Digital Photography Review Newsletter: Tuesday, 18 June 2013

	Digital Photography Review Newsletter Tuesday, 18 June 2013 The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 300,000 subscribers
Hello! And welcome to the 462nd Digital Photography Review newsletter. Well, I don't want to jinx it, but despite some threatening clouds it hasn't rained since I wrote to you last week... and if you've ever been to the Pacific North West in June, you'll know that's a pretty big deal. Speaking of signs and portents, just when we were about to give up hope, a production-quality Canon Rebel SL1/EOS 100D arrived in our Seattle office a few days ago! We've just added the SL1 to our studio comparison database and we also published a small gallery of real-world samples (see link below). In other Canon news we published a review of Canon's attractive EF 40mm F2.8 STM pancake last week, and still on the subject of lenses, we also updated our review of the Canon Rebel T5i/EOS 700D with a page dealing with the new 18-55mm STM kit zoom, including DxO lens data. Links to both reviews are below. Meanwhile, Leica finally announced the 16MP X Vario zoom compact last week, and Pentax launched three new cameras. Without further ado, here's what you might have missed: Canon 40mm F2.8 STM Pancake review Pancake lenses are pretty fashionable these days, and we love them for their lightweight, slim construction, low cost and (usually) good image quality. A pancake lens can shave a lot of weight from your DSLR or mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, making them great for travelling and candid photography, where a large lens might draw unwanted attention. In the latest of our lens reviews brought to you in partnership with DxOMark, we take a look at Canon's slimline pancake prime for its APS-C and full frame SLRs. It's one of the smallest and cheapest lenses currently on the market, and includes a stepper motor for silent focusing during movie recording. But does its small size and low price result in compromised optics? Read our review to find out. Click here to read our review of the Canon EF 40mm F2.8 STM Pancake lens Studio and real-world samples from Canon EOS 100D / Rebel SL1 We've just got hold of a production version of Canon's tiny Rebel SL1 DSLR and keen not to waste any time we've shot our standard studio scene, and added it to our comparison database. We've also taken the SL1 out and about to see how it performs away from the studio lighting and we've put together a collection of daylight samples. Click the links below to see for yourself. Click here for links to our updated Rebel SL1 preview with studio and real-world samples Pentax K-50 / K-500 First look and real-world sample images Last week Pentax gently rocked the photography world with two new DSLRs - the K-50 and entry-level K-500. The 16MP mid-range K-50 builds on the very likeable K-30, but both DSLRs are built around the same 16MP sensor and offer competitive feature sets, including weather-sealing (in the case of the K-50) and glass pentaprisms. But! But! As well as protection against the elements, the K-50 also comes in more than 100 different color variants! Gasp! As part of our announcement coverage we wrote a short first impressions article which includes a real-world samples gallery from the Pentax K-50, shot at the New York launch event. Click here for our first impressions of the Pentax K-50 and K-500, with sample images! Canon EOS Rebel T5i/700D review updated with test data on 18-500mm STM kit lens Last week we added an extra page to our review of the Canon Rebel T5i/EOS 700D review, containing our impressions of the updated 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 STM kit lens. As well as DxO test data we've also looked at the effectiveness of its IS system and shown an example of its AF performance in video mode. As this lens is about the only change of significance with the EOS 700D release, we thought we'd incorporate our findings directly inside the review for your convenience. Click through to find out what this updated kit zoom offers. Click to read our review of the Canon EOS 700D/Rebel T5i, updated with 187-55mm STM test data Leica unveils 16MP X Vario Leica has finally officially announced its much-teased (and leaked) X Vario - the world's first compact camera with an APS-C sensor and fixed zoom lens. Its Vario Elmar 18-46mm 1:3.5-6.4 ASPH lens offers a 28-70mm equivalent range, and sits in front of a 16.1MP CMOS sensor. The price tag is a hefty $2850/£2250 but come on -it was never going to be cheap. Click here to read our news coverage of the new Leica X Vario Site news: Forum updates! If you don't use our forums, you should - they're a great resource. We've just deployed an update to our forums that adds tabbed filtering by thread type and a new 'photo post' option, designed for users wanting to share images. We've also added filtering by product (to the product forums) and a swanky new 'grid view' for browsing forums by images (rather than thread titles). Finally we've fine-tuned the 'classic' skin and deployed some fixes and enhancements to the text editor. Click