Skip to content
How to use DMF in Sony Mirrorless Cameras

How Can I Use DMF on My Sony Alpha Camera?

Here’s how I found out that Direct Manual Focus (DMF) is more fun than plain old Manual Focus (MF). I was photographing some bicycles in the studio recently and decided to use Manual Focus to ensure that the exact spot that I wanted would be in sharp focus. I also decided that I would use AF before refining my manual focus. I’d do this by using the AF-On button on the back of the camera.

After having used it in this way for a while, I decided to try out the inconspicuous, but ever-present DMF mode. Here’s what I found out about it… It’s exactly what I needed! Maybe you need to try it out too!

Read More »How Can I Use DMF on My Sony Alpha Camera?
The Skills Factory - Affinity Photo Tutorial Video

Learning Affinity Photo – From Basic to Intermediate

Affinity Photo is an excellent alternative to Adobe Photoshop for beginners or enthusiasts who are not already embedded in the Adobe ecosystem of apps. Affinity Photo is quite robust (with minor exceptions), cost-effective, and can perform all the tasks that most photographers and graphic artists would need. However, Affinity Photo also goes beyond the basics, and that’s where things become interesting.

Read More »Learning Affinity Photo – From Basic to Intermediate
Canon EOS R5 C Specs

Canon Announces EOS R5 C Cinema Hybrid Camera

Canon announced its latest Cinema-line camera, the EOS R5 C earlier this month. The camera is Canon’s smallest Cinema EOS camera and seems to be an evolution of the acclaimed EOS R5. In contrast, the R5 C has a few video-specific features. It may look like just an EOS R5 with an extended back, but the changes go further than just the visual differences. Let’s dive in and find out just what they are.

Read More »Canon Announces EOS R5 C Cinema Hybrid Camera
Using a trackball for image editing

Using a Trackball For Image Editing… Madness?

You thought we left the roller-ball mouse behind in the early 2000s when optical mice started becoming popular, but then, there’s this article that you’re reading about using a trackball to edit your images. Surely, you must have traveled back in time, right? Not really. I’m with you in 2022. So, am I slightly crazy? I hope not. Read on, and let me know if you think I am in the comments.

Read More »Using a Trackball For Image Editing… Madness?
Sony Xperia PRO-I Product Launch

Sony Xperia PRO-I: A Camera For Mobile Creators?

Wait, this is a phone… with a 1″ sensor. Not a camera. Sony has been on a roll recently. Hot on the heels of the release of their latest ‘entry-level’ full-frame camera the Sony A7IV, they’ve made news again with a PRO phone which features a 1-inch sensor that they have appropriated from their camera lineup: the aptly named Xperia PRO-I. This phone (camera?) sits alongside the $2,500 Sony Xperia Pro which was released in February 2021.

Both phones are professional tools that rightly deserve the ‘pro’ tag, unlike some others that have the tag just to denote a more premium version. So, what makes it stand out?

Read More »Sony Xperia PRO-I: A Camera For Mobile Creators?
How to maintain rubber parts on a camera body

How To Preserve The Rubber Parts Of Cameras & Lenses

When you’ve owned a camera for a while, wear-and-tear comes into play. One of the many things that happen when cameras are stored away for a long time, is that the rubber starts to degrade.

While there aren’t many ways to recover rubber that has started to degrade, there are ways to keep the rubber from degrading too quickly in the first place.

Read More »How To Preserve The Rubber Parts Of Cameras & Lenses
Canon RF Dual Fisheye Lens Announcement

Canon Launches RF 5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens for VR & Stereographic Visuals

I woke up a couple of days ago to a strange-looking lens being featured by Canon USA on Instagram. This was a surprise announcement and launch of Canon’s rather peculiar-looking RF 5.2mm f/2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens that is tailor-made for the Canon R5 camera. There aren’t many sample images out in the wild as yet, so let’s see what information we can find out about it, shall we?

Update: A document from Canon Japan currently lists this unreleased lens as a product that is currently being affected by supply chain difficulties.

Read More »Canon Launches RF 5.2mm F2.8 L Dual Fisheye Lens for VR & Stereographic Visuals
Capture One New Release Brings Exporter Tools Back

Capture One Brings Back Export Tab in v14.4

In version 14.2 of Capture One 21, the company removed the tried and tested method of exporting images in favor of an easier-to-use export-window-styled workflow.

The move had a mixed response, with some professional and enterprise-level users claiming that it broke their workflow. Others – most notably beginners – welcomed the more user-friendly ‘export’ button in the toolbar and subsequent windowed dialog workflow.

Now, with version 14.4, the Export Tools Tab is back … if you want it.

Read More »Capture One Brings Back Export Tab in v14.4
Everything you need to know about Affinity Photo

Everything That You Need To Know About Affinity Photo

Affinity Photo is part of a suite of three apps: Affinity Photo, Affinity Designer, and Affinity Publisher made by Serif Europe Ltd. Each serves a different purpose, and combined, they offer a rather complete set of photo editing, graphic design, and desktop publishing tools. Their capabilities rival Adobe Photoshop, Adobe Illustrator, and Adobe InDesign respectively.

I’ve been exploring Affinity Photo (AP) as a replacement for Adobe Photoshop (PS), and I’d like to answer some of the questions that I’ve seen being asked quite often on the internet. If you have questions that I have not addressed here, please ask me in the comments. Let’s get started.

Read More »Everything That You Need To Know About Affinity Photo
Sony A7IV Specs Leaked (Mock Image)

Sony A7IV Specs

The Sony A7IV has been long anticipated, and recent rumors have emerged about what the camera specs could be. While there are some speculative articles and videos, and a lot of ‘wish list’ rumors, we’re restricting ourselves to looking at what leaks from reliable sources seem to be saying about this camera.

Let’s dive into it without further ado.

Read More »Sony A7IV Specs
Capture One announces HDR and Panorama Feature Development

Capture One Announces HDR and Panorama Features

Capture One just announced that they are working on the ability to merge multiple images into HDRs and to stitch images into Panoramas. This is especially important for the company since new users tend to compare Capture One Pro directly to Adobe Lightroom Classic…

Now, with the announcement that these features are ‘in development’, Capture One seeks to even the playing field in this respect. The company has been on a roll. Earlier this year, they announced a new “Export” interface that caused a little flutter among long-time users, and the Magic Selection Brush, among other improvements.

Read More »Capture One Announces HDR and Panorama Features