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The Artist nerd & the Machine
June 16, 2026
SteadXP: Game Changing Video Stabilization?
From the video image stabilization without a gimbal department, we bring you young French filmmaker Emmanuel Pampuri CEO & founder @ Les Machineurs & TRACTOfilm in France, who has just this week announced a whole new type of imaging stabilization system that looks to hold some great promise. On this second video you’ll see longer videos produced with SteadXP technology. In extreme downhill moutain biking, stabilizing videos shot from a cameraman’s chest is a real challenge. The amplitude of vibration is so severe,even an ultra wide angle lens captured camera source frame is not enough to produce a nice stabilized result. To
Read moreGoogle Skunkworks: Cardboard 2.0 – GoPro 16 Cam & Jump VR
The #skunkworks delivers once again. As the internet continues to evolve, so does Google CEO Larry Page’s vision into the future, a future where search is still important but other revenue streams need to be contributing as well. Google has the enviable position to be in complete charge of its projects, having the cash to back whatever vision Larry Page, Sergey Brin & Co decide are worthwhile directions that will do no harm. Page runs the company operations, while Brin gets to play with the X files, running the high budget secretive Google “X” Division, the skunkworks where most of the the
Read moreMary Ellen Mark: Portraits And Portrayals
Another #GREAT #photographer bites the dust. Legendary Philadelphia-born photographer Mary Ellen Mark, 75, has died. Mary Ellen Mark was a photographer known for her incredible humanist photography. She passed away Monday in New York City. Her rep confirmed the news this morning. RIP Mary Ellen Mark. Your inspiration, wit, humor, and unique artistic view of the world will be missed. Photographer Mary Ellen Mark was one of the most respected and influential image makers of our time. Mary Ellen Mark ‘s work photographing diverse cultures across the globe has become iconic in the field of documentary photography and portraiture. Mary Ellen Mark has received a
Read moreDSL ARM And Selfie Stick Abuse
https://youtu.be/KE-tGdAKCZo https://youtu.be/xNo5H1cK_gQ DSL ARM is reported to be an affliction of having your arm stretched from using a heavy DSLR. A few years back, there were many days my arm felt just like this DSL ARM before I threw in the towel and went mirrorless. I also caught a bad case of DSL Shoulder, my left now a couple inches lower than my right. Olympus claims the Olympus OM-D E-M5 Mark II is the cure to DSL ARM because it’s almost half the the size and weight of a DSLR, but with all the power. Owning one, they could very well be right. I can state emphatically
Read moreBrian Smith Mizzou Commencement Address
Unlike the inspiring words Brian Smith has on offer later in, the beginning of this recorded “Live Stream” video is blank for nearly the first hour. We are sorry for the inconvenience of having to ask you to do it, but please move the play head forward on the video manually to 55:00 where the Brian Smith segment begins. You won’t be sorry you did, his address is excellent! I’m sorry for the inconvenience of having to ask you to do it. Technology is never perfect. I won’t spoil the magic of your seeing Brian deliver his address, so I’m not providing any spoilers here. I will say
Read moreGatsby VFX
Most big budget movies made today all seem to have a pretty extensive budget for VFX production. It has sort of become second nature to use VFX in place of very expensive mechanical action or dangerous stunts for actors to perform. Much better to do with a computer… But what parts of the movie was real (as real as anything can get in a movie) and what parts of it were computer generated? Here is a great look behind the VFX scenes, so to speak, at how the huge hit “Gatsby” was created. See anything that surprised you? I sure
Read moreLeica Monochrom Type 246 DNG Files Incompatible With Apple Photos App
From “the truth is stranger than fiction Leica saga,” an unbelievable problem surfaces with the new Leica Monochrom Type 246 – this time even before it begins to ship. Today Leica Camera has issued a notice regarding a compatibility issue with DNG files from new and soon to be shipping Monochrom (Typ 246) and Apple’s replacement for iPhoto & Aperture, the new “Photos” App that Apple has been making so much promotion noise about. This from Leica on the subject: Leica Camera would like to inform you that the Leica Monochrom Type 246 DNG files are currently incompatible with Apple’s ‘Photos’ App in
Read moreLife is Art : David Alan Harvey
My friend and mentor David Alan Harvey begins his talk at TEDxVerona with the observation that photography is now the only universal language, a common thread understood around the world without need for translation. He goes on to observe we are now all visual storytellers, thanks to the incredible proliferation of cell phone cameras and inexpensive small, pocket size cameras. David’s career has been a long and colorful one. What I along with many others would call a dream life is art adventure for a photographer. An American professional photographer by trade, David is a man who sets and reaches his personal
Read moreDJI Inspire 1 At Six Months
My original article, written when the DJI Inspire 1 was announced in November, 2014 is here:https://thecameraforum.com/dji-inspire-1/ If you haven’t read it already, you may want to go back and do so, as in it I cover the features, options and functions the new Inspire 1 brought to market. But like every camera made, the DJI Inspire 1 does take time to use and grow accustomed to the operation before you can expect to get the best production output. My question at the time was how will the DJI Inspire 1 work for professional client jobs? Is it more than a flying toy camera
Read moreWhat Makes A Compelling Story Different?
