Innehållsförteckning för March 2024 från Smart Photography

Just like vinyl, is film poised to make a comeback? The likelihood of Pentax making a film camera has triggered a lot of speculation that film cameras are poised to make a comeback. After all, the second hand market is flush with mint film cameras and second hand prices are very attractive to those on a budget. Further, Fujifilm, Kodak and Ilford continue to make film. Also, it is much easier to digitize film now than before. What is our opinion? Well, we can see film cameras having a niche in the market but mainstream? No. However, never say never! One of our veteran readers firmly believes that Photoshop killed Photography. Not really. After all, changes to colour and exposure could also be done when processing film. Maybe, it is…

Japanese tech giant Canon has revealed impressive year-on-year growth in camera sales and other product sectors, according to its latest financial report. With a revenue increase of 3.7% from 2022, Canon’s full-year revenue for 2023 reached approximately 4.18 billion yen ($28.335 billion), accompanied by an 8.4% rise in net profit. The revenue surge was driven by Canon’s four main business divisions: printing solutions, imaging, medical solutions, and industrial equipment/other products. Printing solutions accounted for the majority, generating 2.346 trillion yen ($15.90 billion) and representing 56.1% of the brand’s overall revenue. Notable products include the innovative color digital printer image PRESS V1350. In the imaging sector, Canon saw a revenue increase of 7.2%, totaling 861.6 billion yen ($5.81 billion). This growth was propelled by strong demand for new interchangeable lens digital…

Prepare for a paradigm shift in the world of smartphones as the next image revolution looms, with credible reports suggesting the integration of large Micro Four Thirds sensors. This marks a potential revolution not only in the smartphone sector but across the entire camera market. Multiple sources now indicate the imminent arrival of a new generation of Micro Four Thirds sensors, ranging from 44 to 100 megapixels, set to be implemented in smartphones. Weibo, among the sources, details the sensors per smartphone as follows: • 4/3-inch 108Mp 1.4μm Nonacell Full-pixel DPAF (new ISOCELL, optimized quantum efficiency)• 4/3-inch 80Mp 1.65μm QuadBayer Full-pixel 2×2 OCL AF (IMX472 changes Mipi interface to reduce digital layer power consumption)• 4/3 inch 50Mp 2.1μm 4-Cell Full-pixel 2×2 OCL AF WDR (LOFIC TheiaCel)• 4/3-inch 44Mp 2.25μm Mask-PD…

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…

MIRRORLESS Sony Alpha 6700 ₹1,72,990 Inside the Box ✓ Body✓ Shoulder strap✓ Body cap✓ Accessory shoe cap✓ Eyepiece cap✓ Battery✓ Lens✓ Lens cap, lens rear cap and hood Sony’s 6000 range of cameras have proved to be quite popular in the market for APS-C cameras. The 6600 which was launched in 2019 has now been replaced with the 6700. What are the major differences? The 6700 comes with a brand new sensor that is similar to the sensor found in the FX 30. Sony also claim improved autofocus with 759 phase detection points. The AI processing unit excels in subject detection and can recognize birds and vehicles. Low light performance is available upto -3EV. Buffer memory capacity is also up to 1000 JPEG files in fine compression. Video…

Lexar is a name that immediately comes to mind when looking for memory cards. Besides memory cards, Lexar offers a range of products like USB flash drives, readers, solid-state drives (SSDs) and DRAM for retail and OEM customers. Several camera models from different leading manufacturers like Canon, Nikon, Fujifilm, Panasonic and RED use CFexpress Type B memory cards to store the data (please check the specifications for your camera). CFexpress Type B memory cards from Lexar are available in Diamond series (up to 1900MB/s ‘Read speed’ / 1700MB/s ‘Write speed’); Gold series (up to 1900MB/s ‘Read speed’ / 1500MB/s ‘Write Speed’); and Silver series (up to 1750MB/s ‘Read speed’ /1300MB/s ‘Write speed). It is important to have reliable memory cards, but it is equally important to have ‘fast’ cards ---…

Nikon India kicked off its inaugural ‘Wonders of the Wild’ photography and videography contest in partnership with the Worldwide Fund for Nature - India (WWF-India). This one-and-a-half-month-long contest, open to wildlife enthusiasts across India until March 3, 2024, aims to celebrate the remarkable talents of photographers and videographers passionate about capturing the beauty of India’s flora and fauna. Entries will be evaluated by esteemed wildlife experts, including Mr. Shaaz Jung, Ms. Latika Nath, and Mr. Kallol Mukherjee. Participants can submit entries through the Nikon India website or Instagram, showcasing their creativity and storytelling skills. Exciting prizes worth INR 8 lakhs await the winners, including a Nikon Z 8 mirrorless camera as the grand prize, along with NIKKOR Z lenses for the runners-up. Additionally, the top 10 entries will receive WWF-India…

