Canon and Sony News for Dec 2019 (Page 2)
Just posted: Wimberley MH-100 MonoGimbal Gimbal Monopod Head Review.
Monopod users can put one of these on their Christmas list. Looking for a gift your photographer friend or family member does not already have? This unique head is just hitting the market and is a great gift option.
The Wimberley MH-100 MonoGimbal Gimbal Monopod Head is in stock at: B&H | Adorama | Amazon USA
Please share this review with your friends!
 "Share on Pinterest!"){kind=small}
As usual, I plan to include visual size comparison images in the Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens review. Having just created the standard product images, such comparisons can now be easily created. Since the small size is such a big deal for this lens, I thought I'd share this comparison early.
Shown in this image from left to right are the following Canon lenses:
EF 70-200mm f/4L IS II USM Lens
RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens
EF 70-200mm f/2.8L IS III USM Lens
To be more correct, it is this lens' retracted size that is dramatically smaller than all of the other lenses in its class. All previous 70-200mm f/2.8 DSLR lenses have utilized fixed-size designs. While the fixed lens size has some advantages, the amount of space consumed in a camera backpack or other case is not one of them.
Use the site's comparison tool to visually compare this lens to many others.
Note that this lens' weight is very significantly lighter regardless of the focal length being used.
The Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens is in stock at B&H | Adorama | Amazon USA | WEX
by Sean Setters
Whether for Christmas/Hanukkah, Independence Day, Memorial Day, Labor Day, Veterans Day, MLK Day, or in this case, Thanksgiving, holiday events offer exciting opportunities for documenting family traditions, personal relationships, physical development, and all the joys togetherness brings.
This Thanksgiving, I filmed my family throughout the day, focusing much of the camera's attention on my 14 month-old daughter, Olivia Jane. My hope is that she will enjoy watching videos such as these as she matures, with an eager fascination to see what life was like long before her long-term memory kicked in.
Of course, there's a ton of video filming options available, and while my own video kit is continuously evolving, the following items were what I used while filming that day:
- Canon EOS R
- Canon Mount Adapter EF-EOS R
- Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM
- Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM
- DJI Ronin-S Gimbal Stabilizer
- Deity Microphones V-Mic D3 Pro
Having only purchased the Canon EOS R about a month before Thanksgiving, this event was my first experience producing video with the camera. Overall, I came away impressed by the camera's performance. The EOS R was just small enough to allow the battery grip to be used with the DJI Ronin-S Gimbal, a feature I appreciated as I didn't have to continuously watch my battery levels throughout the day. Of course, using the battery grip increased the size/weight of the setup, but I didn't find use of the battery grip to be burdensome, especially as filming was limited to relatively short segments throughout the day.
As I don't have any RF mount lenses yet I defaulted to my favorite EF-S/EF-series lenses, the lenses I have historically utilized while filming with a gimbal – the Canon EF-S 24mm f/2.8 STM and Canon EF 40mm f/2.8 STM. Why use two of Canon's most inexpensive lenses for filming video? Because 1) they're small and light, 2) can be swapped out for one another with very little need for rebalancing the gimbal, 3) their optical performance is surprisingly good, 4) the f/2.8 aperture is wide enough allow for relatively low ISO use when the shutter speed is set to 1/60 second (twice the frame rate of 30 fps), and 5) the lenses' STM AF systems do a very good job transitioning focus between subjects when the camera is set to a subject (face) tracking mode. Note that because the full-frame camera gives me a 38.4mm full-frame equivalent angle of view while using the EF-S 24mm STM, I set the camera to crop mode while using the EF 40mm STM to provide a noticeably different angle of view.
In a previous video, I had used lavalier mics with a couple of Tascam DR-10L Micro Portable Audio Recorders and really enjoyed the results, but this larger family event necessitated the use of a different audio recording solution as I needed to record a number of people. This need motivated my newest audio recording acquisition – the Deity Microphones V-Mic D3 Pro Shotgun Microphone. Looking online, you'll find numerous videos hyping this microphone's performance and value; the hype is well deserved. This is an excellent shotgun microphone, it is reasonably priced, and I'm really glad it's now part of my kit for run-and-gun applications.
