Every photographer knows about APS-C sensors, but what about APS film? This week, Chris and Jordan take a stroll down memory lane and try out the original APS format, short for 'Advanced Photo System', a technology that promised to streamline the film workflow, but which ultimately lost out to digital technology. Tune in to see what made APS so interesting, and whether 15-year-old expired film is still up to the task.
We do a fair bit of scanning at my business of APS film. We do all of the scanning with the scanner set to full frame (H). I have never had a single client not want this and ask us to instead follow how the photographer had the camera's aspect ratio set. More often than not, people just forgot what setting they had it on and shot away. Really a failure feature of this format...a setting that you would choose to basically give you less.
Wow, reading through this thread sounds a lot like reading the opinions and the "pro's & con's" between digital APS-C and FF cameras of today. 'They' always say - history tends to repeat itself!
Blast from the past. I too worked in a photo lab when APS-C came out. It was a solution in search of a problem. The only good thing I can say about it is that it let film cameras get smaller right before they died, but still with a large enough negative to hold up to enlargement. Oh, and they could recycle some lenses maybe...
I lived and worked (Fuji Pro Products Rep) through this disaster format. A re-enactment of the deck on the Titanic just before sinking. Try selling THOSE cameras (or printing the film) these days.
Great video for a Throwback Thursday and a terrific piece on the history of modern photography! It was an interesting time and changes were happening fast...almost too fast. These cameras didn't stand a chance against the tsunami of digital cameras that was approaching. I was amazed at how well the photos developed. Even more surprised that you found someone to develop them! They have a bit of a Warhol look to them..very cool. Film photography is an art and looking over the comments not for everyone. Hats off to you for showing your skills in film.
I remember when APS came out. I was a very heavy film user back then (hundreds of rolls a year). I wasn't interested in APS because it was more expensive. For me, digital had nothing to do with it. I was shooting film up until 2001 and then digital almost exclusively shortly after that. Digital killed film, not just APS.
thanks for the nostalgia.. waiting for when my Elph Jr would be competing with Contax T2 on ebay. elph jr. was so cute. led me to the digital elph and so many subsequent elph models for many years to come. Also remember lusting over the Pronea's, cant remember if i actually bought one (and thankfully sold it).
The marketing spiel was that although smaller than 35mm, you would get IQ just as good, because of improved film technology. Problem was, the film makers then put it into 35mm film. That's what really killed APS. I had - have - both Canon APS SLRs, and the IX was actually fun to use. I used it as my colour print camera. Fine for that job, but there was never the film range to compete for enthusiasts - only one colour slide film.
I still have my Vectis 3000 P&S...It was a fun camera, looked like something out of a Bond film and was good during daylight but horrible without proper lighting.
All in all, I enjoyed it for what it was...a fun little cam
Nice history lesson...now how about 35mm half (single) frame? Olympus was of course the big player but Canon was also heavily into it. The Dial 35 will look very familiar to APS Elph owners. Half-frame mainly suffered from two things:
1. It was still 35mm film with the need to rewind.
2. A roll lasted a loooooooooong time. I had both a Pen F and a Pen FT...a 36 exposure roll gave 72 exposures! Great if you shoot like crazy all the time but for amateurs used to taking 12 shots and then off to the drugstore to get prints it could be months before they would finish a roll.
APS was a great idea, sort of crossing 35mm with Instamatic cartridges and then adding the one thing that always caused Hasselblad envy...changing film mid-roll!!! No more carrying two bodies (one B&W, one color, etc.) around all the time.
I sold hundreds of APS cameras and developed 1000's of rolls of it. It was from a everyday consumers point of view a great system. Print size choices, index sheets, storage of negatives. We continued to process the film until it was no longer available. Yes it was overtaken by digital but it provided great convienence, extremely easy to load and they just came back for more and more and more film and developing.
I think the biggest thing to remember is that is was EASY and FUN and SIMPLE. I used APS cameras, 126 cameras 110 cameras and even disc cameras when we sold them and processed them. At the same time I used 35mm, 6x6cm, 6x7cm 4x5 and 8x10 formats. Each had it own place and time for using it.
