Digital Photography Review Newsletter: Wednesday, 14 May 2014

	Digital Photography Review Newsletter Wednesday, 14 May 2014 The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 300,000 subscribers
Welcome to the 509th Digital Photography Review newsletter. Spring is a time to make decisions, cast some light into dark corners of your life that might have been bothering you, and get rid of unneeded baggage. It's also a time for new beginnings, new projects and for making plans. Summer is on the way, life is good (hopefully), and the world is once again filled with photographic potential. I might be speaking specifically about our mindset up here in the rainy Pacific North West, but I think the general sentiment holds true wherever you are in the world. With that in mind, we're firmly focused on the future. More details at the end of this newsletter... For now, here's what we've been up to over the past few days: Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II Review The Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II is an ambitious product that addresses some of the shortcomings of its predecessor by adding a 24-120mm F2.0-3.9 lens, faster AF system, tilting LCD, and 5.2 fps continuous shooting. Its 1.5"-type CMOS sensor also allows for image quality that should rival consumer or midrange interchangeable lens cameras. But do these improvements make the G1 X Mark II the large-sensor compact for enthusiasts? Click here to read our review of the Canon PowerShot G1 X Mark II Nikon D4S dynamic range and tone curve measurements We've updated our first impressions review of the Nikon D4S with our JPEG Tone Curve and Dynamic Range measurements. Included are real-world examples of Nikon's Active D-Lighting modes, which can significantly help in dealing with scenes containing challenging ranges of (dark to bright) tones. Have a look and, as always, you can compare the D4S to any other camera in our database. Read our updated first-impressions review (now including an analysis of dynamic range) DPReview is hiring! DPReview is hiring! We're looking for a writer to join our growing editorial team based in Seattle, WA. Responsibilities will include testing and producing reviews of digital system cameras, compact cameras, smart phone cameras, lenses and other photographic equipment. Successful applicants will have have a store of solid practical knowledge about the theory and practice of photography, and a strong understanding of dpreview, our principles and our community. Read more details about our open position, and apply! (if you want to) Photographer takes Panasonic GH4 on test shoot around Seattle The headline feature of the Panasonic GH4 is that it's a Micro Four Thirds camera that can shoot 4K video for under $2000, capturing either Quad HD (3840 x 2160) at up to 29.97p or 'Cinema 4K' (4096 x 2160) at up to 24p. Seattle-based photographer Erik Hecht recently took the new Panasonic GH4 for a spin to test the dynamic range and to see how well it takes color correction. Click here to see Erik Hecht's footage from the 4K Panasonic GH4 Journey to the center of the Earth with Robbie Shone British adventure and cave photographer Robbie Shone travels into the earth to get stunning images of the world beneath our feet. He's been suspended 200m above the floor of the world's deepest natural shaft, explored the far ends of a 189 km long cave system and spent nearly four days underground on one shoot. His images take us to places few of us will go and he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. Click here to read more about (and see more of) Robbie Shone's cave photography What's coming up? I mentioned earlier that we're in planning mode, and looking towards the future. As well as clearing the backlog of major products still unreviewed, we're working on ways of improving our process for reviewing products. We're reaching out to more external writers to cover smaller things like accessories, and bolster our creative, technique and opinion content. We're also hiring for a full-time position here in Seattle for an editorial (reviews) writer. So if you think you've got what it takes to contribute to dpreview, or even work alongside us, please do get in touch. You'll see the link to our open role above, and for anything else, including suggestions, send us an email. See you next week! Barney WTD #1464 Check out What The Duck in our Link Directory GearShop update - a message from Laura Just announced: Canon has announced two new wide angle lenses for EOS DSLRs, available for pre-order now. The 10-18mm F4-5.6 IS STM is an affordable ultra-wide for APS-C cameras, and the 16-35mm F4 L IS USM offers an alternative to the 16-35mm F2.8 L and the 17-40mm F4 L for full frame (or cropped) Canon cameras. Most of Canon's lens lineup is still on sale, with mail-in and instant rebates. This week's best deals: Buy a new Sony a6000 or a5000 mirrorless camera with a 50mm f/1.8 OSS or 55-210mm f/4.5-6.3 and save up to $200. If you're looking for a good deal on a full-featured compact with a fast lens, the Olympus Stylus XZ-2 is only $299 for a limited time. Now shipping: Summer is fast-approaching! Canon's latest underwater compact, the PowerShot D30 is now in stock. We're happy to say that Fujifilm X-T1's are finally back in stock. (..but they are selling super-fast! We're doing our best to keep up with demand.) Until next week - Laura and the GearShop Team
