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Sony refreshes its compact vlogging camera with the ZV-1 II

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Sony has announced its new Sony ZV-1 II (buy here) vlogging camera, the successor to the popular Sony ZV-1 (buy here), released in 2020. At release, the ZV-1 seemed to essentially be an RX100 V in a new vlogger-oriented form factor. And true to RX100 fashion, the ZV-1 series seems to be following suit. The ZV-1 II is largely quite similar to the original, with some slight – but significant – changes.

The Sony ZV-1 II and ZV-1 both feature the same 20-megapixel 1.0 type sensor, but the lens has been switched out. Gone is the 24-70mm equivalent f/1.8-2.8 lens of the original ZV-1, replaced by a smaller range 18-50mm equivalent lens with a slower f/1.8-4 variable aperture. I said the changes were significant. I didn’t say they were necessarily better. Some will find it better, with the wider angle on the short end providing more environmental context. However, the slower aperture at the long end is not so great.

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Take better self portraits with this advice from professional models

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Self-portraiture has been around for much longer than the much-maligned selfie. It is as old as art itself and is a real genre of photography in and of itself. But it’s not easy. If you’ve ever tried to take photographs of yourself, you’ll know just how difficult it can be.

Fortunately, advances in technology have helped enormously. However, the fact remains that what we think we look like in our mind rarely is how we actually look in the finished image. It can be an exercise in patience and trial and error. But it is possible to improve and get better at posing yourself. In this video from Mango Street, professional models give advice on how you can look better in your self-portraits.

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Famous Austrian tourist spot raises a fence to stop people from taking selfies

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A gorgeous little Austrian town Hallstatt has set up a fence to stop tourists from taking selfies. No, it’s not that the toen leaders are mean – but they are facing severe issues due to a flood of tourists coming to take their perfect Instagram photos.[Read More…]

Adobe Firefly AI is coming to Photoshop, and nothing will be the same again

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Not long after the launch, Adobe’s AI tool Firefly is now coming to Photoshop. Yup, you’ll soon be able to use text-to-image prompts as you edit your photos and create whatever you want without leaving the app. This will definitely change how we edit our images, making it easier but potentially more dangerous.

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This is how photographers should use Instagram in 2023

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Instagram used to be a great place for still photographers to hang out. That was in the halcyon days before Meta took over the popular social media app, and keeping up with the algorithm became a never-ending game. It’s been tempting to stop posting altogether, especially as Insta seems to be more interested in keeping influencers happy than their regular users.

But does it have to be this way? Is there still a way to use Instagram that can help your photography business? Scott from Tin House Studio seems to think so. Except that most of us are doing it wrong. In this video, Scott shares his personal views and ideas on how to use Instagram to your advantage in 2023.

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This stunning timelapse shows three years of mushroom growth in three minutes

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Jens Heidler of Another Perspective is known for his unique and captivating timelapse videos of various objects. Oftentimes, they show us stuff from our home in a totally new light. But with his latest video, 1000 Days Mushroom Growth, Jens went a step further.

For three long years, he meticulously filmed, photographed, and edited photos of mushrooms he grew in his own basement. It shows the intricate beauty and growth of thirteen distinct types of fungi, and Jens also shares the challenges he faced while creating the video.

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AI image of fake Pentagon explosion sparks stock market confusion

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An AI-generated image that showed an explosion near the US Pentagon sparked turbulence earlier this week when it went viral on social media. The image briefly affected the stock market and has highlighted concerns over the potential impact of AI-generated images.

The image itself shows a thick black plume of smoke, alarmingly close to one of the US government buildings. It was allegedly shared across Twitter on verified accounts. The origin of the image remains unclear.

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This is the “world’s first talking timelapse” and how it was made

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A YouTuber who goes by the name of Lotrfan, has created what he calls the “world’s first talking timelapse”. While it’s arguably better classified as stop motion, it does also show the passage of time over a 285-day period. There’s been some thought put into this one, and both the concept and final result are pretty cool.

The project began as just a regular video clip, as Lotrfan explains partway through the video above. But then, after shooting a photo every day for over nine months, we end up with the final 9-second video.

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First image leaks for upcoming 7Artisans 24mm f/1.4 for E/X/M42/RF/EF-M/Z

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7Artisans seems to be preparing to launch a new lens. An image has leaked of a 24mm f/1.4 lens for APS-C cameras, with a wide range of mounts. The list includes Sony E, Fuji X, Micro Four Thirds, Canon RF, Canon EF-M and Nikon Z, although there’s no word as to which mounts may come first or when.

Being a 7Artisans lens, it’s pretty much a sure thing that it will be a manual focus lens. That it’s being released for Canon RF and Nikon Z mount cameras also suggests that it won’t have electronic contacts to pass EXIF and other data between the camera and lens.

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This is how Kodak film gets from the factory to camera store shelves

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It’s been a while since we last saw an update on Destin Sandlin’s visit to the Kodak factory in Rochester, New York. Part One was posted way back in March of last year. It looked into how Kodak produces the actual film onto which the chemicals are placed. Part Two arrived a few months later in July, going over the chemical processes involved in making it light-sensitive and how they’re applied to that film base.

Now, we’ve finally got Part Three, where Kodak takes us from those big drums of sensitised film to cutting it up, adding the sprocket holes, making and filling the canisters, popping those into film cases and finally, retail packaging. Let the adventure continue!

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