape photography. He has over 56.700 followers on Instagram and counting. More info: Instagram / Website The post Indonesia From Above: Stunning Drone Photography by Malthe Zimakoff appeared first on Photogrist Photography Magazine. It happens to all of us from time to time: we hit a creative wall and the ideas just won't come. Luckily, there are ways to overcome the creative block and boost your photographic passion. In this video, Todd Vorenkamp and David Flores of B&H will show you 13 creative exercises to “flex your photographic […] The post 13 exercises to instantly boost your photographic creativity appeared first on DIY Photography. Depth of field is a photographic term that describes the range of focus in a given image. There are a number of variables that determine just how much of the image is in focus from front to back. These are addressed below. It seems logical that a photograph should have a wide range of focus, but this isn't necessarily true. If every element is tack sharp, it tells the viewer to look at all the details and that everything in the image is important. Conversely, if only certain planes of the image are sharp, the viewer is drawn to the parts that are in focus and the rest of the planes becomes secondary. As is usually the case with landscapes, they work best when every plane from the foreground to the background is tack sharp. But for some wildlife images, flowers, portraits and other subjects, the image is more dynamic if only the main subject is sharp and the remaining elements fade into softness. So how does a photographer create specific planes of focus? Depth of field is controlled by a combination of factors that all interconnect: the f-stop used to make the picture, the focal length of the lens, where the focus point is situated, subject distance from the camera and subject distance from the background. The ƒ-StopWide-open apertures provide less depth of field. ƒ/2, ƒ/2.8 and ƒ/4 create very narrow depth of field. ƒ/11, ƒ/16 and ƒ/22 are apertures that create a deep depth of field. With all other factors being equal, ƒ/22 creates much more depth of field than ƒ/4. The result is a photo where every plane from the foreground to background is sharp. As a guideline, for landscapes use a wide-angle lens and an f-stop closer to ƒ/22. For portraits, use a medium telephoto with an aperture in the neighborhood of ƒ/4. The Focal LengthWide-angle lenses have a more inherent depth of field. If the goal is to create images where every plane needs to be in focus, use a wider lens. Conversely, as you progress from medium to telephoto to super-tele prime lenses, depth of field becomes more and more narrow commensurate with the focal length of the lens. This is why most landscapes are made with wide-angle lenses and portraits are made with medium telephotos or longer. Accurate focus becomes critical as the focal length increases as does the placement of the focus point on a given part of the subject. For instance, if a wildlife subject is perpendicular to you but the head is turned toward you, it's imperative to place the focus point on the eye of the subject, not the body. Depth of field is so narrow with long telephoto lenses when they're shot wide open that depth of field is only a few inches. Anything 400mm and greater, and depth of field becomes more and more critical the closer the subject is to the camera. Placement Of The Focal PointTo maximize depth of field, focus one-third into the frame. This is referred to as the hyperfocal setting. The physics of a lens dictates that from the point of focus, as the lens is stopped down, the area one-third in front of the focus point and two-thirds behind the focus point come more and more into focus. To maximize depth of field, use a wide angle, set the focus point one-third into the photo and use a small aperture. Distance To The SubjectThe closer you get to your subject, the more you limit depth of field. The reason for this is that the lens has to focus closer to its closest focus point, which translates to the foreground and background elements falling out of the range of focus. To increase depth of field, stop the lens down to a smaller aperture. Subject Distance From The BackgroundThe same principle as above holds true regarding the distance of the subject from the background. If the subject and background are close to each other, it's extremely difficult to throw the background out of focus. When all elements are in close proximity, all planes are recorded with sharp detail. This being said, as I mentioned in the focal length section, if you use a super telephoto and you're very close to the subject, depth of field remains narrow. If the subject moves away from the background, it becomes easier to limit depth of field via the use of a wide-open aperture. In regard to distance to the