They were fun cameras that's the perspective to look at them with
Minolta aside, perhaps the "best" APS camera for photo quality was the Contax Tix... a small camera with a 28/2.8 mm lens. Had one of those for a while as well and took it often on business travel. Expensive little thing... but by the time I got mine it was available at reduced prices. Surprised to see several on eBay now for $150 to $200.
Minola invested more in APS than Canon or Nikon. I had the Vectis S-1 as a 1996 (?) Chrismas present,,, replaced the kit lens with... the 22-80, an 80-240, and a very nice 50mm macro. Later added a 400mm mirron lens... and a 17mm metal lense that Minolta said was only for the RD 3000 digital camera. The advantage: it was much smaller size & weight for vacation travel than my 35mm Minolta SRTs. I used the S-1 for several years. Minolta also made a variety of accessories... most of which I collected. A final advantage on a few occasions... lense and camera was water resistant. Film was 100, 200, 400, 800 speed... and a black & white version. Still have lots in the freezer. A scarce slide version was available in Europe but not the U.S. Always shot the full format... no problem enlarging to 8x12 size. Examples... see Travels in Burgundy at https://bestbob.smugmug.com/Travel/Travels-in-Burgundy/ and Travels in Provence at https://bestbob.smugmug.com/Travel/Travels-in-Provence/
Just today I found my Minolta Vectis 20 complete with battery installed, which miraculously has not leaked. Don’t ever recall using much of it but I think mine was new in 2002.
Minolta rely miss the boat when they had a set of very good APS-c lenses from the Vectis SLRs before everybody else but was last to the DSLR party ...they was 1/2 way there with having a set of lenses
Actually, they weren't - they were pretty much the first there, with the Dimage RD-3000, based on the Vectis range and using the lenses. It just wasn't very good.
i had forgotten about that one ....it makes it worse ....if only they had pat a 3mp APS-c sensor in it like the Nikon D1 had in it ...the crop factor must have been insane
Our son was given an APS camera and roll of film by a relative. We took one look at the film and processing costs and decided that he wouldn't be using it; he got a 35mm camera instead. More money for a much smaller negative? Um, no.
Really enjoyed this. APS film came at a time I was not very active in photography. I vaguely knew about it but what work I did at the time was with my Olympus 35mm system. This was most informative and interesting. Well done and thank you.
When I was between studios in the mid 90s, I did a stint as an equipment salesman at a very well known (and still active) NYC photo retailer. I dissuaded customers from APS, reminding them that a bigger negative is always better than a smaller one. Most customers understood, and opted for 35mm despite the hype, and were thankful for the honesty.
Oh, and I also showed how bogus the "panorama" feature was on point and shoot cameras -- the simple mask that would slip over the film frame...what a joke.
I used to work in a photoshop in the early 2000´s, and we received alot of APS film. My personal opinion after handling hundreds of those rolls, is that it was properly bad...
The aspect-ratio thing was just a little "metadata" on each frame which could easily be changed in print. This could be done on 35mm as well... The cases kept braking, giving us proper headaches. And the film had to winded on a proprietary, highly expensive, weird little machine that also kept braking. The imagequality was also nothing to write home about. An ISO 200 film would be grainy beyond acceptance for your average customer if they wanted anything printed above 10*15cm (5*6inch). To me the death of APS film was a welcome one...
Yes! I was remembering that too. They were supposed to be easy to process, but the machine I used was a POS too. I can't remember some of the weird things we had to do, but I think I remember having to transplant the film to blank cases when they'd break.
As a young person growing up in the 90s in a consumer photography household, my experience was that APS was a huge hit amongst my parental units and most of friends' families (that weren't into any serious photography, of course).
I remember my dad selling it to my mom on precisely because it was 'so easy to load the film' and easier to reorder because of the printed thumbnails lol. What a time to be alive. Of course didn't know much about anything aside from how cool the Panoramic mode was - until I got my first 'real' DSLR - T1i and i learned about the crop sensor...
Yes, I had a Canon APS camera, but not for long. I forget the model, but it had a moderately long zoom starting at 28mm equiv. We were backpacking around South America, and I had shot just a couple of rolls when it was stolen at 16,000' above sea level in the refugio on the active volcano Cotopaxi. That was not my only camera stolen on that trip, Oh well. The APS thief must have been disappointed to discover that APS film was not to be found in Ecuador. The camera was probably discarded.
