Camera Test: Sony's A77 Is The New King of APS-C DSLRs

Camera Test: Sony's A77 Is The New King of APS-C DSLRs View this email online September 29, 2011 Breaking news from America's top photo magazines Camera Test: Sony's A77 Is The New King of APS-C DSLRs The other guys should be worried The A77 sports a new 24.3MP Exmor APS-C sized sensor, the world's first OLED electronic viewfinder in a DSLR, and a 3-inch 921,600-dot LCD monitor that flips down and swivels -- mounted on an armature that lets it extend away from the body and rise up, so that you can face it forward for self-portraits. Oh, and it also includes all the whiz-bang features that Sony has been building into all of its cameras lately. READ MORE >> Tips from a Pro: Michelle Turner on Getting Great Photos of Couples An expert wedding shooter shares some secrets for making a couple look their best on their big day  Video: Hands-On With the Nikon J1 A look at Nikon's littlest interchangeable-lens body and the glass that goes with it Joby Gorillapod Micro Wants to Become Part of Your Compact Camera A folding mini-tripod that's always on Photo of the Day See the whole gallery here.  Be the first to hear about new stuff on PopPhoto.com by subscribing to our revamped RSS feed! TECH SUPPORT Light it Up Q. What exactly is a Backlit sensor? A. Also known as a back-side illuminated or BSI sensor, this is a type of camera sensor used in compacts from Canon, Nikon, Sony, and others. The technology was developed to improve the light-gathering capability of the smaller chips used in these cameras, and the term refers to the way circuitry is burned onto sensor substrates during their manufacture. With conventional sensors (both CMOS and CCD), circuitry is laid into the sensor’s top surface surrounding its pixels. That results in smaller pixels that are recessed from the sensor surface, which compromises efficiency. Backlit sensors, on the other hand, have their circuitry located beneath the pixels on the rear of the silicon substrate (hence “backlit”), which is shaved thin to accommodate it. Larger pixels that are relatively flush with the sensor’s surface are the result, with significant gains especially in low-light performance. Do you have Tech Support Question? Post it on our Facebook Page.   More from PopPhoto.com:   Change your preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Forward this email Add newsletter@email.popphoto.com to your address book to ensure our emails reach your inbox. Copyright © Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are those of the sponsors and are not an endorsement nor do they reflect the opinions of Bonnier Corporation or any of its publications.

 

Hands-On With Nikon's New J1 and V1 Interchangeable Lens Cameras

New Gear: Nikon J1 and V1 Interchangeable Lens Cameras View this email online September 22, 2011 Breaking news from America's top photo magazines New Gear: Nikon J1 and V1 Interchangeable Lens Cameras Nikon treads new ground with an ILC and a wholly new lens mount Nikon has been extremely tight-lipped about their newest camera system, but they finally pulled back the curtain and unveiled a pair of interchangeable lens compact cameras that bring the company full-force into the ILC war. The guts of both cameras revolve around a 10.1-megapixel CMOS sensor in what Nikon is calling the CX size. That's 13.2mm x 8.8mm, which makes it smaller than most of its ILC competition, but bigger than the upcoming Pentax Q system.  READ MORE >> Sample Image Gallery: Nikon's New J1 ILC Camera System We spent an afternoon shooting around with Nikon's newest creation NIkon V1 and J1 Prototype Accessories The future of Nikon's newest camera system is put on display Lens Test: Rokinon AE 85mm f/1.4 AS IF UMC Despite a lack in the autofocus department, this lens is sharp as a tack Photo of the Day See the whole gallery here.  Be the first to hear about new stuff on PopPhoto.com by subscribing to our revamped RSS feed! TECH SUPPORT Black-and-White Issues Q. How do you get proper exposure for black people wearing white tuxes? And white people wearing black tuxes? A. First, use RAW capture. RAW files let you recover detail in shadows and highlights that might be lost in JPEGs. For dark-complexioned people in white formal wear, the common flaw is underexposure, the lightmeter or flash sensor is fooled by all that white into reducing the exposure, thus losing facial detail. To compensate, add 1 to 1.5 EV exposure to an overall meter reading or flash setting. Another alternative is to use a handheld incident lightmeter, which reads the light falling on a subject rather than the light reflected from a subject. With light-skinned people in black garb, the situation reverses. Here, an overall meter or flash reading will tend to overexpose, thus blowing out highlights—namely, faces. You will want to reduce exposure from an overall meter reading in this case. In any event, keep in mind that you may have to sacrifice highlight or shadow detail. Just make sure it’s in the formal wear and not the faces. Do you have Tech Support Question? Post it on our Facebook Page.   More from PopPhoto.com:   Change your preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Forward this email Add newsletter@email.popphoto.com to your address book to ensure our emails reach your inbox. Copyright © Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are those of the sponsors and are not an endorsement nor do they reflect the opinions of Bonnier Corporation or any of its publications.

 

How To Shoot Black and White Animal Portraits. Plus, Nikon's New 50mm Lens Tested

How To Shoot Black and White Animal Portraits. Plus, Nikon's New 50mm Lens Tested View this email online September 15, 2011 Breaking news from America's top photo magazines Tips From a Pro: B/W Wildlife Photography Want to set your photography apart from the crowd and get images that can be even more compelling? Lose the color! Think “wildlife” and you’ll likely think “color”—vivid plumage, multitone fur, brilliant scales, all against backdrops of verdant green and sky blue. So naturally everyone shoots wildlife in color. It’s all the rage these days—particularly in nature shooting—to crank up color saturation to make photos stand out. But while vivid colors certainly catch the eye, sometimes taking the saturation in the other direction can have just as much, if not more, impact. READ MORE >> Lens Test: Nikon 50mm F/1.8 ED Nikkor A normal lens at the right price New Gear: Canon PowerShot S100 Advanced Compact Camera A revamped image processor, improved IS and more grip for Canon's popular pocket camera Software Workshop: Adding Selective Greyscale to a Photo Five tips for painless tones shifts Photo of the Day See the whole gallery here.  Be the first to hear about new stuff on PopPhoto.com by subscribing to our revamped RSS feed! TECH SUPPORT Tip From a Reader I came across this simple formula in an astronomy publication, and in practice I’ve found it reliable. To avoid star trails in nighttime photography, divide 700 by the focal length (full-frame equivalent) of the lens. The result, in seconds, is the maximum shutter speed. For example, for a 20mm lens, maximum exposure would be 700/20 or 35 seconds; for a 50mm, 700/50 or 14 seconds. I usually subtract a few seconds to be on the safe side. -Jerry Lyle, Silverton, CO Do you have Tech Support Question? Post it on our Facebook Page.   More from PopPhoto.com:   Change your preferences | Unsubscribe | Privacy Policy | Forward this email Add newsletter@email.popphoto.com to your address book to ensure our emails reach your inbox. Copyright © Bonnier Corporation, 460 N. Orlando Ave., Suite 200, Winter Park, FL 32789 Disclaimer: The opinions expressed here are those of the sponsors and are not an endorsement nor do they reflect the opinions of Bonnier Corporation or any of its publications.