Events - Cameracraft

photokina calls it a day

Posted on November 27, 2020 By David Kilpatrick

Received from the organisers today – and we don’t honestly see that it will return in the same form, ever. Perhaps some other technology show, as it already encompassed digital comms, design, film-making, 3D printing and many other non-photo things. Or perhaps – is it too much to hope? – a show once again mostly about photography:

90 years of photokina – 1924 to 2014. The final one was in 2018.

photokina will be suspended until further notice

After 70 years, decreases in the imaging market force a hard cut

In view of the further massive decline in markets for imaging products, Koelnmesse has decided to discontinue organising photokina at its Cologne location for the time being. “Unfortunately, at present the framework conditions in the industry do not provide a viable basis for the leading international trade fair for photography, video and imaging,” according to Gerald Böse, President and Chief Executive Officer of Koelnmesse. “This hard cut after a 70-year shared history was very difficult for us. The trend in this industry, with which we have always had a close and trusting partnership, is very painful for us to witness. But we are facing the situation with a clear, honest decision against continuing this event, a decision to which, unfortunately, we have no alternative.”

Even before the coronavirus pandemic began, the imaging market was already subject to strong upheaval, with annual declines in the double digits. The momentum in this direction intensified massively in 2020, most recently reporting a decline in the 50-percent range. Recently, these developments have had a profound effect on photokina, which – in Cologne since 1950 – for generations has been the top address for the imaging industry and ranks among the most favourably and emotionally charged brands in the trade fair world.

Since 2014, Koelnmesse, together with the German Photo Industry Association, has taken its cue from downward market trends, responding with adjustments to the underlying concept of the trade fair as well as considerable investment in new exhibitor and visitor segments. “These changes in conceptual design, along with a shift in intervals and a change of dates, did not fundamentally improve the situation of the event,” says Oliver Frese, Management Board member and Chief Operating Officer of Koelnmesse. “While there are more photographs taken today than ever before, the integration of smartphone photography and videography, together with image-based communication, e.g. via social media, was not able to cushion the elimination of large segments of the classic market. As a result, the overall situation is not compatible with the quality standards of photokina as a globally renowned brand representing the highest quality and professionalism in the international imaging market.”

Koelnmesse has made its decision in close coordination with the German Photo Industry Association. Kai Hillebrandt, Chairman of that association, remarked: “Our partners in Cologne have done everything in their power to maintain photokina as the leading global trade fair. Nonetheless, an event held in 2022 could not have met the expectations of the entire imaging community that those efforts were intended to serve. That is why we, on behalf of our association, are joining them in taking this regrettably unavoidable step. We would like to take this opportunity to thank the team in Cologne for a tremendous 70 years together!”

Your contact:

Guido Gudat
Vice President Corporate Communications

Events, News

Victorian Photography in Edinburgh

Posted on June 18, 2015 By David Kilpatrick

Today I visited the press preview of Photography: A Victorian Sensation at the National Museum of Scotland in Edinburgh. It’s a major exhibition which actually goes beyond the wonderful huge collection of mint condition Daguerreotypes and other early examples, ending with a Nikon D5500 as an example of today’s tech.

You can visit this entirely free if you are member of National Museums of Scotland. For non-members, it’s £10 (adults) £8 (concession), or £6.50 (children 12-15) and free for under 12s, until November 22nd. The museum itself is free entry, and if only one person in your family wants to see this (Exhibition Gallery 1, Level 3) there’s plenty for others to see and do.

I wanted to see the Nikon – I had helped the curator with this, putting her directly in touch with the right individual at Nikon, after a mutual friend in Edinburgh asked for assistance. Why not Sony? Well, the museum acquires representative technology for the permanent collection, and specifically wanted a DSLR not a DSLT or mirrorless – and the Nikon fitted well with a 1990 first generation digital camera displayed close to it, another Nikon. No doubt at some future date, mirrorless will be so much the flavour of the era that they acquire a Sony.

It’s a superb show, with wall-high prints blown up from unexpectedly early originals. Although it is not a huge exhibition area, I would recommend sparing half an hour for the casually disinterested family member, an hour to two hours for this who actually look at the exhibits, and half a day for anyone who wants to access the touch screens, study the work and really learn something. The good thing about the museum is that if you DO have family members who want to do something else, there’s plenty to see and much of it is rather fun, whether Dolly the Sheep or the kids’ painting and crafts corner. It also has a café which is not overpriced and Edinburgh’s Old Town tourist attractions are a five minute walk from the door. Parking cost me £2.60 for one hour on a nearby meter, paid by mobile phone, and there are cheaper options.

One of the best bits must be the use of touch screens (above) which replicate a cabinet (as below) of small original works. Tap the corresponding thumbnail, and it fills the screen. Do an ‘expand’ gesture with two fingers (or hands) and the super-high-res copy of the Victorian work – often only a few centimetres wide – expands to show microscopic resolution. Daguerreotypes, in particular, are almost grain-free and reveal as much detail as Sony A7R II… who needs 42 megapixels when you have countless megamolecules?

