news Archives - DIY Photography

Canon wins lawsuit against counterfeit battery sellers on eBay

January 18, 2020 by John Aldred 1 Comment

I don’t know why, but I always get a shock when I see how many fake products there are out there. Not clearly marked 3rd party alternatives, but products actually designed and branded to look like the originals. We see it with memory cards regularly and even camera strap accessories, but fake batteries are also out there. Canon has been doing something about the latter, though.

Canon has announced that they’ve won a lawsuit against two eBay sellers for selling counterfeit “Canon” batteries. While 2 sellers may not sound like a lot, the fact that Canon even went after them is certainly going to give other counterfeit sellers some pause for thought.

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Canon doesn’t innovate? Well, they’ve ranked top 5 for patent grants every year for the last 34 years

January 17, 2020 by John Aldred 11 Comments

People give Canon a lot of hassle for “not innovating”, but the truth is, Canon’s probably filed more patents than any other camera company out there. According to IFI CLAIMS Patent Services, Canon has become the only company in the world to have ranked in the top five for the number of patents granted every year for an incredible 34 years.

Canon also says that they’ve ranked number 1 amongst Japanese companies for the 15th consecutive year. While not all of these patents have turned into real tangible products that you can go and buy, it certainly demonstrates that they’re at least exploring new and innovative ideas.

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Instagram influencer jailed in Egypt for climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza

January 17, 2020 by Dunja Djudjic 20 Comments

Instagram and YouTube star Vitaly Zdorovetskiy was recently jailed after climbing the Great Pyramid of Giza. He claims that he spent five days in an Egyptian jail and “saw horrible things” during this incredibly long imprisonment. And even though his half-witted venture didn’t really meet approval, he claims that he did it all “for a good cause.”

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Press photographers banned from documenting the handing over of Trump’s “articles of impeachment”

January 16, 2020 by Dunja Djudjic 33 Comments

The United States Senate is subjecting the press to unprecedented restrictions as Donald Trump’s impeachment trial is scheduled to begin next Tuesday. There will be no cameras allowed and no audio recorders, which will make it impossible for the press to cover the event. Expectedly, this has caused significant negative reactions among the public, especially press photographers and journalists.

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Luminar 4.1 updates make your workflow even faster and your edits more realistic

January 16, 2020 by Dunja Djudjic Leave a Comment

Skylum’s Luminar 4 was officially launched in November 2019, and the first update is now available. The software is characterized by numerous AI features that will make your editing workflow much faster and more fun. With Luminar 4.1, these features have been further improved for even faster workflow and more realistic edits. Let’s dive in and see what Luminar 4.1 brings.

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DJI agrees with need for Remote ID, but not how the FAA wants to implement it

January 16, 2020 by John Aldred 1 Comment

With drones now well and truly here to stay, some close calls, some too close and too many major disruptions, drones regulation is big on the minds of lawmakers around the world. While more laws generally won’t stop those who purposefully intend to break them, authorities are attempting to do something about holding them accountable.

The idea of “Remote ID” is that drones would essentially have a digital license plate. It’s a popular concept, allowing for more freedoms for legitimate users and make it easier to find those who break the rules. The FAA has introduced a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) on how this could be implemented, although DJI is not happy about it.

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Sony’s new Wireless Shooting Grip lets you vlog more easily and control your camera remotely

January 14, 2020 by John Aldred 1 Comment

Sony has announced the GP-VPT2BT Wireless Shooting Grip. Don’t get too excited, this isn’t a “grip” in the traditional sense that allows you to more easily shoot portrait orientation without contorting your arms. This is sort of like an advanced mini tripod. It’s not a new concept, and Sony has had the GP-VPT1 out for a while now, but the GP-VPT2BT takes this to the next level with built-in Bluetooth for controlling your camera remotely.

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Paul C. Buff is back with the LINK battery-powered, TTL & HSS-capable strobe

January 14, 2020 by John Aldred 4 Comments

It’s been a while since Paul C Buff has really released anything new. Sure, they announced the “DigiBee” back in 2016, but that was more of a refresh of the old AlienBees than an entirely new product, swapping out the modelling light for an LED, and it was still pretty limited in capability. You still needed power from the wall (or a portable mains inverter), you still couldn’t do HSS, and it still required a separate radio transceiver.

Now, though, Paul C Buff has announced its new LINK strobe, an 800Ws strobe which features TTL, High Speed Sync, and a built-in wireless transceiver. It looks like PCB is finally moving into the 21st century.

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Whatever happened to Fujifilm’s “Kaizen” updates?

January 14, 2020 by John Aldred Leave a Comment

Fujifilm seemed to really kick off the trend for pretty major firmware updates to their existing models, regularly breathing new life into old bodies ever year or two. But while just about every other manufacturer seems to have jumped on the trend with major functional updates, Fujifilm has remained oddly silent, having not really released anything all that major since the X-Pro 2 gained 4K video in 2017.

This video from DPReview explores some of the reasons why we might not have heard from Fujifilm for a while. Although, given recent rumours, I wonder if they’re holding off so their old gear doesn’t compete with the new stuff expected to be announced soon?

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