a bit of everything…


Minimalist Travel Photography Camera and Lenses: Micro Four Thirds

Today deals at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, FotoErhardt DE, FotoKoch DE.
Hobolite Announces the Avant Max and Mini Max Bi-Color LED Lighting Kits (Explora).
Journalism Photography: The Role of Photography in Movements (42West).
Take advantage of the high operability and latest functions of the OM SYSTEM OM-1 Mark II & OM-5 and go on an adventure of city snapshot photography (Kitamura).
Let’s Go Live!!! – The 25mm f1.7 – Battery Grips and The Omd EM1-X (Grant Robert).

Plenty of news on the facebook OMD group, Panasonic FF and the GH5 group.
I kindly invite you all to follow me on Youtube, Instagram, Threads for more broader camera talk.

July report by BCN: Olympus E-P7 and Lumix G100 still among the best sellers

BCNranking published the top 50 of the best selling cameras on the Japanese market for the month of July:

  1. Sony ZV-E10 with powerzoom kit lens
  2. Sony ZV-E10 (WHITE) with powerzoom kit lens
  3. Sony ZV-E10 with double kit kit lens
  4. Canon R10 with 18-150mm lens
  5. Canon R50 double lens kit
  6. Sony A6400 double lens kit
  7. White Canon R50 double lens kit
  8. Silver Sony A7cII with kit lens
  9. Black Sony A7cII
  10. Panasonic G100 with kit lens
  11. Silver Sony A7cII
  12. Nikon Z50 double lens kit
  13. Sony A6700 with kit lens
  14. Black Sony A7cII with kit lens
  15. Sony A6400 (Silver) double lens kit
  16. Nikon Z30 double lens kit
  17. Canon Kiss X10 double lens kit
  18. Sony A6700 body only
  19. White Sony ZV-E10 double lens kit
  20. Sony ZV-E10body only
  21. Black Canon R50 with 18-45mm lens
  22. Silver Nikon ZFc with 16-50mm kit lens
  23. Silver Fujifilm X-T50 with kit lens
  24. Nikon Z8
  25. Canon R10 with kit lens
  26. Canon R5II body only
  27. Nikon Zf
  28. Nikon Zf with 40mm lens
  29. Canon R100 double lens kit
  30. Panasonic G100 with kit lens
  31. Fujifilm X-T50 with kit lens
  32. White Canon R50 with 18-45mm lens
  33. Nikon Z6III
  34. Canon R6II
  35. Olympus E-P7 with double kit lens
  36. Silver Fujifilm X-T50
  37. Sony A7IV
  38. Nikon Z6III with 24-140mm lens
  39. Nikon ZFc with kit lens
  40. Nikon D7500 with kit lens
  41. Canon RP with 24-105mm lens
  42. Canon R100 with kit lens
  43. Silver OM-5 with kit lens
  44. Sony A7IV with kit lens
  45. Canon R8
  46. Nikon Z 6II with kit lens
  47. Canon R7 with 18-150mm lens
  48. OM-5 with kit lens
  49. Nikon D7500
  50. Nikon Z 5 with 24-200mm lens

A couple of things you learn from that ranking:

  • Panasonic G100 is the best selling MFT camera in Japan
  • E-P7 and OM-5 still selling well despite being “old” cameras
  • The new camera slike the G9II, GH7 and OM-1II are not to be found into the top 50 :(

a bit of everything…


BEST BUDGET Micro Four Thirds Camera and Lens Setup

Today deals at Amazon, BHphoto, Adorama, Amazon DE, Amazon UK, Amazon FR, Amazon IT, FotoErhardt DE, FotoKoch DE.
LUMIX Live: Photography? Pt.3 Workflow
The Best Websites for Storing Photographs (ThePhoBlographer).
The Best Portable Battery Packs (Explora).
What Is the Golden Ratio in Photography? (42West).

Plenty of news on the facebook OMD group, Panasonic FF and the GH5 group.
I kindly invite you all to follow me on Youtube, Instagram, Threads for more broader camera talk.

Manfrotto has announced a new battery for the OM-1 and OM-1II

The new Manfrotto battery is in Stock now at BHphoto.

Press text:

Extend your shooting time with the ultrahigh capacity 2400mAh Professional Lithium-Ion Battery from Manfrotto. This BLX-1 type battery is compatible with OM SYSTEM OM-1 series cameras. Designed for use in extreme field conditions, this battery is rated for more than 500 charge and discharge cycles. It has a silicone-injected casing for circuit protection, electrical insulation, and protection from drops up to nine feet.

  • Compatible with OM SYSTEM OM-1 cameras
  • Rated for more than 500 charge and discharge cycles
  • Silicone-injected for superior circuit protection and electrical insulation
  • Resistant to drops from up to 9′

Curiosity: “OM SYSTEM PLAZA” reopens after renovation

DCwatch reported that “OM SYSTEM PLAZA” has reopened on August 22nd. This is the only showroom in Japan with an attached gallery for the “OM SYSTEM” brand. The renewed design concept is “More Adventure in Life,” which is also the brand tagline. Newly incorporated plants and wood-based interiors express the brand’s worldview of providing new experiences for outdoor use.

