HDR News You Can Use – June 2019

We’ve been working hard on keeping our HDR applications compatible with current OSs and camera files. The result is the v3.5 update to HDR Expose, HDR Express and 32Float which are available now. See below for details.

In this issue of HDR News we highlight a new take on tripods and then we argue against tripods in a great landscape photography tips article.  We take a look at an impressive new 100MP medium format camera and Apple’s new Retina display. And, we try to help you develop some criteria for updating your equipment. Let’s get going!

 

Download Your HDR Application Update

Your favorite HDR applications have just been updated for increased compatibility with the latest operating systems and camera RAW files.</p>

To update your applications just go to our product page and click on the “Trial/SW Update” button to download your copy. You can install the updates on your system with just a few familiar clicks. This update is available to licensed users of HDR Expose 3.x, HDR Express 3.x and 32 Float v3.

Here’s what’s improved:
– Now supports RAW files from the latest cameras
– Features updated User Interface with native support to Apple Retina Displays
– Now supports Mac OS 10.14 Mojave
– Now supports Windows OS 7/8/10 x64>
– Various bug fixes

 

The Travel Tripod Reimagined

We take a lot of landscape photos here at Pinnacle. A tripod is an essential piece of equipment that needs to be in our pack to take advantage of the beautiful scenes and light we seek. In low-light and time exposure situations the most important piece of equipment beyond our camera is a tripod. The word “tripod” conjures up different feelings, not the least of which is, “I hate lugging this thing around”. Camera manufacturers are shedding the bulk and weight of their cameras buy going mirrorless but what about the tripod? Well there may be a superior solution to the bulky tripod arriving later this year.

Read about the innovative product HERE.

 

Unexpected Tips For Better Landscape Photography

No Rule Of Thirds or Leading LIne recommendations are found in this concise set of tips for the landscape photographer. Read this one and you’ll be inspired to break compositional rules, return to your favorite locations frequently and, dare we say, ditch your tripod. (yes, that’s contrary to the previous article but we’re open to different shooting strategies)

Get the tips HERE.

 

A New Medium Format Camera You May Be Able To Afford

Most of us use a half-frame APS or a full-frame, 35mm format camera for our photography. These cameras make great images and displaying those images on social media and other Internet venues results in work that will do you proud. But, do you get the same feeling of quality when you print those images large?  If you frequent photo galleries or flip though well produced glossy magazines you will come across photographs that just look better, look sharper, look more “open”. It’s a higher level of quality that jumps out at you. Those images are very often the product of a medium format camera. Medium format cameras with their larger image sensors and big pixels really do take you up a full notch in image quality. Fujifilm’s new one hundred megapixel GFX-100 joins it’s relatively affordable GFX-50 in it’s medium format lineup. It’s PhaseOne quality without the $40K price tag. You need to take a look.

Read the preliminary revew HERE.

 

Apple’s $5000 Retina Display

It’s billed as the ultimate editing display by Apple. It sports “6016×3384 Retina 6K resolution (that) contains over 20 million pixels, providing nearly 40% more screen real estate than a Retina 5K display.” We want it! Or, do we? If we’re using the most brilliant, high definition display available to edit our photos will the 99% of the people who view our work on a less capable display be cheated? Even worse, will we be cheated by thinking that others see what we’re seeing on our screens. At five thousand dollars you need to read about the display and come to your own conclusion.

Get more info on the display HERE.

 

Knowing When You Need To Upgrade Your Gear

Do you really need that 14-24mm f2.8 super wide angle zoom selling for $1,900 or will the 20mm fixed lens in your bag handle 90% of your super wide angle situations? You can travel a lot for $1900 but, there does come a time when you -do- need to upgrade your gear. This article gives you a nice set of criteria to use as a benchmark when making the decision to go for new gear.

Start thinking about your equipment upgrades HERE.