subject and subject distance from the background, both variables can be influenced via the use of a telephoto lens with a wide-open aperture (ƒ/4) or via the use of a wide-angle lens with a closed-down aperture (ƒ/22). Experiment using the above information so you can take charge of your depth of field and learn how to make a picture rather than take a picture. Visit www.russburdenphotography.com for information about his nature photography tours and safari to Tanzania. The post Understanding Depth Of Field appeared first on Outdoor Photographer. Word that Adobe was bringing the full-flavor version of Photoshop to the iPad line was a welcome bit of news for creatives everywhere that use Apple and Creative Suite products, but many were still skeptical that the tablet would have the chops to compete with the desktop, Creative Cloud-powered version. Not only is the new Photoshop app up to almost any task you could throw at it, but Apple showed it editing a 3GB .PSD file like there was nothing unique about the whole setup. Part and parcel with the unveiling of the new iPad Pros was the reveal of the next-gen Apple Pencil that magnetically attaches to the iPad Pro and recharges wirelessly. There is also a next-gen Smart Keyboard Folio that provides a full-sized keyboard for the new iPad Pros. Aimed at productivity consumers, the keyboards are not only the same size as most desktop computers but also never need recharging. Alongside the announcement of two screen sizes for their vaunted iPad Pro line, an 11” and 12.9” screen respectively, Apple also showed off edge-to-edge retina displays with the A12X bionic chip powering it all. For all of their new features, the Cupertino company still found a way to make the tablets even thinner than their predecessors. The new iPad Pro will have up to 1TB of storage and 10 hours of battery life according to PetaPixel's report on the unveiling. The 11 inch and 12.9 inch tablets can sport hard drives of 64GB, 256GB, 512GB, and 1TB in a silver or gray finish. Apple got rid of the old lightning ports on the new iPad Pro models in favor of a USB-C connector that is capable of handling large data transfer loads as well as outputting to a 5K display. Like the smaller iPhone models, the new iPad Pros come with a 12MP camera for Smart HDR photos as well as 4K video. The new models also have a True Depth camera for selfie shots. Prices will start at $749 with the Apple Pencil registering at $129 and the Smart Keyboard Folio for $179 and $199. The new iPad Pro should be available at retail beginning November 7. You can watch an unveiling of the new iPad Pro lineups here on YouTube. The post Apple iPad Pro Tackles Massive Files in Adobe Photoshop Product Demo appeared first on Light Stalking. Stunning aerial shots by Syamsudin Noor, a talented self-taught photographer, retoucher, and drone pilot currently based in East Borneo, Indonesia. Syamsudin focuses on landscaping and drone photography. He has over 12.200 followers on Instagram and counting. Noor uses Sony A6000 and DJI Mavic Pro drone. More info: Instagram The post Indonesia From Above: Striking Drone Photography by Syamsudin Noor appeared first on Photogrist Photography Magazine. CamRanger has shared an announcement on its website teasing the upcoming CamRanger 2 system. In addition to faster connections and improved range, CamRanger 2 will offer full support for select Sony and Fujifilm camera systems. CamRanger 2 is said to be five times faster than previous versions with 802.11ac WiFi and roughly two times faster when using 802.11n WiFi. CamRanger 2 will also have an effective usage range more than three times its current model. More significantly, the CamRanger 2 system will support select Sony and Fujifilm cameras. 'We always said we would not offer support until we could do it in a way that works for professionals,' says CamRanger on its announcement page. 'Our new design removes previous limitations, limitations other wireless tethering devices suffer from.' It remains unknown what cameras will and won't be supported. CamRanger has also updated the accompanying apps for the impending CamRanger 2, noting it's taken inspiration from the CamRanger Mini apps and customer feedback to make an app that both looks better and includes new features. Unfortunately, CamRanger doesn't give a hard number for a release date. The only thing we know is the CamRanger 2 system will launch sometime in 2019. If you want to keep up with the latest updates, head over to CamRanger's website and sign up for its newsletter. One of the most terrifying things in wedding photography is a bridezilla. You've likely read the stories of photographer's careers being ruined by an impossible to please bride. Of course, this is a worst case scenario and fears become heightened by the bridezillas you see on TV.
