FroKnowsLEGOS, Cooled Nikon Cameras and Ai Critique Robot: FroKnowsPhoto RAWtalk #201
Everything is SO AWESOME right now here at FroKnowLegos, how cool is our LEGO Loft??? Turns out Dan decided to take the LEGO discussion to extremes one night and spent a few hours turning a bunch of LEGOS into RAWtalk and my loft, how do you think he did?
The JIGUNDA HUGE Camera Giveaway Contest II is in full swing. It is brought to you by me by the way. If you would like to win your choice of a Canon 5D Mark IV, Nikon D810 or Sony A7RII please go to FroKnowsPhoto.com/jigunda-2 to get entered.
There’s a whole bunch of photo news including two NEW Sony cameras, the A6500 and the RX 100 Mark V. A picture of Abe Lincoln sold for $24,000 and now a ROBOT will critique your photos.
We have FLYING Solo quesitons being asked via video, Gear of the Week, The Wheel Of FRO and finally MEME’s. Stay tuned at the very end of the show for a special cribs style tour of my loft as LEGOS.
00:16 Fro Knows LEGOS
01:15 Does Dan Really Stutter?
04:00 Meredith Checks In
04:46 Taco Bell Becky Checks In
05:18 Mega Huge JIGUNDA II Announcement
07:27 Photo News
07:44 Sony A6500
10:24 Sony RX 100 Mark 5
11:56 D5500a Cooled
12:49 Remember Joe Cool?
16:38 Historic Photo of Abe Lincoln
19:39 New “AI” Photo Critic
21:19 Wedding Photographer Robbed!
23:01 Shooting Photos Literally
24:21 Lens Baby Trio 28
27:28 I SHOOT JPEG
29:05 Gear of the Week
32:58 Flying Solo
51:52 Wheel of Fro
57:22 Memes of the Week
1:04:22 Hashtags of the Week
1:06:20 Tour of the RawTalk LEGO Loft
Here’s all of Stephen’s photo news stories in detail:
Sony Unveils the a6500, Just 8 Months After the a6300
Sony has unveiled the a6500, an upgrade to their just-released a6300 which has been out for barely eight months. Calling it the fastest APS-C mirrorless camera in terms of autofocus, and boasting the most AF points of any camera in its category, the a6500 comes packed with 425 phase detection AF points, which is the same amount as the a6300. However, notable changes include Sony’s in-camera 5-axis Steadyshot IS, with this being the first APS-C camera to house it. It now also comes with a touchscreen LCD which can be used as a touchpad when shooting to change focus points—still no physical joystick though. The buffer has also increased quite a bit, going from 44 RAW frames in a row to 107 subsequent shots until the buffer fills. It’ll shoot 4K and has touch focus during video recording. The outside of the camera looks nearly identical, except it’s a tad bigger because of the built-in IS. The a6500 will be available next month for $1400, with the a6300 remaining at $1000. Will you be upgrading?
Introducing the Sony RX100 V: the Fastest Compact Camera on the Market
They’ve also released the RX100 V. With this one, Sony is saying it has the world’s fastest autofocus speed, continuous shooting and the most AF points of any compact camera, This camera also looks more like a refinement more than a major upgrade. The Mark V has 315 focus points with the same sensor as before. New features include a faster processor, jumping from 16 to 24 fps (for up to 150 RAW photos in a row), courtesy of its new front-end LSI chip, which also improves high ISO capability. It’ll be available later this month for the same price as the mark IV: $1000.
