Canon and Sony News for Dec 2016 (Page 4)
Just posted: MindShift Gear Trailscape 18L Camera Backpack Review.
This is a great quality, well-designed backpack with a reasonable price. As one can never have too many camera cases, this one would make a great Christmas present for even those who seem to already have everything.
Purchase your Gear Trailscape 18L direct from MindShift or from B&H.
 "Share on Pinterest!"){kind=small}
From the Canon Digital Learning Center:
December is a great month to photograph bright, festive decorations. One of the most eye-catching decorations is also the most challenging: holiday lights. There are many different tricks and techniques detailed below to capture the beguiling colors, glitters, and twinkles – pick the one(s) that work best for you and your equipment, and make the most of this beautiful holiday season!Read the entire article on the Canon Digital Learning Center.
Vignetting and distortion test results along with specs, measurements, standard product images and additional eye candy have been added to the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Review page.
Completion of this review is my highest priority right now. Stay tuned.
B&H has the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens in stock.
One of my primary goals for my time at Moraine Lake was to capture the warm light from the rising sun hitting just the top of the mountains with the amazing blue lake reflecting the same. The scene I was visualizing required a very clear sky to the east, allowing the sunlight to reach the mountain unimpeded/undiffused. The other important factor was wind – I needed there to be none of it. I had three mornings for everything to come together.
Capturing this scene of course meant being in place and ready to go before the sun rose. On the first morning, having never been there before, I not only needed to find the lake, but needed to hike to (find) and climb up the Rockpile (via a trail) followed by scouting – all in the dark. Well, in the dark but with the help of a super-bright SureFire Maximus Headlamp. As incredibly bright as that light is, I was not going to be lighting the distant mountains and it was a guess as to where the sunlit mountain peak reflections were going to fall in the lake.
I picked what seemed like a great position, with a distant glacier framed between the trees, some nice boulders in the foreground and the overall scene nicely framed and bookmarked with a pair of large evergreen trees. After setting up a Canon EOS 5Ds R with an EF 11-24mm f/4L Lens on my primary tripod, I set up a second 5Ds R with an EF 16-35mm f/4L IS Lens mounted on my travel tripod a short distance away. The plan was to go back and forth between the cameras, rapidly capturing multiple compositions with immediate redundancy available if a problem was encountered (it is called the Rockpile for a good reason and I had one very close call).
The weather proved ideal and everything was looking great until ... I realized that the mountain peak reflection was being cut off by the foreground. I immediately abandoned the carefully selected locations, running across the rocks with the primary camera setup to quickly find a better position. There was no time to waste because the sun line moves down the mountain very rapidly.
While I have a large number of images I like from my three mornings at Lake Moraine, this one, one of the first ones I captured on the first day, remains a favorite. The sun line had moved down the mountains slightly farther than I originally visualized, but ... I may actually prefer this version better. While simply having that preference adds to the satisfaction of achieving the goal, I really do think that I like this scene better. With more of the mountain in the still-very-warm sunlight, there is more desired color in the frame and more of the peaks are being lit than when the first light hit only a couple of the peaks.
This is an HDR image. Because, as I mentioned, the line of sunlight moves quickly down the mountain, it is important to capture the HDR frames in very quick succession in this situation. My preference is to use AEB (Auto Exposure Bracketing) with the camera in high speed burst mode. I used Live View to gain mirror lockup and used a locking remote release to complete to capture. Lock the release down and quickly go to the second camera. Quickly check the results, fine tune if needed and repeat.
For processing the HDR image, I used a combination of Photomatix (the best HDR software I've used) and manual blending in Photoshop.
While 4-5 hours of sleep three nights in a row is not a good habit from a physical or mental health standpoint, I'm sometimes willing to make that sacrifice for a good image. While that effort is not always rewarded with a great photograph, the disappointing efforts serve to make the successful ones even more special. Fortunately, disappointment didn't happen in this location.