But it's normal for photographers to encounter some level of bridezilla behavior. The question is how to deal with it. I've learned from photographers like Joe McNally, Zack Arias, and Jasmine Star that it's our job as photographers to make great photos – no matter what. So if you're faced with a bridezilla (or any overwhelming person) at any point in your career you simply need to know how to handle them. Here are 3 ways you can do that. 1. Understand
Even the most difficult situations become easier to deal with when you understand what's going on. The truth is, most bridezillas never actually wanted to become bridezillas. So why do some brides act like that? Major changes in your life come with stress. Marriage comes with one of the highest levels of stress. In addition to the stress, there is also decision fatigue, personal baggage, and pre-wedding depression. Maybe the question should be why there aren't more bridezillas! They don't start out as Bridezillas. Not long ago she was living a normal life as somebody's girlfriend. Then in the blink of an eye, her entire life changed as she became engaged. When you put a person in a dramatic situation, you find out how much they can take before they crumble under the pressure. Planning a wedding provides more than enough stress and drama to make a person blow up. Everybody reaches a threshold of how much stress they can handle. And for a variety of personal reasons some brides reach that threshold on or before their wedding day. Bridezillas are people like you and me who have discovered what it takes to make them break. 2. Anticipate
There is more than enough time leading up to the wedding day to anticipate who might become a bridezilla. You can almost guarantee that if a bride comes from a happy family and she handles stress well then she isn't going to become a bridezilla. But if her life is filled with stress and chaos and she doesn't handle it well, there is going to be trouble on her wedding day! When I meet with a couple who is interested in having me as their wedding photographer, I ask questions that let me know what sort of temperament the couple has. Ask about their vision for the wedding. Then ask what would ruin the wedding for them. I had great fun with a couple who insisted that even if a tornado came along and they had to move the wedding to a basement shelter, they still wouldn't care because their family is what means everything to them. The dress, flowers, and the decor were all secondary. Ask other questions like, “What simply must be perfect?” or “What is your biggest fear for the day?” and “What would totally ruin your wedding day?” Ask how quickly her emotions change to the negative and what cheers her up most in life. If a bride tells me that the most important thing to her is that she has a perfect Pinterest wedding, I know there could be trouble. There are enough problems with the dress, flowers, and decor to drive anybody crazy. If the bride is anxious and disagreeable, to begin with, planing her perfect Pinterest wedding will drive her nuts. She's a perfect candidate to become a bridezilla. Being a wedding photographer means knowing how to work with people. So if you can't handle the stress of working with a bridezilla, you should politely decline weddings when you think there is a good chance she'll become one. Let her know you don't think you're the best photographer to help her have a perfect wedding. 3. Encourage
If you understand the things that lead to bridezilla behavior, and you're happy with the challenge of working with one then good for you! You could actually help her get through her wedding day without baring her teeth and lower her stress level. The truth is, most bridezillas don't enjoy being bridezillas. You can't help the ones who enjoy it. But you can help the ones who are afraid of becoming a bridezilla. If she's open to having help, you can assist her in setting goals, seeing the big picture and embracing what is truly important about her wedding day. Find out what's bugging her the most and share stories about other couples who have dealt successfully with these things. That way you're not just pushing your opinion on her, but sharing stories of real people who found a way not to crumble under pressure. You can even publish these stories on your wedding photography blog. Help her see her goal and what is truly important to her. Help her pivot around obstacles, and there will be less of a chance of her crumbling under the pressure of her wedding day. No matter what you do, be the one who helps, not somebody who makes it worse. Happily Ever After
