Topaz just released the new Gigapixel 7 (Click here). I personally use it ALL the time to upscale my old images or images taken with my smartphone. Sometimes I even do upscale cropped images taken with my Sony A7rV camera.
Major changes:
Updated AI engine which should allow better compatibility and faster processing
Added Standard and High Fidelity v2 models
These models will eventually replace v1 models in time. If you have quality issues, please let us know.
Refreshed the UI with new design and controls
Updated preferences with new options
Note: This will fully reset your preferences
Notable additions:
Added panning and pinch to zoom gestures in preview
Added updated RAW preview handling (should be closer to Photo AI)
Added ability to capture before/after in split and side by side views
Added ability to move the file list up and down via dragging
Note: There is a known issue where removing/adding images causes it to snap back to the default position
Changed logic for selections
Changed controls to show mixed states if multiple images with different values are selected
I am sure that after one year for rumors. at some point in 2024 the Canon R1 will be announced. But rumors so far have been totally wild and the latest batch of specs are also in my opinion just an educated guess:
30Mp dual gain sensor
no mechanical shutter
240fps
6.7k/60p
They might be a good guess…. but the source has been wrong most of the time whenever he has “tried” to spread rumors. The reason I’m writing this on SonyAlphaRumors is that the R1 will also be very important for the Sony A1II. This camera is in the final stages of development and will have to beat out both the Canon R1 and the Nikon Z9. As far as I know, the A1II will be launched in November 2024 at earliest (2025 more likely), and I hope that trustworthy sources will be able to release reliable information about this camera by late spring. But I’m fair enough to hope that the Canon R1 will be better than the rumored specs… because in my opinion, they’re not enough to challenge even the current Sony A1 model. We need Sony to feel the pressure so that:
They will give us the best on the A1II
Price it according to the competition…so that we can afford to buy it :)
So hopefully my own sources that were spot on…on the 200-800mm lens (see my rumor here) will tell me more about the R1 specs. Stay tuned!
Moster Adapter officially released the LA-FE2: a new generation Nikon F-mount lens (here on eBay) to Sony E-mount camera electronic adapter ring (mount adapter) with built-in focus motor and aperture motor. LA-FE2 is an evolved version of MonsterAdapter’s popular electronic adapter ring LA-FE1. On the basis of LA-FE1, a focus motor is added, which can drive lenses made since 1987.
The Excire/PRC team just launched a groundbreaking Lightroom Classic plugin, Excire Search 2024, which brings the company’s innovative AI image-management software directly into the Lightroom interface and is poised to change the game for Lightroom users everywhere.
You and I have communicated previously about Excire Foto 2024, which debuted back in the fall, and I’m pleased to report that the Excire team has successfully integrated the most powerful tools from the standalone program into the new Excire Search plugin. Highlights include:
Search by Text Prompt: Instantly locate any photo in your Lightroom catalog with a simple text description.
Intelligent aesthetics ratings: AI-powered ratings highlight your finest work for faster, easier culling.
Search for People: Find and manage photos of specific individuals using state-of-the-art facial recognition.
Next-gen duplicate management: Streamline image culling and keep your Lightroom catalog organized by rapidly identifying duplicate files, near-duplicate files, and burst sequences.
The Excire Search 2024 plugin is an essential addition to any Lightroom user’s toolkit; with the aid of Excire’s cutting-edge image-management features, Lightroom Classic users can organize, cull, and search for images faster and more effectively than ever before.
Recently I published a short film called Trapped. Here’s the logline: “A blind woman witnesses a murder and fears for her life when the murderer comes into her house”.
One of the things I think your readers might find interesting is how technically counterintuitive is the process of achieving extremely clean shadows: shooting below native ISO gives you more dynamic range stops in the shadows. But the catch: it takes away some DR stops in the highlights.
Anyway, before I shot this film I wouldn’t have believed how amazing is the Sony A7IV for making film. We all know how capable the FX3 or the A7SIII are, but not many people would believe you can achieve this amazing quality with this camera.
Here you can see two video breakdowns I did where you can notice two things: the shoot is actually a day-for-night shoot, but also some highlights are blown out, however, recoverable with basic vfx work. (First and second links).
By the way, if you watch the short on youtube, it survives youtube’s compression successfully, and I didn’t do any noise reduction at all.
I think it’s a great example of how you can achieve a great look with very little gear. I made this short by myself, literally. I didn’t have a crew. It was just the actress and myself. And I didn’t use any expensive gear. Just a Sony A7IV + Zeiss Batis 25mm, cheap manfrotto tripod, DIY dolly made out of pvc pipes and an Ikea table and a few Godox TL tubes.