So, those are the items I'm now relying on to record family videos in addition to the occasional for-hire filming request (the Tascam DR-10Ls also come in handy for the latter) and are certainly worth consideration when documenting your own family's memories.
Everyone loves lighthouses and lighthouse images, right? After awaking to a 4-something AM alarm for three days in a row, I was finally treated to some morning sunlight at the Bass Harbor Lighthouse. While some cloud drama would have been welcomed, the white sky created by the solid cloud cover present on the previous two mornings was not as photogenic.
When the sky is clear at sunrise/sunset, there are some expected parameters for landscape photography. One is that the first/last light will be very warm in color and another is that pastel colors will show in earth shadow and the Belt of Venus above it low in the sky opposite the rising/setting sun. These two parameters combine very nicely.
I don't always require myself to use a completely level camera (tilt and roll) for landscape photography but did so in this case, primarily to keep the sides of the lighthouse from leaning. Adding to that compositional constraint was the desire to have the reflections availed by the foreground tidal pool included in the frame. The lighthouse reflection was the primary interest and it was very tightly framed between the surrounding rocks, further limiting the camera position to within that narrow line. With the rocks being indicative of the Maine coastline, having them close and emphasized seemed logical and led to this final camera position.
Should circular polarizer filters be used for all landscape photographs? While CPL filters are easily my most-used filters and I very frequently use them for landscape photography, this was a time when using the effect provided by this filter was a detriment to the final look. Cutting the reflections on the rocks and in the tidal pool created a dark, flat, lifeless look to the foreground rocks and water, detracting significantly from the result. It didn't take long to determine which look was preferable.
Wet dark-colored rocks absorb a lot of light even without a CPL filter and two exposures were combined to ensure that details were retained in those rocks in the final image.
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.
ISO 100
9504 x 6336px
These two brown bears are having a heart to heart in a salmon stream in remote Katmai National Park, Alaska.
Notice the high contrast of the splashing water? Camera AF systems also notice splashes and will often jump to focus on any bright water drops in front of a subject. In this case, the splash was well below the focus point and not an AF issue.
The Christmas special offer on the Brown Bear Chasing Salmon, Remote Katmai National Park, Alaska instructional photo tour is still in place. Sign up along with a spouse or friend and save $500 on the second admission price for this bucket list-grade trip.
Dates: Thu, September 17 to Fri, September 24, 2020
If this trip is calling you, I need to hear from you as soon as possible. Contact me to sign up!
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.
ISO 1600
5148 x 7722px
From Adobe:
Record Fourth Quarter Contributes to 24 Percent Year-Over-Year Annual Growth
SAN JOSE, Calif.--Adobe (Nasdaq:ADBE) today reported financial results for its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2019 ended Nov. 29, 2019.
In its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019, Adobe achieved record quarterly revenue of $2.99 billion, which represents 21 percent year-over-year growth. In fiscal year 2019, Adobe achieved record annual revenue of $11.17 billion, which represents 24 percent year-over-year growth.
"Adobe's phenomenal performance in Q4 capped a record fiscal 2019 with revenue exceeding $11 billion,” said Shantanu Narayen, president and CEO, Adobe. "Adobe’s vision, category leadership, continuous product innovation and large and loyal customer base position us well for 2020 and beyond."
“Adobe delivered another year of strong revenue growth and expanding profitability resulting in record earnings," said John Murphy, executive vice president and CFO, Adobe. “We are bullish about our opportunities and our ability to continue to deliver strong top- and bottom-line growth."
Fourth Quarter Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Highlights
- Adobe achieved record quarterly revenue of $2.99 billion in its fourth quarter of fiscal year 2019, which represents 21 percent year-over-year growth. Diluted earnings per share was $1.74 on a GAAP-basis, and $2.29 on a non-GAAP basis.
- Digital Media segment revenue was $2.08 billion, which represents 22 percent year-over-year growth. Creative revenue grew to $1.74 billion and Document Cloud revenue was $339 million. Digital Media Annualized Recurring Revenue (“ARR”) grew to $8.40 billion exiting the quarter, a quarter-over-quarter increase of $539 million. Creative ARR grew to $7.31 billion, and Document Cloud ARR grew to $1.09 billion.
- Digital Experience segment revenue was $859 million, representing 24 percent year-over-year growth.
