May 2013 news and reviews

The Tamrac 5592 Big Wheels SpeedRoller 2X is a serious camera bag, featuring an industrial strength telescoping handle, oversized wheels fortified with ball bearings, and of course loads of space for camera equipment plus a 17-inch laptop. Despite an impressive capacity the SpeedRoller 2X is small enough to carry on to airplanes. It's not cheap though, at a street price of around $400. Do you get what you pay for? Read our review to find out. 

Another interesting patent has been discovered by Japanese blogger Egami, which shows a new method devised by Canon to adjust the shape of meniscus lens that seems different from the more straightforward method used by competitors. Canon's method uses the same 'electrowetting' principle as existing designs but does so to create a series of pumps, allowing faster and more precise control over the resultant lens.

It seems the Chicago Sun-Times is counting on its remaining employees to become mobile photographers. After laying off its entire 28-person photography staff yesterday, the newspaper has announced mandatory training for remaining employees on 'iPhone photography basics'. That's according to media writer Robert Feder. Feder quotes a memo from managing editor Craig Newman: 'In the coming days and weeks, we'll be working with all editorial employees to train and outfit you as much as possible to produce the content we need'. Click through for the full story on connect.dpreview.com. 

Japanese company Amulet is poised to release a 'Wise Duo' CompactFlash card allowing images and video files images to be backed up instantly using RAID-style 'mirroring'. In mirroring mode, the card effectively becomes two storage devices, and records images to both partitions simultaneously. As such, a 64GB card offers 32GB of storage space in mirroring mode. Click through for more details.

According to a report in the Chicago Tribune, the Chicago Sun-Times has laid off its entire photography staff, and plans to use freelance reporters and photographers in the future to save costs. The layoffs, which are believed to take effect immediately, were announced to the 28-strong photo staff on Thursday morning. In a statement issued by the paper, it suggested that the move was in response to a demand for 'more video content' from its audience. Click through for more details. 

We've had a chance to take another look at an 'initial production' Olympus PEN E-P5, and have updated our preview with some more first impressions and image samples. Olympus has only allowed us to publish downsampled images, but we've still been able to get more of an idea of how well the camera works. We hope to get our hands on a production E-P5 that we can use to shoot full size images towards the middle of June, but until then click through for our updated preview to whet your appetite. 

Nikon UK has announced a summer cashback offer on its 1 system cameras. From 30th May to 4th September, buyers can claim back £50 on the S1 and J3 models, and £80 on the V2 (or €60 and €80 respectively for customers in Eire). The offer applies to both body-only purchases and single- and twin-lens kits, and all colours of camera; cashback has to be claimed by 4th October 2013. Click through for full details.  

Connect, our sister site has just published a roundup of this week's photography-related app news. From major updates to Google+'s mobile app to new apps for iOS users including AnalogCamera, Oggl and Viewmatic, there's plenty going on. Click through to connect.dpreview.com for more details. 

Leica has announced that it has a 'new family member' coming on June 11th and, as the German manufacturer continues to tease what it's calling the 'Mini M' on its website, a photo has emerged which may reveal more details about the forthcoming camera. A French iPad app has published what seems to be an advertisement for the new Mini M and, if genuine, it reveals that the Mini M will sport a 16MP APS-C sensor and an 28-70mm (equivalent) F3.5-6.4 zoom lens. Click through for more (alleged) details.

Canon has posted a firmware update for its EOS-1D Mark IV and EOS-1Ds Mark III full-frame DSLRs to allow them to work correctly with the new EF 200-400mm F4 L IS 1.4x lens. Firmware versions 1.1.3 (1D Mark IV) and 1.2.2 (1Ds Mark III) allow the cameras' central AF points to achieve focus with the lens when it is used with an extender, where the combined aperture is F8. Both updates are available for immediate download. 

DxOMark has tested two recently-announced announced long telezooms, the Sony 70-400mm F4-5.6 G SSM II and the Nikon AF-S Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6G ED VR, as well as the older AF Nikkor 80-400mm f/4.5-5.6D ED VR. As part of our ongoing collaboration we've added the test data to our lens comparison widget, and to add a little more context we've also included a couple of super-tele primes from Canon. Click through to see how these lenses compare, with links to view the results in our lens widget, and for the full data on DxOMark.

Canon has announced that it has now produced 90 million EF lenses since the launch of the EOS system in 1987. The proliferation of digital SLRs has seen a rapid increase in lens production in recent years, and the company's 90 millionth lens - an EF 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM - was manufactured on May 23 2013, just over 9 months after its 80 millionth. The company's lens lineup currently consists of no fewer than 84 models, ranging from the inexpensive EF 50mm f/1.8 II to high-end exotica such as the recently-announced EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x - the world's first SLR lens with a built-in switchable teleconverter. 

