The Tamron SP 150-600mm F/5-6.3 Di VC USD is one of a select group of supertelephoto zooms for full frame SLRs that reaches or exceeds 400mm focal length, while still being reasonably portable. Its trump card over its closest competition lies in its longer focal length - at 600mm full zoom, it'll let you get your subjects that bit larger in the frame. But does this result in an unacceptable compromise in optical quality? See the lens test data and our analysis
Blackmagic Design, maker of a range of high-end compact cinema cameras, has announced a firmware update for all of their models. Available today, the new firmware provides an entirely new code base for the Blackmagic cameras and will enable the company to roll out new features to their devices. The new update claims to provide improved performance and introduces a new user interface. Learn more
Camera bag maker Tamrac has been acquired by the Ogden, Utah-based Gura Gear. Tamrac, under Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection since January, will see its brand and assets handed over when the acquisition is finalized later this month. At that point Tamrac's assets will be relocated to Gura Gear's Utah headquarters.
Our DIY forum isn't a month old and we've already seen it fill with interesting projects. Some solve a problem, while others are pure fun. Decidedly in the latter category, dpreview forum member vkphoto has put a Sony NEX-F3 'digital back' on a vintage ICA Toska camera from the early 1900s and a Carl Zeiss Tessar 135mm 1:6.3. See how he brought new life to an antique with a $15 modification. Learn more
Chinese smartphone maker Huawei has announced the Honor 6, a high-end model that is squarely aimed at the the competition's flagship devices such as the Apple iPhone 5s and Samsung Galaxy S5. Though not necessarily groundbreaking, the camera specs are decent with a 13MP 1/3-inch BSI CMOS sensor that we've also seen on the OnePlus One. The lens offers a fast F2.0 aperture but there is no talk of an optical image stabilization system. Learn more
Kodak is arguably the most famous name of all in photography, but it ultimately failed to manage the transition from film to digital, and ended up exiting the consumer imaging business altogether in 2013. But now JK Imaging, which licenses the Kodak name, has created an interchangeable lens camera. The Pixpro S-1 is an entry-level model that's designed to attract budding photographers who are buying their first system camera. Click through to read our first impressions.
Apocalypse Now star Dennis Hopper is set to get his first London photography exhibition, four years after his death. The show, entitled 'The Lost Album', will be a rerun of an exhibition Hopper held in 1970 at the Fort Worth Art Centre in Texas, and will comprise the original 9.5x6.5in silver gelatin prints that were first displayed over thirty years ago. Incredibly, the 400 prints were only found after Hopper's death in 2010, having lain 'lost' since their first airing. Click through for more information.
Photographer Central, a new service from portfolio-hosting site Zenfolio, aims to help professional photographers and clients find each other. Available only in the US, the online directory allows photographers to list their business for a yearly fee. Potential clients can browse photographers in a Yelp-like fashion, with the ability to sort results by price, location and style. Learn more
We've just posted our full review of the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 III. In this third generation compact, Sony offers a 20.1 megapixel BSI CMOS sensor and a couple of important new features - a faster 24-70mm equiv F1.8-2.8 lens and a pop-up EVF with 1.44M dots. With these additions to what was already an impressive camera, does the RX100 III earn our highest recommendation? See for yourself. Read review
The A7S is Sony's newest entry in its full-frame mirrorless lineup. But where the 'R' in A7R stood for resolution, the 'S' in the 12MP A7S stands for sensitivity, topping out at an impressive maximum ISO sensitivity setting equivalent to ISO 409,600. We've had an A7S for a couple of days - just long enough to create a real-world comparison of high ISO stills from the camera against the 36MP A7R and Canon's EOS 5D Mark III. Click through to see the results.
While many American cities have experienced the pains of a large population shift from the urban core to suburbs, there's a poignancy to the abandoned storefronts in downtown Rochester, New York. The city's name is inextricably tied to the name Eastman Kodak. Swiss photographer Catherine Leutenegger spent time photographing Rochester and Kodak's headquarters, first in 2007 and again in 2012, and answered a few of our questions about the project. See gallery
Avatron, the developer of Air Display, has today released a new iPad app. Air Stylus extends your computer screen to your iPad display and, in combination with a pressure-sensitive pen, turns the latter into a graphics tablet that works with a range of imaging applications including Adobe Photoshop and Apple's Aperture. Read more
We've come to the end of another week here at dpreview, and as our thoughts drift to weekend shooting opportunities, it's time to take things a little less seriously. Aaron Johnson's comic strip ‘What the Duck’ is just the thing, taking a gently satirical look through the lens of a photographically inclined waterfowl. You can find it published here (and in our newsletter) every week; we hope you enjoy it, and your weekend.
