Indholdsfortegnelse for April 2021 i Smart Photography

With this issue, Smart Photography completes 16 years of publication. Unexpectedly, the sixteenth year also proved to be the most challenging year. The Covid pandemic threw all industries into a tailspin and the recovery is proving to be slow and gradual. We are immensely grateful to all readers and advertisers who stood by us during a difficult period. The last year has been a difficult year for the imaging industry and all sorts of rumours are floating on the web about the health of some of the companies. As a publication, SP will never give credence to such largely unsubstantiated talk on the web where the authors hide behind a shield. The fact is that, by and large, all the players have coped well during a challenging period and have…

Venus Optics has introduced additional variants to 2 of its popular Laowa lenses i.e. Canon RF mount for the Laowa 11 mm f/4.5 FF RL lens (Full Frame) and Nikon Z mount for Laowa 65 mm f/2.8 2x Ultra-Macro APO (APS-C). The Laowa 11 mm f/4.5 FF RL is a compact rectilinear (RL) wide-angle lens for full-frame mirrorless cameras. The lens sports a 126° angle of view with 19 cm minimum focus distance, a 5-bladed aperture, measures 6.3 cm long and weighs 254 g. It includes 2 aspherical elements and 3 extra-low dispersion elements that suppress chromatic aberrations and keeps distortion to the minimum. It comes with a filter thread of 62 mm that can be screwed onto the lens directly with an optional 100 mm-wide filter. The lens is…

Atomos has announced that it is working with the team at Sony to bring Apple ProRes Raw recording using the Ninja V, with Sony’s brand new FX3 (ILME-FX3) camera. The FX3 and Ninja V combination aims at bringing the ability to record the camera’s 16-bit Raw output at up to 4Kp60. The FX3 is compact and includes S-Cinetone, the look profile inspired by Sony’s digital cinema camera Venice colorimetry. It offers 15+ stops for video and complements the current line-up offered by Sony, with the Alpha 7S III, the FX6 and the FX9, all outputting 16-bit Raw to an Atomos monitor/recorder. The recording of the Apple ProRes Raw files takes place on the Ninja V. According to reports, the FX3 and Ninja V combination allow for a compact rig set-up…

Nikon has announced the release of NX Studio (Ver.1.0), a new all-in-one software for viewing, processing and editing of still images and videos captured with a Nikon digital camera. The latest software offers full-scale editing of still images, by integrating the functions of Nikon’s ViewNX-i image viewing software and Capture NX-D processing and editing software. It includes picture controls, white balance settings and exposure compensation for Raw data. Users can also explore the benefits of colour control points and retouch brush feature for advanced correction of an area. It features a consolidated menu design organised by workflow categories such as browsing, processing/editing and export/sharing and supports the transfer of images to Nikon Image Space, Nikon’s image sharing and storage service. It is currently available for download on Nikon’s official website…

500px has announced the launch of a new website feature that enables its Pro members to build a photography based website that displays their images. According to reports, the feature includes a number of templates one can choose from to display their photographs, within a matter of minutes, and requires no prior website building knowledge or experience. Reports also suggest that the company has built around the idea that its members can share their work beyond the 500px community as a stand-alone website or as a part of an existing website, using a custom web address, without the requirement of web building knowledge. The templates offered are reportedly simple and designed to focus on the images without providing any distractions. As of now, the company has offered three templates and…

Oppo has launched the 2121 Future Photography Project, inviting people from around the world to send a message to the future, with image-led stories that they believe, will resonate 100 years from now. The project encourages people to share their everyday moments, the people around them, their space or plants and animals that mean a lot to them. The campaign will take place on Instagram, where people are encouraged to share a single or multiple photos about nature and humanity tagged with #dearfuture2121. All participants will get a chance to win prizes. Oppo will select 200 photos and stories to feature on its global website and team of professional photographers are expected to choose 50 winning sets of images at the end of June. The 2121 Future Photography Project kicks…

Canon has announced that the company’s interchangeable-lens digital cameras (digital SLR and mirrorless cameras) has maintained the no. 1 share of the global market for 18 consecutive years, from 2003 to 2020. Canon introduced the EOS 300D in September 2003. This camera featured a compact, lightweight design, captured the top share of the global market and set the stage for growth in the digital SLR market. Since that time, Canon has continued to launch a range of products, including the professional-model EOS-1D series and the EOS 5D series, which paved the way for digital SLR video recording. In October 2018, it announced the EOS R system, including the EOS R full-frame mirrorless camera and RF lenses and in July 2020, the EOS R5 full-frame mirrorless camera was launched. Canon says…