The exhibition includes National Museums Scotland’s extensive early photographic collections, including Hill and Adamson’s images of Victorian Edinburgh, and the Howarth-Loomes collection, much of which has never been publicly displayed. The cartes-de-visite and cabinet photographs below emphasise the huge volume of these portraits produced 150 years ago.

Highlights include an early daguerreotype camera once owned by William Henry Fox Talbot; an 1869 photograph of Alfred, Lord Tennyson by Julia Margaret Cameron; a carte-de-visite depicting Queen Victoria and Prince Albert as a middle-class couple and an early daguerreotype of the Niagara Falls. There’s a special niche for Eastman and his Kodak.

You are also be able to visit a ‘stylised recreation of a Victorian photographer’s studio’ – er, not exactly a re-creation, as stylised is certainly the word! Victorian props and costume details can be used, and you can take a photograph, which will be displayed in a photomontage at the end of the exhibition. The lighting, however, appears to be Godox Witstro or a similar battery flash mounted into a big Elinchrom Octa.

At the press day, model Bronwyn Mackay was dressed in Victorian costume. My photo of her (top), not in the studio setting but holding a stereoscope with part of the display behind her, was taken using my Sony A6000 with 16-50mm OSS lens. Bronwyn is lit by the new ICE Light 2, which I’m holding in my left hand. The camera is at ISO 3200 and the lens at f/5.6, but it’s still a marginal 1/13th exposure, as the lights are low in the room and the ICE light is at minimum power to balance the shot and prevent distress to the model.

I am told there is a book and a smaller catalogue (neither available when I visited) and we’ll be looking at the book, for certain, in Cameracraft magazine.

For further information on the exhibition please visit www.nms.ac.ukphotography

– David Kilpatrick

DK's ramblings, Events, News

Sony’s BIG system future at photokina

Posted on September 17, 2014 By David Kilpatrick

I’m using my RX10 to report. This camera is my big Sony dilemma. It’s actually all I really need for 95% of my daily work.

Well, here we are reporting from photokina 2014, the major trade fair in Cologne. I’m only here for the day and a brief stop in tomorrow morning en route to the airport, and my first appointment was with Sony. To be frank, it doesn’t matter that much as everything has already been publicised on many web pages. My only request, to be allowed to take some test frames on my A7R using any of the new FE lenses, was turned down because the lenses were ‘pre-production’. I was not pleased to be standing within earshot when, ten minutes later, the very same 16-35mm f/4 was being made available to another UK journalist not only to use but to take outside the hall into the Messehallen surroundings for ten minutes (chaperoned).

Of course you need a Canon sign over queues. It is after all the brand of herd!

I don’t need an outside scene to assess a 16-35mm – give me a room with vertical pillars (plenty) and some small very intense bare bright light sources (ditto) and I can pretty much do an optical test on such a lens in a couple of dozen frames. The good news is that Sony UK may be better placed to let photoclubalpha (and all the other media I write for) have loan lenses. In the last year, I’ve bought £10k worth and sold £5k worth of Sony and related third party gear to be able to keep up to speed with the rate of new products and their sheer cost.

If equipment had cost this much relative to earnings when I set out in photography, I would never have become a photographer – it would not have been possible. It would have been making a choice – a deposit on a house, a secondhand car, or a camera and three lenses?

And lenses are certainly being rolled out. The new roadmap concentrates entirely on the E-mount systems (FE and E, full frame and APS-C). The Alpha 99 may still be there as a flagship for the A-mount but there’s really nothing here, no news, for A-mount system users.

Hands-on reports from photokina often mean nothing more… hands-on! No pictures allowed with the glass. It looks like a lens, it works like a lens, but it’s really only half a lens.

Unless, of course, it is two times a lens. The ciné targeted 28-135mm f/4 power zoom for FE may have the ghost of a Minolta 28-135mm hiding inside its suit of armour. It’s huge.

In a sealed but rather grubby fingermarked cabinet sat the new lenses – a Carl Zeiss Distagon T* FE 35mm f/1.4 ZA, a Sony FE 24-240mm f/3.5-6.3 OSS, and a Sony FE 90mm f/2.8 Macro G OSS. I wiped the drool marks off the glass with my secret weapon (a packet of tissues) and took some individual pictures.

OK, the glass didn’t clean up all that well and there were many reflections to avoid.

But here is what you need to see – a 90mm macro with an external OSS on-off switch so you do not have to menu dive to perform this function when tripod mounting, as well as a triple range focus limiter. But this len is a real monster. We have to assume it uses internal focusing with a design like this.

And here is another surprise. Like Fujinon XF lenses, the forthcoming CZ 35mm f/1.4 has an RX-style third f-stop clicked aperture ring, with an A setting at the extreme beyond f/16. My guess is that there is also an RX-style click disengager round the back, making this a superior lens for ciné but almost certainly needing a firmware update for camera bodies as it is the first A or E mount (electronic aperture) lens to feature an on-lens aperture control.

Then we have a neat 28mm f/2 AF for FE, joining the Carl Zeiss Loxia manual focus, electronic function 35mm and 50mm lenses shown elsewhere on the stand (one day I may feature these if we find them exciting enough).