No photographer wants to photograph a bridezilla. No bride wants to be a bridezilla. You can surpass a bride's expectations of you as a photographer by understanding her situation and being the most flexible, helpful, encouraging person on her wedding day. All it takes is one good friend to be a calming presence amidst stress and anxiety to help a bride not turn into a bridezilla. This person could be you. The post Wedding Photography Tip – 3 Ways to Tame a Bridezilla appeared first on Digital Photography School. How do you know if your photography is any good? Probably the most common way of assessing this question is to compare your work to others. Whether such an approach is advisable or effective in the long term can be debated, but comparison is a pragmatic first step in critiquing your photography. Then, of course, there's the option of asking others to critique your work which, for most people, means turning to the internet. You can get feedback almost instantly - for free. The problem is it takes a level of confidence to have strangers review your images – confidence which you might not have in the beginning. Also, the internet is sometimes populated by self-proclaimed experts who are better than you in every way and trolls whose only purpose in life is to derail constructive conversation. So, what are you to do if you're looking for someone to critique your work? We will always advocate for the Shark Tank here on Light Stalking but if you are not ready to send your images into the ether then my suggestion is to do it yourself. These seven questions will get you critiquing your photography like a pro. 1. Does My Photo Have Great Composition and Framing?Often considered the most important element of a photo, start critiquing your photography with an assessment of composition. Some questions to ask yourself:
2. Does My Crop Enhance Or Detract From My Image?Does the way your photo is cropped complement the composition and framing? Avoid cropping in a manner that makes your subject look awkward. 3. Is My Exposure Right For My Intent?To say that you should nail exposure is a bit vague, as “proper” exposure isn't necessarily a universal concept. A high key shot or a silhouette are two examples that don't fall into standard exposure principles, but no matter what the subject/scene is you want to avoid blocked-up shadows and severely blown out highlights. 4. Is My Photograph In Focus?The most important part of your photo should be in focus. I say “should be” instead of “needs to be” because depending on your style of work, there are times when less-than-perfect focus is the intent. 5. Have I Thought About The Background Of My Image?Does the background or a background element detract from the subject? This is a common problem with portraits - trees, light posts and other objects that appear to be growing out of a subject's head, all of which you want to avoid. 6. Is My Image Impactful?Is your photo a cliched yet technically competent shot, or does it possess a legitimate wow-factor even if flawed in a minor way? Know what purpose your work serves to help determine how it will be received by viewers. 7. Processing/Technical Quality – Have I Improved My Image In Post?Does your photo exhibit excessive noise, color fringing, dust spots or obvious distortion? These are things that can and should be corrected. Is your photo over processed? Heavy-handed post-processing can ruin even the best photos. Final ThoughtsI don't see good photography as being perfect photography - there's no such thing. Critiquing your photography should be about improving on the deficiencies that reveal themselves in your images and assessing your growth over time. It's fine to subject your work to the constructive criticism of others if you so choose, but no opinion is more intrinsically valuable than your own. Is it possible to be objective about something as subjective as photography? Not entirely, but the seven guidelines above hopefully provide a way for you to take a well-rounded look at your own work. Additional Resources
The post 7 Critical Questions You Should Ask When Critiquing Your Photography appeared first on Light Stalking. Urban exploration, also known as urbex, is a popular subcategory of architectural photography and it features various kinds of ruins and urban decay. Since many major cities around the world have abandoned industrial areas full of old factories, urbex has become an alternative to more traditional architectural photography. The process of finding urban ruins and exploring them poses certain risks and it is popular mainly among young photographers and explorers who are looking for adventures and a really interesting series of photos. The following tips will help you get prepared and stay safe while capturing some really great urbex shots of deserted buildings: 1. Research Your Urbex LocationNowadays, thanks to the Internet and Google Maps, it's quite easy to find any location if we have the correct address. However, getting the address and entering the building might be somewhat tricky. The safest place to look for abandoned buildings are various urbex forums – many countries have their own local forums with useful information for