Sony Announces Expanded Capability of Camera Remote Software Development Kit (SDK) for Third Party Developers

Press text via Sony press center:

Sony Announces Expanded Capability of Camera Remote Software Development Kit (SDK) for Third Party Developers

New Version 1.01 Empowers Commercial Clients with Addition of Linux Operating System and New Remote Camera Control Functions

Sony today announced an updated version 1.01 for its Camera Remote Software Development Kit, expanding the functionality and versatility of the SDK for developers and integrators.

Sony, the industry leader in both full-frame and mirrorless cameras, has released the SDK based on extensive interest in its camera line-up from commercial customers since this February, and has been further expanding the solution since its launch.

The new SDK Version 1.01 allows for improved functionality with professional drone applications thanks to the addition of Linux[i] compatibility. Additionally, the new software will increase remote control capabilities over camera settings. New functions, which are appealing to the workflow for a wide variety of professional and commercial industries including security, entertainment and many others, include:

Ability to set Focus Magnifier Setting
Utilise expanded Focus Area setting when using AF Area Position[ii]
Zoom will be adjustable through Zoom Type Status, Zoom Scale, and Zoom Bar Information functions
Operate detailed White Balance (WB) settings including: Custom WB, Auto WB (AWB) Lock, Biaxial Fine Tuning and Picture Effect.
Control Media Format, Flash, and interval shooting
Adjustable frame rate or file format for video shooting

“The voice of our customers is critical to every aspect of our imaging business and following the phenomenal feedback that we received after the launch of the original SDK, we want to continue to introduce features that customers are asking for”, said Yasuo Baba, Professional Business Marketing Director, Digital Imaging, Sony Europe. “We will evolve our SDK to meet the growing demands of our commercial clients across a number of industries, ultimately allowing them to capture, measure and create in ways they never could before.”

Mike Dewhirst, CEO of Evolve Dynamics, the UK-based engineering company specialising in UAV/RPAS aircraft (drones) systems and software for police, search and rescue, for fighters and military said, “The ability to harness the fantastic resolution of the a7R IV opens up a plethora of new opportunities for our products and customers, particularly when used in the security and safety industries. We focus on delivering the best products possible for customers like the Police in the UK and with the new Sony SDK 1.01, we will be cutting development time by at least a factor of 3, enabling us to bring more powerful products to market faster – helping customers achieve their objectives better, faster and safer.”

SDK Version 1.01 is available now and can be downloaded HERE.

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Meike has released the new Sony A6600 battery grip

Meike announced a new battery grip you can preorder now at Amazon US and Amazon UK,

The grip allows for easier vertical shooting, double the battery capacity, and features a wireless remote with a 100m range and an LCD display.

Features:
Working Voltage: 7.2V-8.4 (grip) /3V (remote)
Working Temperature: 0 ~ 40°C
Applicable Battery (Not Included): 1-2pcs NP-FZ100 (for grip) / 2 x AAA batteries (remote)
Size: About 122*66*61 mm (grip) / 108*30*21mm (remote controller)
Weight (batteries not included): approx. 230g (grip) /32g (remote)

Tokina just announced this 400mm f/8 Reflex lens for E-mount

Tokina announced this 400mm f/8 Reflex lens which you can use on any Sony camera with the Adapter TA-013 for Sony E..

Press text:

Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF lens worldwide sales date announcement

Jul 17, 2020

Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. is pleased to announce the sales release of Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF lens.

Sales will commence on August 7, 2020.

Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF is a 400mm super tele lens that adopts catadioptric type optical design with a constant F8 aperture. The lens offers compact alternative to standard tele photo lenses as more and more photographers are looking for easy-to-carry gear. 400mm F8 Reflex MF is designed keeping in mind active travel photographers seeking for outdoor landscape, wild nature or birds by providing compact and lightweight lens to be rediscovered in the new era of also compact but high-tech mirrorless cameras.

Highlighted Features

  • Extremely compact and lightweight super tele lens
  • Macro shooting with 1:2.5 magnification
  • Specific donut-shaped and super smooth bokeh
  • Easy and precise focusing
  • Super compression effect
  • Versatile mount system for 5 camera mounts including 3 mirrorless mounts

Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF adopts 0.75mm pitch and 42mm thread mount standard, that allows this lens to be attached to any camera by using different mount adapters.

Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF can be required in Solo and Kit packages as below:

  • Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF (w/o mount adapter included)
  • Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF to fit Nikon F (with mount adapter included)
  • Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF to fit Canon EF (with mount adapter included)
  • Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF to fit Sony E (with mount adapter included)
  • Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF to fit Fujifilm X (with mount adapter included)
  • Tokina SZX SUPER TELE 400mm F8 Reflex MF to fit Micro 4/3 (with mount adapter included)

Mount adapters can be also purchased separately:

Just announced: New faster Luminar 4.3 with Sony A9II support

Skulym launched the new 4.3 version of Luminar (save $10 using our checkout code “SAR).

Peter Forsgård goes over the new feature:

Press text:

Luminar brings search, user experience improvements, 500px integration in the latest update
Luminar 4.3 adds a new crop interface, faster Looks experience, photo search, sharing through 500px, and performance improvements.

