Pro Photo

I recently came across a succinct description of what most of us do –“lens-based practice”. Although, “camera-based practice” is arguably just as accurate. It’s going to be even more necessary to distinguish photography – i.e. image making using a camera and lens – from the frightening prospect that is AI-based image generation. This is machine learning software that simply uses a short text description to make up a picture from elements that it has absorbed from millions of tagged sample images. There several AI art generators available such as Dall-E 2, Stable Diffusion, Picsart, Craiyon and Midjourney, which have varying capabilities and applications. Dall-E, for example, even allows users to specify the lens focal length and aperture in their AI-generated images… and the results have been described as “shockingly realistic”.…

The more compact of the Lumix S series full-frame mirrorless camera bodies proved to be a bit of a hidden gem, but very popular with shooters who discovered it as an alternative to the S1 models. Now it’s likely to attraction more attention as Panasonic unveils not one, but two second-gen models. The new Lumix S5II is available now and the more video-orientated S5IIX will arrive mid-year. Both have a lot in common including a new 24.2MP BSI-type CMOS sensor, but the S5IIX borrows a cosmetic touch from Leica and has its nameplate and model number blacked-in. The new sensor enables phase-detection autofocusing for the first time on a Lumix mirrorless camera (and presumably on whatever future Leica SL series model uses it). The camera’s new processor is, in fact,…

All the additional features available in Panasonic Lumix S5IIX are aimed at videographers, but they’re probably significant enough to warrant the extra investment – which is a quite modest $300 – for these users. The S5IIX is the first full-frame mirrorless camera to record directly to an external SSD (solid state drive) via USB-C, which offers significant workflow and cost advantages, and gives a bit rate of up to 800 Mbps. This USB-SSD output tops out at 5.8K at up to 30fps and encoded in ProRes RAW 422 or 422HQ. However, you can also record 4K DCI or 4K UHD this way at up to 60fps and Full HD at up to 120fps. ProRes or Blackmagic RAW recording over HDMI comes as standard with the S5IIX. You also get the ALL-Intra…

Announced alongside the new Lumix S5II cameras, the Panasonic Lumix S 14-28mm f/4.0-5.6 Macro is a lightweight and compact wide-angle zoom in the L mount. It weighs in at a modest 345 grams and earns its ‘macro’ tag by delivering a magnification of 5x at 28mm – or 1:2 which is half life size – and 0.25x at 14mm which is quarter life size. The minimum focusing distance is 15cm, which is maintained across the full focal range. The external construction features weather sealing and insulation for shooting in subzero temperatures down to -10º Celsius. Additionally, a fluorine coating is applied to the exposed surface of the front element to help repel moisture and grease. On the inside, the optical construction employs 14 elements in 10 groups with a total…

Current to 30 April: Exhibition. Viewfinder – Photography From The 1970s To Now. Australian documentary photography from the last five decades drawn from the National Library Of Australia’s collection. The 125 images in this exhibition reveal a changing Australia. At the Exhibition Gallery, the National Library Of Australia, Parkes Place, Canberra, ACT 2600. Exhibition hours are 9am-5pm daily (closed Christmas Day and Good Friday). Entry is free. For more information visit www.nla.gov.au. Current to 14 May: Exhibition. Andy Warhol & Photography: A Social Media. Exclusive to Adelaide, this features photos, experimental films and paintings by Warhol, including his famed Pop Art portraits of Marilyn Monroe and Elvis Presley from the 1960s. It also contains works by his photographic collaborators and creative contemporaries such as Christopher Makos, Gerard Malanga, Robert Mapplethorpe, David McCabe,…

We’ve noted on a number of occasions recently that things have definitely been looking up for fans of the Micro Four Thirds sensor size. There have been significant new cameras from both OM Digital Solutions and Panasonic, plus quite a number of tasty lenses. Panasonic is making good on its promise not to neglect its M43 system and the latest addition to the lens line-up is the Panasonic Leica DG Vario-Elmarit 12-35mm f/2.8 ASPH Power O.I.S. This is equivalent to a 24-70mm, so it gives Lumix G series users a new version of the classic f/2.8-speed standard zoom (replacing the Lumix G X Vario 12-35mm f/2.8 II ASPH Power O.I.S. from 2017). It features a fully weather-sealed construction with insulation to enable shooting in subzero temperatures down to -10º Celsius.…