anyone interested in urban exploration. One of the largest urbex portals (Oblivion State) is very active and it's getting updated every day so that is probably the best place to start from when it comes to urbex photography Photo by Ashim D'Silva on Unsplash 2. Don't Go Urban Exploring AloneThe most important thing when exploring abandoned buildings is safety. Since these buildings are often located somewhere on the outskirts and they aren't supervised in any way, it's advisable to ask a friend to join you. You have to make sure that someone can give you a hand or call the emergency services if something goes wrong. Once you arrive at the building, don't forget to respect its history and integrity. Photographers shouldn't be vandals – it's best to leave everything exactly the way you found it (no littering!) so that other urban explorers can enjoy it safely in the future. 3. Don't Break AnythingOne thing that is absolutely prohibited in urbex is breaking doors or windows in order to enter the building or some locked-up rooms inside the building. Even without breaking anything, urbex is usually not the most legal activity, so it's really important not to make it even more suspicious. In case you can't find any easy entrance to the building, you shouldn't enter at all. However, this is usually not the case, since almost every abandoned building has some missing doors or windows. 4. Try To Pack LightUrbexing shouldn't be something like a studio set up – instead of bringing all the equipment you have, you should think carefully about the stuff you really need. In the best case scenario, it should all fit into an average-sized backpack. This is a list of the most basic photo equipment for the urbex aficionado:
5. Know What To Shoot And How To Do ItBefore you start shooting the building, it's good to have a walk around in order to get some ideas in terms of best angles, most interesting details and lighting in general. You'll probably have to shoot it in low light, which means you should know well how to properly set a long shutter speed, a wide aperture, or a high ISO. All these settings depend on your equipment. In case you're using a tripod, you don't have to worry too much about ISO since you can do longer exposures. This means that you can keep ISO relatively low (around 400) and avoid noise in your images. On the other hand, if you're shooting handheld, you will need a wide aperture and a high ISO. When it comes to flash, while it's usually not necessary to use it if you're shooting during the daytime or early evening, you can still include it in your photos if you want a more creative approach that combines natural and artificial light. Finally, when it comes to post-processing of urbex photography, a great technique to try out is HDR. It usually looks amazing in these photographs since it enhances all those interesting textures and colors we can find inside abandoned buildings. Despite the fact that urbex can be risky and dangerous, there is something truly exhilarating about exploring urban decay. On a deeper level, it also allows us to see the power of nature against man-made structures. If given enough time, everything that we humans have made will crumble down and nature will reclaim its territory. In a way, urbex is a unique homage to the neverending battle between nature and the built environment. The post 5 Tips To Urbex To Get You Started With Photographing Urban Decay appeared first on Light Stalking. Spectacular long exposure landscapes by Rob Hoovis, professional photographer, filmmaker and artist currently based in Fort Myers, Florida. Rob focuses on landscaping, he captures amazing nature, nightscape and street landscapes. Hoovis is also owner of Old Sparky Productions, video production & photography company. He uses Sony a7R III camera. More info: instagram / facebook / website The post Outstanding Nature Landscapes of Florida by Rob Hoovis appeared first on Photogrist Photography Magazine. Sony's RX100 is a storied line of compact cameras that have always packed a powerhouse of features into small but sturdy frames. This fifth iteration (the Sony RX100 V also know as the DSC-RX100M5) builds on that history with a wealth of features for a modern photographer's needs. Who the Sony RX100V is forThe RX100 Mark 5 is, in my mind, the perfect camera for family travel, street shooting, and as a secondary landscape camera when your main camera is occupied. The 24-70mm equivalent zoom lens lends enough useful range while the 24mm end of the lens works well for landscapes, group shots, and even the occasional selfie. I bought the RX100 V specifically for its high frame rate for video but have grown to love the high-quality 4K video in such a compact body. With a frame rate up to 1000 frames per second (fps), it is amazing what can be captured with this small package. The 20MP sensor makes for excellent image quality with some room to crop to your liking. This camera will appeal to landscape photographers who might want some freedom for unique compositions while their heavy DSLR is stuck to a tripod. Street photographers will love its compactness and flip out screen. I don't see it getting a lot of use as a portrait camera, although it does have a nice f/1.8 – f/2.8 starting aperture range. Small Package – Big StatsLet's take a look at some key stats from Sony's website:
Camera ControlsThe controls are a mixed bag. On the one hand, there are few of them and most photographers will be familiar with how to change ISO, adjust the Exposure Compensation and zoom the lens. On the other hand, after a year of testing, I have found the main rotating dial for mode selection is getting a little sticky. It's not as smooth as it was when new. I do like the ease with which you can shoot 4K video (see 4K video section later in this article for my impressions on that). The video button is right by your thumb when holding the camera and makes for ease of use. I would say it's even easier to use than most smartphones. You use your pointer finger for shooting still images and your thumb for shooting video. As is typical with Sony cameras, the menu screens are arranged over and then down and there are a lot of them. As I mention later in the Apps section below, this can make things a little cumbersome, but with all the features manufacturers pack into their software these days, it's to be expected. The flash is activated with a manual catch release and must be manually pushed down, leaving it a bit exposed for possible damage. Flip ScreenThe flip screen is a handy feature which I love. If you take anything off-angle, especially low shots, this feature will save your back and help you better compose your images. It flips both up and down as well as options in between. It's not a touchscreen, which is a little disappointing, and it doesn't rotate to the side and front like some screens. But the simple versatility of flipping up and down is a bonus. Those looking for help composing selfies need only flip the screen all the way up and the image will correct for front viewing and composition. Focus/Aperture RingFor those of us who learned manual focus and are familiar with the use of a manual aperture ring, this feature is a great throwback which feels natural to me. Using the big ring around the lens feels like a natural way to change the aperture and it is a lot smoother than lenses from the 80s and earlier. It's also a great way to tighten focus when getting in close or shooting video. While not perfect, it can be used to rack and control focus on video shoots to a finer, smoother degree than with buttons or knobs. I find myself using this feature often. ISO PerformanceDXOMark gave the sensor a rating of 70 on its 0-100 (or 102 if you count the Hasselblad X1D-50c) scale. This puts the Sony RX100 V in the middle of the pack for its peer group and I tend to agree. You can comfortably shoot up to ISO 1000 without much noise encroaching on image quality, but after that, you'll start to notice a difference. The ability to shoot as low as ISO 80 is a nice touch for landscape photographers. While it is an expanded option (meaning it is not true ISO 80 according to the standard) the smoothness is a delight. Going to the other extreme, ISO 6400 will show a lot of noise but can be cleaned to an acceptable degree in post-processing. Below are images with no noise reduction applied, shot at ISO 6400. ViewfinderI'm not too sure why the Sony RX100 V has a viewfinder. Maybe I'm an old curmudgeon, but looking through a viewfinder only to find a smaller screen always seems weird to me. Also, accssing it requires the flick of a small catch on the side of the camera and then you have to manually pull out the viewfinder. It does have a diopter for those who need that. But the viewfinder requires manual pushing to put it back in place. It seems antiquated. Autofocus SpeedSony's hybrid phase/contrast-detection autofocus system will delight most parents. It's not DLSR super-fast, but with 315 focus points and quality action tracking, the camera can keep up with most children. What does that mean for people without kids? While the maximum focal length of 70mm won't make this camera a secondary in sports photographers' camera bags, the autofocus speed and lock-on capabilities make it no slouch for everyday action. I found the camera quick to latch on to main subjects and tracking was accurate while following things like swinging pocket watches that were on fire. One downside I found was having to use the four-way directional controller (via your thumb) to slowly move the focus point while in Flexible Spot mode. It's slow, but there isn't another option. Having the flexibility is great, but don't expect to use it for fast moving subjects. One note on manual focus: Having the zoom assist for manual focus is awesome when shooting the small things in life and for checking to ensure what you want really is in focus. Burst Mode – High-Speed StillsThe high-speed continuous shooting mode is awesome. It shoots up to 24fps while autofocusing and can shoot in either JPEG or RAW, which is impressive. It takes a while for the memory to dump to your card but this feature is superior to most DSLRs. The burst mode is great for any kind of close (remember the 70mm limit) action. It is especially useful when the camera is coupled with an underwater housing and you are trying to snap photos of turtles or fish that are much agiler than you. It does, however, mean you will have a lot more images to delete. 