Sony Tidbits…


Sigma 24-70mm F2.8 DN ART: Review

Note: If you are interested in electric cars check out our new website Electric-fun.com
Sony RX0II Review by Hanna Saba.
Tips for Taking your Camera out on Snowy Adventures (Explora).
World class Tennis player Stefanos Tsitsipas switched to the Panasonic S1H (L-rumors.com).
CIPA confirms: 2019 was the worst year of the decade in terms of camera sales (MirrorlessRumors).
Why I Don’t Format SD Cards & Some Useful SD Card Tricks (Robin Wong).

Personal photos and tests from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and 500px.

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To get news from our Forum subscribe that RSS feed.
I kindly invite you all to follow our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to not miss news and rumors

This week SAR readers photos selection


Sha Lu‎
White-tailed kite.
A7RIV + 600mm GM + 2X TC
#sonyalphagallery

1) You can submit one single picture per week only.
2) To submit your picture for the weekly readers roundup post you can choose one of the following three options:
Instagram: Follow @sonyalphagallery and tag us on your picture to give us the permission to repost your image on the instagram gallery and on SAR (we will credit you)
Facebook: Submit your picture on our group: facebook.com/groups/sonyalphacamera. Please add the hashtag “#sonyalphagallery ” to grant the permission for reposting on SAR. Without the hashtag we will not add your picture!
Forum: Submit your picture on the SonyAlphaForum image section and add the hashtag “#sonyalphagallery
3) Like and comment the pictures from other readers here: instagram.com/sonyalphagallery, facebook.com/groups/sonyalphacamera and on SonyAlphaForum.
4) A selection of most liked pictures by the community and by me SAR admin will be posted weekly on SAR.

Note: When sending a pic feel free to also add a link to your site to promote yourself! And please do share one single picture per week only. Do not spam :)

 

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This is how you get two months of Adobe Creative Cloud for free!

With the following trick you should be able to get extra two months of Adobe Creative Cloud for free! Note: Tested and works in US and UK. Not sure if it works in other countries too:

  1. Log into your Adobe account
  2. Click on ‘Manage plan’
  3. Click on ‘Cancel plan’ (next to ‘Change plan’)
  4. You’ll now be in a ‘Cancel plan’ menu. Choose a reason for leaving.
  5. Click ‘continue’ on the ‘Details’ step.
  6. You’ll now arrive at the ‘offers’ section, where you can choose to accept the ‘two months free’ offer.

Techradar writes:

There are a few caveats. We’ve only tried this process in the UK, although there are plenty of Creative Cloud subscribers from the US on Twitter who appear to have had similar success. That said, we can’t guarantee it’ll work for all regions.

Also, the nature of the offer means it’s mainly designed for those who are set up to pay monthly – although, again, there is anecdotal evidence on Twitter that suggests it will also work with those who have chosen to pay annually, with some users saying that a credit was applied to their account.

Sony Tidbits…


WHY Shoot with PRIME Lenses?! NEW Tamron 24mm and 35mm 2.8 PRIME LENSES!

Note: If you are interested in electric cars check out our new website Electric-fun.com
5 Unconventional Lenses for Wedding and Portrait Photography (Explora).
New real life Canon EOS-R5 8K images from the WPPI show (MirrorlessRumors).
Tamron 24mm FE test at Lesnumeriques.
24-70mm zoom super comparison at Mobile01.
8K vs 4K TVs: Double-blind study by Warner Bros. et al reveals most consumers can’t tell the difference (TechHive).
Sony E 70-350mm review (Pixelmania).

Personal photos and tests from SAR Admin Andrea on Instagram, Twitter, Facebook, Flickr and 500px.

Join the new Sony Alpha Camera Facebook group.
To get news from our Forum subscribe that RSS feed.
I kindly invite you all to follow our RSS feed, follow us on Facebook and Twitter to not miss news and rumors

Good news from Tamron: “no delays are taking place with regard to the development of Tamron interchangeable lenses”

Well at last some good news folks: Tamron issued an official press release to inform their shareholders about the Covid19 outbreak. And it looks like the company hasn’t been really affected hard by this. Some interesting facts:

– plant in Foshan, China, was closed until February 9, operations were gradually restarted as of February 10, employees are now attending work as scheduled, with no current impact on plant operations;
– plants in Japan and Vietnam are operating as usual;
– no delays are taking place with regard to the development of Tamron interchangeable lenses;
– sales in China account for around 10% of total sales of Tamron interchangeable lenses;
– sales in China are performing more weakly than usual, sales in other regions are not seeing any major impact now.