- GAAP operating income in the fourth quarter was $970 million, and non-GAAP operating income was $1.27 billion. GAAP net income was $852 million, and non-GAAP net income was $1.12 billion.
- Cash flow from operations was a record $1.38 billion.
- Remaining Performance Obligation was $9.82 billion, a quarter-over-quarter increase of $1.05 billion.
- Adobe repurchased approximately 2.8 million shares during the quarter.
Fiscal Year 2019 Financial Highlights
- Adobe achieved record annual revenue of $11.17 billion in fiscal year 2019, representing 24 percent year-over-year growth.
- The company reported annual GAAP diluted earnings per share of $6.00 and non-GAAP diluted earnings per share of $7.87.
- Digital Media segment revenue was $7.71 billion, with Creative and Document Cloud achieving record annual revenue of
- $6.48 billion and $1.22 billion, respectively. Digital Media ARR grew by $1.69 billion during the year.
- Digital Experience segment revenue was $3.21 billion, representing 31 percent year-over-year growth, and subscription bookings grew by more than 20 percent during the year.
- Operating income grew 15 percent and net income grew 14 percent year-over-year on a GAAP-basis; operating income grew
- 23 percent and net income grew 15 percent year-over-year on a non-GAAP basis.
- Adobe generated a record $4.42 billion in operating cash flow during the year.
- The company repurchased 9.9 million shares during the year, returning $2.7 billion of cash to stockholders.
A reconciliation between GAAP and non-GAAP results is provided at the end of this press release and on Adobe’s website.
Adobe Provides Fiscal Year and First Quarter 2020 Financial Targets
The following table summarizes Adobe’s fiscal year 2020 targets.
| Adobe fiscal year 2020 revenue | ~$13.15 billion |
| Digital Media segment revenue | ~19 percent year-over-year growth |
| Digital Media annualized recurring revenue (ARR) | ~$1.55 billion of net new ARR |
| Digital Experience segment revenue | ~16 percent year-over-year growth |
| Digital Experience subscription revenue* | ~18 percent year-over-year growth |
| Digital Experience subscription bookings** | >20 percent year-over-year growth |
| Tax rate | GAAP: ~11% | Non-GAAP: ~11% |
| Share count | ~486 million shares |
| Earnings per share | GAAP: ~$7.40 | Non-GAAP: ~$9.75 |
* Includes revenue from SaaS, managed service, ratable term, usage based, and subscription service offerings for Digital Experience
** Includes annualized subscription value of SaaS, managed service, term and subscription service offerings under contract for Data & Insights, Content & Commerce and Customer Journey Management solutions
The following table summarizes Adobe’s first quarter fiscal year 2020 targets.
| Adobe Q1 fiscal year 2020 revenue | ~$3.04 billion |
| Digital Media segment revenue | ~19 percent year-over-year growth |
| Digital Media annualized recurring revenue (ARR) | ~$360 million of net new ARR |
| Digital Experience segment revenue | ~15 percent year-over-year growth |
| Tax rate | GAAP: ~5% | Non-GAAP: ~11% |
| Share count | ~489 million shares |
| Earnings per share | GAAP: ~$1.76 | Non-GAAP: ~$2.23 |
B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.
Just posted: Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens Review.
Tamron has released another winner with this lens.
The Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens is in stock at B&H | Adorama | Amazon USA | WEX
Rent the Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens from Lensrentals.
From Sigma:
The SIGMA Corporation is pleased to announce the launch schedule of “FF Classic Prime Line” , a new series in the SIGMA CINE LENS.
FF High Speed Prime Line has been offering the highest resolving power in its class, that is compatible with 8K shooting with large format sensors, while achieving outstanding compact design. Based on this product line, the FF Classic Prime Line incorporates more non-coated optical elements to achieve unrivaled expression. It retains the high resolution capability that SIGMA CINE LENS is well known for, and offers a unique combination of low contrast and artistic flare/ghost in the image. As with all other lenses from the FF High Speed Prime Line, it creates beautiful bokeh effects to improve creativity.
