Apple CEO Tim Cook Confirms New iMac Desktop PCs Coming

It has been a while since Apple last introduced new desktop Mac computers. Some are even questioning whether the company has decided to abandon the desktop in favor of the MacBook Pro line of laptops. Microsoft has been aggressively going after the stodgy desktop computer market by announcing their Surface Pro All-in-One PC. 

Now in a leak of a memo from Apple's CEO, Tim Cook to its employees, he has reassured his staff the important of the desktop to Apple's strategy and to expect new announcements in the near future.

Apple Announced Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 6.20

* * *  Adobe Lightroom Mobile beats Apple to RAW image processing  * * *

From Apple :

Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 6.20

This update adds RAW image compatibility for the following cameras to OS X El Capitan :

Canon EOS-1D X Mark II
Canon EOS 80D
Canon EOS Rebel T6 / 1300D / Kiss X80
Canon PowerShot G7 X Mark II
Olympus PEN-F
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GF8
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GX7 Mark II / GX80 / GX85
Panasonic LUMIX DMC-ZS100 / TZ100 / TX1
Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 III

For more information on supported RAW formats, see here. Also, Apple will be supporting RAW photo images and editing in their upcoming iOS10 release.

Apple iPhones To Have RAW Image Data in iOS 10

* * *  Apple released Digital Camera RAW Compatibility Update 6.20  * * * 

I have just returned from another successful wildlife photo trip to the High Arctic testing the Canon EOS-1D X Mark II camera. Trying to get back to my blog and catching up with the latest photography news. It will take me a week or two to get back to speed and precious little time to process the photos because by then, my next tour will be here already. I have a very busy Summer touring season ahead of me. You can see my equipment bag and works on MichaelDanielHo.com

Apple may be finally offering photographers who use their iPhones 'exclusively' to take photographs the opportunity to shoot and edit RAW images in a native camera app. The next version of the phone's software, iOS 10 is due to be released later this year. Apple is really behind their Android competitors. Users of the competing system already have access to RAW image editing for a while now.

Third party developers will be able to offer additional apps as Apple opens up the codes in the RAW file data. iOS 10 is scheduled for public beta access soon and a final release some time in Q4.

Canon Announces 4 Free iOS Photo Apps for UK and Ireland

United Kingdom, Republic of Ireland, 30th March – Canon Marketing Japan Inc. today announces the release of four free iOS applications*¹ in the UK and Ireland – BestShutter, Photo Log Map, TakeMyPic, and Easy Photo Sorter. These apps are designed to make taking photos more enjoyable and convenient.

BestShutter helps you capture your children and pet’s cutest moments

BestShutter app is designed to help take photos of children and pets who usually don’t pay attention to the camera. The app uses fun sounds to capture children or pet’s attention to help photograph their wonderful expressions and get great shots of your children during their cutest moments!

Plus if you are shooting movies you can select the best scenes and clip as still images, so you won’t miss any key moments.

Photo Log Map makes it easier to record your location information and shooting records 

Photo Log Map app is designed to meets the needs of people who want to record location information together with shooting records during various situations such as traveling, or mountain climbing.

Using data from your images, and a smartphone’s information service, it creates a shooting record maps. Even with data from photos shot on digital cameras not equipped with GPS, you can create a shooting record map linked to the smartphone’s GPS log. In addition to photos on the map, you can also add text memos and sound memos that record the location’s conditions. By writing the recorded log to a GPX file*², you can use the information in other apps.

TakeMyPic lets include yourself in a shot you envisage 

Have you ever asked a passer-by to take your picture, only to find it’s not the way you wanted it to look? TakeMyPic is a helpful app that lets you compose your shot before giving to someone else to take. The app lets you insert a human shape in your desire position, making it easier to show the person taking your photo how you would like the shot to look. The app helps you avoid mistakes when it comes to capturing those important commemorative photos on your travels.