This lens has two optional adaptors – very much like the adaptors for the 16mm E series pancake, a 0.75X wide angle (converts it to a 21mm f/2) and a fisheye (converts it to a 16mm f/2).

I would say many of the size advantages of the A7 full frame camera series are completely negated by all of these new lenses and by the adaptors. What we actually need and want is a handful of properly compact sensor-matched lenses, smaller perhaps than the existing 35mm f/2.8 FE, and not a range of lenses which increases the overall size of a mirrorless kit to the point that you might as well have a DSLR. It’s not quite that bad, they are still a bit smaller overall, but here’s the 28mm converted to fisheye:

I’ll leave you with the test set-up for the A6000 and lenses –

I’m off for a meeting with Sigma. Just got ten minutes to find them!

– David KIlpatrick

Cameras (DSLR), DK's ramblings, Events, Lenses - Alpha Mount, News, NEX System, Sony Digital Cameras

Frank’s a definite Alpha Male

Posted on May 28, 2013 By David Kilpatrick

We shall be sending Frank Doorhof one of our original and rare Alpha Male T-shirts, in black, though I’m not sure we have anything quite large enough to fit him – which goes for his personality too. He’s a great workshop presenter, overcoming technical problems by just cracking on with whatever will work best. At Edinburgh for The Flash Centre’s full day fashion seminar with Frank on May 24th, the last thing I expected was to be using the same camera as Frank. All workshop leaders use Canon, right?

Frank now uses Sony Alpha 99, and he had a lot to say about it. Since we already know the benefits of the Alpha system and the current Sony full frame 24MP sensor with its extreme 14-bit dynamic range, most of what he said was not new, but it’s rare to hear a course leader extol the virtues of a system which not one of his delegates (apart from me) was using. He did rather talk down the value of CZ lenses (while using a 24-70mm CZ) and praised the quality of his vintage Minolta 85mm f/1.4 and 35-200mm xi, but I can’t argue with that as I’ve made similar decisions. Indeed, the 35-200mm owes much of its reputation to results we published seven years ago. I was beating him at his own game by using my SAM 28-75mm f/2.8 – cheaper by half than the CZ 24-70mm, and extremely sharp.

We had a rare sunny clear day in a run of mixed weather, though it was cold and windy on the roof terrace of the Glasshouse Hotel in central Edinburgh. The location provided strong backgrounds and details. Simon Burfoot and Chris Whittle from The Flash Centre brought along the Ranger (battery location) and Ranger Quadra (lightweight version) flash systems with Elinchrom Skyport wireless triggers. Of course, in the past if you turned up to a workshop with an Alpha body, you were unable to use the wireless flash connection unless you also remembered to bring a standard hotshoe adaptor. With the A99 (and NEX-6, RX1 and future models) the new Alpha multi function accessory shoe works directly with triggers.

Frank put everything into using just one light source, and used no reflectors, aiming instead for dramatic lighting by underexposing the main scene but lifting his model subject Nadine by local flash. This was achieved with the 44cm rigid square softbox, newly re-introduced to the Elinchrom system (I have used the original grey one for over 20 years – you only need to buy these expensive accessories once in a lifetime). Fitted with a honeycomb but no diffusing scrim, the single lighting head with this light shaper put a tightly controlled pool of light on to his subject. Though it’s easy to use digital SLRs as a pre-test light metering and flash balancing method, Frank works with a Sekonic flash and ambient light meter able to take incident, reflected and partial spot readings. It is very similar to the discontinued classic Minolta Flashmeter IV/V, with the same 1/10th stop accuracy and display of contrast and memorised values. If I was doing this type of work, I would use my Flashmeter IV, but I would also use its calibration function to match it to specific ISO settings on the A99.

Frank’s wife Annewiek used multiple video cameras to film the workshop, as Frank provides his on-line tutorial material through Scott Kelby’s training site. Here you can see one set-up as he explains how he’s seeing the location, addressing the used of the glass window wall, avoiding unwanted reflections, placing Nadine in the shade then adding the flash to match an underexposed daylight scene. To achieve the required settings, he used ISO 100 at apertures around f/16 to f/22, with a 1/160th shutter speed, and mechanical first curtain shutter. I also followed these settings, which are not kind to sensor dust spots. Anyone using a Nikon D600 would have been in serious trouble! Even my ‘clean’ A99 which never needs any spot removal at my regular optimum working apertures between f/8 and f/13 showed a few visible spots at f/18. I would have used ISO 50, which I consider to be an advantage of the A99, and trusted shutter speeds to 1/250th with this camera for flash sync. But Frank was dealing with photographers some of whom had cameras incapable of shooting at less than ISO 200 or synchronising with studio flash at 1/250th without a slight second curtain crop to the frame. It would not have been fair to demonstrate using the advantages of the Alpha 99…

I did have in my bag, and normally carry, a 4X ND filter. With the Alpha 99, fitting an ND filter has absolutely zero effect on the viewfinder brightness, or the quality of view in sunlight. After all, sunshine with a 4X ND is just like a cloudy day in brightness, and you have no problems on a cloudy day. You can work with an ND just as ‘transparently’ as you can use an UV filter. An alternative would have been to use a polarising filter, which can also enhance the dramatic ‘dark sky – bright subject’ mix. However, Frank wisely kept clear of this. Polarisers have some pretty horrible effects on fabrics, skin and hair. Use them on portrait or fashion shots only with great care. Digital sensors are usually able to do deep blue skies without help.