here for more details of the changes we've made to our forums What's coming up? This should be a fun week - we're preparing a short review of the waterproof Canon PowerShot D20, and we're also putting the finishing touches to our in-depth review of the Ricoh GR, which looks set to give the Nikon Coolpix A a serious run for its money. I've been pouring a lot of time into finishing our review of the Fujifilm X100S, and I'm hoping to get that on the site very soon. Apologies to all Fujifilm fans for the delay - I shall buy you all a beer (but I'm afraid you'll have to share it). We've also been working on an article about Canon's innovative (and oh so gorgeously spendy) EF 200-400mm F4L IS USM Extender 1.4x which should be online in the next few days, and maybe, just maybe, there will be some brand new products to read about before the next newsletter, too... As always, thanks for reading, Barney WTD #1404 Check out What The Duck in our Link Directory
News updates Leica announces X Vario zoom compact with APS-C sensor Published on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 1:00:00 PM GMT Leica has officially announced its much-teased (and leaked) X Vario - the world's first compact camera with an APS-C sensor and fixed zoom lens. Its Vario Elmar 18-46mm 1:3.5-6.4 ASPH lens offers a 28-70mm equivalent range, and sits in front of a 16.1MP CMOS sensor. Viewing is via a 920k dot 3" LCD, or the same optional plug-in EVF as used by the M Typ 240 and X2. The camera has control dials on the top plate for shutter speed and aperture, and zoom and focus rings around the lens barrel. The price tag is a hefty $2850/£2250. Read full story → Samsung introduces 10mm F3.5 Fisheye for NX Published on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 3:01:05 PM GMT Samsung has announced a 10mm F3.5 Fisheye lens for its NX mirrorless cameras, which it says is the smallest and slimmest of its type. It offers a 180 degree diagonal angle of view, and includes Samsung's unique 'i-Function' button that allows the manual focus ring to re-purposed to operate other camera controls. It's just over 26mm / 1" thick, and is a featherweight 71g (2.5 oz). It'll be available at the beginning of July, in black or white.   Read full story → Build your own tripod-mountable smartphone case: DIY instructions Published on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 7:24:37 PM GMT Do-it-yourselfers will love our instructions for a scrappy smartphone case that better serves your photography needs - complete with a tripod mount - which can be built for the bargain price of $7.38. A trip to the hardware store, some super glue and these directions will help you create a case designed with the serious mobile photographer in mind: click through to connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Modern digital media collages take Deutsche Börse Photography Prize Published on Tuesday, June 11, 2013 7:27:06 PM GMT Adam Broomberg and Oliver Chanarin have won the 2013 Deutsche Börse Photography Prize for their War Primer 2 publication — a collection of screen grabs and smartphone images paying homage to Bertold Brecht's original War Primer project from 1955. "The jury awarded the prize to Broomberg & Chanarin for their bold and powerful re-imagining of Brecht's War Primer," said Brett Rogers, director of The Photographers' Gallery. Learn more on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Fujifilm and Panasonic collaborate on 'industry-leading' organic/CMOS sensor Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 12:00:01 AM GMT Fujifilm and Panasonic have announced the joint development of a sensor technology that combines a light-sensitive coating on top of a CMOS chip. The companies claim higher dynamic range and sensitivity than current CMOS sensors, along with the ability to receive light at steeper angles - making it easier to design cameras with wide-angle lenses and allowing lenses to be mounted nearer to the sensor. The announcement extends from the work Fujifilm has been conducting on organic (carbon-based) photo-senstive materials and combines it with CMOS underpinnings developed by Panasonic. The result is a chip that uses CMOS technology only for circuitry - with the organic layer taking over the role of converting light into electrons. Read full story → Just posted: Our Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens review Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 9:13:01 AM GMT Just posted: Our review of the Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM lens. In the latest of our lens reviews brought to you in partnership with DxOMark, we take a look at Canon's slimline 'pancake' prime for its APS-C and full frame SLRs. It's one of the smallest and cheapest lenses currently on the market, and includes a stepper motor for silent focusing during movie recording. But does its small size and low price result in compromised optics? Read our review to find out.  Read full story → Samsung unveils Galaxy S4 Zoom camera/phone hybrid Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 1:04:28 PM GMT Samsung has officially unveiled the Galazy S4 Zoom - the nearest thing yet to a true camera / phone hybrid.  