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The Digital Photography Review Newsletter
The most popular weekly photography newsletter, with over 400,000 subscribers
Wednesday, March 23, 2016

Welcome to the 605th Digital Photography Review newsletter.

There's lots going on here at DPReview, as some of this year's major cameras and lenses start trickling into the office for review. This week we polished off our review of the very lovely Leica Q, published a big chunk of content on the Sony a6300, and work began on the Canon EOS 80D. We still have a lot of testing to perform on the 80D, but with this sensor it looks like Canon might have finally addressed our biggest concern with its DSLRs - poor dynamic range...

Leica Q In-depth Review

The Leica Q’s melding of manual control with electronic assistance and combination of fixed-28mm F1.7 lens and 24MP full-frame sensor make for a responsive package capable of excellent photographs. But despite its undeniable appeal we found a few less likable characteristics over the course of our review. So is it worthy of that bright red dot?

Click here to read our full review of the Leica Q

Upwardly mobile: Sony a6300 First Impressions Review

The Sony a6300 is the company's latest mid-range mirrorless camera. Like the a6000 it still offers 24MP resolution but AF ability, video capability, build quality, viewfinder resolution and price have all been increased. Can it top its well-regarded predecessor with its upgrades? Our testing is well underway – take a look at our preliminary assessments.

Click here to read more about the Sony a6300

Emmanuel Lubezki: 'Digital gave me something I could never have done on film'

On Feb. 28 Emmanuel Lubezki won his third consecutive Oscar for Best Cinematography for The Revenant. Lubezki, known for creating immersive cinematic experiences, joined DPReview editors Dale Baskin and Rishi Sanyal to discuss a variety of photographic topics ranging from the artistic to the technical.

Click here to read our interview with Emmanuel Lubezski

 

Showing dynamism: EOS 80D breaks new ground for Canon low ISO DR

Our testing shows that Canon's EOS 80D features a sensor with greatly improved Raw dynamic range. The results appear to confirm that the company has moved to a new sensor design with lower read noise.

Read more about the Canon EOS 80D's new sensor

How to: iFixit disassembles the Fujifilm X100T

Curious about what lies beneath the black panels of your Fujifilm X100T? Wonder no more, as iFixit has just published a disassembly guide. With a Phillips #00 screwdriver, tweezers and a heavy-duty spudger you'll be well on your way to unlocking the mysteries of Fujifilm's beloved mirrorless model.

Click here to see what the insides of the X100T look like!

Thanks for reading!

Barney

News updates
Published Tuesday, March 22, 2016 10:24:00 PM GMT

Smartphones bearing dual cameras are on the rise, and MediaTek's new Imagiq image signal processor is prepared to take advantage of them. Read more

Published Tuesday, March 22, 2016 7:08:00 PM GMT

Tamron has announced pricing and availability for its recently released SP 85mm F1.8 Di VC USD. According to the company, the lens will launch this Thursday, March 24 in Canon and Nikon mounts for $749. Read more

Published Tuesday, March 22, 2016 2:28:00 AM GMT

UPDATED: Apple's latest iPad Pro variant combines the 9.7-inch form factor of the iPad Air series with the desktop-level processing power of the original iPad Pro, providing an alternative for those who find the latter's 12.9-inch display and overall dimensions too large. Read more

Published Monday, March 21, 2016 9:38:00 PM GMT

Our testing shows that Canon's EOS 80D features a sensor with greatly improved Raw dynamic range. The results appear to confirm that the company has moved to a new sensor design with lower read noise. Read more

Published Monday, March 21, 2016 8:19:00 PM GMT

When Apple launched the iPhone 6 in 2014, some users weren't happy about the new model's 4.7-inch screen and the device's overall larger dimensions than its iPhone 5s predecessor. With today's launch of the Apple iPhone SE, Apple once again has a compact option with top-end specification on offer. Read more

Published Monday, March 21, 2016 7:12:00 PM GMT

TH Swiss has introduced the Irix 15mm F2.4 lens for DSLR cameras. This manual focus lens will be offered in more durable magnesium-alloy 'Blackstone' and lightweight 'Firefly' varieties. Designed to cover a full-frame sensor, the lens will be offered in Canon EF, Nikon F and Pentax K mounts. Read more

Published Monday, March 21, 2016 1:01:00 PM GMT

Atomos, a name synonymous with off-camera video capture, has announced the release of its Atomos Flame series of its Shogun and Ninja field monitors. The new series kicks the monitors' performance up a couple notches with features like support for HDR video, while also addressing common requests from existing users such as hot-swappable batteries. Read more

Published Sunday, March 20, 2016 12:00:00 PM GMT

Curious about what lies beneath the black panels of your Fujifilm X100T? Wonder no more, as iFixit has just published a disassembly guide. With a Phillips #00 screwdriver, tweezers and a heavy-duty spudger you'll be well on your way to unlocking the mysteries of Fujifilm's beloved mirrorless model. Read more

