It’s the IFA weekend – and with it time for TV, TV and: even more TV. And smart phones. Those are the focal points of the fair in Berlin, not photography. But that doesn’t matter at all, because the photo market has its own events, and even at the IFA there are one or two gadgets that photographers can also use.
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One such is the HDR projector called “Horizon Ultra” from Xgimi. It is quite colorful and also unproblematic to set up because it combines laser light with LED lighting. This allows it to align itself with the screen without any major loss of sharpness. Anyone presenting photos or films on the go quickly learns to appreciate the benefits of such small projectors, because there is no need to set them up exactly flat to the screen. Although the Horizon, like most DLP projectors, does not offer real 4K, it does offer very rich colors, also with Dolby Vision.
Two instead of a new Alpha 7C
For this, however, suitable photos must first be found, and for this purpose new cameras appear outside of the large photo fairs in spring and autumn. This week the successor models to the compact full-frame Alpha from Sony were ready. The product line forks: after the previous Alpha 7C, there is an Alpha 7C II and an Alpha 7R. R always stands for “Resolution” at Sony, so this model has the 61-megapixel sensor of the Alpha 7R V. The Mark II of the previous 7C has 33 instead of 24 megapixels before.
Sony consistently relies on films
All the details can be found in a detailed report, so here only a reference to the filming and vlogging properties – because Sony also builds them into the larger cameras in addition to the models expressly intended for this purpose, such as the ZV-1 II. The trend is being pursued more consistently than almost any other manufacturer. Both new Alpha 7C have a foldable and swiveling display, and they work as a 4K webcam via USB-C. That alone can be the decisive factor for the growing number of web video producers: a compact camera for on the go that is also used for streaming.
It is fitting that the newly launched wide-angle lens with 16-35 mm f/2.8 also has a de-clicking mode. The aperture then does not snap into stages, i.e. does not click, which would be annoying when filming. By the way: In contrast to the ultra-compact and cheaper models like the Nikon Z30, the new Alphas also have a viewfinder, which is not immediately visible from the front, so they are also suitable for concentrated photography in front of the eye.
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Tamron telephoto for Nikkon-Z
With large and heavy telephoto lenses, photographers usually work with the viewfinder for purely haptic reasons. Among these is another quite interesting lens, which was previously only available for Sony’s E-mount – now also for Nikon’s Z-mount: The 35-150mm f/2.0-2.8 from Tamron. It’s further evidence of the closer collaboration between the two companies, and the Nikon tax, often derided in recent years, is moderate. The RRP is only €100 higher than the Sony version, which may also be due to the novelty factor and inflation. Nevertheless, 2000 euros is already an announcement, but there is almost the usual professional telephoto with 70-200 millimeters. The Tamron has the normal range with f/2.0 instead of f/2.8 ahead of it, once again you have to know what you want.
And that also applies if you screw a Lensbaby onto the camera – these are experimental lenses for those who like to experiment. This means that effects such as a rotating bokeh can be created directly in the camera, not only afterwards on the PC. To stage a motif on site, to play with the image design, is still much faster than tedious post-processing. And working with several levels of focus that can be shifted one below the other is also much more intuitive with a simple turn of the lens than with many clicks.
wet plates and laser projector
The tactile factor, creating with your hands, makes up a lot of the attraction of photography, even with a high-tech block in your hand. And it becomes quite a craft if you build the camera yourself, as our author Markus Hofstätter recently did. He works a lot with large-format cameras, which you can essentially build yourself from two Euroboxes and an old projection lens from the second-hand market. On October 13 at the Ars Electronica Center in Linz, Austria, Hofstätter will be showing what else Hofstätter does with the big cameras for large photos.
Then there is the lecture “Deep Space Lecture“, which has nothing to do with astrophotography. Rather, “Deep Space” is the name of a new demonstration installation at the museum, which was built around an 8K laser projector. At 16 by 9 meters, Hofstätter’s extremely high-resolution portraits become almost tangible He produces them using the wet plate process, combining a 170-year-old technique with laser projection.The lecture is not a part of the Ars Electronica festivalwhich is already taking place from September 6th to 10th, but as a separate event.
The history of Minolta
Our recommendation for a long read for the weekend falls more in the middle of the story. It’s about the now defunct Minolta brand. In 2005, Sony had bought up the remains, which formed the basis for the success of the Alpha cameras. What is less well known today is that many groundbreaking innovations came from Minolta, such as the first camera with autofocus and motorized film transport. That was the case with the Maxxum 7000, released in 1985. And as early as 1958, well before Leica, for example, Minolta helped shape the design of the single-lens reflex camera pentaprism. Then came the SR-2 camera, which is also featured on the cover of this column.
That was just a year after the first such design ever to come from Pentax. However, Minolta changed the design so that the silver stripe sat above the otherwise black body. Countless Canons, Nikons and Leicas looked similarly elegant afterwards. And in the 1960s to 1980s, a Minolta was often the camera of choice for professionals and ambitious amateurs alongside the big brands that are left today. How it all came about is explained to the colleagues at Petapixel with a lot of background information and pictures written worth reading.
(cbr)