Digital Photography Review Newsletter: Wednesday, 25 February 2015

	Digital Photography Review Newsletter Wednesday, 25 February 2015 The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 300,000 subscribers
Welcome to the 549th Digital Photography Review newsletter. Well I'm back from CP+, still a little jet-lagged but as always, deeply impressed by the products and the people I spent time with in Japan. There's a link to our full show coverage below, and I'm also working on transcribing the various interviews that we conducted at the show, as well as writing up a fascinating tour of Sigma's factory in Aizu. Watch this space for more. But for now... CP+ 2015 coverage We spent a few days in Japan recently, covering the CP+ show in Yokohama. An increasingly important show in the photography calendar, several manufacturers used CP+ this year to show off their latest and greatest gear. Click the links below for complete show coverage and watch this space for more, including interviews and a report on our visit to Sigma's Aizu factory. Click here to explore our CP+ 2015 coverage. Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Real-world Samples After handling a prototype at Photokina, we brought a final shipping sample of Tamron's new 15-30mm wideangle zoom back from CP+. The stabilized ultra-wideangle lens covers a full-frame sensor, offers a unique double lens hood design for added strength and boasts a very competitive $1200 price tag. We're impressed so far - check out our samples gallery. View our gallery of samples from the Tamron SP 15-30mm f/2.8 Di VC USD Olympus OM-D E-M5 II First Impressions Review updated with shooting experience Our first impressions review of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II covered the cameras updates, physical features and (of course) our first impressions on using it. Now that we've had some more time with the camera, we've put together some more thoughts on shooting with the E-M5 II - from gray Seattle to the bright sunshine of Bermuda. Click here to read about our experience shooting with the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II Sony Xperia Z3 camera review The Sony Xperia Z3 is the successor to the Xperia Z2, and in terms of both camera specification and design it's more of an evolutionary update than a major overhaul. In terms of camera specs the new model comes with the same 20.7 MP resolution on a 1/2.3 sensor as its predecessor but the new G-lens offers a wider equivalent focal length of 25mm. Click here to read our review of the Sony Xperia Z3 Into the woods: a video overview of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II We thought we'd try something a bit different for our video overview of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II. Given that two of the major changes are improvements in its video features and stabilization, we thought we'd use the camera to shoot its own video and see how it behaves handheld. And, since the camera is environmentally sealed, we thought we'd venture beyond the office for a bit. Click here to watch What else is coming up? Reviews of Sony's Alpha a7S, a7 II, and Samsung's NX1 are all in progress, as well as the Nikon D810 and Olympus E-M5 II. I'm also working on some additional content from CP+ including interviews with senior executives from several companies,. and a report from Sigma's Aizu factory, in northern Japan. Barney
News updates Sony Xperia Z3 camera review Published on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 9:47:00 PM GMT The Sony Xperia Z3 is the successor to the Xperia Z2, and in terms of both camera specification and design it's more of an evolutionary update than a major overhaul. In terms of camera specs the new model comes with the same 20.7 MP resolution on a 1/2.3 sensor as its predecessor but the new G-lens offers a wider equivalent focal length of 25mm. Click through to read our full review on connect.dpreview.com Read full story → Konost full-frame digital rangefinder in the pipeline for 2016 Published on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 7:45:00 PM GMT An American start-up company is promising to bring a 20MP full frame digital rangefinder camera to market for early 2016. The Konost FF will be a 20-million-pixel metal bodied M-mount camera equipped with a 4" LCD. The company has said that the rangefinder system will operate not with mirrors and prisms, as most rangefinders do, but with twin imaging sensors that overlay their images to produce the same dual image effect in the viewfinder. Read more Read full story → Historic prints from the beginning of photography to go on auction in London Published on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 4:10:38 PM GMT William Henry Fox Talbot prints from as early as 1844 are part of a collection of over 200 photographs that are due to go to auction in London next month. All of the pictures in the sale come from a single private collection which includes a many well-known and important works, and many of the prints were made at the time the original pictures were taken. See gallery Read full story → ARRI announces the ALEXA Mini 4K UHD, a lightweight carbon fiber cinema camera Published on Tuesday, February 24, 2015 1:26:00 AM GMT We don't normally write about thirty-thousand-dollar cinema cameras, but the ARRI ALEXA Mini caught our eye. This digital motion picture camera packs a whole lot of firepower into a super compact, carbon-fiber body. The specs also foreshadow what me might expect in future consumer-level cameras, in terms of video capabilities. Read more Read full story → CreativeLive kicks off Photoshop Week 2015 Published on Monday, February 23, 2015 9:33:56 PM GMT Starting today, the folks at CreativeLive are hosting a week of educational programs designed to help photographers and designers get the most out of Adobe Photoshop. Classes range from tips for beginners to