Digital Photography Review Newsletter: Wednesday, 30 October 2013

	Digital Photography Review Newsletter Wednesday, 30 October 2013 The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 300,000 subscribers
Hello! And welcome to the 481st Digital Photography Review newsletter. First, some admin - are you getting this newsletter for the first time? Is it a surprise? Maybe you don't remember ever signing up for it? If so, you're one of the thousands of people who signed up to dpreview at some point between September 2011 and spring this year, who checked 'receive weekly newsletter' but never actually started getting it (oh, how we love system glitches). OK, now that's cleared-up, let's get on! While I was at the Photo Plus Expo in New York last week our Seattle and London teams were finishing up a detailed review of the Olympus OMD-EM1 and an extensive first-impressions review of Olympus's new high-end compact, the Stylus 1 (their near-simultaneous publication was just a coincidence, we swear). Olympus certainly isn't taking its foot off the gas and nor are we - this week we're been shooting with the new Sony A7R, Panasonic GM1, Nikon D610 and GX7, and we just took delivery of a Nikon 1 AW-1, so watch out for some content on all of those cameras very soon. Let's look at some recent highlights. Olympus PEN OM-D E-M1 Review With a rugged, weather-sealed body, hybrid AF system, 5-axis image stabilization, Wi-Fi, and seemingly endless customizable controls, the Olympus E-M1 is arguably the most enthusiast-friendly Micro Four Thirds camera on the market. We've been using the E-M1 intensely for a while, during which we put Olympus' latest OM-D through our usual battery of tests - click the link below to see if the 'Pro' Micro Four Thirds camera has finally arrived. Click here to read our review of the Olympus PEN OM-D E-M1 Olympus Stylus 1 First-impressions Review Up until recently, the only 'real' premium superzoom camera was the Panasonic DMC-FZ200. Recently, Sony made a big splash with their pricey Cyber-shot RX10, which features a 1"-type sensor. The Olympus Stylus 1 slots in nicely somewhere between the two, offering a 1/1.7"-type sensor and constant F2.8, 28-300mm equivalent lens in an OM-D-style body. We had the chance to use one for a few days - click the links below to see what we thought. Click here to read our first-impressions review of the Olympus Stylus 1 Sony A7R Real-world Samples We've been able to get our hands on the highly anticipated full-frame Sony Alpha 7R again, and have posted a gallery of real-world samples using a final production camera. We've put together a preliminary gallery using the Sony FE 35mm F2.8 ZA and FE 55mm F1.8 ZA primes, and we'll be adding more images as soon as we can. Follow the link for some shots taken in the Volunteer State: Tennessee. Click here to view our gallery of real-world samples from the Sony A7R Nikon teases new camera, rumors point to 'retro' styling Rumors have been flying recently that Nikon may be on the cusp of creating a stripped-down, film-era-style camera. If true, it would join consciously 'retro' cameras like Fujifilm's X-Pro 1 and X100S, and Sony's RX-series full-frame compacts. As such it would no doubt appeal to a lot of people. Last week Nikon released the first in a series of short teaser videos for a "pure photography" camera, adding fuel to the flames of rumor. Click here to read more about Nikon's new teaser campaign Nikon D610 real-world and studio samples We're still working on our review of the Nikon D610, but recently shot some real-world samples to put the full-frame DSLR through its paces. With literally just three new features (two of which come from the new shutter mechanism), the D610 should deliver the same top-notch image quality found in last year's D600. We also published new test shots, including downloadable Raw files of both the daylight and low light scene. As usual this allows you to compare the D610 with other cameras, as well as letting you download the images to test with your own workflow. Click here to view our real-world and studio samples from the Nikon D610 What's coming up? Our long-awaited review of the Canon EOS 70D is hours away, and we're getting close to completing our review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 as well. We'll be publishing more real-world samples from the Nikon D610 soon, as well as the tiny (and rather lovely) Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1, plus the usual industry news, articles and some roundups and buying guides for the upcoming holiday season. Time always seems to speed up at this time of year - lots to do! Thanks for reading! Until next time... Barney GearShop update - a message from Laura New to GearShop: Did you like what you saw in the Olympus Stylus 1 announcement? It's a good solution for an all-in-one compact camera with a bright lens, that sits nicely between the Sony RX10 and Panasonic FZ200. Sign up for one by pre-ordering now, and we'll charge you when it ships. Expected delivery is late November. Hot cameras: Nikon D610 bodies and Fujifilm X100S are in stock with free 2-day delivery right now, but selling fast. Finally, based on your feedback, we've made some tweaks to the shopping experience. As you browse our inventory, we hope you find it easier to sort through the results and find all of the information you are looking for quickly and easily. Contact us any time with suggestions or feedback, or feel free to start a conversation on the GearShop forums. As always, everything in the store ships free with 2-day delivery on top of these big savings. Until next week - Laura and the GearShop Team