A larger version of this image is available on BryanCarnathan.com, Flickr, Google+, Facebook and 500px. If reading from a news feed reader, click through to see the framed image.
ISO 100
8688 x 5792px
According to the Egami Blog, Canon has filed a patent for the design of an electronically curved sensor.
Patent Details
- Patent Publication No. 2016-201425
- Release date 2016.12.1
- Application date 2015.4.8
- Coupling the imaging element and the expansion / contraction section
- As the stretchable portion expands, the amount of curvature of the imaging surface increases
- The expansion and contraction section is electrically controlled
From Nikon:
KeyMission 170 Firmware v.1.1
Changes from Firmware Version 1.0 to 1.1
- Fixed an issue that in rare cases caused the camera to display a message stating that certain memory cards could not be used.
- Fixed as issue that in rare cases caused the camera to stop responding when HDMI cables were connected or disconnected.
Download: KeyMission 170 Firmware v.1.1
KeyMission 360 Firmware v.1.1
Changes from Firmware Version 1.0 to 1.1
- Added support for iOS 10. Users of iOS 10 will also need to upgrade the SnapBridge 360/170 app to the latest version, which supports iOS 10.
- Improved connectivity when pairing with the SnapBridge 360/170 app.
- Fixed an issue that resulted in spherical 360° images not displaying as spherical 360° images when uploaded to Facebook.
- Files recorded using Loop recording are now divided into a maximum of 6 parts rather than 5.
Download: KeyMission 360 Firmware v.1.1
B&H carries Nikon Keymission action cams.
From Adobe:
Lightroom CC 2015.8
Introducing Reference View
Reference View is a new view mode available in the Develop Module that allows you to compare 2 different images in order to make them visually consistent. This is helpful when making a group of images from a single event look similar or setting the white balance appropriately in mixed lighting conditions.
To get started,
- Go to the Develop Module
- Click on Reference View. Its on the Toolbar, and you may need to show the Toolbar if hidden
- Drag and Drop your Reference Photo onto the left pane. You can change your Reference Photo by either dragging a different image onto the left pane or using the “Set as Reference Photo” context menu in the Library Module.
- Edit the active photo. Use the Reference Photo to guide your editing decisions.
Performance Improvements
Lightroom CC (2015.8) / 6.8 includes ‘under-the-hood’ changes designed to improve the responsiveness of your Lightroom experience. You should notice improvements in image editing responsiveness when background tasks (such as Preview Generation) are running, moving files between folders, running catalog backups.
Fit/Fill Improvements
You can now zoom to fit and zoom to fill. Particularly when using ultra high-resolution (i.e. 4K and 5K) monitors, prior versions of Lightroom would not completely fill the Loupe window.
Additional Features
- Ability to filter or create a Smart Collection for images that have Snapshots associated with them.
- Export a Collection Set as a new catalog.
New Camera and Lens Profile Support in Lightroom CC (2015.8) / 6.8
See here.
New Tethered Shooting Support in Lightroom CC (2015.8) / 6.8
- Canon EOS 5D Mark IV
Customer reported issues resolved
- Released a new set of Camera Matching Profiles for Canon 5D Mark IV.
- Improved support for Canon 5D Mark IV dual pixel raw images. Please see this note for further details.
- Lightroom would show an error dialog when attempting to open an image in Photoshop. Please note that this only occurred on Windows and only when selecting “Open in Photoshop” as a Post-Processing item in the Export dialog.
- Fixed issues relating to the Point Curve as reported here and here
- Fixed some memory leaks.
- Library collection panel scrolled unexpectedly when you duplicate/rename/delete a collection set
- Problem with watermark opacity in export slideshow
- Will not export both portrait and landscape oriented pictures as a slideshow video in 720 or 1080
- Slideshow not working, only getting black screen
- Selected Published Folder or Collection is not deselected if a folder is selected
- Background images in Slideshow sometimes appeared pixelated.