FF Classic Prime Line has implemented newly developed coatings on the glass elements and offers consistent T value across the lineup (14mm and 135mm at T3.2 and the rest of the lenses at T2.5). This will greatly contribute to the effective workflow in post production. Furthermore, it is compatible with the communication protocol of Cooke “/i Technology”, thus an ideal tool for shooting and editing with the latest technology, such as VFX. A special coating is implemented on the front and rear elements so that the lens durability is ensured as with all other cine lenses from SIGMA.
“Classic Art Prime” is a new solution from SIGMA that is required for the most advanced technology for classical expression. The “look” that FF Classic Prime Line can offer will enable cinematographers to explore new possibilities in movie creation.
- Launch: December, 2019
- Only sold as a set of 10 primes.
* From conventional cine lenses, it is not possible to apply for the Mount Conversion Service for this “FF Classic Prime Line”.
Common specifications
- PL mount (/i Technology compatible)
- Image circle diameter: FF 43.3mm
- Illumination circle diameter: over 46.3mm
- Focus ring: Marked in feet
- Number of diaphragm blades: 9 (rounded diaphragm)
B&H has the SIGMA Cine FF Classic Art Prime 10-Lens Set available for preorder.
Looking for a lens to carry while hiking? You likely want a compact and lightweight model but do not want to substitute image quality to get those properties. The Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens and its sibling 28-75mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens are great choices and both are quite remarkable lenses overall.
This afternoon in Acadia National Park found the 17-28 RXD along with a Sony a7R IV in a MindShift Gear BackLight 18L on top of Bald Mountain anticipating a great light show at the end of the day. Unfortunately, that show mostly did not happen. The weather forecast did not hold true and as can be seen in this image, thick clouds ruled the sky.
Just when we thought there was no hope for seeing a sunset, a tiny hole appeared in the clouds and awesomeness shined through. I dropped the tripod into the nearest location that looked compositionally promising and shot a several frame bracket, ensuring that one image had bright foreground detail captured at f/11 and the darkest of two others had a tiny bit of color remaining in the sun. The latter two images were captured at f/22. While f/22 results in softer image quality than f/11, it delivers a larger, better quality starburst effect and the clouds nicely hide the softness in the portion of f/22 capture used in the final image. Note that changing the aperture changes the starburst including the orientation of the star points. When bracketing such images, be sure that most of the images containing the starburst are captured at the same aperture to avoid an awkward appearing composite.
By the end of the first bracket capture, the warm sunlight was no longer reaching the foreground and after a second bracket at a slightly adjusted camera position, the sun was completely cloud-blocked again. The foreground lighting was better in the first set of images and cropping those from the bottom gave me a result similar to those captured in the adjusted camera position.
I seldom use ISO settings above 100 when photographing daylight landscape but you will notice that a setting of 800 was used for this image. Along with the heavy clouds came very strong winds and I was estimating the exposure duration that could be tolerated between gusts. The Really Right Stuff TVC-24L Mk2 Carbon Fiber Tripod and BH-40 Ball Head held solid and I probably could have used longer exposures — though sun time may not have permitted that.
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.
ISO 800
9251 x 6167px
Image quality test results from the Canon EOS R have been added to the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens Review.
These results are the key to unlocking the direct comparison between this EF lens, one of my all-time favorites, to the Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens. Here is the link to that image quality comparison.
Huge $300.00 instant savings currently available! The Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens is in stock at B&H | Adorama | Amazon USA | WEX Lensrentals.
The Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens is in stock at B&H | Adorama | Amazon USA | WEX
Rent the Canon EF 16-35mm f/2.8L III USM Lens and/or rent the Canon RF 15-35mm F2.8 L IS USM Lens from Lensrentals.
Don't forget to share these results with your friends!
From Adobe:
Feature summary | Lightroom (December 2019 release)
Easily contribute photos and videos to a Lightroom shared album
New in Lightroom desktop and mobile
View and contribute photos to any shared group album, using Lightroom desktop and mobile (iOS and Android), in addition to Lightroom on the web. First, click the 'View album' button in the email invite that is sent by the album owner. Then, open the app and click the icon. Under section Shared with You, you can view the album(s) that are shared with you.
If the album owner has provided contribution rights, you can add photos by doing the following: (On desktop) Right-click (Windows)/Control-click (macOS) the album under Shared with You and select Set "
Alternatively, select one or more photos in All Photos or one of your own albums. Then, in the left panel, navigate to the desired Shared with You album and drag and drop the photos into the desired shared album in the left panel.
