Indholdsfortegnelse for September 2019 i Smart Photography

As Chandrayaan 2 heads towards the moon, one wonders about the photographic equipment being used. Amazingly, a full 50 years have passed since man first set foot on the moon on July 20, 1969. It will interest readers to note that the first camera brand to be chosen for the American space programme in 1961 was a Leica. In 1962, astronaut Walter Schirra selected the Hasselblad 500C. A Zeiss lens, the Planar 50 mm f/2.8 was mounted on the Hasselblad, and the legendary partnership between NASA and Hasselblad started. Over the years, a number of Hasselblad cameras have been left on the moon. Which camera has the Indian space mission used? We will tell you as soon as we know. Meanwhile, the main feature of this issue is the EISA…

Nikon has announced the Coolpix W150, a waterproof and shockproof compact digital camera. The camera features a 13.2-megapixel image sensor, 3x optical zoom and full HD video recording. It has a simple menu system, 2.7-inch 230k dot LCD screen and Target Finding autofocus, which allows for easy detection and focus on the primary subject. The Coolpix W150 is waterproof up to 10m (33 feet), shockproof from 1.8m (6 feet) and freezeproof up to -10°C (14°F). Additionally, the Coolpix W150 is equipped with a variety of scene modes and editing functions, allowing users to explore their creativity and create fantastic photos, even underwater. Users can upload to their phone wirelessly for sharing with the Nikon SnapBridge app. The Coolpix W150 in white colour will be available in the U.S. in early…

Nikon has announced the winners of the Nikon Photo Contest 2018–2019. This year, the Nikon Photo Contest celebrates its 50th anniversary, and with it the 37th edition of the Nikon Photo Contest. Entries were accepted in three categories with corresponding themes. A record 97,369 entries across all three categories were received from more than 33,000 people from 170 countries and regions around the world. The winners were selected by an international panel of judges, with world-renowned art director Neville Brody serving as Lead Judge. Winners of the Gold, Silver, and Bronze awards from each category were selected based on their relevance to the category’s theme, message and creativity. The Grand Prize winner, who was selected from among Gold Prize winners in each category, is Spaniard Sara De Antonio Feu. De…

Gudsen MOZA has announced that two products, the AirCross 2 gimbal stabiliser and the Slypod motorised monopod, first showcased at 2019 NAB Show in Las Vegas in April 2019 are now available in the market. The AirCross 2 gimbal stabiliser is compatible with most mainstream mirrorless cameras and D-SLRs, having a payload capacity of 3.2 kg. Features like easy setup and balancing, integrated smart control system and three-axis lock design facilitate filmmaking. Inside the gimbal is a 3,000 mAh battery that powers up the MOZA Aircross 2 for around 12 hours. The battery has a built-in USB charging interface and can be fully charged within one and a half hours. The Slypod is a 2-in-1 monopod and slider, with a high precision motion slider encased in a carbon fibre body…

Qualcomm Incorporated has announced that Dave Wise has decided to retire as CFO after a 23-year tenure at the company. His departure became effective on August 23, 2019. As part of the transition plan, Qualcomm’s Board of Directors have unanimously approved the appointment of Akash Palkhiwala, SVP of Finance, as interim CFO while the company seeks a permanent replacement. Wise will remain in a consulting capacity. “On behalf of the Executive Team, I want to thank Dave for his long service to Qualcomm, and particularly for taking on the interim CFO role for the last five months. We all wish him well,” said Steve Mollenkopf, CEO of Qualcomm Incorporated. “I am confident that Akash Palkhiwala has the experience and deep understanding of our business to lead our finance function while…

The latest GoPro app update integrates the best of the Quik video editing app into the GoPro app, and introduces a fresh visual design, improved storytelling tools and enhanced filter capabilities, all powered by a new software engine. This is the first in a series of GoPro app updates designed to create a single app experience for mobile editing with all the utility functions for controlling your GoPro from your smartphone. The update to the storytelling experience includes an improved QuikStory multi-clip workflow, which enables the GoPro app to better identify meaningful moments in your footage and suggest story compilations of your photos and videos, automatically. These stories will include recently shot GoPro content and users can also add any photo or video saved in the media library of their…