The 'camera side' features a 24-240mm equivalent F3.1-6.3 lens with a zoom ring around the barrel, in front of a 16MP 1/2.3" CMOS sensor. It includes optical image stabilisation, a built-in xenon flash, ISO 100-3200, 4 fps continuous shooting, and 1080p30 HD video; images are stored to internal memory or microSD. On the 'phone side' you get a 4.3" Super AMOLED display, Android 4.2 Jelly Bean, and all the other features you'd expect of a modern smartphone. The S4 zoom will go on sale this summer. Read full story → Microsoft updates Windows Raw support - adding 22 cameras Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 5:43:17 PM GMT Microsoft has announced a Raw compatibility update for Windows Vista, 7 and 8, adding support for 22 cameras. This includes the previous generation of Canon Rebel cameras, along with the Pentax K-01, Sony RX100 and the Fujifilm X10. It also adds support for the Canon EOS 6D and Nikon D600, along with 'richer' support for images shot in AdobeRGB. Read full story → Film scanner employs smartphones to digitize negatives Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 6:26:53 PM GMT A new smartphone gadget promises to use your mobile device to digitize your 35mm film. Compatible smartphones snap photos of backlit film inserted into the device while an app automatically inverts the negative image. See the Lomography Smartphone Film Scanner in action on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Photographers turn to moving images to hold audience Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 6:27:40 PM GMT In a world that can feel visually oversaturated with images, some photographers are seeking solutions that draw viewers' attention and ask them to linger a little longer. Model Coco Rocha recently shared her take on the dynamic image trend, exploring how animated GIFs, Cinemagraphs, Lytro images and interactive 360-degree panoramas are helping photographers stand out. We take a longer look at connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Apple updates Digital Camera RAW compatibility Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 6:38:29 PM GMT Apple updated its Raw engine to include more cameras. The new update applies to Aperture 3 and iPhoto '11. Cameras now supported include the Canon EOS-1D C, Canon EOS Rebel SL1 / 100D / Kiss X7, Canon EOS Rebel T5i / 700D / Kiss X7i, Hasselblad Lunar, Nikon Coolpix A, Nikon D7100, Nikon 1 J3, Nikon 1 S1, and Sony Alpha NEX-3N. Read full story → Sony Xperia Z Camera Review: Do its impressive specs measure up? Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 8:42:15 PM GMT Sony’s flagship Xperia Z offers some head-turning specs, including a 13-megapixel primary camera and a high-definition 1920x1080 443 ppi display on its 5-inch screen. It's even water- and dust-resistant — the ad campaign shows users rinsing the Xperia Z off by pouring water over it. We were eager to see if these exciting features make for a quality mobile camera. See our findings on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Pentax announces K-50 and K-500 mid- and entry-level DSLRs Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 10:00:00 PM GMT Pentax has refreshed its entry level DSLR lineup with the announcement of the K-50 and K-500. The K50 is an update of the K-30, featuring less controversial styling and slightly tweaked processing, helping it offer a maximum ISO of 51,200. The K-500, meanwhile, gets most of the K-50's features - the main loss being weather sealing - in a less expensive package. While not radically different from the K-30, both cameras bring twin dial controls and 100% glass prism viewfinders to price points ($799 and $599 respectively), where both those features are rare. Alongside the cameras, Pentax is launching revised, DA-L versions of its 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 WR and 55-200mm F4-5.6 WR lenses. Read full story → Pentax announces Q7 with larger 12MP BSI CMOS sensor Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 10:00:00 PM GMT Pentax Ricoh has announced the Q7 - its latest Q-mount camera and the first to feature a larger, 1/1.7" type sensor. The 7.44 x 5.58mm, 12MP BSI CMOS sensor is the same size as the one used in many enthusiast compacts, with the company claiming a 60% improvement in S/N ratio over the existing Q10. This improvement also allows the camera to focus faster in low light. The Q7 will cost around $500 with the '02' 5-15mm zoom lens and can be custom-ordered in any of 120 color combinations. The company has also introduced a body-cap 'Mount Shield' lens for the Q system - the 11.5mm F9 lens will cost around $80. Read full story → First impressions and real-world samples from the Pentax K-50 Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 10:01:47 PM GMT Fresh from the Pentax Ricoh launch event in New York, we've put together a real-world samples gallery from the Pentax K-50. The 16MP mid-range DSLR builds on the very likeable K-30 and promises improved image processing. We take a closer look at the K-50 and its