Are you stuck with your photography projects or haven’t been shooting for a while? Don’t like the photos you’ve taken lately? Having a hard time breaking out of that creative rut? It all happens to us in different forms and varying degrees. But, that doesn’t mean we have to keep struggling with it. In a video by Jamie Windsor, he shares some tips and thoughts that allowed him to identify how creative block happens to him and what helps him get past it.
As 2019 draws to an end, one thing is for sure, and that’s the fact that Sony’s dominance in the camera market is alive and well. Just how the camera market will break down for 2019, nobody will know for a while, but we now know who the king of the castle was in 2018. It’s no surprise that it was Sony, and there’s been nothing to suggest that will change for 2019 either. Perhaps the biggest shock though is just how much they are dominating others in the market. Join us after the break to see the camera market break down for 2018 and to explore what we think the others need to do to catch up to the steam roller that is Sony.
When DJI invited us to their DJI Mavic Mini event, we didn’t know what we’d be seeing. But the DJI Mavic Mini is surely the first drone that has really caught my attention. It’s under the 250-gram weight that the government puts restrictions on. Additionally, the DJI Mavic Mini has image stabilization built-in and isn’t to terribly built either. It folds down and is lightweight. So finally, photographers who dwell in cities have a better option to work with that sort of skirts the laws for drone flight. Of course, you need to exercise caution and common sense. If anything, you should always be a bit more conservative when flying with a drone like this and act responsibly.
The Zone System and its variations continue to guide and help photographers get their exposures right, especially for punchy black and white photography. While it was developed for shooting, processing, and printing in film, digital photographers can still learn a thing or two from it to achieve ideal exposures. If this is your first time to learn about the Zone System, we found a handy photography cheat sheet and tutorial to help you understand it better.
Sony announced its latest high-resolution flagship Full Frame Mirrorless camera, the Sony A7R IV, earlier this summer, and was met with an overwhelmingly positive reception. At the heart of the Sony A7R IV is its brand new 61MP backside-illuminated sensor. As of press time, this sensor is the highest resolution sensor currently available in a Full Frame camera, taking the A7 series into medium format territory in terms of resolving power. The Sony A7R IV is packing the company’s latest generation AF technologies under the hood to compliment this beastly sensor, including Face & Eye AF for Humans and Animals, along with Real-time Tracking as well. The exterior of the A7R IV went also under the knife, resulting in a slightly larger body that includes a larger handgrip, better joystick, improved rear dial, a lockable Exposure Compensation dial, as well as upgraded buttons all around. The already excellent Electronic View Finder from the A7R III was also replaced with a higher resolution EVF that’s now capable of refreshing at up to 120 fps. Weather-sealing has been one of Sony’s pain points, but this too saw a major overhaul in the A7R IV. All of these improvements culminates into a camera that is designed clearly with the professional in mind. We’ve been shooting extensively with the Sony A7R IV since this summer, our full review is just after the jump.
We’re in the time of the year where deals and discounts are plentiful, and we have found some stunners for you. You can get the Canon EOS Rp for just $999, the Fujifilm X-H1 for $999, and the X-T3 for only $1,299. The Nikon Z6 ($300 off) and Z7 ($700 off) both have huge discounts, and so does the Panasonic G9 ($500 discount). There are deals on lenses too. The Canon 85mm f1.8 is down to a crazy low $269, and the 24-105 RF Mount is only $899. Nikon has discounts on their new Z glass (save $150 on the 35mm 1.8 Z), and Fujifilm has discounts on their X mount lenses too. If you’re looking for lights, the eVOLV 200 is only $254.15, and the bundle with the XPLOR 600 and the eVOLV 200 is just $879! You can also get a bundle of 1500+ presets for only $29! Check out all of the early Black Friday deals after the break.
If you loved the classic Leica Rope Strap by COOPH but wished it came in a more comfortable width for your hefty cameras, today’s the day they make it happen for you. The latest to join their camera collection is the Double Rope Strap that was made from their collaboration with iconic German camera maker Leica. As its name suggests, this new offering is made using two lengths of repurposed climbing rope for a broader, and therefore more comfortable strap. It’s a simple tweak to the usual rope strap design that many photographers have come to prefer when it comes to camera straps. But it’s geared to make a difference especially for lugging around heavier cameras.
We’ve seen a fair number of cool camera obscura projects in the past, and we’re glad to add one more to the pile. Seoul-based Justin Lovett recently decided to build a giant portable camera obscura using a tent and some blackout curtain fabric. Projects like this are actually fun ways to learn about photography and how a camera works at its simplest form, so if you’re curious about how you can build one yourself, you might get some ideas from the videos documenting this project! If you’ll be in the South Korean capital in the coming days as well, you may even see this tent-camera in action!
It’s no secret that sexism on set is a recurring problem; it’s why we’ve been able to create this series of Stories on Set. We encounter it in all manner of ways, and none are easy or pleasant to contend with. It’s a perpetual dance around the issue, walking on eggshells while concurrently trying to stand up for your rights as a human being and individual. While all versions of these situations are entirely unacceptable and damaging to all parties involved, I would argue that none is harder to handle diplomatically than when that sexist experience transpires between your clients, the people who actually are employing you and providing the whole opportunity to work with them. As previously accounted in Stories from Set: When Clients Sexualize Each Other During Your Shoot, a similar situation developed while working with the same photographer as his assistant with a different client of his. Due to this, I want to share a new story with you, Stories from Set: When Clients Sexualize Each Other During Your Shoot, Round II.
One of Canon’s biggest strengths has always been their ability to create consistently excellent lenses targetted at professionals, and the Canon RF 85mm f1.2 L USM is no exception. With their RF Mount system, Canon has chosen to tackle the Full Frame Mirrorless market from the complete opposite direction as Sony did. Instead of focusing on industry-leading cameras first and slowly building up a portfolio of lenses like Sony did, Canon has elected to introduce premium lenses out of the gate while they work on developing newer, more advanced Full Frame Mirrorless camera bodies. Only time will tell if their strategy will pay off, but one thing’s for sure: the RF Mount lenses we’ve seen so far are some of the very best on the market today. The Canon RF 85mm f1.2 L USM was designed with portrait photographers in mind, and boy does it create some truly stunning portraits. By virtue of being a f1.2 lens, the Canon RF 85mm f1.2 L USM is bulky and has the weight (and price tag-US $2,699 as of press time) to match. If you’ve got deep enough pockets and won’t settle for anything but the very best, the Canon RF 85mm f1.2 L USM will not disappoint.