On the sidelines of the second edition of the MediaTek Technology Diaries held in Mumbai, Maharashtra, MediaTek, the world’s fourth largest fabless semiconductor company that powers more than 1.5 billion devices a year, showcased their future-ready solutions at the event. This included the recently launched Helio G Series Chipsets, Helio G90 and G90T, and HyperEngine Game Technology. The Helio G90 Series combines the latest CPU and GPU cores with ultra-fast memory and massive AI performance to deliver fast, fluid action. And for even more gaming power, it is paired with MediaTek’s HyperEngine game technology that tunes smartphones to provide a better gaming experience. MediaTek’s innovative systems-on-chip (SoC) is present across a portfolio of leading mobile and non-mobile brands like Xiaomi, OPPO, Realme, HTC, Paytm, KENT, Yi, Broadlink, Amazon and Mantra,…

Prathamesh is a professional travel photographer based in Nashik, Maharashtra. Being a creative soul from the beginning, bits and pieces of arts always fascinated him and thus with the desire of creating something of his own, his photographic journey began in 2013. The Kumbhmela of 2015 was the turning point of his expedition where he realised his true potential and zeal for the art. Now his camera is always in search of serene landscapes, magical cityscapes, story-driven culture and characters around us. His work has been acknowledged in international platforms such as International Photography Awards IPA, Black and White Spider Awards, and International Color Awards along with photographic exhibitions in cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune and Nashik. More of his work can be viewed on www.prathameshdixit.com.…

The winners of the Expert Imaging and Sound Association (EISA) Photography Maestro 2019 have been announced. The competition, the theme of which was ‘Power’, saw participation from 16 EISA countries. The submissions were judged at the association’s General Meeting in June 2019. Photographer Markku Pajunen from Finland won first place. He will win a cash price of Euros 1,500 and the EISA Photo Maestro 2019 trophy. The second and third place winners were Cletus Nelson Nwadike from Sweden and Izabela Urbana from Poland. Founded seven years ago, the EISA Photo Maestro is a contest instituted to support amateur and semi-professional photographers. The themes of the competition encourage photographers to think in a documentary way by creating/ submitting a body of work that are connected to each other. 1 MARKKU PAJUNEN,…

Write to us at: Smart Photography, Next Gen Publishing Pvt. Ltd., 105-106, Trade World, B-Wing, 1st Floor, Kamala Mills Compound, Senapati Bapat Marg, Lower Parel (W), Mumbai - 400 013 E-mail: sp@nextgenpublishing.net Full-frame Sensors Dear Editor, I was looking forward to part II of Mr. Ashok’s full-frame sensors article, and I must say that it was worth reading. The comparison between full-frame and cropped sensors on the discussed aspects was an eye opener. Best regards, Shirish Rao, via email Istanbul Calling Dear Editor, Istanbul enjoys the unique combination of belonging to two continents, and this is evident in its multicultural architecture. The photo spread by Ajay Sood definitely captured a glimpse of this wonderful heritage. Thanking you, Pankaj Inamdar, via email Kid Portraits Dear SP Team, The Mastercraftsman feature in…

Leica has announced another addition to its Summicron-SL family of lenses with the APO-Summicron-SL 50 mm f/2 ASPH. The lens consists of 12 elements in 10 groups, of which three have aspherical surfaces for correcting optical aberrations. The APO-Summicron-SL 50 mm f/2 ASPH keeps chromatic aberrations in check by utilising apochromatic corrections. According to Leica this ensures that all colours of the light spectrum are accurately passed through the lens and fall on the same focussed point on the camera’s sensor to get maximum detail without green or purple colour fringing. The lens is weather-sealed against dust, moisture and water spray, while an Aquadura coating of the exposed lens surfaces prevents water from beading. The APO-Summicron-SL 50 mm f/2 ASPH. is available for USD 4,495.00…

Samsung has revealed the 108 MP ISOCELL Bright HMX, the first mobile image sensor in the industry to go beyond 100 million pixels. With the latest addition, Samsung will expand its 0.8µm image sensor offerings from its recently announced ultra-high 64 MP to 108 MP, a resolution equivalent to that of a high-end D-SLR camera. Samsung ISOCELL Bright HMX is the result of close collaboration between Xiaomi Corp. and Samsung. Being the first mobile image sensor to adopt a large 1/1.33-inch size, the HMX can absorb more light in low-lit settings than smaller sensors and its pixel-merging Tetracell technology allows the sensor to imitate big-pixel sensors, producing brighter 27 MP images. In bright environments, the Smart-ISO, a mechanism that intelligently selects the level of amplifier gains according to the illumination…

