Sky’s The Limit: Luminar 4 Introduces The First Automatic Sky Replacement Technology


Official Luminar 4 Early Offer to give artists a unique chance to pre-order Luminar 4 at the lowest price:
1. Luminar 4 + Signature Looks bundle for US$59 instead of US$138
2. Luminar 4 + Signature Looks + Luminar 3 bundle for US$99 instead of US$207

Sky’s the limit: Luminar 4 introduces the first automatic Sky Replacement technology
Utilizing the proprietary technology based on machine learning, Luminar 4 will be the first photo editor to have a fully automated Sky Replacement tool to save the artists hours of editing.

BELLEVUE, WA – July 23, 2019—Today, Skylum announces the upcoming release of Luminar 4, set to ship this fall. Skylum continues to push innovations forward through machine learning tools. In addition to the new AI Sky Replacement tool, Luminar users can expect to see more machine learning present in Luminar 4. With its easy-to-use interface and sensible workflows, Luminar 4 is a great choice for creatives looking to move their photography forward.

“With Luminar 4 we continue to empower everyone who loves photography to make incredible images faster and easier,” said Alex Tsepko, CEO of Skylum. “No one needs a “simply another photo editor” these days. That’s why with every Luminar update we bring photographers something truly meaningful, something that will really level up their creative skills.

In Luminar 2018, Skylum introduced the AI Sky Enhancer filter, helping to add depth and color back into flat or blown-out skies. Earlier this year, Skylum added the Accent AI 2.0 filter to Luminar 3, a powerful content aware filter powered by machine learning to automatically enhance images. Now, with Luminar 4, AI Sky Replacement offers the first automatic tool for replacing skies. Machine learning tools like these are the foundation of the Luminar platform, helping to save photographers hours of manual labor so they can achieve their creative dreams.

Why AI Sky Replacement?
Sky replacement methods have become popular in recent years with landscape photographers, in order for them to truly showcase their creative vision. Up until now, photographers have spent minutes or even hours manually replacing skies, through tools like Smart Selection, Luminosity Masking, Overlaying, Layers, Masking, Smart Brush, Color Range and more. And even with all those tools, it was hard to get a perfect sky.

While development of AI Sky Replacement has been equally challenging, Skylum’s machine learning technology means that photographers can apply a realistic sky to their photograph in mere seconds, freeing up time to be more creative.

How does it work?
AI Sky Replacement works by automatically detecting not only the sky, but also objects in a photograph’s scene. This helps make sure the photo ends up being as realistic as possible once you insert a new sky. It removes things like halos, artifacts and edges of transitions, problems that often were present in existing sky replacement techniques. With the AI Sky Replacement you will also be able to adjust the sky to fit the rest of an image — things like depth of field, tone, exposure and color — making it great for not only landscapes, but also portraits.

When working on an image, the AI Sky Replacement technology automatically creates a mask for the sky, taking a step that would oftentimes take minutes or even hours, and boiling it down to mere seconds with just the click of a mouse. But that’s not all it does — AI Sky Replacement also correctly detects the horizon line and the orientation of the sky to replace so that it looks as realistic as possible.

Furthermore, with the scene relight technology, you’ll see the rest of your photo change in terms of light and color when you select your sky of choice. This makes sure that an image and sky match so they appear they were taken during the same conditions. Because of the toning that AI Sky Replacement does to an image, it looks as natural and smooth as possible.

The new AI Sky Replacement filter is the perfect tool for recreating that special moment that you might not otherwise be able to revisit. It’s great to bring life into vacation photos where the weather wasn’t perfect, or surprise moments where you couldn’t plan for the perfect conditions. And best of all, it’s available through a simple, easy-to-use tool in the Luminar 4 interface.

Now, with AI Sky Replacement, it’s easier and faster than ever for photographers to achieve their goals, and focus on what they enjoy most — photography.

Pricing and availability
Luminar 4 is set to be released this fall. Pre-orders are now available on http://skylum.com/luminar-l4.
Pricing will be announced at a later time, and upgrade pricing will be available for current users.

About Skylum Software
Skylum is a global imaging technology company with offices in Bellevue, USA; Kyiv, Ukraine; and Tokyo, Japan. Skylum allows millions of photographers to make incredible images faster. We automate photo editing with the power of Artificial Intelligence yet leave all the creative control in the hands of the artist. The Skylum Team has won the Red Dot Award, Apple’s Best of the Year, and other top industry awards. To learn more about Skylum, visit http://skylum.com.

