FroKnowsPhoto RAWtalk 212: The Lily Drone is DEAD, Leica M10 costs $6,500 and My New App Is Here
Download MyGearVault right now in the Apple App Store right here.
Welcome back to another episode of RAWtalk. For those who don’t know, RAWtalk is now every other week to allow us the ability to focus on some other really cool projects.
We had a busy few weeks with being in Las Vegas thanks to RODE microphone as well as releasing my new app MyGearVault. In this episode we share stories about our trip, how the app works, photo news, gear of the week and much more.
Be sure to subscribe on iTunes, YouTube or anywhere else you enjoy consuming RAWtalk.
A BIG thank you to Maverick Helicopters for taking us and one lucky Fro fan for a flight over Las Vegas.
00:16 Show Starts
05:17 My Gear Vault App Trailer
13:25 Over Priced Compared To Mine?
19:36 Rode Las Vegas Trip
24:11 Maverick Helicopter
31:01 Fro Team Golfing
32:20 The Big Event
37:44 Photo News: New Leica
39:07 The Piece Sign Is Dangerous
41:05 Fro Factory Internet Speed
42:55 Lily Drone Dies
45:30 360 Inauguration Photo, Really 220?
46:52 Meredith Checks In
48:26 Presidential Portrait Taken With What?
55:05 Pete Souza Mini Doc
54:27 VSCO Shuts NY Location
55:53 Adobe Voice Commands
58:45 New Rode Microphones
1:03:53 Meet Todd’s New Boss
1:10:13 New Fugi Cameras
1:10:57 Gear of the Week
1:14:34 Flying Solo
1:42:41 Wheel of Fro
1:47:14 Memes of the Week
1:53:03 Hashtags of the Week
Here’s all of Stephen’s photo news stories in detail:
Introducing the All-New Leica M10
Leica has announced their all-new M10 rangefinder. Saying it “embodies the essence of photography like no other camera before,” the new digital rangefinder now comes equipped with an ISO dial on the top plate. The field of view in the rangefinder has increased as well by 30%. The M10 has a new 24MP full-frame CMOS sensor too which Leica says has a “unique pixel and microlens architecture,” which allows better image results at all apertures. ISO capability has been expanded from 100 – 50,000, up from a previous max of 6400. The M10 will come with a new Maestro II image processor, which has a 2GB memory buffer that allows photographers to shoot a continuous burst at 5 fps for up to 16 frames. The back on the camera is minimalist in design, with only the LCD screen, a few buttons and a D-pad. Another first for this camera is built-in WiFi, which will allow for DNG-transferring on-the-go. Users will also be able to remotely control the camera. The M10 is already shipping for $6,595. In the meantime, check out the full hands-on video with the camera below:
Warning: Throwing Up the “Peace” Sign in Photos Could Lead to Identity Theft
Researchers at Japan’s National Institute of Informatics are warning that throwing up the “peace” sign in photos may lead to identity theft. However, it’s only if the two-fingered pose has your fingertips pointing AT the camera, which they’re saying could lead to someone stealing your fingerprint information. They specifically warn of the possibility of hacking into your smartphone with a Touch ID-like security system. The researchers tested their claim by trying to copy fingerprints from photos taken by a digital camera. They were able to scan them from the photos taken 3 meters away (~9 feet) from the subject. Although, they claim it only works if your fingers are in focus with the proper lighting conditions. The researchers aren’t just warning of identity theft, they’re actually offering a solution too: they have developed a transparent film you can attach to your fingers and hide the prints. It contains titanium oxide and prevents anyone from scanning your fingerprints and stealing them from the photos. At the same time, it doesn’t interfere with identity verification with your phone. This tech won’t be ready for a couple more years though, so in the meantime—wear gloves… (via DIYP)
RIP: The Lily Drone
