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The Digital Photography Review Newsletter
The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 400,000 subscribers
Thursday, December 10, 2020

Welcome to the 840th DPReview Newsletter!

We're nearly there! With less than a month to go before the end of the year, we're working to finish up our final pieces of content of 2020, including our traditional end of year readers' polls, which are you chance to have your say in which of this year's cameras and lenses hold a special place in your heart (and/or camera bag). You'll find a link to this year's polls, alongside other recent content, below.

As the year winds down, thanks (as always) for reading. Keep an eye on our homepage for more content in the days and weeks to come.

Barney


2020 Readers's Choice Awards: Your chance to vote!

2020 was no ordinary year, but a lot of new cameras and lenses were released nonetheless. This is your chance to have a say in which of this year's products was the best. Vote now in our 2020 readers' poll.

Vote now in our 2020 readers' polls

DPReview TV: The best and worst cameras and lenses of 2020

It's the episode you've been waiting for all year! Chris and Jordan reveal their picks for the best and worst camera gear of 2020 while playing their newest drinking game. What could go wrong?

Watch Chris and Jordan's annual 'best and worst' episode

Gear of the Year: Barney's choice (part 2) - Reflex-Nikkor 1000mm F11

Senior Editor Barney Britton's Gear of the Year part two details how he ended up with a Reflex-Nikkor 1000mm F11, and despite its quirks, why it was ideal for a creative project in the COVID-era.

Find out why a decades' old mirror lens was one of Barney's favorites this year

Review: Monogram Creative Console - a refinement of our favorite modular editing hardware

Monogram's Creative Console allows you to build out a customized set of physical controls to speed up your editing workflow. Find out if it'll make your life easier in our detailed review.

Read our review of the Monogram Creative Console

News updates
Published Wednesday, December 9, 2020 7:19:00 PM GMT

The organizers have pushed back the Las Vegas event amidst concerns surrounding the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

Published Wednesday, December 9, 2020 3:44:00 PM GMT

DxO PhotoLab 4.0 launched in October. After a couple minor updates, version 4.1 has been released. It includes additional camera support, fixes, improvements and Apple M1 compatibility.

Published Wednesday, December 9, 2020 2:58:00 PM GMT

Here are a few of the 380 nominated images from photographers, of all nationalities, based in the United Kingdom.

Published Wednesday, December 9, 2020 2:00:00 PM GMT

Updated Lens availability is a critical part of choosing a camera system. We have a look at the four full-frame mirrorless mounts to see how their lineups and technologies currently compare.

Published Wednesday, December 9, 2020 2:00:00 PM GMT

You've probably heard of lens, or focus, breathing. Videographers love to talk about it, but it can be important to still photographers as well. So what is it? In this video we explain what 'breathing' is and why it matters.

Published Wednesday, December 9, 2020 1:44:00 PM GMT

CIPA has announced CP+2021 will be an online-only event due to concerns surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020 7:43:00 PM GMT

These first real-world examples, captured on an unnamed Qualcomm-powered smartphone, show what the CAI standard experience is like when viewing the images online.

Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020 7:17:00 PM GMT

Copy That is free to download with an in-app purchase that makes it possible to 'verify' your copies to ensure every bit of media gets transferred without issue.

Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020 5:30:00 PM GMT

New software development kits (SDK) may not be the most buzzworthy announcements, but Sony's new camera automation SDK could be very interesting to product photographers.

Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020 3:59:00 PM GMT

2020 was no ordinary year, but a lot of new cameras were released nonetheless. This is your chance to have a say in which of this year's products was the best. Vote now in our 2020 readers' poll.

Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020 3:59:00 PM GMT

Zooms are great. but every year, some of the most impressive lenses that come across our desks are primes. And 2020 was no different, with several excellent fixed focal length options released. Vote now for your favorites.

Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020 3:58:00 PM GMT

The year 2020 might have offered us fewer chances to get out and photograph the things we love, but that didn't stop manufacturers from bringing a ton of excellent new lenses to market. Vote now to have your say on which was best.

Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020 2:00:00 PM GMT

We've added our studio test scene and video stills widget to our Sony a7S III initial review. This lets you compare its resolution capture and its low-light performance.

Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

Capture One 21 has been released. The latest version of the popular photo editor includes new features and improved performance, including Speed Edit and a new ProStandard profile.

Published Tuesday, December 8, 2020 12:44:00 PM GMT

The latest version of Adobe Lightroom adds native support for Apple M1-powered computers, as well as Qualcomm Snapdragon-powered Windows 10 Arm devices.

Published Monday, December 7, 2020 10:25:00 PM GMT

Sentons' ultrasonic technology has been used in features such as the Air Triggers in the Asus ROG Phone 3. Sentons is pushing this technology further with CameraBar, tech it anticipates will be utilized in smartphones next year.