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New Kenko One-Touch Filter Kit: A Unique Bayonet Based Filter System


Kenko is releasing a new filter system call the Kenko One-touch filter kit and it’s based on an interesting bayonet there is already a review up for the new system at DC.Watch and below you can find the press release. Kenko products can be found at Amazon and B&H Photo.

Press release:
Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. (President: Toru Yamanaka) will start selling a filter kit “One-touch filter filter kit” and a special option that employ a new system that can instantly remove and mount a filter from June 21, 2019. The release lineup is as follows. (Price is manufacturer suggested retail price · tax excluding) 67S One Touch Detachable Filter Kit 67mm ¥ 42,500 72S One Touch Detachable Filter Kit 72mm ¥ 45,000 77S One Touch Detachable Filter Kit 77mm ¥ 50,000 Protector for one-touch detachable filter kit (67mm: ¥ 8,000, 72mm: ¥ 8,900, 77mm: ¥ 10,000). C-PL (67 mm: ¥ 16,800 72 mm: ¥ 17,800 77 mm: ¥ 21,000) for one-touch detachable filter kit. One-touch filter kit for ND4, 8, 16 and 1000 (67 mm: ¥ 11,200 72 mm: ¥ 13,000 77 mm: ¥ 14,500).


It is necessary to select and change the most suitable filter in order to reduce reflection with PL filter, to slow shutter speed with ND filter, and to pursue photographic expression. However, people who make full use of filter work may find it more difficult to attach and remove the filter. Therefore, we will release a revolutionary new product “One-touch Detachable Filter Kit (67 mm / 72 mm / 77 mm)” that can instantly remove the filter.


Features Can be removed instantly “One-touch filter kit” is a set of special filter and lens adapter, by attaching the adapter to the lens in advance, the filter can be instantly attached and removed by the bayonet type. You can quickly remove the filter without turning around like a normal screw-in filter. There is little vignetting Because the adapter is used, vignetting may occur more than a normal filter, but the thickness of the frame is reduced as much as possible by using a system of a dedicated filter + lens adapter to suppress vignetting. Set C-PL and ND16 frequently used in landscape photos In particular, I used a set of two frequently used filters in landscape photography. C-PL controls the reflected light to enhance color contrast. The ND16 uses a dimming effect to slow down the shutter speed and prevent overexposure. The easy-to-use concentration makes the best-selling ND16 among the ND filters a set. C-PL and ND16 can be quickly attached and detached depending on the application.


Optional special filter also available A lineup of lens protectors and ND filters (ND4, ND8, ND1000) with different densities are sold separately. ※ C-PL and ND16 are also available separately. Please see below for details. www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/imaging/filter/one_touch/ Kenko Tokina Co., Ltd. www.kenko-tokina.co.jp/

via FujiAddict

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Prime Day 2019 Has Started


Amazon will have deals throughout the next two days and if you shop through our links it will help support the site. I will update this post through the next two days with any photography deals I come across, but many of the deals are timed exclusives to check back frequently.

Nanuk 920 Waterproof Hard Case with Foam Insert
Pelican Storm iM2750 Case With Padded Divider Set
Pelican Storm iM3075 Case No Foam (Black)
Pelican 1520 Case With Foam
Pelican 1610 Case with Foam

Leica SL

Storage: Almost all sizes and configs on sale too
Drobo 8D
Drobo B810n: Network Attached Storage (NAS) 8-Drive Hybrid Storage Array – Gigabit Ethernet x 2 ports

WD Blue 3D NAND 4TB Internal PC SSD – SATA III 6 Gb/s, 2.5″/7mm

PNY CS900 960GB 2.5” Sata III Internal Solid State Drive
HyperX Fury RGB SSD 960GB SATA 3 2.5″ Solid State Drive Black Case with Multi-Color RGB

WD Red 6TB NAS Internal Hard Drive – 5400 RPM Class, SATA 6 GB/S, 256MB Cache, 3.5″
Seagate Barracuda Pro Performance Internal Hard Drive SATA HDD 14TB 6GB/s 256MB Cache 3.5-Inch

Samsung Duo Plus 256GB – 300MB/s USB 3.1 Flash Drive
Samsung T5 Portable SSD – 1TB – USB 3.1 External SSD
Lexar Professional SL100 Pro Portable Solid-State Drive 1TB
G-Technology 1TB G-DRIVE mobile SSD Durable Portable External Storage – USB-C

PNY P-SDX128U395-GE Elite Performance 128 GB High Speed SDXC Class 10 UHS-I, U3 Up to 95 MB/Sec
Lexar Professional 633x 128GB SDXC UHS-I
Lexar Professional 633x 1TB SDXC UHS-I/U3 Card
Lexar Professional 2000x 64GB SDHC UHS-II – SAVE ALMOST 50%
Lexar Professional 1000x 128GB SDXC UHS-II – SAVE OVER 50%

Note: The savings are not always shown until check out, but you should see the following in the text if you look closely


This is from the above Lexar 2000x savings

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New Sigma Lenses Announced and L-Mount Road Map Released


Sigma announced 3 lenses for L-Mount and their future plans. These are the first lenses designed exclusively for mirrorless cameras.

