Mirrorless VS DSLR the debate: RAWtalk 147

The Mirrorless VS DSLR debate seems to be heating up as of late. For the last few years people have been championing their switch from DSLR to all different types of Mirrorless Systems. It’s now time for me to start to educate myself on all things Mirrorless so I can share my finds with everyone out there. I am in no way opposed to the emerging technologies but what I am opposed to are the people who are quick to jump ship because the wind is blowing one way.

This week I dedicated the entire Flying Solo portion of the show to questions about Mirrorless VS DSLR. My goal was to see what was on your minds as consumers and help to answer as many questions as I could. (37:45)

HOYA is this weeks sponsor. They just announced their new line of HD3 Series of professional filters designed for extreme environmental conditions. They are 4X Stronger than standard optional glass and 800% yes 800% harder than previous generations. They also have the ability to make water bead right off in case you are shooting gin a wet environment. The truth of the matter is, if you are someone who feels the need to add a UV filter to the end of your lens you can not go wrong with this new series. There are far more benefits to using a Hoya HD3 then simply blocking UV. It can cut down on glare which can lead to a sharper better image. It’s easier to clean when it gets dirty because of it’s special coating. It does protect your front element and much more. Check out more information right here.

Photo News with Stephen has started to take on a very interesting life of it’s own. Stephen hits us with some really solid news stories this week and Todd and I fill in with some color where needed.

Gear of the week plays perfectly into the title of this weeks show where we showcased a few different brands of popular Mirrorless cameras. Like I said above, flying solo was dedicated solely to discussing Mirrorless technologies and where I think the market is going.

We wrapped the show up with the Wheel of FRO so be sure to check out if you were the lucky wheel winner.

Thanks to RODE, Atomos, LEXAR (the official card of RAWtalk) and everyone else on the wheel of FRO.

Show Intro – 00:00:16
Photo News – 00:10:10
Gear of the Week – 00:34:10
Flying Solo – 00:37:45
Wheel of Fro – 01:13:10

Here’s all of Stephen’s photo news stories in detail:

Samsung Unveils World’s Largest SSD Hard Drive

Samsung unveiled what they’re calling the World’s largest capacity hard drive–a 16TB SSD. The new drive, called the PM1633a, is reported to cost at least $7,000 when it eventually hits the market. They showcased the new drive at the 2015 Flash Memory Summit in California last week in a server packed with 48 of these drives for a total storage capacity of 768 terabytes; whoa! (via AT)

MIT Creates HDR Camera That Will Never Overexpose an Image

MIT has created a camera that will NEVER overexpose a photograph. The scientists say no matter what the lighting situation is, the “Modulo Camera,” what they’re calling it, captures a high dynamic range photo every time. Instead of bracketing and capturing multiple exposures like traditional HDR photos too, this captures it in a single exposure. Here’s how it works: they combined new pixel architecture with a custom software recovery algorithm to make the camera. They say, “sensors collect charges just like buckets collect rain. If photons continue to hit the sensor after it is full, a conventional camera stays full. What our modular camera will do is it dumps the charges immediately to avoid saturation and then collect charges with a fresh start.” Basically, it’s constantly receiving information in the image, and never getting “full.” Lead scientist Hang Zhao says, “No more will photographers or even ordinary people have to fumble with aperture size and exposure length. The algorithm would enable people simply to click the camera button and let the computer deal with exposure problems.” Check out before and after sample photos taken with the camera below: (via IR)

Camera’s Memory Card Survives After Being In a Lake for 2 Years

It’s been awhile since we heard a story like this: a DSLR spent two years at the bottom of a lake and the memory card in it survived. A man named David McFadyen was exploring Laguna Lake in California, when he found a Canon Rebel T1i DSLR camera in a dry lake bed. He was able to find the owner after looking through photos from the camera’s SD card and seeing images from a bike race. After contacting some people from the race, he found out who the photographer was. The camera belonged to Kelly Donohue, who lost the camera while covering a charity bike race back in 2013. The crazy part is that the race was in a city over 15 miles away and Donahue has no idea how it ended up in the lake! Check out the full news report below; unfortunately they don’t name what memory card brand it was… (via KSBY)

Woman Photoshopped in 18 Different Countries by 18 Women Designers

A UK medical website called Superdrug Online Doctor conducted an experiment on women’s body image around the world. They sent a portrait of a half naked girl to 18 freelance designers in 18 different countries. They say, “The goal of this project is to better understand potentially unrealistic standards of beauty and to see how such pressures vary around the world.” Here’s the instructions given to the designers: “Photoshop her form. The idea is to Photoshop and retouch this woman to make her more attractive to the citizens of your country. We are looking to explore how perceptions of beauty change across the world. Multiple designers are involved. You can modify clothing, but her form must be visible. No nudity. All other changes, including those to her shape and form, are up to you.” They say, “We focused on female designers, as we wanted a woman’s view of what her culture finds attractive and to understand more about the pressures they face.” They then posted the returned Photoshopped images with each country looking extremely different. For example, China and Italy returned the thinnest Photoshopped figures, while Spain returned the heaviest. Check out the final results here. Clearly these weren’t the best designers… (via Mashable)

