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The Digital Photography Review Newsletter
The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 400,000 subscribers
Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Welcome to the 708th DPReview Newsletter!

On Monday we posted our review of Sony's a7 III mirrorless camera, one of the best all-around cameras we've tested in some time. (We also experimented with our review format a bit, so let us know what you think in the review's comments section.) Up next are Pentax's full-frame K-1 Mark II and Panasonic's ZS200/TZ200 travel camera. And, since the weather has been so nice here in Seattle this week, look for some new galleries in the days to come.

Full-frame benchmark: Sony a7 III review

Sony's full-frame a7 III offers a compelling combination of value and capability thanks to its speed, autofocus accuracy, dynamic range and video quality.

Read our in-depth review of the Sony a7 III

Shooting sports with the Nikon 180-400mm F4E TC1.4 FL ED VR

The name of this lens is a mouthful, but Nikon's new 180-400mm lens - which includes a built-in 1.4x teleconverter for even more range - impressed us with its AF accuracy and sharpness. It's not cheap, but sports and wildlife photographers may find it worth the price.

View our Nikon 180-400mm F4E TC1.4 FL ED VR sample gallery

It loves LA: Samsung Galaxy S9+ gallery

The recently-announced Samsung Galaxy S9+ includes two optically stabilized lenses -- one wide and one telephoto -- with the former offering two aperture choices. We took the S9+ to Southern California and were impressed with the results.
Check out our Samsung Galaxy S9+ sample gallery

Here comes the drone? What to know about bringing a drone to weddings

If you're one of the many photographers photographing weddings this year, this is a great time to think about including aerial photography in your plans. Read more

As always, thanks for reading!

News updates
Published Tuesday, April 24, 2018 6:18:00 PM GMT

One of the weirdest copyright cases in the history of photography is finally over. The courts have sided with photographer David Slater and rejected PETA's claim that the monkey who took the infamous selfie has any claim over the photograph's copyright.

Published Tuesday, April 24, 2018 5:24:00 PM GMT

In his latest video, Ted Forbes of The Art of Photography shares his thoughts on how equipment nowadays is seen less as a means to an end, and more as the end in and of itself.

Published Tuesday, April 24, 2018 5:16:00 PM GMT

The latest update to Lightroom Classic CC brought with it a slew of major bugs, including some that would cause the program to crash. Adobe has now released an update to address these bugs, along with an apology.

Published Tuesday, April 24, 2018 4:45:00 PM GMT

The new drives come in the M.2 form factor and with the latest PCIe Gen 3×4 lane interface, offering NVM Express (NVMe) bandwidth. In other words: they're an interesting option for anyone editing large batches of photos or 4K/8K video.

Published Tuesday, April 24, 2018 3:09:00 PM GMT

Photographer Alexander Gee has created something pretty cool: the first (to our knowledge) E-Mount film camera. It's called LEX, and when it's finished, Gee intends to make the camera's design files open source so that anybody can built their own from scratch.

Published Tuesday, April 24, 2018 2:26:00 PM GMT

Researchers at the University of Washington have developed a low-power HD video streaming method that could eventually allow tiny, maybe even battery-free wearable cameras to stream high definition video.

Published Tuesday, April 24, 2018 1:00:00 PM GMT

In 2009, photographer Michael Benanav joined a family from the nomadic Van Gujjar tribe on their annual journey from the lowland jungles of the Shivalik Hills to the alpine meadows of the Himalayas. This is the story behind the images he captured.

Published Monday, April 23, 2018 10:47:00 PM GMT

NVIDIA's Content-Aware Fill competitor is getting better and better. A new demo from shows how the latest version can fill in entire chunks of a person's face, or pieces of an image that are missing, with incredibly realistic results.

Published Monday, April 23, 2018 6:26:00 PM GMT

This hacked Polaroid Sonar Autofocus 5000 puts a digital spin on instant photography, but not in the way you're used to seeing. It's one of the most ambitious and well-executed DIY camera projects we've seen.

Published Monday, April 23, 2018 4:24:00 PM GMT

Open source photo editor GIMP is a popular (and free) Photoshop alternative, but can it really be used on a professional edit? In this video, photographer Shane Milton shows you that it most certainly can.

Published Monday, April 23, 2018 3:14:00 PM GMT

DxO Labs has filed the initial proceedings to start the bankruptcy process in France. The company is currently under "judicial administration," which allows it some time to restructure and find a buyer before the liquidation process occurs.

Published Monday, April 23, 2018 1:57:00 PM GMT

The Sony a7 III sets a new benchmark for full-frame cameras thanks to its compelling combination of value and capability. It's at home shooting everything from sports to portraits, and is one of the most impressive all-around cameras we've seen in a long while. Find out all the details in our full review.

Published Monday, April 23, 2018 1:05:00 PM GMT

SmugMug has acquired struggling photography site Flickr for an undisclosed sum, with CEO Don MacAskill promising to give the neglected photo sharing service "the resources that it deserves."