News updates Olympus UK teases new 'premium compact' in photo competition launch Published on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 10:11:29 AM GMT Olympus UK has teamed up with exhibtr.com to launch a competition for student photographers, and in the process teased an upcoming 'premium compact' as one of the prizes. The Student Photography Competition 2013/14 has a theme of 'People & Portraits', and the overall winner will receive an OM-D E-M5 12-50mm lens kit, while two runners-up will receive the soon-to-be-announced camera. UK-based photographers will be able to get an 'exclusive preview' of the new model at London's Covent Garden from November 2nd to 9th. Click through for more details.  Read full story → DxO Labs introduces Optics Pro 9 with 'PRIME' noise reduction Published on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 1:53:27 PM GMT DxO Labs has released Optics Pro 9.0, a major update to its RAW conversion and image correction software. It offers improved highlight recovery, adds creative visual presets known as 'Atmospheres', and includes all-new 'PRIME' noise reduction technology that claims to offer significant image quality gains at high ISOs. The software is available to download now, with a special introductory price to November 20th. Click through for full details.   Read full story → Apple Aperture 3.5 adds iCloud Photo Sharing, SmugMug support Published on Wednesday, October 23, 2013 5:30:04 PM GMT While not the major update that many users had been hoping for, Apple did sneak in an update to its Aperture software amongst yesterday's iPad madness. New features include iCloud Photo Sharing, integration with SmugMug, and support for iOS 7 camera filters. In addition, Aperture 3.5 now uses Apple Maps for its 'Places' feature (we're not sure if that's a good thing), and numerous bugs were squashed. Follow the link for the full change log. Read full story → Voigtlander creates VM-E Close Focus adapter for Sony cameras Published on Thursday, October 24, 2013 10:57:04 AM GMT Voigtlander has announced the VM-E Close Focus adapter, which will allow the use of M-mount lenses on Sony E-mount cameras such as the recently-announced full frame A7 and A7R. Unlike most similar adapters, though, Voigtlander's latest includes a focusing helicoid for close-up work, with 4mm travel. This overcomes a limitation of many rangefinder lenses, which tend to have longer minimum focus distances than similar SLR lenses. It's set to be available in December for €289. Read full story → Leica unveils D-Lux 6 Silver Edition Published on Thursday, October 24, 2013 2:41:07 PM GMT Just in time for the holiday season, Leica has announced a 'Silver Edition' of its D-Lux 6 premium compact camera, with a high-gloss black body and silver lens barrel. The camera also gets a new accessory: the Leica Soft Pouch in lambskin nappa leather, which the company says features a 'fascinating wrap-around design'. The camera is otherwise the same as the standard D-Lux 6 (and by extension, very similar to the Panasonic Lumix DMC-LX7).  Read full story → PPE 2013: Hands-on with new Manfrotto 190 tripods Published on Thursday, October 24, 2013 4:22:54 PM GMT We're at the Photo Plus Expo in New York, and this morning we got an opportunity to look at Manfrotto's new 190-series tripods. The 190 series has been among Manfrotto's most popular products for a long time, and the recently announced updates take up less space when folded, and add some interesting and well-thought-out improvements to the design. Click through for a quick hands-on with the new Manfrotto 190-series.  Read full story → Dubble app uses crowdsourcing to create double exposures Published on Thursday, October 24, 2013 7:09:38 PM GMT Dubble, a new community-based photography app takes the concept of double exposures — either a trick or a mistake in which photographers expose a roll of film twice, thereby layering two images in a single frame — and applies it to your smartphone, with a crowdsourcing twist. We take a closer look at Dubble on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → PPE 2013: Hands-on with Fujifilm's newest cameras Published on Thursday, October 24, 2013 8:31:22 PM GMT One of the busiest stands at this year's Photo Plus Expo belongs to Fujifilm, which is showing off its new XQ1 and X-E2 cameras, as well as this year's other key products, the X20 and X100S. We're running around the show having meetings and trying out all the latest gear, and we made sure to stop by and say hi to Fujifilm. Click through for a quick hands-on look at the latest products. Read full story → Sigma announces pricing and availability of 24-105mm F4 lens Published on Friday, October 25, 2013 5:00:00 AM GMT Buried among all of the cameras announced last week was a new 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM lens from Sigma. The company has announced pricing and availability for this full-frame 'Art lens', which will be available for Canon, Nikon, Sigma, and Sony mounts (in that order). You'll be able to pick one up for yourself starting next month at a retail price of $899. In the UK, the recommended retail price will be £849.99. Read full story → PPE 2013: Hands-on with Panasonic's newest cameras Published on Friday, October 25, 2013 5:00:00 PM GMT We're at Photo Plus Expo in New York, having meetings and learning about all the new products that have recently been announced (and some which are still under wraps). Panasonic's new GM1 is one of the hottest new cameras at this year's show, inheriting a lot of technology from the GX7, and yesterday afternoon we stopped by the stand to get our hands on the gear. Click through for a quick tour of three of Panasonic's latest cameras.  