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The Digital Photography Review Newsletter
The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 400,000 subscribers
Wednesday, February 22, 2017

Welcome to the 647th Digital Photography Review newsletter.

What ho! camera people. Just when we thought we'd got through the backlog of cameras that had built up from Photokina, last year, the manufacturers have started releasing them again. Barney has jaunted off to Japan, to see if he can snag us a Fujifilm GFX 50S but, before we can all bathe ourselves in the warm glow of medium format loveliness, we've received a Panasonic GH5, a Fujifilm X-T20 and now Canon thrown its cards in with the release a trio of new EOSs. So it's going to be a busy couple of weeks, Chez DPR.

Still, in the meantime, there are some lovely photos to look at:

Challenge of Challenges 2017 winner announced

Our Challenge of Challenges is one of the highlights of our year as we get to spend time looking at photos, rather than writing about cameras. Our challenges attract some incredibly talented and committed photographers, something made clear by the standard of the images that made it through to the final voting round of this year's competition. Below is forum member cand1d's winning image, but it's well worth taking a look at the breadth and quality of the images that were considered.

Click to see the Challenge of Challenges results

Fundamentals of Digital Photography

We've written a series of articles, over the years, looking at a couple of commonly misunderstood concepts that underpin the very foundations of digital imaging. What if I told you that ISO doesn't mean what you probably think it means, that changing your ISO doesn't cause noise, that F2.8=F2.8=F2.8 often misses the point and that the size of your pixels doesn't particularly matter. That's got to pique your interest, surely?

Fundamentals of digital imaging

Nikon tilt/shift gives a new perspective

Sam's been out shooting with Nikon's new 'perspective correction' PC 19mm F4E lens. It's a tilt/shift, using anyone else's terminology, which makes it great for architectural shots (and the odd creative, shifted plane of focus shot).

Click here to see the gallery

Sigma gets more arty

Just as we've got to grips with how good (and how big) Sigma's 85mm F1.4 Art lens is, the company has announced there'll be a 135mm F1.8 to tempt portrait shooters. In addition, there's to be a 14mm F1.8 DG for full-frame DSLRs in the Canon, Nikon and Sigma mounts. Finally, there's a long-awaited 24-70mm F2.8 full-frame zoom added to the Art range. We can hardly wait.

Click here to see detailed of the new Sigmas

Canon refreshes the midrange

Canon has not only introduced the EOS Rebel T7i/800D but it's also had another go at filling the gap between the Rebel lineup and the 80D range. The result is the EOS 77D, a camera we'll be looking at closely when production units become available. There's also a viewfinderless variant of the mirrorless M5, called the M6, which also looks pretty tasty. Click here to see Canon's latest launches.

 

As I say, there are plenty of promising-looking cameras on their way, along with our top-notch, never jet-lagged, reporting from the CP+ show in Japan.

You know where to find us.

Richard

News updates
Published Tuesday, February 21, 2017 7:47:00 PM GMT

Film producer ADOX is doubling the size of its facility that produces photographic chemicals, film and papers, according to a blog post from the company. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 21, 2017 7:04:00 PM GMT

According to an analyst report, the upcoming iPhone flagship model will come with a technology that combines 2D images captured by the front camera with depth data from an infrared module to record 3D information. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 21, 2017 1:00:00 PM GMT

Daniella Zalcman was tired of hearing photo editors say they don't know where to find women photographers, so she created Women Photograph – an online directory of female photographers. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 21, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

The votes have been tallied and we have a winner! DPR member cand1d's image of a glowing sunset in Bagan, Myanmar takes top honors in the 2016 Challenge of Challenges competition. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 21, 2017 9:00:00 AM GMT

A research engineer has used neural networks to produce photorealistic images from low-res, monochrome Game Boy Camera photos. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 21, 2017 5:00:00 AM GMT

Sigma has released a trio of its high-end 'Art' lenses: a 14mm F1.8, optically stabilized 24-70mm F2.8 and a 135mm F1.8. All three lenses will be available for full-frame Canon, Nikon and Sigma bodies. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 21, 2017 5:00:00 AM GMT

Sigma has announced the 100-400mm F5-6.3 DG OS HSM, a relatively compact and lightweight stabilized super-telephoto lens that promises the performance of brighter 100-400s, but in a smaller package. Read more

Published Monday, February 20, 2017 8:58:00 PM GMT

Fotodiox Pro has launched five new lens mount adapters for the forthcoming Fujifilm GFX medium-format system. Read more

Published Monday, February 20, 2017 8:16:00 PM GMT

New optics manufacturer Irix has announced a second extreme wide-angle lens for full frame DSLR users that will join its existing 15mm F2.4. The new lens is a manual focus 11mm F4 which will come in two versions, Blackstone and Firefly, like the company’s first lens. Read more

Published Monday, February 20, 2017 6:25:00 PM GMT

Smartphone maker OPPO has sent out a teaser email, suggesting it will launch a smartphone camera with 5x zoom at the Mobile World Congress in Barcelona next week. Read more

Published Monday, February 20, 2017 12:00:00 PM GMT

The Nikon 19mm F4 is a wide-angle tilt-shift, or as Nikon calls it, Perspective Control lens with the ability to independently rotate the direction of tilt or shift. It's an ideal tool for keeping those parallel lines straight when working with architecture or interiors. See gallery