30 minutes of shooting various subjects at 24fps can easily lead to over 1000 images to cull. Flash PerformanceAverage. Let's just put that out there. A flash this big, with an index rating of 1.31 ft to 33.46 ft (0.4 m to 10.2 m) in Auto shouldn't be expected to outperform a dedicated strobe with its own battery pack. It's good up to about 10 feet in/3m in real-world use and does the job. But you don't buy this camera to use the flash all the time. The is no dedicated hotshoe either, so adding a speedlight isn't an option. High-Speed VideoThis is one area I find the RX-100 V stands above its competition. I love the high frame rate shooting, with speeds up to 1000 frames per second (FPS). The video is shot in a maximum size of 1040p, or standard HD, so don't expect 4K at 1000 fps (that will run you maybe $50,000). The clips are at a maximum of 2 seconds long, but with NTSC rate of 960 fps, that's 80 seconds of video when played at 24 fps. Using the high-frame-rate is fairly easy and you can choose to activate recording either before or after pressing the record button. Meaning, it will buffer video once activated so you can move through the action and then stop recording when finished. Or, hit record and then move through the action. For instance, I shot some burning hourglasses for Andy Suzuki and the Method for a music video of theirs called Overtime. Not knowing how long it would actually take to (quickly) move with and through the flames and capture the hourglass on fire, I chose to freely buffer and stop recording after I knew I tracked through the shot. It worked quite well as you can see below. 4K VideoTo be sure, not all 4K videos are equal. Comparing the Sony RX100 V to a $5000 video camera would not be fair, so I chose to grade the Sony against expectations for a dual-purpose camera. Most importantly, I wanted to see good video quality (great was not required at this price point and form factor) and decent audio. With those parameters, the Sony did not disappoint and did better than expected. I would label it a quality 4K video that fits into the middle ground between consumer grade and semi-pro grade. It's already blissfully far ahead of my other Canon gear (which sadly lack 4K in cameras that cost five times the Sony). The SteadyShot capabilities should be taken with a grain of salt, in my opinion. While it does help, the camera's small size makes it difficult to get truly steady shots while shooting handheld at 4K. Panorama ModeI was first introduced to Sony's panoramic mode while teaching a student. It was intriguing then and still works today. It's a lot like most smartphones now, in that you pan the camera over a limited range (about 180 degrees) and the camera will work its magic for you. I had some trouble recently after not using the camera for a while. My family was visiting Grand Canyon National Park, which just begs for panoramas. It had been about 5 months since I used the feature and it took me five tries before I was successful. When you fail, the camera usually doesn't tell you what you did wrong, just that things didn't work (sometimes it will tell you to move faster or slower, but other than that, you're in the dark). This frustration took away from the enjoyment of the scene in front of me. I've been shooting panoramas since the days of masking 35mm film and feel I understand how it works in smartphones and other digital devices. Why the camera was not cooperating with me that day is still unknown to me. My advice is to practice before you need to use it. AppsI'm not used to a camera that has additional apps available and it looked like a cool idea at first. Then I realized I needed to pay to upgrade the camera to do things others already do, like time-lapse shooting. The apps are a little clunky to get into, requiring navigation through the directory of menus just to switch mode, essentially. I wish there was an easier way to access them. That being said, the time-lapse app is very useful and has some pre-baked settings to help with sunrise, sunset, passing clouds and other common situations. That helps a lot. ConnectivityThis camera comes packed with the modern convenience of wifi. It can connect to your phone if you have the Sony