Digital Photography Review Newsletter: Wednesday, 3 September 2014

	Digital Photography Review Newsletter Wednesday, 3 September 2014 The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 300,000 subscribers
Welcome to the 525th Digital Photography Review newsletter. Here in our Seattle office we're just catching up after a (rare) long weekend. I spent it out and about, shooting with Fujifilm's new enthusiast compact camera, the X30. It's only a beta sample (pre-production) but Fujifilm kindly gave us permission to post images. You can see them here (and via the link below). Sometimes, going on vacation with a 'work camera' can be a pain, but I enjoyed shooting with the X30 and I'm keen to get a shipping quality camera into our studio soon. For a photographic experience from a very different era, check out a personal project of mine - found pictures of Berlin in 1956/7 that I've been restoring. We published part 1 over the weekend - part 2 will follow at the end of this week. In the meantime, here are a few other content highlights from the past few days: Self portrait: Olympus PEN E-PL7 First Impressions Review At first glance the Olympus PEN E-PL7 looks like yet another compact, selfie-friendly mirrorless camera - but looks can be deceiving. The innards of the camera come largely from the excellent OM-D E-M10, and Olympus touts the E-PL7's autofocus system as its best yet. For all the details on the latest PEN, check out our First Impressions Review. Click here to read our first-impressions review of the Olympus E-PL7 Hands-on with the Pentax K-S1 The Pentax K-S1 is a unique-looking DSLR, with pulsing LED lights on the front and a backlit mode dial on the back. There's more to the K-S1 than just its looks, including a new sensor, image processor, and even a new font in the menus. As always, all of the features one would expect to see on a Pentax DSLR are here too. Learn more in our slideshow. View our hands-on slideshow of the new Pentax K-S1 Fujifilm X30 (beta) real-world samples The Fujfilm X30 offers a 2/3" X-Trans II CMOS sensor and a 28-112mm equivalent F2.0-2.8 lens - both of which are retained from the X20 that precedes it. New features include a larger, tilting 3" LCD, an XGA OLED electronic viewfinder, a control wheel around the lens, and greatly improved battery life. We've had access to a pre-production camera for a few days now, and we've been given permission to post some images. Click through for a link to our gallery. View our gallery of (beta) samples from the Fujifilm X30 Readers' Showcase: Black and White photography While it's easy to get swept up in the stream of product announcements at this time of year, it's also a good idea to remember why we buy that gear - to make great photos. What better way to do it than to showcase the excellent work of our own community? This week we asked users of our Black and White Photography forum to submit their favorite shots for inclusion in our Readers' Showcase. As usual, the photos submitted were of a very high quality. Click here to take a look at our gallery of readers' images A guided tour of the Sony QX1 and QX30 smartphone cameras Sony got a lot of attention when it released a pair of cameras which clip onto a smartphone last fall. They're really going to raise a lot of eyebrows now, with their QX1, which features an APS-C sensor and E-mount. Yep, an Alpha on your phone. Take a tour of the QX1 and the superzoom QX30 cameras right here. Click here to read more about Sony's QX1 and QX30 What's coming up? Work continues on the Nikon D810, and we're nearly done with our review of the Panasonic GH4 and Sony Alpha A7S. As Photokina approaches we're expecting plenty of new gear, too so keep an eye on our homepage! See you next week. Barney GearShop update - a message from the team Still one of the biggest sellers in the compact ILC segment, the Sony NEX-6, along with its 16-50mm lens (24-75mm equivalent), makes a great kit to get into the world of mirrorless cameras. Featuring a bright electronic viewfinder, a tilting LCD, built-in Wi-Fi and the ability to use Sony's family of E-mount lenses, the NEX-6 body and lens is being offered at over $390 off its original price. Now Shipping: Sony has just released its new APS-C compact system camera, the Alpha a5100, and it is available now from GearShop with free 2-day shipping. The a5100 keeps many features from the a6000 internally, but houses them in a smaller body with simpler controls. It features a touchscreen LCD which also rotates 180 degrees, and built-in Wi-Fi for instant uploads. Until next week - the GearShop Team