Published Monday, February 20, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

The newest action camera from YI technology shoots 4K/60p, offers electronically stabilized 4K/30p and features the best user interface of any action camera on the market. See video

Published Sunday, February 19, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

The results from the 2017 Underwater Photographer of the Year competition are in and to say that we're impressed is an understatement. Read more

Published Sunday, February 19, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

Want to brush up on some basic concepts? Our technical explainer articles now live in one easy-to-bookmark place. Learn more

Published Saturday, February 18, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

Landscape shooter Erez Marom's series on aerial photography continues with some advice to help you get the shot once you're in the air. Read more

Published Saturday, February 18, 2017 8:01:00 AM GMT

Yongnuo has launched its budget-friendly 85mm F1.8 for EF mount, which closely resembles Canon's own 85mm F1.8. Read more

Published Friday, February 17, 2017 7:09:00 PM GMT

Apple's upcoming iPhone could do away with the Touch ID fingerprint reader and introduce 3D-facial recognition with a front-facing laser scanner as a security feature to Apple smartphones. Read more

Published Friday, February 17, 2017 6:39:00 PM GMT

Hundreds of thousands of scanned artwork and photos are now available under public domain license thanks to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Read more

Published Friday, February 17, 2017 3:30:00 PM GMT

Sony has published a video demonstrating the principles behind its apodization filter on its new STF 100mm F2.8 GM OSS lens, explaining how it creates very smooth bokeh both in front of, and behind, the focus plane. Have a watch and read our analysis of this feature, and our initial impressions of this phenomenal new lens for E-mount. Read more

Published Friday, February 17, 2017 3:19:00 PM GMT

We've been spending a lot of time around town with our Leica SL review sample, from sunsets to portraits to dimly lit concerts. We've even thrown an adapted lens on for good measure. Take a look at how it's performed. Read more

Published Friday, February 17, 2017 9:30:00 AM GMT

A new version of Silkypix Development Studio Pro adds a clarity slider, controls for monochrome conversions and a dedicated correction tool for underwater photos. Read more

Published Friday, February 17, 2017 9:00:00 AM GMT

Microsoft has released a free, open source simulator to help engineers test – and yes, repeatedly crash – drones in a photo-realistic environment. Read more

Published Thursday, February 16, 2017 7:14:00 PM GMT

Kodak and French electronics maker Archos have announced that the latter will launch a line of Kodak-branded tablets. Read more

Published Thursday, February 16, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

With a weather-resistant metal housing, the Fujifilm 23mm F2 R WR is right at home on the X-T2. We braved both some rare Seattle snowfall and rare Seattle sunfall to snag some sample images from Fuji's robust 35mm equiv. prime. It even rained babies. Sometimes we get lucky. See gallery

Published Thursday, February 16, 2017 9:00:00 AM GMT

We missed the Nikon D80's tenth birthday last September, so we're doing right by making it our choice for this week's Throwback Thursday. Incidentally, it was also staffer Carey Rose's first 'serious' camera. Read more

Published Thursday, February 16, 2017 8:01:00 AM GMT

Canon's CMOS sensors are capable of capturing some amazing low light video footage, but this new video showcasing the technology... maybe takes it all a bit too seriously. See video

Published Wednesday, February 15, 2017 7:02:00 PM GMT

Leica has introduced new firmware for its latest M series digital rangefinder that aims to improve a number of aspects of the camera’s handling and operation. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 15, 2017 6:47:00 PM GMT

Canon has released new firmware for its EOS-1D X Mark II professional DSLR, which improves USB communication, increases the maximum shutter release cycles number and, of course, fixes miscellaneous bugs. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 15, 2017 9:00:00 AM GMT

Don't miss your chance to help crown the winner of the ultimate DPReview challenge. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 15, 2017 4:00:00 AM GMT

The new Canon EOS 77D slots in-between the Rebel line and the EOS 80D, and incorporates a lot of the same features as that camera at a lower price-point. We recently had access to a 77D and took a closer look. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 15, 2017 4:00:00 AM GMT

The Canon EOS Rebel T7i (800D in some regions) replaces the T6i at the entry-level end of the company's DSLR lineup. The T7i is designed to be as small and portable as possible, while still packing a fairly impressive feature set. Read on

Published Wednesday, February 15, 2017 4:00:00 AM GMT

The replacement for the entry-level EOS M3 is here and it's essentially an EOS M5 in a smaller package with no built-in EVF. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 15, 2017 4:00:00 AM GMT

Canon has just announced the EOS 77D, which is positioned between the company's established Rebel line and the higher-end 80D. It comes with a 24.2MP sensor with Dual Pixel AF, a Digic 7 processor, and it weighs in at just over a pound. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 15, 2017 4:00:00 AM GMT

Canon is taking the wraps off its latest entry-level DSLR, the EOS Rebel T7i. It offers a 24MP sensor with Dual Pixel AF for live view shooting, as well as a 45-point all-cross-type AF system for viewfinder shooting. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 15, 2017 4:00:00 AM GMT

Canon has announced a new, smaller (but slower) 18-55mm kit zoom and its first-ever Bluetooth-enabled remote for the EOS 77D and Rebel T7i / EOS 800D. Read more