Press text:

Skylum, a leading innovator in photo editing software and the company behind the award-winning, AI-powered program Luminar Neo, is proud to announce Project “Barcelona”, a new desktop application specifically for professional portrait retouching.

Recognizing the increasing demand for time-saving tools in portrait photography that would enable professional and semi-professional photographers to focus on creative growth and client engagement, Skylum is collaborating with renowned portrait photographer Julia Trotti to develop this specialized software solution. Set for release in September 2024, Project “Barcelona” will empower photographers by automating routine face retouching processes through an efficient, AI-optimized workflow that runs locally on the user’s device, making it as easy as applying presets. With the added advantage of precise and adjustable masking tools, it provides enhanced control and accuracy for perfect results every time. This, in turn, will allow portrait photographers to balance the time-intensive task of photo retouching with shooting and growing their photography business.

Designed with the specific needs of portrait photographers in mind, the new app’s key features include:

Skin Toning: Make subtle changes to the skin tone of specific areas thanks to an accurate facial skin segmentation model; remove the red hue or unify the overall color. On top of that, the new app’s state-of-the-art face mesh model provides unique makeup correction capabilities, allowing the application of extra textures like blush, highlight, and contour, and changing the color of lips, brows, and other elements.

Eye Enhancement:  Add iris flare, remove redness, and adjust eye shape with a comprehensive suite of tools to perfect a subject’s eyes in portraits.

Teeth Whitening: Ensure radiant smiles with advanced teeth whitening and brightening capabilities.

Makeup Application: Enjoy customizable options for creative makeup styles and colors to compliment any complexion, clothing, or backdrop.

Bokeh Effects: Create stunning depth-of-field effects with the bokeh feature, adding dimension and allure to portraits.

Body Enhancement: Adjust bodily proportions to correct posture and account for unflattering angles, making sure portraits capture subjects in their best light.

“In the development of Project “Barcelona” (public name to be announced soon), we’re working closely with acclaimed photographer Julia Trotti to infuse our software with professional insights that meet the specific needs of portrait photographers everywhere,” says Ivan Kutanin, CEO of Skylum. “Just as Luminar Neo provides convenient editing solutions for a broad set of photography challenges, this new app uses cutting-edge AI technology to help portrait photographers achieve top-quality retouching and inspire them with new creative possibilities.”

Early bird offer starts June 25, 2024. Find out more on Skylum’s website and sign up for the waiting list for early access.

Many SAR readers got a newsletter from Sony Europe promoting the A7rVI…obviously a typo :)

Lumix S9 Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, BestBuy, Panasonic US shop, FotoErhardt, FotoKoch, Calumet, WexUK, Panasonic UK shop.

The Panasonic Lumix S9 is the first true Sony ZV-E1 competitor. But the most important news that caught my attention is that Panasonic is going all out when it comes to its LUT ecosystem. They have launched a new APP that allows you to download LUTs from Panasonic and other creators, upload your own LUTs and so on.

Sony should also think about expanding its portfolio of ‘styles’ with new features and possibly even better branding. Call them ‘movie styles’ to appeal to the younger generation of content creators! And yes, in my dreams I hope to get some official Kodak styles one day!

Here is a how to:

Image courtesy: Tom Calton

The massive Sigma 200-500mm f/2.8 lens (listed here at BH) was quite a popular “Clickbait” lens that made a lot of publicity for Sigma. This week Asobinet reported the lens has been officially discontinued.

UPDATE: Petapixel now reports that this lens has NOT been discontinued.

Now, if you absolutely want to own this lens you can still find a few lenses in Stock on eBay:

And here is the official spec sheet from Sigma:

And if you wanna see how good this lens performs Tom Calton once tested this lens on his Sony camera:

The latest update added the Generative Remove AI tool (see video on top). But it also added extended tethering support for Sony Alpha cameras and lens profile for the new Sigma 24-70mm II:

• Lens Blur, now generally available, seamlessly adds aesthetic blur effects to any part of a photograph in a single click and now includes all-new automatic presets;
• Expanded tethering support for new cameras including the latest Sony digital cameras – such as the Alpha 7 IV and Alpha 7R V – provides access to photos in Lightroom Classic in real-time, delivering time saving on everyday editing workflows and enabling better collaboration across teams;
• HDR Optimization, used already across tens of millions of images, enables anyone capturing photos to edit and export their photos with brighter highlights, deeper shadows and more vivid colors, as seen in real life;
• Instant access to photo libraries in Lightroom mobile and desktop apps empowers faster editing than ever before;
• Lightroom’s all-new mobile editing experience streamlines the mobile toolbar to prioritize the most popular features, while making it faster and more intuitive to edit.

The strange delays in camera launches: Canon did not announce new cameras for 12 months, Nikon for 8 months and Sony for 6 months! I do not know what the reason for this is. I can only speculate:

• some kind of component shortage
• The worldwide enthusiasm for compact cameras is creating new demand for some of the existing models (such as Sony A6700 and A7c series). This is forcing companies to postpone new releases
• New European AI regulations (or other regulations?) are forcing manufacturers to adapt their future releases.
• Fujifilm won and we are all forced to buy the X100VI from now on :)

What is your best guess?

Today Sigma Japan issued the following note:

Regarding the “SIGMA 24-70mm F2.8 DG DN II | Art for Sony E-mount” scheduled to be released on May 30, 2024 (Thursday), we received orders that exceeded our expectations and production has been delayed. We are unable to keep up with demand. Therefore, some customers may take some time to receive their products.

We apologize for any inconvenience caused to our customers and related parties who are waiting for the product, but we are currently working diligently to produce it, so we ask for your patience.
We appreciate your continued patronage of our company and our products.

Preorder at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, FotoErhardt, WexUK.