Samsung has published the source code for its NX300 and NX2000 mirrorless cameras - the first attempt we've seen at offering public access to a mainstream camera's operating system. The approach, which the company has previously used with its smartphones, stands in stark contrast to other camera manufacturers, which have not engaged with the community of programmers looking to enhance the capabilities of their cameras.

Camera feature modifier Magic Lantern has piqued interest in the five-year-old Canon EOS 50D by enabling video recording on this previously stills-only camera. The development work is still in early stages, but a user has posted raw video footage at 1592 x 720 resolution at 24p. Click through to see why videographers are excited about this newly added feature. (via EOSHD.com)

Video sharing service Vine has generated a lot of buzz in recent months. Vine allows you to share videos of up to six seconds in length as either a single continuous take or as a 'collage' of short duration clips. Art Director Jethro Ames saw Vine as a challenge and decided to push his limits to see what he could do with the app. The result is a series of imaginative timelapse videos that are perfectly executed down to the last detail. Click through to see his work, and our interview on connect.dpreview.com.

If you've never had the chance to stand in the front row and shoot a live concert, Montreal-based photographer Pierre Bourgault has the next best thing. He attached a GoPro camera to the top of his Canon DSLR and recorded a seven-minute video of his shooting experience at a Dead to Me concert. He then overlaid the actual photos taken at the show, which you can view after the break.

Leica has placed a teaser on its Facebook page for a new 'Mini M' camera to be launched on June 11th, that apparently will slot into its range between the M rangefinder and the X2 fixed-lens compact. It's given no other details, but we think it could make sense for the company to produce a full-time live view version of the M Typ 240, using the same sensor but with the expensive rangefinder assembly removed. This would result in a 24MP full frame mirrorless camera that would be able to use almost any manual focus SLR or rangefinder lens ever made, without a field-of-view crop. 

We've just added three studio comparison pages to our previously-published preview of the Pentax MX-1. The MX-1 is Pentax's flagship compact camera, and something of a departure for the manufacturer, offering a fast F1.8-2.5 zoom lens, full manual control and a high-class, metal body, to compete with more established peers like Panasonic's LX7. Click through to go to the new pages in our preview, and see for yourself how the MX-1 compares to its rivals.  

Much of the fallout surrounding Flickr's massive updates this Monday continues to center around the legacy 'Pro' accounts and a contentious statement from Yahoo CEO Marissa Mayer: 'There’s no such thing as Flickr Pro today because [...] there’s really no such thing as professional photographers anymore.' She apologized today for her 'misstatement', and it appears that existing Flickr Pro account holders will still be able to take advantage of unlimited storage. Read all about it at connect.dpreview.com.

Animated flipbooks have been around for nearly 145 years. With just a little thumb action, these books allowed you to view a few seconds worth of animation. Now, a new concept camera known as the Gifty allows you to record video and print a flipbook instantly. The only problem: you can't buy one yet. 

A cover image in the latest issue of the New York Times' monthly style magazine, T, has led to an interesting discussion about the newspaper's policy on photo retouching. While editors forbid any image manipulation beyond, 'minor color-toning and brightness' in news stories, retouches and removal of blemishes are allowed in the style magazine's fashion photography. Does a newspaper risk credibility by allowing retouching on editorially-branded content? Click to read more and share your thoughts.

At last week's I/O developer conference Google announced a number of upgrades to the photo section of its Google+ social network, including features such as 'Auto-Highlight', 'Auto-Enhance' and 'Auto'-Awesome'. To make the same experience available on its mobile platform the search giant has released an upgraded Google+ app for Android. Click through to Connect to find out more.

Lindsay Adler and Erik Valind, both working professionals and educators, have written a beginner’s guide to photographic lighting with an unusual conceit at its core. By structuring a book around a list of common challenges - what they call the 'top ten worst situations' - they've created a digestible, useful 'lighting 101' guide. In this short review, Adam Koplan takes a look at their book 'Shooting in Sh**ty Light: The Top Ten Worst Photography Lighting Situations and How to Conquer Them'.

Our friends and collaborators over at DxOMark have recently been looking into how lenses score on specific cameras, and the latest model they've examined is the Nikon D600. In a three-part article published at the end of last week, they investigate how 70 lenses from Carl Zeiss, Nikon, Samyang, Sigma, Tamron and Tokina measure up on the D600's 24MP sensor.  The article also compares how given lenses score on the D600 compared to the 36MP D800 and 24MP D3X. Click through for links to the three parts of the article.    