Godox has recently launched the Godox AD100Pro. It is powered by a 2600mAH battery with an output of almost 360 flashes if used on full power. It sports a can shaped design and the flash head is magnetic, allowing the usage of accessories like AK-R1 kit. It has 2.4GHz wireless functionality making it compatible with, X1, X2 or XPRO triggers. It is also compatible with various brands of cameras like Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Panasonic, Olympus, Sony and Pentax. The flash has 100W power and its output can be adjusted in 9 steps. It has a colour temperature of 5800K +/- 200K and has a recycle time of 0.01-1.5 sec. The AD100Pro is available at an MRP of INR 22,490. Godox has also launched the CL10 multicolour LED webcasting light with…

Subham is a software developer and self-taught hobbyist landscape and travel photographer from West Bengal. “I love travelling for photography, which has been of keen interest to me since I was a child. After experimenting with various genres, I finally found peace in nature and have pursued landscape and travel photography henceforth. I love travelling to the mountains and the northern parts of Bengal and Sikkim have been my favourites. I have received several accolades in photographing nature and the native people of various parts of West Bengal, Sikkim and India. Notable ones include my photo titled ‘Portrait of an Old Man’ which is permanently on Wikipedia as well as exhibitions in Kolkata, NYC, Glasgow, Barcelona, etc.” says Subham.…

Nimit is a self-taught travel photographer, Sony Alpha India Influencer and ProFoto Mentor based in New Delhi. “An avid learner, my thirst for something more than paints and canvases landed me in the field of photography and I started clicking frames instead of painting them. The journey of gradual learning and exploring through this new fascination started in the 3rd year of my graduation which still continues. I click a varied number of subjects which include landscapes, portraits, festivals, Astro etc. I have won many awards and competitions and written several blogs which have been published. I have also been a judge at national and international photography contests” says Nimit. Roshani is a traveller and a photographer from India. She believes in breaking the stereotypes of the society and creating…

“Vimal, only a few seats are available, and I am going ahead and blocking two” I remember my wife saying something on these lines. Before I could even respond, she had confirmed over a text message to Nidhi of Wander Beyond Boundaries, a Noida based extreme overland expedition organiser. My wife, Dr Vani Parmar (a cancer surgeon and off-road competitor) and I are not new to overland drives, having done 5 to 6 so far. But this one was quite extreme in terms of the terrain. Around 2,000 km, over two weeks, in nine 4x4 Mahindra Scorpios and two 4x4 Mahindra Thars (This was a Mahindra Adventure powered expedition) with 19 participants, 2 dogs, 2 photographers, one journalist, two mechanics and two expedition leaders. From 15 to 26 Jan 2021.…

Effective pixels: 12.1 million Sensor type: 35 mm full frame (35.6 × 23.8 mm), Exmor R CMOS sensor Image stabilisation: Image Sensor-Shift mechanism with 5-axis compensation Lens mount: E-mount Focus type: Fast Hybrid AF (phase-detection AF / contrast-detection AF) Focus sensor: Exmor R CMOS sensor Focus points: 35-mm full frame: 759 points (phase-detection AF), APS-C mode with FF lens: 345 points (phase-detection AF), with APS-C lens: 285 points (phase-detection AF) / 425 points (contrast-detection AF) Focus areas: Wide, Zone, Centre, Flexible Spot, Expanded Flexible Spot, Tracking Eye AF: Still images: Human (Right/Left Eye Select), Animal, Movie: Human (Right/Left Eye Select) Metering type: 1200-zone evaluative metering Metering mode: Multi-segment, Centre-weighted, Spot, Spot Standard/Large, Entire Screen Avg., Highlight Exposure compensation: +/- 5.0 EV (1/3 EV, 1/2 EV steps selectable) Exposure bracketing: Continuous,…

WE ARE GLUED TO THE GLOBAL IMAGING INDUSTRY Our team is updated with all the benchmarks and road blocks that the field of photography and imaging across the globe experiences. This helps us record the changes in the global perspective, thus making us the first to predict which products will be a rage in the Indian markets. WE’RE IMPARTIAL Loyalty towards our readers is a given, and their best interests are always on our mind. Every verdict is honest and not influenced by advertisers or personal favourites. So when we say a product is a ‘BEST BUY’, then, it is just that! OUR TESTS ARE CONDUCTED BY EXPERTS All equipment go through a series of tests at the hands of our experts. Our reviewers are experts in the field of…