As someone who still primarily uses film my work, I saw APS primarily as Kodak's attempt at an end-run around the oncoming digital onslaught, as well as Just One More trip to the proprietary-format feeding trough. The major Japanese players at the time kinda-sorta went along, but at the same time kicked a bit of sand in Rochester's eye by releasing some *seriously* techy 35mm auto-everything compacts at surprisingly reasonable prices, and which, both performance- and value-wise, left most APS cameras in their wake. But then, digital got better...
I had a Minolta Vectis S-1 and S-100 with 4 lenses, 28-56, 56-170, 50 Macro and 400mm. I loved the system! Thought the pictures were great and it was easy to use. Plus being smaller than 35mm (which I also had), it was lighter and easier to carry and travel with.
My mom was the family amateur photographer growing up. Forgot the camera but knew we had to go to Target just to process the negatives when I was younger. Film loading was easy for my little hands!
APS was really cool. Funnily enough I 'discovered' it only less than 10 years ago, bought some cameras and films and used them for a few years.
Of course people may ask - why not just use 35mm? APS actually gave me several advantages over 35mm cameras, in particular:
- compact cameras with wider lenses. Within 35mm compacts, 35mm lenses were standard and anything wider was usually expensive (e.g. Nikon 28Ti). Canon Ixus II has a ZOOM lens that starts at about 29mm.
- tiny, light and high quality cameras. I just visited my drawer: Canon L1's - ultra light, fixed lens of about 33 mm, I have 2 and like them more than I've liked my Olympus Mju II's. Canon Ixus II - tiny, light yet built like a tank, superb quality. Nikon Pronea S - ok not as cool, but it's a modern SLR with the size of a modern MILC.
- great film stock. B&W Kodak is amazing (different from 35mm BW400CN) and my favorite B&W film ever. Fuji 800 beats any ASA 800 35mm film by a mile.
Also, APS came extra handy during the time when compact digital cameras were still sh*tty and getting worse and worse, while the really good ones were still far away. There were 1" or 4/3 sensors at the time. I had Sigma DP1 but it was really impractical for general use.
Say a decent enough digital compact cost 400 € at the time. APS gave me comparable or even better IQ and with the crazy low prices of cameras, films and processing/scanning it would take 1 or 2 years for APS to cost as much.
Never got into APS and saw very few rolls come into the lab I worked at.
The 16:9 conspiracy theory. Yep, that's what I believe. I LOVE shooting 16:9. Anything "smaller" is a waste of my widescreen monitor space! (Hahahaha...)
High confusion! The end of times! Stories of photographic film abound as digital cameras are facing their own Kodak moment brought on by portable telephones. Twisted.
Nice walk down memory lane. My first real camera was an APS Fujifilm Endeavor 100ix that I got for my 11th birthday, and it went with me everywhere. The C-H-P option and quick loading/unloading made it very simple to use.
why is this article on dpreview? Who sponsored it and who is the beneficiary. It's a waste of time. Photographers want to see more relevant review rather than look at some old underexposed negatives. The review itself is a failure if we look at it from the technical point of view. It should have been reshot with properly exposed negatives - it's like saying we effed up the film but look at the results anyway
Why do you care? Why waste your time? this is a photography site and some might find this interesting as it relates to photographic history. Considering apsc film hasn’t been made for years you cannot get fresh film. This has nothing to do with exposure, it has to do with the fact that the film is expired. This is a fun article. Why be a killjoy making irrelevant points.
We occasionally like to deviate from camera and lens reviews, just to keep things interesting for the audience and ourselves. I was surprised to find a number of younger photographers had no idea what APS film was, so we thought this would be interesting for some DPReview readers.
Sure, we could reshoot the images, but the episode is about the experience of shooting APS, not critiquing the image quality (which would be useless as all the film is now expired anyways). Sorry you didn't find the video interesting, we'll be back with a gear review next week.
I thought it was interesting, entertaining, and relevant, as it deals with the era of transition from one medium to another. Gear reviews are great, but some history behind the gear can also be very informative. More historia! :)
Why was APS developed, follow the money, it had to do with collecting licensing fees and per unit royalties from everyone but the Big 5 that came up with APS; Kodak, Fuji, Nikon, Canon and Minolta. Kodak had developed a clear magnetic coating that would cover the APS film; more advanced cameras would be able to put info on that magnetic coating to help improve the image when printed: was the camera held vertical or horizontal, if flash was used, exposure comp, and more. The APS printing equipment could read the info the camera put on each image and the printer would add the exposure info for each print on each negative so reprints would look like the original, saving reprints if the customer like the original or reprints better. The 'Other' camera, film and processing equipment companies did not want to send their production numbers to the Big 5 who were their competitors, so the Big 5 formed a separate company to handle the royalty payments. 5 years to develop APS, Big Fail.
Great video taking one back in history. When the format came out I wasn't convinced that it would take off. And then soon after the first digitals came out. 11 years ago my then digital SLR Canon 400D (xti) broke and I went into that same seneal store where I bought a refurbished one. Still works today :-) Thanks for your great video. More of these please.
Like others have said APS was too late to do any good in the film arena. Add to that most manufacturers only paid it lip service and NEVER stood behind it with any commitment. APS had the ability to do a lot more than it ever did with the magnetic layer and the ability to record digital data. I had one of the first APS cameras and one of the first photo labs for processing the film and if we did 4000 rolls total in the life of the film that would shock me, probably closer to 2000 roll max (as a comparison we did 500 rolls of 35mm per day). It was also a PAIN to process with having to reload it into a second canister before processing then load back into the original canister after processing. Not sorry to see it go!
There were some excellent top of the range slrs from the likes of Canon, Minolta and Nikon. I added the three systems (selecting the top model in each) to my camera collection because they could be picked up for peanuts, but I do know what you mean. Interesting to read your experience as a processing lab, too. The Canon was best as it could mount standard Eos slr lenses
Did I read somewhere back then that labs were forced by Kodak to accept APS-C processors? Or have I got this wrong?
APS was pushed on the labs, We were Fuji and they REALLY pushed it by offering incentives to upgrade. C-41 machines were not an issue as they came up with the intermediate canister that we could reuse. Some printers were able to be upgraded with new APS carriers to at least print. The issue was the carriers also did not take advantage of all the APS functions OR we turned them off. One function that I remember was the "Customer selected print quantity". When shooting the customer could select the number of prints they wanted from each shot. That lasted a couple days till it was shut off. Customers had no clue of what this did and getting 99 prints from a shot of your foot was an issue!
MUCH EASIER.... we sent out to another lab to do :-) :-) as we did not have a processor that would take the disks.
I did do them at a friends place - you took the disc into the dark box, cracked the case, removed the film, slid the disc onto a spindle. After he just put into a envelope.
Printing was the same in that you needed a different carrier and with the smaller neg (like 110 as well) the exposure time was longer than 35 or even 126.
The APS system could have been a big hit if it weren't for two things:
1. The image quality was pretty poor 2. Digital kept getting better and cheaper
It really was the last gasp of a dying film industry. It was an attempt to prevent a mass switch to digital, but the attempt failed. I guess they had to "try something" even if it didn't work as hyped.
I remember paying $650 for my Canon IXUS Lite SLR kit, and today you can find them on ebay for $5. This is a risk all early adopters and gadget freaks take.
We remember it this way, but at the time digital wasn't good enough--there were 1.7 megapixel cameras costing hundreds of dollars. Even people who wouldn't go to the effort to buy and process film were not going digital (except some scientists and realtors.)
The two things that sealed the deal were small film/poor quality and the fact that consumers saw the new APS features as unnecessary or not worth paying a premium. This wouldn't happen today; give people a new digital feature and they will find a use for it.
You're both right. But Kodak had a track record of foisting new film formats on to the public, and which in many ways weren't really needed, and all saw a dramatic loss of IQ. Remember 126, 110 and Disc? Volume sales were in 35mm and roll film, but demand overall was relatively static with little room to grow in face of the new digital technology. After all, if one had a decent camera why change? So, let's get the public to buy into a new system, and which would also help out a flagging film camera industry. But we have to offer something over and above what 35mm provides. And the system did, but at a price and with lower IQ. Also, the system wasn't amenable to home d&p. Top of the range slr's from Canon, Minolta and Nikon were indeed quite advanced, but many would baulk at the price.
