The Rogue Umbrella Travel kit, a high quality pair of light shapers in a slim package

Photographers and filmmakers rarely use light sources as they are. Pointing a lamp, strobe or flash at the subject, press the release and done — it’s not their thing. That is why you’ll see them use reflectors, diffusers, softboxes, and umbrellas. The people at Rogue Photographic Design took the latter and improved it. Enter the Rogue Umbrella Travel Kit.… Read More The Rogue Umbrella Travel kit, a high quality pair of light shapers in a slim package

DxO Photolab 6, a major upgrade if there ever was one

DxO’s flagship image editor is 22 years old. It used to be called Optics Pro but its current name Photolab more accurately describes what you can do with it and the new version just expanded on what that entails. Photolab 6 is a major upgrade with the Optics Modules now including support for another nine new lenses. I reviewed the Elite version.… Read More DxO Photolab 6, a major upgrade if there ever was one

The Amaran 100d COB LED Fixture fights well above its proverbial weight

The Amaran 100d is a 100 Watt Daylight (CCT 5600K) balanced point-source COB LED fixture with Bowens mount and wireless Bluetooth control via the Sidus Link app. At full power, the light outputs an equivalent of a 750W tungsten light. It features 0% to 100% dimming control and scores a high 95+ TLCI (Television Lighting Consistency Index). The Amaran 100d is made of industrial-grade plastic that reduces the weight of the kit to only 3.4 kilograms, power adapter included. There’s a very, very quiet built-in fan to ensure the LED remains cool.… Read More The Amaran 100d COB LED Fixture fights well above its proverbial weight

Colour temperature: mireds versus Kelvin

The mired is a unit that measures colour temperature, just like Kelvin does. Only, almost everybody knows degrees Kelvin while fewer people know what the mired stands for. That’s not surprising, given that most light and strobe colour temperatures are expressed in Kelvin. So why use mired instead then — and perhaps more importantly — when do you use the mired unit instead of Kelvin?… Read More Colour temperature: mireds versus Kelvin

Loupedeck’s new Photoshop plugin makes controlling Adobe’s app a gratifying yet efficient experience

Loupedeck, the developer of custom consoles for photo and video editing has released a new plugin for Adobe Photoshop based on Adobe’s Unified Extensibility Platform (UXP). It provides an enhanced editing experience with Loupedeck CT and Loupedeck Live. The plugin is now available in the Creative Cloud marketplace across all regions, at no extra cost to Loupedeck users.… Read More Loupedeck’s new Photoshop plugin makes controlling Adobe’s app a gratifying yet efficient experience

Review: Aputure Accent B7c cinema grade light bulb

Aputure recently released the Accent B7c, a mains power and battery operated 7W RGBWW colour-mixing LED light bulb. It’s the first product in the new Accent family of LED lights built for filmmakers. The B7c features a standard E26/27 fixture but unlike typical household LED bulbs, the lamp uses cinema grade LEDs to reproduce skin tones with CRI and TLCI values of 95+ and a tungsten SSI score of 85.… Read More Review: Aputure Accent B7c cinema grade light bulb

Nix Color Sensor Pro 2 Tristimulus Colorimeter Review

If you’re professionally working with colour, it pays off to invest in a colorimeter or spectrophotometer. The only problem is that these can be quite expensive and bulky, and if your need is to compare colours, find colour harmonies and the RGB, Lab, CMYK and other colour space value of colours, this kind of equipment is overkill. It is where the $349 Nix Color Sensor Pro 2 tristimulus sensor is a boon to have.… Read More Nix Color Sensor Pro 2 Tristimulus Colorimeter Review