To Compete with Full Frame, Fujifilm Will Need to Get Retro

Fujifilm needs to make their medium format cameras even smaller.

We can agree that Fujifilm is doing a great job with medium format. Their cameras are pretty compact. They also boast fantastic features, performance, and image quality. Personally, they’re still not small enough. Sure, we can go with the X series. Their X series cameras are fantastic. But the company has hinted that the GF format is their future. And if they’re going to commit, they need to go smaller. When I was reviewing the Hasselblad 907x 50C, I kept wondering why Fujifilm couldn’t make something that brilliant. But, the company never made small medium format film SLR cameras. They did, however, do something arguably better.

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Sony Just Crammed A Zoom Lens, Tracking AF in the Sony Xperia 1 III

A smartphone that has autofocus tracking and a 105mm lens? Here’s what’s new for Sony’s photo-focused smartphones.

After bringing A9-like autofocus to smartphones last year, Sony is again trying to push sports-ready autofocus into pockets. The Sony Xperia 1 III brings real-time subject tracking to the company’s smartphone line-up. And, if that’s not enough, Sony packed in a periscoped optical zoom lens. Said lens shoots at both 70mm and 105mm. Announced today, April 14, the smartphone continues the earlier Xperia models’ photo-first focus. The company today also announced the Sony Xperia 5 III. It’s a smaller, cheaper smartphone that still has the variable telephoto lens. However, it lacks real-time tracking.

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The Canon EOS R3 Will Work So Great with These Lenses

The Canon EOS R3 is now in development, and Canon has new lenses that will work just great with it!

Apparently, we’re going to need to wait even longer for the Canon EOS R1. However, today the company let the world know about the new Canon EOS R3. It’s currently in development, and more details will come soon. One of the biggest new features is a return and revamp of an old Canon favorite. Back in the film days, variants of the Canon Elan 7 has Eye autofocus. Basically, you’d look in the viewfinder, look at a focusing point, and the camera would pick the focusing spot. That’s coming back with a major overhaul in the Canon EOS R3. Additionally, some cool new lenses are coming!

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Samsung’s Self-Healing Sensors Are Exactly What We Need

Stuck and hot pixels will be a thing of the past with self-healing sensors.

Oh, Samsung. What could have been if you had stayed in the traditional camera market. Still, the South Korean giants have done alright for themselves since their last Mirrorless camera. They are making huge waves in the smartphone space with their camera tech. We’ve reported on several new sensors and other pieces of technology they’re working on in the past. Now, we have word of a new AI-based self-healing sensor, which could solve some issues currently plaguing all sensors if it works as intended. Head on past the break to find out more.

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Could the New 14-Inch MacBook Pro Finally Have an SD Card Slot?

Apple is reported to be introducing a new 14-inch MacBook Pro with the M1 processor and an SD Card Reader.

Most editors here at The Phoblographer have Macbooks. More specifically, we’ve got older ones. Hillary and I haven’t upgraded since 2015 because of the lack of an SD card reader. To boot, we haven’t been delighted with any of the PC offerings out there. But reports of a new 14-inch MacBook Pro seem incredibly intriguing. This would seemingly replace the 13-inch option and perhaps change camera bag design for years to come.

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NASA’s Perseverance Rover Shows You How Dumb Megapixel Wars Are

The Megapixel wars aren’t doing anyone any favors.

The Megapixel wars that started back in the early 2000s with the rise of digital cameras are still raging today. While many photographers clamor for more megapixels (because more is better, right?), others realize they aren’t everything. Some of those folks include the brains at NASA and CNES (the French space agency). The Perseverance rover that touched down on the red planet last month has already beamed back stunning, detail-filled images that have captivated the world. What might surprise you, though, is that the rover’s camera has a Megapixel count in the single digits. Find out more about the rover’s camera after the break.

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Looking For Objective Lens Reviews? We’ve Officially Got the Most!

The Phoblographer is now the home of the most original real-world lens reviews.

