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The Digital Photography Review Newsletter
The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 400,000 subscribers
Wednesday, April 29, 2020

Welcome to the 808th DPReview Newsletter

Hello again from Seattle, where spring is in full bloom, although we're not (quite) able to enjoy it fully. We're looking forward to a bit more normality soon, but we're not out of the woods yet. In the meantime, on behalf of the whole team, I hope that wherever you are, you're holding up well. 

And as always - thanks for reading!

Barney


Watch 'My Friends Were Mountaineers', a film about photographer Dee Molenaar

Dee Molenaar, a photographer, artist and icon in the Pacific Northwest mountaineering community passed away recently at the age of 101. Filmmaker and DPReview collaborator Eric Becker spent some time with Dee and his children before he died, and created a short film about Dee’s inspirational life. Watch it exclusively here.

Watch 'My Friends Were Mountaineers' exclusively here

Full-frame mirrorless compared: Z6 vs. S1 vs. EOS R vs. a7 III

Firmware has been updated and lens lineups fleshed-out since Canon, Nikon and Panasonic joined the full-frame mirrorless game. In the light of these changes, we looked again at the strengths and weaknesses of the main contenders.

Learn more about the current crop of mirrorless full-framers

Canon EOS R5: The long game ends with a big leap

If innovation in Canon's cameras has seemed somewhat lackluster of late, the EOS R5 may well explain what the company was up to.

Read more about the Canon EOS R5

Canon RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS sample gallery

The 'Defocus Smoothing' variant of Canon's RF 85mm F1.2L uses a special coating to two of the lens' 13 elements to give out-of-focus highlights a smoother appearance. Take a look at the lens in action.

Check out our gallery of sample images

News updates
Published Wednesday, April 29, 2020 8:41:00 PM GMT

The new 64GB, 128GB and 256GB microSDXC cards feature max read and write speeds of 250MB/s and 130MB/s, respectively.

Published Wednesday, April 29, 2020 6:28:00 PM GMT

The 'Simple Use' camera is safe to use down to 10m (33ft) and comes in two pre-loaded options using Lomography's Color Negative 400 and LomoChrome Purple film stocks.

Published Wednesday, April 29, 2020 2:22:00 PM GMT

The new service allows images and folders to be synchronized between five computers and five mobile devices, and that each image can be edited on any of those devices.

Published Wednesday, April 29, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

Want to shoot some portraits with great lighting while stuck at home? We show you how – and you probably won't need any new gear to do it!

Published Wednesday, April 29, 2020 12:30:00 PM GMT

We've updated our 'best fixed prime lens camera' buying guide and – no surprise here – the Fujifilm X100V came out on top.

Published Wednesday, April 29, 2020 12:00:00 PM GMT

Dee Molenaar, a photographer, artist and icon in the Pacific Northwest mountaineering community passed away recently at the age of 101. Filmmaker and DPReview collaborator Eric Becker spent some time with Dee and his children before he died, and created a short film about Dee’s inspirational life. Watch it exclusively here.

Published Tuesday, April 28, 2020 8:56:00 PM GMT

The beta EOS Webcam Utility came from the ongoing needs required for video conferencing and virtual meetings amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.

Published Tuesday, April 28, 2020 6:47:00 PM GMT

Photographer and DIY camera master Brendan Barry shares what went into converting his backyard shed into a camera and darkroom.

Published Tuesday, April 28, 2020 2:02:00 PM GMT

The OV64B is capable of capturing 64MP stills, as well as 8K video at 30 fps and 4K video at 60 fps. The first sample units will be shipping to companies next month.

Published Tuesday, April 28, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

Firmware has been updated and lens lineups fleshed-out since Canon, Nikon and Panasonic joined the full-frame mirrorless melee. In the light of these changes, we looked again at the strengths and weaknesses of the main contenders.

