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The complete guide – How to turn any lens into an “anamorfake”

Anamorphic lenses seemed to disappear in popularity for a while but there is no doubt now that they’re back in a big way. And while there are some moderately low-budget options out there from companies like Sirui, Samyang and Great Joy, they’re still above the budgets of many who just want to play around and experiment. And playing around and experimenting happens to be Tito Ferradans’ speciality.

Over on his YouTube channel, Anamorphic on a Budget, he’s experimented with a lot of DIY “anamorfake” options and he’s put together a complete guide on how you can do it yourself to pretty much any lens you already own. At least, he’s put together the first part of it, which is the video above.

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This amazing tiny satellite selfie video was shot using an off-the-shelf GoPro action camera

When we think of satellites, we often think of super high-tech state-of-the-art technology being sent up into space. We generally don’t think of them blasting up off-the-shelf electronics that many of us already have in our homes. Well, that’s exactly what the folks at NanoAvionics did when they attached a GoPro Hero 7 (Yes, not even a Hero 10!) to their MP42 microsatellite to capture selfies in space as it flew over the planet.

At 550km (~341 miles) above the earth’s surface, the GoPro attached to the MP42 capture photos of the satellite over the Coral sea and the Great Barrier Reef – the only living structure visible from space – along the north-east side of Australia. It also shot some excellent (and nowhere near long enough!) 4K video of the trip.

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How to use a ring light with colourful backdrops for amazing portraits

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I share a lot of lighting setups on here and every time I do, not only am I trying to share something unique, but I’m also trying to share something that’s practical and easy to implement for as many people as possible.

For the most part, I think I achieve that and although not everybody has access to all the kit I do, I still believe that certain elements of every setup I share are accessible by all. This is me trying to soften the blow of this week’s setup, as although not everybody will own all of this kit, cheap alternatives are viable and failing that, at least the DIY background and basic lighting principles involved are very much achievable by all. As always, if you have any questions about any of it, don’t hesitate to drop them down below.

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Nikon Z9 firmware update brings improved AF and 1/96th stop shutter increments to eliminate banding and flicker

For anybody who’s ever shot video under artificial light with pretty much any kind of video camera, one thing that you’ll often be fighting is flicker. It used to be simple. If you were in the USA or Central and South America, set your shutter speed to 1/60th and you’re good. In most of the rest of the world, 1/50th is the go-to. But gone are the days of energy-wasting inefficient tungsten. Replaced by LEDs that bring a whole new host of potential flickering issues.

Nikon’s solving this issue with their latest v2.10 firmware update for the Nikon Z9 that allows you to adjust your shutter speed very precisely in 1/96th stop increments in order to match your exposure time more precisely to the frequency of the often oddly timed LED light controllers, giving you a more consistent banding and flicker-free shot from frame to frame. It also brings some AF improvements.

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Photographer captures iconic “Pillars of Creation” from his own backyard

Pillars of Creation is undoubtedly one of the most iconic photos that NASA’s Hubble Space Telescope has ever taken. The Hubble mission has cost approximately $16 billion, so have you ever thought that the magnificent Eagle Nebula could be captured from your own backyard, with a modest telescope?

Well, astrophotographer Andrew McCarthy (previously) did. So he set up his telescope in his backyard, pointed it at the Eagle Nebula, and ended up with his own take on the iconic Pillars of Creation.

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This ESP32-based DIY camera slider offers multi-axis motion control over wifi

There are as many different camera sliders out there on the market as there are cameras. If not more so and you can spend an absolute fortune getting every possible feature you could think of. But nothing beats building your own, and this DIY camera slider from Sasa Karanovic is probably one of the more compact and feature-packed builds we’ve seen here on DIYP because it supports multiple axes.

As well as just moving your camera down the length of the slider, it will also rotate the camera. It’ll even let you control the two simultaneously for some nice orbit-style slider shots. It’s based around an ESP32 microcontroller and the whole thing is controlled over WiFi using a web interface from your phone – or your tablet, computer, whatever.

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Meike launches a 16mm T2.5mm full-frame cine lens for PL, EF, RF E and L mounts

This one slipped by us the other day when Meike announced their new low-budget 50mm f/0.95 APS-C lens for mirrorless cameras, but the company has also announced the new Meike FF Prime 16mm T2.5 Cine lens, too. This full-frame lens offers a maximum aperture of T2.5 that goes all the way down to T22, covers a full-frame sensor with a 96° horizontal field of view, and comes in a variety of mounts.

The new lens brings Meike’s Cine lens line up to seven lenses in total (six that actually exist so far), including the 24mm, 35mm, 50mm 85mm and 105mm T2.1 and the yet-to-be-released 135mm T2.4 lenses, rounding out the range quite nicely with the new ultrawide. There’s still no word yet on when we’ll see the 135mm T2.4.

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Hollyland shrinks down its wireless microphones with the new Lark M1 and gives them a 200 metre range

Hollyland has announced its new Lark M1 wireless microphone system designed for vloggers, YouTubers and live streamers. It offers a massive 200-metre line of sight wireless range over 2.4Ghz adaptive frequency hopping to ensure you’re always getting the strongest signal. It has a frequency response from 20Hz up to 20KHz with 100dB SPL and 86dB of dynamic range.

Like the Hollyland Lark 150, the Lark M1 microphone kit comes inside a handy charging case to keep everything together, but unlike the Lark 150, the Lark M1 transmitters only feature the built-in microphone without the ability to plug in an external lav. This lets Hollyland make them quite significantly smaller for those users who don’t need that functionality.

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These photos show the street life of 19th century London – in color

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Colorization of old images is a topic of discussion among historians, photographers, and retouchers. Some love it, some hate it, but it seems to me that no person is indifferent about it.

If you ask me, I love colorized photos when they’re done with great skill and historic accuracy. And Tom Marshall of PhotograFix (previously) certainly has it both. The topic of his latest project is the street life of 19th century London – a set of photos taken in the mid-1870s. Tom carefully colorized them, giving them a new dimension and making them look as if scenes from Charles Dickens novels came to life.

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25 years of digital – From ugly to awesome

When I received my Nikon Z 9 in late December, I was a bit anxious. Would it live up to the hype? Was it going to be the camera that Nikon had promised (and many Nikon users had been waiting for)? Right away that first day my concerns were put to rest, and over the course of the following week, the more I learned, the more I liked it. That resulted in a long, mostly glowing, blog post. And as I continue to use it, I continue to be impressed. That got me thinking about this digital photography journey I’ve been on for the last 25 years. It’s gone from ugly to awesome.

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