For many years the most-often cited alternative to Photoshop was GIMP, a powerful, free, tool, but one that wasn’t to everyone’s liking. That has changed drastically over the last year. For starters, Adobe’s own Premiere Elements and Photoshop Elements 2019 versions are remarkably full-featured, and not very expensive. We did a hands-on review of them for ExtremeTech. Cyberlink has also upped its game with an aggressively priced new Cyberlink Director Suite 365. One impressive new competitor to Lightroom is Luminar from Skylum (formerly MacPhun). What I’m really looking forward to from Skylum is the soon-to-be-released, somewhat-delayed, version of Luminar that will extend it to include image cataloging.

It’s hard to believe, but it has also been two years since Affinity first brought its photo editor to Windows.

We’re a little late posting this, but as part of Adobe’s MAX conference last month, we covered many of the most important updates to Adobe’s Creative Cloud applications. We’ll be working with them and writing about them in more detail over the coming months, but this article will give you a sense of what you’ve just gotten if you’re a Creative Cloud subscriber.

Datacolor just published an article I wrote for them on how to get great photographs (including 360-degree panoramas) with your drone, and especially how to get the best color you can out of those images. You c

I’ve been using an Osmo Mobile 2 off and on for a couple months now, and have written up my experiences on ExtremeTech. The TL;DR version is that it works quite well, but certainly ruins the convenience of simply pulling a smartphone out of your pocket, so it’s definitely a niche product. One reason to consider it is if you’re thinking of taking the plunge on a Ronin for your big camera you can get a relatively-inexpensive taste of using a gimbal, as the Osmo Mobile 2 is only $139 at B&H.

Finally Nikon has done something to staunch the flow of defections from its DSLRs to Sony mirrorless cameras – and to make life easier for those of us who want to get the benefits of mirrorless, including a smart EVF, fast AF for video, better focus area coverage, and potentially-silent operation, without leaving behind our current Nikon gear and our love for the handling of Nikon’s DSLRs. The Nikon Z 7 is basically the mirrorless equivalent of the Nikon D850, and the Z 6 is very much like the Nikon D750 (although with a much higher frame rate). You can see my writeup of the announcement on Extremetech.com.

Adobe Lightroom is an amazing product. However, since the original interface was built for a simple RAW converter, more and more functionality has been squeezed into limited space. Lightroom Mobile, and to some extent the cloud-first Lightroom CC, have started to deal with this situation, but for traditional users of Lightroom Classic CC, it is just painful to find and adjust the endless variety of tiny sliders. Loupedeck aimed to fix that with a custom input device that was pre-mapped to allow instant access to dozens of popular Lightroom functions. The initial version was lauded for its functionality, but dinged by some for build quality and lack of support for other applications. The new Loupedeck+ addresses both of these shortcomings. I’ve been lucky enough to get a pre-release version to use, and so far I’m impressed…

One of the first pieces of advice for anyone doing serious image editing or color correction gets is to keep your working area fairly dark. That provides the best environment for accurate assessment of on-screen colors. Unfortunately, that can also make it hard to see the things you need to see that aren’t on the screen. That includes your keyboard (unless you are an awesome typist), other accessories like a LoupeDeck, or even proof prints that need to be compared to the displayed image. There are a number of lights on the market that are designed to address this shortcoming, but monitor-maker Benq has just released its Benq ScreenBar one of the nicest. I’ve been using one for a couple months and am happy to share my experiences.

We’ve written about the Zephyr drone simulator before. It is a powerful platform for learning how to fly your drone, either for fun or for professionally. Since for many of us our drones are basically flying cameras, it makes perfect sense that Little Arms has added a set of modules designed to train you on how to perform the types of moves that are common in creating video footage. The modules were designed by Skip Fredericks, the Emmy-award winning cinematographer and drone video pioneer. I’ve been working with them a bit over the last couple weeks.

