In photography, bokeh (originally /ˈboʊkɛ/,^[1] /ˈboʊkeɪ/ boh-kay — also sometimes pronounced as /ˈboʊkə/boh-kə,^[2] Japanese: [boke]) is the aesthetic quality of the blur produced in the out-of-focus parts of an image produced by a lens.^[3][4][5] Bokeh has been defined as “the way the lens renders out-of-focus points of light”.^[6] Differences in lens aberrations and aperture shape cause some lens designs to blur the image in a way that is pleasing to the eye, while others produce blurring that is unpleasant or distracting—”good” and “bad” bokeh, respectively.^[7] Bokeh occurs for parts of the scene that lie outside the depth of field. Photographers sometimes deliberately use a shallow focus technique to create images with prominent out-of-focus regions.

Bokeh is often most visible around small background highlights, such as specular reflections and light sources, which is why it is often associated with such areas.^[7] However, bokeh is not limited to highlights; blur occurs in all out-of-focus regions of the image.

Source: Bokeh – Wikipedia

RawTherapee is a cross-platform raw image processing program,[2] released under the GNU General Public License Version 3. It was originally written by Gábor Horváth of Budapest, Hungary, before being re-licensed as free and open-source software in January 2010.[3] It is written in C++, using a GTK+ front-end and a patched version of dcraw for reading raw files. It is notable for the advanced control it gives the user over the demosaicing and developing process. The name used to stand for “The Experimental R

Source: RawTherapee – Wikipedia

Raw Therapee Manual_en

Mamiya

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

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Mamiya Digital Imaging Co., Ltd.

Type	Camera and lens manufacturer
Industry	Digital imaging and photography
Founded	May 1940
Headquarters	Tokyo, Japan
Key people	Seiichi Mamiya, founder
Products	Cameras, Optical and other products
Number of employees	200
Parent	Phase One
Website	Mamiya Japan Mamiya Leaf

Mamiya Digital Imaging Co., Ltd. (マミヤ・デジタル・イメージング マミヤ・デジタル・イメージング ー株式会社^?, Mamiya Dejitaru Imejingu Kabushiki-gaisha)^{[needs IPA]} is a Japanese company that manufactures high-end cameras and other related photographic and optical equipment. With headquarters in Tokyo, it has two manufacturing plants and a workforce of over 200 people. The company was founded in May 1940 by camera designer Seiichi Mamiya (間宮精一) and financial backer Tsunejiro Sugawara.

Contents

 [hide] 

• 1History
  • 1.1135 film
  • 1.2Medium format
  • 1.3Digital products
• 2Mamiya America Corporation
• 3Products
  • 3.16×4.5 cm format
  • 3.26×7 cm format
  • 3.3Lenses
• 4See also
• 5References
• 6External links

History[edit]

A Mamiya C3 twin lens reflex, from 1962.

Mamiya originally achieved fame for its professional medium-format film cameras such as the Mamiya Six and the Mamiya Press series. It later went on to develop the industry workhorse RB67 series, the RZ67 and the twin-lens reflex Mamiya C-series, used by advanced amateur and professional photographers.

Many Mamiya models over the past six decades have become collectors’ items. The earliest Mamiya Six medium-format folding camera, the 35 mm Mamiya-Sekor 1000DTL, the lightweight 35 mm Mamiya NC1000, the 6×6 cm medium-format C series of interchangeable-lens twin-lens reflex (TLR) cameras, and the press cameras of the Super/Universal series are highly valued. Mamiya also manufactured the last models in the Omega line of medium format cameras.

Mamiya entered other business markets over time by purchasing other companies.^[1] Until 2000, it made fishing equipment such as fishing rods and fishing reels. In 2006, the Mamiya Op Co., Ltd., Inc. transferred the camera and optical business to Mamiya Digital Imaging Co., Ltd. The original company, doing business as Mamiya-OP, continues to exist and makes a variety of industrial and electronics products. It also makes golf clubs, golf club shafts and grips, and golf balls through its subsidiaries Kasco and USTMamiya.^[2]

In 2009, Phase One, a medium format digital camera back manufacturer from Denmark, purchased a major stake in Mamiya. In 2012, Phase One combined Mamiya and another subsidiary, Leaf Imaging, created a new, worldwide Mamiya Leaf brand to integrate both companies’ product lines into one complete medium-format digital camera system offering. The re-branding offers a streamlined product development and establishment of a more efficient customer sales and support base.

135 film[edit]

Mamiya started manufacturing 135-film cameras in 1949, with 135-film point-and-shoot compact cameras being introduced later. The excellent Mamiya-35 series of rangefinder cameras was followed by the Mamiya Prismat SLR in 1961 and the Mamiya TL/DTL in the mid-to-late 1960s. The SX, XTL and NC1000 were other 135-film SLR camera models introduced by Mamiya. One of Mamiya’s last 135-film SLR designs was the Z-series. The original entry-level ZE model was an aperture-priority-only SLR; the ZE-2 added manual exposure; the ZE-X added shutter priority and full program automated mode, and (with a dedicated flash and an EF-series lens) focus-priority flash exposure). In these models the aperture ring had no direct connection to the diaphragm, allowing the camera body to override the set aperture, and the lenses could communicate a considerable amount of information to the camera body via electrical contacts on the mount.