I hope this means the 70-180mm f/2.8 FE lens is going to be on market before Summer!

Thanks Valdimir

Luminar 4.2 released with new “AI Augmented Sky” feature

Skylum launched the new free Luminar 4.2 update ($10 discount with our code “SAR”). There are three BIG improvements you can “live test” on their interactive press release page. Here they are:

1) New AI Augmented Sky

Inside the Creative tab of Luminar 4.2, you’ll find a new tool called AI Augmented Sky. This tool lets artists choose objects from the curated Luminar collection or upload their own, and blend them seamlessly with the photograph’s sky.

Here’s how it works. AI Augmented Sky detects your photo’s sky automatically and then places the chosen element directly into the sky area. Using content-aware technologies, foreground objects are recognized and taken into account, making the object blend naturally with your existing scene. You can drag the new element around the sky for ultimate control, yet retain those realistic qualities.

2) New Portrait tools:

When Luminar 4 launched, we announced some new, groundbreaking tools to help you optimize your portraits. And so far, photographers have loved the enhanced controls and adjustments they can make to their portraits!

With today’s update, we’re introducing a new Face Features Detection Network, which enables us to give you even more accurate and realistic automation when it comes to enhancing portraits. This technology is trained to detect different faces no matter what position, angle or tilt they might be in. It even recognizes those badly lit or partially hidden faces, as well as those with heavy makeup. No matter what the skin color or age of the person, Luminar 4.2 will recognize faces — even if it’s a group photograph. Check out the example below to see the power of the new Face Features Detection Network:

In the AI Skin Enhancement tool, you’ll find a new Shine Removal Technology. It lets you reduce shine on a person’s forehead or cheeks, making for a more evenly-lit portrait. In the example below, you’ll see that this technology restores the skin on the patches of the face where it was hit by excessive light, and automatically generates realistic-looking skin that blends in perfectly.

AI Portrait Enhancer has also received improved slimming capabilities through its Slim Face 2.0 Technology. Prior to today’s update, Slim Face only worked with the lower portion of a person’s face, sometimes making for unrealistic results. As you can see below, with Slim Face 2.0, the tool now recognizes the entire face and makes changes proportionally.

 

3) Improved Relight Scene in AI Sky Replacement

In addition to AI Augmented Sky and the enhancements to our portrait tools, you’ll also see a few other updates in Luminar 4.2.

We’re constantly improving one of our Luminar artists’ most-loved features — AI Sky Replacement. Relight Scene technology improvement lets you retain colors as you originally captured them in-camera. In previous versions, you might have seen a yellow and unrealistic glow on white objects. Improvement of the Relight Scene technology lets you avoid this problem.

You save $10 on the new Luminar 4.2 using our coupon code “SAR” at checkout!

It’s official: Photokina canceled because of the Coronavirus outbreak

After CP+ and NAB also Photokina has been canceled:

Photokina Press Release

The management team of Koelnmesse has decided not to organise any own events on the part of Koelnmesse until the end of June 2020 – including the photokina. This decision is supported by the crisis management team of the City of Cologne, which also recommended in its meeting on 18.03.2020 to cancel the trade fairs during this period of time.

This also happens against the background of the agreement reached on 16.03.2020 between the German federal government and the governments of the German states – laying down common guidelines for dealing with the coronavirus epidemic and explicitly including the general closure of trade fairs and exhibitions. This impairs the planning security for Koelnmesse and the participants of the trade fairs in Cologne far beyond the scope of the current scenarios.

This decision also includes the cancellation of photokina, which was planned for 27 to 30 May 2020. The cancellation is also valid for the Imaging Innovation Conference for 26 May 2020. A new date will be coordinated.

We have also received enquiries from you about health and safety at the trade fair ground. The health of all trade fair participants is our top priority.

Added to this is the uncertainty of numerous customers and the complicated travel situation. Against this background it is currently not possible for us to offer a global business and community platform for the imaging industry in the usual quality.

The next photokina will take place in Cologne 18 to 21 May 2022. The 2022 orientation gives us enough time to design the next photokina according to the needs of the market, our exhibitors and visitors.

All paid tickets will be refunded. Koelnmesse will arrange this centrally in the coming weeks. There is nothing further for you to do.

Should you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact the photokina team.

Sincerely,

Your photokina team

I think in 2020 all events will be canceled. There is no way out of this until we got a vaccine.

via Fujirumors