NEW YORK, NY – July 14, 2020 — Today, Skylum released the latest update for Luminar, version 4.3, focusing on enhancing the overall experience for creatives through several refinements and performance improvements.

“With its vast AI-centric features, Luminar 4 has become a state-of-the-art program for photographers and other creatives,” said Dima Sytnik, Co-Founder and CTO of Skylum. “With Luminar 4.3, we continue to optimize the user experience and focus on performance. We know that, with this update, post-processing workflows will become faster and will help photographers be able to get started quicker and easier than ever before.”

Available as a free update for all current Luminar 4 users, the latest update adds the ability to search photos, a user experience improvement to Looks, 500px integration, a new crop interface, and several performance improvements. It also brings a new space shuttle object, along with several improvements, for the AI Augmented Sky tool.

Luminar 3 users will also see the search function added in the program’s next update.

Photo search
With the new Search tool, photographers can find images in their library with ease. Search lets photographers find photos by name, folder, date, or extension, allowing for quick management of photos.

500px integration
Photographers can now share their photos with other creatives across the world on the 500px photo sharing platform.

Stability and performance improvements
Skylum continues its work on boosting performance in Luminar. With the 4.3 update, RAW files now open faster than ever before in Luminar, meaning photographers can start working on their images more quickly.

With the 4.3 update, Luminar tools also use less of the computer’s memory, resulting in quicker and more responsive sliders. What results is a smoother and snappier experience for creatives.

Those using older or less powerful computers should also see speed boosts to help them enhance their editing and management workflows.

Faster Looks experience
While Looks are a powerful part of the Luminar system, they can certainly add up as photographers bring in more packs and create their own Looks. Looks create a lot of data — everything from textures to AI content-aware tools which adapt to each image. Coupled with the amount of data within RAW files, there can be a slight delay in going through each Look.

Luminar 4.3 solves this issue, allowing photographers the ability to preview looks in an instant, just by hovering over them. In our demos and testing with photographers, the ability to preview Looks allowed photographers to browse them easier and make the decision on whether to go with the selected look much quicker.

Improvements to cropping
Crop & Rotate have seen a big update with Luminar 4.3, being moved to the right panel underneath Lens & Geometry. Photographers can open the tool and crop with ease and quicker than ever before. Windows users should also see a significant performance boost, letting photographers seamlessly crop their images.

AI Augmented Sky improvements
The AI Augmented Sky feature has taken creativity to new heights, enabling photographers to create composites that they never thought were possible. In Luminar 4.3, a new space shuttle object has been added to select from.

The AI Augmented Sky experience has also received several improvements. Photographers can easily flip objects and quickly position them, making it easy to perfect your piece of art! A marketplace section on the Luminar website has also been added, featuring objects for use with AI Augmented Sky.

Custom skies and sky objects
In the AI Sky Replacement and AI Augmented Sky tools, photographers can now comfortably access a custom folder of locally stored skies and sky objects. It’s also now easy to copy and paste multiple skies in the sky folder in just a few clicks, for convenient editing.

Camera support
Luminar 4.3 brings new camera support to recently released cameras. Now Luminar supports the Canon EOS-1D X Mark III (uncompressed only), FUJIFILM X100V, FUJIFILM X-T200, FUJIFILM X-T4, Leica SL2, Nikon Coolpix P950, Nikon D780, Nikon Z50, Olympus OM-D E-M1 Mark III, Olympus E-PL10, Panasonic DC-S1H, and the Sony A9 Mark II.

New masking brush workflow
The masking tool is now extremely easy to use, as masked areas are visible mid-process thanks to a transparent red mask. Enjoy viewing the instant effect of the tool for pleasant and fast editing.

Improvements to localization
Luminar 4.3 includes improvements to translations for all supported languages, and understands German, Japanese, Korean, Italian, French, and Spanish better than ever!

How to update
Luminar 4.3 is a free update to current Luminar 4 users. On a Mac, click in the Top Menu Bar and choose Luminar 4 > Check for updates. If you purchased via the Mac App Store, simply open the App Store and go to the Updates tab. On Windows, in the Top Menu Bar choose Help > Check for updates.

If you are running Luminar as a plugin with Photoshop, Lightroom Classic or Photoshop Elements, it’s also recommended you rerun the plugin installer.

An expanded user manual is also now available, making it easier than ever for users to search and find answers to questions they might have about the software.

Get your copy of Luminar 4 today!
Luminar 4 is available at a retail price of $89. Be sure to visit skylum.com to learn more and check out special offers throughout the summer.

Viltrox new 23mm f/1.4 APS-C E-mount lens announced and available for preorder

Vitlrox announced the new 23mm f/1.4 APS-C E-mount lens you can preorder now on their online store (Click here) and at Amazon US (use code “05I3H6GK” to save 5%).

Big Viltrox deal reminder:

You now save up to 15% on all products sold directly by the international Viltrox store (Click here to see all products). This includes one lens that is highly praised by reviewers and extremely cheap to buy: The new Viltrox 85mm f/1.8 II FE autofocus lens for Sony sells for $359 only.

And of course there is also a ton of E-mount adapters to buy :)

 

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

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