1. IQ was comparable or better than 35mm (when we talk about same categories of cameras/films) because the manufacturers put a lot of R&D into the format.
2. While digital was getting better, at the time was still very poor. Even the Canon D30 mentioned in the video was just a lowish-end SLR. It wasn't until around 2004 when digital became both good enough and inexpensive for anything but the pros and early adopters.
Digital of course won because it was more convenient in the first place, just like phones are winning over standalone cameras today - for convenience, even though the quality is not even within the same galaxy.
I remember when it came out. A good idea on paper but lower quality than 35mm so it wasn't taken very seriously. And we knew it was a stop-gap as digital matured. Bought an APS camera for my then-new wife, a nice small Canon that fit in to her handbag easily. Took decent photos but nothing earth shattering. A year later it was replaced by a small Casio digital camera that despite having only 4MP worked very well and the Canon APS camera was sold on ebay. Still have a bunch of APS film in the freezer that I have no idea what to do with, it will probably be tossed in the bin.
I would find a history of video cameras interesting as well, since contemporary still cameras are basically also considered video cameras. There was quite an evolution for that to happen. Dedicated video cams for VHS/beta to dv tape to recordable cd's/DVD's to internal hdd's to flash, then finally the inclusion of still cameras memory cards. Not to mention the standards in resolution improving over time. Jordan Drake would be able to walk us through a history of videography quite well I think.
Yes....hard to know if the Fujifilm stock was refrigerated and maybe the Kodak film wasn't, for example. I had an old camera with a partially exposed roll of Kokacolor....I forgot about it, and it was in the camera for about 5 years, I think. For fun, I had it developed and most of it was terrible, all orange, and you could barely tell what the photos were.
The heavily tint images present two problems. First, it isn't even across the image in all images, and of one color, and second, it is so heavy that there is not color information left in the images to create a normal looking image. The best you could do is create black and white images out of them, and even then they would be uneven and missing a lot of detail.
The APS was never that good compared to the good old fashioned 35mm film. The worst was the disc film where images always came out grainy and not resolving good details even in good light. The scanned images only confirmed what I've seen when I scanned mine.
And now we have digital sensors that can resolve more details even though they're MUCH smaller than disc films and can do well in low light.
And the current APS digital sensors are already doing way much better than APS film such as being able to change its ISO from 100 to 25,600 which was simply unheard of back then and having the ability to resolve much more details especially in low light.
It's quite amazing how far we've come. I remember the first time digital cameras finally had 1.2 megapixel sensors... but they were still not as good as APS film. Now, we have cameras with over 24 MP sensors doing so much better than APS film.
Yep, thin negatives. The ones that don't have horrible color shifts and tints would have been perfect with much more exposure. Best way to make negative film look horrible is to underexpose it.
What memories. I was working at Ritz Camera at the time these came out. The Elf was pretty popular but the others not so much. Obviously APS stood for Advanced Photo System, but selling them we called them a (APS) A Piece of Sh**. Wasn't too long after that we got our first digital camera in for sale. It was a tiny Casio not even 1MP and was over $600.
I was always curious about APS-C (which never took off in my country, but was still popular in Europe when I travelled to Germany in 2003), so I loved the video! I guess it was bound to fail because of the small surface area (damn that thing is noisy!), but why they never developed the same cartridge for 35mm is odd. Still, it’s amazing to see that it was noticeably inferior to modern 1” sensors, which goes to show that even MFT is well above the technical results of 35mm film. We’ve come really far!
I've scanned a lot of 35mm film on dedicated film scanners over the years and I can easily say that a 1" sensor delivers better quality than 4000dpi scans from 35mm film, and especially so at higher ISOs. That's one of the reasons why I have settled on a Sony RX100 V.
What I don't understand is why it takes a larger camera body to house a 35mm sensor. Back in the film days you could have something tiny like an Olympus Stylus Epic using 35mm film. We will come much farther when we can do the same with 35mm sensors.
