Topaz Labs have released Topaz Star Effects, a Photoshop plug-in that manipulates and enhances light sources to create radiant lighting and star effects. Read more and comment . . . → Read More: Topaz Star Effects
|
||||||
|
We’ve published a gallery of 32 JPEG images shot with the 12MP Fujifilm X10. The X10 is Fujifilm’s first foray into the luxury end of the enthusiast compact camera market, and takes many of its styling cues from the APS-C format X100. Key features include a 28-112mm (equivalent) f/2-2.8 zoom lens and Fujifilm’s unique ‘EXR’ sensor technology. Our samples were taken in a range of different environments and in a range of different modes, including the 6MP noise and dynamic-range optimized ‘SN’ and ‘DR’ EXR modes. . . . → Read More: Fujifilm X10 Preview Samples Gallery The first Great Photographers app for iPad and iPhone is about Italian icon Mario Giacomelli. Read more and comment . . . → Read More: Great Photographers App Just Posted: Studio comparison shots from the Panasonic DMC-FZ150 superzoom. We’ve had a DMC-FZ150 in our studio for a few days now and, as promised, have shot our standard test scene with it. The FZ150 replaces the FZ100 and incorporates a lower-resolution 12MP CMOS sensor that the company says will outperform its predecessor’s 14MP chip. Like the FZ100 the FZ150 records Raw images, which we’ve also included in our studio comparison tool. . . . → Read More: Panasonic DMC-FZ150 samples added to studio comparison tool Just Posted: Although it retains its predecessor’s styling, the Olympus PEN E-P3 shares very little else with its forebears. There’s still a 12MP Four Thirds-sized sensor at its heart, but its autofocus, rear screen and movie capabilities have all been radically overhauled. Crucially, Olympus has also managed to squeeze a flash into the body. Now sitting at the top of a three-model range, the E-P3 is clearly positioned as a camera for enthusiasts. So, do its third-generation refinements and promises of world-beating AF performance make the E-P3 into the camera that the PEN series always promised to be? . . . → Read More: Just posted: Our in-depth review of the Olympus E-P3 Leica has released a firmware update for its S2 and S2-P medium format DSLRs. Version 1.0.1.8 brings improvements to the auto-bracketing procedure and adds a customization option to the menu control button on both the S2 and S2-P cameras. Registered users can download the latest firmware via the Owner’s Area on Leica’s website. . . . → Read More: Leica releases firmware update for S2 and S2-P Lomography is set to launch a Pop Up Store at Selfridges from 1st August. Read more and comment . . . → Read More: Lomography to Launch Pop Up Store at Selfridges Here are some beautiful photos of our planet taken by photographer Walter Tatulinkski . He’s been a member of the Photo.net community since 2003. A beautiful planet indeed! Check out his portfolio for more amazing photos like these. . . . → Read More: Our Beautiful Planet The japanese website Trendy.Nikkeibp (Click here) tested the new Olympus lens converters. You can find image samples starting from page three of the review. Olympus started to ship the converters and some of them are already in Stock! Check out those direct links: Olympus Macro Converter at Amazon , Adorama , B&H , J&R , eBay Olympus Wide Lens Converter at Amazon , Adorama , B&H , J&R , eBay Olympus Fisheye Converter at Amazon , Adorama , B&H , J&R , eBay . . . → Read More: New Olympus lens converter test at Nikkei Japan (Worldwide shipment started!)  The Coolpix P500 is Nikon’s new super-zoom compact camera for 2011, offering a massive 36x zoom lens with a focal range of 22.5-810mm. The 12 megapixel bridge-style Nikon P500 can capture full 1080p high-definition movies in stereo sound, has a back illuminated CMOS sensor, 3-inch 921K-dot tiltable LCD screen, electronic viewfinder and fast 8fps burst shooting. Priced at £399.99 / $399.99, read our Nikon Coolpix P500 review to find out if it can challenge the likes of the Fujifilm HS10, Canon SX30 IS and Panasonic DMC-FZ100. Read the review . . . → Read More: Nikon Coolpix P500 Review  There are two streams of photography that receive far more attention from practitioners than their substance would indicate: macro and wild life. It seems to me that many photographers either want to move in magnified steps towards a minuscule mosquito… or to take tiny, timid steps towards a terrifying tiger. George Lepp is a well-known US outdoor and nature photographer and his images have appeared in National Wildlife, Time, Newsweek and The New Yorker. His initial message neatly covers both macro and wildlife in recommending an approach to shooting a butterfly: “Successful butterfly capture requires advance preparation and practice …. Most of the optional automatic functions on your camera are not useful for this type of photography…” The structure of the book rests on stories from the field that give enormous help and advice on how to “bring ‘em back alive.” Like his anecdote of how a “big bull elephant walked directly towards our vehicle and allowed a full-frame shot at the zoom lens’ maximum range of 400mm.” The message here is that sometimes the best way is to let the wildlife