We've just added the Sony A7S to our studio test scene comparison. The A7S is a 12 megapixel full-frame mirrorless camera capable of shooting at ISO 409,600. It's as much designed for video as it is for stills, but for now take a look at its low light performance in our test scene and compare it to an ever-growing list of cameras. See studio results
After filing one last month, Apple has applied for another camera-related patent. The document an artificial muscle structure being used to replace traditional motors to control focus and aperture in a camera module. The design is interesting because it can carry relatively large and heavy optics and consumes very little power. Read more
Edgar Martins is drawn to documenting off-limits places. This was part of the appeal for him in a project titled 'The Time Machine,' in which he gained access to hydro-electric power plants in Portugal, the country where he was born. Built between 1950 and '70, these facilities were designed to accommodate dozens, even hundreds of employees working side-by-side with state-of-the-art technology. They're now operated with only a handful of personnel and are largely disused. He answered a few questions for us about the project. See gallery
From over 10,000 entries, the shortlist selection has been revealed for the 2014 Atkins Ciwem environmental photographer of the year competition. In its seventh year, the competition sponsored by the Chartered Institution of Water and Environmental Management (Ciwem) encourages entrants from around the globe to showcase work that 'will inspire people around the world to start taking care of our environment'. See gallery
Update: Amidst a slew of announcements yesterday, Adobe also made final release versions of Camera Raw and DNG Converter 8.5 available for download. A few new cameras are now supported including the Canon Powershot G1 X Mark II, Olympus OM-D E-M10, Panasonic GH4 and Sony Cyber-shot RX100 III. Camera Raw 8 users with Photoshop CS6 will get new camera support, lens profiles and bug fixes, but a few new features are added for Photoshop CC subscribers. Read more
Tamron has announced the 14-150mm F/3.5-5.8 Di III (model C001), a superzoom lens for Micro Four Thirds cameras which offers a 28-300mm equivalent range. It uses a stepper motor for silent autofocus (including during video recording), but doesn't include image stabilisation. This means that it's rather less suited to Panasonic cameras than it is to Olympus models. It will be available on June 26th for $589.
Tamron has officially launched its 28-300mm F/3.5-6.3 Di VC PZD superzoom lens (Model A010) for full frame SLRs. A near-twin of the 16-300mm F3.5-6.3 for APS-C, it's distinguished from the previous model by featuring an ultrasonic-type 'Piezo Drive' autofocus motor, splashproof construction and more-compact design with a 67mm filter thread. It'll be available in Canon and Nikon mounts on June 26th for $849.
Tamron has revealed that it will be making its 18-200mm F/3.5-6.3 Di III VC superzoom in Canon EF-M mount. In a week of unparalleled excitement for EOS M owners, it becomes the fifth autofocus lens for the two year old system, and the first from a third-party manufacturer. With a 29-320mm equivalent range, it features a stepping motor for silent autofocus, and optical image stabilization. Sales will start in the USA on June 26, at $499.
Amazon has officially announced its much-rumored smartphone, the Fire. Packing in six cameras in total, four of them are dedicated to enabling a new 'Dynamic Perspective' 3D-user interface possible, whereby the device can track a user's face and change how content is displayed. The main 13MP rear-facing camera has an F2 aperture and optical image stabilization. As well as being used for capturing photographs it also enables a new feature called Firefly, which can scan and identify millions of items. Read more
This morning Adobe announced a new photography-focused plan for Creative Cloud subscribers, new feature additions to Photoshop CC and two apps - an iPhone version of Lightroom Mobile and Photoshop Mix. We've written about all of these things individually, but if you're thoroughly confused about what it all means, click through for the main takeaways.
Adobe has announced a new pricing plan for photographers that bundles Lightroom 5 and Photoshop Creative Cloud together for $9.99/£8.78 per month. This plan makes it possible for photographers whose only interest is image editing to make use of both of these apps without signing up for a much costlier subscription to the complete Creative Cloud suite. No previous version of Photoshop is required. Read more
Following last week's video teasing the release of a new feature coming to Photoshop CC, Adobe has made the update official. In addition to the 'Focus Masks' feature that we already knew about, today's official announcement brings a host of mostly minor new features including new blur effects, updates to content aware fill, and improvements to tools like smart guides. Read more
Adobe has announced that Lightroom Mobile - first released for the iPad back in April - is now available for the Apple iPhone. Available for owners of Lightroom 5 for desktop, Lightroom Mobile essentially allows you to work on images on an Apple iPad or iPhone and sync adjustments between mobile and desktop versions of the software. Click to read more at connect.dpreview.com
Adobe has announced Photoshop Mix - a new image organization and manipulation app which can sync with Photoshop CC for desktop computers and Lightroom Mobile via Adobe's Creative Cloud. Photoshop Mix allows you to access local files on your iPad, as well as import pictures from Creative Cloud and social media sites like Facebook. You can apply one of several preset filter effects, as well as crop and edit files using touch-based selection and masking tools. Click through for more information on connect.dpreview.com
The sensors inside digital cameras are - generally - flat. But curved sensors promise greater sensitivity, better image quality, and provide scope for simpler lenses. Recently, Sony showed off some examples of curved image sensors, including (tantalizingly) a full-frame chip. Device manager Kazuichiro Itonaga claims: "The team has made somewhere in the vicinity of 100 full-size sensors with their bending machine. We are ready." Read on to learn more about this exciting new tech, how it imitates the human eye, and how it may find its way into consumer products.
