Digital Photography Review Newsletter: Tuesday, 31 December 2013

	Digital Photography Review Newsletter Tuesday, 31 December 2013 The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 300,000 subscribers
Hello! And welcome to the 490th Digital Photography Review newsletter. Happy Holidays from DPReview! A message from Simon Joinson - Editor in chief: The entire team at dpreview would like to wish all our readers Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Merry Christmas or whatever you say in your part of the world. As we celebrate our 15th anniversary we're looking back on one of the busiest years that we can remember and looking ahead to 2014, which is likely to be even more exciting. Wherever you are, and whatever you're doing today, enjoy yourselves and thank you for being a part of dpreview.com! With more cameras reviewed (and over twice as much content in total) than in any previous year, four new writers trained and put into action, a swathe of improvements to the forums, a new studio comparison scene, our first foray into live video streaming and the launch of GearShop, 2013 has been another hectic year at DPReview. You haven't all liked all the changes (and I know a fair number of you have hated all of them), and we still need to work out how it is that the more reviews we do the more complaints we get about how we used to do more in the old days... But that's part of the fun of producing content for a passionate, invested and hyper-critical audience: it keeps you on your toes. The good news is that, in the face of tough times for our industry, DPReview is still managing to grow its audience year over year, and it is our goal in 2014 to introduce even more content and even more features to keep you coming back. This year we concentrated mainly on ironing out the bugs and adding features in the new forums, as well as doubling down on our efforts to review more cameras, faster - something we're still working on, and something we're definitely getting better at. We also launched the first part of our new Buying Guide section. In 2014 we plan to revamp our Feature Search, Challenges and Galleries systems and, fingers crossed, to launch our first apps, as well as expanding our editorial content to cover more accessories, lenses and photo techniques. We'll also be producing more video content, and we have some exciting events planned (which, I can't, unfortunately, tell you about yet). Oh, and we're hoping to be able to share our ideas for a complete site redesign at some point in the first half of the year. If you've been waiting patiently for 15 years to be able to read DPReview on a white background there is light at the end of the tunnel (and if you haven't, we'll let you keep the old white on black style, so don't fret!). Of course 2014 is likely to be an interesting camera year thanks to Photokina (in late September). We'll be there, on the floor, reporting on the latest developments, just as we have since the earliest days of digital photography. I'd like to personally thank all the editorial and web dev staff for the incredible hard work they've put in during 2013. These are people who live and breathe DPReview, who are obsessed with making it better and with getting it right. And I'd like to thank you, our audience, our community. Thanks for visiting, thanks for reading, thanks for contributing and thanks for keeping us honest with your no-holds-barred feedback. Without you, none of this would be possible. WTD #1449 Check out What The Duck in our Link Directory GearShop update - a message from Laura GearShop update - a message from Laura The GearShop team would like to thank you for supporting the site over this last half of 2013, and we look forward to growing and improving the store in 2014. We will continue offering you the best photo products available with competitive prices and the most informative content we can create, helping you feel confident in your next purchase. This week's best deals: Save $100 on Olympus XZ-10 and XZ-2 enthusiast compact cameras. Save up to 50% on select Manfrotto 190-series tripods, including special bundles with ball heads and back packs. Interested in getting medium format quality out of your NEX camera? Do you have some legacy Hasselblad, Pentax, or Mamiya 645 lenses? Check out the Vizelex Rhinocam, a one-of-a-kind product that lets you mount your medium format lenses on your NEX camera, producing stunning, high-resolution images. Plus, the price recently dropped to only $299! Until next week - Laura and the GearShop Team
