Nikon Blog
Sony a1 initial review
Introduction The Sony a1 is the company’s flagship interchangeable lens camera, with a 50MP sensor that can capture bursts of images at 30 frames per second and records 8K video. That sensor also helps power the a1’s capable autofocus system, which comes with updated machine learning derived algorithms for detecting human faces and eyes, as well as the eyes of many types of animals and birds. Sony is billing the Alpha 1 as, well, the one camera that can do just about anything you’d need it to do, whether you’re...
read moreAI-powered Same Energy is a visual search engine designed to show you aesthetically similar photos
Canadian developer Jacob Jackson has created a new web tool for using visuals to search for images. The AI-powered tool, Same Energy, allows you to either search using text or using a pasted or uploaded image. Once you have entered keywords or uploaded an image, Same Energy shows you relevant results. In the case of a keyword, you get images that match the keyword. For example, if you search ‘tiger,’ you see images of tigers. What makes Same Energy distinct is that when you upload an image or click on one of the image results, the...
read moreDPReview TV: Favorite episodes and a subscriber challenge
It’s been almost three years since we launched our new YouTube channel, DPReview TV. Since then, we’ve published almost 250 episodes including product reviews, how-to videos, and more. These videos have allowed us to bring you more photo-related content than ever before, including reviews of products we may not have been able to cover in the past. Hopefully, we’ve also managed to entertain you along the way. If so, you can help us by subscribing to our channel! If we hit our goal, Jordan will have to shoot the next several...
read moreWhat Is Scouting in Landscape Photography?
Scouting is one of the best tools available to landscape photographers, especially when conditions are changing quickly. In this article, I’ll go over the three different levels of scouting and how you can use them to take better landscape photos. Table of Contents What Is Scouting? Not everyone uses the same definition of “scouting†in landscape photography, but the way I define it is as follows: Familiarizing oneself with a location in hopes of taking good photos there in the future. I think you can divide scouting into three...
read moreThe ‘X-Tra’ camera battery Kickstarter campaign appears to have been a scam
Back on November 19, 2020, we published an article covering news of a Kickstarter campaign that appeared to be funding the production of the X-tra Battery, a product that claimed to be ‘the camera battery, re-invented.’ Now, it appears the campaign was a sham, with no products to show for after more than 1,500 backers pledged $221,290 to see the X-Tra Battery to life. Canon Rumors was the first publication to bring these allegations to light after its founder, who used the KickBooster affiliate program, failed to receive any response when...
read moreSlideshow: World Photography Organisation announces the 2021 National Awards winners
The National Awards program was created by Sony, along with the World Photography Organisation, to identify and support local photographic communities around the world. Over 330,000 images were submitted from 220 territories for Sony’s 2021 World Photography Awards. From that pool, 165,000 qualified for the Open Competition – where National Awards winners were selected. Sony World Photography Awards competitions are free to enter and winners receive a selection of imaging gear. The Open Competition has 10 categories and single images...
read moreVenus Optics releases four Laowa lenses for L mount camera systems
Venus Optics has announced it’s bringing four of its Laowa lenses to L mount camera systems. Now, owners of L mount camera systems can snag native versions of Venus Optics’ Laowa 4mm F2.8 Fisheye, Laowa 9mm F2.8 Zero-D, Laowa 24mm F14 2x Macro Probe and Laowa 25mm F2.8 2.5–5x Ultra Macro lenses. Laowa 4mm F2.8 Fisheye As a refresher, the Laowa 4mm F2.8 Fisheye lens is constructed of seven elements in six groups, with a seven-blade aperture diaphragm and aperture range from F2.8 through F16. It offers a minimum focusing distance of 80mm...
read moreDPReview TV: This G-Tech hand warmer can keep you—and your batteries—warm in winter conditions
Published Feb 10, 2021 | dpreview staff [embedded content] Wait… you’re reviewing a what? Chris and Jordan work in some pretty frigid conditions in the winter, so they’ve been using the G-Tech battery-powered hand warmer. Find out why they think it’s a useful accessory for cold weather photographers. Subscribe to our YouTube channel to get new episodes of DPReview TV every week. The Tamron 17-70 F2.8 Di III-A VC RXD is a compact general-purpose lens for Sony’s APS-C, E-mount mirrorless cameras. So how does it...
read moreSony Japan delays release of its FE 35mm F1.4 GM lens, cites ‘production reasons’
Sony Japan has put out a notice (translated) informing consumers the release date for its FE 35mm F1.4 GM lens has been delayed. Announced on January 13, the Sony FE 35mm F1.4 GM was initially scheduled for release in mid-February (Sony Japan specifically notes a February 12 release date). However, due to ‘production reasons,’ the release has been pushed back to a yet-to-be-announced date. Sony Japan apologizes for the inconvenience for those who have pre-ordered the lens and says it will announce the next release date ‘as soon as it is...