similar sibling, the K-500, to see just what they bring to the table, as well as presenting a selection of full-resolution sample images. Read full story → Forum updates Published on Wednesday, June 12, 2013 11:32:52 PM GMT We've just deployed an update to the forums that adds tabbed filtering by thread type and a new 'photo post' option, designed for users wanting to share images. We've also added filtering by product (to the product forums) and a swanky new 'grid view' for browsing forums by images (rather than thread titles). Finally we've fine-tuned the 'classic' skin and deployed some fixes and enhancements to the text editor. Read full story → Samyang announces 16mm f/2.0 and 300mm f/6.3 Reflex lenses Published on Thursday, June 13, 2013 2:45:00 PM GMT Samyang has announced two manual focus lenses for cameras with APS-C or Four Thirds type sensors, a 16mm f/2.0 wideangle for SLRs and mirrorless, and a 300mm f/6.3 for mirrorless. The 16mm f/2.0 ED AS UMC CS offers a 24mm-equivalent angle of view with an unusually bright maximum aperture, and comes in a wide range of mounts to fit almost every brand of camera. Its RRP is £419.99 / €395, or £459.99 / €435 for the Nikon mount 'AE' version. Meanwhile the Reflex 300mm f/6.3 ED UMC CS is a compact catadioptric or 'mirror' lens to fit Micro Four Thirds, Canon, Sony and Fujifilm models, and comes in a choice of silver or black for £289.99 / €259. Both will be available in July. Read full story → Berlin Foto Festival features smartphone images in Berlinstagram exhibit Published on Thursday, June 13, 2013 7:54:36 PM GMT The Berlin Foto Festival is again highlighting mobile photography at this year's show. A new exhibition, Berlinstagram, features the work of Berlin smartphone photographer and prolific Instagrammer Michael Schulz. Schulz uses a smartphone to capture both the street scenes and architectural structure of Germany's capital city. See more of his striking photos on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Snapcat app will turn your cat into a photographer Published on Thursday, June 13, 2013 8:01:47 PM GMT As if the plethora of blurry cat photos flooding social photo sharing sites weren't enough, a new app promises to deliver even more by helping furry felines capture their own self-portraits. Snapcat is the result of a 24-hour coding spree during EyeEm's Photo Hack Day 3 in Berlin. You just have to laugh, and for a few more giggles, click over to connect.dpreview.com to see how Snapcat works. Read full story → Roger Cicala gets inTouit with a new Zeiss lens Published on Thursday, June 13, 2013 9:02:55 PM GMT Now that he has his own copies of the new Zeiss Touit lenses, Roger Cicala of Lensrentals decided to crack into the Planar 32mm F1.8 lens. His mission was to see if the renowned build quality of Zeiss optics was compromised to make the lenses more affordable. His teardown detailed the Touit's polymer construction and its use of a DC motor. Click through to see what he thought. Read full story → Fotodiox announces LED-based DY-200 Fresnel Lights Published on Thursday, June 13, 2013 11:34:37 PM GMT Fotodiox has announced the new DY-200 LED-based Fresnel Light for film work and studio photography. The lamps use very little power, are cool to the touch, and are flicker-free. They can be controlled via a built-in LED display, wireless remote, or with a DMX-compatible lighting control system. The DY-200 is available in daylight or 'W' tungsten versions, and is now available for $1199.95. Read full story → Sigma 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM available in July for around $799 / £800 Published on Friday, June 14, 2013 5:46:50 AM GMT Sigma USA has announced its 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM Art lens for APS-C DSLRs - the world's first constant F1.8 zoom - will be available from July at a street price of around $799. Meanwhile the recommended retail price will be £799.99 in the UK, and €999 in Europe. The company has also said the lens will be available for Pentax and Sony mounts, as well as the Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts originally announced. It covers a 27-52.5mm equivalent range and offers the depth-of-field of a constant F2.7 lens on full-frame. Click through for more information and to link to our first impressions of shooting with the lens. Read full story → New firmware from Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sigma Published on Friday, June 14, 2013 8:30:00 AM GMT Canon, Nikon, Olympus and Sigma have released firmware updates, for the EOS 650D / Rebel T4i, 1 System cameras, Stylus XZ-2 and DP Merrill-series APS-C compacts repectively. The EOS 650D gains several bug fixes, mainly related to the use of STM lenses. Nikon's 1 System cameras have been updated to add support for the new 32mm F1.2 lens and continuous AF with the Nikon mount adapter FT1 and AF-S lenses, among other refinements. The Olympus Stylus XZ-2 has been updated for support with the new VF-4 electronic finder, and Sigma's DP Merrill-series benefit from several performance and stability improvements. Click through for details.  