Published Tuesday, April 28, 2020 1:30:00 AM GMT

In addition to 4K/60p capture, the Mavic Air 2 can also record HDR video at 4K/30p and dole out 1080p slow-mo video at up to 240 fps. Battery life also gets an improvement, with a 34-minute flight time.

Published Monday, April 27, 2020 6:42:00 PM GMT

The company previously tested an anti-reflective coating and is now looking to use satellite 'sunshades.'

Published Monday, April 27, 2020 4:25:00 PM GMT

The MAVO Edge is built around a new 44.7MP full-frame CMOS sensor that claims to offer up to 14-stops of dynamic range and minimal rolling shutter, even at 8K.

Published Monday, April 27, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

The 'Defocus Smoothing' variant of Canon's RF 85mm F1.2L uses a special coating to two of the lens' 13 elements to give out-of-focus highlights a smoother appearance. Take a look at the lens in action.

Published Sunday, April 26, 2020 7:24:00 PM GMT

The global lockdown has been disastrous for the camera trade with sales cut in half across the world, according to figures released by CIPA. DSLRs are doing worse than mirrorless models, and lenses are holding up a little better overall.

Published Sunday, April 26, 2020 6:58:00 PM GMT

Both companies say accounting procedures are proving difficult amidst global stay-at-home orders, making it challenging to audit their financial results in the usual timeframe. Results for both companies are pushed back by a few weeks.

Published Sunday, April 26, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

Exposure Software's latest Exposure X5 app is a surprisingly fast, feature-packed and affordable alternative to Adobe's Lightroom – with no subscription required.

Published Sunday, April 26, 2020 12:00:00 PM GMT

Running out of isolation projects? Here's how you can use common household supplies and tools to craft your own DIY studio lighting solutions.

Published Saturday, April 25, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

Impressively compact and no slouch in terms of sharpness: Tamron's 70-180mm F2.8 for Sony E-mount shapes up to be a solid option for a7-series photographers.

Published Saturday, April 25, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

What better time to shoot with a telephoto zoom? Chris and Jordan took the Tamron 70-180mm F2.8 and a Sony a7R III into the empty streets of Calgary for some appropriately-distanced street shooting.

Published Friday, April 24, 2020 8:28:00 PM GMT

The quick-release system makes it easier to get the strap out of the way when it's not needed, such as when you're switching to shooting on a tripod or monopod.

Published Friday, April 24, 2020 4:33:00 PM GMT

New bi-color LED comes to the LS series of continuous lighting with temperatures variable between 2700 and 6500K for still and movie photography

Published Friday, April 24, 2020 3:20:00 PM GMT

The price drop comes not long after the release of its new studio camera software update and new ATEM Mini switchers

Published Friday, April 24, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

Even if you can't get outdoors, there are plenty of ways to keep busy and to keep your photographic senses sharp. What follows are nine ways film photography lovers can stay occupied and have fun, all from the comfort and safety of their own home.

Published Thursday, April 23, 2020 8:24:00 PM GMT

As a whole, Canon saw a decline of 9.5% and 18.7% in net sales and operating profit, respectively, but its Imaging Systems division took a particularly rough hit with expectations Q2 will be even worse.

Published Thursday, April 23, 2020 6:20:00 PM GMT

Five zoom lenses and a single prime lens have received minor firmware updates that 'fix minor bugs,' according to the changelogs.

Published Thursday, April 23, 2020 5:36:00 PM GMT

It's a small firmware update, but addresses an important problem that could cause certain SD memory cards to have errors while shooting.

Published Thursday, April 23, 2020 2:49:00 PM GMT

Sony's next venture into light field technology could be via an E-mount lens, that might allow photographers to use it on their regular cameras

Published Thursday, April 23, 2020 2:00:00 PM GMT

If innovation in Canon's cameras has seemed somewhat lackluster of late, the EOS R5 may well explain what the company was up to.

Published Thursday, April 23, 2020 1:00:00 PM GMT

Tiny crystals on a glass slide may look unimpressive to the naked eye, but with a macro lens and some polarizing filters they become magical. We show you how to make your own.