Sigma 35mm F1.2 DG DN | Art: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sigma 45mm F2.8 DG DN: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama
Sigma 14-24mm f/2.8 DG DN Art: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

In 2019, Sigma expects to release the following lenses for L-mount:

  • 20mm F1.4 Art
  • 24mm F1.4 Art
  • 35mm F1.4 Art
  • 50mm F1.4 Art
  • 85mm F1.4 Art
  • 135mm F1.8 Art

Those will be followed in 2020 by these five lenses:

  • 14mm F1.8 Art
  • 16mm F1.4 DC
  • 30mm F1.4 DC
  • 56mm F1.4 DC
  • 70mm Macro

via DPR

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Sigma fp Announced


Sigma fp: B&H Photo / Amazon / Adorama

SIGMA announces the “SIGMA fp”, the world’s smallest and lightest mirrorless digital camera* with a full-frame image sensor
SIGMA Corporation is pleased to announce the launch of “SIGMA fp,” the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame mirrorless digital camera*. The SIGMA fp incorporates a 35mm full-frame Bayer sensor with 24.6 effective megapixels in a compact body, and boasts great versatility and scalability that allows mixing-and-matching of a variety of interchangeable lenses and accessories. It is a camera that is casual enough to take anywhere, anytime, and high-spec enough for serious still and cine shooting in the highest image quality, all in a robust and classy body.

Regardless of the differences in shooting scenes and styles or genre boundaries between stills and videos, this new camera is set to expand the freedom and possibilities in image shooting and art creation further than ever before. A “pocketable full-frame” camera: SIGMA fp, is now available.

*As of July, 2019.

SIGMA’s take on an entirely new system camera. The world’s smallest and lightest “pocketable full-frame” camera is here.
The environment that surrounds shooting and art creation is undergoing radical changes. In this day and age when one user may have both a high-performance interchangeable lens camera and a smartphone camera, using them flexibly according to specific purposes and settings, SIGMA stopped and questioned the inherent value of a digital camera.
As a result, SIGMA set itself to develop a user-oriented digital camera that reflected the idea of “how a camera can be” in a more flexible and true-to-life manner, without conforming to manufacturers’ ideas of camera-centric categories and hierarchy.

Pocketable full-frame│Impressive portability and power
The “smallest and lightest body possible” with which one can express their creative ideas whenever they want, combined with a “full-frame sensor” that is suitable for serious occasions without compromising on image quality, and “superb build quality” that makes the camera the perfect linchpin of a high-performance lens system.

Scalable│Versatile scalability
An “open and liberal system” that allows one to pair the camera with lenses and accessories, whether from SIGMA or other brands, using a variety of attachments, complete with “versatile scalability” that makes the camera adaptable to any scenes.

Seamless│Full-fledged, liberating shooting functions
A “highly intuitive UI” that allows one to move between full-fledged still and cine shooting modes with just one finger, making for a “seamless and truly creative tool” that goes beyond style and genre differences.

Making it a top priority to realize these three concepts all at once and without requiring any trade-offs, SIGMA selected only the elements and mechanisms that were truly needed with no compromise to create the SIGMA fp as the embodiment of an “entirely new digital camera that SIGMA can offer to the world right now.”

It’s a camera body that changes its configuration with great flexibility centered around the user. It’s a tool that gives the user the joy of a new camera life that they themselves are yet to discover. It’s a new system camera that will overturn the paradigm of “digital cameras.”
The SIGMA fp is here to broaden the potential of “image shooting” ad infinitum.

World’s smallest and lightest full-frame camera
With overall dimensions of 112.6×69.9×45.3mm and body weight of 370g, without battery and card, the SIGMA fp is the world’s smallest and lightest full-frame mirrorless camera*. It employs a back-illuminated 35mm full-frame Bayer sensor with 24.6 effective megapixels for high-quality images.

Covered on the front and back sides with die-cast aluminum alloy for its superior robustness and thermal conductivity, the compact body of the SIGMA fp is built with a signature heat sink structure and sealing on 42 points for a dust- and splash-proof structure, making it a perfect camera to use for long hours under all types of environments. With its small body and great adaptability, the SIGMA fp enhances the joy of full-frame image quality, no matter what one’s shooting settings may be.
*As of July, 2019.

