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The Digital Photography Review Newsletter
The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 400,000 subscribers
Tuesday, February 14, 2017

Welcome to the 646th Digital Photography Review newsletter.

Firstly, if you were expecting a newsletter last week, I'm sorry. I'd love to have an elaborate excuse, but the fact is that I was traveling and forgot to send it. So to make up for that, this week's newsletter is extra special, longer than usual, and bumper-packed with amazing content. Kind of. But the bit about 'amazing content' is definitely true.

This week we're skiing in British Columbia with the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II, drinking whisky with the Panasonic DC GH5, and getting hansdy with Sony's latest telephoto prime lenses. It's a tough job, but someone has to do it.

Heliskiing in British Columbia: Scott Rinckenberger uses the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

Scott Rinckenberger is a professional adventure and outdoor sports photographer. We lent him the new Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II for a few days, to shoot a wintry commission for outdoor clothing brand Eddie Bauer. The OM-D E-M1 Mark II is Olympus's flagship mirrorless interchangeable lens camera, and should be ideally suited to use in tough, wet (and cold) conditions. Watch our video to find out how it performed.

Click to watch our video, featuring the Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark II

Sony SLT a99 II Review

The Sony Alpha 99 II is a 42MP full-frame addition to the company's A-mount range of cameras. It uses a semi-transparent mirror to enable full-time secondary-sensor autofocus in conjunction with on-sensor phase detection. We're taking a look through that particular looking glass.

Click here to read our review of the Sony SLT a99 II

Panasonic Lumix DC-GH5 sample footage

With access to a pair of production-ready Lumix GH5s running near-final firmware, we headed to a local whiskey distillery to put them to the test. We shot the footage above at 23.9p, 150mbps, 10-bit 4:2:2. One camera was set to Cinelike D, while the other was shooting 'Like 709.' You'll also see examples of 60p footage slowed down by 2.5x as well as the camera's 'Focus Transition' mode.

Click here take a look at what the new Panasonic DC GH5 can do

Has a new champion been crowned? Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art lens review

The Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art has been the talk of the portrait shooter town as of late, and for good reason since many testers have shown it to be the sharpest 85mm lens ever made. With that said, does it really live up to the hype?

Click here to read our review of the new Sigma 85mm F1.4

Hands-on with Sony 100mm F2.8 STF G Master and FE 85mm F1.8 lenses

Sony announced a pair of short telephoto prime lenses at this year's WPPI show in Las Vegas – the FE 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS and the FE 85mm F1.8. We just got some hands-on time with them.

Click here to learn more about Sony's new prime lenses

Thanks for reading.

Barney

News updates
Published Monday, February 13, 2017 8:08:00 PM GMT

Technology described in an Apple patent application could help speed up the focus stacking process and generate more precise depth maps for portrait modes and similar features. Read more

Published Monday, February 13, 2017 7:21:00 PM GMT

Phase One has teamed up with LogicKeyboard to launch a special keyboard designed specifically for the macOS version of its Capture One Pro software. Read more

Published Monday, February 13, 2017 6:33:00 PM GMT

With access to a pair of production-ready Lumix GH5 cameras running near-final firmware, we headed to a local whiskey distillery to put them to the test. Read more

Published Monday, February 13, 2017 4:01:00 PM GMT

The Sony Alpha 99 II is a 42MP full-frame addition to the company's A-mount range of cameras. It uses a semi-transparent mirror to enable full-time secondary-sensor autofocus in conjunction with on-sensor phase detection. We're taking a look through that particular looking glass. Read more

Published Monday, February 13, 2017 3:46:00 PM GMT

Nikon has officially put an end to the DL series. Announced just under a year ago, the three DL compacts would have had 1" sensors, and were originally set to ship in June 2016. Read more

Published Sunday, February 12, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

The OnePlus 3T offers all-around top-specs and snappy performance. While the camera performance can't quite match the best in class, it is still very good, making the 3T one of the best value propositions in the market. Read more

Published Saturday, February 11, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

This year's Wedding and Portrait Photographers International (WPPI) conference and expo featured workshops from industry-leading photographers, some unexpected new gear releases and plenty of fun, unique, and sometimes downright weird photo-related products. Read more

Published Saturday, February 11, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

Camera bag manufacturer Think Tank has announced a new range of shoulder bags designed to look good as well as protect your equipment. Read more

Published Saturday, February 11, 2017 9:00:00 AM GMT

In the latest LensRentals blog post, Roger Cicala writes about a phrase he hears a lot: 'This zoom is just as good as a prime.' Find out why it sets his teeth on edge. Read more

Published Friday, February 10, 2017 8:02:00 PM GMT

A research study finds that a majority of smartphone users enjoys taking selfies, but very few people like looking at others' selfies. Read more