more specialized sessions in landscape, architecture and portrait photography, to name a few. All classes are streaming live for free over the next six days, and will be available for purchase after the event. Read more Read full story → Panasonic introduces Lumix G 30mm macro and new 42.5mm portrait prime Published on Monday, February 23, 2015 5:14:00 PM GMT Panasonic has announced two new additions to its Micro Four Thirds lens lineup, a 30mm F2.8 macro and 42.5mm F1.7 portrait lens. The company had previously hinted that the 30mm was in the works, and as promised it offers Mega O.I.S stabilization along with 240 fps drive AF. The 42.5mm F1.7 isn't quite as fast (or presumably as expensive) as the existing Leica Nocticron 42.5mm F1.2. Both lenses will be available in May. Read more Read full story → Close Encounters: Will Burrard-Lucas' wildlife photography Published on Sunday, February 22, 2015 3:00:00 PM GMT Based in the UK, nature photographer Will Burrard-Lucas is highly dedicated to wildlife photography. He's even developed his own remote-controlled camera system for getting as close as you can with dangerous animals like rhinos, lions and… meerkats. The photographer spent an entire year living in Zambia where he used new technologies like drones, camera traps and remote-control devices to capture nature from tricky perspectives. See gallery Read full story → International Garden Photographer of the Year 2015 winners announced Published on Saturday, February 21, 2015 2:00:00 PM GMT Winners of the International Garden Photographer of the Year competition have been announced, the top prize has gone to Magdalena Wasiczek. She won the overall prize in 2012, and has taken the top prize again with a dramatic rendering of a red Hydrangea petiolaris against a heavily defocused background. See winners Read full story → FAA proposes regulations for commercial drone usage Published on Friday, February 20, 2015 8:08:29 PM GMT The FAA's plan to regulate drone usage has been a long running cause of concern among enthusiasts and those hoping to use UAVs for commercial purposes. Thus far speculation has pegged the budding regulations as unnecessarily restrictive, but the new officially revealed FAA proposal shows those concerns to largely be unfounded. Read more Read full story → Olympus OM-D E-M5 II First Impressions Review updated with shooting experience Published on Friday, February 20, 2015 3:18:00 PM GMT Our first impressions review of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II covered the cameras updates, physical features and (of course) our first impressions on using it. Now that we've had some more time with the camera, we've put together some more thoughts on shooting with the E-M5 II - from grey Seattle to the bright sunshine of Bermuda. Read more Read full story → New samples from the Sigma 24mm F1.4 DG HSM Art lens Published on Friday, February 20, 2015 1:22:00 AM GMT We were recently lucky enough to visit Sigma's factory in Aizu, Japan, where Sigma allowed us to shoot with a pre-production sample of the recently-announced 24mm F1.4 DG HSM Art lens. The wintry landscape of the Fukushima prefecture was a nice contrast to the CP+ convention center where we last gathered some samples with this lens, and our recent samples are more representative of lens performance on a native mount body (Canon 6D). Have a look Read full story → Into the woods: a video overview of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II Published on Thursday, February 19, 2015 11:19:00 PM GMT We thought we'd try something a bit different for our video overview of the Olympus OM-D E-M5 II. Given that two of the major changes are improvements in its video features and stabilization, we thought we'd use the camera to shoot its own video and see how it behaves handheld. And, since the camera is environmentally sealed, we thought we'd venture beyond the office for a bit. See video Read full story → Sony branches off audio and video business but remains committed to sensor development Published on Thursday, February 19, 2015 10:31:09 PM GMT Sony has announced that it will be branching off its audio and video departments into a separate subsidiary. Sony previously spun off its VAIO PC business one year ago, and the creation of new departments aims to make the company into a profitable entity. Read more Read full story → Adobe celebrates 25 years of Photoshop Published on Thursday, February 19, 2015 5:01:00 AM GMT Photoshop turns 25 today, and Adobe is marking the occasion with a look back at the software's humble roots, along with a chance for users under the age of 25 to take control of the company's Instagram handle for two weeks. Short of supplying its subscribers with complimentary birthday cake, the company has put together some entertaining graphics comparing Photoshop's icons, toolbars and splash screens for a short trip down the digital memory lane. Read more Read full story → Marumi introduces fixed and variable neutral density filters, including ND100,000 for solar shooting Published on Wednesday, February 18, 2015 10:34:07 PM GMT Japanese filter brand Marumi has introduced a collection of neutral density filters for its DHG (Digital High Grade) range including fixed density strengths of ND 8, 16, 32 and 64 as well as a variable ND filter with a range of ND 2.5-500. The company has also announced a ND filter for shooting solar eclipses. Read more Read full story → Astropad turns iPad into drawing tablet for Mac Published on Wednesday, February 18, 2015 6:46:29 PM GMT Two former Apple engineers have just launched Astropad, an app for Apple's iPad and Mac computer that turns the former into a drawing tablet for the latter. It works with most styluses, and allows use of applications like Photoshop for image retouching and editing with more precision. Read more Read full story →
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