The “Nikon D5500a Cooled” is an Astrophotographer’s Dream Camera
We have a new 3rd party modified version of the Nikon D5500 being offered by Primalucelab called the “D5500a Cooled.” The company created a special cooling system mount for the camera, hence the named “Cooled” which they say reduces noise during long exposure photos, like astrophotography. They note that cooled-CCD cameras tend to have better performance with long exposures so they wanted to bridge the gap and turn a DSLR into a cooled camera. Unlike cooled-CCD cameras though, the D5500a doesn’t require a computer to use. The mod itself is a giant box that gets mounted on the back of the camera behind the swivel LCD screen and cools the camera up to 80 degrees less than the ambient temperature. It features a top LCD that reads the current sensor temperature, desired temp and speed of fan. They also removed the front filter on the sensor, replacing it with their own high-sensitivity filter. The new camera uses an anti-dewing system so no moisture is left inside the camera as well. The modified camera can be purchased now for about $2400, compared to the standard $650 normal D5500. Check out the sample photo below that they posted which shows significantly less noise at ISO 6400 with the cooled D5500a compared to the standard camera. Would you rather this over the D810a or 60Da? (via PP)
Rare Print of Abraham Lincoln’s First Inauguration Sold at Auction for $27K
The historic photo of Abraham Lincoln’s first inauguration in front of the Capitol back in 1861 has officially sold at auction for $27,500. One of the rare prints in existence, a 10×12-inch salt print—this one mounted in 1861—sold last week by Sotheby’s who’s calling it “a landmark in the history of photography and among the most impressive examples of early documentary photography.” The image is thought to have been taken by Alexander Gardner, and is so rare in print form that only three other similar prints exist. Fun fact, snipers can be seen through the windows and on the roof of the Capitol in the photo, since at the time there were rumors of his assassination. (via DR)
This AI Bot Named Keegan Wants to Critique Your Photos
Fast forward to current technology, there’s a new online photo critic, except he only lives online, an AI bot named Keegan. Dubbed “the photo coach,” Keegan was created by Regaind, and trained by professional photographers. He will critique your photo, giving you both technical and artistic feedback. Here’s how it works: you simply drag and drop a photo into the website, Keegan will then give you feedback and rate the photo on a scale of 1-10. See what he has to say about your own photos here. (via PP)
Wedding Photographer Robber of Their Gear While Shooting a Wedding
A wedding photographer named Alyssa Stone got all of her gear stolen out of a church pew while shooting a wedding in Boston. What’s even worse is that it was stolen during communion, right as the bride and groom were about to walk down the aisle. Luckily, she had both her bodies with her main lenses on her at the time so they weren’t taken. Losing $4,000 worth of gear including prime lenses, memory cards and more, she has since started a Gofundme campaign which has already raised her proposed $2000 goal. Also, she was the 2nd shooter so the couple still got a majority of their photos from that day fortunately. (via Fox 25)
Army Photographer Shows You How He Literally Shoots Photos in Combat
British Army photographer Rupert Frere released footage of his time spent in Afghanistan, where he has first-person POV helmet camera video of him taking the term shooting photos quite literally, switching between his rifle and camera during the video. In an interview with Photography.news, he explains how War photography is his “Favorite” kind of photography: “[War photography] is easy as there is emotion and interesting things everywhere you look. All I needed to do is stay alive and take photos. Normally, I’m the only one taking photos with the patrol so every image is unique.” That’s a dangerous job, but somebody has to do it. (via PP)
Lensbaby Releases Trio Lens for Mirrorless Cameras
Lensbaby released a new lens called the Trio 28, which is technically three different lenses in one. Specifically designed for mirrorless cameras, the Trio 28 simply twists to alternate to a different lens or effect, going from the “sweet” lens which has a central “sweet spot” in focus while blurring the rest of the frame. Then you have the “twist” mode which gives you swirly bokeh similar to a Petzval lens and “velvet” which adds a soft dream-like look to your images. The manual lens unit itself is 28mm with a fixed f/3.5 aperture. Coming in Sony E, Fuji X and Micro 4/3 mounts, it’ll be available later this month for $280.
“The Video Jared Polin Doesn’t Want You To See!”
Then we’ve got my favorite news story of the week: introducing “I Shoot JPG”—a satirical video promoting shooting JPG over RAW. The video title reads: “I SHOOT JPG: The video Jared Polin, FroKnowsPhoto, doesn’t want you to see!” Made by photographer Taylor Jackson, the video shows him driving, having deep thoughts about shooting JPG, with the video all done in B&W. The video ends with “Jared is going to be so disappointed by me…” Check it out below in all of its glory:
