April 2017

Sony's new monster full-frame Alpha a9 mirrorless available for pre-order

Submitted by David Cardinal on Tue, 04/25/2017 - 07:51

If you aren’t hopelessly addicted to Nikon or Canon, and don’t need the massive array of lenses and accessories they offer, then Sony is giving you one more big reason to dump your DSLR and go mirrorless. The is a spectacular performance machine, capable of 20fps shooting with Autofocus, for example. I’ll be writing more about it (and perhaps giving one a field test) in the coming weeks and months, but wanted to make sure eager beavers got in on the first pre-orders. You can put your order in for a – with shipments expected to start May 25th.

Sony
mirrorless
Camera
Camera Body
Sony Alpha a9
Nikon dslr
Canon DSLR
Nikon D5

Synology's new DS-1517+ NAS brings 10-Gigabit within reach of photographers

Submitted by David Cardinal on Fri, 04/14/2017 - 14:40

Product DetailsThe Achilles heel of network server storage for home and small business use has always been performance. Network drives are just not as fast as local drives, dollar for dollar. Even over Gigabit networks, you’re limited to just over 100MB/second maximum throughput. 10 Gigabit has been around for awhile, but has been out of the price range for most of us. Now, for less than $1,000, you can get a high-performance 5-bay NAS and an optional 10-Gigabit adapter (for $270). You’ll still need to add drives, and you need to spend another couple hundred bucks for a 10-Gigabit adapter for your computer, if you don’t already have one. I’ll be doing a field-test of one of these units for soon, and will keep you posted here when that’s out, but wanted to give you a heads up.

Synology
Synology NAS
Synology DS-1517+
Synology DS-1817+

New Nikon D7500 prosumer DSLR available for pre-order

Submitted by David Cardinal on Wed, 04/12/2017 - 14:14

Nikon has introduced a new model in its D7000 “prosumer” product line – the Nikon D7500. It features most of the headline features anyone could want in a sub-$1500 camera. In addition to 21MP DX-format sensor, it shoots at 8 fps, backed by an 51-point AF system, and can record 4K and time lapse video. Taking a page from consumer-friendly cameras, it has built-in Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity and can be run from your smartphone. I’ve . You can’t get your hands on one until summer though, but . We look forward to reviewing one and letting you know how it works out in the field!

Nikon D7500
DSLR
camera_body
camera_review
Review
Article

Adobe teases AI that it claims will let any smartphone owner make great portrait photos

Submitted by David Cardinal on Thu, 04/06/2017 - 10:47

Among serious photographers there is an oft-repeated mantra that “It’s the photographer, not the camera” that makes a great photo. While that is certainly true, tech companies are working hard to level the playing field. In a recent pair of research teases, Adobe is showing off how it expects to make it possible to fix many of the most common issues with typical smartphone portrait snapshots after the fact, turning them into some pretty impressive final versions. I wrote up , or you can read on to see the full Adobe teaser video…

Adobe Sensei
Google Pixel
Apple iPhone 7 Plus
computational imaging
Extremetech
smartphone photography
portrait photography

Nikon celebrates turning 100 with some limited-edition cameras, lenses, and commemorative items

Submitted by David Cardinal on Mon, 04/03/2017 - 09:19

On July 25th, Nikon’s 100th anniversary, some of the specially-made products Nikon teased earlier this year will be available for sale. That includes Anniversary Editions of its flagship Nikon D5, and the Nikon 70-200mm f/2.8E , Nikon 14-24mm f/2.8G ED, and Nikon 24-70mm f/2.8E ED VR lenses. They’ll all be in a unique dark gray, and come with various other goodies to help you celebrate. That’s not all though…

Nikon
Nikon D5
Nikon 100th anniversary
camera history