If you’ve been a long-time reader of the Phoblographer, you probably already know this. Most publications, YouTubers, and bloggers focus on cameras. But we knew early on that’s only part of photography. Lenses and the accessories around them are super important. Today, we’re happy to make a huge, special announcement. The Phoblographer is now home to the most real-world lens reviews. That means that we’ve taken over 700 lenses out and into the wild. We didn’t do lab tests. Instead, we tested them and used them according to what we see you folks doing online. Further, We did them ourselves in-house. Unlike a few other publications, we didn’t syndicate from various sources on the web. We’ve handled, abused, and shot with all of the lenses.

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The Best Sony Lens Guide On the Web Just Got Even Better

Our Full-Frame Sony lens guide is the best you’ll find anywhere!

Sony users are truly blessed when it comes to the number of lenses they get to choose from. Sony has worked hard to build up its E Mount platform over the last few years. They have also worked diligently with third-party manufacturers like Zeiss, Rokinon, Tokina, Samyang, and Tamron. There are high-end lenses that will satisfy the hardiest of photographers. Then, there are much more affordable options, which make the E mount platform accessible. Over the years, we’ve worked hard to provide real-world reviews on all of these lenses. We do this so that you can make better purchasing decisions, and we aim to continue doing that. We’re happy to say that we’ve just completed a massive update to our Full Frame Sony lens guide. No fewer than 11 lenses have been added to it. Head past the break for more details.

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The Reissued Zeiss 58mm F2 Biotar Lens Has Beautiful Bokeh

Following the trend that Leica’s been doing, the Zeiss 58mm f2 Biotar is an ode to the company’s past.

This has to be one of the more exciting things I’ve read in a while! Today, Zeiss is resurrecting a part of its past. The Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f2 is a beautiful lens from way back in the day. It boasted a smooth aperture, small size, and came in the unusual Exacta mount. Of course, the new Zeiss Jena Biotar 58mm f2 2021 differs from its ages-old predecessor, but it’s an incredibly exciting move and a major deviation away from the modern. The modern Zeiss lens has always been about absolute perfection. Lots of marketing is done involving their MTF charts and all. Admittedly, they’ve been pretty quiet for a while too. Long did I think that the German company did an Irish goodbye to the photo industry save the ZX1. But this new addition is very intriguing.

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Polaroid Is Making Packfilm and Giving it Away for Free!

In light of their support for the last Unsplash awards, Polaroid is giving away Packfilm for free!

No, your mind isn’t the only one being blown right now. I was quite shocked to learn this myself. Today, Polaroid is giving us a doubleheader. First off, they’re bringing back Packfilm. So if you’ve got an older Polaroid Type 100 film camera, get ready: you’ll be able to bring new life to that camera. The only other manufacturer is Supersense, and their stuff is hit or miss. But even better, they’re giving it away for free! That’s where we really started to scratch our heads.

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The New Skylum Body Replacement AI Tool Targets Influencers

Using their Sky Replacement AI tool, Skylum is letting influencers completely change their body up!

Skylum changed the game a long time ago by incorporating AI into their Luminar software. Sky Replacement gave tons of influencers, Youtubers, Redditors, Instagrammers, and more lots of editing power. But today, Skylum is questionably going a bit further. Realizing the power of the influencer market, the company looks to take Adobe’s spot for editing. Loads of influencers do lots of body morphing on Instagram and other social media platforms. To that end, Skylum is looking to make the process more streamlined and automated with the new Skylum Body Replacement AI tool.

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Not an April Fool’s Joke: Fujifilm Superia Gets More Expensive

We want to make it incredibly clear that this piece of news isn’t an April Fool’s Joke: those are coming later today.

“Really, on April Fool’s Day?” is what I said to our Fujifilm reps about the news of the price increase. Following the news of the reintroduction of the Quicksnap waterproof yesterday, there’s more film news. Fujifilm is increasing the price of Superia starting today. The price of their professional films is staying the same. But for what it’s worth, the secret is now officially out. Loads of film photographers have used Superia as a cheap option and because it’s genuinely gorgeous. Like a gentrified neighborhood, the party is over, and prices are going up. In fact, Superia isn’t really the only one going up.

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Is It Time for Cameras to Have a Security Lock Screen?

Even if a camera got stolen, it would be tough to operate if it had a lock screen.