Fujifilm North America has announced the second quarter 2019 winners of the Fujifilm Masterpiece Award for photographic excellence at the Professional Photographers of America (PPA) affiliate print image competitions. This award is administered by state and regional affiliates of the PPA exclusively for the members of these organisations in the United States, Canada and Mexico. The Fujifilm Masterpiece Award is the highest honour given in connection with the PPA image competitions by Fujifilm. The award is given for images in three separate categories — Wedding, Portrait and Illustrative — that reflect the highest level of professional photography. Only photographic images with scores above 80 (out of 100) meet the criteria for the award. The following photographers have been awarded the Fujifilm Masterpiece Award for Q2 2019, via their local chapters…

Sony Electronics has opened contest applications for the second edition of its Alpha Female Creators-in-residence programme. Launched in summer 2018, Alpha Female is a programme that provides extensive resources and opportunities to advance the careers of female photographers and filmmakers. In 2019, Sony is renewing its continuing commitment to promoting diversity and fostering the growth of all voices in the photography, videography and filmmaking industries. In the successful inaugural year of the Alpha Female programme, five women were selected from more than 6,000 contest applications to participate in the creators-in-residence programme, each receiving a prize package that included financial support for personal projects, along with an assortment of Sony camera gear and a mentorship with one of Sony’s female Artisans of Imagery. “This program inspired me to push myself further…

Sony Corporation has posted its consolidated financial results for the first quarter ending July 30, 2019. As part of modifications to its organisational structure, Sony’s Imaging Products and Solutions segment has been clubbed with its Home Entertainment & Sound and Mobile Communications segments and realigned as Electronics Products & Solutions (EP&S). Sony’s sales and operating revenue for still and video camera products was down 11.4 percent to 100,254 million yen y-o-y. Operating income for the EP&S segment was down 23 percent to 25,066 million yen. Sales and operating revenue forecast for the same segment has been downard revised to 2,160 billion yen.…

Nikon India has announced an addition to its S-series lenses with the Nikkor Z 85 mm f/1.8 S medium-telephoto prime lens. Nikon states that unlike ordinary lenses, with the Nikkor Z 85 mm f/1.8 S, natural peripheral illumination can be retained by receiving the exact amount of light throughout the frame from the centre, middle, to peripheral areas. The lens employs extra-low dispersion (ED) glass elements to ensure superior image quality with minimal axial chromatic aberration. The adoption of Nano Crystal Coat effectively suppresses ghost and flare, contributing to extremely clear photos and videos even in backlit portrait shooting. The lens also has a comfortable-to-operate control ring to which various functions can be assigned. With extreme dust- and drip-resistant capabilities with sealing for various parts, the lens can be used…

Samsung has launched its flagship Galaxy Note10 and Note10+ at the Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru on August 22, 2019. The Note10 has a 6.3-inch FHD+Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O display with a 401 ppi resolution, while the Note10+ has a 6.8-inch Quad HD+Dynamic AMOLED Infinity-O display with a 498 ppi resolution. The Note10 has a triple camera setup in the rear: ultra-wide: 16 MP f/2.2 (123°), wide-angle: 12 MP 2PD AF f/1.5-2.4 OIS (77°) and Telephoto: 12 MP f/2.1 OIS (45°). Front camera is a 10 MP 2PD AF f/2.2 (80°). Its LTE model features 8 GB RAM with 256 GB internal storage, while its 5G model features 12 GB RAM with 256 GB internal storage. The LTE model supports two Nano SIMs, while the 5G model supports a single Nano…

Based in Pune, Maharashtra, Smitaleka Saali is an amateur photographer who employs photography to not only capture the moment but also for visual storytelling. She is passionate about photography, which she has been pursuing since 2015. Nature and landscape photography appeal more to her, as she is a conservationist. She believes that landscape photography typically captures the presence of nature but it is a very vast subject which gives one many opportunities and unique ways to capture similar subjects in different ways.…

Motorola pegs the One Vision as the first ever smartphone with an ultra-wide 21:9 CinemaVision display. The device is a deviation from Motorola’s existing designs by catering to the latest trends in glass back phones and a notchless design with a punch hole front camera. Design and Build Quality The One Vision has a trendy design, sans the overpowering brilliance of current gradient-design phones. The device is protected by a 2.5D cover glass at the front and a 3D Gorilla Glass 3 at the back and is rated IP52 in dust and splash resistance. The phone uses a Type-C USB for charging and data transfer. It offers a 3.5 mm headphone jack. The device is available in Bronze and Sapphire gradients. Key Features The One Vision is powered by an…

A photographer’s worst possible nightmare is losing his/her images. That’s the reason why we go to great lengths and backup our precious cargo, so that, in the event of loss, damage, pilferage or corruption of a memory card, the backup saves the day. Back-ups can be in several forms. In cameras having two memory card slots, you can enable the feature to copy the images from one card to the other and thus have two cards with the same images. So, in case you lose one card, or one card gets corrupted, the other card with the same images will come to your rescue. While this is a good method, the downside is that you need double the quantity of cards on your trip. Also bear in mind that both…

Venus Optics has unveiled the pricing and availability of the world’s widest rectilinear lens for Fujifilm GFX camera system, Laowa 17 mm f/4 Zero-D GFX lens. Laowa 17 mm f/4 Zero-D GFX is a 13.5 mm equivalent ultra-wide-angle prime that is ideal for landscape and architecture photography. It is constructed with 21 elements in 14 groups. The new 17 mm lens is the fourth member of the Laowa ‘Zero-D’ product line-up, which claims to exhibit a close-to-zero optical distortion rate. This particular feature is extremely useful for architecture and interior photographers as all straight lines can now be retained. Similar to other Laowa wide-angle lenses, the new 17 mm f/4 has a very good close-focus capability, and it can focus up to 7.9” / 20 cm from the object to…

DJI has announced the Osmo Mobile 3, a foldable mobile phone stabiliser. DJI states that the stabiliser can quickly unfold and has 15 hours of battery life. The Osmo Mobile 3 has buttons located conveniently on the handle to allow one-handed operation. Quick Roll rotates the orientation from portrait to landscape by pressing the Mode (M) button twice without the need to remove the mobile device. The redesigned form no longer obstructs the charging and audio ports. A trigger helps manoeuvre the gimbal by locking orientation, rotating the gimbal for selfies and even re-centering when tracking a subject. By using ActiveTrack, users can tap the trigger once to begin tracking while keeping the subject centred within the frame. Users can zoom in and out with the dedicated zoom slider on…

Canon has launched two advanced amateur ILCs, the EOS 90D and EOS M6 Mark II. The core features of both cameras are identical, including a 32.5 MP CMOS (APS-C) sensor, a DIGIC 8 Image Processor, 4K UHD up to 30p and 1080p FHD up to 120p video recording with no crop, Dual Pixel CMOS AF in Live View with 5,481 manually selectable AF positions, electronic shutter with a minimum shutter speed of up to 1/16000 sec and built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth. The EOS 90D D-SLR camera features an optical viewfinder and a 3.0-inch variangle touchscreen LCD. It is capable of shooting up to 10 fps, compared to the 7 fps capability of the EOS 80D. Assisting in a photographers’ ability to capture the action is the 45-point all-cross type AF…

Olympus has posted its consolidated financial results for the first quarter of 2020. Its Imaging Division saw its revenue decline by 27 percent year-on-year to 10.2 billion yen. Of this, revenue for its mirrorless products were down 25 percent year-on-year to 7.7 billion yen, while compact camera revenue was down 40 percent year-on-year to 1.2 billion yen. Olympus stated that its revenue declined due to no new mirrorless products being released this quarter following the reorganisation of production bases, in addition to a severe business environment. Its operating profit losses were decreased to 2.3 billion yen due to absence of expenses associated with the reorganisation of production bases, as recorded in the previous 1Q and efforts to contain selling, general and administrative expenses. Olympus expects revenue of its Imaging Division…