The Mamiya ZM, introduced in 1982, was essentially an advanced version of the ZE-2, with some of the features of the ZE-X. It was the last Mamiya 135-film camera produced. It had an aperture-priority automatic time control, based on center-weighted TTL readings, an automatic shutter-speed range from 4 seconds to 1/1000, and a manual range from 2 seconds to 1/1000. Visual and audio signals indicated over- or under-exposure, pending battery failure, or excessive camera shake. Metering modes, shutter release, self-timer, manual time settings and the ergonomics of the camera body were also improved.

In 1984 Osawa, one of Mamiya’s major distributors, filed for the Japanese equivalent of bankruptcy and, soon after, Mamiya discontinued 135-film camera production to focus on the medium-format professional market.

Medium format[edit]

Mamiya made a series of square format twin lens reflex (TLR) throughout the middle of the twentieth century. These were developed into the C cameras (C2, C3 through to C330s) which have interchangeable lenses as well as bellows focus.

In 1970, Mamiya introduced the RB67 6×7 cm professional single lens reflex (SLR). The RB67, a large, heavy, medium-format camera with built-in closeup bellows was innovative and successful. Previous medium-format professional cameras used the square 6×6 cm format which did not require the camera to be rotated for photographs in portrait orientation, problematical with large and heavy cameras when tripod-mounted. The RB67 had a rotating back which enabled photographs to be taken in either landscape or portrait orientation without rotating the camera, at the expense of additional weight and bulk. The RB67 soon became widely used by professional studio photographers. The 6×7 frame was described as being ideal, as the 56mm x 67mm negatives required very little cropping to fit on standard 10″ x 8″ paper.

When comparing the RB67 to full frame 135 cameras there is a so-called “crop factor” of a half. That means the standard 35mm frame has “half” the diagonal of the 67 (though the ratio is different) but a quarter the area. This effects the focal length of lenses so that to get an equivalent field of view on a 35mm camera you need half the focal length. There is a similar effect on the depth of field of a particular aperture, so a 90mm f1:3.5 on the RB67 is equivalent to using a 45mm f1:1.8 on 35mm full frame.

In 1975 Mamiya started to offer the M645, a camera with 6×4.5 cm frame, allowing 15 shots on a standard 120 roll film becoming the first MF camera to offer that format size also known as the 645 format.

The RB67 was followed by the more advanced RZ67 6x7cm frame format camera in 1982. These cameras established Mamiya as a major medium-format professional camera manufacturer, together with Hasselblad, Rollei, Bronica and Pentax.

In 1989, Mamiya introduced the Mamiya 6 and Mamiya 7 (6x6cm and 6x7cm, respectively) rangefinder cameras, compact and quiet cameras which are reputed for the extremely high optical quality of their lenses.

In 1999, Mamiya presented the Mamiya 645AF, a 6X4.5 frame SLR camera with interchangeable lenses and film backs, auto focus and an integrated prism visor that would be the base platform for the Mamiya 645AFD film and digital back cameras.

Digital products[edit]

Mamiya introduced the Mamiya ZD, which was a compact medium-format camera, in 2004. Rather than taking the form of a digital back solution, it was all built into one unit, much like a 35mm camera. This camera utilized the Mamiya 645AF lenses and had a resolution of 22mp. The solution had technical difficulties and became delayed. At the same time, Mamiya also announced a ZD back which had the same specification but was intended to be used with the Mamiya 645AFDII / AFDIII. The ZD back was even more delayed and, once it was introduced, it was already outdated.

In 2009, the Mamiya M Series digital backs were released (M18, M22 and M31) all featuring high pixel counts with large CCDs and compatibility with the Mamiya 645AFD range and RZ/ RB series (via specially manufactured adapters). All the backs are compatible with 4×5 inch view cameras. In the final quarter of 2009, Mamiya released its Mamiya 645DF camera, the latest and digital-only version of the famed 6×4.5 format AF camera series. The Mamiya 645DF has many improved features including mirror-up delay, lack of shutter lag, AF preference with priority on speed or precision, and compatibility with the new leaf shutter lens range (Mamiya Sekor AF 80mm, 55mm and 110mm D lenses with in-built leaf shutters). With these lenses attached, flash synchronizations speeds of up to 1/1,600 of a second are achievable, although the camera can also be programmed to use the focal plane shutter even if a leaf shutter lens is attached. 2010 saw the release of 3 Mamiya DM Systems (Mamiya DM33 System, consisting of a 645DF camera body and 33MP digital back, the Mamiya DM28 System, consisting of a 645 AF III camera body and 28MP digital back, and the Mamiya DM22 System, consisting of a 645 AF III camera body and 22MP digital back. A new logo and webpage were also launched.^[3]

Mamiya America Corporation[edit]

In the United States, the trademark for “Mamiya” is not owned by the original company in Japan but rather by a wholly separate entity called Mamiya America Corporation (“M.A.C.”). As such, All products that bear the name “Mamiya” are controlled by M.A.C. and has resulted in a considerable rise in retail pricing when comparing the same products to ones sold outside the United States. As of 2014 MAC group no longer manages the Mamiya brand in America, all sales, service and support was transferred to Phase One who already owned a large portion of Mamiya.

Products[edit]

For a detailed list of current and historical products, see List of Mamiya products.

6×4.5 cm format[edit]

• The M645 (discontinued) was manufactured from 1975 to 1987. This was the first model to offer a 6×4.5 cm frame.
• The Mamiya 645 Super (discontinued) was manufactured from 1985 to 1993. This was a new camera with a moulded plastic shell on a diecast metal frame. Its features are as for the M645 1000s (indeed it is able to use the same lenses and film cartridges). It added removable film backs, whereby a dark-slide could be inserted and the back removed mid-roll.
• The Mamiya 645 Pro (discontinued) was manufactured from 1993 to 1998.
• The Mamiya 645 Pro-TL (discontinued) was first released in 1997.
• The Mamiya 645E (discontinued) was first released in 2000. Entry-level camera, non-interchangeable back, popular among beginners.
• Mamiya 645DF+ — modular DSLR medium-format camera; also available as the Phase One 645DF

6×7 cm format[edit]

• RB67 Pro-SD — mechanical 6 cm × 7 cm SLR medium-format camera
• RZ67 IID — electronic 6 cm × 7 cm SLR medium-format camera
• Mamiya 7II — electronic 6 cm × 7 cm rangefinder camera

• 

  35mm SLR Mamiya ZE

• 

  Mamiya 135 EE

• 

  Mamiya ZM

Source: Mamiya – Wikipedia

Back-illuminated sensor

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

For the lighting design practice, see Backlighting (lighting design). For backlights in liquid crystal displays, see backlight.

A back-illuminated sensor, also known as backside illumination (BSI or BI) sensor, is a type of digital image sensor that uses a novel arrangement of the imaging elements to increase the amount of light captured and thereby improve low-light performance. The technique was used for some time in specialized roles like low-light security cameras and astronomy sensors, but was complex to build and required further refinement to become widely used. Sony was the first to reduce these problems and their costs sufficiently to introduce a 5-megapixel 1.75 µm BI CMOS sensor at general consumer prices in 2009.^[1][2] BI sensors from OmniVision Technologies have since been used in consumer electronics from other manufacturers as in the HTC EVO 4G^[3][4] Android smart phone, and as a major selling point for the camera in Apple’s iPhone 4.^[5][6]

Contents

 [hide] 

• 1Description
• 2See also
• 3References
  • 3.1Bibliography
• 4External links

Description[edit]

A traditional, front-illuminated digital camera is constructed in a fashion similar to the human eye, with a lens at the front and photodetectors at the back. This traditional orientation of the sensor places the active matrix of the digital camera image sensor—a matrix of individual picture elements—on its front surface and simplifies manufacturing. The matrix and its wiring, however, reflect some of the light, and thus the photocathode layer can only receive the remainder of the incoming light; the reflection reduces the signal that is available to be captured.^[1]

A back-illuminated sensor contains the same elements, but arranges the wiring behind the photocathode layer by flipping the silicon wafer during manufacturing and then thinning its reverse side so that light can strike the photocathode layer without passing through the wiring layer.^[7] This change can improve the chance of an input photon being captured from about 60% to over 90%,^[8] with the greatest difference realised when pixel size is small,^{[citation needed]} as the light capture area gained in moving the wiring from the top (light incident) to bottom surface (paraphrasing the BSI design) is proportionately smaller for a larger pixel.^{[citation needed]} BSI-CMOS sensors are most advantageous in partial sun and other low light conditions.^[9] Placing the wiring behind the light sensors is similar to the difference between a cephalopod eye and a vertebrate eye. Orienting the active matrix transistors behind the photocathode layer can lead to a host of problems, such as cross-talk, which causes noise, dark current, and color mixing between adjacent pixels. Thinning also makes the silicon wafer more fragile. These problems could be solved through improved manufacturing processes, but only at the cost of lower yields, and consequently higher prices. Despite these issues, early BI sensors found uses in niche roles where their better low-light performance was important. Early uses included industrial sensors, security cameras, microscope cameras and astronomy systems.^[8]

Industry observers^[who?] noted that a back-illuminated sensor could theoretically cost less than a similar front-illuminated version. The ability to collect more light meant that a similarly sized sensor array could offer higher resolution without the drop in low-light performance otherwise associated with the megapixel race. Alternatively, the same resolution and low-light capability could be offered on a smaller chip, lowering costs. Key to attaining these advantages would be an improved process that addressed the yield problems, largely through improving the uniformity of an active layer on the front of the detectors.^[8]

A major step in the adoption of BI sensors was made when OmniVision Technologies sampled their first sensors using the technique in 2007.^[10]These sensors, however, did not see widespread use due to their high costs. Sony’s work on new photo diode materials and processes allowed them to introduce the first consumer back-illuminated sensor as their CMOS-based “Exmor R” in August 2009.^[1] According to Sony, the new material offered +8 dB signaling and −2 dB noise. When combined with the new back-illuminated layout, the sensor improved low-light performance by as much as two times.^[1]

Competitors followed suit, and by the end of the year most companies were offering a version in their high-end products. OmniVision has continued to push the technology down their product lines. By contrast, the iPhone 4s employs a sensor manufactured by Sony. Another example is the HTC EVO 4G^[4][3] which equipped with an 8 megapixel, 1.4 µm pixel BSI sensor from OmniVision. In 2011, Sony implemented their Exmor R sensor in their flagship smartphone Sony Ericsson Xperia Arc.^[11]

In January 2012 Sony developed the back-side illuminated sensor further with Stacked CMOS,^[3] where the supporting circuitry is moved below the active pixel section, giving another 30% improvement to light capturing capability.^[12] This was commercialized by Sony in August 2012 as Exmor RS with resolutions of 13 and 8 effective megapixels.^[13]

In September 2014 Samsung announced the world’s first APS-C sensor to adopt back-side illuminated (BSI) pixel technology.^[14][3] This 28-megapixels sensor (S5KVB2) was adopted by their new compact system camera, the NX1, and was showcased along with the camera at photokina 2014, held in Cologne, Germany, 16 to 21 September.