Here’s the Elinchrom Ranger head as used. Frank asked delegates to restrict themselves to three shots per situation, a request generally ignored. I took some before the flash had recycled, to show the effect of the scene without flash, and with flash.

This was my ‘take’ on this setup and it’s probably different from most as I used a 12-24mm Sigma HSM lens at 12mm. Now Frank did not explain to the photographers how he was using his electronic viewfinder, and I didn’t ask, but I’m sure he had it set to over-ride manual setting gain, as he was shooting on manual (M) with a degree of underexposure that would have made the finder extremely dark. I didn’t change my setting and though for all the other situations I was able to compose well enough, for this set-up my EVF showed nothing but solid black where the model was. As a result, I did not see what an ungainly shape was made by the extreme angle of the 12mm lens for a couple of poses.

The left hand side is very much how my finder looked. I don’t like this result, but I could not tell until after it was taken. Nadine was changing poses rapidly. This is one case where the optical viewfinder of my Alpha 900 would have been a better choice.

If you have a Sony/Minolta wireless flash set-up, you can overcome this whole problem. Your remote flash would perhaps need a softbox, or more realistically a small umbrella to match Frank’s localised soft flash and also receive the control signal from the on-camera flash. You would simply set the remote flash to Manual power not TTL, set the A99 (or other EVF DSLR) to Aperture Priority (A), set f/20, and rely on the flash’s auto communication with the camera body to set 1/160th flash sync and ignore the ambient light. You can also do the same with a slave cell triggered by a small camera top unit converted to invisible IR using a gel filter or old transparency unexposed film-end. You can not do this with the sync cable (PC socket) or flash triggers, as these connections do not tell the camera there is a charged flash fitted, and set the shutter speed.

Elinchrom! We need, for Sony and other EVF or LCD screen-only cameras, a flash trigger designed to provide a signal to the pin which the camera’s own flash system uses to auto-set flash sync speed when using Aperture priority. When this is live, the viewfinder brightness is set to auto gain regardless of the exposure mode (PASM) used.

For his first set-up, Frank was actually shooting full lengths from a distance with Nadine making a small element in a large view. I liked the structure she was posing under, and prefer in general to get pictures which are not a copy of the course leader’s work. Although this was also slightly underexposed for the background, I had no problem with the EVF when the subject was in a normally lit area.

You may say, the subject was in sunlight anyway, so why use flash? The dual lighting gives a filmic look, like a movie set lit in Californian sunshine (and Scotland’s legendary blue skies complete the illusion). This essentially sidelight from the sun, with a frontal fill you can see most clearly on the fingers of the left hand glove.

For a further set-up, Frank moved to the roof terrace view over the north of Edinburgh towards Leith and the Forth (first image on this page). He had demonstrated sets suitable for normal to wide angle lenses, using the 24-70mm, and switched to the 70-200mm f/2.8 Sony SSM G for a different relationship between the model and the background.

This was the view without flash – not a bad set-up as it stands. When processing my images, I found that the in-camera standard JPEGs of the A99 handled the red of the dress better than almost any setting or camera profile using Adobe Camera Raw. Colours like this are a good case for trying alternative raw converters, such as DxO Optics Pro or Capture One Pro. Their camera profiles are generally closer to the in-camera conversions than Adobe’s. Frank demonstrated how to use the MacBeth ColorChecker Passport colour patch target and its camera profiling software to create an on-the-spot profile for better ACR/LR conversions.

This is the shot with flash, again, in-camera JPEG sRGB. AdobeRGB would retain more potential detail in the red, raw conversion to 16-bit using ProPhotoRGB the maximum. But for that you also need something like a Eizo 10-bit monitor with a matching video driver, and no Apple Mac made comes with that. Build yourself a tower system and it’s just about possible to get 10-bit colour… but not using Mac OSX! My monitor is a regular old 27 inch iMac and if it’s 8-bit it’s having a good day. The colour looks lovely, but accurate it certainly is not. I don’t mind as 99% of all the screens any of my images will ever be seen on are no better, and the printed page is far inferior. Putting the above pictures into print would almost guarantee the differences you see here are lost.

Because the Glasshouse’s rooftop function suite has a white translucent fabric roof, the overhead projector could not be used. So, Frank sat down with his laptop and the photographers. Later on in the day, the group moved to an inside room, and he demonstrated a series of processing steps in Lightroom with special attention to the use of plugins producing Clarity, pseudo-HDR and ‘image look’ and to fashion and beauty retouching.

To read more about Frank’s work, visit his own website www.frankdoorhof.com or follow him via Kelby Training. He regularly does workshop tours. I’ll be reporting on some of his views and hints for professional photographers, specifically, in the June 2013 edition of Master Photography magazine (you can subscribe here for this 10X a year magazine which we also produce).

