Exclusive Sneak Peek of the FroKnowsPhoto TV Show: RAWtalk 154

Let’s get right to it, we filmed what we are calling the Pilot episode of the FroKnowsPhoto Show. We give you a sneak peek of the intro at 11:46 of this weeks RAWtalk. Many of you remember when we did RAWtalk from the Grand Canyon, well while we were there we did much more. We filmed an entire episode of a “reality” show centered around travel, adventure and photography. Check out the trailer for yourself and let us know what you think.

This weeks show is brought to you by ATOMOS. The NEW Atomos Assassin which we so happen to be using this week is an extremely adorable 4k monitor and recorder. We love this recorder because not only do we get a clean signal from our cameras sensors via HDMI we get a HUGE 7 inch monitor and a 4k recorder. Getting all of that for an affordable price is insane. I keep saying it, you could pay the same amount for just a monitor without the recording option. You might as well get this bad boy, check out Atomos.com

Todd brought in his maternity photos from when his wife was pregnant with his daughter. I must say, Todd’s face and look in the video is just priceless. Check it out.

We have Photo News with Stephen, Flying Solo and the Wheel Of FRO.

Thank you guys for your continued support and watching the show each and every week, we appreciate your support.

Show Intro – 00:00:16
TV Show Teaser – 00:07:57
Todd’s Prego Pics – 00:13:30
Photo News – 00:18:00
Flying Solo – 00:58:19
Wheel of Fro – 01:29:22

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

CMOS Inventor Working On New Gigapixel Sensor

The inventor of the CMOS sensor, Eric Fossum, says he’s working on a new GIGAPIXEL sensor that will push low light photography. He says the new sensor will cram a BILLION pixels onto a sensor no larger than the ones we use today, and that each of those pixels are designed to detect SINGLE photons, since the pixels are so small. Fossum adds that, “Light consists of photons, little bullets of light that activate our neurons and make us see light(…)We were able to build a new kind of pixel with a sensitivity so high we could see one electron above all the background noise. These new pixels are able to sense and count a single electron for the first time without resorting to extreme measures.” They’re calling the new sensor the Quanta Image Sensor (QIS for short). It’s not just about pixels though: “In the QIS, the goal is to count every photon that strikes the image sensor, and to provide resolution of 1 billion or more specialized photoelements per sensor.” The photo capture happens very fast too: the sensor is apparently able to read the pixels thousands of times per second, resulting in TERABITS of data being read every second–could you imagine the file size? The researchers want to make it easy for camera manufacturers to swap out current CMOS sensors too. They say, “We deliberately wanted to invent it in a way that is almost completely compatible with today’s CMOS image sensor technology so it’s easy for industry to adopt it.” Will this become the industry standard one day? (via phys.org)

Apple Updates iMac Display to 4K, Updates Accessories with Charging Ports

Apple has unveiled a new 4K 21.5-inch iMac. Photographers and graphic designers will love this: the new screen now includes red-green phosphor LEDs. The change helps all retina iMac models display 25 percent more color thanks to better red and green color reproduction. The 4K iMac also features faster RAM, a beefier processor, and improved graphics hardware as expected. Price wise, it will start at $1500 for the base model. Now the 27-inch iMac’s 5K retina display will also come standard with the new color gamut upgrade for those wanting a bigger screen. To go along with the new 4K-shooting iPhone 6s, Apple is also updating iMovie to now support 4K video. Plus, they updated their accessories including the Magic Trackpad, Magic Mouse and Magic Keyboard. They all now come with integrated rechargeable batteries. The internal batteries are rated to last a month too and can be recharged via a new lightning port on each device. If you need to use the device quickly and can’t wait for charging, they say you can get nine hours of life on a mere TWO minutes of charging; wow! All of the new devices come at a more expensive price point though, with the Magic Mouse 2 coming in at $79, the Magic Keyboard at $99, and the Magic Trackpad 2 at $129. Keep in mind the price makes up for having to buy AA batteries all the time…

Introducing the DroneDefender: An Anti-Drone Rifle

A company called Battelle has developed a new anti-drone rifle called the DroneDefender that “shoots down” UAV’s with radio waves. Here’s how it works: when the trigger is pulled, the gun emits a blast of electromagnetic energy tuned to the most common GPS and ISM frequencies, safely disabling the drone and preventing it from accepting any additional commands from its operator. Alex Morrow, technical director of the project, says “It can help us in numerous settings, from the White House lawn to bases and embassies overseas; from prisons and schools to historic sites.” The weapon weighs roughly ten pounds and looks like a futuristic rifle. And get this, it can target drones up to 400 meters away! Check out the preview video of it in action below: (via Engadget)