On 10 June 2015 Sony announced the first camera employing a back-side illuminated full frame sensor, the α7R II.^[3]

w-

Source: Back-illuminated sensor – Wikipedia

What is Composition in Photography?

LAST UPDATED ON SEPTEMBER 20, 2014 BY ROMANAS NARYŠKIN75 COMMENTS

With the first article in our new Mastering Composition series, it is only fitting that we start off by discussing the very definition of our main topic. In this article for beginner photographers, I will outline the general meaning of the term “composition” in art. I will also briefly discuss the goal of composition, define what a good composition is and why it is such an important part of any work of art. At the end of the article I will provide you with a simple question that is also a hint on what is to come in future articles.

1) General Definition of the Term

The term “composition” applies not only to visual arts, but to music, dance, literature and virtually any other kind of art. In certain contexts, such as writing, this term may not be as widely used, but is just as valid nonetheless. In general, the term “composition” has two distinctive, yet related meanings.

First and foremost, “composition” describes placement of relative objects and elements in a work of art. Consequently, composition is a key aspect of a good work of art. There is hardly a way to overemphasize the importance of composition. Any aspiring artist ought to give composition of his work a lot of attention. A good composition is one that has just enough detail. Too few elements is bad because it robs the work of art of necessary detail that makes correct interpretation possible. It also ruins the balance of an image. And too many elements can be very distracting as well. Good composition requires good balance. It is best to make sure all the elements present are necessary for the idea or story you are trying to pass on.

In some cases, composition can mean the work of art itself and is a synonymous to that term. For example, when talking about a specific installation or dance, a phrase “This composition…” can be used. Such a definition also widely applies to music (creators of which are known as composers) and paintings.

2) What is Composition in Photography?

Now that we know the general definition of the term “composition”, it is not too hard to figure out its meaning in photography. Simply put, composing an image means arranging elements within it in a way that suits the core idea or goal of your work best. Arranging elements can be done by actually moving the objects or subjects. A good example for this case is portrait or still life photography. Street photography involves anticipation, since the photographer doesn’t usually have the choice of moving his subjects himself, but has to wait for them to take the most suitable position within the frame. Another way of arranging elements is by changing your own position. Such a way is appropriate in circumstances that do not allow the photographer to physically move anything, like landscape photography.

Composition is a way of guiding the viewer’s eye towards the most important elements of your work, sometimes – in a very specific order. A good composition can help make a masterpiece even out of the dullest objects and subjects in the plainest of environments. On the other hand, a bad composition can ruin a photograph completely, despite how interesting the subject may be. A poorly judged composition is also not something you can usually fix in post-processing, unlike simple and common exposure or white balance errors. Cropping can sometimes save an image, but only when tighter framing and removal of certain portions of the image is the correct solution. That is why giving your choice of composition plenty of thought before capturing an image is a step of utmost importance.

Focal length, aperture, angle at which you choose to position your camera relative to your subject also greatly affects composition. For example, choosing a wider aperture will blur the background and foreground, effectively lessening the importance of objects placed in there. It will also more often than not result in more noticeable corner shading (vignetting), which will help keep viewer’s eye inside the frame for longer. On the other hand, closing down the aperture will bring more objects into focus which, in turn, may result in better image balance. How so? Well, “sharper”, more in-focus objects may attract more attention than a blurry shape, but not always (see image sample below). An experienced photographer will use all the available means to achieve the desired result. It is worth noting that de-focusing objects in the foreground or background does not negate their contribution to overall composition of the image. Simple shapes, tones, shadows, highlights, colors are all strong elements of composition.

Take a look at the below image. Despite the fact that part of a wall showing in the foreground is completely out of focus, it is the most vivid part of the photograph as well as being quite bright. For this reason, it attracts our attention much more than the main subject (man with the tea cup and his Siberian Husky hiding in shadows). The bright yellow rectangle is the first thing you see when you glance at the photograph. A good and obvious way to fix this would be to reduce the vividness and luminance of yellow using Lightroom’s HSL panel (although I actually like the contrast between the two parts of the photograph):

We will discuss color, tone and other composition elements in more detail in upcoming Mastering Composition series articles.

Composing an image eventually becomes a very natural process. With enough practice – mind you, there can never be too much of such a thing – you will not even have to think about the placement of those elements. Your subconscious will do it for you. Your fingers will dial correct settings, your eye will guide the framing. Poor composition will instantly appear unnatural and just plain wrong to you. The more experience you have, the better choices you will make. Best way to grow as a photographer is not to rush your decisions and not trust your subconscious unquestionably, but to learn new ways of composing your image. Not that you shouldn’t trust your guts – you should, of course. But make sure to also give it some thought, experiment, take a few shots and analyze them during post-processing. See what works best, try to understand why and then experiment some more.