For more information on the Elinchrom flash system, Skyport wireless triggering and battery powered Ranger/Ranger Quadra location flash, see The Flash Centre website.

– David Kilpatrick

Cameras (DSLR), DK's ramblings, Events, Flash units, Photo Techniques, Studio

Sony at CES

Posted on January 8, 2013 By David Kilpatrick

With a slew of new products concentrating on 4K TV-video, enhanced SteadyShot HandyCams, and Cyber-Shot models with WiFi and smartphone connectivity, Sony did not release any still photography products in the Alpha or NEX ranges at CES.

See the entire press release

Events, News

Sigma’s system revolution

Posted on September 24, 2012 By David Kilpatrick

Sigma Imaging, already one of our favourite lens makers, has announced upgrades and new functions for their entire system which will transform the way it works with all the major camera systems.

The new DC 17-70mm f/2.8-4 – DC (APS-C format) lenses have never been given the EX designation, even when they clearly matched the EX specifications. Now the EX name and its exterior finish are both going, replaced by one standard for all formats, and one finish.

The entire Sigma range is being restyled, with a new finish, and the old distinctions between EX DG and other lens ‘grades’ are disappearing. “All our lenses have become what we once called EX”, said Graham Armitage of Sigma UK, at photokina. “The demands made by digital systems with higher resolutions mean we have to produce perfect lenses for all the formats from MicroFourThirds to APS-C and full frame.

“Our greatest breakthrough is in MTF testing. We have designed new MTF equipment, which will be used on the production of new lenses from now on. The MTF testing system we use for development is too slow to be used in production, and we have had our own Bayer sensor based system for this purpose. But it was not proving high enough resolution for new camera sensors like the D800.

“Now we have built our own MTF testing system, based on the 46 megapixel Foveon Merrill sensor used in the latest cameras. This allows a much better MTF tests. It will be used to test the sharpness of every new lens that Sigma manufacturers.”

We asked Graham if this would only apply to expensive professional teles, zooms and specialist lenses. “No, it will apply to all lens types”, he said. “We have been able to use the data from the Foveon sensor based tests to improve the performance of all our lenses.” Because the sensor is true RGB not Bayer much better information about chromatic aberration has been gathered and Sigma is feeding this back into the design and manufacture process.

The new lenses have a robust feel, with machined metal barrel and mount components (a current trend for many lens makers) and a slightly soft-looking matt or silk finish. All Sigma lenses are assembled by hand, in Japan, using traditional construction methods.

But the most exceptional advance has been made inside the new lenses – sadly, it can’t be retro fitted to older ones.

The USB ‘dock in a cap’ has an LED activity indicator and we handled the real thing. This photo looks a bit over-retouched.

All new Sigma lenses will be compatible with a USB-connected dock allowing firmware updates to be made by the user. Sigma has honoured its relationship with users for decades by upgrading the chips inside lenses free of charge whenever the protocols used by camera makers created an incompatibility. Now they have developed a way in which users can do this themselves without the lens having to be returned or ‘operated on’ in a workshop.

“The USB dock will cost about the same as a filter”, Graham told us. I suggested this could mean £50. He indicated I was on the high side. This dock device, which resembles a thick rear lens cap, might be £30 or so.

“It does more than just upgrade the chip”, he continued. “With a PC program, you will be able to change the focusing speed of the lens. All AF systems are a compromise, a balance between speed and accuracy. You will be able to set the lens to suit your working style, increasing the focus speed if you shoot action or improving accuracy if you take subjects like landscapes and portraits.

“All DSLRs have problems with front and back focus. Some cameras offer AF calibration, but not all allow you to have different corrections for each focal length of the zoom lens and for different focusing distances. Using our program, you will be able to calibrate new Sigma lenses for the full range of settings so you don’t get front or back focus at any distance or focal length.

“Not only that, with new telephoto and macro lenses you will also be able to change the distance ranges used by focus limiter switches.”

The new-style 120-300mm f/2.8 – one of the first lenses compatible with the USB programming system, allowing perfect tuning of front and back focus corrections across the zoom and focus distance range.

This function sounds familiar, indeed it’s almost what the new Sony Alpha 99 offers with a restricted range of Sony lenses – on-camera setting of focus range limits. The difference with the Sigma option is that future lenses with a range setting switch can each have their individual far, middle and near limits set and there will be no need to go into camera menus to change the setting when shooting.

Along with Sigma’s recently introduction of nano-type hard coatings which resist water and dirt, their improvements in environmental and dust sealing of lenses, we look forward to testing Sigma products in future and finding them close to the blueprint for the optical design. These innovations draw a line between existing generations of Sigma lenses and the future, as they can’t be fitted to older models. They also take Sigma yet one more step ahead of the camera makers’ own aspirations.

Sigma has always shown the industry what can be done in terms of advanced optical design – often unmatched for many years, with such specifications as the 8-16mm and 12-24mm zooms, the 300mm-800mm and many others remaining unchallenged even by Nikon and Canon. Now they have set out to show what can be done by harnessing a simple standard interface and allowing communication to the lens IC through the contact-pin array.