PlayMemories Mobile app. For those that love the instantness of transferring images to their phone, you'll enjoy it. It's not the simplest setup, but once activated, transfers are pretty easy (but buried in the menus). After a year of use, I eventually removed the app from my phone. I wasn't using it that often as I found it just as easy to wait and plop the SD card into my laptop when back at home. The zoom on the camera wasn't much more than simple zooms with my phone and considering my viewer would see the image on a phone, most likely, the 20MP were wasted for this. In the FieldI remember buying the Canon Powershot G-1 back when it first came out in 2001, just before my daughter was born. I was frustrated then with the startup speed and those memories came flashing back when I start the RX100 M5. It's just not quick to come into play. I ran some tests to find that it takes 2-3 seconds realistically to start up. It seems like an odd slowness and I had to adjust or be disappointed about missing quick shots. The weight of the camera is just right in the hand. It feels solid, even though I worry about breaking the flash and viewfinder because they are a little less robust. It's not truly compact enough to fit in your pocket comfortably unless you have tight pants, but it's also comfortable enough to carry in your hand most of the time when exploring a new city. It also fits perfectly in a coat pocket or purse. What Could Be ImprovedFirst, it seems everyone expects a touchscreen on a camera of this size these days. They even want them on DLSRs. It's helpful when focusing and choosing exposure settings and it would be a huge help the Sony RX100 series. Second, battery life is not that great. Sony says it's good for 220 shots or 110 minutes of video. While shooting 4K video out the plane window from LA to Seattle, I changed the battery three times during a two-hour flight. No flash, not a lot of focus adjusting, just video shots out the window and about 40 stills. It seemed subpar. Lastly, they need to add or assign some programmable hot-keys so photographers can pick and choose the features to have at hand. Having to go into and out of an app to shoot time-lapse is cumbersome (after I paid $9.99 for it as well). Maybe they could make it assignable to one of the Scene modes available from the top dial. Wait! One more pet peeve about cameras of this size – no external charger. Charging is in-camera via micro-USB, which is easy enough, but shipping the unit with a charger would be much appreciated considering how quickly it can go through batteries while shooting video. Two Great AccessoriesThis camera is thankfully small enough to hide in most coat pockets (not so much with jeans, unless you have fairly loose ones) but I eventually wanted to take the camera backpacking. Worried about the danger of scratches and dents (or worse), I looked around and found that Lowepro makes a perfectly sized case for it. It's called the Tahoe 25 II and has room for the camera plus a memory card or two in the zippered pouch in front. A belt loop makes it ideal for hiking and I used it often during an attempted climb of Mt. Whitney. The second accessory is an underwater case from Ikelite. There is a more expensive version of this case and it offers full control of the camera. But I found the action case to cover what I needed without shelling out too much (it retails for about $300 US). ConclusionMy conclusion is the Sony RX100 V is a winner of a compact camera. It's packed full of feature and has the ability, with apps, to expand as new software is created. The 4K video is excellent and the high-speed video is a lot of fun. This camera is perfect for family trips (while reviewing images for this article, I noted I had previously rented the Sony RX100 IV for a family trip to Europe and enjoyed that version as well). It can fit the family in for a group selfie while not breaking your shoulder carrying it around all day. Compact enough for a purse or coat pocket, it is always at hand when your phone just won't give you a quality image. With a dynamic range around 12 stops, it can already deliver a wide range exposure latitude. Couple that with the user-adjustable bracketing and there is almost no scene you can't capture. Lastly, this camera is slowly but surely turning me into a Sony convert. Sample PhotosThe post REVIEW and Thoughts on the Sony RX100 V Compact Camera appeared first on Digital Photography School. Filmmakers Howard and Michele Hall have posted a stunning short film of clips shot while diving for 2 weeks with the Atlantis resorts in Puerto Galera and Dumaguete, Phillipines. Dreams of Atlantis was captured exclusively in 8K resolution on RED. Dreams of Atlantis from Howard Hall on Vimeo. Tagged: atlantis, howard hall, phillipines |
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Januar 2019
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