Published Sunday, April 22, 2018 2:00:00 PM GMT

YouTube channel Filmmaker IQ has put together a very interesting, technically detailed, and scientifically accurate description of exactly how various image sensors (and photographic film) work. One of the best overview videos we've seen.

Published Saturday, April 21, 2018 2:00:00 PM GMT

In Part 1 of his series on photographing Greenland in winter, landscape photographer Erez Marom shares the freezing details of his arrival on the town of Uummannaq where the temperature was -25°C. Still, he went out shooting.

Published Friday, April 20, 2018 7:55:00 PM GMT

The APO-Makro-Plasmat 105mm F2.7 is Meyer Optik's latest Kickstarter lens revival, and it promises "natural sharpness, unbelievable color reproduction, and a glowing bokeh united at every step of the aperture" ... whatever that means.

Published Friday, April 20, 2018 6:15:00 PM GMT

Chinese accessories brand Meike has announced it will introduce an 85mm F1.8 lens for Canon and Nikon full frame DSLRs that will feature autofocus. This will be the company’s first AF lens.

Published Friday, April 20, 2018 4:25:00 PM GMT

The World Photo Organization has finally revealed the overall winners for the 2018 Sony World Photography Awards, including the coveted Photographer of the Year, Open Photographer of the Year, Youth Photographer of the Year, and Student Photographer of the Year winners.

Published Friday, April 20, 2018 2:17:00 PM GMT

Venus Optics has unveiled four new lenses that will ship later this year: a wide-angle zoom for Sony FE, a circular fisheye for Micro Four Thirds, a wide-angle lens for the medium format Fujifilm GFX, and a 2x Ultra Macro for multiple full-frame mounts.

Published Friday, April 20, 2018 1:27:00 PM GMT

The One Backpack is a 5-in-1 modular backpack that can be used as a camera bag, work & gym pack, suit carry backpack, travel pack or tech-backpack.

Published Friday, April 20, 2018 1:00:00 PM GMT

This highly-specialized lens is perfect for sports, action and wildlife photography. Check out these first sample images for a taste of what it's capable of.

Published Thursday, April 19, 2018 6:46:00 PM GMT

The Android and iOS app from Surpuba AR lets you place animated 3D models in real-world environment using augmented reality technology. You can alter poses and location, insert lighting equipment, and more... right from your phone or tablet.

Published Thursday, April 19, 2018 3:43:00 PM GMT

Canon is jumping into the portable printing game with the new IVY Mini Photo Printer: a rechargeable battery-powered printer for creating 2x3 prints and stickers of your smartphone snaps on-the-go.

Published Thursday, April 19, 2018 2:44:00 PM GMT

The program first launched last year, but only as a temporary promotion limited to previous-generation GoPro cameras exchanged for discounts on current-generation models. This time around, GoPro is accepting nearly any digital camera in any condition.

Published Thursday, April 19, 2018 2:20:00 PM GMT

One of the most usable 360° cameras on the market is getting even better. With its latest update, Rylo adds a 180° mode, bluetooth remote capture, and a cinematic motion blur effect for your timelapse shots.

Published Thursday, April 19, 2018 1:40:00 PM GMT

Phase One has released the first major update to its Capture One Pro 11 photo editing program. The update adds support for 8 new cameras and 16 new lenses, and includes several new features and functional improvements that speed up workflow.

Published Thursday, April 19, 2018 1:00:00 PM GMT

We recently got our hands on Samsung's latest and greatest smartphone, the dual camera, variable aperture Galaxy S9+, and took it to mostly sunny Southern California for a long weekend.

Published Thursday, April 19, 2018 11:00:00 AM GMT

It's spring, and that means wedding season is upon us! If you're one of the many photographers planning wedding shoots this year, this is a great time to think about including aerial photography in your plans.

Published Wednesday, April 18, 2018 10:24:00 PM GMT

The first firmware update for the Sony a7 III addresses an issue in video mode wherein "blinking pixels" would show up along the base of footage recorded with certain settings.

Published Wednesday, April 18, 2018 6:55:00 PM GMT

Researchers with Switzerland's EPFL have developed a soft exoskeleton that enables its wearer to control a drone using their upper body. The human-robot interface is said to offer "natural and intuitive control of drones."

Published Wednesday, April 18, 2018 6:27:00 PM GMT

Photokina has released an official list of confirmed exhibitors for the 2018 expo, quieting rumors that major brands like Canon and Profoto might follow in Elinchrom's lead and skip this year's show.

Published Wednesday, April 18, 2018 2:00:00 PM GMT

For owners of Sony's a7R III, a9 and the new a7 III, there's now an easy fix for the rare but dreaded 'striping' in backlit shots with lots of flare. Click through to learn more.

Published Wednesday, April 18, 2018 12:00:00 PM GMT

The team behind the ubiquitous JPEG format has unveiled an all new image format designed to quickly and efficiently stream content across wired and wireless networks alike. Surprisingly, it actually uses less compression than traditional JPEG.