Adobe Photoshop has become ubiquitous since its introduction more than 20 years ago, but it isn't the only game in town. In this article, we've selected 10 photo editing programs that aren't all as well-known as Photoshop, but which are well worth investigating if you're looking for other options. Click through for a link to the full article. 

We've just posted our 20-page review of the Nikon D5200. Nikon's 'advanced beginner' APS-C DSLR offers several features that should also appeal to enthusiasts, such as a 24MP CMOS sensor, a 39-point AF system inherited from the D7000 and an Auto ISO system linked to the focal length of the lens. Add an articulated rear LCD and the ability to output uncompressed video and you've got the makings of a very promising camera. Does the D5200 live up to its potential in real-world use? Click through to read our in-depth review.

According to a report in the Wall Street Journal, Olympus is to cease production of its cheapest V-series point-and-shoot compact digital cameras. This follows a financial report this week which showed a group net profit of 8.02 billion Yen in 2012, driven by the company's medical instrument business, but a loss of 23.07 billion yen for its imaging business. In response, the company has slashed its sales targets for compact cameras from 5.1 million units in 2012 to 2.7 million for the current business year. Click through for more details.

A patent filed by Apple in 2011 and discovered this week by appleinsider.com seems to hint at a 'social camera flash' system, allowing multiple iOS devices to be connected and used as secondary strobes for impromptu flash setups. The patent is filed as an 'illumination system' and describes 'initiating a master-slave relationship between the image capture device and at least one secondary device'. Click through for more details.

Adobe has issued a 'release candidates' of Adobe Camera Raw 8.1 and DNG Converter 8.1 on its Adobe Labs site. The release is the first version of ACR designed to work with Photoshop CC but, as promised, is also compatible with Photoshop CS6. CS6 users will only gain camera compatibility, not any of the functions added in ACR 8 (and Lightroom 5), such as the perspective-correcting 'Upright' tool or the advanced healing brush. The latest version brings support for 7 additional cameras along with 16 lens profiles.

Sony's RX1 fixed 35mm full frame compact has received the prestigious Camera Grand Prix 2013 title, while Sigma's 35mm F1.4 DG HSM was named lens of the year. The awards, organized by the Japanese Camera Journal Press Club have a history of recognizing what prove to be historically significant cameras. Meanwhile, the Editors Awards were given to the Canon EOS 6D and Sigma's DP Merrill series of compacts.

Adobe Product Manager Tom Hogarty stressed that Adobe has, 'no plans to make Lightroom subscription-only at any point in the future.' The statement, made in light of the overwhelming response to Adobe's Creative Cloud announcement last week, was made during a Google+ Hangout today in which both Hogarty and Lightroom PM Sharad Mangalick responded to audience questions. Click through for their further statements on Lightroom features and availability.

Panasonic has issued a firmware update for its Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm F2.8 ASPH Power OIS fast standard zoom for Micro Four Thirds cameras (H-HS12035). Version 1.2 improves the stability of the optical image stabilisation during movie recording. It's available to download now from the LUMIX customer support site - click through for the link.

While the Lumia 925 Nokia announced today may not offer the stunning specs of the 808's PureView technology, the device does hold promise for mobile photography fans. Its six-element lens design promises improved detail in good light and better quality in low light, and the sensitivity includes a new ISO 3200 setting. An aluminum-edge body with polycarbonate back, integrated antenna and wireless charging are also new, along with the Nokia Smart Camera app which offers some interesting shooting modes, including the unique Motion Focus. See sample images on connect.dpreview.com.

Nikon has introduced the 1 Nikkor 32mm f/1.2 portrait lens for its 1 System of mirrorless cameras. It will provide the angle of view and depth of field control of an 86mm F3.2 lens for a full-frame system, making it the most enthusiast-friendly optic yet released for the 1 System. The lens, whose development was announced in October 2012, is also the first to use a silent wave motor for focus and to incorporate the company's 'nano crystal coat.' Consistent with these loftier ambitions, Nikon will ask around $900 for the 32mm f/1.2 when it becomes available in June.

Canon has introduced the EF 200-400mm f/4L IS USM Extender 1.4x - a top-end telephoto zoom with a built-in switchable teleconverter, whose development was first announced back in February 2011. Simply flicking a lever at the rear of the barrel converts it to a 280-560mm f/5.6 lens. Designed for professional sports and wildlife photographers, it includes an array of top-end features such as Power Focus for movie shooting, and IS 'mode 3' that only applies stabilisation at the point of exposure, aiding panning. It also offers weathersealed construction, 4-stop image stabilisation, and a minimum focus distance of 2m. It will go on sale on 29th May, at an RRP of £11999.99 / €11800.

