Camera

Tamron announces APS-C 11-20mm F2.8, full-frame 150-500mm F5–6.7 zooms for Sony E mount

Published

4 years ago

April 22, 2021

sarosh

Tamron announces APS-C 11-20mm F2.8, full-frame 150-500mm F5–6.7 zooms for Sony E mount

Tamron has announced the release of two new zoom lenses on opposite ends of the focal length spectrum: the 11-20mm F/2.8 Di III-A RXD for APS-C Sony E mount cameras and the 150-500mm F/5-6.7 Di III VC VXD for full-frame Sony E mount cameras.

11–20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD

First up is the 11–20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD, a fast-aperture ultrawide zoom lens for Sony E mount APS-C mirrorless cameras.

The lens, which has a 16.5mm-30mm full-frame equivalent focal length, is constructed of 12 elements in 10 groups, including two Glass Molded Aspherical (GM) elements, one Extra Low Dispersion (XLD) element and two Low Dispersion (LD) elements. Tamron has also used its Broad-Band Anti-Reflection Generation 2 (BBAR-G2) coating, which it claims keeps ghosting and flares to a minimum.

The lens uses a seven-blade aperture diaphragm and features a minimum focusing distance of 5.9” at 11mm and 9.4” at 20mm. Powering the focusing is Tamron’s Rapid Extra-silent stepping Drive (EXD) stepping motor, which Tamron specifically mentions is compatible with Eye AF modes on Sony mirrorless cameras.

Despite its constant F2.8 aperture, the lens comes in a rather compact (and moisture-resistant) package, measuring only 86mm (3.4”) long, 73mm (2.87”) in diameter and weighing only 335g (11.8oz).

The Tamron 11–20mm F2.8 Di III-A RXD is expected to go on sale starting June 24 for an MSRP of $829. Tamron does note though that ‘Due to the current global health crisis, the release date or product supply schedule could change.’

150–500mm F5–6.7 Di III VC VXD

Next up is the 150–500mm F5–6.7 Di III VC VXD, a compact ultra-telephoto zoom lens for full-frame Sony E mount cameras.

The lens is constructed of 25 elements in 16 groups, including one Extra Low Dispersion (XLD) element, five Low Dispersion (LD) elements and two Hybrid Aspherical elements. As with the 11–20mm F2.8 lens, this lens also uses Tamron’s ghosting- and flare-reducing BBAR-G2 coating.

The lens uses a seven-blade aperture diaphragm and has a minimum focusing distance of 60cm (23.6”) at 150mm and 1.8 meters (70.9”) at 500mm. Focusing is powered by the same VXD linear motor focus mechanism Tamron first used in its 70–180mm F/2.8 Di III VXD lens. The lens also features optical stabilization in the form of Tamron’s VC mechnism, which offers three settings: a standard setting (mode 1), a panning setting (mode 2) and a framing priority setting (mode 3), which Tamron claims will choose the proper VC setting based on shooting conditions.

Other features include a zoom lock mechanism, an included Arca-Swiss compatible tripod mount with attachment holes and an included lens hood. As for size, the ultra-telephoto zoom lens measures 21cm (8.3”) long, 93mm in diameter and weighs 1.72kg (60.8oz) without the tripod mount, which weighs 156g (5.5oz).

The Tamron 150–500mm F5–6.7 Di III VC VXD is expected to go on sale starting June 10 for an MSRP of $1,399. As with the 11–20mm F2.8, Tamron notes that ‘Due to the current global health crisis, the release date or product supply schedule could change.’

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Bold and vibrant: Winners of the 2025 Color Photography Contest announced

Published

5 hours ago

April 30, 2025

sarosh

Bold and vibrant: Winners of the 2025 Color Photography Contest announced

2025 Color Photography Contest winners

The 2025 Color Photography Contest winners have been announced, highlighting colorful diversity around the world. The contest, hosted by the 1839 Awards, aims to celebrate images that honor color photography and elevate the art of photography worldwide.

This year’s panel consisted of judges from the Whitney Museum of American Art, Phaidon Press, Vanity Fair, Artsy, University of Zurich, Dwell, Christie’s, and more. “Among the works entered into this year’s contest, those images that evoke emotion, challenge perception, and offer windows into entirely new realities rose to the top,” the contest organizers explained.

The contest selects three professional and three non-professional overall winners. It also selects winners of 14 different categories, including animals, architecture, conceptual, landscapes, people, photojournalism and more.

Participants could submit a series of two to five images to be judged as a group, or choose to enter individual photographs. You can see the winning series and photographs, as well as more of the category winners, on the 1839 Awards 2025 Color Photography Contest website.

1st Place Professional Overall Winner

orange alley with person by-Nicola-Fioravanti-hacklabo

Artist: Nicola Fioravanti

IG handle: @hacklabo

Title: Morocco, Sentimental Atlas

Description: This project is a heartfelt tribute to the country I hold dear. In Morocco, colors are not merely seen, but experienced. It is also a deeply personal journey, one that seeks to understand the land where the woman I love was born.