Designed for photographers who have adopted Luminar 4 or Luminar AI as their photo cataloguing and editing solution, CYME has announced the Avalanche software for Luminar that transforms existing Aperture, Lightroom (and soon CaptureOne) photo catalogues into Luminar catalogues ready to be opened and edited. It also preserves the organisation of the catalogues with the migration of albums and tags. While migrating from a Luminar 4 catalogue to Luminar AI, Avalanche reportedly shifts all the complex effects applied in Luminar 4 to reproduce exactly the same results in Luminar AI. Avalanche for Luminar and Avalanche Unlimited require macOS 10.14 or later and run fine on Catalina. It is compatible with Aperture catalogues from version 3.6, Lightroom catalogues from version 7 and Luminar catalogues from version 4.2. The system requires around…

Nikon has announced the development of the Z 9 camera, its first flagship model for which the Nikon Z mount has been adopted. The Z 9 utilises a newly developed FX-format stacked CMOS sensor and new image-processing engine. It includes support for 8K video recording as well as various other video specifications targeted towards diverse needs and workflows. This full-frame (Nikon FX-format) mirrorless camera is scheduled for release in 2021, but, as of now, the company has not revealed any pricing related information.…

Affinity has launched version 1.9 of Affinity suite, which includes Affinity Photo. The latest update by Affinity includes an array of new features such as linked layers, astrophotography stacking, hardware acceleration on Windows, etc. While previous versions of Affinity Photo for iPad and macOS already included hardware acceleration, Affinity Photo 1.9 is the first update that brings this feature to Windows (GPU acceleration). The update boasts of up to 10x faster performance in pixel-based tasks such as adding filter effects, performing adjustments and painting. The GPU acceleration on Windows will require a Windows 10 (April 2020 update or later) with a 12.0 capable graphics card. Stacking improvements for astrophotography include improved signal-to-noise ratio by ‘stacking’ multiple exposures together. Other improvements include studio presets for UI layout (desktop only), external display…

Sony and Save the Children Japan (NGO) have jointly announced that they have entered into an agreement to launch a new partnership on April 1, 2021 to further strengthen their ongoing collaboration since 2010. Under the new partnership, the two organisations will work to make ongoing contributions to reliability and safety for children in communities and schools by jointly promoting the development of resilient communities against disasters, both in and outside of Japan. To support this goal, Sony will reportedly donate a total of JPY 45 million to Save the Children over a period of three years, lasting through 2023. According to reports, the two organisations also plan to support the school safety project in India, which would include disaster preparedness educational programs at elementary and junior high schools to…

Sony has announced the arrival of its new full-frame mirrorless Alpha 1 camera. The Alpha 1 comes with 50.1-megapixel full-frame stacked Exmor RS image sensor. The image sensor is built with integral memory and paired with an upgraded BIONZ XR imaging processing engine. The 9.44 million dot OLED Quad-XGA electronic viewfinder features up to 240 fps refresh rate. The camera offers 8K 30p 10-bit 4:2:0 XAVC HS recording with 8.6K oversampling. It is also capable of 4K 120p / 60p 10-bit 4:2:2 recording. The Real-time Eye AF reportedly improves detection performance by 30% over the previous system to ensure accurate, reliable detection, even when the subject’s face looks away. It also employs high-level subject recognition technology to provide Real-time Eye AF for birds. The Alpha 1 also features AI-based Real-time…

2020, as we are all aware, was a horrible year for the imaging industry as also for most of us. However, the global camera industry was not at a standstill; indeed we saw some of the most technologically advanced equipment being launched in 2020. The pandemic heavily restricted the movement of imaging equipment and consequently also affected the volume of our testing. The SP Awards, have always been awarded only to products that have been submitted for testing. Manufacturers are to be complemented for getting their products through to us in challenging times. The Editorial team deliberated deeply on the Awards and detailed below are the results. Here we go…..…

We have a few more tools available to us to customise the layout of a page. Zoom slider You might have noticed that whenever you click on an image, a ‘zoom’ slider appears on the top. This shows 0% or the natural size at its default position. You can move the slider to the right to get a more magnified view. In essence, this is a cropping tool to help you to fine-tune what you want to show on the page, without affecting the actual image in your catalogue. It has no other effect. If you zoom too much, it is obvious that the resolution of the photo reduces and if it becomes too low for proper printing, Lightroom shows an exclamation mark indicating that you should back off. Guides…