- Allow image panning by holding down space bar and then swipe with two fingers when local correction tool (such as the Local Adjustment Brush or Radial Filter) is activated.
- Resolved inconsistent preset sorting issue.
- Resolved issues when importing from an Apple iPhone or iPad using USB.
- Video files from Sony cameras were not being imported into Lightroom.
- Opening photos in Photoshop from Lightroom using Edit In does not work correctly for some operations
- Map and Web modules do not work correctly with 4K UHD monitor
- Sort by capture time doesn’t always work on 2015.7 / 6.7
Installation Instructions
Please select Help > Updates to use the update mechanism in the Creative Cloud app.
Lightroom Mobile Updates
Lightroom for iPhones includes a new edit experience, a new info section, a new capture interface with a brand new professional mode, support for all of the latest cameras and lenses provided in today’s Adobe Camera Raw and Lightroom releases, as well as bug fixes and improvements. Lightroom for iPads adds in the new capture interface, camera and lens support, and bug fixes, and Lightroom for Android provides support for new cameras and lenses as well as bug fixes. To download Lightroom for iOS and Android, tap here.
The teams for both Lightroom for iPads as well as Lightroom for Android are also working on adding in the new edit and info experiences and we hope to release those updates soon.
Check out the new series of videos our very own Julieanne Kost has made covering Lightroom Mobile from end-to-end, including these new features, by clicking here.
In Lightroom for iPhones, you’ll find the following updates:
New Edit Interface
Lightroom mobile 2.6 represents a significant evolution of editing on mobile devices. We wanted to improve the ability to quickly find and access tools and ensure the fastest way to enhance and edit images on a phone. Our design team reached out to photographers of all skill levels to help us figure out how people edit with Lightroom mobile, what’s missing, and how we could make it even better. This update represents our first release taking advantage of this research.
Finally, we built ways of expanding the interface so that additional groups of functionality could be added in, like the often requested ability to add in titles, captions, and copyright from mobile devices. This new interface extensibility means we can continue to deliver on the features that photographers have been asking for, turning their mobile devices into more and more capable image processing devices.
New Capture Interface and Professional Mode
Version 2.6 also adds in a brand new capture interface (the same that Android users received earlier this year) that provides access to a new professional mode that provides control over all aspects of your camera’s exposure and focus. This new mode makes it easy to dial in exactly the exposure you need to capture the shot you want.
These updates are all available now, tap here to download.
B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.
From Adobe:
Adobe Camera Raw 9.8
New Camera Support in Camera Raw 9.8
- Canon EOS M5
- Fujifilm X-A3
- Google Pixel
- Google Pixel XL
- Hasselblad X1D
- Leica TL
- Nikon D5600
- Olympus E-M1 Mark II (*)
- Olympus PEN E-PL8
- Panasonic LUMIX DMC-FZ2500 (DMC-FZ2000 and DMC-FZH1)
- Pentax K-70
- Samsung Galaxy S7
- Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge
- Sony Alpha a6500 (ILCE-6500)
- Sony Alpha a99 II (ILCA-99M2)
- Sony DSC-RX100 Mark V
(*) Denotes preliminary support.
