If you've ever noticed an unsightly colored fringe or halo on objects in your photographs, you've seen chromatic aberration. It's a common problem in photography and can detract from an otherwise good image. Fortunately, there are ways to minimize or even eliminate it, both before you hit the shutter button and after when editing your picture.
The megapixel count of a camera is often viewed by consumers to be the benchmark number for telling whether or not that camera is "good." If that were true, however, why do photographers not just buy a 108-megapixel smartphone to use as their primary equipment? The answer: because image quality has to do with far more than just megapixels.
Let’s compare a basic camera to one of the best cameras out there and more toward the pricey side, let’s be honest. I always heard the best camera is the one you have on you so let’s find out if that is true!
Wedding and portrait photographer Alex Barrera recently conducted a side-by-side comparison between the new 45MP Canon EOS R5 and the two-year-old 30MP Canon EOS R. Setting aside video performance, he wanted to see how these two camera stack up when it comes to pure image quality.
I was one of the lucky ones who got their hands on the Canon EOS R5 early in August of 2020. The camera arrived in the morning, just before my flight to the Lofoten Islands. Here's a summary of my experience climbing to 7 summits in 7 days with Canon's new flagship mirrorless camera.
Wildlife photographer Steve Perry of Backcountry Gallery has just completed a massive review of the Nikon D6. And after using the camera in Theodore Roosevelt National Park, Badlands National Park, Custer State Park, and Yellowstone National Park, he has some thoughts on whether or not wildlife photographers should consider buying Nikon's flagship DSLR.
Jordan Drake and Chris Niccolls over at DPReview TV recently published a follow-up to their lens cleaning video, where they tested something that we've all wondered: how much do scratches, dust, water droplets, and fingerprints on your lens really impact image quality?
"Compression" is a dirty word in the world of photography, but not all compressed files are created equal. That's exactly what photographer Alex Barrera discovered when he switched to using Canon's compressed RAW (cRAW) format exclusively—it's saved him a ton of space, with virtually no downsides.
When Sony announced the 61MP a7R IV this week, both presenters were quick to say that the camera's full-frame sensor "rivaled medium format" thanks to its combination of resolution and dynamic range. But was that engineering truth, or marketing speak? Photographer Matt Granger decided to find out.
How much of a difference can an extra 19MP and a newly-designed really make? Apparently, quite a bit, as you can see in this quick side-by-side comparison of JPEGs shot on the 42MP Sony a7R III and the newly released 61MP Sony a7R IV.
How much has camera image quality improved over the past decade and a half? Photographer Jeff Rey recently decided to see by doing a simple test with his Nikon D200 crop sensor CCD DSLR, a camera that was originally announced back in 2005 with a price tag of $1,700 (over $2,200 in today's dollars).
Photographer and YouTube star Peter McKinnon decided to do an experiment on whether you can create top-quality content using entry-level camera gear. He had a pro photographer see if he could distinguish between photos from a $400 camera and those of a $4,000 camera.
Photonstophotos has published its dynamic range test results for the new Canon EOS R and Nikon Z7 full-frame mirrorless cameras. The numbers show that both Canon and Nikon trail the performance of Sony's cameras.
Apple's new iPhone XS Max has received a score of 105 by the camera review lab DxOMark, putting the camera quality in the #2 spot behind the Huawei P20 Pro and its leading score of 109.
A few years ago, I was embarrassingly very vocal about how disappointed I was about some of the Nikon lenses. I've been using Nikon cameras and lenses for decades and although I was very pleased with the image quality and color rendition their cameras produced, I strongly considered jumping the Nikon ship in search of crisper, cleaner looking lenses.
With the popularity of mirrorless cameras from Sony, Fuji, Panasonic among others, more and more Canon users are either changing systems or wanting to try these new cameras. That in turn, is making adapting lenses more popular than ever, especially as autofocus performance continues to improve and includes many native features like Continous Eye AF (in the case of Sony cameras).
I recently took my Sony A7 III and a rented $2,500 Sony FE 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6 GM OSS lens to the 2018 Montreal GP. A friend of mine had recommended that I use a polarizer. I remembered that I had a pack of 77mm Vivitar Series 1 filters that came with my 24-105mm, so I threw that onto the 100-400mm and started shooting, completely zoomed at 400mm.
DxOMark has published an interesting look at how smartphone cameras have evolved and improved over the past half decade, starting from when the camera testing lab began reviewing smartphones in 2012. Needless to say, we've come a long way in just a few short years.
Do photos always need to be technically perfect? In this 10-minute video, landscape photographer Thomas Heaton discusses whether photographers worry too much about the technicalities of a photo, forgetting about what's actually in the image.
The Nikon D850 has generated a considerable amount of excitement among photographers today after its announcement, and here's a new fact that will add even more fuel to the frenzy: Nikon says the D850 should have the same image quality at double the ISO as the D810.
The first dynamic range tests of the new Canon 6D Mark II DSLR are trickling onto the Web, and one thing seems to be clear: the results are very disappointing for Canon fans. In fact, Canon appears to have taken a step backwards.
Sony's latest E-mount mirrorless cameras have wowed photographers with their low light and high ISO capabilities. Now it looks like its latest A-mount SLT, the new Sony a99 II, will do the same. Above is a 2-minute video showing its performance at ISOs up to 25600 in a room lit only by two candles.
Which popular digital camera produces the most desirable JPEG photos straight-out-of-camera? The folks over at TheCameraStoreTV decided to do a shootout between top models and use a "blind(ish)" test to see which JPEGs photographers prefer.
Most people use their smartphones as their go-to snapshot camera these days, and the impressive image quality of the latest models is great for recording everyday memories. The small sensor and lens do have their limitations, though, and quite a few people found that out last night when they pulled out their smartphones to photograph the supermoon lunar eclipse.
I recently did a shootout to compare the image quality of the new $1,799 Canon 35mm f/1.4L II against the $899 Sigma 35mm f/1.4 ART. Unlike most comparisons out there, I would like for you to be the judge of what you think is a better image and leave comment about why you would choice one over the other.
Last month Flickr proudly announced major new features, a slick new redesign, and 112 million members, but the service may have rolled out a disappointing change as well: increased compression that reduces the quality of photos.
There have been a few film versus digital articles here and there on the interwebs, but seems like very few have approached the subject in a scientific fashion or with the advice of both film and digital experts.
However, with the help of Joe Cornish (a landscape photographer who made his living shooting on medium and large format but now shoots Phase One IQ280s), Chris Ireland (who sells Phase One cameras), and myself, Tim Parkin, (I shoot film and run a drum scanning service), a definitive test was born.
Nikon has released a set of sample photographs to give pixel-peepers a first look at the new D5200's image quality. The photographs, captured by photographer Douglas Menuez, were all shot using "non-professional" DX lenses that cost less than $500. The photograph above was shot using the $200 Nikon 35mm f/1.8G AF-S DX lens at ISO 200.
One of the latest entrants in the at-home film scanning game is the Plustek OpticFilm 120. Just announced a few months ago and made available for pre-orders earlier this month, the OpticFilm 120 is a professional caliber scanner that can digitize both 35mm and 120mm medium format film. With a price tag of $2,000, it's not exactly wallet-friendly for the average film shooter, but is quite affordable when compared to other medium-format pro-grade scanners on the market.
If you've been wondering about the image quality of the scanner (and whether or not it stacks up well against your local photo lab), Plustek has released a few full-resolution untouched scans.
A number of publications have begun receiving hands-on time with the new Sony RX1 full-frame compact camera. It seems that Sony is doing something right, as initial commentators and testers are saying some pretty positive things about the $2,800 shooter.