Canon Announces the EOS R5 C (Hybrid) Cinema Camera

Canon has announced its new cinema camera. Actually, it’s more of a hybrid camera. It’s the EOS R5 C.* It was rumored a handful of times previously and I gotta tell ya, I’m excited and also a bit confused about this. But then again, maybe this is Canon’s way of continuing to add SOMETHING to its RF mount system. Anyway, some quick tech specs.

Cine Features in a Mirrorless Body

The R5 C boasts a 45-megapixel full-frame sensor capable of shooting up to 8K RAW cinematic video at 60 frames per second. Woah. This also includes Canon’s magical dual pixel autofocus system that’s nothing short of amazing when it comes to tracking and eye detection for portraiture and action shots. You’ll also get 20 frames per second image capture if needed.

Those are the basics, but the finer points on the spec sheet include:

• 4K 120 frames per second for slow motion in 4:2:2 10-bit

• Ability to record audio while shooting high frame rate (slow mo) footage

• C-Log3 picture profile for more flexibility in color grading and maximizing the dynamic range

• Internal cooling fan for non-stop 8K recording (this was a big problem on the R5)

• Two card slots for recording (Qty 1 CFExpress Type B, qty 1 UHS-II SD)

• Internal RAW 8K recording up to over 800Mbps at 23.98 fps

But why?

These specs sound REALLY good. But one has to ask “why” on this. Canon’s R5* is a highly capable camera for stills and video at a hybrid level. Especially after the firmware updates. No, you’re not getting all of the RAW video capabilities, but you’re able to get RAW video on another cine camera from Canon - the C70.* I absolutely loved the C70, but it’s strictly a cinema camera. No photography involved. Maybe Canon is trying to offer something slightly more portable than the C70 all while including high quality video and photo capabilities? I’m not sure. Wil the C70 have more firmware updates for the super 35 senor’s capability?

You can preorder the R5 C here today over at Adorama. Let me know your thoughts and if you plan on grabbing one. I think the $4500 price point is fair.

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

Balmy Alley Murals and Photo Walk with Jefferson Graham

I had the honor and pleasure to do a bit of street photography in the Mission area of San Francisco with Mr. Jefferson Graham. I’ve had him on my show previously to talk about getting the most out of your smartphone’s camera. Phone cameras are really powerful today, but it does take a bit of know-how to harness that power. Check out that episode here.

But yeah, we met in Balmy Alley to check out the beautiful murals and shoot some photography. I even brought the #hardhead along as he enjoys getting into fashion and photography. Check out the show below by clicking on the image. There’s also a Flipboard magazine you can check out and even contribute to with some of your photography. Just e-mail photowalkstv@gmail.com for an invite to share your photos, and get a critique and shoutout from Mr Graham and I. He’s also scheduling another walk for folks to join.

Image: Ant Pruitt all rights reserved

Nikon Z9 Mirrorless Camera Announced

Nikon has announced it’s latest pro camera body in the form of a full-frame mirroless Z9. This company has been (unfairly) negatively mentioned quite a bit in the photography community regarding its history with the mirrorless line of cameras. I recently chatted with Seth Miranda on my show about these grumbles and gripes from the community. But anyway, the Z9 is looking to be a bold statement from Nikon.

Image: Adorama

Tech specs of note

The camera is a mirrorless body, but a “shutter-less” body as well. Well, a mechanical shutter, that is. There is an enclosure over the sensor, but this isn’t a mechanism used during capturing images. Does this mean an improvement in sensor readout and rolling shutter? In addition to 45 megapixels, you’ll get:

• 8K/30p capture and 4K-from-8K, with ProRes 422 HQ

• 8K/60p, 12-bit 8K N-Raw and 4K ProRes RAW (coming soon with a software update)

• Dual CFExpress type B card slots

• 30 frames per second capture

• 120 frames per second capture (at a 11 megapixels)

• Improved autofocus and tracking

• Tilting rear LCD. It’s interesting looking. . . .