3) The Goal of Composition

One may assume that a good composition is one that is most pleasing to the eye. Consequently, the goal of good composition ought to be showing your subject or object in a flattering, aesthetically pleasing manner. But such opinion is a little superficial. Not every work of art is supposed to be pleasing or beautiful to the viewer. Some artists try to express different, stronger ideas and their subject, as well as composition choices help achieve that. For example, if an artist wants the viewer to feel uncomfortable or nervous, he will choose a composition that is least “natural” and come up with something unexpected and shocking. A good example of such work is war photography, where photographers often try to help the viewer feel how terrifying and destructive war is. On the other hand, an artist may portray war victims in a very flattering and disturbingly beautiful way. By doing so, he would emphasize war’s ugly nature in a grotesque and sarcastic manner. So, in the end, the goal of a good composition is to help express the idea of the artist by necessary means.

4) Assignment for Beginners

This simple assignment is for beginner photographers, who would like to actively learn along with other readers and participate in creation of these articles.

• Name basic varieties (or simply “types”) of composition you are familiar with. Make sure to list just one variety and try not to repeat those that have already been named by someone else. Best if you don’t use Google – test yourself and wait for the upcoming articles patiently 🙂 The following image is a hint for one of the most obvious basic compositions types.

Good luck!

Source: What is Composition in Photography?

GIMP is an open source project.  Though GIMP has been around for several years I would suggest you treat it with the same caution you would with any other open source software. If you wish to try is out you can download the Mac , Linux and Windows installer from the GIMP website.It is relatively easy to correct white balance in GIMP using the Levels tool and a couple of other features to fine tune the result.AdsStart Download – View PDFwww.fromdoctopdf.comConvert From Doc to PDF, PDF to Doc Simply With The Free On-line App!Start Downloadwww.snapmyscreen.com1.Click Here to Download 2.Get Your Free Software 3.Enjoy!Download Nowmediaplayer10.comPlay Any Video With MediaPlayer10. Free To Install & Use Forever!Color BalancingPhoto CorrectionEditor PhotoColor CorrectionLightroom PhotographyModern digital cameras are remarkably clever and are able to select the best settings for most situations to ensure that the photos you take are as high quality as possible. However, in some cases they may have problems in selecting the correct white balance setting.Keeping things simple, the white balance of a digital camera affects how colors appear in photos. Most light appears white to the human eye, but in reality, different types of light, such as sunlight and tungsten light, have slightly different colors and digital cameras are sensitive to this. The result is that if a camera has its white balance set incorrectly for the type of light it is capturing, the resulting photo will have an unnatural color cast. You can see that in the left hand photo on this page, that has a warm yellow cast. The photo on the right shows it after the corrections that are demonstrated on the following pages.Serious photographers will proclaim that you should always shoot in RAW format because you are able to easily change the white balance of a photo during processing.If you want the best photos possible, then RAW is the way to go, but if you’re a less serious photographer, the necessity to also undertake the other steps in processing can make RAW more complicated and time consuming. That’s because when you shoot JPEGs, your camera automatically undertakes a lot of these processing steps for you, such as sharpening and noise reduction.Manually sharpening and reducing noise using GIMP and other image editors is relatively straight forward, however most users do not consider it so easy to correct the white balance of JPEGs. In the following few pages, I’ll show how a few simple features in GIMP will help you to correct white balance to achieve impressive results. These steps will also help you to understand how the Levels tool and Color Balance and Hue-Saturation features operate.

Source: How to Correct White Balance with GIMP

10 Reasons Why You Should Be Shooting RAW

by Rob Lim

You’ve probably heard over and over that you should be shooting in RAW.

But do you know why it’s so important? And what it really means for your images? Let’s sort it out!

First off, what is RAW? RAW is a file format that captures all image data recorded by the sensor when you take a photo. When shooting in a format like JPEG image information is compressed and lost. Because no information is compressed with RAW you’re able to produce higher quality images, as well as correct problem images that would be unrecoverable if shot in the JPEG format.

And happily many many cameras these days shoot RAW, including point and shoots! So even if you’re using a little camera, you might still be able to take advantage of the RAW file format (just check your camera manual to see!).

So, the benefits of RAW. Let’s list ‘em out:

1. Get the Highest Level of Quality

This is one of the biggest benefits. When you shoot in RAW you record all of the data from the sensor. This gives the highest quality files. And when it comes to your awesome images, you want high quality.

Look at it this way: all cameras technically shoot RAW. Yes, it’s true.

The difference when you shoot in JPEG format is that the camera does it’s own processing to convert the RAW information into a JPEG.

However, your camera is nowhere near as smart as your brain, nor is it as powerful as your computer. When you shoot RAW, you’re able to do that processing yourself. You can make the decisions on how the image should look, and produce way better results.

2. Record Greater Levels of Brightness

Levels of brightness are the number of steps from black to white in an image. The more you have, the smoother the transitions of tones. Smooth is good.

JPEG records 256 levels of brightness, and RAW records between 4,096 to 16,384 levels! This is described with the term “bit”. JPEG captures in 8bit, and RAW is either 12bit or 14bit. That’s what that bit business means!

The effect this has on your images is huge. Those additional steps of brightness let you make more adjustments (expoosure, blacks, fill light, recovery, contrast, brightness) to your image without a significant reduction of quality, because there’s more levels to work with!

It’s also easier to avoid or correct posterization in your images when you shoot in RAW. Posterization is the banding that you often see in bright skies, which really doesn’t look good in prints!