The Lily drone, the drone we’ve been waiting for (for nearly 2 years!) that saw over $34 million in pre-orders, has officially been cancelled. In a letter sent out to customers last week, titled “The Adventure Comes to an End,” Lily co-founders Antoine and Henry say that they’ve spent the past year “racing against a clock of ever-diminishing funds.” They say, “over the past few months, we have tried to secure financing in order to unlock our manufacturing line and ship our first units – but have been unable to do this. As a result, we are deeply saddened to say that we are planning to wind down the company and offer refunds to customers,” so it’s officially dead-in-the-water. Lily is allegedly also being sued by the San Francisco District Attorney’s office, claiming that Lily Robotics “lured” prospective customers by creating a promotional video using “[a] much more expensive, professional camera drone that requires two people to operate.” The DA’s office obtained a court order requiring that Lily return all the money it raised from consumers, so if you were one of the many to pre-order the drone, you will be automatically fully refunded in the next 60 days. “It does not matter if a company is established or if it is a startup,” DA George Gascón said in a statement, “Everyone in the market must follow the rules. By protecting consumers, we protect confidence in our system of commerce.” The question is, where will they get all of the money to refund their customers if they were already “racing against a clock of ever-diminishing funds”? (via PP / SFG)
CNN Unveils Massive 360-Degree Interactive Gigapixel Image of Trump’s Inauguration
CNN released a “360-degree” gigapixel photo of President Trump’s inauguration. The interactive photo can be zoomed in and panned around over on CNN’s website. They even had preset zoomed-in locations that you can click on, showing you the VIPs of the inauguration, including Trump himself, the Obamas, the Clintons, Jimmy Carter and more. The question that everybody has on their mind though—what was this taken with? Click the image below to check out the historic gigapixel image: (via CNN)
President Trump’s Official Portrait Was Taken with a 10-Year-Old Camera
On the topic of the new administration, President Trump also had his official portrait taken this past week, which was shot on a Canon 1Ds Mark III—a 10-year old camera that is now discontinued. Along with the DSLR from 2007, it was shot with a Canon 70-200mm f/2.8L IS lens—the Mark I edition—another old piece of gear. By comparison, Obama’s official portrait was taken by Pete Souza in 2009 with a brand new camera at the time, the 5D Mark II, which is actually newer than the 1Ds Mark III by a year. When he was re-elected in 2013, his portrait was taken with another new camera at the time, the 5D Mark III. Trump’s portrait was shot at 145mm at f/2.8 1/320 ISO 640. What do you think? Does it matter what the official portrait was shot with? Or should you use the “best of the best” gear when photographing the most important man in the U.S.? Click the image below to see the full-resolution photo in all of its glory–is it just me or does it seem to be slightly out of focus?
This is What it Was Like to be Obama’s Official Photographer
Continuing with Souza, CBS Sunday Morning released a new 5-minute mini-doc looking back at the past 8 years that Souza spent with the Obama administration, which is his second stint as the White House photographer, he also was a White House photographer for the Reagan administration. Averaging 2000 photos a day, the doc showcases some of Souza’s most iconic images out of his roughly 2-million-photo catalog that he has of the Obama administration. Obama explains in the video why he chose him as the official White House photographer, saying “I loved his pictures. not only does he have an amazing eye, not only are his pictures evocative, accurate, and creative, but, he’s also become a great friend and somebody I trust.” Souza says he was able to take pictures at all times, saying “I basically go in whenever I want and stay in as long as I want.” Obama added to that noting that “he understands how to get his shot without being obtrusive.” Check out the video below: (via PP)
This is President Trump’s Official White House Photographer
Shealah Craighead is now Trump’s official White House photographer for his term. White House press secretary Sean Spicer has confirmed the news this week. She previously held positions as photo editor for the Office of Vice President Cheney, an Official White House Photographer, and personal photographer for former First Lady Laura Bush. She also served as Governor and Vice Presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s campaign photographer in 2008. Will she make Souza proud? We’ll see… (via Politico)
VSCO Closes Down NYC Branch, No More Free Public Studio