Natalia Arantseva Natalia Arantseva is a well-known professional portrait photographer based in Mumbai. She conducts several workshops in India and all over the world, and has been featured by Smart Photography in the past. We requested her to show simple yet effective lighting techniques that anyone with a basic knowledge of portraiture could follow. Here are four easy portrait lighting arrangements that Natalia has sent us.…

The pandemic affected all imaging companies significantly. One company, however, did not suffer as much as the others. It continued to launch impressive, new products and established itself as the market leader in APS-C mirrorless cameras. That company, of course, is Fujifilm. The X-T 4 was followed by the X-100V. Now, we have with us the new X-S 10 announced in October 2020. The X-S10 seeks to open up a new market for Fujifilm in affordable enthusiast cameras. It essentially uses the same 26.1 MP APS-C X Trans CMOS sensor as the X-T 4 but is more affordable. Design & Build Quality The classic design adopted by Fujifilm X-Series cameras continues in the X-S 10. The camera has a classic retro look which should instantly appeal to most users. The…

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 Truly beautiful Dear Editor, I had an overwhelming experience going through the March edition of your magazine. Leaning more on the side of nature and environment, I had completely forgotten that there is beauty in man-made marvels such as cities and concrete spaces. The images in this edition were truly beautiful and reminded me that one can find beauty anywhere. Regards, Swapneel Ahuja Lovely postcards Dear team SP, We really enjoyed reading your latest issue. I chose to take this opportunity to write to you because I wanted to thank you for the beautiful piece on Goa. The…

MonsterAdapter has announced their new product LA-FE1, a Nikon F Mount to Sony E mount electronic adapter. The adapter reportedly features multiple AF advantages from Sony E bodies to Nikon F lenses, including hundreds of AF points across the frame, human/animal eye focus, real time AF tracking and AE in continuous shooting mode, etc. It is equipped with a high-speed aperture motor and can automatically recognise and support electromagnetic and mechanic lever controlled aperture of Nikon F mount lenses. The lenses’ VR can be activated by the half-pressed shutter button and can be working well along with Sony bodies’ 5-axis stabilisation. The adapter has been designed with a detachable and portable tripod mount. Reports suggest that additional tripod mount options will be available in the future as per market demands.…

Sony has announced the upcoming release of a large format 56.73 mm diagonal CMOS image sensor (IMX661) for industrial equipment, with a global shutter function and a pixel count of 127.68 megapixels. The increased pixel count reportedly yields an optical size nearly 10 times larger than the common 1.1-type image sensor, corresponding to the C mount for industrial equipment. It also features Sony’s original global shutter pixel technology ‘Pregius’, which enables capture of motion distortion-free images. Sony reports that its original device configuration and interface technology enable high-speed image readout, when used in industrial equipment cameras for a wide variety of applications.…

Nikon has announced the release of firmware Ver. 1.10 for the Z 7II and Z 6II full-frame (Nikon FX format) mirrorless cameras. This update adds support for 4K UHD/60p to Z 6II video recording options. It reportedly improves the performance of Eye-Detection AF on the Z 7II and Z 6II with the update, the eyes of human subjects are detected even when the face of the subject is smaller in the frame, enabling smoother and more stable shooting. It also supports Raw video output to Blackmagic Design external recorders for both the Z 7II and Z 6II, enabling recording in Blackmagic Raw format as well as ProRes Raw format. The firmware also supports a variety of video-recording workflows. Furthermore, for the ProRes Raw video recorded to the Ninja V external…

Canon has announced the Photo Culling app for iOS devices. The app reportedly helps users to identify their best photos, based on scores against four models i.e. sharpness, noise, emotions and closed eyes, using Canon’s Computer Vision Artificial Intelligence Engine known as “PHIL” (Photography Intelligence Learning). Additionally, the app will suggest deleting duplicative photos to free up space on the smartphone. The app features two culling options i.e. Whole Culling and Similar Culling. While Whole Culling determines the best photos based on the scoring system, Similar Culling determines the best photos based on a score comparison among similar groups of photos. It also finds similar photos and groups them together. In addition to its culling options, the app provides photo counts and storage, date-wise event albums, screen settings and mode…