3. Easily Correct Dramatically Over/Under Exposed Images

Obviously you want to get the best exposure in camera, but sometimes things move fast (especially with weddings!) and you wind up with a dramatically over or under exposed image.

With RAW you have additional information in the file, so it’s much easier to correct the image without a drastic reduction in quality. You can also recover more blown highlights and clipped shadows. Good stuff.

FREE PRESETS: Click here to unlock our FREE Lightroom Presets! Grab these color and black and white presets and start editing your raw files with one click!

4. Easily Adjust White Balance

When you shoot JPEG the white balance is applied to the image. You can’t just easily choose another option. With RAW the white balance is still recorded, but because you have way more data, it’s easy to adjust.

Great white balance and colour are essential to an awesome image, and shooting RAW lets you make the adjustments easier and faster, with better results.

5. Get Better Detail

When you shoot RAW you have access to sharpening and noise algorithms in a program like Lightroom that are way more powerful than those found in your camera.

Plus, these sharpening and noise algorithms are always improving, so in the future you’ll be able to re-visit your RAW files and take advantage of these improvements. And jetpacks.

6. Enjoy Non-Destructive Editing

When you make adjustments to a RAW file, you’re not actually doing anything to the original data. What you’re doing is creating a set of instructions for how the JPEG or TIFF (another file format) version should be saved.

The awesomness of this is that you never ever have to worry about ruining an image, accidentally saving over, or being unable to go back and make changes. You can always reset your adjustments, and start over again.

JPEG files lose quality every time you open them, make adjustments, and save again. True story. It’s what is known as a “lossy” file format. So if you’re making edits to JPEGs you always have to be duplicating the image and saving out a new version if you don’t want to lose file quality. Hassle.

7. Get Better Prints

Because of the finer gradation of tones and colours you’ll get better prints from RAW files. Even though more and more people are shooting digital, great prints are as important as ever (maybe even more so, due to their relative rarity!)

You’ll also get less banding, which is really yucky on a print.

8. Select Colour Space on Output

Colour space is a bit of a complex topic, but here’s a quick tip. With RAW you can choose from any colour space when you are exporting it out, so you can adjust depending on the situation!

Is the image going on to the web? Then output in the sRGB colour space to ensure maximum compatibility among web browsers.

Are the files heading to a client? Save it in the common Adobe RGB (1998) colour space.

Do you want the widest colour space possible? Use ProPhoto RGB.

Basically there are different colour spaces that work best for different situations, and when you shoot RAW you can export a single image in multiple spaces! Sweet!

9. Have an Efficient Workflow

It’s easier to work through large batches of images when you’re using a workflow centric program like Lightroom or Aperture. They’re designed to easily process groups of RAW images. Photoshop is not meant for that kind of thing, it’s built to handle one image at a time.

In order to take full advantage of all the benefits of Lightroom and Aperture you should be shooting RAW!

10. It’s the Pro Option

Professionals should be providing their clients with the highest quality possible. Issues like banding and blown h
ighlights are big deals when you’re offering your clients printed products. Achieving proper colour balance, and choosing the right colour space for the situation are critical as well.

By shooting RAW you take control, and are able to manage these problems to create the best results possible.

Now that some point and shoots are capable of shooting RAW, hobbyists and amateurs can also take advantage of this pro level option, and get better files and prints! Good deal.

 

Downsides and Solutions

Now, there are always pros and cons to every option, and RAW does have a few downsides. We’ll chat about those, as well as some potential soluations!

NEED TO BE PROCESSED

A common argument against shooting RAW is that because the files need to be processed, it takes more time to shoot RAW than JPEG. If you don’t do any processing to your JPEGs that might be true.

However, most photographers do some level of processing to their JPEGs so already the argument is getting flimsy.

Then, when you add in the fact that adjustments like white balancing, and recovering highlights and shadows are way faster with RAW files, and it actually begins to looks like processing RAW can be faster than JPEG!!

Then, with RAW, you can easily export to JPEG, as well as convert to various sizes (like web res) at the same time. If you really wanted you could even shoot RAW + JPEG simultaneously!

RAW gives you way more options, and can be processed just as fast, if not faster, than JPEG.

TAKES UP MORE SPACE

Since RAW files have more uncompressed information they can be 2-3 times larger than JPEG files. This is definitely a concern for many shooters, especially those who create a lot of images.

But over the past few years, the cost of hard drives has really dropped, and they’re incredibly affordable!

Let’s consider a 3TB hard drive.

• A 3TB drive costs about $129
• If a large JPEG file is about 8MB, you’ll fit 375,000 images on the drive, at $0.000344/image
• If a RAW file is about 30MB, you’ll fit 100,000 images on the drive, at $0.00129/image

Obviously you can store fewer RAW files, but the number of images that you can cheaply store is so large for both formats that it’s not really an issue! It’s also probably a good idea to not place so many images on a single hard drive. Don’t put all your photographic eggs in one basket!

Memory cards are the same deal. They’re constantly dropping in price. Remember when a 2GB card was over $200?? Nowadays you can hardly even buy one that small, and 4GB is as cheap as $15. Madness!

Yes, RAW files are bigger and take up more space. But that’s because they’re of higher quality. Go with high quality for the extra $0.00121/image.