Read full story → Nikon video hints at long-desired 'digital FM' Published on Friday, October 25, 2013 7:20:00 PM GMT The rumors of Nikon creating a stripped-down, film-era-style camera are exciting because it's something people have been calling for, for years. Nikon Rumors has been reporting possible specifications all week. Adding fuel to the flame, Nikon recently released a short teaser video and ad campaign for a "pure photography" camera. Watch the video Read full story → Nikon D610 real-world and test scene samples Published on Friday, October 25, 2013 11:25:00 PM GMT We're still working on our review of the Nikon D610, but recently shot some real-world samples to see if the most recent update still retains the same top-notch photo quality found in last year's D600. Click through for a link to our real-world gallery taken in a range of different environments and our test scene images.   Read full story → PPE 2013: Hands-on with Sony's new A7 / A7R and RX-series cameras Published on Saturday, October 26, 2013 12:59:53 AM GMT Of all the major camera manufacturers, Sony has the most new products on show at the Photo Plus Expo in New York, after the flurry of new Alpha and RX-series cameras released in the past couple of months. We had a fascinating (and fun) interview this morning with Kimio Maki, the brains behind the A7 and RX lines which we'll be writing up soon, but in the meantime, click through for a quick tour of the new cameras.  Read full story → Niki Feijen's haunting images of abandoned houses Published on Saturday, October 26, 2013 10:00:00 AM GMT Dutch photographer and urban exploration specialist Niki Feijen goes behind "do not enter" signs on dilapidated houses to document furniture, clothes, and other ornaments left behind by their former owners. His eerie HDR images reveal remnants of life in rooms across western Europe that are now left to decay. Frozen in time, it's hard not to imagine the people that once occupied the spaces. See gallery Read full story → Measuring the camera capabilities of Samsung's new Galaxy Note 3 Published on Saturday, October 26, 2013 6:00:00 PM GMT Samsung’s Galaxy Note 3 makes good on the promise of the 'phablet' thanks to its huge, high-resolution screen and its muscular processing. But how does it fare as a camera? We put the super-sized smartphone through its photographic paces on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Nokia's 808 and 1020 compared in our studio test scene Published on Sunday, October 27, 2013 10:00:00 AM GMT Nokia's 'Pureview' technology is still making headlines along with the announcement of the manufacturer's first 'phablet', the Lumia 1520. We felt the timing was perfect for taking a closer look at Pureview by testing the original Nokia 808 in our newly revamped studio test scene, and putting it up against this year's version of the tech found in the 41MP Nokia Lumia 1020. See how the two compare on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → 'Light Goes On' - stunning video by light painter Darren Pearson Published on Monday, October 28, 2013 5:24:10 PM GMT Darren Pearson is a 'light painter', who creates photographs and videos featuring elements that are 'painted' with light during long exposures. Most photographers have probably tried painting with light at least once, but Pearson takes it to a new level in his video 'Light Goes On', which features a skeleton (one of his common characters) drawn with light, skateboarding through various locations. Click through to watch the appropriately halloween-themed video. Read full story → creativeLIVE's entire photography education catalog on sale until 31st October Published on Monday, October 28, 2013 6:43:38 PM GMT Photography education resource creativeLIVE has announced a sale on all of its online photography workshops from now until the end of this month, plus a free three-day 'Autumn Photo Critique' evaluating submissions in three categories: wedding and family, commercial and fine art and portraiture. Click through for more details of the promotion. Read full story → Canon PowerShot G16 updated with test scene samples Published on Monday, October 28, 2013 7:12:34 PM GMT We just updated our first impressions review of the Canon PowerShot G16 with our studio test scene showing image quality in both JPEG and Raw capture modes. It includes downloadable Raw files of both the daylight and low light scenes. As usual this allows you to compare the G16 with other cameras.  Read full story → Complete control: Olympus OM-D E-M1 review posted Published on Monday, October 28, 2013 7:56:12 PM GMT With a rugged, weather-sealed body, hybrid AF system, 5-axis image stabilization, Wi-Fi, and seemingly endless customizable controls, the Olympus E-M1 is arguably the most enthusiast-friendly Micro Four Thirds camera on the market.  