For cameras to first have a lock screen, they’d need to have good touchscreens. And hopefully, that will come across the field this year. But every photographer fears their camera getting stolen. Indeed, your camera being stolen is nowhere as bad as your $10,000 in lenses disappearing. You probably think this can be a pretty awful idea. However, it can be a much better idea if you set it up the way it is with a phone.

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Get Excited! The Fujifilm QuickSnap Waterproof 800 35mm is Back!

The Fujifilm QuickSnap Waterproof 800 is back thanks to Gen Z and millennials!

For what it’s worth, nothing has changed with the camera. But a while back, the Fujifilm QuickSnap Waterproof 800 camera was discontinued. However, Fujifilm is specifically citing that Gen Z and Millenials are partially responsible for bringing it back. This is the second time they’ve said this, with the first being a reference to the reintroduction of Acros 100. But the return of the product signifies something massive for the photo industry.

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Apple Could Be Getting Into the Camera Game In A Unique Way

Many have called on Apple to do more with cameras, and this will definitely be something new for them.

Apple is a company that likes to dip its hands into many different electronic markets. We all, of course, know about their smartphone empire, their computers, iPods, iPads, headphones, and even their much-speculated electric car. But what about cameras and other items that use them? Apple has been making waves with their iPhone cameras for sure, but will they ever break into another market that utilizes cameras? The answer to that is yes, apparently. News of an augmented reality headset has been floating around for a little while now. While it might not be a camera announcement we have been looking for, it’s still pretty cool. Let’s talk about this after the break.

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A Curved Sensor Could Make This 70mm Canon Lens Tiny

High megapixel sensors are great; however, a curved sensor would really spice up the camera market.

We love finding out about new sensors just as much as you do. However, new types of sensors have been hard to come by. Sure, Sony is killing it with their stacked sensors, but there needs to be a big leap technologically. There has been plenty of speculation about global shutters. These would be very cool. Still, recently there has been a lot of noise about curved sensors. Curved sensors would drastically reduce the size of lenses as they would allow for much simpler lens designs. Speaking of lens designs, Canon just filed a patent for a new lens. That’s doesn’t sound too exciting. However, this lens is designed for a curved sensor. Let’s talk about it after the break.

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Can You Even Autofocus, Bro? The Sigma Fp L Has Big Things To Prove

The 61MP Sigma Fp L looks like it might be oriented towards photographers, but we’re still not entirely convinced.

Sigma turned heads last year when they launched the Sigma Fp. An incredibly tiny, 24 Megapixel modular camera that was geared more towards videographers than photographers. Still, we took it for a spin. We found that while the camera was trying to be innovative, it still struggled with autofocus. Autofocus has always been Sigma’s Achilles heel, and it has been the downfall of many of their cameras. Now, we find out (late, we might add) about the new 61 Megapixel Sigma Fp L. It’s the same small modular camera from before, but it has a beefed-up sensor. Sigma is also launching a new EVF to go alongside the camera. We’ve got all the details as well as an opinion about it for you after the break.

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Artificial Intelligence Is Great, but Should It Affect Photographers Fees?

AI is making our lives easier, but is it starting to muddy the waters we wade in?

Artificial Intelligence, or AI for short, has come into the photography world with a vengeance. Not long ago, AI in cameras was limited to merely tracking an object. Now, AI in our cameras can detect and track the eyes of humans and animals. Some cameras have AI that can tell what animal or object you’re tracking. AI can help you focus stack in-camera. It can help create surreal long exposures and so much more. A photographer’s job has never been easier. We ask you this question. Since we’re doing less work, should we still charge as much for our services? Let’s talk about this after the break.

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Photographers: Want to Share Your Work with the World?

Here’s your chance to show other photographers how incredible and special your work is.

Something I realized over the pandemic is how many wonderful letters we get from the photographers we feature. We’ve gotten folks more work. We’ve also apparently really made some photographers get a ton of traffic to their websites. We’re happy to find a way to give back to the photo community. And we’re inviting you to help us inspire others and hopefully do something for you too. Here’s how you can get your work featured on Phoblographer.

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