Canon has created a 'Video Camera X-series look' Picture Style for its EOS cameras, specifically designed for movie work. As its name suggests, it's designed to match the colour look of the company's X-series professional camcorders. It produces low contrast, low saturation footage that's better suited to post-production grading processes than the cameras' existing options. It's downloadable now from Canon's website and can be installed on almost any Canon EOS model, from the movie-optimized EOS-1D C to the mirrorless EOS M.   

The Samsung Galaxy S4 has no doubt been one of the most high-profile smartphone launches of the year. We're digging into its camera capabilities for our full review of Samsung's newest flagship phone, first playing with some of the more innovative capture features from its Dual Shot to Drama mode. We offer our first thoughts on the S4's camera today on connect.dpreview.com.

Nokia surprised everyone today by announcing its new Lumia 928 in advance of next week's big launch event in London. The Lumia 928 comes equipped with an 8.7-megapixel camera on a 1/3.2" sensor, xenon flash, optical image stabilization and a f/2.0, 26mm-equivalent Carl Zeiss lens. These specs mean it's only a relatively minor upgrade to the current Nokia flagship Windows Phone but still good news for mobile photographers: see why on connect.dpreview.com.

Olympus has announced the PEN Lite E-PL6 on its Global Website - an update to the E-PL5 that appears destined for the Asian market only. It adds in several of the features from the E-P5 announced at the same time, including an ISO 100-equivalent LOW setting, short release lag shutter mode, intervalometer and time-lapse movie shooting, and full compatibility with the VF-4 viewfinder. It also gains a dual-axis electronic level. It will come body only, in a kit with the 14-42mm 1:3.5-5.6 II R, or in a twin-lens kit also adding the 40-150mm 1:4-5.6 R. It's set to be available at the end of June. 

Just Posted: Our detailed, hands-on Olympus PEN E-P5 preview. We've been using a pre-production E-P5 for the last few days and have had a dig beyond the specifications to discover how the latest range-topping PEN behaves. We investigate the camera's latest features, including its easy-connect Wi-Fi, its degree of customization and its '2x2' dial behavior. We also take a look at how it compares to the E-P3 and OM-D E-M5, and how the high resolution VF-4 handles on the E-P5 and existing models.

Olympus has announced the PEN E-P5, the fourth in its range of enthusiast-targeted, rangefinder-style Micro Four Thirds cameras. The E-P5 takes the 16MP sensor that has appeared in the company's other models and adds a five-axis image stabilization system and shutter capable of shooting at 1/8000th of a second amongst a host of tweaks and feature improvements. The camera will available from May at around $1,000/£900/€1000 body only. The company has also announced black versions of its 17mm, 45mm and 75mm F1.8 prime lenses, priced the same as their silver counterparts. There is also a 2.4M dot LCD electronic viewfinder, the VF-4.

When you think about Apple products, the pictures that come to mind of gleaming glass and aluminium are likely the work of a photographer you've never heard of - until now. In an interview with The Verge, industrial photographer Peter Belanger offers an insight into his painstaking processes, including his complex lighting schemes and choice of camera equipment. Learn more on connect.dpreview.com.

Adobe's decision to move to a subscription-based model for its professional creative software has prompted probably  the most impassioned response we've ever seen to a news story on dpreview.com. There's a risk that the sheer volume of comments might prevent a clear message being heard, so we've prepared a poll of the most common complaints, to help establish what your biggest concerns are.

As smartphone cameras continuously improve, we can't help but wonder what's in store for both the future of such devices and the way we use them as photographers. Will the constant upgrade cycle and users' desire for new features make for smartphones with super cameras? Or maybe they'll evolve to become companion gadgets to dedicated cameras, rather than attempting to do it all themselves. In this article, we'll be looking current technology, and what's currently rumored to be in the works, in an attempt to predict what the future of such connected cameras - and photography - might look like. Click through to read more on connect.dpreview.com.

While the sketch comedy television show Saturday Night Live mocked the awkwardness of Google Glass wearers this week, the Wall Street Journal offered up an etiquette guide for Glass wearers. Even Google's Executive Chairman Eric Schmidt has warned we will have 'develop some new social etiquette' to accommodate the new technology. WSJ's advice covers when and where to don the wearable tech, and more tips for early adopters. Read on at connect.dpreview.com. 

DPReview reader Eric Lew is a keen wildlife photographer, and recently returned from a trip to Antarctica. He shared some recollections, advice and photographs in a post on our forums, but we thought what he wrote was so good it deserved a wider audience. Click through for Eric's 2-page article 'Flying Penguins: Photography in Antactica' and find out how you too can publish articles like this on dpreview.

