Excire Foto Is My New Photo Management App, And You Can Save 24% On It

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I was a happy Lightroom user until Adobe decided to introduce the subscription model. I did not like it and since then I never found a software I liked enough to use it as my main photo management app. Until now. Automatic photo tagging and keywording, how does that sound?

Excire Foto is a photo management app powered by artificial intelligence (AI). See what it can do for you:

  • Using advanced image and face-recognition technology, Excire Foto automatically analyses and tags your photos. Looking for photos from a beach holiday or a family celebration? The Excire AI will find them for you in seconds and will uncover all your hidden photo treasures.
  • Intelligent content-based navigation is combined with super fast image display to provide efficiency and fun. Simple, intuitive, powerful: with Excire Foto you will experience a completely new way of interacting with your photos.
  • You search, Excire Foto finds! With just a few clicks you can find the photos you are looking for faster than ever before!
  • Transfer the Excire Foto keywords to photo or XMP files and benefit from the power of the Excire AI across various applications. Excire keywords become available in the spotlight search of your file browser and other applications such as Lightroom.

You can download a fully functional trial version of Excire, or you can purchase it with a 24% discount by using code CHRISTMAS-24.

I am actively using Excire since a few weeks and am looking forward to post a review about my experience with it. I have to say that so far I am very happy with it. In the meantime you can have a look at the video below, or check the Excire’s tutorials on YouTube. Or you can learn more about Excire Foto here.

Canon EOS C70 Firmware Update Released

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Canon released firmware update 1.0.2.1 for the Canon EOS C70.

Firmware Version 1.0.2.1 incorporates the following fix and enhancements:

1. Adds [EOS Standard] and [EOS Neutral] to the Custom Picture Presets.

2. Adds EF lenses compatible with EF-EOS R 0.71x Mount Adapter.

  • CN-E14mm T3.1 L F
  • CN-E20mm T1.5 L F
  • CN-E24mm T1.5 L F
  • CN-E35mm T1.5 L F
  • CN-E50mm T1.3 L F
  • CN-E85mm T1.3 L F
  • CN-E135mm T2.2 L F
  • EF 14mm f/2.8L II USM
  • EF 24mm f/1.4L II USM
  • EF 35mm f/1.4L II USM
  • EF 50mm f/1.2L USM
  • EF 85mm f/1.2L II USM
  • EF 135mm f/2L USM

Download Canon EOS C70 firmware 1.0.2.1

Brightin Star 50mm f/0.95 For RF Mount Review

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This is an interesting, and budget friendly, lens for the RF mount. The Brightin Star 50mm f/0.95 lens.

At a glance:

  • Eye Of The Night-God ＆ F0.95 Large Aperture – With a larger viewing angle and a wider picture, with a large aperture of F0.95, you can still get more light in shooting night scenes and dim environments.
  • Sharp Focus & Soft Out-Of-Focus Image Quality – The lens structure is 7 elements in 5 group, it can make the picture near the focus point sharp and clear when focusing, while ensuring that the picture outside the focus range is soft.
  • Upgraded UMC Coated Lens – The lens lens adopts multi-layer nano-coating, which greatly reduces ultraviolet rays and stray light entering the lens, effectively eliminating ghosting and flare, while improving light transmission and providing better picture quality.
  • Metal Material ＆ Utra-Small Structure Design – Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 is made of metal and glass, with exquisite workmanship and compact design, allowing you to put the lens in your pocket.
  • Compatible Cameras – Canon EOS-RF Mount Mirrorless Cameras EOS-R EOS-RP EOS-R6 EOS-R5

Dustin Abbott reviewed the Brightin Star 50mm f/0.95 on a Canon EOS R5. He says:

The Brightin Star 50mm F0.95 is not a lens for everyone. We knew that from the outset, however, because it is a manual everything lens. The huge maximum aperture will be the headline getter, however, and I expect there will be some definitely interested in the lens due to that.

[…] This is a lens designed for a certain kind of photographer. That photographer tends to be creative and deliberate, one who treasures unique rendering over technical perfection and who isn’t afraid to move a little slower in the capture process in order to get the right shot.

I know that there are plenty of photographers who feel that a lens that gives dreamy images at very wide apertures and crisper, more modern results when stopped down a bit is almost like having two lenses. They give two different ways to approach a scene. I stopped down to F2 for this shot of Loki, and the detail shows a pretty modern looking amount of detail even on a demanding 45MP sensor

As usual the review comes with a huge set of sample pictures, comparison charts, and all the information you might want to know. Dustin’s reviews are what I look for when I am about to purchase new gear. And for those who prefer to watch their reviews, Dustin Abbott provides a comprehensive video-review.

More gear reviews by Dustin Abbott are listed here. You can follow Dustin Abbott on Twitter, YouTube, or on his website.

Firmware Update: Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS

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Canon released a firmware update for the Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS.

Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS firmware update 1.1.0:

1. Adds an electronic full-time manual focus function (a function that enables constant manual focus adjustment in both One-shot AF and Servo AF), which is enabled when using the EOS R5, EOS R6, and EOS R3 cameras.

2. Improves an issue in which the background is not blurred when performing slow panning with the IS (Image Stabilization) mode set to Mode 2 or Mode 3.

Download Canon RF 70-200mm f/4L IS firmware update 1.1.0.

Canon Developed Sensor Capable Of High-quality Color Photography In The Dark

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A new imaging sensor is coming from Canon’s R&D laboratories. A new SPAD (single photon avalanche diode) imaging sensor that can take high-quality photos even in the dark.

Digicame Info summed up what it is about:

  • Canon has developed an image sensor that enables high-quality color photography even in the dark. The CMOS sensor used in digital cameras can recognize up to about one-tenth the brightness of light that can be detected, and can take clear pictures even in situations where nothing can be seen with the naked eye. It will be mass-produced from 2022. It may lead to improved image recognition performance in a wide range of industrial applications such as autonomous driving and crime prevention / monitoring.
  • We have developed a light receiving element called a SPAD (single photon avalanche diode) image sensor. You can shoot clear color images even in total darkness, which was difficult with the CMOS sensor. The number of pixels of the sensor that holds the key to the sharpness of the image is 3.2 million pixels, which is more than three times that of the conventional SPAD, which is the highest in the world.
  • The SPAD sensor also has the feature of measuring the distance to the object from the time it takes for the reflected light from the object to return, and capturing the space in three dimensions. Therefore, it is expected to be used in a wide range of fields such as the high-performance sensor “LiDAR” that is indispensable for autonomous driving and augmented reality (AR).

Don’t expect this sensor to come to your next PowerShot or EOS M or EOS R camera. It is more likely suited for scientific applications.

[via Nikkei Asia]

Best & Worst Photo/Video Gear Of 2021, According To DPReview’s Chris And Jordan

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A non objective evaluation of the best and the worst video and photo gear of 2021. Don expect a sober analysis, though.

Chris and Jordan of DPReview TV discuss what they think was the best and t he worst video and photo gear released in 2021. Some drinking is involved, some fun too. So, don take everything death-seriously.

It’s that time of the year when Chris and Jordan look back on the year’s best and worst releases of photo and video gear. As has become traditional, they’ve devised a drinking game to help ensure that their recollection ends up as hazy as the output of the worst lens…

Have fun!