Finally, Graham showed us the new 35mm f/1.4. “Nikon has done really well with their 35mm f/1.4”, he said. “We thought we would try to beat them with this one. We are hoping it turns out to be the best 35m f/1.4 on the market”. The new MTF testing may yet be proved! I mentioned that Samyang had also done pretty well with a 35mm f/1.4. To that there was no comment…

And then there’s the obligatory picture from any trade show – the man who can’t resist trying to find out what the butler saw, courtesy of the Sigmonster!

– David Kilpatrick

This post has been edited with Sigma’s help on October 3rd. The original reference to Zeiss MTF equipment was incorrect; this is used in design and prototype development, and will continue to be used. Sigma’s own production-line testing system is what’s been updated with new high speed Foveon-based MTF bench.

Accessories - 3rd party, DK's ramblings, Events, Lenses - Alpha Mount, News

Sony technology statement – new stuff all round

Posted on August 29, 2012 By David Kilpatrick

Whether you like it or not – and some aspects are going to be useful – Sony is rolling out a whole new generation of gear including advances in digital imaging. This is a long statement made at a press conference. It would take a long time to edit it, so here’s their text in full.

Sony Accelerates Revitalisation of Electronics Business by Enhancing User Experiences with New Product Offensive

Sony Corporation’s President and Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai unveils an array of Xperia smartphones, a new Xperia-branded Tablet, VAIO PC, Wi-Fi camera, NFC-enabled audio devices, new applications, new musical partnership, a Book of Spells and a showstopping 84-inch BRAVIA 4KTV at IFA 2012

Sony Corporation (“Sony”) today unveiled a portfolio of advanced next-generation products which will help accelerate the revitalisation of the electronics business.

Kazuo Hirai, Sony Corporation’s new President and Chief Executive Officer, speaking at Sony Europe’s press conference at the IFA electronics show in Berlin, launched a range of compelling products – each emphasising Sony’s stated strategic focus on Mobile, Digital Imaging and Gaming.

“This is an extraordinary company going through extraordinary times. It forces us to confront difficult realities and make hard business decisions. We must look at ourselves honestly and hold true to the values and purpose of Sony. I am determined to do this with a laser-like focus, speed and execution,” said Hirai. “The products I unveil today will show Sony’s long-standing ambition to deliver what customers value – a simpler, easier, more entertaining and user-friendly experience.”

The range of new products announced in Berlin includes three new Xperia smartphones – one featured in the forthcoming James Bond movie ‘Skyfall’ – a new splash proof Tablet, a new hybrid slate/laptop VAIO PC, a new NEX camera with built in Wi-Fi enabling feature-adds post purchase, and enhanced NFC enabled headphones and audio devices.

Sony also unveiled a stunning 84-inch BRAVIA 4K TV, promising a totally immersive experience and building on Sony’s acknowledged professional expertise in 4K with acclaimed broadcast camera the CineAlta F65 and 4K cinema projection system.

Hirai vowed that each product would reflect the ‘One Sony’ ambition, the organisation’s drive to deliver technically-advanced products and compelling consumer experiences through greater synergies across all Sony’s businesses from electronics to games, movies and music.

“As “One Sony” we are joined together by a single vision, which I define with one particular Japanese word – Kando. It means to move people emotionally. Sony will bring a smile to the faces of a global audience” said Hirai.

MOBILE

Mobile devices are the gateway to Sony’s user experience. Adding to our acclaimed Xperia smartphones for providing premium entertainment experiences, Sony Tablets will be brought to market under the Xperia brand as of September 2012 to expand these great mobile experiences to the tablet arena.

The latest Sony mobile devices, including Xperia smartphones, Tablets and VAIO PCs, will boast Sony’s media applications, with the new interface designed to enhance the user experience in high picture and sound quality. It will enable users to enjoy and share music, photos, and movies in a simple and intuitive way. These features will be available across new Xperia smartphones, Xperia Tablet and selected VAIO PCs.

Furthermore, the new Xperia smartphones and VAIO PCs promise to bring consumers the ultimate cross-device connectivity. Through Sony’s One Touch function, which incorporates NFC (Near Field Communication) technology, users can easily and instantly enjoy their music and photos across an array of NFC enabled Sony devices by simply touching one device to the other without the need for Bluetooth or Wi-Fi set-up.

Introducing the new products, Hirai added: “Individual Sony products will entice and inspire people. But what’s also important is that by connecting and combining hardware, network services and applications, we will provide a truly remarkable and compelling experience.”

DIGITAL IMAGING

Sony’s mobile products are pioneering new ways to capture great digital pictures, whilst delivering an enhanced user experience through further, deeper convergence of hardware, content and services. The new NEX-5R model is the latest Digital Imaging product to deliver enhanced usability.

The NEX-5R compact system camera – with built in Wi-Fi – allows users to check the image, adjust camera exposure and control the shutter wirelessly from their smartphone. This makes it ideal for taking posed family pictures via the timer, where the image can be checked on the smartphone before the pose is broken. It also boasts “Fast Hybrid AF” giving DSLR-like focussing responses when capturing fast-moving action.

