DxO Optics Pro is a Raw converter that keeps pace with the ever-growing, ever-changing world of digital photography. The newest version—DxO Optics Pro 9 (for Mac or Windows)—focuses on one of digital imaging’s most troubling artifacts: digital noise. Whether you’re shooting at high ISOs or bringing out blocked shadow detail in a seriously underexposed image or an HDR photo, digital noise (luminance and chrominance) can rear its ugly head. And now we can finally deliver a knockout punch to this culprit. But before you get in the ring, there are a few things you should know.
Can you picture yourself burying a C-print in the ground halfway around the world? Or perhaps dunking a print in a lake, processing a print with tar from the La Brea Tar Pits, or streaming electricity through an entire photo exhibit interconnected with live wires to switch on a light bulb? And all for the sole purpose of artistic expression? That defines the uniquely imaginative and forward-thinking work of Matthew Brandt.
(Editor’s Note: Shutterbug contributor Jack Neubart has been testing the new Nikon D810 pro digital SLR. Here’s his hands-on “first look” at the camera. His full review of the D810 will appear in an upcoming issue of Shutterbug magazine.)
I became a Nikon convert back when the D300 was first introduced in 2007. I appreciated the camera’s handling, but mostly they got me with the Creative Lighting System, or CLS. Specifically, on the D300 it was the fully integrated wireless Commander mode via the built-in flash that grabbed my attention.
If you’re going to test a new camera, I can think of few places better suited than the Big Island of Hawaii. And that’s precisely what I, and a number of my colleagues in the photo press, had a chance to do recently with the new 28-megapixel Samsung NX500 camera. We put Samsung’s newest mirrorless compact system camera (CSC) through its paces in diverse settings on the island, each designed to challenge the NX500 and ourselves.
Fisheye optics are an unusual beast. The bulbous nature of the front element is one characteristic trademark, but the unique view this lens affords us is what makes it truly appealing—and at the same time challenging to work with.
My fisheye lenses have literally widened my view of the world around me and given me a new perspective on my photography. Admittedly, some...
Who would have thought that back when I bought my Olympus C-2100, which then boasted a 2-megapixel CCD, that one day I would be writing about cameras a fraction of its size with 10-megapixel imaging sensors? Interestingly, that camera sported a 10x optical zoom with Optical Image Stabilization (both courtesy of Canon). The cameras currently under discussion don't have 10x...
Until now I thought I’d experienced practically every flavor of geotagging device on the planet (“Geotagging Devices And Software: Now You’ll Always Know Where You Took That Picture,” Shutterbug, May 2009). So when I was later introduced to Foolography at a trade exposition, I didn’t pay too much attention to their new Unleashed. Until they offered to send a test...
Just how influential is photographer Jeremy Cowart? Wi-Fi card manufacturer Eyefi recently named him the “most socially influential photographer” in the world. But for Cowart, the operative word is “social,” even more so than “social media.” His online efforts go well beyond using online sharing sites to simply promote his image and his work. He’s out to change the world.
“You need to establish a connection with the food in front of the camera,” observes New York-based food photographer Francesco Tonelli (www.francescotonelli.com). “I can do a better job photographing a dish when I can picture myself eating it. That’s the frame of mind I need to be in so that I can capture the...
Successfully capturing dancers with grace, style, and a certain sensibility for how they move takes a discerning and artistic eye. Equally, it takes an appreciation and understanding of how dancers do what they do to be able to capture just the right moment. And all that defines the photography and lighting techniques of Lois Greenfield.