To commemorate the reopening, original OM SYSTEM folding fans will be available as gifts to the first 100 customers who present their OM SYSTEM MEMBERS membership card on the OM SYSTEM app.

New Topaz Gigapixel with version 7.4.0 adds impressive new Face recovery engine and new GigaPrint module

After the Topaz Photo AI update (Click here), we also got a new update on Topaz Gigapixel (Click here). This is the press text:

We’re thrilled to introduce two major update to Gigapixel with version 7.4.0

Dive into our advanced face improvement tools, designed to bring out the best in every portrait with incredible detail and clarity. Plus, explore bringing your images to life by turning your digital memories into beautiful, high-quality prints. Whether you’re perfecting your photos or creating lasting keepsakes, this update has something special for everyone.

This is what’s new:

  1. Generation 2 of Face Recovery is now available, with incredible results and two unique face generation options ranging from Realistic to Creative
  2. Gigaprint™ your images. If you are signed up here 43, you can print your upscales with the Gigaprint™ Beta in the United States with this version of Gigapixel!

Introducing Gen2 Face Recovery

We’re thrilled to unveil the second generation of Face Recovery, which boasts double the output resolution and twice the model parameters of its predecessor. This upgrade makes Gen2 Face Recovery significantly more intelligent and precise, delivering superior results across a broader range of images such as improved quality in optical glasses frames and in facial features such as the teeth.

See some examples here:

Facev1v2_sample1

Facev1v2_sample2

Facev1v2_sample3

We’re confident you’ll be impressed by the results. This new model maintains exceptional speed, even on older machines or those without high-end GPUs. Plus, we’ve added a new feature allowing you to choose between two output modes: Creative for more imaginative enhancements, and Realistic for results that stay true to your original image.

  • Realistic mode closely mirrors the original Face Recovery model but with improved quality overall. For scenarios with very low resolution or tiny faces, Creative mode might offer better results.
  • Creative mode generates additional details that might be missing from the original image, producing high-quality results even from very low-resolution inputs. It’s incredible what can be achieved with just a few pixels.

Explore the new controls:

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You will find that the Creative mode will generate additional details that your original image may have been lacking, meaning it will still produce extremely high quality faces even with really low quality inputs. It’s amazing what it can do with just a few pixels…

And you will also find that the Realistic mode will operate similar to the original first generation Face Recovery model, but that the results are going to be higher quality across the board. This model may fail in scenarios with extremely low quality or extremely small faces, and that’s when you’ll want to test out the Creative mode.

It is important to note that the more creative model still does not use an underlying diffusion-based generative model. This means that if you’d like to stick with our more traditional machine-learning models, you can still use Gen2 Face Recovery.

We’d love to see any results you have when trying this model out in the comments below!


Announcing Gigaprint 44™ (Beta) Available in the USA

 

We are thrilled to initiate our first rollout of the Gigaprint experience to our U.S. users! This is a limited Beta release, so make sure to sign up in order to get access if you haven’t already. It may take a couple of days before you are granted access in the app.

Gigaprint makes it easy to produce incredibly high quality prints directly from the app on high-quality archival-grade Hahnemühle photo paper, with sizes up to 40″ x 60″ shipped straight to your door!

Print Assistant inside Gigapixel’s Gigaprint will help you get the best quality print possible. The print assistant allows you to preview the simulated colors of your printed image on your monitor, auto-upscales your image to the right dimensions, checks for a high quality print resolution, and visualizes out-of-gamut areas of your image.

We will be expanding the available print options in the future.

How to Get Access to Gigaprint™

In order to get access to Gigaprint™ you will need to:

  1. Sign up for the Gigaprint™ waitlist here 43
  2. Wait for an email confirming you have been granted access
  3. Open up this version of Gigapixel, and try it out inside the app!

NOTE: Right now we are only offering access to US-based users but we are already testing deliveries in a number of countries. If you sign up for the waitlist we may reach out to you with an opportunity to test the service in your region!

Gigaprint™ Your Photos on Hahnemühle

 

 

Hahnemühle Photo Rag is a matte material made of 100% cotton that has a bit of texture. The paper company Hahnemühle, based in Germany, is well known across professional photographers as a standard material for artwork and high quality prints.

Our prints are made using a high-quality Gicleé printing process, at 300 pixels per inch, with high color accuracy. You’re going to love the way your prints look on this paper – the photographers at our office sure do!

All prints are currently shipped without branding and in a sturdy cardboard tube to protect your prints. The prints will come rolled, so make sure you have a place to hang them or flatten them at home.

We will have a set amount of print sizes available as well. Please let us know in the comments if there’s any sizes you’d like to see that aren’t yet there. Centimeters are coming soon…

You can upscale your images with the advanced Recovery model and place orders even when using Gigapixel as a Photoshop or Lightroom Classic plugin.

For more information, see the Gigaprint™ FAQs and walkthrough here 6.