I think it is because of the angle that light passing through the lens hits the Sensor. Light passing through the centre of the lens hits the centre of the Sensor directly so the full value is registered. Light passing through the outer regions of the lens hits the sensor at an angle. This does not matter much to the light-sensitive surface on film but makes a big difference to the amount of light registered by the light-sensitive electronics on a digital sensor.
A partial fix is to use a layer of micro lenses above the sensor surface to refract the light so that it hits the sensor surface in a more perpendicular fashion. I assume that this is not a complete fix because we would have full frame equivalents of the Olympus XA.
@Slouch. "Also: battery size and heat dissipation are problems inherent to digital, but not film, cameras."
Only because they have turned still cameras into video cameras too. I wish I could simply be able to buy a modern still camera without all the video baggage and extra expense and weight that goes along with it.
Phil: To remove heat dissipation as an issue, one would need to make a DSLR devoid of live view, and also curtail its long-exposure capability. Can you get any more niche than that? :/
Not really, long exposure noise artifacts have been a problem for a long time, and 35mm digital cameras all need some form of heat dissipation. Still, the Sony RX1 proves that a compact camera with a 35mm sensor is indeed possible. The lens is huge, of course, because it’s made to perform at a very high standard, and perhaps that’s the true problem: with our current high resolution sensors, the lenses just can’t be that small anymore, which in turn invalidates the raison d’être for a small camera in the first place.
Totally awesome video. I have that very same camera. Obviously I haven’t used it in over a decade as I don’t have film. I did however removed the batteries. So I’m sure it’s still in great condition.
The Prvke Lite is the latest release from camera bag/strap maker Wandrd. A shrunk-down version of their popular full-sized Prvke bag, this model is perfect for smaller kits, including mirrorless cameras.
The Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV is an entry-level mirrorless camera that's feature-packed, and will appeal to beginners as well as more experienced users. Read about the ins and outs of this image-stabilized, low-priced camera here.
The Panasonic Lumix DC-G100 (G110 in some regions) is a mirrorless camera designed for vlogging. Its 20MP Four Thirds sensor is paired with clever tracking audio technology, but we have our reservations.
The GFX 100S fits most of the capabilities of the GFX 100 into a smaller and more affordable body. We've tested what the camera offers to see who it might make sense for.
The Sony Alpha 1 is Sony's flagship mirrorless camera for, well, just about anything. With a 50MP sensor, it gives you tons of resolution, but it also lets you fire off burst images at 30 fps for fast action sports. Add in 8K video capture and you have a really impressive package.
Although a lot of people only upload images to Instagram from their smartphones, the app is much more than just a mobile photography platform. In this guide we've chosen a selection of cameras that make it easy to shoot compelling lifestyle images, ideal for sharing on social media.
What’s the best camera for around $2000? These capable cameras should be solid and well-built, have both speed and focus for capturing fast action and offer professional-level image quality. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing around $2000 and recommended the best.
What’s the best camera for less than $1000? The best cameras for under $1000 should have good ergonomics and controls, great image quality and be capture high-quality video. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing under $1000 and recommended the best.
There are a lot of photo/video cameras that have found a role as B-cameras on professional productions or A-camera for amateur and independent productions. We've combed through the options and selected our two favorite cameras in this class.
What’s the best camera costing over $2500? The best high-end camera costing more than $2000 should have plenty of resolution, exceptional build quality, good 4K video capture and top-notch autofocus for advanced and professional users. In this buying guide we’ve rounded up all the current interchangeable lens cameras costing over $2500 and recommended the best.
Chernobyl is a hazardous place to visit and tourism is prohibited. A team of remote pilots known as Pro-Art compiled three-and-a-half hours of aerial footage, taken by a DJI Mavic Air 2, to show the eeriness of the infamous disaster zone.
Something terrible has happened to Chris and Jordan up in Calgary, and they need to buy a new camera kit priced under $4000 using their own money. Find out what cameras and lenses they chose.
At only $8000 the Vazen 50mm T2.1 1.8x anamorphic is quite a bargain - in relative terms anyway. Designed for full frame sensors it offers a 65 degree angle of view.