The NEX-5R is the first camera compatible with PlayMemories Camera Apps, a service for downloading new apps such as “Time-Lapse” and “Cinematic Photo” directly to the Wi-Fi enabled camera.

Sony is also introducing the new ‘wearable’ video camera, the HDR-AS15 with ‘ExmorR’ CMOS Image Sensor and SteadyShot image, great for skydiving or mountain biking.

GAMING

This autumn, Sony Computer Entertainment is due to launch Wonderbook, creating a multi-dimensional world using PlayStation Eye and augmented reality technology. It’s an experience like nothing else. The first Wonderbook title will be Wonderbook: Book of Spells, created in collaboration with J.K Rowling.

IN DETAIL

Detailing the product offensive at IFA, the Sony President and CEO highlighted the following innovations:

Xperia Smartphones

The integration of Sony Mobile Communications earlier this year was an important step for Sony. The company launched the first Sony smartphones to market earlier this year – the Xperia NXT (NEXT) series.

The next introduction is the Xperia T, Xperia V and Xperia J, building on the acclaimed arc design. They will be brought to the market over the next few months.

Xperia T is the new global flagship model that delivers the best high definition experience in a smartphone to date. It has a 4.6inch display powered by Sony’s Mobile BRAVIA Engine. Consumers can watch videos shot in Full 1080-pixel HD. The 13 mega-pixel fast-capture camera goes from sleep to snap in an instant with a single key press. The most amazing feature is how easily consumers can connect Xperia T to other devices to enjoy their content – with just one touch.

Xperia V is LTE enabled for super-fast network performance. It also comes with the highest level of water resistance in a smartphone, so users can continue using their Xperia V, come rain or come sunshine.

Xperia J is an eye-catching combination of stylish design and a stand-out screen size at a competitive price point.

Xperia Tablet S

The new Xperia Tablet combines a splash-proof body with high quality sound and a thinner, lighter design than its predecessor. It also offers a new app called ‘Socialife’ which enables users to enjoy SNS and news feeds in one viewer with a magazine-like layout. Together with new covers, stands and dock speaker, it is a communications device that will bring new style and fun into your life and appeal to customers of all ages and lifestyles. Running a NVIDIA® Tegra® 3 quad-core processor and Android 4.0.3 platform, it’s got all the power consumers will need to enjoy their favourite media, apps and games.

VAIO™ Duo 11

VAIO Duo 11 is a unique, Surf-Slider design hybrid PC which allows smooth sliding between slate mode and keyboard mode, ideal for being on the move. It features a thin, compact body with high performance, and a sophisticated stylus for the easy capture of handwritten digital notes, maximising the touch capability of Windows 8.

VAIO™ Tap 20

VAIO Tap 20, designed to leverage Windows 8, is a 20-inch, tabletop PC which tilts from desktop to lay-flat style. It can be a conventional desk top PC for personal use or a multi-media device – if used flat – for family use, for everything from playing board games to music editing or reading.

Audio Visual: ‘One Sony’ brings professional know-how and greater connectivity to consumer experiences

TV has always been part of Sony’s DNA, a symbol of constant innovation. It is the one product that still connects family and friends through shared experiences, more than any other.

Sony’s first 84-inch BRAVIA 4KTV

The new Sony 84-inch BRAVIA 4KTV boasts a 4K (3840 x 2160) LCD panel in the industry’s largest inch class (*1) and incorporates Sony’s ‘4K X-Reality PRO’ super-resolution high picture quality engine, meaning users will be able to reproduce a variety of content – including movies, TV programs, photos and games – to beautiful 4K picture quality ready to enjoy on the stunning 84-inch screen. This formidable combination seamlessly delivers a high-resolution large-screen picture with high-quality powerful sound to provide consumers with an immersive experience, unlike anything offered by existing televisions. The new BRAVIA 4K TV will be available worldwide, from the end of 2012.

*1: As of August 29, 2012.

Sony continues to take a lead role in advancing 4K technologies and is playing a leading role in professional 4K content creation through the CineAlta ‘F65’ camera, capable of shooting 4K content and beloved by leading film makers, and also the 4K digital cinema system used in the professional field. In the world of consumer electronics, the 4K home theatre projector for family use has been extremely well received since its launch last year.

The launch of the 84-inch 4K BRAVIA TV demonstrates the new and exciting consumer home-experiences made possible through professional technologies, advanced through the company’s ‘One Sony’ approach to hardware and content innovation.

HMZ-T2 Personal 3D Viewer

Lighter and more comfortable than its predecessor, the all-new Personal 3D Viewer from Sony is a head-mounted, High Definition 2D and 3D personal display with virtual 5.1 surround sound. It’s perfect for movies and gaming, with twin OLED screens that display vivid, super-sharp images (with zero cross-talk interference) to absorb consumers in a truly personal experience.