Woman Does Handstand Yoga Pose on Live Train Tracks For Instagram, Gets Arrested

A woman has been arrested for taking a photo of her doing a yoga pose handstand for Instagram on LIVE train tracks! Security camera footage caught her and a friend (the “photographer”) climbing onto the Metrorail tracks at a station close to Washington, DC at West Falls Church. The woman’s name has not been released, but it appears to be Instagram user and yoga enthusiast @holly_bentley_, who has since deleted her Instagram (I wonder why…). She is scheduled to appear in court to face trespassing charges later this month. It looks like the photographer has NOT been arrested or charged at the time of writing this article too which I find odd. Keep in mind, the DC Metrorail uses the Third Rail System, which means that largest third rail on the track has 750 volts actively running through it which could easily kill you… (via NBC4)

Lexar Announces World’s Fastest XQD 2.0 Cards

Lexar has announced the world’s fastest XQD 2.0 card. The new 2933x memory card has read speeds up to 440 mb/s. They also have the new 1400x XQD 2.0 card which offers read speeds up to 210 mb/s. The former will cost $440.54 for a 128GB card, $234.95 for the 64GB card, and $127.26 for the 32GB version, with the latter coming in at $137.05 for the 64GB card or $88.10 for the 32GB size. Users who buy these cards can also grab their fast new XR2 reader which can pair with any Lexar Smarthub for $48.05. Now if only camera manufacturers would support XQD cards… (via NR)

Canon Offers FREE Extended Warrently Program On New High-End Gear

Canon is offering a new extended warranty promotion called CarePAK PLUS on qualifying high-end camera bodies and lenses now through Jan. 9. Here’s what the warranty includes: 13 months of FREE coverage, including ACCIDENTAL damage, drops, spills, or wear and tear. Free shipping to-and-from the Canon USA repair facility. Their “No lemon guarantee”: if an item receives the same repair three times, Canon will replace it free of charge. No Deductible for any repair or replacement, ever. the CarePAK PLUS program is also transferable if you decide to ever sell or gift your gear. Here’s what’s covered when you buy from a Canon Authorized Dealer: EOS-1D X, 5DS, 5DS R, 5D Mark III, 6D and the 7D Mark II. Here are the lenses included: EF 17-40mm f/4L USM, 100mm f/2.8L Macro IS USM, 50mm f/1.2L USM, 16-35mm f/2.8L II USM, 24-70mm f/2.8L II USM, 85mm f/1.2L II USM, 70-200mm f/2.8L IS II USM and the 100-400mm f/4.5-5.6L IS II USM. High-end camera kits are also covered too, so if both the body and lens in the kit will be covered.

Canon Introduces Entry-Level Mirrorless Camera: The EOS M10

Speaking of Canon, they also announced their new entry-level mirrorless camera, the EOS M10. Designed for social media gurus, Canon says the camera is perfect for photographing “selfie moments” and shooting “sharp images that are sure to draw ‘Likes’.” Spec wise, it has a 180-degree tilting 3-inch touchscreen LCD, an 18MP APS-C CMOS sensor with a DIGIC 6 processor, an ISO range of 100-12,800 (expandable up to 25,600), shoots 4.6fps with a Hybrid CMOS AF II system, 1080P at 30fps, a “Self Portrait Mode” which has smoothing skin effects, a “Creative Assist Mode” with Instagram-like filters, a built-in retractable flash and WiFi/NFC connectivity. It’ll be available next month paired with a 15-45mm f/3.5-6.3 IS STM lens for $600. Check out the demo video below which features sample images:

Wedding Photographers Team Up For Choreographed Dance with Bride & Groom

A group of wedding photographers teamed up with a bride and groom in Albania for a special choreographed dance at their wedding. Seen in the video, the photographers dance in sync with their camera gear in hand. The best part is that the photographers built in moments to take posed pictures that were actually part of the choreography. The photographers wore matching attire too, complete with suspenders and bow ties. Just another thing to add to your services, a choreographed dance routine… (via PP)