Images courtesy of Superdrug

Photographer Drops Leica M9 off Balcony: Camera Doesn’t Break–the Ground Does

Leica’s are built extremely tough, we all know this. Well, photographer Saigon Matches accidentally dropped his Leica M9 off a hotel balcony, and the camera didn’t break–the ground did! Here’s what happened: he was taking a picture of the camera sitting on the railing with another Leica camera and a wind gust blew it off the railing. When he ran to retrieve the camera, he found it only having some cosmetic damage including a dent on the metal lens hood and the leather case getting a little ripped up. What he did find damaged was the tile it landed on–the edge of the hotel pool–broke off. Check out a picture of the camera and broken tile below, it’s apparently still in working condition! (via PP)

Watch a Bullet Getting Shot Out of a Handgun at 73,000 FPS

The Mythbusters filmed a handgun getting shot at 73,000 frames per second. They put their Phantom v2010 camera to the test and slowed down the footage showcasing what the Discovery channel calls, “a dance of pressure and fire that would otherwise be missed by the unaided eye.” Just for perspective too: filming for one second with this camera would result in 50 minutes of playback at the standard 24 fps. Check out the video below; crazy. (via LS)

WATCH: Tiger Gets Loose During a Wild Animal Photoshoot

A Siberian tiger got accidentally loose in an abandoned Detroit warehouse while a photographer named David Yarrow was conducting a photoshoot with wild animals. Along with the tiger, there were two wolves and a bobcat, luckily they didn’t escape though. The tiger, which is 11-feet long and weighs 660 lbs, got loose and bunkered down in a stairwell on the fourth floor. One of the people involved in the shoot called Andy Didorosi for help, who brought a battery powered weed whacker with him. His first attempt to recover the tiger was holding up a blue tarp to scare the tiger down the stairway to its handlers. Well, the tarp idea didn’t work so he then charged it with a hedge trimmer which also didn’t work. Then, to make things worse, they got the weed whacker attachment and tried that, which the tiger swiped at, and also didn’t work. The handlers eventually got the tiger back into the truck, most likely with a tranquilizer. Apparently they got all the required permits needed for the animals and even notified the local police before the shoot, but the building owners say they let them use the warehouse without knowing the animals were involved. The best part is that the whole incident was caught on video too, which you can see below. Watch the full uncut video of the incident over on Facebook: (via Gizmodo)

There’s a new wearable gimbal for GoPro’s called the Feiyu WG Gimbal. The 3-axis gimbal is essentially a miniaturized version of Feiyu’s handheld gimbal. Users can mount the gimbal on nearly anything–helmets, bikes, cameras, and either horizontal, vertical or even inverted. It comes with two sets of rechargeable batteries with their charger and all the necessary mounting hardware including a 1/4″ tripod mount and even the standard GoPro prong mount, all in a hard case. It’ll work with the Hero 3 and up, and even has room to accommodate an LCD BacPac or Battery BacPac. It can also be used with any camera that uses the standard GoPro three-prong mount. My only gripe? The price. It retails for a whopping $319! Check out a preview video with sample footage from it below: (via FS)

New Prototype Tripod Designed To Be Used One-Handed

There’s a new prototype tripod that’s designed to be used one-handed. The prototype was created by Product Tank. The tripod can easily be expanded, adjusted, and collapsed with a single hand, since everything is controlled from a central hand grip. It looks like your standard tripod however, and has the same mounting options. It can hold any camera weighing up to 7.5 lbs and is made out of wood and aluminum. Here’s how it works: to expand the tripod on any terrain, just hold the tripod level and shoot the legs out with the grip. To move to a different location, just collapse, move, and re-shoot the legs again using the grip. In addition to controlling all the legs at once with the central hand grip, the length of individual legs can be fine-tuned with one hand as well. I’m sure this concept will make it to Kickstarter very soon. Check out a video from the creator below where he demonstrates the prototype: (via DIYP)

Rare Nikon 6mm Fisheye Lens Up For Sale

The ultra rare Nikkor 6mm f2.8 fisheye is up for sale on eBay and is going for nearly $56,000 USD. The lens, which was presented in 1972 with only a few being built, has a field of view of 220-degrees. The auction says the lens is not in the best condition though: the body has signs of wear, and there’s dust particles inside the lens. Feel free to spend your next new car savings here.

These Shotgun Shells Are Designed to Shoot Down Camera Drones

There’s a new shotgun shell designed specifically to shoot down camera drones. Called Drone Munition, the shells are manufactured by ammunition company Snake River. The company says, “With the ability to carry on board cameras, drones have been and are being used for spying on unsuspecting neighbors and others without their permission. With little regulation surrounding drone use, there is much confusion about what a person may do to defend against drone threats.” The packaging looks like Judgement Day too, with drones roaming the grayscale sky, with a note saying “PREPARE FOR THE DRONE APOCALYPSE!” The rounds are a “12 gauge 3” shot shell solution that carries a proprietary ferromagnetic ballistic payload “that will effectively disable a drone encroaching your property’s airspace.” Oh, and they say when not being used on drones, the round is also suitable for hunting ducks, geese, or turkeys… Price wise, it’s $22 for a box of 25 rounds, nearly $1 a round. Will you be preparing for the drone apocalypse?! (via PP)