2nd Place Professional Overall Winner

tibetan buddhist monks in costume Jatenipat-Ketpradit

Artist: Jatenipat Ketpradit

IG handle: N/A

Title: TSAM · The Dance of Gods

Description: A sacred Tibetan Buddhist ritual, Tsam embodies the divine battle between
good and evil. Through intricate masks, lavish costumes, and precise choreography, monks
channel wrathful deities to purify and protect. This series unveils the mystique of Mongolia’s rarest masked dance tradition.

3rd Place Professional Overall Winner

palestinian civilians praying in mosque rubble.jpg-Abdelrahman-Alkahlout-abd.pix96

Artist: Abdelrahman Alkahlout
IG handle: @abd.pix96
Title: Unbroken Spirit: Worship Amid Destruction
Description: A powerful scene of Palestinian civilians praying on the rubble of a mosque
destroyed by Israeli airstrikes. Under a smoke-filled sky, they continue their worship in a place once a sanctuary of peace, now reduced to ruins—symbolizing resilience amid relentless destruction.

1st Place Non-Professional Overall Winner

pink desert mountain landscape in frame with house photograph on top-Diana-Cheren-Nygren-dianacherennygrenphotography

Artist: Diana Cheren Nygren

IG handle: @dianacherennygrenphotography

Title: Mother Earth

Description: I have mounted scenes of habitation behind acrylic, set within future
landscapes shaped by climate change. Painted frames allude to Earth’s next chapter. Scenes of human habitation set against a future post-human landscape ask whether humanity can adapt to what is in store for the planet.

2nd Place Non-Professional Overall Winner

white birds glying over red landscape with blue lake-CC-Xuejun-Long

Artist: Xuejun Long

IG handle: N/A

Title: Journey of Life 20

Description: The photo shows a group of flamingos flying over Lake Magadi in Kenya.
Once a freshwater lake, it has now become a highly concentrated salt pan that is severely
alkaline and toxic to most forms of animal and plant life – except for flamingos, which prefer to forage on the surface.

3rd Place Non-Professional Overall Winner

vase of red orange flowers on tile table-CC-Trina O

Artist: Trina O’Hara

IG handle: @trinaoharapainter

Title: Flowers for Caravaggio

Description: For seven years I immersed myself in Caravaggio’s world. I copied (in paint)
his entire body of work. I made it my mission to see all of Caravaggio’s paintings in the flesh. His vision shaped mine. Now, when sunlight hits a vase of flowers, I don’t just see it, I see life through Caravaggio’s eyes.

Gold – Architecture, Professional

Artist: Svetlana Fadeeva

IG handle: @fadeevaphotography

Title: Doha

Description: This photo was taken in the morning on the grounds of the Qatar National Museum, designed by French architect Jean Nouvel.

Gold – Film/Analog, Professional

Artist: William Mark Sommer

IG handle: @williammarksommer

Title: Pink Donut

Description: Home can be found in many places from the house you live in to the local
donut shop. I remember as a child being amazed by all the donuts in the case, all the color and sizes, and how my father loved the pink ones. Through this nostalgic memory, I was brought home.

Gold – Nature, Professional

flying squirrel repeated against night sky

Artist: Carla Rhodes

IG handle: @misscarlarhodes

Title: Dancing In The Moonlight

Description: Gliding like a ghost in the moonlight, a flying squirrel dances across the starry
sky, while the moon casts abstract shadows on my house. After months of late nights and
obsessive observation, I made the image I envisioned—a single frame revealing the hidden
magic just beyond our windows.

Gold – Landscapes, Professional

blue glacial rivers weaving down from mountains

Artist: Stuart Chape

IG handle: N/A

Title: Glacial blue

Description: This series was photographed from a light aircraft and captures the blue
waters of braided blue glacial rivers flowing into lakes from the high mountains of the
Aoraki/Mount Cook National Park in New Zealand. The blue colouration of the water is due to fine silt particles in the water.

Gold – People, Non-Professional

person in sea of blue fishing net from above

Artist: Arkadiusz Wójcik

IG handle: @awophotographingtheworld

Title: In the net

Description: In the early morning we planned to shoot in a small fish market. Meanwhile, we met a group of people sewing and repairing fishing nets. They do this once every few months so we were extremely lucky

Gold – Animals, Non-Professional

Artist: David Vaughn

IG handle: @davidvaughnphotos

Title: Family Portrait

Description: Southern India looking for the tiger to photography and this mother and 3 cubs drinking from a small pond and I had to wait until they all looked my way and then it happened.

Gold – Event, Non-Professional

Artist: Dylan Tom

IG handle: @dylantom10

Title: Fire Gods of The Malabar Coast

Description: Theyyam is a Ritual art form practiced in Kerala,India. It enacts the life and legend of local heroes who became martyr for the cause of the people and later revered as
Demigods. Fire is a main protogonist which depicts the life and life after death of the legend. the act takes places deep in the.

Gold – Photojournalism, Non-Professional

Artist: Jeremy Skirrow

IG Handle: @undrgrain

Title: Dust and Despair: A Coastal Cry for Water

Description: In rural Peru, around 40% lack reliable water access. Communities like
Huanchaco rely on costly, unreliable truck deliveries due to poor infrastructure. Despite APEC 2024, rural areas face water and waste challenges, deepening inequality and harming agriculture, businesses, and daily life.