SLOWS THE CAMERA DOWN

RAW files are larger than JPEGs, so they’ll fill up the buffer of your camera faster. The camera will still shoot the same frames per second, regardless of whether it is RAW or JPEG, but you may have to wait for the camera to write to the memory card if the buffer fills up.

If shooting fast sequences if critical for you, and you want to shoot RAW, you can purchase faster memory cards, or a more expensive camera with a larger buffer.

IN A PROPRIETARY FORMAT

RAW files are often recorded in a proprietary format, which means that the camera manufacturers haven’t officially disclosed how the raw data can be converted. Companies like Adobe either need to license software to decode the RAW files or reverse engineer how the files should be converted. (For Canon cameras the RAW format looks like .CR2 and for Nikon it’s .NEF).

The problem here is that you can’t be certain that in 5, 10 or 20 years you’ll be able to easily open that RAW file if you don’t have the proper software to decode it!

A new open source RAW format has been developed in order to overcome this obstacle. It was developed by Adobe and is known as DNG (Digital Negative). Using a program like Lightroom, you can convert your proprietary RAW files into the open source DNG format. It’s an extra step, but it will ensure your files are readable far into the future!

Already the Leica M9 shoots in the DNG format, so look for more camera manufacturers to support this open source format in the future!

Wrap It UP!

Hopefully this look at RAW and it’s benefits has cleared things up a bit! Suggestions that RAW takes too long, or is too much work, don’t really hold water anymore.

These days, it’s super duper easy (and fast!) to process RAW files, and you’ll be able to get the absolute best quality out of those images that you put so much time, effort and love into!

UPDATE: Due to the overwhelming response to this blog post, and the questions many readers have had, we have created a followup blog post called 12 Answers To Your Burning Questions About Raw. Go check it out! 

Source: 10 Reasons Why You Should Be Shooting RAW

12 Photography Rules Of Thumb

November 1, 2009 By Peter 11 Comments

When I was out shooting the other day, it occurred to me that I still use a bunch of timeless rules of thumb I learned from various sources along the way; many so ingrained I don’t even realize I’m using them. I thought it might be fun to do a review.

A few years ago, I read an article in Popular Photography (that I can no longer find on their site) listing the ones I knew, and some I didn’t. Taken from my notes:

1. Sunny 16:
Bright, sunny day at f/16, shutter speed is 1/ISO. Extrapolated, f/22 at the beach, f/11 on cloudy-bright days.

2. Moony 11, 8, 5.6:
Shutter: 1/ISO
Moon Full: f/11
Moon Half: f/8
Moon Quarter: f/5.6

3. Avoiding Camera Shake:
Shutter: 1/focal length of the lens

4. No 18% Grey Card Handy (if you can’t trust the in-camera light meter):
Hold palm up facing the light, take a reading an open up one stop. (Skin tones vary.)

5. Depth Of Field:
Focus 1/3 of the way to maximize depth of field on a deep subject. The smaller the aperture, the shorter the focal length and the greater the distance, the greater the depth of field.

6. Largest Print With Digital:
Divide the vertical and horizontal pixel counts by 200. For critical applications, use 250.

7. Exposure:
Digital/transparency: expose for highlights and let the shadows take care of themselves.
Negative: overexpose 1 stop

8. Fill-flash:
Set flash’s ISO to twice your ISO, meter the scene, select f-stop, set autoflash to same f-stop. The resulting 2:1 flash-fill ratio will produce filled shadows 1 stop darker than the main subject.

9. Flash Range:
Double the distance, four times the ISO.

10. Megapixel Multiplier:
Increase the megapixels by 4 to double the resolution in a digital camera (to account for both vertical and horizontal).

11. Stopping Action:
Shutter speed 2 stops faster than the action moving toward or away from you, if perpendicular to the lens. For action moving at a 45-degree angle to the lens, use 1 stop faster.

12. Sunset:
Meter the area directly above the sun (without sun in frame). Down 1 f-stop to look like 1/2-hour later.
Did I miss any? What’s your favorite rule of thumb? Let’s see if we can start the “definitive” collection right here.

Source: 12 Photography Rules Of Thumb – Peter Liu

Canon EOS 6D

Digital single-lens reflex camera

Not to be confused with Canon EOS 60D.

Canon EOS 6D

Overview
Type	Digital single-lens reflex camera
Lens
Lens	Interchangeable (EF)
Sensor/Medium
Sensor	35.8 mm × 23.9 mm CMOS
Maximum resolution	5,472 × 3,648[1] (20 megapixels)
ASA/ISO range	100 – 25,600 (expansion to L1 50 / H1 51.200 / H2 102,400)
Storage	SD, SDHC or SDXC card (UHS-I capable)
Focusing
Focus modes	One-shot, AI Servo, AI Focus, Manual
Focus areas	11 autofocus points
Exposure/Metering
Exposure modes	Full auto, programmed, shutter priority, aperture priority, manual
Exposuremetering	TTL, full aperture, 63 zones
Metering modes	Evaluative, Partial, Spot, Center-weighted average
Shutter
Shutter	Electronic focal-plane
Shutter speed range	30 s to 1/4,000 s, bulb, 1/180 s X-sync
Continuous shooting	up to 4.5 fps
Viewfinder
Viewfinder	Optical pentaprism with 97% coverage 0.71×[2] and electronic (Live View)
General
Rear LCD monitor	3.0 in (7.6 cm), 720 × 480 pixels, 288 ppi (approx. 1,040,000 dots)
Battery	Li-Ion LP-E6 Rechargeable (1800 mAh)
Optional battery packs	BG-E13 grip allows use of 6 AA cells, a single LP-E6 or two LP-E6 batteries
Dimensions	144.5 mm × 110.5 mm × 71.2 mm (5.69 in × 4.35 in × 2.80 in)
Weight	680 g (24 oz), body only; 755 g (26.6 oz), CIPA standard
List price	$1899.00[3]
Made in	Japan

The Canon EOS 6D is a 20.2-megapixel full-frame CMOS digital single-lens reflex camera made by Canon.

