Hacking Photography - one Picture at a time
Canon has shown off a pretty major upcoming firmware update for the Canon EOS R and EOS RP cameras to enhance their autofocus capabilities. Specifically, the update seems to deal with the speed and accuracy of Eye AF and object tracking.
A video demo posted to YouTube by Canon shows side-by-side comparisons of the current firmware vs the new one, which should be arriving in September.
Samyang has added an 8th lens to their autofocus lens range for Sony FE mount. The new ultrawide Samyang 18mm F2.8 FE is a lightweight and super wide-angle lens that covers the entire sensor of Sony’s range of full-frame mirrorless cameras. The lens weighs only 145g without the lens hood or cap, which Samyamg says makes it the smallest and lightest 18mm super wide AF lens on the market.
The Blackmagic Pocket Cinema Camera 4K has been a massive hit ever since its initial announcement. Such a big hit that if you order one today, you still might not actually get it for at least a couple of months. But one of the biggest complaints I hear about it is that it doesn’t have continuous autofocus. Well, Ian at CDA-TEK seems to have figured out a way to give Time of Flight (ToF) continuous autofocus to the Pocket 4K.
Nikon has now released Firmware Update 2.0 for the Nikon Z6 and Z7 mirrorless cameras. The new firmware brings improved low light performance a number of minor tweaks and fixes and, finally, Eye-Detection Autofocus.
Sony has released Software Version 3.0 which brings a few interesting features to the a7R III and the a7 III. First, the previously announced real-time Animal Eye AF is now available. Next, Sony added the interval shooting for timelapse. And last but not least, the Real-time eye AF performance has been enhanced in the latest firmware update.
If you want to use a Canon EF lens on a Nikon Z camera, with autofocus – it’s about to become possible. Kipon has announced the world’s first Canon-to-Nikon adapter that lets you use EF-mount lenses with Nikon Z cameras without losing the autofocus function.
Yes, we’re bringing up back button focus. This is one of those things that regularly seems to split the camera owning public. One side swears by it, the other side can’t stand it or just doesn’t see the point. But, like many things in photography, it’s just another way of doing something. In this case, focusing your lens.
In this video, photographer Pierre Lambert looks at what back button focus is, and when it might be beneficial to use it. He also looks at when it may be more beneficial to do things the old fashioned way with a half press of the shutter.
New cameras get a lot of hassle over their autofocus systems. Either it doesn’t have Eye AF, or it isn’t dual pixel or it’s not phase detection. But what do all of these things mean? And I don’t just mean what are the technical differences, but how and why does this matter in the real world? And to whom does it matter?
That’s what this video from Gerald Undone covers, in probably the most unbiased way I’ve ever seen. Autofocus technology is evolving rapidly, and he covers just about all of it. He explains how they work, the pros and cons of each, when the system your camera uses matters and when it probably doesn’t.
The AF features of Fujifilm X-T3 are pretty impressive, judging from the tests so far. But it doesn’t only work well with native lenses: the X-T3 nails focus even with a 600mm lens paired with a Fringer adapter. In this video from Fringer, check out how well the Fujifilm XT-3 performs even with a non-native, adapted telephoto lens.
It’s pretty crazy just how quickly mirrorless technology has evolved, especially from Sony. They went from being a somewhat small player in the world of photography to pretty much the dominating force in the mirrorless world, and driving sales away from DSLRs.
But just how far has Sony come in those short few years since the original A7 series? In this video, Dave Dugdale picks up his old Sony A7S and compares it to his current model Sony A7RIII to find out!
You can find out more about John on his website and follow his adventures on YouTube and Facebook.
can change a lens mid-rappel, swap a memory card while treading water, or use a camel as a light stand.
To see more of his work please visit his studio website blurMEDIAphotography, or follow him on Twitter, 500px, Google Plus or YouTube.
JP’s photography is available for licensing at Stocksy United.
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