read moreSony’s ZV-1 camera can now be used as a webcam over USB thanks to firmware version 2.00
Sony has released a new firmware update for its ZV-1 camera that adds the ability to use it as a webcam over USB without the need for an HDMI adapter. Firmware version 2.00 for the ZV-1 doesn’t bring new autofocus or setting changes, but it does make it possible to use the vlogging-oriented camera as a webcam without the need for additional hardware or software. Once firmware version 2.00 is installed, it should simply be a matter of plugging the camera in via the included USB cable and firing up the video conferencing or livestreaming...
read moreMore than megapixels: 108MP Samsung Galaxy S21 Ultra vs. 20.2MP Canon 1DX II
Photographer and video producer Kevin Raposo wanted to test how Samsung’s new Galaxy S21 Ultra smartphone compares to a $6,000 professional DSLR camera. Specifically, Raposo wants to see how the 108MP image sensor in the S21 Ultra compares to the 20.2MP image sensor in his Canon 1DX Mark II DSLR. Can the 20MP full-frame Canon camera keep up with the latest flagship Samsung smartphone despite being seriously outgunned in the megapixels department? In the video below, Raposo compares six different images, each captured by the Samsung...
read moreTaking to the skies with the DJI Mini 2
Published Feb 9, 2021 | This is sponsored content, made possible with the support of Amazon and DJI [embedded content] The DJI Mini 2 is DJI’s latest entry-level drone, and At only 249 grams – or just over half a pound – the Mini 2 lives up to its name, but it offers a heavyweight feature set. This includes a camera that can capture 12-megapixel photos and 4K/30p video at one hundred megabits per second, and the option to capture Raw photographs. Upgraded motors also improve the flight time, acceleration, top speed and wind...
read moreSample gallery: The Fujifilm GF 45-100mm F4 on the GFX 100
Published Feb 9, 2021 | dpreview staff The GF 45-100mm F4 R LM OIS WR is a sort of medium zoom for Fujifilm’s GFX cameras, giving users a 35mm-equivalent focal length of around 36-80mm. We’ve actually found it to be a really handy range for all types of subjects, and the lens looks to be more than sharp enough for the GFX 100’s one hundred Megapixels of resolution. Take a look through the gallery for views of everything from Pacific Northwest wilderness, to Seattle side-street Volkswagens. Gear in this story Atomos’...
read moreAlice MFT camera combines smartphone AI with interchangeable lenses, now live on Indiegogo
[embedded content] Photogram has launched a pre-order campaign for the Alice camera — a camera it says will combine the AI and computational photography characteristics of a smartphone camera with the larger sensor and interchangeable lens system of the Micro Four Thirds system. The concept was announced back in September 2020 and the UK company says it intends to begin shipping the camera in the autumn of this year. Photogram is keen to point out that its Indiegogo campaign is for pre-orders rather than a funding exercise as it already has...
read moreReply to D850 or Z7 II? Which to buy
Sorry to hear that, I would hate to lose my D3s like that. I don’t use it much these days, but I still keep it (together with a D3) and shall never part with it, I think. Anyway, the answer to your question is easy and twofold: First, it depends on lenses. Z mount lenses are unequivocally better than F mount ones, often by a large margin. Whether you are willing to rebuild your collection of lenses or not, that’s the first question. Otherwise, it will mean using lenses not as good as those you could have, with the added downside...
read moreCaught on video: Photographers robbed of $7,000 in gear while stuck in traffic in San Francisco
Real estate photographers Ben Barghabany and Mahsa Tighi of HomeShots experienced a photographer’s worst nightmare, having their gear stolen. The pair of photographers were sitting in traffic in San Francisco when, in broad daylight, a robber smashed their back window and grabbed a bag of equipment. Barghabany and Tighi, who work together as husband and wife, had been on a shoot near Dolores Park on Friday afternoon. ABC7 reports that after leaving the park, the pair were waiting to get on the Interstate 80 onramp. At around 4:30 p.m.,...
read moreRoyal Photographic Society makes 165 years of its Journal free online
The Royal Photographic Society has digitized its archive and made issues of its magazine, the RPS Journal, free to read online. Visitors to the Society’s website will be able to read issues dating right back to the first magazine that was published on 3rd March 1853. The frequency of publication has varied slightly over the years, but the RPS claims The Journal is the longest continuously published photographic periodical in the world. The current format of the magazine is published six times a year, and the free archive covers 1853 to...