Canon UK has announced the EF-M 55-200mm f/4.5-6.3 IS STM, a compact telephoto zoom for the EOS M mirrorless system. Canon claims the new lens offers high-end optical performance, a 'near-silent' stepping motor and a 3.5-stop optical image stabilization system. Providing an 88-320mm equivalent range on the EOS M, it's the fourth lens in the series, priced at €389.99/£329.99 with availability (at least in Europe) in July.
For those of us here in the Northern Hemisphere summer is upon us. We're celebrating the arrival of longer days and seaside vacations with our annual waterproof compact group test. This year's test includes the Canon PowerShot D30, Nikon Coolpix AW120, Olympus Tough TG-3, and Ricoh WG-4 GPS. See which of these rugged compacts came out on top.
Fujifilm has announced a firmware update for three of its X-Series camera, allowing them to print images instantly from the instax Share SP-1 printer. The Fujifilm XQ1, X-M1 and X-A1 cameras updated with the new firmware will be able to send photos directly to the compact instax printer, rather than by way of mobile device as is currently the case. The firmware should be available in late June, and Fujifilm plans to add the feature to more cameras. Learn more
If you want to bring the intensity of a full contact sport to the way you transport your camera gear, ThinkTank's new Airport Roller Derby bag may interest you. It's a large rolling bag built to accommodate a 15-inch laptop, up to two standard DSLRs with lenses attached and six to seven standard zoom lenses or strobes. With four dual wheels it will roll upright, tilted back or on its side. Read more
A press release that appeared on Canon Japan's website today indicates that Canon will be upgrading its Digital Photo Professional and EOS Utility applications. According to a translation of the release, DPP will be a 'significant' upgrade and will be available free as of June 26th. Read more
Fujifilm has announced its first weather-resistant lens, the Fujinon XF 18-135mm F3.5-5.6 R LM OIS WR, which is designed to match the high-end X-T1 mirrorless camera. Offering a versatile 27-200mm equivalent zoom range, the lens claims to have the world's most advanced image stabilisation system, which uses high precision gyro sensors to give a claimed 5 stop benefit. It also has an air ventilation system to help prevent dust being sucked into the lens by the zoom operation. It'll be available in July for £749.99 / $899.95.
The Olympus Stylus SP-100 EE is a superzoom camera with a built-in dot-sight that enables you to easily track moving subjects while the lens is zoomed in. The dot-sight pops up just above the high-resolution electronic viewfinder. To make long zoom focusing easier, the SP-100 also features a focus limiter, which lets the user choose what distances the camera searches. The SP-100 combines a 16MP BSI CMOS sensor with a 24-1200mm 50x optical zoom that captures 1080/60p HD video. We've been playing with it for a couple of weeks, to see how well it performs. See gallery
With our yearly waterproof compact group test nearing completion, and we put out a call on our new underwater photography forum asking readers to showcase their best photos from the deep. The responses were impressive - take a look at a few of our favorites. And if you're inspired to dive in and take some photos of your own, rest assured our waterproof group test is just around the corner. See gallery
The iPhone Photography Awards (IPPAWARDS) has announced the winners of its 7th annual Photographers of the Year contest, along with top photos in many individual categories. Entries to the 2014 competition came from photographers in in seventeen countries, and naturally, all were taken with an Apple iPhone, iPod or iPad. Click through to take a look at the winning photos. See gallery
Polish photographer Sebastian Luczywo takes an unusual approach to family photos. His clever and mood-filled photos depict his wife, their two children and family pets in the countryside, often with a touch of the surreal. The resulting images are anything but your standard family portraits. Take a look at his work. See gallery
With the T (Typ 701) Leica debuted a brand new mirrorless lens mount. Built around a 16MP APS-C CMOS sensor, the T has an ISO range of 100-12500 and offers 5fps continuous shooting and Full HD movie recording with stereo sound. We've been waiting for a Leica T to arrive in the dpreview office since it was announced back in April, and today our wish finally came true. To mark the grand occasion (and to immortalize the characteristically lavish packaging) we've created an unboxing slideshow. Click through to feast your eyes. And yes - since you ask, it is a slow news day.