Nikon Corporation has announced its financial results for the first quarter of the year ending March 2020. Revenue and operating profit dropped 24.0 billion yen and 9.7 billion yen, respectively, YoY, due to sales volume reduction in entry/mid D-SLR cameras and FPD lithography systems, etc. The company recorded 142.9 billion yen in revenue, 14 percent down year-on-year. Q1 operating profit was 9.3 billion yen, 51 percent down YoY, yet proceeding accordingly to the full-year forecast. In the Imaging Products Business, despite steady sales of full-frame mirrorless cameras and their interchangeable lenses, unit sales of both the digital camera-interchangeable lens type and compact digital cameras fell amidst the shrinking market. In addition, initial costs for the interchangeable lenses for mirrorless cameras also led to the decline in revenue and profits. Regarding…

Sony India has introduced the latest addition to its E-mount full-frame lens lineup, the FE 35 mm f/1.8 large-aperture, wide-angle prime lens. The lens has a smart optical construction including an aspherical element to suppress aberration and deliver high resolution throughout the entire image frame. A nine-blade circular aperture enables beautiful bokeh. The lens has a minimum focussing distance of 0.22 m and maximum magnification of 0.24x. The lens weighs 280 grams and measures 65.6 mm (diameter) by 73.0 mm (length). When used on APS-C bodies, it offers an equivalent focal length of 52.5 mm. It features a fast, precise and quiet linear-motor AF drive system for precise focus for both stills and movies where ‘wobbling’ is employed for delicate continuous focus control. The FE 35 mm f/1.8 Prime lens…

Alexander Vershinin is a professional photographer and a member of The North American Nature Photography Association (NANPA), the International Association of Panoramic Photographers (IAPP), Creative Asia Photo Association, and the Professional Photographers of America (PPA). He is into adventure tourism and specialises in panoramic landscape photos. Alexander is a 100 percent self-taught photographer who has studied the art only through books. He has travelled a lot and takes part in many mountain and desert expeditions. He has travelled through Australia, South & North America and Asia on his photographic journeys in search of creating amazing landscape photos. According to Alexander, “landscape photography makes it possible to better see the world around us, to expand the framework of the available view of nature, to attract more depth and help find oneself…

Smart Photography is pleased to bring you the EISA awards for 2019-2020. EISA, the Expert Imaging and Sound Association, is the world’s largest independent awards panel comprising technical experts from over 60 leading specialist magazines and websites from 29 countries across the world, including Smart Photography. The awards recognise the best products from the audio-visual category launched during 2019-20. The Awards are debated and voted upon by groups of specialist judging panels covering the full spectrum of consumer electronics and photographic products, including Photo, Hi-Fi, Home Theatre, In-Car Electronics, Video and Mobile Devices. The EISA Awards will be officially presented during IFA, the world’s largest consumer electronics fair, to be held in Berlin from 6th to 11th September, 2019. EISA Camera Of The Year 2019-2020 Nikon Z 6 With the…

Ashok Kandimalla has been in the photographic field for over three decades and has extensive experience in both film and digital photography. Being an electronics engineer by profession and a photographer, he possesses a unique and deep insight into the technical aspects of digital photography and equipment. He has published more than a 100 articles on photography and some of his writings have also been published in the well-known international magazine Popular Photography. An avid collector of photographic books and vintage cameras, Ashok has a keen interest in the history of photography and a passion for sharing his knowledge on photography through teaching and writing. He is the only Indian photographer to be featured on the Nikon Centenary website. He is presently working as a Management and Engineering consutant. He…

Operating system: Android 9 Pie Processor: Exynos 9609 with 2.2 GHz Octacore CPU and Mali G72 MP3 GPU RAM: 4 GB Internal storage: 128 GB Expandable storage: microSD up to 512 GB Battery: 3500 mAh, Non-removable Charging: 15W TurboPower Display size: 16cm (6.3 inches) Rear camera: 48MP with OIS + 5MP, f/1.7, Quad Pixel (output 12MP photo) Rear camera video capture: UHD@30fps, FHD@30fps, FHD@60fps, HD@30fps Front camera: 25MP, f/2.0, Quad Pixel Front camera video: FHD@30fp Dimensions: 160.1 x 71.2 x 8.7mm Weight: 180 g…