We've put Olympus' latest OM-D through our usual battery of tests - follow the link to see if the 'Pro' Micro Four Thirds camera has finally arrived. Read full story → Super zoom? Olympus Stylus 1 First Impressions Review Published on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 5:00:00 AM GMT Up until recently, the only 'real' premium superzoom camera was the Panasonic DMC-FZ200. Two weeks ago Sony made a big splash with their pricey Cyber-shot RX10, which features a 1"-type sensor. The Olympus Stylus 1 slots in nicely somewhere between the two, offering a 1/1.7"-type sensor and constant F2.8, 28-300mm equivalent lens in an OM-D-style body. If that sounds appealing, then follow the link to read our First Impressions Review of the Stylus 1. Read full story → Hands-on with the Olympus Stylus 1 Published on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 5:00:00 AM GMT The Stylus 1 is Olympus's latest high-end compact camera. With 'mini-DSLR' styling and a constant-aperture F2.8 28-300mm (equivalent) zoom lens, the 12MP Stylus 1 has a lot to offer the amateur and enthusiast photographer. While our Seattle and London teams were busy preparing a detailed preview, editor Barnaby Britton got his hands on the new model at last week's Photo Plus Expo show in New York. Click through for a gallery of hands-on pictures and his initial impressions.  Read full story → Olympus Stylus 1 puts high-end superzoom features into OM-D body Published on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 5:00:00 AM GMT Olympus has thrown its hat into the premium superzoom ring with the Stylus 1. It combines a larger-than-average 1/1.7"-type BSI-CMOS sensor with a 28-300mm equivalent, F2.8 zoom lens, high resolution EVF, 'hybrid' control ring, and Wi-Fi - and packs it all into a compact body that strongly resembles the OM-D EM-5. Other notable features include a built-in ND filter, tilting touchscreen LCD, in-camera Raw processing, and 1080p movie recording. Read full story → Google+ reaches out to photographers with new imaging features Published on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 9:08:09 PM GMT Google is reaching out to photographers once again by announcing a bevy of forthcoming features on its social networking site Google+ that will be a boon to photographers: full-resolution photo backups for iOS users, improved search through advanced photo recognition software, and better image editing tools. See what else is new on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Fresh from Tennessee: Sony A7R real-world samples Published on Tuesday, October 29, 2013 9:35:03 PM GMT We've been able to get our hands on the highly anticipated full-frame Sony Alpha 7R again, and have posted a gallery of real-world samples using a final production camera. We've put together a preliminary gallery using the Sony FE 35mm F2.8 ZA and FE 55mm F1.8 ZA primes. Follow the link for some shots taken in the Volunteer State: Tennessee. Read full story →
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Digital Photography Review Newsletter: Monday, 21 October 2013

	Digital Photography Review Newsletter Monday, 21 October 2013 The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 300,000 subscribers
Hello! And welcome to the 480th Digital Photography Review newsletter. Well, as you'll know if you've been watching the site, the recent flood of new products did not abate last week, and as well as Sony's A7, A7R and Cyber-shot RX10 mentioned in the last newsletter we also saw major new cameras from Panasonic, Nikon and Fujifilm. As you'd expect we produced in-depth content on all of them in time for launch, which meant long nights and early mornings for most of the editorial team, to get everything done. I published a brief recap of some of last week's content highlights this morning, if you're worried you might have missed anything. There's no rest for the wicked, and as I'm writing this on Monday afternoon we're preparing to fly out to New York for the annual PhotoPlus Expo, so watch out for show coverage later this week. Anyway, now that the dust has settled, let's look at some of the standout pieces of content from the past few days! Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 First-impressions Review It's not every day when you see a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that can fit in the palm of your hand. That's why we jumped at the chance to take a look at Panasonic's new Lumix DMC-GM1, which offers many of the features of its larger siblings, in a much smaller package. The slimline GM1 is built around a 16MP sensor, and features a large 3in touch-sensitive screen on the rear. Barely taller than its Micro Four Thirds lens mount, the GM1 is bundled with an equally skinny 12-32mm (24-64mm equivalent) zoom. Click the links below to read our detailed first-impressions. Click here to read our first-impressions review of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GM1 Fujifilm X-E2 First-impressions Review Fujifilm has announced the X-E2 - its latest mid-range mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. The X-E2 gains many of the upgrades seen in the X100S, including on-sensor-phase-detection that underpins the company's unique digital-split-image focus aid. Beyond this the 16MP X-Trans camera has received a series of hardware adjustments and revisions in response to feedback about the X-E1. Click here to read our first-impressions review of the Fujifilm X-E2 Nikon D5300 First-impressions Review Nikon's latest consumer DSLR, the D5300, evolves the design of its predecessor but raises the feature bar, bringing it closer to the D7100. In fact, it's likely that the 24MP D5300 even uses the sensor of its big brother since it also lacks an AA filter. The D5300's larger LCD and viewfinder serve to further close the gap, while built-in Wi-Fi, GPS, and 1080/60p video recording go beyond what the D7100 offers. We've had some time with a pre-production D5300, and you can click through to read our first impressions review. Click here to read our first-impressions review of the Nikon D5300 Nikon invokes spirit of 'Noct' with 58mm F1.4G premium lens Nikon has announced the AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G, a premium standard prime for full frame SLRs that's designed to deliver the best possible images, even at maximum aperture. It's highly corrected for coma, meaning that point light sources are rendered correctly right across the frame, and is specifically designed to give an attractive rendition of out-of-focus regions of the image. It can also be used on Nikon's DX format SLRs, on which it will behave like a classic 85mm 'portrait' lens. This all comes with a hefty price tag, though; $1699.95 / £1599.99. Click here to read more about Nikon's new 58mm F1.4 Fujifilm XQ1 puts X-Trans sensor into an ultra-compact body Fujifilm's new XQ1 enthusiast compact takes the fast lens and slim design from last year's XF1 and adds a 12 megapixel 2/3" X-Trans II CMOS sensor with hybrid AF. The XQ1 features a 25-100mm (equiv.) F1.8-4.9 lens with optical image stabilization and claimed focus times as fast as 0.06 seconds. Other features include a 3-inch LCD, lens control ring, focus peaking, Raw support, 1080/60p video, and Wi-Fi. Click here to read our coverage of the new Fujifilm XQ1 What's coming up? It looks like the barrage of new cameras and lenses might be over (for now) which leaves us free to continue with our reviews of the Panasonic Lumix DMC-GX7 and the Canon EOS 70D, as well as the Olympus OM-D E-M1. We're starting to take delivery of reviewable samples of some of the latest new products as well, so expect studio and real-world samples from various new cameras and lenses over the coming days and weeks. Thanks for reading! Until next time... Barney WTD #95 Check out What The Duck in our Link Directory   GearShop update - a message from Laura Last week was incredibly busy with new releases from Sony, Nikon, Fujifilm, and Panasonic. You've probably seen the previews and announcements on DPReview by now, and if you're ready to take the plunge and pre-order, we're ready for you. Sony's a7 and a7R will begin shipping in early December, and a smattering of new lenses and accessories are on the way too. Nikon's D5300 ships in mid-November, and the AF-S Nikkor 58mm F1.4 G promises super-sharp images (even wide open) and a Halloween release date. Fujifilm announced the X-E2 mirrorless camera last week, which incorporates the excellent hybrid AF from the X100S (which happens to be in stock right now!) as well as other refinements based on feedback from X-E1 owners. Speaking of the X-E1, it's still $200 off, body only or kit! Or, if you're a fan of Fujifilm's X-Trans sensor technology, but you want something more casual to slide into your pocket, the tiny XQ1 might be for you. Lastly, Panasonic has introduced the incredibly small DMC-GM1 micro four thirds camera with an equally small 12-32mm kit lens. Similar in stature to Pentax's Q system or Sony's RX100 II, but with a large sensor than both cameras, it's a pretty enticing design. Just make sure you pick up some small lenses to match. As always, everything in the store ships free with 2-day delivery on top of these big savings. Until next week - Laura and the GearShop Team
News updates 30 years after rollout, take a tour of Space Shuttle Discovery's flightdeck Published on Monday, October 14, 2013 2:57:49 AM GMT Space Shuttle Discovery was rolled out from the factory thirty years ago this month, and in an operational career spanning 39 missions, she spent 365 days in space and travelled almost 150 million miles. Discovery can currently be found on display at the Smithsonian National Air and Space Museum in Virginia but if you're curious about what it looks like inside, click through for a 360-degree interactive panorama of the flight-deck of the most travelled shuttle ever to fly.  Read full story → Nikon sues Sakar for infringement with Polaroid iM1836 Android camera Published on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 7:15:33 AM GMT Nikon Inc. has announced a lawsuit against Sakar International Inc. over the design of the Polaroid iM1836, a planned Android camera that bears a resemblance to one of the Nikon 1 series of mirrorless cameras. Announced this morning in a Japanese language press release on Nikon's Japanese website, the lawsuit was filed in the US District Court for the Southern District of New York. The lawsuit seeks an injunction against both manufacture and sale of the Polaroid iM1836 digital camera. Read full story → Photographer creates 'virtual panoramic tour' of North Korea Published on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 11:00:26 AM GMT What's it like to visit one of the world's most secretive countries? Singapore-based photographer Aram Pan wanted to find out for himself. North Korea is notorious for stage-managed and highly restricted access for foreigners, but Pan decided to have a go at simply asking North Korean authorities