Canon USA has released a video explaining how to take care of your camera gear. In the video, hosted by Holly Groder of Canon's call center, Canon gives a series of recommendations for things to avoid, and things to get into the habit of doing, to keep your gear clean and fully functional. If you mentally delete the word 'Canon' from every other sentence there's plenty of sensible advice for caring for your gear - whatever the manufacturer. Click through to see the video.
The AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G is Nikon's latest moderate wideangle prime, designed for full frame SLRs like the D610. It sits in the lineup between the budget, DX-only AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.8G and the premium, half-stop faster AF-S Nikkor 35mm f/1.4G. It also faces stiff competition from the highly-regarded Sigma 35mm F1.4 DG HSM. So how does it measure up in terms of optical quality? See the lens test data and our analysis
Samsung has launched two new high-end tablets. The Galaxy Tab S 8.4 and 10.5 have very similar specifications and mainly differ in screen size. Both devices offer high-resolution SuperAMOLED displays with 2560x1600 pixels. Samsung's earlier Tab Pro models came with the same resolution, but this is the first time Samsung combines such dense displays with SuperAMOLED technology. Learn more at connect.dpreview.com
Benjamin Von Wong isn't afraid of a little drama. His work incorporates elements of fantasy, turning models into otherworldly creatures and fire-breathers. So who else might you expect to find at the helm of an underwater shoot with two models, a team of divers and a shipwreck? Yep, he went there. Take a look at some of the photos and watch a behind the scenes video to see how he pulled it off. See gallery
The Galaxy S5 is Samsung's latest flagship smartphone and successor to the Galaxy S4. It comes with a 16MP BSI CMOS sensor, an F2.2 maximum aperture, 4K video capture and phase detection AF, but has to make do without an optical image stabilization system. That doesn't hold it back much - DxOMark's Mobile report gives its image quality full marks, making it a joint leader in their rankings with the Sony Xperia Z2. Learn more
Since its arrival in our office, the Panasonic Lumix FZ1000 has hardly had a moment's rest. The superzoom with a 25-400mm equivalent lens and 1"-type sensor is truly one-of-a-kind. We've put it through the paces of a first impressions review and taken it outside in some very un-Seattle-like weather for extensive shooting. In the process, we've assembled some hands-on photos of the camera so you can get better acquainted with the FZ1000. See slideshow
Superzoom cameras offer DSLR-style ergonomics and enormous zoom ranges, which make them very popular among novice photographers and enthusiasts looking for a 'take everywhere' option for travel and day-to-day shooting. They have not, traditionally, impressed us with their image quality. The Panasonic Lumix DMC-FZ1000 is a very different beast though, and has impressed us with its specification, performance and price. In this short article, editor Barnaby Britton explains why the FZ1000 is definitely not 'just another superzoom'. Read more
Sigma UK has revealed pricing and availability for its dp2 Quattro, along with much more information about the camera than we got when it was announced in February. The latest, 45mm-equivalent, model features dramatic styling and a fundamental re-think of the company's Foveon multi-layer sensor design. It will be available in early July with a suggested retail price of £899.99 including VAT. In the USA availability is estimated as early August and the street price will be $999. Learn more
Up until now, the Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 was the only game in town for those seeking a big zoom camera with a larger-than-average sensor. Panasonic has thrown its hat into the ring with the Lumix DMC-FZ1000, which offers a 1"-type, 20.1MP CMOS sensor, plus a longer (but slightly slower) zoom lens. The FZ1000 is also the first compact camera to support 4K video recording. Perhaps the biggest story is the price: $899. We've gotten our mitts on a product model and have some initial thoughts to share. Find out more
Panasonic has announced its Lumix DMC-FZ1000 superzoom camera, which features a 1"-type CMOS sensor and F2.8-4.0, 25-400mm equivalent lens. The sensor is not only the same size as on Sony's Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 - it's also the same resolution (20.1MP). The FZ1000 features both a fully articulating LCD as well as a high resolution OLED viewfinder. The FZ1000 is also capable of recording 4K video at a bit rate of 100Mbps, from which 8MP stills can be grabbed. The camera will be priced at $899 / £749.99.
Sigma has announced US pricing and availability for its latest camera the dp2 Quattro. Featuring a newly-developed ~19.6 million pixel APS-C Foveon sensor and a completely new body design, the dp2 Quattro has a 30mm F2.8 lens (45mm equivalent) and will be available in the USA in early August at a street price of $999. Click through for the press release.
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