(On mobile) With a Lightroom shared album selected, tap Add photos from the options menu or tap the import icon in the lower-right corner of the screen, and select photos to contribute.
To learn more, see:
- View or contribute to a group album on desktop
- View or contribute to a group album on iOS
- View or contribute to a group album on Android
Directly import photos from a camera or SD card
New in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
You can directly import photos and videos from an SD card or other attached media into Lightroom for mobile (iOS). Your iOS device should be running on iOS 13.2 or later to support this feature.
For more details, see Import photos and videos from a camera or SD card in PTP mode.
Export photos in the format of your choice
New in Lightroom for mobile (iOS)
Select the photos you want to export and click the Share icon to quickly access the Export screen. You can export edited photos as JPEG, TIF, DNG, or as the original photo with applied settings. Moreover, you can access export setting options such as JPG Quality, Output Sharpening, Color Space, and File Naming.
For more details, see Export photos from iOS.
Support for new cameras and lenses
New in Lightroom/Camera RAW
Newly Supported Cameras
| Camera | Raw image filename extension | Minimum Camera Raw plug-in version required | Minimum Lightroom version required | Minimum Lightroom Classic version required |
| Canon EOS M200 | CR3 | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Canon EOS Ra | CR3 | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Google Pixel 4 | DNG | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Google Pixel 4 XL | DNG | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Leica SL2 | DNG | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Nikon Z 50 | NEF | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Sigma fp | DNG | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Sony a9 II (ILCE-9M2) | ARW | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Zeiss ZX1 | DNG | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
Newly Supported Lens Profiles
| Manufacturer | Lens | Lens mount | Minimum Camera Raw plug-in version required | Minimum Lightroom version required | Minimum Lightroom Classic version required |
| Canon | Canon RF 15-35mm f/2.8 L IS USM | Canon RF | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Canon | Canon RF 24-70mm f/2.8 L IS USM | Canon RF | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Canon | Canon RF 70-200mm F2.8 L IS USM | Canon RF | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Canon | Canon RF 85mm F1.2 L USM DS | Canon RF | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Sigma | SIGMA 16mm F1.4 DC DN C017 | Canon M | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Sigma | SIGMA 30mm F1.4 DC DN C016 | Canon M | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Sigma | SIGMA 56mm F1.4 DC DN C018 | Canon M | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Sigma | SIGMA 105mm F1.4 DG HSM A018 | Sony FE | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
| Zeiss | ZEISS ZX1 (DNG + JPEG) | Zeiss | 12.1 | 3.1 | 9.1 |
Other enhancements
Lightroom for mobile (Android)
View profiles of people who have authored interactive tutorials. In the Home view, tap an author's name from a tutorial's thumbnail to access their profile where you can find a collated list of their tutorials. For more information, see Find tutorials and posts from author's profiles.
B&H carries Adobe Photography Plan subscriptions.
On this day's schedule was giving some great gear a workout and the Sony a7R IV and Tamron 17-28mm f/2.8 Di III RXD Lens combination were chosen. These were packed in MindShift Gear BackLight 18L along with a Really Right Stuff TVC-24L Mk2 Carbon Fiber Tripod with a BH-40 Ball Head mounted and the very early AM hike to Dream Lake ensued.
I don't like to be the second person at a popular location and some may say that I arrived too early for this one. The extra time ensures adequate setup time with some starry sky photography included. The extra time also means that very warm clothes were needed, especially with the wind often encountered here.
I love perfectly still water surfaces in the shade and the mirror reflections those surfaces create. This morning did not provide such and the mentioned wind was relentless.
Between reviewing long exposure, high ISO image captures and the light becoming bright enough for the foreground rocks to be visible, this composition was settled on. I wanted the closest round rock centered between the mountain peak reflections with a clean border around it and the other foreground rocks. The camera was leveled for both roll and pitch. I seldom want a camera that is not leveled for roll when photographing landscape and in this case, I also chose to avoid an upward or downward camera angle that would have caused the straight tree trunks to tilt inward or outward respectively. The focal length was selected to be inclusive or exclusive of details in the scene and the camera height was selected for the final composition. The color balance disparity of the warm first light of the day hitting the mountain mixed with cool shade in the valley below is natural and I love it.