Easy Photo Sorter makes it possible to easily organize the photo data on your smartphone 

Many smartphones end up having large amounts of photos saved on them and Easy Photo Sorter is an app to help organise them. By combining information such as date, time and day of the week, and setting your desired criteria to organise, you can create folders in your iPhone or iPad photo albums and automatically categorise photos based on this criteria when the app launches.

Last year, Canon Marketing Japan Inc. released PERSTEXT, a photo processing application that provides users with a new way of having fun with their photos by enabling the creation of images combined with text that convey messages with a touch of flare. In order to make photos even more enjoyable, the free iOS applications being released this time can be used in a variety of situations such as shooting, processing, viewing, showing, and organizing. These applications will provide even more opportunities to enjoy photos with digital cameras and smartphones.

Apple iPhone 6S Camera Hands-On Review

* * *  Apple iPhone 6S, 6S Plus and iPad Pro announced  * * *

* * *  Read the latest post on new Adobe apps for iPhones and iPads  * * *

Canon recently announced their top-of-the-line Powershot G3X camera and Apple followed with their release of the iPhone 6 S and iPhone 6S Plus in September. A short while ago, Qualcomm boasted their SnapDragon 820 chip will enable smartphones to have 'DSLR quality' photography. Are smartphones really outsmarting DSLR cameras? You know the answer already.

I have just returned from my wildlife photo shoot in South Africa. Brought my smartphone and DSLR cameras because they both perform different functions well. You can see my works on MichaelDanielHo.com. Take a look at DigitelRev's video review of the Apple iPhone 6S's camera.

Apple Announced New iPad Pro, Keyboard and Pencil

Apple iPad Pro size comparison

As reported earlier on my previous post, Apple has unveiled its new iPad Pro, with a 12.9 inch split screen display, running the iOS 9 operating system. In addition, the iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S Plus are also announced.

It comes with a new Keyboard and Pencil. The iPad Pro features TouchID and a 8MP iSight camera on the rear for taking photos.

The new iPad comes in Wi-Fi and LTE models. Scheduled to be released in November. A 32GB model starts at $799, while a 128GB version is priced at $949. If you want the LTE 128GB model, be prepared to pay $1,079. By the way, the Apple Pencil is $99 and keyboard sells for $169 extra.

More info to come later.

Apple iPhone 6S Comes With 12MP 4K Camera?

* * *  Read the latest post on Apple iPhone 6S and Adobe  * * *

Apple is expected to unveil their iPhone 6S and iPhone 6S+ on September 9. The new phones apparently will come with a 12MP sensor camera and capable of recording 4K video.

In addition, the front camera may come with a flash and has been upgraded to shoot panorama shots and 720p in slow motion.

Rumor has it Apple is about to release an ad touting the theme,  “Shot in 4K on an iPhone” to coincide with the launch of the new phones. If true, some might say these new iPhones will make DSLR cameras 'obsolete'. Keep checking back for the latest development.

Apple Digital Camera RAW 6.06 Adds Support For New Cameras

Apple released Digital Camera RAW 6.06 to support for many recently announced cameras, including the Canon PowerShot G3 X. The following cameras are supported. For a complete list of all camera supported, visit this Apple link.

    Canon PowerShot G3 X
    Leica Q (Typ 116)
    Panasonic LUMIX DMC-GX8
    Sony Alpha ILCE-7R II
    Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX10 II
    Sony Cyber-shot DSC-RX100 IV

Apple's OS X El Capitan Will Improve Adobe CC Performance

El Capitan, Yosemite National Park, California

At the Worldwide Developers Conference, Apple announced their newest version OS X operating system, called El Capitan, named after the famous vertical rock formation in Yosemite National Park, California.

The new OS X version will include Apple’s Metal framework, which will enhance graphics performance tremendously over OpenGL.

Adobe claimed they have seen big improvement in rendering for After Effects. Similar improvement may be experienced from Photoshop and Lightroom. Full support will be provided by Adobe for Metal in all of its CC applications when the new OS X is available this Autumn.