Published Friday, March 18, 2016 7:38:00 PM GMT

DxOMark has put the Samsung Galaxy S7 edge through its testing, and with a score of 88 out of 100 the device moves into the top spot in DxO's mobile rankings. Read more

Published Friday, March 18, 2016 6:42:00 PM GMT

Adobe has launched Technology Previews for Lightroom on the Web, allowing users to test new features before they are officially rolled out. To get things started, Adobe has released a Technology Preview that introduces 'Search,' a feature that uses new image analysis technology to identify photos based on subjects. Read more

Published Friday, March 18, 2016 6:01:00 PM GMT

Bag manufacturer Tamrac has introduced a pair of water resistant backpacks designed for 'hiking and outdoor' photographers. The two Hoodoo bags are made with waxed canvas and PU-coated nylon that’s intended to keep out the rain, and they come in a choice of Kiwi green, pumpkin orange and ocean blue. Read more

Published Friday, March 18, 2016 12:00:00 PM GMT

People become interested in photography in many different ways, and at different stages of life. Some are hooked early on, while others discover the joy of making photos much later. For Kira Morris, it was the isolation and natural beauty of life in Antarctica that inspired her to take up photography. Read more

Published Friday, March 18, 2016 11:30:00 AM GMT

With access to Adobe Camera Raw support for the Sony a6300's .ARW files, we re-visited our real-world sample-gallery and have added Raw conversions to the existing out-of-camera JPEG files. Read more

Published Thursday, March 17, 2016 8:16:00 PM GMT

Camera Raw gets a new look with version 9.5, available now. The update introduces a color scheme that brings Adobe's Raw conversion software in line with Photoshop and Bridge and, of course, supports a bunch of new cameras and lenses. Read more

Published Thursday, March 17, 2016 7:14:00 PM GMT

Instagram has confirmed in a blog post that it will change the way the photos and videos of your friends are displayed in its stream. Chronological sorting will be scrapped in favor of a new algorithm that sorts images based on 'the likelihood that you'll be interested in the content, your relationship with the person posting and the timeliness of the post.' Read more

Published Thursday, March 17, 2016 7:13:00 PM GMT

REVL, a San Francisco-based startup, has launched a crowdfunding campaign to produce REVL Arc, a 4K action camera with an integrated motorized gimbal. Read more

Published Thursday, March 17, 2016 4:37:00 PM GMT

The Sony a6300 is the company's latest mid-range mirrorless camera. Like the a6000 it still offers 24MP resolution but AF ability, video capability, build quality, viewfinder resolution and price have all been increased. Can it top its well-regarded predecessor with its upgrades? Our testing is well underway – take a look at our preliminary assessments. Read more

Published Thursday, March 17, 2016 12:00:00 PM GMT

The Phase One XF camera system received a significant update today, with improvements to its autofocus system and user interface along with additional shooting tools such as focus stacking and HDR. Two new 'Blue Ring' lenses have also been added, along with an update to the company's Capture One software. Read more

Published Thursday, March 17, 2016 12:59:00 AM GMT

Leica has announced the price of its second lens for the SL system and says it will go on sale within the next couple of weeks. The Leica APO-Vario-Elmarit-SL 90-280mm F2.8-4 is set to cost £4650/$6395, and will join the existing 24-90mm F2.8-4 standard zoom lens that was released with the SL body. Read more

Published Wednesday, March 16, 2016 6:47:00 PM GMT

Adobe has launched Lightroom CC 2015.5 and Lightroom 6.5, bringing numerous bug fixes alongside new camera support and dozens of new lens profiles. Read more

Published Wednesday, March 16, 2016 6:25:00 PM GMT

DxO has introduced updates for its OpticsPro, FilmPack and ViewPoint software that adds support for six new cameras, as well as 50 additional camera/lens modules to the DxO Optics Module library. Read more

Published Wednesday, March 16, 2016 12:00:00 PM GMT

On Feb. 28 Emmanuel Lubezki won his third consecutive Oscar for Best Cinematography for The Revenant. Lubezki, known for creating immersive cinematic experiences, joined DPReview editors Dale Baskin and Rishi Sanyal to discuss a variety of photographic topics ranging from the artistic to the technical. Read more

Published Wednesday, March 16, 2016 9:00:00 AM GMT

Panasonic has announced a firmware update for the Lumix DMC-GH4, bringing Post Focus, 4K Photo and burst shooting with flash to the video-centric mirrorless camera. The update will be available at the end of March, free of charge. Read more

Published Wednesday, March 16, 2016 1:04:00 AM GMT

Swedish medium-format camera manufacturer Hasselblad has announced it is dropping the price of all its H series lenses until the 31st March. The discount applies to all HC and HCD lenses, and gives buyers 15% off the usual prices. Read more