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Simple steps to capturing great Northern Lights photos

Published

5 hours ago

April 30, 2025

sarosh

Simple steps to capturing great Northern Lights photos

When the right conditions align, you can capture the Aurora in most mid-latitudes.

ISO 2500 | 13.0 sec | F2.5 | 14mm

Photo: Kara Murphy

Witnessing the aurora borealis, or Northern Lights, in person is magical. While it can seem intimidating, capturing it on camera doesn’t have to be complicated. Anyone can photograph this natural phenomenon with the right conditions and a little preparation. You only need a dark, clear sky, strong solar activity and the right gear. Whether you’re using a dedicated camera or smartphone, a few simple steps will help you capture the aurora’s bright, bold colors in all their glory. Let’s dive in.

How to find aurora

The Aurorasaurus website makes it easy to see where auroras are forecasted.

First and foremost, you need to know how to find aurora. As the name suggests, Northern Lights are most often visible in northern regions like Alaska or Iceland. It’s less common to see them in lower latitudes, such as in the southern US. They are most prevalent from late September to late March, with the best chances occurring during the darkest winter months.

Luckily, there are forecasting tools to help you plan when you should get outside. Apps like Space Weather Live (iPhone; Android) and My Aurora Forecast & Alerts (iPhone; Android) provide up-to-date space weather conditions, helping you track when and where the Northern Lights may make an appearance. Aurorasauras, Aurora Forecast and NOAA are websites that also provide aurora forecasting. Of course, you’ll also need clear skies, so be sure to use your favorite weather app to check for cloud cover as well.

Capturing the Northern Lights with your phone

The easiest method for capturing the Northern Lights is with your smartphone. A smartphone can also allow you to see aurora that are too dim for our eyes to catch. It’s a valuable tool for simply viewing the phenomena, especially in regions that don’t get dramatic displays. That’s because your phone automatically combines multiple, longer exposures in real time to capture more light than our eyes can catch.

Photographing the Northern Lights with your phone is as simple as point and shoot. Most phones will automatically switch to a night mode setting, so you don’t even need to adjust anything. Just be sure to hold your phone very still or, better yet, prop it on something stable or use a tripod to avoid blurry photos.

Capturing the Northern Lights with a camera

ISO 1250 | 20.0 sec | F1.8 | 20mm

Photo: Kara Murphy

If you want to take things to the next level, any camera with manual settings will give you more control. A wide-angle lens (around 10–14mm) will capture a broad view of the sky and the surrounding landscape. However, if you want to focus on a specific subject, like a lighthouse or bridge, you can use a longer focal length (50mm or 70mm). Ideally, choose a lens with a wide aperture, such as F2.8, as it will let in as much light as possible.

No matter what camera you’re using, a sturdy tripod is essential to prevent blur from camera movement while the shutter is open. A remote shutter release is also helpful to avoid shaking the camera when you start to shoot.

Now it’s time to tinker with your settings. Your exact settings will differ based on your location and the conditions on a given night, so you will need to experiment. No matter what, though, always shoot in Raw format for the best image quality and greater flexibility during editing.

Aperture: As wide as possible, ideally F2.8 or wider.
Shutter speed: Roughly 5-10 seconds (longer risks averaging the motion out and making the effect less well defined).
ISO: Start with 800, though increase to the highest level that produces acceptably clean results on your camera as needed.

Hopefully, this gives you a solid starting point. If you’d like to dive deeper into photographing the aurora, you can check out our more in-depth guide.

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Adobe analyzes landscape photography subreddit, identifies top locations in the United Kingdom

Published

18 hours ago

April 30, 2025

sarosh

Adobe analyzes landscape photography subreddit, identifies top locations in the United Kingdom

Adobe examines the popular Landscape Photography subreddit

Image: Adobe

Adobe is known for its popular Photoshop and Adobe Lightroom photo editing software, so it doesn’t come as a big surprise that it would want to get to know some of its target audience. The company used an API and scraped 300 posts from Reddit’s Landscape Photography subreddit (r/LandscapePhotography) containing location tags or descriptions related to the United Kingdom (UK).

Hundreds of photos shared with the 128000-plus-member community over the past year by amateur and professional photographers were examined. The upvote, the ultimate signal to determine the value or worthiness of a post, was considered when Adobe reached out to Reddit users and asked for permission to feature their images in its study.

Here are some other findings the data revealed: The Scottish Highlands is the UK’s most popular landscape, as 38 images received a total of 15184 upvotes. Devon is England’s top spot with 34 photos getting 1850 upvotes. Gwynedd is the most admired location in Wales and 97% of its posts referenced Mount Snowdon or Snowdonia National Park.

Adobe contacted every Redditor (Reddit user) to get permission to share images it examined in its study.

Images: Adobe

More elusive spots were also identified using what Adobe calls a “Hidden Gem score.” As with the popular locations, these locations stood out for the frequency of mentions, user engagement including upvotes and community discussions. To view which destinations made the list, and learn more about this study, visit Adobe’s official site. It’ll be interesting to see which region is covered next.