Man Comes Across $5 Million Junk Shop Find with Rare Billy The Kid Photo

A man named Randy Guijarro was looking around in a junk shop and came across an interesting 4×5 tintype photo that he ended up purchasing for $2. Well fast forward to earlier this month, he found out the image is actually an extremely rare photo of Billy the Kid that’s worth up to $5 million. The photo shows Billy the Kid and members from his gang, The Regulators, playing croquet in the Summer of 1878 after a wedding, which makes sense that they’re officially calling it, “The Billy the Kid Croquet Match Tintype.” The image is only the 2nd picture of the infamous outlaw ever to be authenticated. The Western American experts of Kagin’s took a year to authenticate the image, investigating every person in the shot, the site where the photo was made, and even used digital facial recognition. National Geographic even shot a two-hour documentary about the rare image which aired this past Sunday. The other photo of Billy The Kid was sold back in 2011 for $2.3 million, becoming the 4th most expensive photo ever sold at the time. Wow… (via TG)

Sony Unveils RX1R II with World’s 1st Variable OLPF

Sony has announced the new RX1R II which features the World’s first optical variable low-pass filter. The new OLPF filter can be turned on or off, allowing photographers to choose from either increased sharpness or reduced moire. It has an “off,” “standard,” or “high” mode where you can even choose to bracket your shots, rapidly shooting photos with the low-pass filter toggling between those three settings. Other main specs include a 42.4MP full frame Exmor R CMOS sensor, an ISO range of 100-25600 (expandable from 50-102,400), it’s 3.5x faster than its predecessor, it’s paired with a fixed 35mm f/2 Zeiss Sonnar T* lens, has 1/2000th sec flash sync with its in-lens shutter, a 2.4 million dot EVF that pops up and down, a tilting LCD screen, a 399 focal-plane phase-detection system that covers 45% of the image area — which is the world’s widest coverage on a full-frame sensor, shoots uncompressed 14-bit RAW, 1080P at 60fps, and has WiFi/NFC connectivity. Price wise, it’ll be available next month for–get this–$3,300! Would you pay that kind’ve money? Check out official sample photos here.

B&H Accused of Discrimination and Poor Workplace Safety by Employees

B&H is being accused of discrimination and poor workplace safety: 200 warehouse workers teamed up to publicly denounce B&H this past week, accusing them of racial discrimination, unsafe working environments and wage theft at their Brooklyn warehouses. The employees teamed up to form a union campaign with Laundry Workers Center and the United Steelworkers. They’re calling for B&H to recognize their new union and “to fix dangerous workplace conditions, end discrimination against Latino employees, and stop wage theft at their two Brooklyn warehouses.” The 200 warehouse employees flooded into B&H protesting and chanting for justice, which you can see in the video below. They’re also demonstrating on the sidewalk of their NYC superstore. Website Al Jazeera America published a news report where they interviewed a handful of the disgruntled employees involved. One of the reports include a man who had a spine injury on the job and who is still working 13 hour shifts–saying he was also not properly trained, which caused the injury. Other accusations include a lack of gloves that they claim B&H says is too expensive to get. Workers also claim to be working in dust and fiberglass/asbestos insulation areas. B&H has responded, saying “We have committed, devoted, hard-working employees who enjoy above-industry salaries, generous benefit packages, 17 paid days off annually, and 3-weeks vacation time. We could not have grown from where we began to what we are now without the help of our employees, nor could we have grown had we not had the same commitment to our diverse teams of over 2000 employees that we have to our loyal customer base. Our staff is a key to our success, and we are proud of our average employee tenure in our distribution and fulfillment center of more than five years. B&H provides terrific benefits, highly competitive wages and a safe, friendly environment. B&H has been and remains committed to the satisfaction of our employees.” Now this isn’t the first time this has been reported: B&H has had multiple discrimination lawsuits over the years: a settled $4.3 million one in 2007 by Latino workers, another in 2009 by female workers, and a third in 2011 by another two Latino workers. Check out the full report by Al Jazeera America here. (via AJA)

Apollo Moon Photos Turned Into Stop Motion Journey

Vimeo user Harrisonicus released a new video that took those 8400 Apollo moon mission photos we recently talked about and turned them into an interesting stop motion video that takes you to the moon and back. The images have been put into chronological order, making you feel like you were there too. The video, which can be seen below, has since been selected as a Vimeo Staff pick. (via PP)

Apollo Moon Photos Brought To Life with 3D Motion

And on the topic, another person took some of those images and added motion to them. Director of Photography Tom Kucy added 3D motion to the stills, making them appear like slow motion out-of-this-world clips. He used both After Effects and Photoshop to make them come to life, with the end product being a 2-minute 4K short film he calls “Ground Control.” (via PP)