MDR-1 headphones

The new MDR-1 headphones are the result of collaboration between Sony Music artists and Sony engineers to deliver sound quality that accurately reproduces the original intentions of the musicians. The MDR-1 RBT is NFC enabled, and carries Sony’s One-touch function making it easy to share music across a range of NFC enabled devices by instantly setting up a wireless connection between devices, with just one touch. There is no need for any Bluetooth or Wi-Fi set up.

SRS-BTM8 wireless NFC Bluetooth speaker

The SRS-BTM8 portable NFC Bluetooth wireless speaker from Sony lets you enjoy music from your smartphone or tablet in high quality audio, anywhere in the house. With its built in One-touch function from Sony, with just one touch to the top of the speaker with any NFC-enabled Xperia smartphone – including Xperia T and Xperia V smartphones from Sony – music will be streamed instantly. There is no need for Bluetooth set-up.

Partnership with Berliner Philharmoniker and Berlin Phil Media

Sony has extended its partnership with the world renowned Berliner Philharmoniker, and Berlin Phil Media, which offers the “Digital Concert Hall” streaming service. For the past two years, Sony has video-streamed Berliner Philharmoniker’s musical performances for customers worldwide to enjoy on Sony’s home entertainment products. Under this new partnership, Sony will also supply professional products, which incorporate its key technologies, whilst also providing technical support for the creation and streaming of Berliner Philharmoniker content through the service. This partnership will further enhance collaboration and innovation around audio development, and produce feedback which will be invaluable for Sony.

Sony HDR-AS15 action-cam

Ideal for sports lovers, the HDR-AS15 is a new type of camera; a ‘wearable’ video camera. It features Sony’s SteadyShot image stabilisation technology to deliver stunningly smooth footage which is ideal for filming sports scenes such as sky diving, mountain biking or snowboarding.

Equipped with built-in Wi-Fi, consumers can remotely control this video camera from smartphones and upload the recorded data online immediately. It also features a 170° wide angle Carl Zeiss lens.

List of all products and services launched at IFA 2012 for the UK market

BRAVIA 84” 4K TV
Head Mounted Display HMZ-T2
AV Receiver STR-DA5800ES
Speaker System SS-NA2ES, SS-NA5ES, SS-NA8ES, SA-NA9ES
VPL-HW50ES Home Cinema 3D projector
Wireless NFC Bluetooth speaker SRS-BTM8, SRS-BTV5
Headphones MDR-1 (MDR-1R/1RBT/1RNC)
NEX-5R – Wi-Fi enabled camera
Action Cam HDR-AS15– personal camera
PlayMemories Series (new Camera Apps functionality)
Xperia Splash/Water-proof Smartphone
Xperia Tablet S
Music Unlimited – New Subscription Tier, “Access” for PCs and PlayStation(R)3
VAIO™ Duo 11 (Slider hybrid PC)
VAIO™ Tap 20 (Tabletop PC)
VAIO touch range (VAIO™ Duo 11, VAIO™ Tap 20, VAIO T Series 13, VAIO L Series)

Events, News, NEX System, Sony Digital Csmeras

Gary Friedman workshops in UK, September 13-16th

Posted on August 7, 2012 By David Kilpatrick

Gary Friedman, who is well known for his excellent e-books on the Alpha system (new one just out, Alpha 37 and 57) lives on the sunny, foggy, funky coast surrounded by surfing dudes and dudesses, just south of the vast conurbation of Los Angeles.

But having several million photo enthusiasts on his doorstep is not enough. He’s hitting Britain’s shores in September to give one talk near Portsmouth on the 13th (the commute will be a refreshing experience after the multilane highways of home) and two full day seminars in Kingston-on-Thames (15th and 16th). We are, I’m afraid, responsible for Gary locating these in the little-known but lovely Antoinette Hotel, a conglomeration of former houses in a quiet residential area only a short walk from the Thames and some rather good waterfront pubs. It has a large car park, you can walk from the station, and you can even get there by riverboat if you can work out how on earth to plan the journey.

Whatever the case, Gary’s talks are not to be missed. He has agreed to join us as US Associate Editor on a new publication venture – Cameracraft, a quarterly magazine which may follow in the wake of Photoworld, but has no affiliation to camera brands or clubs. You can find a subscription link to Cameracraft, which should be in print just in time for Gary’s dates, on our left hand sidebar (there’s much fuller info in our Links).

So, check up on Gary’s web page – even his taster and programme for the seminars can teach you more than you think.

DK's ramblings, Events, News

Sony Alpha 100 June 2006 launch report

Posted on June 11, 2006 By David Kilpatrick

Shortly before the June 6th 2006 worldwide launch of the Sony Alpha digital SLR system the European press learned that major title editors would meet in Marrakesh for the unveiling of the Alpha 100. No-one anticipated being driven miles into the desert-like countryside of Oued Nfis for the experience of a night under canvas after witnessing feats of Berber horsemanship and a massive pyrotechnic intro! Read David Kilpatrick’s original report from the Summer 2006 edition of Photoworld magazine. Please note this is a long, fully detailed and illustrated article split across several pages. Be sure to click the next page at the end of each one to continue reading. Continue reading »

Cameras (DSLR), Equipment Reviews, Events, Lenses - Alpha Mount, News, Sony Digital Cameras