New Lens Profile Support in Camera Raw 9.8
| Mount | Name |
| Apple | Moment Macro Lens for iPhone6 |
| Apple | Moment Macro Lens for iPhone6 Plus |
| Apple | Moment Superfish Lens for iPhone6 |
| Apple | Moment Superfish Lens for iPhone6 Plus |
| Apple | Moment Tele Lens for iPhone6 |
| Apple | Moment Tele Lens for iPhone6 Plus |
| Apple | Moment Wide Lens for iPhone6 |
| Apple | Moment Wide Lens for iPhone6 Plus |
| Apple | Moment Macro Lens for iPhone6s (DNG + JPEG) |
| Apple | Moment Macro Lens for iPhone6s Plus (DNG + JPEG) |
| Apple | Moment Superfish Lens for iPhone6s (DNG + JPEG) |
| Apple | Moment Superfish Lens for iPhone6s Plus (DNG + JPEG) |
| Apple | Moment Tele Lens for iPhone6s (DNG + JPEG) |
| Apple | Moment Tele Lens for iPhone6s Plus (DNG + JPEG) |
| Apple | Moment Wide Lens for iPhone6s (DNG + JPEG) |
| Apple | Moment Wide Lens for iPhone6s Plus (DNG + JPEG) |
| Canon EF | SIGMA 12-24mm F4 DG HSM A016 |
| Canon EF | SIGMA 85mm F1.4 DG HSM A016 |
| Canon EF | SIGMA 500mm F4 DG OS HSM S016 |
| Canon EF | TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 A022E |
| Canon EF | TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 A022E x1.4 |
| Canon EF | TAMRON SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 A022E x2.0 |
| Canon EF | Zeiss Milvus 2.8/15 ZE |
| Canon EF | Zeiss Milvus 2.8/18 ZE |
| Canon EF | Zeiss Milvus 2/135 ZE |
| Pixel (DNG + JPEG) | |
| Pixel XL (DNG + JPEG) | |
| Go Pro | HERO5 Black (Linear FOV) |
| Go Pro | HERO5 Black (Medium FOV) |
| Go Pro | HERO5 Black (Narrow FOV) |
| Go Pro | HERO5 Black (Wide FOV) (raw + JPEG) |
| Leica M | Leica SUMMARON-M 28mm f/5.6 |
| Nikon F | Nikon AF-S NIKKOR 70-200mm f/2.8E FL ED |
| Nikon F | SIGMA 12-24mm F4 DG HSM A016 |
| Nikon F | SIGMA 50-100mm F1.8 DC HSM A016 |
| Nikon F | SIGMA 85mm F1.4 DG HSM A016 |
| Nikon F | SIGMA 500mm F4 DG OS HSM S016 |
| Nikon F | TAMRON SP 150-600mm F5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 A022N |
| Nikon F | TAMRON SP 150-600mm F5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 A022N x1.4 |
| Nikon F | TAMRON SP 150-600mm F5-6.3 Di VC USD G2 A022N x2.0 |
| Nikon F | Zeiss Milvus 2.8/15 ZF.2 |
| Nikon F | Zeiss Milvus 2.8/18 ZF.2 |
| Nikon F | Zeiss Milvus 2/135 ZF.2 |
| Ricoh | Ricoh GXR A16 24-85mm F3.5-5.5 |
| Samsung | Samsung Galaxy S7 Edge Rear Camera (DNG + JPEG) |
| Samsung | Samsung Galaxy S7 Rear Camera (DNG + JPEG) |
| Sigma | SIGMA 12-24mm F4 DG HSM A016 |
| Sigma | SIGMA 85mm F1.4 DG HSM A016 |
| Sigma | SIGMA 500mm F4 DG OS HSM S016 |
Customer reported issues resolved
- Released a new set of Camera Matching Profiles for Canon 5D Mark IV – this set of profiles are more similar to past cameras of the same generation.
- Improved support for Canon 5D Mark IV dual pixel raw images. Please see this note for further details.
- Fixed issue related to memory corruption in the DNG Converter.
- Fixed bugs related to crashes and abnormal app exits.
Installation Instructions
Camera Raw 9.8 – Please select Help>Updates to use the update mechanism in the Creative Cloud app.
Please note – If you have trouble updating to the latest Camera Raw update via the Creative Cloud application, please refer to this.
Adobe DNG Converter 9.8
The obvious reason to use high speed burst mode to photograph wildlife is because wildlife moves and you want to capture the ideal body position and behavior. Use your fastest frame rate to capture the frame with the perfect body/angle/leg/wing positions against the best possible background. When the wildlife is in fast action, that motion is obvious and further discussion is probably not warranted. But, the motion can be more subtle – I'll call it "micro-motion" – and micro-position differences matter.