Fujifilm has announced the availability of new firmware for its X100S fixed-lens compact camera. Firmware version 1.02 corrects an issue where the framelines in the camera's viewfinder did not automatically adjust brightness at ISO 1600 and higher. Fujifilm has also issued firmware updates for its Z2000EXR, HS50EXR, F820EXR and F900EXR compacts. Click through for more details and links. 

Adobe has said it will no longer be developing its Creative Suite range of software, leaving its subscription and cloud-based Creative Cloud as the only way of accessing the latest version of Photoshop. Adobe has been trying to encourage users away from the traditional one-off payment licenses and on to a monthly payment model, with features such as online storage and syncing between devices. This latest move ups the ante by making it the only option for future versions of the software.

Adobe has updated its suite of Creative Cloud software, with the latest versions rebranded with the appendage 'CC'. Adobe Photoshop CC highlights include the Camera Shake Reduction tool that Adobe demoed earlier this year, and the ability to apply Camera Raw as a filter to any raster, vector or video layer. Creative Cloud members can now sync their Photoshop preferences across multiple devices. Click to read about these and other Photoshop CC features.

Engineers have developed a curved camera designed to mimic insects' compound eyes. The hemispherical design gives a wide field-of-view with no aberrations and effectively infinite depth-of-field, with the hope it could be used in applications such as endoscopy or as visual sensors on unmanned aircraft. The current design uses 180 light-sensitive elements, each behind its own lens, but researchers hope to build one with 20,000 elements, giving a similar resolution to that seen by dragonflies.

While improvements in camera phone technology have more of us relying on 'the camera that's always with you' than ever before, we're printing our photographs less and less. If you have fond memories of pasting your memories into photo albums, don't despair - a growing crop of apps now make it easy to send your photos from phone to frame using online printing services. In this article, we've gathered eight of the top apps for printing your photos, and examined the results. Click through to read our findings on connect.dpreview.com.

Mike Brodie spent five years riding freight trains across America, returning with an astonishing visual record of the teenage 'freighthoppers' that travel the USA illegally, by rail. Brodie had no formal training in photography, but began documenting his experiences after finding a discarded Polaroid camera behind a car seat. Brodie's images are collected in his new book 'A Period of Juvenile Prosperity'. Click through for more details and a selection of images.

Adobe product manager Tom Hogarty yesterday offered a tantalizing sneak peek into future Lightroom functionality. On Scott Kelby's web show, The Grid, Hogarty demoed an iOS app that allows a wide range of raw file edits on the iPad that can sync back to your Lightroom catalog. Click through to watch it in action on connect.dpreview.com.

Sigma USA has given the price and introduction date of the 60mm F2.8 DN Art lens for mirrorless systems, originally announced at CP+. The 60mm DN will be available in the US for both Micro Four Thirds and Sony E-mount from mid-May at a cost of around $239. It will offer a 90mm equivalent field-of-view when mounted on Sony NEX bodies or 120mm equivalent on Micro Four Thirds cameras. This third lens for mirrorless cameras from Sigma (joining the affordable 19mm F2.8 DN Art and 30mm F2.8 DN Art), will also be available in a choice of black or silver finishes.

A smartphone is typically the one camera you always carry with you but its tiny sensors often struggle in low light which makes a tripod a useful accessory. The Joby Grip Tight Micro Stand is a combined mini-tripod and phone holder that is foldable and so small that it fits in any pocket or can even be used as a key fob which makes it an ideal companion for your smartphone. We've tried it out for you.

Wacom Europe has released the Cintiq 22HD Touch, an interactive pen display graphics tablet that features a 1920 x 1080 LED monitor and offers 2048 levels of pressure sensitivity. The Photoshop-compatible display comes with a tilting, rotating stand and customizable menu options. Priced at £1899.99, the Cintiq 22HD will be available at the end of this month.

The overwhelming majority of photographers, even those who derive income from their images, practice the craft alongside their primary gig. And celebrities are no different. While they certainly have fewer budget constraints than the rest of us and easy access to fellow A-listers, there are quite a few with real talent who take their photography seriously. Here's a look at a few of them. (via PhotographyTalk.com)

Kodak hopes to sell its consumer film and processing kiosk businesses to its UK pension scheme, to allow it to emerge from Chapter 11 bankruptcy. The move pays off the company's biggest debt - an estimated $2.8bn it was expected to have to pay to the pension scheme over the coming years. The pension scheme is reported to be paying $650m for the Personalized Imaging and Document Imaging units the company announced it would sell last August.