come to you. Incredibly, technique even comes in to play when the subject co-operates: “I knew I wanted a vertical panorama of an entire giraffe but it was difficult to find a co-operative subject.” Fortunately a big giraffe stood motionless while Lepp took seven horizontal shots to comprise a vertical panorama, printable at near life size. He uses every trick in the book, even to hiring animal handlers: “Martin’s cats were trained to run for food [so at his suggestion] we worked with the cats in some new ways: they would pose for portraits, snarl and jump…” For the casual reader keen on animals in the wild, the book is an excellent read in its own right and, cleverly and simultaneously, uses anecdotes blended with tall tales and true to tutor the budding wild life photographer. Information and advice on which lens to use, shutter speed and lens aperture is interwoven into the tales. The pictures are of course magnificent. Author : G and KV Lepp. Publisher : Lark Books. Length : 208 pages. ISBN : 978 1 60059 632 2. Price : Get a price on Wildlife Photography: Stories from the Field (where it is currently 37% off) Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Wildlife Photography Stories from the Field [Book Review] . . . → Read More: Wildlife Photography Stories from the Field [Book Review] In his early years, author Paul Comon was taught that good composition “is the elimination of all unnecessary elements.’ Seems so simple doesn’t it! The sad truth is that the more you learn the more you will eventually have to unlearn. There are rules and there are rules! Beginners at photography will be told “follow the rule of thirds.” And the sad truth is that following this advice on placing elements of a picture within the frame will often lead to dull and dreary pictures. More simply stated: a single subject should never be centred in the frame. Then author Comon wins my absolute attention when he states that photographers who divide the picture areas into thirds do better than those who don’t …”but there is an even more pleasing solution.” Fibonacci numbers! Intrigued? There’s much more in the book as it investigates the framing of an image to account for colour, depth, lines of force and symmetry. The topics of film vs digital, colour vs B&W, original capture and print sizes, along with the triangle versus rectangle versus square versus circle versus oval are discussed in detail. Then Comon gets into lines: horizontal, vertical, diagonal, intersecting, oblique, curved etc. Here’s an example: The oblique line (when used in a composition) can lead the eye into a picture, especially when it enters from the bottom of the frame … but the oblique line should never enter from a corner. And lighting is considered, with its effect on a composition: a bright sun is ideal for scenics but can often be too contrasty for close-ups. Camera-mounted flash creates undesirable conditions, Comon advises, creating shadows that surround the subject. Tip: use bounce flash whenever possible. The images in the book are stunning. On page 19 for example is a rhythmic composition of female Asian drummers that I would have given my eye teeth to have taken, dazzling not only in the effect of its diagonal layout but with the added zing of rich colour. Quite possibly, the best book on composition that I have ever read. The lessons in its pages are worth gold! Author : PR Comon. Distributor : Capricorn Link. Length : 160 pages. ISBN : 978 1 60059 703 9. Price : Get a price on the Fundamentals of Photo Composition (where it is currently 25% off) Post from: Digital Photography School – Photography Tips . Check out our resources on Portrait Photography Tips , Travel Photography Tips and Understanding Digital Cameras . Fundamentals of Photo Composition [Book Review] . . . → Read More: Fundamentals of Photo Composition [Book Review]  The new Canon IXUS 310 HS / PowerShot ELPH 500 HS is an impressive compact camera, on paper at least. It offers the usual IXUS style, a 3.2 inch touchscreen LCD, 12 megapixel back-illuminated sensor, fast f/2.0, wide-angle 4.4x lens, and full 1080p HD movies. Read our in-depth Canon IXUS 310 HS review to find out if it can live up to its eye-catching headline specifications. Read the review . . . → Read More: Canon IXUS 310 HS Review  The Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM is a new compact L-series telezoom lens. It offers the usual high build quality of Canon’s luxury lenses, optical image stabilisation, a ring-type ultrasonic motor for fast auto-focusing, and an eight-blade circular diaprhragm which promises excellent bokeh. That distinctive white coating doesn’t come cheap, though, so read our Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM Review to find out if it’s worth the investment. Read the review . . . → Read More: Canon EF 70-300mm f/4-5.6 L IS USM Review  The EOS 60D got a nice update this week that should help to address issues that people have been having with the camera. It also addresses a bit of a non-issue: the feature called “Art Features” in Japan is now called “Creative Features” so that EOS 60Ds across all regions use the same naming conventions. The update takes care of some more legitimate concerns too. Specifically, two