Smartphone Cameras vs. DSLR Cameras

A bit of humor from Canon. Personally, I find the camera on my smartphone very handy but limited in capabilities and image quality. Therefore, my rule of thumb is, if the images mean a lot, I will reach for the real camera in my equipment bag, provided I have it with me. If not, the smartphone will have to do and let's hope for the best.

Simple Tips On Taking More Creative SmartPhone Photos

Happy New Year. Many of my readers have probably received or bought a new smartphone in the last few weeks as a present. Although the cameras in many smartphones like the Apple iPhone 6 and Samsung S5 are very capable, there is still no substitute for a proper DSLR camera when I want to take a serious photo. You can see my work with smart cameras on MichaelDanielHo.com

Nonetheless, there are times when a stand alone camera is not available, so one must learn all the tricks and capabilities of the smartphone in one's pocket or purse. The video below from Cooperative of Photography shows us some interesting ways on how to take panorama photos and even partial underwater shots. Take a look.

Canon PowerShot Cameras vs. Apple iPhone 6

* * *  Apple iPhone 6S and Canon Powershot G3X both announced  * * *

Apple announced the new iPhone 6 and iPhone 6 Plus today. Both phones have a retina screen display, with a resolution of 1334 x 750 for the former and a resolution of 1920 x 1080 for the latter. Since this is a photography blog, I will just concentrate on the camera section of this new phone :

The camera that changed photos now does the same for video.

Every day, people take more photos with iPhone than with any other camera. That’s because the iSight camera makes it so remarkably easy. Now, in addition to its large 1.5-micron pixels and ƒ/2.2 aperture, the world’s most popular camera is packed with new technologies to help everyone take more great photos.

To make it just as easy to shoot amazing video, we added new features like the option to capture 1080p HD at 60 fps, 240-fps slo-mo, and time-lapse video. And you can shoot HD video and then watch the stunning results on the large Retina HD display.

Canon and other camera manufacturers have been losing sales (particularly in the low end) in the last few years. Part of the reason is the much higher quality cameras found in high end smartphones. Some people have decided the photos taken with their smartphones is good enough and the new iPhone 6 will go even further to reinforce that point. Certainly Canon is concerned about the competition from Apple and Samsung's high end phones but my own feeling is their apprehension is misplaced.

I believe those who will trade a high end PowerShot camera for a high end smartphone with camera to take photos are mostly interested in convenience first. Those who are passionate about photography, like yours truly, will own and generally carry both. There may be some overlap between the two groups but by and large, I think they are mostly mutually exclusive.

The best way for Canon and other camera manufacturers to stay competitive is to keep producing high quality, innovative photographic products and cut down on some of the fluff and marketing glitz. Photographers will respond to genuine improvement and not same old technology, wrapped in new camera and lens housing. Photokina 2014 is just round the corner. Many manufactures like Zeiss and Hasselblad have already announced new products. Canon is still holding their cards very close to its chest but is expected to announce the EOS-7D Mk II camera some time late this week.

Canon Ad Campaign Against SmartPhone Photography

The times they are changing. Apparently, Canon is 'concerned' enough that the latest smartphones may have enough photographic technology to challenge the point-n-shoot cameras and seriously make a dent in their sales. Thus, they have embarked on an ad campaign, with the tag line 'Don't Let A Call Interrupt Your Photo' to try and stem the tide.

Apple, Samsung and others are coming up with optical zoom and LED flash technology in their smartphones to even try and challenge the low end DSLR cameras. Read my latest post on this topic. Frankly, I think this 'fear' is a tempest in a teapot, just like the prominence of image sharing websites are supposed to diminish the appeal of still photography. My philosophy is simple. There are always those who will choose simplicity and multitasking capabilities in a piece of equipment over the pursuit of excellence with a dedicated purpose.

Unique and high quality still photography will always be in demand. The people and equipment manufacturers responsible for making this happen will be secure in the knowledge that they just need to do one thing, and do it the best. The rest will take care of itself. You can see my work with smart cameras on MichaelDanielHo.com