One of everyone’s favorite parts of our photo safaris is the participant slideshow on the last evening. Everyone gets to relive the trip – which always goes by too quickly – while looking at their images on the big screen for the first time. Each of us also gets to marvel at how many different ways there are to look at the same scene. Set to an appropriate sound track, with some professional-looking touches, the show is popular enough that we normally need to run it twice. Best of all, because it is pre-timed and self-running, it doesn’t bog down the way presentations can if a presenter narrates every image. I always get compliments about putting the show together, but at the risk of spoiling the magic, the secret is simple: Photodex ProShow. Whether you lead a group or simply want to chronicle a trip with friends or family, it is absolutely worth it to put together a show as a great finale.

Shoulder bags for photographers tend to be aimed at either photojournalists or hip street shooters. They come in a number of really attractive designs, including two of my favorites, the Think Tank Retrospective Leather and the Think Tank Retrospective 7. However, they’re not designed for extended outdoor use in rough conditions. In contrast, many of the great bags and backpacks for wildlife and sports photographers are anything but stylish, and are often not that practical in confined urban settings. So I was very excited when Think Tank introduced the new MindShift Exposure 13 and MindShift Exposure 15. The Exposure series offers serious weatherproofing (even without using the rain cover), room for a good amount of gear and a laptop, and is stylish enough that they’re at home just about anywhere you’d take your camera. I took an Exposure 15 along on our recent photo safari to Africa, where it did double duty as my computer bag around the camps, and as my all purpose shooting bag when we were touring in Johannesburg and Cape Town…

We’re just back from a very productive photo safari to Botswana and South Africa. We had a great group of participants, and had day after day of amazing wildlife experiences at two really excellent camps. Our personalized tour through the sights and sounds of Soweto was also a unique experience. While I brought and mostly shot with my traditional Nikon D850 and Nikon D7500 DSLRs, I also brought along two flagship smartphones and put them to the test. You can read about what I found they were great for, what they couldn’t do, and get some tips on how to use one on your next safari in this article I’ve written for Extremetech. Quick note: We’re starting to organize another high-end photo safari to Botswana and South Africa, possibly invitation only and probably Spring, 2020. If you’d like to be kept in the loop email us at safaris@cardinalphoto.com.

My friend Ed and I got to spend a few days doing some bird photography on the famous High Island in Texas, and nearby Galveston Island. Neither of us had been there before, but it was on our “bucket list” of bird photography destinations. We hadn’t been able to do much preparation, but fortunately the areas are incredibly friendly and easy to sort out for both birders and bird photographers. After only a few days of course we’re no experts, but can pass along our observations on how to make the most of your trip and a few favorite photos.

Regular readers and my safari clients know that I’m always on the lookout for the ultimate field photo bag. Especially when working in inclement weather or in situations where you can’t set a bag down, it has to be both versatile and easy to access. I’ve used a variety of bags from MindShift (and sister brand Think Tank) this way successfully, but I think they’ve outdone themselves with their new Exposure series…

 

PolarPro is one of the top makers of cinematic filters for drones. I’ve been using their excellent Polarizer, Neutral Density, and combined Polarizer + Neutral Density filters with my Mavic Pro drones for over a year – and they’ve performed perfectly. Its new QuartzLine set of filters are suitable for use with lenses and cameras that accept screw-in filters from 37mm to 82mm. As the name implies they are made out of nearly pure Quartz glass. PolarPro claims a ‘hyper-neutral’ color profile and has added additional scratch resistant and water and oil repellant coatings. Filters range from a simple UV and CPL, to ND filters from ND8 (3-stops) to a dramatic ND100K (which sounds like it is a pretty amazing 16 stops). The ND8, ND16, and ND64 also come in a combination Polarizer model. Filters will ship starting on May 15th, but are available for pre-order direct from PolarPro now. Prices range from $60 – $240 depending on size and model.

Adobe has completely overhauled camera profiles and presets in both Photoshop and Lightroom. Camera profiles are expanded and renamed Profiles. They can now include both a variety of more traditional RAW file interpreters and some new Creatively-focused Profiles. Similarly, Presets are now easier to find, organize, and use. Adobe has worked with partners to provide a variety of Profiles and Presets, and I expect to see more. All you need to do to get the new features is let your Creative Cloud software update your Apps. I’ve written a more complete description of these and the other new features in today’s release of PS & LR on ExtremeTech.