Sony has announced a free firmware update for the digital camera ZV-1, allowing users to connect the camera directly to a PC via USB. Additionally, when the camera is connected to one of Sony’s Xperia smartphones, users can livestream on the go and use the Xperia smartphone as a secondary display to read comments and monitor the live feed. Sony has revealed that this capability will also be added to additional compatible cameras in the future. The firmware update for ZV-1 is available for download on Sony’s support page.…

Sony has announced that it will hold an online charity concert on March 27 at Sony Hall (NYC, US) featuring Cautious Clay and Cassadee Pope, artists from The Orchard, to benefit the National Independent Venue Association Emergency Fund. While the use of live music venues and concert halls have been restricted worldwide due to the continuous spread of COVID-19, Sony Hall has reportedly, been streaming concerts with no audience since last October. Using Sony’s “BRC-X1000” 4K Pan Tilt Zoom Camera installed in the hall, the concert can be filmed by a small number of staff members and delivered to music fans. According to reports, the online concert tickets will be offered free of charge, and Sony will make a donation to the National Independent Venue Association (NIVA) Emergency Relief Fund…

Gunjan is an IT professional from Odisha who is currently working in Hyderabad and has a keen interest in food photography. “Working with all the technical stuff in office and hitting the keyboards in a cubicle, I always think of photography and what to photograph in my weekends. I wish to make photography my full time profession sometime in the near future. I love capturing visual stories and adore bright, clean and uplifting imagery that emphasises the beauty. I specialise in food and beverage photography. When I take photographs, I focus on the honest details and intricacies that connect us emotionally to food. Be it product, editorial, recipe, lifestyle, restaurants or stock photography. I am passionate about them all when I have my camera in hands” says Gunjan. You can…

NOMINATIONS AND THE WINNER IS... KINGSTON NUCLEUM HigH-Speed USB-C HUB BEST CAMERA IN A BUDGET SMARTPHONE With a capable 64MP quad camera system, the Realme 7 Pro stands out among the budget smartphones. Throw in one of the fastest chargers around, and we have a clear winner. AND THE WINNER IS... REALME 7 PRO NOMINATIONS BEST CAMERA IN A MID-PRICED SMARTPHONE Some of them try to cramp up as many cameras into a phone, while some others succeed in giving the best results with minimum hardware. The Pixel 4a does just that, and we are quite impressed. AND THE WINNER IS... GOOGLE PIXEL 4A NOMINATIONS BEST CAMERA IN A PREMIUM SMARTPHONE For Apple, the principle seems to be ‘do a little less than the competition, but make it as perfect…

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…

Lens mount: Fujifilm X-mount Effective pixels: Approx. 26.1 million Image sensor: X-Trans CMOS (23.5 x 15.6 mm, APS-C) Storage media: SD/SDHC/SDXC cards Metering: Multi/Spot/Average/ Centre-weighted Exposure control: P (with Program Shift)/A/S/M Exp. Compensation: Stills: +/- 5 EV in 1/3 EV steps, Movies: +/- 2 EV in 1/3 EV steps Shutter speeds: Mechanical Shutter: 4 sec-1/4000sec (P mode); 30 sec-1/4000 sec in A mode, 15 min-1/4000sec in S and M modes; Bulb: Max. 60 min. Electronic Shutter: 4 sec -1/32,000 sec in P mode; 30 sec -1/32,000 sec in A mode; 15 min-1/32,000 sec in S and M modes; Bulb: Fixed at 1 sec., Mechanical + Electronic Shutter: 4 sec-1/32,000 sec in P mode; 30 sec-1/32,000 sec in A mode; 15 min- 1/32,000 sec in S and M modes; Bulb: Max.…

1 This company recently celebrated reaching the milestone of having produced its 150 millionth lens. This company is: a) Nikon b) Canon c) Pentax d) Sigma 2 The heaviest 35 mm SLR camera ever made weighed 859 g (body only). The camera was: a) Nikon F with Photomic FTn metering prism b) Alpa 6 C c) Exakta Varex VX d) Canon F 1 3 Our younger readers may not be aware that not every SLR took 35 mm films. Which camera out of the following, took roll films? a) Nikon F 2 b) Miranda Sensomat c) Praktisix d) Pentax Spotmatic 4 Film speeds (used to indicate the sensitivity of film) used to be indicated under two standards – ASA and DIN. The same ASA standard is also used to indicate…