Read full story → Video Guide: Smartphone vs Digital SLR Published on Friday, June 14, 2013 5:35:00 PM GMT We've just posted the first in what we hope will be an ongoing series of short videos aimed at the novice photographer. In this first segment our hosts Jordan and Mark compare the results from a smartphone and an entry-level digital SLR in everyday shooting conditions such as low light, moving subjects and the challenge of capturing a flattering informal portrait. In future spots we'll be covering more practical shooting advice and diving into creative techniques in an effort to help beginners choose the right gear. Click on the thumbnail to watch the video. Read full story → Accessory Review: GigaPan Epic Pro Published on Friday, June 14, 2013 8:54:26 PM GMT The GigaPan EPIC Pro is an affordable motorized panorama head for DSLRs, built to create high-resolution images from multiple frames. In this article, Ireland-based landscape photographer Carsten Krieger takes the device out into the field to put it through its paces. Click through for a link to the full review.  Read full story → What The Duck #1404 Published on Friday, June 14, 2013 9:05:15 PM GMT We've been fans of Aaron Johnson's comic strip 'What the Duck' for years. 'WTD' is one of the best satirical comic strips in the world, and it's published here every week, as well as being included in our weekly newsletter. Barbed, topical and always amusing, we hope you enjoy WTD as much as we do. Click through for this week's strip. Read full story → Mobile news for photographers: HTC One, Sony Xperia Z, image apps Published on Friday, June 14, 2013 10:17:42 PM GMT Week in Review: From our full reviews of the HTC One and Sony Xperia Z cameras, to a do-it-yourself smartphone stand/tripod-mount/lens-mount case to an assortment of image-centric apps, we've rounded up a week's worth of can't-miss stories for mobile photography enthusiasts. Click through to connect.dpreview.com to catch up. Read full story → Canon EOS 700D / EOS Rebel T5i review updated with lens data Published on Friday, June 14, 2013 11:39:21 PM GMT We've updated our review of the Canon EOS 700D / EOS Rebel T5i with lens data and analysis of the camera's EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 IS STM kit zoom, as usual tested in partnership with DxOMark. We've also looked at the effectiveness of its IS system and shown an example of its AF performance in video mode. As this lens is about the only change of significance with the EOS 700D release, we thought we'd incorporate our findings directly inside the review for your convenience. Click through to find out what this updated kit zoom offers. Read full story → Sigma UK competition: win a 18-35mm F1.8 DC HSM lens Published on Monday, June 17, 2013 10:30:15 AM GMT The Sigma 18-35mm f/1.8 DC HSM has garnered a huge amount of interest from our readers, as the fastest zoom lens ever made for SLRs. UK residents can now win one courtesy of Sigma UK's latest competition, along with a two day landscape photography workshop in Dartmoor with pro photographer Lea Tippett. For a chance of winning, submit your best landscape photo, along with 80 words saying how you'd benefit from the workshop. The closing date for entries is 31st July 2013: click through for full details.   Read full story → DxOMark investigates lenses for the Canon EOS 700D / Rebel T5i Published on Monday, June 17, 2013 11:43:00 AM GMT Our friends and collaborators over at DxOMark have been looking into how lenses score on specific cameras, and most recently they've been examining Canon's latest SLR, the EOS 700D / Rebel T5i. In an ongoing article they investigate how 130 lenses from Canon, Carl Zeiss, Samyang, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina measure up on the 700D's 18MP sensor. As this is essentially a variant of the sensor used in every Canon APS-C camera since the EOS 7D in 2009, the article could be of interest to a lot of Canon users. Click through for the links.     Read full story → MetaRaw plugin offers Photoshop and Elements users broader Raw support Published on Monday, June 17, 2013 8:21:46 PM GMT The Plugin Site has created the MetaRaw plugin for Photoshop and Photoshop Elements that allows the conversion of Raw files not supported by the associated version of Adobe Camera Raw. The MetaRaw plugin offers access to three Raw conversion methods - ACR, DNG Converter or its own, dcraw-based converter. It also allows Elements 10 and 11 users to access ACR's lens correction and chromatic aberration tools. Read full story → Canon EOS Rebel SL1/100D studio samples and good light samples gallery Published on Monday, June 17, 2013 11:51:13 PM GMT Just Posted: Canon EOS Rebel SL1/100D studio samples and good light samples. We've just got hold of a production version of Canon's miniaturized DSLR and, as part of the process of reviewing it, have shot our standard studio scene. We've also taken it out to see how it performs away from the studio lighting and have put together a series of daylight samples. Click through to see how it fares. Read full story →
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