VSCO has officially shut down their New York City office and layed off its entire NYC staff. The photo sharing and film emulation company say they’re “centralizing” their workforce at the company’s headquarters in Oakland, CA: “In an effort to align operations with our evolving business needs, we are centralizing and expanding our team in Oakland at VSCO’s HQ, and have closed our New York office in the process.” The NYC office just opened less than 6 months ago and will shut down along with its recently announced free public photo studio. VSCO also has an office in Denver, but at this time doesn’t seem to be shutting that branch down. VSCO’s website also currently lists job openings for both its Denver and Oakland locations… (via TC)
Future Adobe Mobile Platforms Will Let You Edit Photos with Your Voice
Adobe is building in a voice-assistant into their mobile editing software, enabling users to edit with their voice. In the preview video posted, the Siri-like assistant responds to your commands-if you say you want to crop it square, it listens and crops it square. You want to post to Facebook? It will post directly to Facebook after the command has been spoken. The Adobe Research team says, “We combined the emerging science of voice interaction with a deep understanding of both creative workflows and the creative aspirations of our customers. Our speech recognition system is able to directly accept natural user voice instructions for image editing either locally through on-device computing or through a cloud-based Natural Language understanding service.” They add that it’s “a first step towards a robust multimodal voice-based interface.” Very cool! (via ISO1200)
Rode Upgrades the VideoMic Pro, Introduces New Microphone That Captures “3D” Audio
Rode microphones has revealed a new set of products during their RODEShow 50th anniversary event that we attended last week. One of the major mics announced is their new Videomic Soundfield, which is the first-ever microphone designed to capture “3D” audio. Rode recently acquired Soundfield, a pioneer in the world of 360 degree audio, which allowed them to create this complicated microphone. It uses four capsules to record audio in all directions. They also announced an upgrade to their beloved VideoMic Pro with the VideoMic Pro+. Specs for this include separate control for output levels, two-stage high-pass filter at 75 & 150Hz, a new detachable 3.5mm socket which allows use with both cameras and TRRS phone sockets. It has an improved microfibre windshield and now takes 2x AA batteries—no more 9V battery! It also accepts a new RØDE LB1 LiIon battery pack with in-mic charging, or users can power it externally via a new USB socket. Another new addition is the power to the mic will also automatically turn on or off with the camera—no more forgetting to turn it off! No pricing has been announced just yet for these new mics but Rode assured us that they are “affordable.” There were several other microphones announced as well which you can see in their full 30-minute introduction video below:
Fuji Announces the X-T20 and X-100F
Fuji has announced both the X-T20 and X-100F. Notable specs for the X-T20 include a new 24.3MP APS-C CMOS sensor, an increased ISO range of 12800, a new tilting touchscreen LCD. The camera has 91 AF points, with 40% of the imaging area covered by phase detection points. It comes equipped with an improved AF algorithm with better accuracy on low-contrast and finely detailed subjects. It has a 2,360K-dot OLED viewfinder and can shoot UHD 4K video at 29.97p, 25p, 24p, 23.98p at 100 Mbps. The X-T20 has Wi-Fi control and is also weather and dust resistant to 32°F. Moving on to the X-100F: It sports a new 24.3MP X-Trans CMOS III APS-C sensor and comes with a 23mm f/2 lens. It has an advanced hybrid viewfinder with user-adjustable magnification in rangefinder mode for improved focusing accuracy. It is much faster with improved performance times, including 0.5-second startup time, 0.2-second shooting interval, 0.01-second shutter lag, and AF speed as fast as 0.08 seconds. It has 91 AF points, with 40% of the imaging area covered by phase detection points. It comes with a new ACROS film simulation with optional grain simulation (available on all simulations). On the outside, it has a built-in ISO dial, built-in three-stop ND filter and an electronic shutter with speeds up to 1/32,000/s. It also has a nifty digital teleconverter option with 50mm and 70mm-equivalent angles of view and is Wi-Fi-enabled just like every other camera on the market in 2017. Both cameras will be available in March and are now up for preorder. The X-T20 clocks in at $899 for the body only, with the X-100F coming in at $1299. Will you be upgrading?