whether he could enter the country and document what he saw. Click through for extracts from his story, and some of his stunning images. Read full story → Canon announces Japan-only special-edition PowerShot S120 and G16 Published on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 6:12:56 PM GMT Canon has announced special edition versions of its PowerShot G16 and S120 digital compact cameras. The 'premium' versions appear to be intended for the Japanese domestic market, and will be available in different color finishes, with a custom engraving option. Color customization appears to comprise the option of red, gold, silver and black finished on select components and both cameras are supplied with unique accessories - a cowhide leather pouch for the S120 and a leather hard case for the G16. Click through for pictures. Read full story → Sony Xperia Z1 impresses in DxOMark Mobile Report Published on Tuesday, October 15, 2013 6:32:27 PM GMT The Sony Xperia Z1 is Sony's top-of-the-line smartphone, and for photographers, the really big news is the Z1's camera. At 1/2.3-inch the sensor in the Sony's camera module is larger than the 1/3-inch sensors that are common in the current crop of smartphones. Our partners at DxOMark have put the Sony Xperia Z1 through their comprehensive image quality testing regime. Click through to find out if the Z1's impressive specs translate into great image quality. Read full story → First impressions review of the full-frame Sony A7 and A7R Published on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 6:00:00 AM GMT Sony's new A7 and A7R bring full-frame imaging to the company's mirrorless ILC lineup, using the established E-mount. While they're not quite the 'full-frame NEX' that some loyal Sony users might have been imagining, the 24MP A7 and 36MP A7R are impressive, innovative products that demand to be taken seriously (with a price-point to match). We've had the opportunity to use pre-production samples of both new models, and we've prepared a hands-on first impressions review covering off their key features, operation, and early indications of their performance. Click through to read more.  Read full story → The ultimate superzoom? Sony Cyber-shot RX10 first impressions review Published on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 6:00:00 AM GMT Sony's Cyber-shot RX10 marries the 20MP 1"-type BSI-CMOS sensor from the RX100 II with a 24-200mm Zeiss Vario-Sonnar zoom lens, with a constant maximum aperture of F2.8. On paper it's an impressively versatile package for both still and video capture, and we've spent a few days with a pre-production sample to get a feel for how Sony's most powerful Cyber-shot yet performs. Click through to link to our first impressions review.  Read full story → Sony announces A7 and A7R: first full-frame mirrorless cameras Published on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 6:00:00 AM GMT Sony has announced the A7 and A7R - the world's first consumer-oriented full-frame mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. Externally, the two bodies are nearly identical and feature a pentaprism-like EVF housing, generous handgrip and plenty of manual controls. The differences are internal - sporting a 36 megapixel sensor, the A7R has no optical low-pass filter and is limited to contrast-detect autofocus, while the less expensive A7 has a 24 megapixel sensor with a low-pass filter and on-chip phase detection. Both bodies are designed around the Sony NEX E-mount, though new 'FE' lenses are needed to take advantage of the larger sensor. Click through for more details. Read full story → Sony introduces large-sensor 'high-zoom' Cyber-shot RX10 Published on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 6:00:00 AM GMT Sony has announced an addition to its RX-series of premium fixed-lens cameras, the Cyber-shot DSC-RX10. With the same 1" sensor as the RX100 II, the RX10 offers a Carl Zeiss Vario Sonnar T* 24-200mm equivalent zoom lens with an F2.8 constant maximum aperture. It uses a Bionz X image processor with offers improvements in resolution, noise reduction, and diffraction reduction. Other features include a tilting 3-inch LCD, OLED electronic viewfinder, Wi-Fi with NFC, and 60p video recording. Click through for more details. Read full story → Sony announces five full-frame E-mount 'FE' lenses, updates 70-200mm Published on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 6:00:00 AM GMT Sony has announced no fewer than five 'FE' full frame E-mount lenses to accompany the A7 and A7R. First up is the FE 28-70mm F3.5-5.6 OSS, an image-stabilised 'kit' zoom for the A7. There are three premium lenses with Zeiss badges: the FE 55mm F1.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T*, the FE 35mm F2.8 ZA Carl Zeiss Sonnar T*, and the FE 24-70mm F4 Carl Zeiss Vario Tessar T*. The fifth lens is a 'G' class telezoom, the FE 70-200mm F4 G OSS. Sony has also updated its Alpha-mount fast telezoom to make the 70-200mm F2.8G SSM II.  