Nothing is as strong a sales persuader as a compelling story. Two time Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist Nicholas Kristof has a new book out (co-authored by his wife and fellow Big Think expert Sheryl WuDunn) called A Path Appears: Transforming Lives, Creating Opportunity. Kristof describes it as a sort of “how to” for making a lasting impact on the world. I read it as an instruction manual on how to tell a compelling story. In their new book, one of Kristof and WuDunn’s main focuses was on the connections between individuals that make people want to contribute to a cause. The elements that make a story personal,
Read moreSetting Up A Sony A7S For Hybrid Storytelling With Video And Stills
Phillip Bloom is certainly a known brand in photography circles, and for good reason. Phillip is one of the hardest working professionals I follow regularly. I find his information always spot on, with great reasoning behind his choices. Much like the rest of us, Phillip is a picky perfectionist in selecting his personal gear. Phillip thinks the Sony A7S is an amazing little camera for what it does well, high ISO, and quite a good camera for most everything else when setup the right way. Initially setting up a Sony A7S the right way for your own use is the
Read moreLomo LC-A MINITAR-1 Art Lens 2.8/32 M
Showcasing “exceptional handmade craftsmanship and premium Russian optics,” Lomography has introduced the Lomo LC-A Minitar-1 Art Lens as “the very heart of the LC-A legacy.” The lens will be sold in a Leica M-mount, and is available for pre-order now, with anticipated initial shipments going out in July, 2015. Premium Optics The glass used to make the optics for the Minitar-1 Lens is multicoated to minimize internal reflections and maximize color and contrast. Its 32mm wide angle view captures a healthy chunk of the view in front of you and its reasonably bright f/2.8 maximum aperture allows all of that natural, ambient
Read moreDiffraction, Or Overcoming My f /11 Entekaphobia
Editors Note: With the rumor mill alive with speculation about a soon to be announced Sony A7R Mark II with a whopping 59MP of resolution, a discussion immediately came up with some of my professional photographer friends about where is the actual diffraction limit going to be with a Sony 59MP full frame sensor? The limit being the point where you stop a lens down any further and you actually degrade the image due to diffraction, not improve the sharpness. I can bear out what Roger’s findings are in his article, though i can not nearly match his elegance in presentation nor the persuasiveness
Read moreRollin’ With Rollei Lenses On A Sony A7S
Rollei 40mm Carl Zeiss Distagon F4 HFT, Rollei 80mm Planar F2.8, Rollei Schneider-Kreuznach Tele-Xenar 180mm F2.8, Sony A7S
Rollei lenses on a Sony A7S? Is this possible? Yep, Rollei lenses on a Sony A7S, and the results may surprise you as much as they did me. Not only is the video superb, the still images are every bit as magical as their medium format counterparts. Rollei lenses on a Sony A7S for me? You better believe it. Bring ’em on! Franke & Heidecke was, up until quite recently manufacturing lenses designed and licensed by Schneider-Kreuznach and Carl Zeiss, in Rollei’s Braunschweig, Germany, production plant. Production at that plant has now ceased, and the plant has been liquidated in the Franke & Heidecke bankruptcy. Schneider-Kreuznach
Read moreEnhancing Light
In this episode of “The Complete Picture,” Julieanne Kost demonstrates enhancing light in Adobe Lightroom’s Develop module to enhance your photographs using color and tonality to change the mood and atmosphere of an image. We all know that the goal is to capture the best photograph in camera, not enhancing light using post processing tricks, but when you shooting in the field you can’t always control the lighting. It is not simply what happens when we aren’t at the right place at the right time of day either. As mirrorless cameras and DSLR’s both advance towards higher and higher possibilities in
Read moreFour New Sony E Mount Lenses
Sony FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS, Sony FE 28mm F2, Sony FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS, Sony ZEISS® Distagon T* FE 35mm F1.4 ZA
Sony has announced several new α E-mount lenses and converters, building upon the rapid expansion of their popular mirrorless camera system. The new introductions are highlighted by 4 new ‘FE’ full-frame E-mount lenses designed to complement the acclaimed α7 camera lineup. These include a ZEISS® Distagon T* FE 35mm F1.4 ZA wide angle lens, an FE 90mm F2.8 Macro G OSS lens, an FE 24-240mm F3.5-6.3 OSS hi-magnification zoom lens and an FE 28mm F2 wide angle prime lens. In addition, two sets of new ultra-wide and fisheye converters have been announced, one set exclusive for the new full-frame FE
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