Nikon has made history with the launch of its cutting-edge Nikon Z 9 mirrorless camera to the International Space Station (ISS), marking the first time a Nikon mirrorless camera will be utilized by astronauts in space. The Z 9, renowned for its unparalleled image quality and advanced technology, will enable NASA astronauts to capture stunning visuals of Earth and space with unprecedented clarity. Multiple Nikon Z 9 bodies, accompanied by an impressive array of NIKKOR Z lenses, were transported to the ISS aboard the 20th Northrop Grumman commercial resupply services mission for NASA. Launched via the SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from Cape Canaveral Space Force Station on January 30th, 2024, the Cygnus cargo spacecraft carried this essential photographic equipment to the orbiting laboratory. Replacing the existing inventory of Nikon D6…

A collaboration between researchers from the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada has yielded groundbreaking insights into how animals perceive the natural world. Utilizing innovative camera technology and software, the team has unlocked the ability to capture and replicate animal vision. Animal vision varies significantly due to differences in photoreceptors, posing a challenge to accurately emulate their perspective. For instance, while honeybees share trichromatic vision with humans, they can perceive UV light, unlike us. Similarly, birds, as tetrachromats, possess the ability to detect UV light. Driven by the fascination of understanding animals’ visual experiences, the researchers developed this novel technology. Their objective, as outlined in the research paper’s abstract, is to equip ecologists and filmmakers with the tools to record animal-perceived colors accurately. Beyond its scientific implications, the technology holds…

There are several photographers who are mystified by the term White Balance. So, what exactly is White Balance? How does it help us? Is it necessary to set the ‘correct’ WB? What happens if we set a wrong WB for the scene we are photographing? Let’s try and answer these questions. Let us say that you are photographing a person who is wearing white clothes and you are photographing the subject under yellow coloured light. Will his white clothes remain white? No. His white clothes will appear yellowish (unless you have adjusted the WB). We say that the subject has a ‘yellow colour cast’. Similarly, as an experiment, you light up one side of a subject’s face with blue light and the other side of the face, with red coloured…

Yodobashi Cameras of Japan has released their list of the best selling cameras in Japan in 2023. • Sony A 7 IV• Nikon Z 8• Sony A 7 R V• Canon EOS R 6 II• Sony A 7 IV Kit• Nikon ZFc• Nikon Z 50 kit• Canon EOS R 50• Sony FX 3• Nikon Z 9 Yodobashi also released their list of the best selling lenses in Japan for 2023. • Sony FE 24–70 mm f 2.8 GM II• Sony FE 70–200 mm f 2.8 GM OSS II• Canon RF 100-400 mm f 5.6 -8 IS USM• Tamron 28–200 mm f 2.8 – 5.6 Di III RXD E Mount• Canon RF 100–500 mm f 4.5–7.1 L IS USM• Canon RF 70–200 mm f 2.8 L IS USM• Nikon Nikkor Z…

@vimalparmar In Focus: Photographer H. Satish of Bengaluru – His Artistry, Achievements, and Love for Print Dear Readers, Continuing with my series of featuring photographers who love to print, this month we have H. Satish from Bengaluru. Amongst the photography fraternity in India, especially some of the best photography clubs that we have, Satish is a well-known name. His interest spans, wildlife, macro, landscape, people, and a lot more. Since I will not be able to do justice in introducing H. Satish, I have invited another equally illustrious photographer and a close friend of Satish, Mohammed Arfan Asif (@arfan_asif_photography), to do the honours and this is what he has to say: “H. Satish is a master craftsman with a remarkable portfolio of nature and pictorial photographs. His exemplary images have…

Inside the Box ✓ Lens✓ Lens hood (ALC-SH176), petal shape✓ Lens front cap (ALC-F72S)✓ Lens rear cap (ALC-R1EM)✓ Warranty card The 70 – 200 mm focal range has been a favourite for photographers seeking quality telephoto zooms. For professionals, a fixed aperture of 2.8 across the zoom range is attractive; however, for enthusiasts and amateurs, the bulk of such lenses and their high prices act as a deterrent. The 70 -200 mm F4 comes in useful here. Sony has had a 70 – 200 mm f 4 for several years; it was now time to upgrade it and therefore the new 70 – 200 mm f 4 Macro G OSS II. The new lens promises better image quality, better autofocus, closer focusing, improved image stabilisation and macro capabilities all in…