HDR News You Can Use – May 2019

May 2019 – It’s time to plan your summer photo travel and we’re here to help. Where to shoot is the logical first decision and there are probably no better photo locations in the U.S. than one of our national parks. We start off with an overview of the most scenic national parks which, includes fantastic images from each location. If you’re headed toward Europe this summer we point you to a Scottish isle that couldn’t be more picturesque. We help expand your photo knowledge and capabilities with a collection of long exposure tutorials and there’s much more. Let’s get going!

 

The Best National Parks For Photographers

The snow is off the roads and the weather is forecast to be fine. It’s time! It’s time to visit one of our national treasures, a national park. All the national parks are photogenic but some truly stand out as majestic marvels. It’s at these special parks that you’ll be able to replicate that landscape image that you’ve come across before and stuck in your mind. This article ran in 2018 but remains one of the best overviews of the parks. And, it includes an iconic image from each park.

Start your national park photo trip planning HERE.

 

World’s Oldest Trees By Starlight – The Photo Controversy

National Geographic’s image standards mimic the standards in used in photojournalism. In photojournalism you don’t create objects or perspectives that were never in the image when the shutter was clicked. You can adjust brightness and contrast. You can burn down or dodge areas. You can even crop. But, you can’t add content that wasn’t originally in the image. If you do add content and run the image you must label the image a photo illustration or alert the viewer in some way. So, what was a wonderful collection of some of the world’s oldest trees lit by starlight may have been reduced to a fraud by some very observant readers.

Read the details of the controversy HERE.

See National Geographic’s response to the accusations HERE.

 

3 Long Exposure Tutorials

Leaving your camera’s shutter open for seconds or even minutes will put you into an area of photography that delivers impressive and unique images. Of course you’ll capture ubiquitous blurry waterfalls but you’ll also see colors and glows created by the light of the moon and stars. You’ll see moody swirls on water surfaces and city scapes will surprise you. But, there’s more to long exposure photography than just placing your camera atop a tripod and tripping the shutter. These wonderful tutorials will give you the information you need to try long exposures with confidence.

Get the tutorials HERE.

 

Capturing Moonbows In Yosemite

Yes, a moonbow is what you would expect: a rainbow-like band of colors that is created by moonlight reflecting off misty water. This type of photography is beyond “long exposure” photography in that it requires ISO settings that produce images that border on un-useable. Nevertheless, astro-photographer Shreenivasan Manievannan created incredible moonbow photos in Yosemite National Park at the famous Yosemite Falls. Pretty cool.

See the moonbows HERE.

 

Bald Eagle – A Very Cool Photo

This is a story about Steve and Bruce. Steve is an amateur photographer based in Ontario Canada. Bruce is a bald eagle that was brought out for a fly by the Canadian Raptor Conservancy while Steve happened to be shooting. The story culminates with a rarer than rare image of the eagle soaring straight at the camera with its eye fixed on the shooter. That alone is a story but the symmetrical reflection created by the low-flying bird puts this one over the top.

Experience this cool photo HERE.

 

Life On A Scottish Island Owned By It’s Residents

“Getting away from it all” takes on a whole new meaning on the Isle of Eigg. It’s a tiny island sitting off the west coast of Scotland that is owned by its 107 residents. Like much of the Scottish coasts and islands the archipelago is a visual masterpiece. This collection of photos will really put you in the shooting mood.</p>

Visit the island HERE.

 

Dynamic Range: Film vs. Digital

Here at Pinnacle we’re all about high dynamic range. That’s why this video caught our attention. While our products handle the entire dynamic range of human sight, are there any imaging devices that can produce anywhere near that range. This test of film vs. digital may not put the question to rest.

Get the test results HERE.

 

Eye AF Coming To Nikon z6 and z7: It’s Already In The Sony a 6400

Photographers who tend to shoot people need to focus on their subject’s eyes. There’s no way around it. To that end Sony’s A0, A7R III and A7 III have had the feature for a while now. So, what about Nikon’s new Z7 and Z6? Nikon has hinted that eye focusing was coming for those cameras and last week Nikon announced a new firmware update that will add the functionality to those cameras. We’ll wait and see how the new feature performs.

Learn about the firmware update HERE.