News updates Nikon D5300 real-world and test scene samples Published on Tuesday, December 24, 2013 6:00:00 AM GMT The following real-world gallery and test scene shots were first published in our 2013 Camera Roundups, but we're highlighting the Nikon D5300 again in case you missed it the first time around since we're working toward a full review in 2014. The D5300 is Nikon's latest evolution of the D5200 by removing the optical low-pass filter (OLPF) and adding a handful of other features. See gallery Read full story → In photos: Flowing fins of Siamese fighting fish Published on Wednesday, December 25, 2013 6:00:00 AM GMT Thai photographer Visarute Angkatavanich has created a stunning series of close-up portraits of Siamese fighting fish. With simple backgrounds and dramatic lighting, the images show off the species' vivid colors and graceful fins. Siamese fighting fish, also known as Betta, now days are a popular aquarium fish. See gallery Read full story → Happy Holidays from dpreview Published on Wednesday, December 25, 2013 7:00:00 AM GMT The entire team at dpreview would like to wish all our readers Happy Holidays, Season's Greetings, Merry Christmas or whatever you say in your part of the world. As we celebrate our 15th anniversary we're looking back on one of the busiest years that we can remember and looking ahead to 2014, which is likely to be even more exciting. Wherever you are, and whatever you're doing today, enjoy yourselves and thank you for being a part of dpreview.com! Read full story → Hands-on with the Panono panoramic ball camera Published on Thursday, December 26, 2013 2:30:00 PM GMT The Panono is a ball-shaped panoramic camera with 36 individual camera modules and a built-in accelerometer. We got our hands on a prototype and met with its Berlin-based creators. See what we thought of the crowd-funded camera on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Pentax K-50 real-world and test scene samples Published on Friday, December 27, 2013 6:00:00 AM GMT The following real-world gallery and test scene shots were first published in our 2013 Camera Roundups, but we're highlighting the Pentax K-50 again in case you missed it the first time around. The Pentax K-50 is the follow up to the K-30 and is similar in appearance and spec to the K-500. The camera can also be custom ordered in 120 possible color combinations. See gallery Read full story → What The Duck #1449 Published on Friday, December 27, 2013 8:12:09 AM GMT We've come to the end of another week here at dpreview, and as our thoughts drift to weekend shooting opportunities, it's time to take things a little less seriously. Aaron Johnson's comic strip ‘What the Duck’ is just the thing, taking a gently satirical look through the lens of a photographically inclined waterfowl. You can find it published here (and in our newsletter) every week; we hope you enjoy it, and your weekend. Read full story → DPReview Videos: tutorials, product overviews, interviews and more Published on Saturday, December 28, 2013 5:37:44 AM GMT We don't just write news stories and product reviews here on DPReview.com, we also create videos. As well as samples the cameras we review, we also produce 'hands-on' video previews and overviews of many of the current hottest products on the market. In addition to these, we've recently started adding a series of video tutorials designed to help you make informed decisions about which camera, lens, or type of product might be best for you. Click through to browse our growing library of videos.  Read full story → In photos: The beauty of bees Published on Saturday, December 28, 2013 6:00:00 AM GMT Biologist Sam Droege of the USGS Native Bee Inventory and Monitoring Program has turned the work of documenting bee species into an art form. His rare and extremely detailed look at these insects provides an online reference catalog to help researchers identity native bee species across North America. See gallery Read full story → Sample Gallery: Nokia Lumia 1520 smartphone images Published on Sunday, December 29, 2013 3:23:11 PM GMT We couldn't wait to see Nokia's first phablet in action. The Lumia 1520 boasts a 20-megapixel PureView camera with optical image stabilization as well as the ability to save uncompressed Digital Negative (DNG) files. We're working on our full review of the device now and sharing our first sample gallery today on connect.dpreview.com. Read full story → Have your say: Best gear of 2013 Published on Monday, December 30, 2013 2:00:00 PM GMT A great many new products were released this year, and we've published in-depth content on plenty of them, full reviews of many and we've got plenty of opinions on all of them. This is your chance to have your day - which was the best gear of 2013? Click through to see our five readers' polls, and cast your vote! Read full story → Premium prime? Nikon AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G in-depth review Published on Monday, December 30, 2013 6:14:43 PM GMT The Nikon AF-S Nikkor 58mm f/1.4G was one of the more unexpected lens releases of 2013. It's a fast normal prime for full frame shooters, but its $1699.95 / £1599.99 price tag represents a huge premium compared to the existing (and very good) AF-S Nikkor 50mm f/1.4G. What's more, lab tests failed to show any clear sharpness advantage either. So why, exactly, is Nikon asking so much for this lens, and just how well does it perform in real-world use? Find out. Read our detailed review Read full story →
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