Published Friday, February 10, 2017 7:21:00 PM GMT

Pixlplay is a durable smartphone case shaped like a classic 35mm film camera. With moveable dials and knobs, it aims to teach kids about photography while keeping your phone intact. Read more

Published Friday, February 10, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

We've updated our Canon EF 70-300mm F4-5.6 IS II USM gallery with a selection of samples taken with the EOS 80D. Read more

Published Friday, February 10, 2017 9:00:00 AM GMT

The Straw Camera is an unusual analog camera. The product of a collaboration between photographers Michael Farrell and Cliff Haynes, it's made out of ordinary drinking straws. Read more

Published Friday, February 10, 2017 8:01:00 AM GMT

Get a closer look at some of the headline features of Sony's newest FE lenses in our video overview from the show floor at WPPI. See video

Published Thursday, February 9, 2017 8:59:00 PM GMT

Panasonic's latest organic CMOS chip can capture visible and near-infrared light at the same time without sacrificing resolution. Read more

Published Thursday, February 9, 2017 7:27:00 PM GMT

Panasonic has released new firmware for its Lumix G80/81/85 and GX80/GX85 camera models that eliminates the whirring noise caused by the in-body stabilization system while in stand-by mode. Read more

Published Thursday, February 9, 2017 7:22:00 PM GMT

Is 'Which Disney Princess Are You?' not your style? Well, here's an online quiz you might actually be into: it provides film stock suggestions based on the user’s personal preferences. Read more

Published Thursday, February 9, 2017 11:00:00 AM GMT

In this week's Throwback Thursday we take a look at the Minolta DiMAGE 7, a $1500 prosumer camera with an unconventional design, a long lens and tons of direct controls. Read on

Published Thursday, February 9, 2017 10:00:00 AM GMT

Harvard researchers have made advancements in development of a flat lens known as a metalens – for the first time, it can work with a continuous range of colors rather than one at a time. Read more

Published Thursday, February 9, 2017 8:01:00 AM GMT

Tamron announced two updates to zoom lenses at this year's WPPI show in Las Vegas - the full-frame SP 70-200mm F2.8 Di VC USD G2 and the APS-C format 10-24mm F3.5-4.5 Di II VC HLD. And we got our hands on them. Read more

Published Thursday, February 9, 2017 8:00:00 AM GMT

Blackmagic Design has announced the Web Presenter, a device designed to connect any camera to your computer for use with live streaming platforms such as Facebook Live, Skype or Periscope. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 8, 2017 8:07:00 PM GMT

A new system by Google based on neural networking is capable of adding detail to very low-resolution images. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 8, 2017 7:42:00 PM GMT

Sony announced a pair of short telephoto prime lenses at this year's WPPI show in Las Vegas – the FE 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS and the FE 85mm F1.8. We just got some hands-on time with them. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 8, 2017 7:28:00 PM GMT

Photography lighting accessory company Westcott has introduced a new Omega reflector product, the 15-in-1 Omega Reflector 360. Unlike the previous Omega reflector, this model offers 15 different usage scenarios, a world’s first according to Westcott. Read more

Published Wednesday, February 8, 2017 3:00:00 PM GMT

The Sigma 85mm F1.4 Art has been the talk of the portrait shooter town as of late, and for good reason since many testers have shown it to be the sharpest 85mm lens ever made. With that said, does it really live up to the hype? Read more

Published Wednesday, February 8, 2017 9:00:00 AM GMT

Moment is introducing two iPhone 7 / 7 Plus cases via Kickstarter: a battery case with two-stage shutter and a standard case. Both are compatible with a new wide-angle attachment lens designed specially for the 7 and 7 Plus. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 7, 2017 8:32:00 PM GMT

Accessory manufacturer Manfrotto has launched a new filter suite that features a magnetic adapter and filter holders that it says make fitting and removing filters quicker and easier. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 7, 2017 7:31:00 PM GMT

Customers waiting for a Panasonic GH5 may see a slight delay in delivery, according to a statement issued by the company. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 7, 2017 7:01:00 PM GMT

Sony's latest image sensor development uses a 3-layer structure and a DRAM buffer for extremely fast read-out speeds and reduced rolling shutter 'Jello-effect.' Read more

Published Tuesday, February 7, 2017 4:33:00 PM GMT

Sony has taken the wraps off of two full-frame new mid-telephoto prime lenses  The 100mm F2.8 STF GM OSS uses an 'apodization' (APD) element for smooth bokeh while the 85mm F1.8 is a compact, weather-sealed portrait lens. Read more

Published Tuesday, February 7, 2017 4:31:00 PM GMT

Sony has added a compact, radio-controlled flash to its lineup. The HVL-F45RM has a guide number of 45m, an intuitive interface and weather-sealing. Read more