News updates Canon confirms price drop on select EF lenses Published on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 7:42:00 PM GMT Canon US has confirmed multiple price drops across its range of lenses, including several L-series models. According to Canon the price reductions are in honor of reaching a milestone - the production of 100 million EF lenses. Price drops range from a modest $40 up to $1000 off the original retail price, depending on the lens. Read more  Read full story → Zeiss launches Loxia full frame lenses for Sony E-mount Published on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 7:36:22 PM GMT German optical manufacturer Zeiss has announced a new range of lenses called Loxia, designed for full frame cameras using the Sony E mount – essentially the Sony Alpha 7 series at the moment. The Loxia 2/35 and Loxia 2/50 are based on the company's existing 35mm f/2 Biogon and 50mm f/2 Planar lenses from the ZM range. Read more Read full story → Canon marks 80 years since the Kwanon, its first camera Published on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 5:29:00 PM GMT In the build-up to Photokina, Canon is celebrating its 80th anniversary. The seed was planted in 1934 when a company called Seiki-Kogaku Kenkyusho placed an advert for a camera called the Kwanon in the Asahi Camera magazine. The company, whose name translates as Precision Optical Instruments Laboratory, was formed to develop the first Japanese 35mm rangefinder camera in a world where European brands, such as Leica and Contax, dominated. Read more Read full story → Fujifilm X30 (beta) real-world samples Published on Tuesday, September 2, 2014 4:14:27 PM GMT The Fujfilm X30 offers a 2/3" X-Trans II CMOS sensor and a 28-112mm equivalent F2.0-2.8 lens - both of which are retained from the X20 that precedes it. New features include a larger, tilting 3" LCD, an XGA OLED electronic viewfinder, a control wheel around the lens, and greatly improved battery life. We've had access to a pre-production camera for a few days now, and we've been given permission to post some images. Click through for a link to our gallery.  Read full story → Cold War camera: 1950s Berlin in color (part 1) Published on Monday, September 1, 2014 9:00:00 AM GMT Ten years after the end of WWII, Germany was rebuilding. Cities like Berlin, which had been severely damaged during the war were emerging from the rubble as the 'Wirtschaftswunder' or 'economic miracle' transformed West Germany. In the immediate post-war period hundreds of thousands of allied troops were stationed in the divided country, many of them with cameras. Found recently at a flea market, the images in this article date from 1956-7 and were taken by a US Serviceman in Berlin. Click through to take a look.  Read full story → Readers' Showcase: Black and White photography Published on Sunday, August 31, 2014 9:00:00 AM GMT While it's easy to get swept up in the stream of product announcements at this time of year, it's also a good idea to remember why we buy that gear - to make great photos. What better way to do it than to showcase the excellent work of our own community? This week we asked users of our Black and White Photography forum to submit their favorite shots for inclusion in our Readers' Showcase. As usual, the photos submitted were of a very high quality. See gallery Read full story → Nikon releases D4S firmware C:1.10 Published on Saturday, August 30, 2014 9:00:00 AM GMT Nikon has issued a firmware update for the D4S. The long list of improvements included in this firmware version are mostly minor bug fixes and tweaks to menus and camera operation. See the full details and get a link to download the latest D4S firmware version. Read more Read full story → Sony adds XAVC S support to Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 Published on Friday, August 29, 2014 10:53:00 PM GMT The Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 is a video powerhouse, and Sony is now giving it the same XAVC S codec found on its RX100 III and a5100 models via firmware update v.2. This allows for 1080p/60/30/24 and 720p/120 resolutions at a bit rate of 50Mbps. Aside from the new firmware, a SDXC card is the only other thing you'll need to get started. Update: the firmware is now available in the US, as is a Mac version. Find out how to get it. Read full story → Week in review: 8 things we learned Published on Friday, August 29, 2014 10:01:10 PM GMT It's been a busy week and as we head into a long weekend here in the US, it seemed like a good time to take a look back at everything that's happened in the past seven(ish) days. With new products from Fujifilm, Olympus and Ricoh, Photokina fever is definitely taking hold. And the week wasn't without an oddball moment or two, including the emergence of Sony's Asia-only 'perfume bottle selfie camera.' Relive the highs, the lows, the weird and the wonderful with us, in this slideshow. Read full story → Metabones launches Canon EF to Micro Four Thirds Smart Adapter and Speed Booster Published on Friday, August 29, 2014 6:29:00 PM GMT Lens adapter manufacturer Metabones has launched a pair of long-awaited Canon EF to Micro Four Thirds lens adapters. The first adapter is the Smart Mount version which allows electronic control of the aperture in a Canon lens from a Micro Four Thirds camera, as well as correct recording of EXIF information and activation of Image Stabilization where present. Also debuting is an EF to Micro Four Thirds Speed Booster. Read more Read full story → A new Mix: Adobe updates Photoshop Mix for iOS Published on Friday, August 29, 2014 3:29:00 PM GMT In June Adobe announced Photoshop Mix, an image organization and manipulation app for the Apple iPad which can sync with Photoshop CC for desktop computers and Lightroom Mobile via Adobe's Creative Cloud.Today the software maker has released Photoshop Mix 1.1, the first major upgrade to the new app. Improvements include support for large panoramic images and PNG fields as well as the option to open files directly from Dropbox. Read more at connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Leica launches 100mm F2 Summicron for medium format S system