read moreReveni Labs’ new Spot Meter uses unique two-eye aiming method
While digital photography is popular, film photography still has a dedicated following and beginner film photographers are popping up regularly. New products for analog photographers are popping up regularly to meet experienced and novice film photographers’ needs. Reveni Labs has launched a new Kickstarter campaign, which was funded within two hours, to deliver an extremely compact spot meter to film photographers. A spot meter is a light meter designed to precisely measure only a small portion of the image area. Photographers can use...
read moreNikon Q3 financial report: imaging business revenue and profit down double-digits as it prepares for future sustainability
Nikon has released third-quarter (Q3) financial results for its 2021 fiscal year (FY2021), revealing the harsh realities of a shrinking market further impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. As doom-and-gloom as the numbers may appear though, it seems Nikon’s Imaging Products Business has survived the worst of it and has set itself up for a sustainable future going forward. Nikon’s consolidated Q1-Q3 results include data from April 1, 2020 through December 31, 2020, as its fiscal years start on April 1 and end of March 31 of the following...
read moreFujifilm X-E4 pre-production gallery updated with more samples
Published Feb 8, 2021 | dpreview staff We’ve been shooting around more with our pre-production Fujifilm X-E4 and though its image quality is a known-quantity, we’re now getting a much better sense of of how it handles. In many ways, it feels like an interchangeable lens version of the X100V, especially in terms of size and shape. That said, the X-E4 is not as robustly built and offers fewer control points and a lower-res EVF than its fixed-lens counterpart. But it’s just as capable and still plenty fun to shoot with! View...
read moreTamron 17-70 F2.8 Di III-A VC RXD field review
Introduction The Tamron 17-70 F2.8 Di III-A VC RXD is a very compact general-purpose lens for Sony’s APS-C, E-mount mirrorless cameras. Think of it as roughly equivalent to a 24-105mm F4 lens on a full-frame camera, but scaled down to match the APS-C sensor format. Although it’s designed for cameras with APS-C sensors, it can still be used with full-frame models when cropped to APS-C. We tried both approaches for this review, pairing it with the Sony a6600 as well as the Sony a7R IV in APS-C crop mode. With a constant F2.8 maximum...
read moreD850 or Z7 II? Which to buy
zirano says: Hi, Sorry for youre loss, hope you are allright.i have a D850 and a Z7 first version. The D850 is certainly the better camera probably the best do-it-all DSLR.The Z7 is lighter, its a usable camera but it is Nikons first Generation Mirrorless Camera,the user interface on the Z’s is from the consumer line, battery door is not ideal camera has no backlight buttons, does not keep certain drive modes once shut of or sleep.Z Lenses are really good but expensive with a limited lineup atm.Personally I bought the Z7 because of the...
read moreVideo: How to make a negative from peel-apart instant film
Image credits: shared with permission from Jake Hicks. All rights reserved. Analog photography has been making a steady comeback for the past several years. So much so that Polaroid, who was on the brink of bankruptcy in 2008, recently merged with the Impossible Project — a startup responsible for rescuing and reviving interest in its proprietary instant film. [embedded content] Photographer Jake Hicks authored a tutorial, years back, outlining steps necessary for extracting a printable negative from Fujifilm’s FP-100C peel-apart...
read moreInterview: Learn how robotics company MRMC puts cameras where photographers aren’t allowed to go
MRMC pods containing Nikon D5s and 80-400mm lenses, set up for coverage of the inauguration ceremony at the US Capitol on January 20th 2021. How do you cover an event where photographers aren’t allowed? Last month saw the inauguration of Joe Biden as president of the United States, an occasion which would normally see huge crowds of people, from officials, politicians and members of the public, to representatives of the world’s press. Obviously that wasn’t going to happen this time around, and after the storming of the...
read moreSony a1 sample gallery (DPReview TV)
Published Feb 7, 2021 | dpreview staff Our team at DPReview TV just finished their review of the new Sony a1. Here’s a gallery of images they shot while testing the camera, straight from the frozen northlands. View the Sony a1 sample gallery Gear in this story The new a1 is absolutely chock-full of the latest and greatest tech that Sony has to offer. Come take our tour of how this high-speed, high-megapixel machine operates and handles. Chris and Jordan share their first reactions to the new Sony Alpha 1. What features and technology...
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Started out doing photography at the age of 6 using an uncle's old 1940 kodak brownie box camera. At 15 years of age, I decided to buy my very own 1975 Praktica SLR camera. I now shoot with a Nikon D850. I do unpaid TFP and commercial paid work.