Because of COVID, a famous tulip garden was closed to the public for the second year in a row. Wiebe de Jager flew his DJI FPV drone through the premises to give us 'a bird's flight' perspective.
Roman Yarovitcyn spent the 1990's working as a newspaper photographer in Russia and shooting primarily on inexpensive Zenit-E cameras. Despite the shortcomings of his gear, the B&W images he created during this era are nothing short of mesmerizing.
We recently published our Olympus E-M10 Mark IV review, and with it, we have a boatload of new samples including some fresh Raw conversions. Take a look.
As the European Space Agency (ESA) prepares for the launch of its new Ariane 6 rocket, ESA produced a stunning time-lapse video at the rocket's future launch site in French Guiana, South America.
A production copy of the Leica Vario-Elmarit-SL 24-70mm F2.8 ASPH, and we've taken advantage of an unbroken few days of sunny spring weather to start a gallery of photos, on the Leica SL2. Click through for our initial set of samples, which we'll be updating in the coming days!
Caleb Pike of DSLR Video Shooter has shared a video showing how you can make an all-in-one video studio that collapses down into a Pelican 1510 case for the ultimate turnkey video production solution.
It's new laptop season, and HP is getting in on the fun with three new ZBook G8 notebooks. Available in 15.6" and 17.3" sizes, the notebooks include Intel's new 11th-gen processors, RTX graphics, fast memory, impressive displays and much more.
At a quick glance, you might even think this ultra-fast prime was a first-party Leica lens, thanks to its similar design and typeface used for markings on the lens.
What's the best way to get a sharp photo: the "Mr/Mrs Pinchypants" or the "Down on the ground pound"? In this episode of DPReview TV, Chris shows you the right way to hold your camera to get the best results.
The Peak Design Marketplace is a peer-to-peer platform where consumers can buy and sell pre-owned Peak Design equipment that keeps the company's lifetime guarantee intact.
We've just received a production-ready Pentax K-3 Mark III, and we've gotten straight to work with it to see what it can do. Check out our samples from a variety of lenses and a variety of sites (and sights) up and down the Puget Sound region in Washington State.
Tokina’s new 25-75mm T2.9 lens slides between its current 11-20mm T2.9 and 50-135mm T2.9 cinema lenses, making a trio of constant T2.9 zoom lenses from 11mm through 135mm focal lengths.
Razer's Blade 15 laptop first launched in 2018. Since then, the company has made numerous updates. The latest refresh adds new 11th gen Intel processors, faster memory, PCIe Gen 4 storage, a thinner design and more. It may be a gaming laptop, but there's a lot to like here for creators, too.
The New York Times and the Content Authenticity Initiative have unveiled a prototype system to inspire confidence in photos by securely recording and making available information about creators, edits and publishing information for photographs.
The Prvke Lite is the latest release from camera bag/strap maker Wandrd. A shrunk-down version of their popular full-sized Prvke bag, this model is perfect for smaller kits, including mirrorless cameras.
Why are modern 50mm lenses so complex? Lens designers didn't add all that extra glass just to charge more money and make the diagram look cool, explains Roger Cicala.
Since the dawn of recorded time, Pentax DSLRs has been known for being well-designed, rugged and full-featured. In this episode of DPReview TV, Chris and Jordan share their thoughts about Ricoh's latest DSLR, the Pentax K-3 Mark III.
Surely you've already watched our video review on the Pentax K-3 Mark III. Now it's time to take a closer look at some of the samples from its 25.7MP sensor.
Apple has teamed up with Incite for many great 'Experiments' videos showcasing the latest iPhone model's camera capabilities including its latest, which shows off the slow-motion and time-lapse performance of iPhone 12.
If camera companies want to truly compete with smartphones for relevance, they need to offer models that are as easy to use as a phone, but offer substantially better image quality.
The lens remains the widest shift lens for full-frame cameras, with the new Leica L and Pentax K mount versions rounding out the Canon EF, Canon RF, Nikon F, Nikon Z and Sony E mount options from launch.
The Olympus OM-D E-M10 IV is an entry-level mirrorless camera that's feature-packed, and will appeal to beginners as well as more experienced users. Read about the ins and outs of this image-stabilized, low-priced camera here.
Comments