One of Japan’s largest retailers has openly shared data of the best-selling cameras in the first half of June:

1. Sony α7C II Body
2. Sony α7C II Zoom Lens Kit
3. Nikon Zfc 16-50 VR Lens Kit
4. Canon EOS R50 Double Zoom Kit
5. Nikon Z50 Double Zoom Kit
6. Canon EOS R10 RF-S18-150 IS STM Lens Kit
7. Sony α6700 high magnification zoom lens kit
8. Nikon Z8 Body
9. Sony α7 IV Zoom Lens Kit
10. Nikon Z30 Double Zoom Kit

You can now reorder the new Sony Transmitter on BHphoto (Click here).

Press text:

SAN DIEGO – July 1, 2024 – Sony Electronics is furthering its commitment to live content creators with today’s launch of the PDT-FP1 portable data transmitter. The previously announced device, which enables high-speed, stable still image and video transport over 5G networks, provides efficiencies for news agencies, photojournalists, corporate and event photographers, and broadcast professionals, among others. It is now available to purchase for a suggested price of $1,099.99 USD: https://electronics.sony.com/mobile/5g-iot-devices/portable-data-transmitter/p/pdtfp1.

Highlights of the new PDT-FP1 include the ability to capture and transmit content from virtually anywhere; simple operation; optimized battery efficiency; reliable heat dissipation; wireless livestreaming capabilities; versatile input interfaces; support for broadcasting high-quality, low-latency video; and real-time, off-site network monitoring during data transfer.

The PDT-FP1 has already been tested for precise, real-time photo and video transmission by broadcasters and individuals, benefiting a range of high-profile events and clients. Award-winning photographer and photojournalist Nick Didlick used the new device for his worldwide travels and provided critical input that helped shape its usability. He called the PDT-FP1 “one of the most significant developments in mobile communications in the last decade,” and noted its agility and cost-effectiveness. Didlick added, “The PDT-FP1 allows me to transmit from where I am shooting rather than having to return to a media center. It worked flawlessly, allowing me to connect and upload images in real-time from various venues.”

For more information, please visit https://pro.sony/ue_US/products/wireless-tx-rx-accessories/pdt-fp1.

Version 4.8.0  of the Open Source Darktable has been released (here are the release notes). Those are the BIG updates:

• Introduced the color equalizer module to control
  hue/lightness/saturation based on colors. This is a (partial)
  scene-referred replacement for the legacy color zones module.
• Two new modules have been introduced to support image composition.
  • Enlarge Canvas: As the name implies, this module can be used to add
    areas on the left, right, top or bottom of the image. The new area
    can be assigned a different color to help masking if necessary. The
    new areas can the be filled with the Retouch module by copying
    some other part of the image, using Liquify if the area is small
    or the new module overlay.
  • Overlay: This module can be used to add new content on the image
    by overlaying pixels from the current image or another image. The
    overlay content is defined by a drag-and-drop from the filmstrip
    to the Overlay module. This new content can be scaled, rotated and
    shifted horizontally or vertically. Using a mask, it can be used to
    fill an area created by the Enlarge Canvas or to add some new part
    into the image using masking. A common example is to overlay
    multiply pictures of a firework to create a bigger one.
• Implemented a toggle switch for the darkroom mode, forcing the
  pixel-pipe processing to use the whole image data instead of just the
  area displayed. This allows the user to inspect processed data
  without errors introduced via internal scaling, and equals what we
  get by exporting in “high quality resampling” mode.

Chinese manufacturers are extremely busy launching one autofocus E-mount lens after another! On July 5 7Artisans will launch their third autofocus E-mount lens: The 85mm F/1.8 FE.

• Announcement: July 5th 18:30 (Peking time)
• 7Artisans AF 85mm F1.8
• Fullsize
• Sony E-mount
• AF
• Aperture ring F1.8-F6
• AF/MF switch
• AFL button

Here are the links to their other two existing autofocus E-mount lenses:

• 7Artisans 50mm f/1.8 FF AF lens at Amazon US&EU, BHphoto, Pergear and 7Artisans.
• 7Artisans AF 27mm f/2.8 APS-C AF lens on Amazon US&EU, BHphoto, Pergear and 7Artisans.

via Asobinet

Blackmagic updated their Cloud Login page with this note about “No AI training”:

We acknowledge that you own your uploaded media. Blackmagic Cloud is not a trick to access your media for AI training. Your media is private and won’t be used to train AI. So you can work with security, knowing your ideas won’t leak publicly via AI.

Game Set Match for Blackmagic against Adobe!

–
via Diyphotography Tip by Hugh Brownstone Thanks!

Yesterday I told you that on July 10 Sony will announce the new ZV-E10II and a redesigned 16-50mm lens. So it makes sense to read that in Japan the current 16-50mm lens has been marked as discontinued (Source: Asobinet).