The final image is the result of combining two images using manual HDR blending. As is often the case, those exposures were different with the sunlit areas captured darker (f/11, 0.4 seconds, ISO 100) and the shaded areas coming from brighter settings (f/11, 30 seconds, ISO 200).
As you likely noticed, the longer exposure is dramatically longer and includes a 2x-brighter ISO setting. This exposure was needed to compensate for a 6-stop Breakthrough Photography X4 ND filter (great gift idea) being used. The longer exposure this filter permitted allowed the water to be smoothed, averaging out the reflection details in the lake surface ripples, giving the mountain reflections some definition. A third image (another darker one) was pulled in because some of the trees were less motion-blurred than in the primary image.
The aforementioned gear all performed excellently. It was a superb choice for this event. Of course, the bottom line is that Dream Lake and its rocks rock!
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.
ISO 200
9504 x 6336px
From the Adorama Youtube Channel:
If you're looking for a dramatic, low key portrait idea then Gavin Hoey has you covered with this amazing rim light tutorial. Starting with two bare flashes, Gavin walks you through how to improve the photo by softening the light with a stripbox .
Once you've mastered the basic lighting technique, why not give Gavin's advanced lighting tutorial a go. Getting perfect rim lighting on a bubble is the challenge and Gavin has some great tips to help nail the look. He also has some top Photoshop advice to add extra bubbles after the shoot.
Product Used
From Canon USA:
Firmware Version 1.6.0 incorporates the following improvements and fixes:
- Support for the RF 85mm F1.2L USM DS lens has been added.
- Corrects a phenomenon in which the function or setting value assigned to the control ring may change when the control ring is operated in Eco mode.
- Corrects a phenomenon in which the camera may stop operating properly during “auto transfer” when using Camera Connect with a Wi-Fi connection.
- Corrects a phenomenon in which high-speed synchronization with use of an external flash may not operate properly depending on the camera’s setting for C.Fn2 “Set shutter speed range”.
Download: Canon EOS R Firmware Version 1.6.0
Smart people told us long in advance that the planet Mercury was going to pass in front of the Sun for many hours on 11/11/2019 and that the transit was going to be visible across a huge swath of the world, including my location on that date, falling during my Shenandoah National Park Workshop.
My first thought regarding photographing this event was that I could take a picture of the Sun anytime and simply use the paint brush tool to drop in Mercury planets wherever desired. While the result would look fine, it wouldn't be nearly as fun or as phsychologically rewarding as experiencing the event firsthand and capturing the real thing. Photographing the Sun is easy and a little black dot in front of it was going to be equally easy to capture so, I packed the required solar filter for the trip.
The Sun was not going to be our primary subject on this day, we didn't have time to shoot throughout the entire many-hour transit, and the cloudy sky made photographing it challenging during the few times we attempted to do so. Still, I wanted to show the entire transit in the final result. To fulfill that goal, I pieced a number of images together and then duplicated a Mercury planet to fill in the entire path across the Sun.
While the Mercury transit does not rise to the level of amazing as the recent solar eclipse, it was still fun to see and photograph.
When photographing the Sun, everything else in the frame is black unless there are clouds being brightly lit while darkening the Sun enough to even out the dynamic range. With black periphery being easy to create during post processing, framing the Sun a tightly as possible becomes the goal. Still, the Sun will not come close to filling the frame even at 1200mm, the longest most photographers will use, on a full frame camera. In a focal length limited scenario, higher pixel density on the imaging sensor means more resolution remaining after cropping and the Sony a7R IV has that. The Sony FE 600mm f/4 GM OSS Lens and FE 2x Teleconverter were used to gain the 1200mm focal length.
Among the many images captured were some with a cloud-caused fiery haze surrounding the Sun. Adding some of these images into the Photoshop stack provided the option of including the haze in the final image as shared here.
Here is a question for you: Since I watched Mercury transit the Sun in an electronic viewfinder, did I really see it?
A larger version of this image is available on Flickr.
ISO 100
8216 x 5478px
 "Share on Pinterest!"){kind=small}
 |
|