Image: Adorama

All of these specs look great and pretty much expected for a flagship device. I appreciate the fact that the dual card slots are identical. Not just an “ultra fast” slot and a “fast” slot the way other manufacturers are doing it. The squad Chris and Jordan at DP Review did a great video checking out a pre-production Z9 out and about in Seattle. I’m putting there video below. Be sure you click like and subscribe on their channel. You can pre-order the Z9 for $5496 over on Adorama.* Again, this seems like everything you’d expect in a pro body, but with really competitive pricing.

**Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

Sony's "Basic" A7 Isn't So "Basic" Now: Sony A7 IV Full-frame Mirrorless Camera

The rumored Sony A7 IV is now here for pre-order. Sony has kicked up the standards when it comes to what a “base model” full-frame camera can offer its consumers. Really great specs announced with the A7 IV.

Tech Specs

With this new camera body you’re getting a full-frame 33 megapixel sensor with Sony’s updated BIONZ XR image processor. You’re also getting:

• 4K 60 frames per second 10-bit 4:2:2 video with full pixel readout

• 7K oversampling full-frame 4K 30p 4:2:2

• Eye auto focus for humans, animals and birds

• S-Cinetone, S-Log3, HLG and other video profiles to record your footage

• Up to 15 stops of dynamic range

• Dual SD card slots (1 for UHS-I/II cards, 1 for both UHS-I/II cards and CFExpress Type A cards)

• 10 frames person second shooting still

• Flip-out touch screen on the back

• 5-axis in-body stabilization

Image by Sony

This body is available for $2499 on pre-order*. That price point seems fair considering the massive spec bump shown in this body compared to previous models. Compact, light weight which makes it great for portability. Of course I’ve reached out to see if I can get my hands on one. I’m curious to see how this body will feel in my hands. The A7C did NOT feel good in my hands, but the A7R-IV and A1 felt great in my hands. What are your thoughts on the Sony A7 IV?

**Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

ProRAW and More Coming to Photoshop for iPad

Photoshop on iPad has been a DREAM for many photographers and creative artists for years, now. It’s now available on iPad, but it’s not quite everything you’d have on an actual laptop or desktop computer. Adobe knows this and has been working at getting the experience closer to the laptop or desktop experience. Adobe shared a sneak peak of another feature coming to the Photoshop for iPad app in the video below. If you’re interested in getting these great photography tools for yourself, I have an affiliate link here for pricing starting at $10/month.

Better Masking and Selections Coming to Adobe Lightroom and ACR

Adobe Lightroom Classic is part of my photography workflow for post-processing as well as organizing and cataloging my files. The tools in post-processing have become second nature for me these days. Now Adobe is adding more capability to Lightroom Classic, Lightroom (Cloud) and Camera Raw apps with it’s precise masking tool.

The tool is going to offer more flexibility when using the adjustment brush to do selective adjustments in your image. Depending on what you’re trying to achieve, some selective adjustments can be quite tedious in Lightroom. Which is why I usually switch to Photoshop for that part of my post-processing. But it’s nice to see that this may save me a few minutes of work by keeping me in Lightroom.

More details about the update can be found here on the Adobe blog. Check out this quick video showing off forth-coming tool.

Pre-Order The Canon EOS R3 Mirrorless Camera NOW

Canon has been on a tear with its mirrorless camera offerings the last year or so. Then we saw a new pro-grade, full-frame body was coming available. The EOS R3. This is the mirrorless option that Canon states will stand between the EOS R5 and the flagship 1DX II, although the 1DX model isn’t mirrorless.

From a tech spec standpoint, expect:

• 30 frames per second high speed shooting

• rugged build with excellent weather sealing

• 4K video recording with Canon Log (c-log) 3

• 6K RAW video capability

• Dual pixel autofocus for animals, bird and human eye detection

• rumored 24 megapixel stacked image sensor

Pretty beefy specs, as expected. Especially considering that at least one photographer was lucky enough to shoot the 2021 Summer Olympics with a pre-production R3. Says a lot about the potential capabilities of this camera.