Electronic shutter for a variety of settings
“Able to shoot whenever you want, wherever you want”―to realize this concept, the SIGMA fp incorporates a construction without a mechanical shutter for quiet shooting. This allows shooting without worrying about noise in a situation where one would have hesitated with a conventional camera because of its shutter sound. It gives no shutter shock even when shooting in quick succession at a frame rate of 18 frames/sec. eliminating even the tiniest shakes.

In addition, the absence of a mechanical shutter, whose performance level can change through continuous operation, means that the SIGMA fp is a camera with improved reliability.

Superior options in artistic picture & video creations
The SIGMA fp is a frontrunner in incorporating functions that help exploring the photographic and cinematic creations.

For instance, in addition to a number of different color modes, the SIGMA fp has newly introduced the “Teal and Orange” mode, inspired by the color grading technique commonly used in Hollywood films. Each mode has a slider that enables adjustment of the strength of the effects to apply, providing even greater control in one’s creations.

The SIGMA fp is the first SIGMA camera to employ a tone curve adjustment function in addition to “Fill Light”, a special adjustment function of SIGMA Photo Pro, and they are both available in-camera. It has also newly introduced “TONE” and “COLOR” buttons for a quick access to each of the tone control and color mode menus. With these enhanced functions and a variety of operation elements, the SIGMA fp makes it simple and easy to create an image, in-camera with great details, be it still or video.

Advanced picture & video generating functions
The SIGMA fp employs a number of advanced technologies for image and video generation.

The Auto HDR function takes advantage of an electronic shutter to take multiple pictures of different exposures (3 frames for still photography and 2 frames for video) at once, which can then be merged into a single picture or video with a great dynamic range that could not have been achieved in normal shooting.

The Cinemagraph function, meanwhile, achieves a hybrid between still photography and video in the form of animated GIFs in which parts of a still image keep moving. With this function, the SIGMA fp is capable of creating Cinemagraphs in-camera.
Note: The Auto HDR function in the Cine mode and the Cinemagraph function are to become available via firmware update scheduled at a later date.

L-Mount
The SIGMA fp uses the L-Mount*, characterized by a short flange focal length, large diameter, and superior durability. For interchangeable lenses, in addition to the wide-ranging choices of SIGMA lenses, other manufacturers’ lenses can also be an option through the L-Mount Alliance with Leica Camera AG and Panasonic Corporation. With the SIGMA MOUNT CONVERTER MC-21, SIGMA SA mount and SIGMA’s CANON EF mount lenses can be used, making the best out of one’s lens investment.

*The L-Mount Trademark is a registered Trademark of Leica Camera AG.

Supports full-fledged video production
For raw video data, the SIGMA fp supports 12-bit CinemaDNG external recording. With 4K UHD/24fps recording, it produces video data that can be used even in filmmaking. It also supports ALL-I recording which is optimal for editing H.264 compressed videos.

For video output, it uses USB3.1(GEN1), which allows a smooth data transmission to an external recording unit. As it also supports cinema camera-like user interfaces, the SIGMA fp is a camera that can be taken straight to video production settings.

Note: The feature of playing CinemaDNG footages in-camera is to become available via firmware update scheduled at a later date.

Seamless transition between Still and Cine modes
Going from the Still mode to the Cine mode at the flip of a switch. Each mode comes with a specially designed operation system and displays, making it possible to concentrate on shooting in each mode, stress-free.

For more about other features, please refer to the link: https://www.sigma-global.com/en/cameras/fp-series/main-feature/

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Panasonic Releases Firmware Update Programs for the LUMIX S1R, S1, GH5, GH5S, G9, G90/G91/G95, G80/G81/G85 and GX9


Panasonic Releases Firmware Update Programs for the LUMIX S1R, S1, GH5, GH5S, G9, G90/G91/G95, G80/G81/G85 and GX9

Newark, NJ (July 1, 2019) – Panasonic has announced that the company will release the firmware update programs for the LUMIX Digital Single Lens Mirrorless cameras to enhance the functions and usability. All programs will be available at LUMIX Global Customer Support website https://av.jpn.support.panasonic.com/support/global/cs/dsc/ at UTC 1:00 on July 9, 2019.

The cameras and the programs to be updated are as follows: Read More »

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Olympus IM016 Registered – Likely Olympus E-M5III


Olympus registered what is likely the Olympus E-M5III.

“Olympus IM016 has been registered with an overseas certification body. Wi-Fi 2.4GHz and Bluetooth”

via Nokishita

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