When the Sony Alpha 1 was announced, I remember being really impressed but not surprised. Sony had been the brand to beat and had been continuously pushing the envelope. What Sony did was impressive, but not shocking. The Nikon Z9 has shocked me.
Vimeo has announced that it is the first to bring the ability to host, share, and playback videos shot in Dolby Vision and uploaded through Apple devices.
Sony recently published multiple promotional videos for its latest sensors aimed at the industrial space, and while it's unlikely all of the features shown have consumer applications, some might find their way to consumer cameras.
For those paying attention, the HDR video landscape is incredibly convoluted. But before we get into that, it's important to recognize that HDR video is not the same as HDR photography, and it certainly is not related to the over-sharpened, oversaturated images popular five to ten years ago.
After nine years covering the photography industry, today marks the end of that long journey across multiple outlets, ending with my time here at PetaPixel. I'm not leaving journalism, but I am switching things up a bit. After a short break, I'll be working in a new segment at a new outlet.
I love drones, but I don't love the stereotypes, stigmas, attention, and negativity that comes with them. I've been flying since the Phantom 4, so I got into it right as the wild west of drone flying was coming to an end, and restrictions and regulations were being rolled out.
For Canon, Nikon and Panasonic/Leica/Sigma, 2018-2019 was the first year where they all truly “went for it” when it comes to full frame mirrorless. All three released full-frame mirrorless cameras, and all three seemed to have different priorities with those releases. In this three-part series, we’re looking at each of these companies in their first year and evaluate where each of them stands today in what is now a very competitive market.
These days, it's probably more likely that you win the lottery than for Sony to make a bad lens. Their process over the last few years has been really dialed in, to the point where making a technically good piece of optics is their bread and butter.
I went into my hands-on with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III with no expectations. For me, it had been many years since I had used an Olympus (aside from an afternoon borrowing from a friend who had an older PEN camera about five years ago, the last time I shot with Olympus was with the E5 and E3).
Over the past few years, I've experienced a number of lenses that were optically stunning. Near-perfect examples of optical technology, lenses like the Sony 135mm f/1.8 (which I reviewed and loved) and 24mm f/1.4 (also loved) along with the Canon RF 28-70mm f/2 or their RF 50mm f/1.2 all exhibited these traits of pushing towards "perfection."
It took a little while, but we finally have the "desert island" 24-70mm f/2.8 lens for every major full-frame mirrorless system on the market, with some lovely crossover as well thanks to the L-Mount Alliance and Sigma's continued support of E-mount. Though RF and Nikon Z are a bit on their own at present, E-Mount and L-Mount, which encompass a huge number of cameras, now have a lot of options.
Back in mid-2017, I was tasked with reviewing Sigma's first 24-70mm lens, the 24-70mm f/2.8 DG OS HSM IF Art lens, and I was extremely disappointed. You can read my whole review here, but in summary, I found it to be sadly inconsistent with its sharpness. Most notably, I found that edge sharpness was really quite bad.
After Canon shared the development information on the impending 1D X Mark III last year, we called out that its specs not only blow away any previous notions of what a camera with physical moving parts could do but also noted that it's got all the makings of a great mirrorless camera... with a mirror.
Though we went into great detail recently into why the SD card isn't going anywhere anytime soon, the format's days are likely still numbered. Positioned as a response to CFexpress, the SD Association published an initiative about a year ago for the next generation SD card called SDexpress (SDx).
For Canon, Nikon and Panasonic, 2018-2019 was the first year where they all truly "went for it" when it comes to mirrorless. All three released full-frame mirrorless cameras, and all three seemed to have different priorities with those releases. In this three-part series, we're looking at each of these companies in their first year and evaluate where each of them stands today in what is now a very competitive market.
I want to start this off by saying two things: one, this isn't a review or hands-on impressions as I have not used the computer (PetaPixel's hands-on coverage is forthcoming) and two, I am an Apple power user and have been since I was indoctrinated in high school.
Up until a few weeks ago, I had never used a Leica. I don't think I'd ever even held one or knew much about them other than the occasional story of an outlandishly expensive iteration on a camera previously on the market. I had preconceived notions about the kind of company Leica was, about their goals, and about their strategy. I expected very little, regardless of what they were going to show me.
Adobe has launched Photoshop on the iPad, a fully rebuilt application on the real base of Photoshop that purportedly runs smoothly and efficiently despite being on the pseudo computer that is the Apple tablet. Normally, this achievement would be seen as a gigantic accomplishment, but multiple stories over the past year have put a damper on what would otherwise be a celebrated announcement.
Right now if you head over to Kickstarter and search for "camera bag," three active choices pop up. That's three more camera bag ideas vying for your attention in addition to the tons that have hit Kickstarter over the years and the hundreds more made by larger brands like Lowepro, Manfrotto and Think Tank.