One of the most frequent subtle wildlife motion issues I encounter is blinking and birds especially cause me grief in this regard. The bird may appear completely motionless, allowing you to take your time to set up for and capture the perfect shot. The image looks great on the LCD, but when you get home and load the images, you realize that the nictitating membrane is covering half of the eye (this is not technically "blinking", but the problem is similar). While this issue can sometimes be remedied in post processing, correction is challenging and time consuming even on the easiest repairs. If 5 or 10 images of the same scene had been captured in rapid succession, the odds are very good that at least one of them would have had a clear eye.
Another issue I find problematic is animals chewing their cud. Even when I'm aware that this is happening, it can be quite challenging to capture a single frame without the animal's fast-moving lower jaw in a strange and usually detracting position. Ear position is a similar issue. Certain ear positions are often preferred and since these features are often moving, a burst can help capture the optimal positions.
Sometimes it only takes a subtle movement to make a big difference in the desired catchlight in the subject's eye. One of the frames captured in a burst may have this key difference, giving that particular image the extra sparkle needed for greatness.
Did you ever have an image degraded by something passing through the frame? This is often a photobombing insect or bird that shows up at just the wrong time. While these can sometimes be removed in post processing, that is not always the case and even if removal is possible, the process may prove time consuming. Grasses blow in light wind, passing into out of ideal positions. Leaves on trees do the same. A frame burst may contain an image void of the undesired objects.
Speaking of the blowing, most wildlife photography takes place outdoors and there are many factors out here trying to reduce your image sharpness, including wind. Not every frame may be sharp, but an increased number of images brings an increased chance that sharp images are in the mix.
On occasion, I find that I need to merge two or more images from a burst to get the ideal subject framing. Especially when using a long telephoto lens not locked down on a tripod, I often get a modest variety of subject framing in a burst set. While the differences may not be big, I sometimes find it optimal to add a side of one frame to another image to provide the ideal framing or to expand the frame. This is an especially good option to use if the focal length is too long and the scene is being cropped too tightly.
Even when not moving fast, wildlife is often moving. Capturing just the right point in time can make a big difference in wildlife imagery and using the camera's burst mode may be all that is necessary to bump your image quality up a notch.
In this regard, a camera with a faster frame rate has an advantage over those with a slower rate. The Canon EOS 5D Mark IV used for this capture has a faster frame rate than any 5-Series predecessor, but the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II and Canon EOS 7D Mark II make the 5D IV seem slow.
Using a high frame rate-capable camera in high speed burst mode greatly increases the volume of photos captured. Be ready for this and be heavy handed when selecting down the keepers. It is OK to delete good images (and far better to have too many good images than missing the optimal one). You probably can't use them all – keep only the best.
Humor has a value in wildlife imagery and a high speed burst rate is advantageous for capturing humor. I photographed this pronghorn having a sit-down dinner (it was eating the green plant in front of it) in Grand Teton National Park in very heavy wind. This wind was so strong that I was having trouble keeping the animal in the 600mm frame. Yes, I had the hood on the lens, increasing the wind load, but it was raining lightly and rain was hitting the front lens element even with this giant hood in place. By using burst mode, I came away with a very satisfying set of sharp, well-framed keepers from this encounter, including this humorous one.
I can still hear him saying "Is that a Canon EF 600mm f/4L IS II Lens?!"
A larger version of this image is available on SmugMug, Flickr, Google+, Facebook and 500px. If reading from a news feed reader, click through to see the framed image.
ISO 1600
5847 x 3898px
From Photoshelter:
The 2017 Photographer’s Guide to Photo Contests
We’ve partnered with the World Photography Organization for The 2017 Photographer’s Guide to Photo Contests, one of our biggest guides of the year. Inside, get a rundown of 42 photo contests worldwide. We give each a verdict based on entry fees, promised exposure and prizes, submission rights, and direct feedback from past winners. Let this guide help you determine which contests are your best bet.
Just posted: Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM Art Lens Review
This is a very fun-to-use lens.