Published Monday, December 7, 2020 7:26:00 PM GMT

Smartphone leaker Ice Universe has shared a leaked slide from a Samsung Semiconductor presentation that shows the company is looking into the possibility of developing a massive 600MP smartphone sensor.

Published Monday, December 7, 2020 4:17:00 PM GMT

The factory produces an array of audio components, including analog-to-digital converters, which Inside Imaging claims are used by various Japanese camera manufacturers.

Published Monday, December 7, 2020 3:39:00 PM GMT

The conversion of these low-cost lenses means S35 and almost-full frame anamorphic shooting no longer needs to cost quite so much money. MTF Services is selling already-converted lenses at the moment but plans to offer a conversion service for existing lenses next year.

Published Monday, December 7, 2020 3:00:00 PM GMT

In this interview, wedding photographer Vanessa Joy talks about her favorite gear, the challenges of shooting a product video during a pandemic and why communication is key to successful portraiture.

Published Monday, December 7, 2020 2:00:00 PM GMT

Photography books never go out of style and can also serve as inspiration for years to come. These were some of our favorite titles from 2020.

Published Sunday, December 6, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

As a neat little diffuser that has a gigantic impact on the quality of the light from a hotshoe flash unit, the Hähnel Lantern creates a dramatically wide spread of soft illumination.

Published Sunday, December 6, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

Chris and Jordan from DPReview TV have been handing out their 'best and worst' camera awards since 2013, with the 2020 awards announced yesterday on YouTube. In this article, Jordan reviews the winners and provides more detail on why they were selected.

Published Saturday, December 5, 2020 4:23:00 PM GMT

The daguerreotype was the first commercially viable photographic process when it was introduced to the world in 1839. With a handful of safe ingredients and chemicals, you can try it out for yourself at home using a 35mm film camera.

Published Saturday, December 5, 2020 2:00:00 PM GMT

We've updated our 'best cameras for travel' buying guide for those looking for a camera to bring on their next adventure, once it's safe to do so. The best camera for family trips is the compact Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 VII, while our choice for travel photography is the Sony a7C.

Published Saturday, December 5, 2020 8:00:00 AM GMT

It's the episode you've been waiting for all year! Chris and Jordan reveal their picks for the best and worst camera gear of 2020 while playing their newest drinking game. What could go wrong?

Published Friday, December 4, 2020 6:14:00 PM GMT

Marques Brownlee published his third annual 'Blind Smartphone Camera Test' video and the results are surprising. It's not necessarily the most feature-packed or expensive smartphones that move.

Published Friday, December 4, 2020 4:58:00 PM GMT

The new 33mm F1.4 and 56mm F1.4 APS-C lenses are roughly equivalent to 50mm and 85mm lenses, respectively, on full-frame cameras. You can purchase the 56mm F1.4 now, while the 33mm F1.4 lens is available to pre-order.

Published Friday, December 4, 2020 2:35:00 PM GMT

The sample-collecting probe filmed the Moon from close up and then captured its own landing, but the best bit is the color stitched panorama that's 15,000 pixels wide.

Published Friday, December 4, 2020 2:00:00 PM GMT

In this week's Film Friday we join up with a group of Soviet climbers, prepping to summit Mount Everest. The year is 1982 and to document the expedition, the team decides to bring along five plastic Smena Symbol viewfinder cameras. A humble, simple-to-use unit, it proves to be the perfect companion for the trip.

Published Thursday, December 3, 2020 8:04:00 PM GMT

Users have lamented the absence of a camera in the Apple Watch. A new product, Wristcam, aims to change this by incorporating a pair of cameras in an Apple Watch band.

Published Thursday, December 3, 2020 3:04:00 PM GMT

The Canon R5 has many noteworthy features, not the least of which is 8K video recording. However, the camera's video performance is hindered by overheating issues. Matt, from YouTube channel DIY Perks, has shared how he managed to get more from the camera, first through watercooling his R5, then through more conventional means.

Published Thursday, December 3, 2020 3:00:00 PM GMT

Monogram's Creative Console allows you to build out a customized set of physical controls to speed up your editing workflow. Find out if it'll make your life easier in our detailed review.

Published Thursday, December 3, 2020 2:35:00 PM GMT

These firmware updates, which were first announced back in February 2019, allow Nikon D500, D850 and D5 owners to use CFexpress Type B cards in addition to XQD cards in their Nikon DSLR camera systems.

Published Thursday, December 3, 2020 2:00:00 PM GMT

The 35mm F2 DG DN is the standard prime in the group of new Sigma I-series lenses. We threw one onto the Sony a7R IV and went out shooting.

Published Thursday, December 3, 2020 4:13:00 AM GMT

Tamron has announced its 17-70mm F2.8 Di III-A VC RXD lens for Sony APS-C bodies. The lens, with a 35mm-equivalent of 25.5-105mm, will be available in mid-January for $799.