The shipping date is November 30, 2021. I also know that you can get your pre-order in with the squad at Adorama on this page*. Do you plan on getting one? I can’t say that I plan on it, but it would be nice to play with one. Stay tuned.

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.

Shout Out to Light and Motion

Yo. I just wanted to give a shout out to the squad at Light and Motion. Recently on my show, Hands-On Photography, I had Tosha Gaines as a guest speaker to share a photography tip as well as inspire my audience. It was great to meet her. She's an ambassador for Light and Motion. Certainly deserving of recognition. Anyhow, Light and Motion offered to affiliate with me and send me some kit. Besides sharing L&M information, I also wanted to say thanks to them and share affiliate information.

About Light and Motion

This company specializes in lighting options for a various situations. Not just photography. The product line is professional quality and definitely lives up to that labeling. I’ve had the pleasure of trying out the lights for several weeks now and I’ve been blown away. The Stella Pro CLX10 is an absolute beast of a light with regards to durability and power of light. It’s ridiculous how bright this dadgum LED light is. Not to mention, it’s wireless, so there’s no power cord required. And you can definitely feel the pro-grade build quality in this light.

So yeah, I appreciate Light and Motion setting me up as an affiliate. What does it mean for you? Because I’m an affiliate, I have a 20% off discount code. Just go to this link and apply the code to your order. You’ll get a discount, and I’ll get a small commission of your sale. So go check ‘em out and go Create and DOMINATE, y’all. Be sure to follow the Stella Pro page on Instagram, too.

Photography Today and the Future of Photography

I had the honor and pleasure of being on Tom Merritt’s DTNS “Experiment Week” which for my episode, was hosted by Anthony “Amos” Lemos. With this being “Experiment Week,” the DTNS had me on to talk a bit about photography. The state of photography today as well as my thoughts on the future of photography when it comes to consumers and pro-sumers. It was a lot of fun. Thanks for giving it a listen.

New Photoshop Updates for Desktop and iPad Announced

Adobe has announced new updates to its popular photo editing and manipulation software, Photoshop. The popular app continues grow as more and more tools and options are integrated with each update. Today’s update is great for photographers shooting landscape images or outside in general as the Adobe Sensei AI continues to get better. Here are some of the updates of note for both Photoshop on the desktop computer as well as the iPad.

Sky replacement AI updated

Image: Adobe

We’ve all been there. We’ve snapped a photo outside and the sky just looks. . .blah. Sky replacement AI has gotten more and more popular for this reason. With the latest update to Photoshop's sky replacement feature, you can now choose from more skies in your replacement, import up to 5,000 skies, and control how the newly replaced sky is applied.

Image: Adobe

AI is the big key to the Neural Filters of Photoshop, too. Adobe has included some improvements and updates for this feature set which includes:

• Preset images now included for Style Transfer to provide a starting point

• Use any custom and apply the style of that image to your document

• Superzoom now operates on the entire layer instead fo only a cropped area of the image.

In addition to the sky replacement updates, Adobe announced more control over its Transform Warp tool. this is useful for allowing graphic designers the ability to create complex shapes within their project with the implementation of Bezier handles. For those of you interested in providing feedback for future Photoshop features or suggestions, you can be a part of Photoshop Beta. Just install the beta app via your Creative Cloud app running on your computer.

Photoshop on iPad updated

The iPad version of Photoshop has two nice updates that’s currently found in the desktop version. The Healing Brush and Magic Wand. Healing is great for retouching, small spot removal and so forth in photo manipulation. I use it regularly in portraits. The Magic Wand is great for quick selections of objects in your photo.

Image: Adobe

These are nice features to be added to Photoshop on iPad. I still think there’s a little ways to go before I can make it my mobile photo manipulation app, but it’s nice to see the improvement happening for the project.

You can find out more about the latest Photoshop updates (and MORE) via the Adobe blog post right here. And if you’re interested in getting Photoshop and Lightroom for yourself, click here and get it for $9.99 per month. A great value, in my opinion.

*Affiliate link used. Affiliate links allow me to earn a small commission as a content creator if you purchase items using the affiliate link. Thank you for your support.