B&H has the Sigma 12-24mm f/4 DG HSM Art Lens in stock.
As promised yesterday, image quality results from the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III and Canon EOS 7D Mark II have been added to the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Review page. This addition makes many more direct comparisons available. I'll get you started.
Sigma's previous 85mm f/1.4 was a good performer, but the Art model takes the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 lens comparison.
Zeiss also has a pair of excellent 85mm lenses. In the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art Lens vs. Zeiss Milvus 85mm f/1.4 lens comparison, the Sigma has the advantage. Even the venerable Zeiss Otus 85mm f/1.4 is strongly challenged by the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art Lens.
At a 2/3 stop wider aperture, the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art Lens is sharper than the Tamron 85mm f/1.8 VC lens. The Sigma of course gives up image stabilization in this comparison.
Put one of these lenses in your kit: B&H has this lens in stock (Nikon) and "coming soon" (Canon mount available for preorder).
Adorama only has the Sigma mount lens in stock, but at this moment is offering a free Sigma Dock with preorders.
According to the Egami Blog, Canon has filed the optical formula patent for a EF 600mm f/4 DO IS USM.
This would be an awesome addition to Canon's super telephoto lens lineup. I think professional sports and wildlife photographers will be lining up for this lens. [Sean]
Patent Details (Google Translated)
- Patent Publication No. 2016-200685
- Published 2016.12.1
- Filing Date 2015.4.9
- Focus distance 585.00
- F-number 4.12
- Angle of View (degrees) 2.12
- Like high 21.64
- Overall length of the lens 335.32
- BF 66.92
You are going to like this: Image quality results from the Canon EOS 5Ds R have been added to the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens Review page.
I'm guessing that you are impressed with what you see, but the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 Art Lens vs. Canon EF 85mm f/1.2L II Lens comparison should fully convince you.
Results from the Canon EOS-1Ds Mark III and Canon EOS 7D Mark II are coming and will make many additional comparisons possible. But, this lens is certainly looking impressive from an image quality perspective!
Make the Sigma 85mm f/1.4 DG HSM Art Lens your Christmas present! B&H has this lens in stock (Nikon) and "coming soon" (Canon mount available for preorder).
Adorama only has the Sigma mount lens in stock, but at this moment is offering a free Sigma Dock with preorders.
Did I ever tell you that the Canon EF 200-400 f/4L IS Lens is really sharp? My daughter and I had one evening and one morning to photograph deer in Shenandoah National Park. The evening presented us with primarily darkness including dense fog and light rain (and wind), but the morning proved much nicer.
This decent-sized 7pt buck tending a doe amidst the short red saplings in Big Meadows was a grand find on this morning. We worked around the deer to get the morning sun at our backs and, as best as we could, stayed within ideal photo range of it for over an hour. The buck was very attentive to the doe and gave us some nice behavior images. In this image, the buck had been cleaning its back (see the ruffled fur?) and stopped to look at the doe.
I used the Canon EF 200-400mm f/4L IS Lens for this image. While my preference for wildlife photography is the look that the EF 600mm f/4L IS II Lens provides, the 200-400mm focal length range has proven more useful to me in this park, primarily because of the need to work in front of obstructions. Fortunately, image sharpness is something this zoom lens does not sacrifice. Take a look at this 100% crop from the ultra-high resolution EOS 5Ds R:
This image was captured at 400mm with a wide open f/4 aperture (to create as much background blur as possible). The RAW image was processed in DPP 4 using the Standard Picture Style with sharpness reduced to only "1". While the camera is extremely sharp, its resolution is unforgiving to lens quality. The 200-400 L is definitely 5Ds R-ready. It is simply a very impressive lens.
A larger version of this image is available on BryanCarnathan.com, Flickr, Google+, Facebook and 500px. If reading from a news feed reader, click through to see the framed image.
ISO 100
8688 x 5792px
 "Share on Pinterest!"){kind=small}
 |
|