Read full story → Samyang announces five full frame E-mount lenses Published on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 3:57:26 PM GMT Samyang has announced that it will be making five full frame lenses in E mount, which will be the first third party optics compatible with the A7 and A7R. The lenses are all based on existing designs, namely the 14mm f/2.8 ED AS IF UMC, 24mm f/1.4 ED AS IF UMC, 35mm f/1.4 AS UMC, 85mm f/1.4 AS IF UMC, and the T-S 24mm f/3.5 ED AS UMC tilt-and-shift. All feature manual focus and aperture operation, and will be available within 2 months. As these are essentially SLR lenses with an adapter tube permanently fitted, they won't offer any of the size advantages achievable by 'native' lenses. Read full story → Sigma announces 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM full frame standard zoom Published on Wednesday, October 16, 2013 5:09:26 PM GMT Sigma has announced the 24-105mm F4 DG OS HSM - an image stabilized normal zoom for full frame DSLRs. The 24-105 becomes the latest addition to the company's 'Art' series of lenses designed to offer high image quality. The lens features a 19 element/14 group design including Sigma's FLD glass and both single- and double-sided aspherical elements which the company says will minimize aberrations. It has a minimum focusing distance of 45cm throughout its range, giving a maximum magnification of 1:4.6. Prices and availability have yet to be announced. Read full story → First impressions review: Tiny Panasonic GM1 under the microscope Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 4:00:00 AM GMT It's not every day when you see a mirrorless interchangeable lens camera that can fit in the palm of your hand. That's why we jumped at the chance to take a look at Panasonic's new Lumix DMC-GM1, which offers many of the features of its larger siblings, in a much smaller package. Read our first impressions review after the link. Read full story → Movin' on up: Nikon D5300 first impressions review Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 4:00:00 AM GMT Nikon's latest consumer DSLR, the D5300, evolves the design of its predecessor but raises the feature bar, bringing it closer to the D7100. In fact, it's likely that the 24MP D5300 even uses the sensor of its big brother since it also lacks an AA filter. The D5300's larger LCD and viewfinder serve to further close the gap, while built-in Wi-Fi, GPS, and 1080/60p video recording go beyond what the D7100 offers. We've had some time with a pre-production D5300, and you can click through to read our first impressions review. Read full story → Panasonic unveils tiny Lumix DMC-GM1 ILC and compact 12-32mm lens Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 4:00:00 AM GMT One of the original promises of the Micro Four Thirds system was to permit the design of small mirrorless cameras. Today Panasonic released its Lumix DMC-GM1, a tiny camera which can literally fit in the palm of your hand. Don't be fooled, though: it shares the same 16 megapixel sensor as the GX7 and also offers silent shooting at shutter speeds as high as 1/16000 sec, Wi-Fi, and 1080/60i video recording. It's bundled with a new 12-32mm F3.5-5.6 lens (also available separately) that rivals a pancake lens for compactness when 'collapsed'. Read full story → Nikon D5300 adds pixels, Wi-Fi, and GPS while leaving AA filter behind Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 4:00:00 AM GMT Nikon has announced its new D5300 midrange DSLR which, as you might have gathered, is the follow-up to the D5200. New features include the omission of an AA filter from its 24MP CMOS sensor, a larger 3.2in articulated LCD and also a slightly larger optical viewfinder, 1080/60p video, and built-in Wi-Fi and GPS. Nikon claims that the D5300's Expeed 4 processor improves performance (allowing for 5 fps burst shooting) and photo quality, while reducing power consumption. You'll be able to pick up the D5300 this month, in your choice of black, red, or gray. Click through for more details.  Read full story → In pictures - Nikon's large and pricey AF-S 58mm F1.4G Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 4:00:00 AM GMT Want to know more about Nikon's new premium AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G? Click through to see our pictures taken of the lens at Nikon's UK press event, with the latest D610 acting as the model, along with our first thoughts of this sizeable and distinctly pricey optic. Read full story → Nikon invokes spirit of 'Noct' with 58mm f/1.4G premium lens Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 4:00:00 AM GMT Nikon has announced the AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G, a premium standard prime for full frame SLRs that's designed to deliver the best possible images, even at maximum aperture. It's highly corrected for coma, meaning that point light sources are rendered correctly right across the frame, and is specifically designed to give an attractive rendition of out-of-focus regions of the image. It can also be used on Nikon's DX format SLRs, on which it will behave like a classic 85mm 'portrait' lens. This all comes with a hefty price tag, though; $1699.95 / £1599.99. It'll be on sale in selected retailers at the end of this month. Read full story → Another Hasselblad rebadge or Photoshopped hoax? Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 6:24:14 PM GMT Various rumor sites are today reporting Hasselblad is poised to release a $10,000 camera called the 'Hasselblad Solar,' a rebadge of the Sony A7 that was announced just yesterday. Some even report it as if it's a real product. Even just a cursory glance at the image suggests it's a quick Photoshop job to add a wood grip and lighten the tint of the body. The serial number on the lens suspiciously matches the product shots Sony released yesterday as well. What do you think? Read full story → Kodak ships API to help app devs take photos from phone to print Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 7:16:43 PM GMT One of the remaining arms of the Kodak legacy, Kodak Alaris, is working to remain relevant by focusing its efforts on moving photos from smartphone to print, via one of its 105,000 photo printing kiosks worldwide. The company recently released its API to lure developers into adding Kodak kiosk printing capabilities directly into their mobile photography apps. Learn more at connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Panasonic adds Leica 15mm F1.7 lens to Micro Four Thirds stable Published on Thursday, October 17, 2013 7:44:07 PM GMT Panasonic quietly announced the development of a Leica DG SUMMILUX 15mm (30mm equiv.) F1.7 lens, which the company says will be an ideal companion to the DMC-GM1 also released today. Details are scarce at this point, but the lens will have a manual aperture ring and will ship sometime next year. Also coming in 2014 are a Leica DG NOCTICRON 42.5mm F1.2 lens, as well as a budget-friendly Lumix G 35-100mm. Read full story → First Impressions Review of Fujifilm X-E2 midrange mirrorless ILC Published on Friday, October 18, 2013 4:30:00 AM GMT The X-E2 represents the start of Fujifilm's refresh of its X-series mirrorless interchangeable lens cameras. It features a 16MP X-Trans CMOS II sensor that gains on-sensor phase detection over the one used in previous models. This and a 1.04m dot LCD are the major hardware changes - the X-E2 is mainly about handling and operations tweaks. We've got to grips with the camera's handling to see how it's changed, compared to the X-E1. Click through to find out more. Read full story → X-Trans in your pocket: First Impressions Review of Fujifilm's XQ1 Published on Friday, October 18, 2013 4:30:00 AM GMT The Fujifilm XQ1 - the follow up to the stylish XF1 - is the company's latest attempt to make a splash in the high-end compact camera segment. The big change on the XQ1 is its use of the X-Trans II sensor with on-chip phase detection, which promises higher photo quality and snappy focusing. If that sounds intriguing, then read our initial thoughts in our first impressions review of the Fuji XQ1. Read full story → Fujifilm announces X-E2 - second generation mid-level mirrorless Published on Friday, October 18, 2013 4:30:00 AM GMT Fujifilm has announced the X-E2 - its latest mid-range mirrorless interchangeable lens camera. The X-E2 gains many of the upgrades seen in the X100S, including on-sensor-phase-detection that underpins the company's unique digital-split-image focus aid. Beyond this the 16MP X-Trans camera has received a series of hardware adjustments and revisions in response to feedback about the X-E1. Read full story → Fujifilm XQ1 puts X-Trans sensor into an ultra-compact body Published on Friday, October 18, 2013 4:30:00 AM GMT Fujifilm's new XQ1 enthusiast compact takes the fast lens and slim design from last year's XF1 and adds a 12 megapixel 2/3" X-Trans II CMOS sensor with hybrid AF. The XQ1 features a 25-100mm (equiv.) F1.8-4.9 lens with optical image stabilization and claimed focus times as fast as 0.06 seconds. Other features include a 3-inch LCD, lens control ring, focus peaking, Raw support, 1080/60p video, and Wi-Fi. You'll be able to pick one up for yourself this month for under $500. Read full story → Back from the dead: Fujifilm boosts X100 with major firmware upgrade Published on Friday, October 18, 2013 5:00:00 AM GMT Following recent updates to the X-Pro1 and X-E1, Fujifilm has released a major upgrade to the X100, the original (now-discontinued) X-series model, which was announced back in 2010. Since its release, the X100 has benefitted from a series of major firmware improvements, and the latest - likely to be the last - offers faster startup time, and improvements to automatic and manual focus. Firmware v2.0 is available for download today. Click through for our opinion on this announcement, and the official press release. Read full story → Marco Bohr investigates 'hipster photography' Published on Sunday, October 20, 2013 11:00:00 AM GMT What is 'hipster photography'? Photographer Marco Bohr has written a blog post in which he attempts to define 'a new genre of photography which is apparently produced, promoted and disseminated by trend conscious people who are in contemporary visual culture referred to as hipsters'. In his post, Bohr argues there is a distinction between a photograph of hipsters and a photograph by hipsters. He aims to deconstruct these images, and see beyond the thick black-framed glasses, quirky haircuts, and geeky watches. Click through for more details.  Read full story → Iain McKell photographs 'The New Gypsies' Published on Sunday, October 20, 2013 12:00:00 PM GMT Gypsies are not just a thing of the past. Photographer Iain McKell followed a group of modern-day travelers in the English countryside for more than 10 years. His images are an intimate and insightful look at people who seek simplicity in living in horse-drawn caravans, yet still use modern technology such as Facebook. His photographs make real and raw the often-romanticized lifestyle of these modern nomads. Click through for a look at his images.  Read full story → What The Duck #95 Published on Sunday, October 20, 2013 6:28:30 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.  Read full story →
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