issues where the camera would function abnormally after Live View shooting. If you set the camera to start movie shooting after using Live View, it could end up acting strange or not working. You can download the firmware directly from Canon . As always, you can find out more about the EOS 60D in our review . . . . → Read More: Canon Updates the EOS 60D  SLRmagic announced a new 11mm f/1.4 wide angle lens with Micro Four Thirds mount. But there is a big disappointment. The price is incredibly high…$210!!! It would be a fair price if the lens would have at least a decent optical performance. But from the first images we have seen on eBay (Click here) we can see heavy vignetting and unsharp results. If you really need a fast wide angle lens get the Computar 12.5mm F1.3 which is much cheaper ( Read the review at EosHD ). . . . → Read More: SLRmagic announces (an expensive) 11mm f/1.4 Micro Four Thirds lens.  Not everyone wants to carry a camera on their shoulder, something that Panasonic, Canon, and now Nikon have recognised with the release of the Coolpix P300. All three manufacturers offer a pocket compact with full manual controls, pro-level features and good image quality, with the Nikon P300 also adding full 1080p HD video, fast maximum aperture of f/1.8, high-resolution screen and 7fps burst shooting. Are these features enough to elevate the P300 above its main rivals? Read our Nikon Coolpix P300 Review to find out… Read the review . . . → Read More: Nikon Coolpix P300 Review  This camera has come quite a way since its predecessor, the GH1, appeared over a year ago and the breed is fast becoming a thoroughbred. Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Features The compact camera body has the same width as the GH1 but is overall 1.5x larger and a few grams heavier. To my mind, the camera is still enjoyably compact and, even the with 10x lens attached, little larger than some upper level, fixed lens compacts … but this ‘un is just like a DSLR but with a turret LCD finder instead of an optical pentaprism viewfinder. With this camera I again appreciated the excellent f4-5/14-140mm zoom that was used in my time with the GH1. Besides this, there is a total range of 11 lenses for this camera, including an aspheric 14mm pancake lens and a 3D optic to capture stereo pictures viewable on Panasonic Viera TVs. The GH2 depends on image stabilisation built into its OIS lenses: you can turn off the stabilizing function (button on the lens) or choose any of three modes in the viewfinder menu. Exposure options include intelligent auto, Program AE, aperture and shutter priority and manual; added to this are three custom setting, selectable via the mode dial; then there’s a bunch of scene modes (night portrait, sunset, sports, etc). The swinging LCD screen has been widened so that shooting 16:9 stills and movies is given a considerable boost … but of no help with 4:3 shooting! And it’s touch sensitive. This time around we have a Live MOS sensor capable of capturing 16.05 megapixels and shoot a maximum picture size of 4608 . . . → Read More: Panasonic Lumix DMC-GH2 Review  That is going to be a must read review for everyone! Photozone (Click here) just published the Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95 review. We are talking about a Micro Four Thirds lens that is highly requested and sadly almost nowhere available. Those are the key conclusions of the review: – “ Technically the lens is capable of delivering a sharp image center at very large apertures but the borders are fairly soft here.” – “The quality of the bokeh (out-of-focus blur) is generally impressive although you can push it into producing some less than pleasing highlight artifacts at f/0.95″ – ” Bokeh fringing is visible at large apertures but this is true for the vast majority of ultra-large aperture lenses. Lateral CAs are minimal and there isn’t really any significant amount of distortion to worry about either .” – “ The mechanical quality is outstanding thanks to an all-metal lens body and a dampened focus ring. Only a weather sealing is missing here.” He tested the lens on the Panasonic GF1 . Read the full review at www.photozone.de Reminder: The lens is sold out in most worldwide shops. The next Stock of lenses will be shipped in late April only. You can get the lens at eBay (Click here) where there are a dozen auctions ongoing right now. You can read the 43rumors user reviews of the lens here at http://www.43rumors.com/cameras/voigtlander-nokton-25mm-f0-95/#submitownreview . . . → Read More: A must read! Voigtländer Nokton 25mm f/0.95 tested at Photozone.  The new L23 sits right at the bottom of the Nikon Coolpix range, but that doesn’t mean that you should immediately write it off. After all, £69.99 / €81.00 buys you quite a lot of camera, with a 5x wide-angle zoom lens, 2.7 inch LCD screen and 10 megapixel CCD sensor all included. Read our in-depth Nikon Coolpix L23 to find out if you really can get a capable camera at this price-point… Read the review . . . → Read More: Nikon Coolpix L23 Review |
||||||
|
Copyright © 2012 Photoded - All Rights Reserved Powered by WordPress & the Atahualpa Theme by BytesForAll. Discuss on our WP Forum |
||||||
Popular Posts