Published on Friday, August 29, 2014 2:51:00 PM GMT German camera brand Leica is set to launch a new portrait lens for its professional S system that features a super-fast maximum aperture of F2. The Summicron-S 100mm F2 ASPH will sit between the company’s existing Summarit-S 70mm F2.5 ASPH and the APO-Macro-Summarit-S 120mm F2.5, both of which are also popular choices for portrait photographers using the S cameras. Click through for more details. Read full story → GoPro launches new Field Guide tutorial series Published on Friday, August 29, 2014 8:01:00 AM GMT GoPro's in-house production team travel the globe with some of the world's best athletes and produce videos like the Hero 3+ launch, with over 16 million views on YouTube. This week GoPro and its production team released a new tutorial series called the GoPro Field Guide, a set of videos designed to delve a little deeper into some of the more complex functions of their action camera lineup. Read more Read full story → Corel unveils PaintShop Pro X7 with new tools and a fresh design Published on Friday, August 29, 2014 12:30:00 AM GMT This week Corel has unveiled PaintShop Pro X7 and PaintShop Pro X7 Ultimate, two new versions of its image editing software for Windows. This update features extensive changes to the user interface as well as a claimed 30 percent improvement in brush performance, including the Paint Brush, Airbrush and various retouching tools. Speed improvements have allowed for new instant previews of effects before they are applied to images and the 64-bit architecture allows fast performance with larger or multiple images. Read more Read full story → Casio develops Exilim EX-FR10 two-part action cam with wireless monitor Published on Thursday, August 28, 2014 10:09:55 PM GMT Casio is set to launch a new action cam in September, featuring a wireless camera unit that is detatchable from the main body. The Casio Exilim EX-FR10, which will initially be only available in the Japanese market, uses a Bluetooth connection with a range of up to 10m between the body and the camera so images can be recorded remotely and monitored on the 2-inch 230,400-dot touch screen. Read more Read full story → Self portrait: Olympus PEN E-PL7 First Impressions Review Published on Thursday, August 28, 2014 5:00:00 AM GMT At first glance the Olympus PEN E-PL7 looks like yet another compact, selfie-friendly mirrorless camera -- but looks can be deceiving. The innards of the camera come largely from the excellent OM-D E-M10, and Olympus touts the E-PL7's autofocus system as its best yet. For all the details on the latest PEN, check out our First Impressions Review. Read full story → Olympus PEN E-PL7 compact mirrorless camera announced Published on Thursday, August 28, 2014 5:00:00 AM GMT Olympus has announced the PEN E-PL7, refreshing its entry-level mirrorless line. It offers a 16MP CMOS sensor, 3-axis image stabilization system borrowed from the OM-D E-M10, 8 fps continuous shooting and built-in Wi-Fi. Not forgetting the self-portrait-obsessed masses, the E-PL7 provides an articulated 3" touch LCD capable of flipping downward by 180°. Along with the E-PL7, Olympus has also announced an update to its OI.Share app as well as a black version of its 12mm F2.0 prime. Read more Read full story → Watch Nature photographer Ian Shive, live, with CreativeLIVE Published on Thursday, August 28, 2014 1:02:48 AM GMT CreativeLIVE is hosting a three-day course on wildlife photography presented by Ian Shive. The course is free to watch live, and runs through August 29th. Shive will demonstrate techniques and give advice during three days of shooting, live from the Mt Rainier and Olympic National Parks in Washington State. Click through for a link to the course at creativeLIVE. Read full story → Hands-on with the Pentax K-S1 Published on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 10:00:00 PM GMT The Pentax K-S1 is a unique-looking DSLR, with pulsing LED lights on the front and a backlit mode dial on the back. There's more to the K-S1 than just its looks, including a new sensor, image processor, and even a new font in the menus. As always, all of the features one would expect to see on a Pentax DSLR are here too. Learn more in our slideshow. Read full story → Very flashy: Ricoh unveils Pentax K-S1 DSLR Published on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 10:00:00 PM GMT Ricoh and its Pentax brand have never been afraid of a little color, and the introduction of the K-S1 DSLR reaffirms that. The K-S1 offers a 20.1MP APS-C sensor, an AA filter simulator (as seen on the Pentax K-3) and burst shooting at 5.4 fps, but none of that is quite as attention-grabbing as its headline body specification - a set of green LEDs on the front of the camera's grip and around the power switch. Read more Read full story → Samyang announces 50mm f/1.4 UMC still and 50mm T1.5AS UMC video lenses Published on Wednesday, August 27, 2014 4:00:00 AM GMT Korean lens brand Samyang has announced that it will use the Photokina show next month to introduce a new 50mm f/1.4 lens for stills photographers and the same lens designed for videographers using DSLR and mirrorless cameras. Both the Samyang 50mm f/1.4 AS UMC and 50mm T1.5 AS UMC are designed to cover a full frame sensor and will each come in 10 mounts. Read more Read full story →
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