It was publicly announced on 17 September 2012, one day before the start of the photokina trade show. It was released in late November 2012 with a suggested retail price of US$2,099.00 (body only).^[4][5][6]

The 6D is offered as a body only or in a package with an EF 24-105mm f/4L IS USM zoom lens; at introduction, the suggested retail price was US$2,899.00.^[4]

Contents

FeaturesEdit

The EOS 6D is the first Canon DSLR to feature GPS functions and built in Wi-Fi capabilities, which geotag images and allow files to be uploaded directly to Facebook, YouTube, or Canon Image Gateway; transferred to external devices; or sent to be printed on a Wi-Fi-enabled Canon printer. The Wi-Fi capabilities also allow remote control and viewing via many smartphones.^[7]

Weighing 770 grams (27 oz), the 6D is also Canon’s smallest and lightest full-frame DSLR; comparable to the APS-C sensor 60D. The camera also features an ISO setting range from 50 to 102,400 which can be selected automatically or adjusted manually, an 11-point autofocus system, and an anti-glare 3.0 inches (76 mm) LED screen.^[8] The center autofocus point has a sensitivity of −3 EV.

The new BG-E13 battery grip that was made to be used with the 6D allows the use of six AA cells or one to two LP-E6 batteries.^[9] The 6D has a maximum burst frame rate of 4.5 frames per second.^[8] Like all Canon DSLR full-frame cameras, the 6D does not feature a built in flash due to the design of the viewfinder.^[10]

Image featuresEdit

• 20.2 megapixel full-frame CMOS sensor.
• DIGIC 5+ Image Processor.
• Fluorine-coated low-pass filter.

Autofocus and meteringEdit

• 11-point autofocus sensors with 1 cross type sensor in center (x-type is sensitive down to −3 EV).
• TTL-CT-SIR AF with CMOS sensor.
• 63-zone Dual Layer-silicon cell.
• AF Micro Adjust (+/− 20 steps).

ISOEdit

• 100 – 25,600 (expansion down to: 50 / up to: 51,200 and 102,400).

ShutterEdit

• 30 s – 1/4,000 s (and bulb) is the shutter speed range.
• 4.5 fps burst rate.

Ergonomics and functionsEdit

• Optical Pentaprism viewfinder with approximately 97% coverage (0,71× enlargement)
• Clear View TFT LCD screen (3 “/77 mm) with 720 × 480 pixels, 288 ppi (approximately 1,040,000 dots), resolution with dual anti-glare coating.
• Wi-Fi functionality.
• Metal alloy housing (Top is made out of high-grade plastic).
• Built-in GPS. However, this remains on when the camera is switched off, and quickly drains the battery if not deactivated via setting.

VideoEdit

^[11]

The EOS 6D allows the movie’s image size preference to be set, as well as the frame rate per second, and compression method.

• Image Size
  • 1920×1080: Full High Definition recording quality
  • 1280×720: High-Definition recording quality
  • 640×480: Standard-definition recording quality
• Frame Rate
  • 30/60 fps
  • 25/50 fps
  • 24 fps

Firmware updateEdit

On 29 September 2016 Canon announced firmware version 1.1.7. Its main improvement was the support for the EF 70–300mm f/4–5.6 IS II USM.^[12]

Source: Canon EOS 6D – Wikipedia

Stopping down

Page issues

In photography, stopping down refers to increasing the numerical f-stop number (for example, going from f/2 to f/4), which decreases the size (diameter) of the aperture of a lens, resulting in reducing the amount of light entering the iris of a lens.^[1][2]:112

Reducing the aperture size increases the depth of field of the image. In the case of film cameras, this allows less light to reach the film plane – to achieve the same exposure after stopping down, it is necessary to compensate for the reduced light by either increasing the exposure time, or using a photographic film with a higher speed. In the case of digital cameras, stopping down the aperture allows less light to reach the image sensor – to achieve the same exposure, it is necessary to compensate for the reduced light by either increasing the exposure time, or increasing the signal gain of the sensor by increasing the camera’s ISO setting. Alternatively, more light can be added to the scene by increasing the amount of light illuminating the scene, such as by using or increasing the strength of electronic flash or other light sources.^[3]

As a lens is stopped down from its maximum (widest) aperture, most lens aberrations (spherical aberration, coma and astigmatism) are decreased, but lens diffraction increases. The effect is that for most lenses, the balance between the decreasing aberrations and the increasing diffraction effects of stopping down the lens means that lenses have an optimum aperture for best results, often about three stops closed down from maximum aperture, so for a lens with a maximum aperture of ƒ/2.8, ƒ/8 would be the optimum aperture.^[2]:180

Source: Stopping down – Wikipedia