News updates Journey to the center of the Earth with Robbie Shone Published on Sunday, May 11, 2014 7:00:00 AM GMT British adventure and cave photographer Robbie Shone travels into the earth to get stunning images of the world beneath our feet. He's been suspended 200m above the floor of the world’s deepest natural shaft, explored the far ends of a 189 km long cave system and spent nearly four days underground on one shoot. His images take us to places few of us will go and he doesn't plan on stopping anytime soon. See gallery Read full story → Wildlife photographer Florian Schulz offers shooting tips Published on Monday, May 12, 2014 7:00:00 AM GMT Known for his conservation projects such as Freedom to Roam, a photographic project designed to encourage the creation of wildlife corridors, photographer Florian Schulz offers some tips and advice for shooting landscapes and wildlife in this six minute video. Learn more Read full story → Seene 3D photo app makers preview 360-degree scanning Published on Monday, May 12, 2014 7:00:00 AM GMT Seene is a free app for iOS that lets you capture and share interactive and three dimensional images, just like Instagram and Vine do for 2D-images and videos respectively. The makers of the app, Obvious Engineering, are now showing off a preview of a forthcoming feature. Soon Seene will be capable of capturing a full 360-degree model of an object and export it for printing on a 3D-printer. Learn more Read full story → Software update speeds up Samsung Galaxy S5 camera Published on Monday, May 12, 2014 8:08:28 PM GMT Samsung has released a software update for the international version of its Galaxy S5 flagship smartphone. The new software is promising speedier camera and gallery app startup, plus more responsive fingerprint recognition. Apart from the faster camera startup, the update also brings improved general performance and better RAM management. Learn more Read full story → Rumors hint at pair of new Canon lenses Published on Monday, May 12, 2014 10:39:00 PM GMT Rumors have been flying around the Internet in the last week about a pair of new Canon lenses. The first rumored lens is an EF 16-35mm F4L IS USM model, which could be a cheaper version of the existing F2.8 lens, or a replacement for the 17-40 F4L. The other speculated lens is an EF-S 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 IS STM which, according to the rumor mill, should be fairly inexpensive. The word on the street is that these lenses will be announced soon, so we'll keep our fingers on the keyboard just in case. Read full story → Parrot launches drone with 14MP camera and 180-degree fisheye lens Published on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 3:00:00 AM GMT Parrot, the maker of the popular AR Drone 2.0, has launched a new model, the AR Drone 3.0. It also flies under the name Bebop. The Bebop is essentially a flying camera with four rotors. The camera comes with an F2.2 fisheye lens with a 180-degree field of view and a 14MP sensor. Learn more Read full story → How to build a photo brand: Tips from photographer Art Wolfe Published on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 3:00:00 AM GMT Branding is critical for a successful photography business regardless of the genre, and photographer Art Wolfe has built perhaps one of the strongest brands in his field. Wolfe has been shooting nature and wildlife images professionally for more than 30 years all over the world. This story on Photoshelter's blog gives some insight on how he built his photography business. Learn more Read full story → Canon announces 16-35mm F4L and 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 lenses Published on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 4:10:00 AM GMT Canon has officially announced a pair of new lenses. First is the EF 16-35mm F4L IS USM, an image-stabilised wideangle zoom for full frame SLRs. There's also an EF-S 10-18mm F4.5-5.6 IS STM wideangle zoom for APS-C SLRs, which gives a 16-29mm equivalent range. The two lenses will be available next month for $1199 / £1,199 and $299 / £299, respectively. Read full story → Canon USA brings white EOS Rebel SL1 to America Published on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 4:43:59 AM GMT After being introduced in Japan and Europe, the white Canon EOS Rebel SL1 (EOS 100D) has made it to American shores. To avoid color clash, Canon also includes a matching EF-S 18-55mm F3.5-5.6 STM lens along with this compact DSLR. The white EOS Rebel SL1 will be available in June for $749. Read full story → Photographer takes Panasonic GH4 on test shoot around Seattle Published on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 5:00:00 PM GMT The headline feature of the Panasonic GH4 is that it's a Micro Four Thirds camera that can shoot 4K video for under $2000, capturing either Quad HD (3840 x 2160) at up to 29.97p or 'Cinema 4K' (4096 x 2160) at up to 24p. Seattle-based photographer Erik Hecht recently took the new Panasonic GH4 for a spin to test the dynamic range and to see how well it takes color correction. See video Read full story → Nikon issues firmware update for D800/D800E Published on Tuesday, May 13, 2014 10:42:53 PM GMT Nikon has released firmware version 1.10 for its full-frame D800/D800E camera. This update includes support for CompactFlash memory cards greater than 128 GB, a host of feature adjustments and other bug fixes. Nikon also updated firmware for the UT-1 communication unit, two Coolpix models and Nikon 1 mirrorless cameras. Learn more Read full story →
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