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Leaked photos show Canon’s M6 mirrorless is basically a smaller M5 with optional EVF

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Both photos and specs seemed to have been leaked for Canon’s upcoming M6 mirrorless camera. And there seems very little to distinguish it from the EOS M5, released only a few months ago. In fact, the only real differences seem visual. There’s a slightly different control layout on top, the popup flash has moved, and the electronic viewfinder has been removed entirely.

Looking at the specs so far, though, they appear pretty much identical. Same resolution, same processor, same video, same tilting touchscreen LCD, built in Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc. That is, assuming the information is accurate.

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The 2017 Karma reviews are coming in – “The second worst drone I’ve ever flown”

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Some of you might remember iPhonedo’s rather amusing comparison of the 2016 Karma vs the Mavic Pro a few months ago. At the time, he hailed it as the worst drone he’d ever flown. Now, the 2017 Karma re-issue is out, and he wanted to know if it had been improved. Aside from the fact that it’s stopped falling out of the sky, he says it does actually seem to have improved.

However, it is still the second worst drone he’s ever flown (the worst being last year’s original Karma). I think we all saw this coming, though. all they’ve done is fix the battery issue. There’s been no upgrades or added features to make it more competitive with the Mavic Pro. It’s the same old Karma, really. At the same price, too. Given the recent discounts on the Phantom 4, it’s difficult to see the Karma as a competitive option.

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Use USB power banks to get hours more shooting time out of your camera

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The more features that get packed into each new generation of cameras, the less time batteries seem to last. Things like liveview, gps, WiFi, NFC, VR/IS, and a host of other doohickies just drain them faster than they used to. Even if your camera doesn’t feature superfluous battery draining features, other things can kill them quickly, too. Shooting video or timelapse with long exposures, for example.

The obvious choice is simple. Take a bunch of spare batteries. But what if you want more time without having to worry about interrupting your sequence to swap out a battery? That’s where USB power comes in. This video from David at 30Five Millimeter shows you how you can get USB power with your DSLR or mirrorless camera with just a dummy battery and a $5 cable.

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Let Film Dating’s quiz help you choose the perfect film for you

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Whether you already shoot film or you’ve only been thinking about it, picking the right film for you can be difficult. There’s so many to choose from, and new ones, are popping up every day. Many film shooters chose long ago what they prefer, but how many did you try before making that decision?

This fun web app from friend of DIYP, photographer Vincent Moschetti, is here to help you out with Film Dating. It’s essentially a short quiz. It asks you to pick some images in order to figure out what you like. Once confident in its assumptions, it suggests a film based on your image choices. I’m not usually a big fan of quizzes like these, but I did think the result on this one was kind of interesting, for me at least.

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10 shooting tips to make amazing slow motion sequences

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Shooting slow motion is now easier than ever. Many cameras being released now will shoot 60fps. They may only do it at 1080p, but they can do it. If your final project is 24fps, that means you can slow down 2.5x without losing a single frame. If you’ve got a camera that shoots 120fps or 240fps, then you can slow things down even further. With 1,000fps cameras for our phones on the way, we can go even more slow-mo crazy.

But how can you use slow motion effectively? This video from Simon Cade at DSLRguide goes a long way toward answering that question. Some of the tips are technical, and some are purely creative. The why is just as important as the how when it comes to using slow motion, if not more so. Because if you don’t have a good reason why you want to use it, then the how doesn’t matter.

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“Bored” RAF pilot sent jet into a 4,440ft plummet because he was “playing with his camera”

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This story seems to have been going on for quite a while now. It started three years ago, to the day, in fact. On February 9th, 2014, RAF Voyager ZZ333 was en route from RAF Brize Norton to Camp Bastion Airfield in Afghanistan containing a flight crew of 9 and 189 passengers. Aside from a little turbulence, the flight was going well. That is until the plane suddenly pitched down, and plunged 4,440ft in altitude.

Between then and now, there’s been a lot of investigating going on. The pilot has now been publicly identified as Flt Lt. Andrew Townshend. He’s facing a court martial hearing, that’s still going on. And it seems he was not entirely honest with his initial reports. When he initially put down to a a technical fault was apparently caused by trying out long exposures with his DSLR due to being bored.

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How to make amazing double exposure effects in Photoshop

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Double exposures have been around for years, but they seemed to disappear when digital came along. But Nikon DSLRs have had the capability for over a decade now, and Canon have recently started implementing it, too. It’s a fantastic technique to experiment with, although it takes a lot of practise, skill and a little luck to really get the results you’re after.

To help make things a little more reliable, though, you can also make them in Photoshop. This video from Chris at Spoon Graphics walks us through the whole process. The tutorial actually came out a couple of years ago, but seems to have recently become popular again. And it’s a great way of achieving the technique.

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The Northern Lights look even more magical from the air

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If you thought the views of the Northern Lights looked good from the ground, wait until you see them from the air. This footage captured by Nathan Starzynski shows a rather unique vantage point. Aboard a flight over Southeastern Alberta around 8pm local time, he was surprised when he looked out of the window to see this.

To capture the timelapse, Nathan extended a tripod and wedged it against the window seat to hold it steady. Plane windows are notorious for reflections, especially when flying at night. So, the camera was pressed against the glass, and then the whole thing covered with a sweater to prevent reflection. Fortunately, he had the whole row to himself, making things a little easier.

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Sekonic’s new L-858D light meter finally lets you meter for High Speed Sync flash

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Ever since high speed sync was introduced to speedlights, I’ve seen questions about metering it. Up until now, it’s pretty much been impossible to judge with a handheld meter. You basically have to just go off your histogram. Now, that’s all changed. Originally announced at Photokina in September, Sekonic’s L-858D light meter is now getting into peoples hands.

Being able to meter high speed sync should start to put an end to the debates over just how much power is lost once you go past your sync speed. It should also make repeatability and consistency much easier. When you’re on location and fighting the sun, you’re often changing shutter speed regularly. While this doesn’t have any effect on flash below sync speed, it does when you get into HSS territory.

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The Nikon 105mm f/1.4 and Laowa 105mm f/2 go head-to-head in this lens shootout

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Nikon’s 105mm f/1.4 lens made a big splash when it was announced last year. Being the world’s fastest 105mm prime lens, it’s not much of a surprise. Having been in the hands of photographers for a few months now, it’s done nothing but impress. It’s a top quality lens, with a price tag to match. But what about those who don’t want or can’t afford to spend $2,200 on a 105mm lens? Are there other options?

Well, there’s the Venus Optics Laowa 105mm f/2 STF at a mere $699. But how does it compare? That’s the question this video from Ling at Zero-Day Photography hopes to answer. Smooth Trans Focus (STF) is Laowa’s technology which “soften[s] the borders of the bokeh” to create the effect of a wider aperture lens. In theory, this should let it provide images with a similar appearance to the Nikon. Should. In theory.

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