Explore Detroit Photographer Russ Marshall's Shots from an Old Car Town

 

  Tags:  Detroit, Russ Marshall, Photographs

 

 By Jonathon Ramsey

Russ Marshall was three years old when he moved from a coal town to a car town– from South Fork, Pennsylvania to Detroit, where his father took a job on a Chrysler assembly line building DeSotos. Marshall was in his teens when he got hold of a Scout 120 box camera and began capturing the people around him and the place he lived. He's 80 now, and 50 years of his most striking shots currently line the walls at the Detroit Institute of Arts. There was never a plan to turn his world into fine art.

"I just wanted to take interesting photos," he says.

Running until June 27, 2021, the showcase's full title is "Russ Marshall: Detroit Photographs, 1958–2008—An exhibition celebrating blue-collar workers throughout Southeast Michigan." That banner of a name still doesn’t capture the suffuse magic in the more than 90 black-and-white photographs that DIA photography curator Nancy Barr spent two years working with Marshall to select.

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The photos express a city in full, the kind of consideration Detroit deserves, but rarely receives. Freed from the shadows and soul of the auto industry and Motown, Marshall reveals the benign scenes of any big city, full of regular folks attending to and enjoying regular activities on a regular day.

Growing up, he and his camera wandered out of the family living room and into the neighborhood, taking pictures of his friends, then into the Navy. From 1960-1964, Marshall served in the Navy as a photographer. Caribbean duty included stops in Jamaica and Cuba during the missile crisis.

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Russ Marshall

Returning to Detroit after his discharge, he moved downtown near UAW headquarters in the early 1980s and picked up freelance photo work for the UAW magazine Solidarity. Gigs for unions like the Teamsters and the American Federation of Teachers followed. Marshall's a blue-collar son with ties to two faded industrial hubs, so one can read a hint of elegy in the "Workers" section of the exhibit. Here one finds photos from Ford's River Rouge Complex, the Acorn Iron Works in Detroit, a steel-town bar in Johnstown, Pennsylvania, and stacked meanings in the image "Ms. USA, Ford Motor Company, Batavia, Ohio."

"I knew and sensed over time that these jobs and these workers and these factories would someday be gone, replaced by something or nothing," Marshall said in a 2013 interview with American Elegy. "I had this opportunity to document and preserve the fact that these workers did exist at this time and in this place, like my coal mining, steel making relatives in our photo album."

The factory photos seem as though they'd be impossible to recreate today. Some workers pose, but they're doing so for themselves, not for a public relations department. Most workers don't wear protective gear. And the images are dark, Marshall combining his day job and matter-of-fact sensibility with his interest in film noir. If you see photos like these come out of a modern factory in the U.S., there have been breakdowns in the safety and the public relations departments.

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Russ Marshall

Another series of prints documents Marshall's work in Europe. He told us Continental jaunts began when the head of the UAW asked him to come to a conference in Denmark. Over a number of trips from 1987 to 1990, Marshall photographed workers and daily scenes, like the two women waiting at the charcuterie station in Harrod's in London, and the disinterested guard slumped in a chair in Budapest next to a three-quarter statue of Lenin.

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The "Everyday Detroit," "Public Life," and "Sounds of Detroit" photos are where Marshall injects high-contrast drama into the commonplace. LaMonte Hamilton playing sax at the Vanity Ballroom in 1982 could be auditioning for a spot at Rick’s Casablanca watering hole. Marshall shot "Woodward City Man" in 2000, but the only thing the image is missing is Orson Welles in The Third Man from 1949. "Ambassador Bridge and Zug Island" from 1968 and "Detroit Skyline with Water Tower #3" are models of German Expressionist cinematography, or screencaps from the movie Sin City, admitting that even the dark city must wake, even if to just the mere hint of the sun.

Between the industry and the darkness, Marshall captured Detroit icons like the Michigan Central Station when it was a train station, and Eastern Market. There are iconic moments such as the "Love Nuns" at the "maximum hippie" Love-In at Belle Isle, when something like 8000 longhairs occupied the island on April 30, 1967 "for several hours of singing, dancing, and probably a little bit of doobie-smoking as well." There are society moments like Henry Ford II dining with friends at the Renaissance Club and the Detroit Symphony Opera welcoming German conductor Günther Herbig, both from 1984. And then there’s just society, six-deep on the sidewalk watching the Palms Parade over Thanksgiving in 1964, united in curiosity like the seven men stopped to watch a construction site, and solo like the figure in "City Corner."

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Russ Marshall

The DIA has served several online side dishes with the photographs, starting with an exhibition brochure and a large-print label booklet containing small images of the prints. Marshall also put together audio playlists of promiscuous variety to ease one into his noir ambience—Spotify here, YouTube here—with selections from Kerouac’s and Morgan Williams’ spoken word to Nina Simone, Thelonious Monk, Eminem, and the staggeringly enticing voice of Eva Cassidy.

Marshall offers six books on Blurb for those taken with his mood. You wouldn’t need a bottle of Michigan-sourced whiskey and an old pressing of Kind of Blue to savor the books, but those side orders would be excellent study aids.

Also currently at the DIA is its exhibit featuring 70 years of automotive design, Detroit Style. Share this article.

 

 

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Go analog with film photography.

Tags:  Photography for Beginners, Shutter Speed, f-stop, Digital Photography, Film Photographers

 

by: Ryan Mills, Dillon Jenkins

 Explore the roots of analog photography and see how complex, yet rewarding, it is to shoot with film, develop your exposures, and print your photos.

Capture the moment.

Before digital photography entered the scene, all photos were made with light-sensitive rolls of film. From there, film photographers would develop the rolls and print their photos in a darkroom; a physical process that lets artists get up close and personal with photography as a medium. Film photography gives you total control over image exposure and shutter speed, and the ability to print and enlarge images can help artists better understand how photos are made.

 

While film can be a great way to explore the ins and outs of photography, it comes with a lot of trial and error. “With digital photography you can learn really fast. But with film, you can take a photograph and not know what settings you used. You could get the perfect photograph, but you wouldn’t know why. With digital, you can go back to the metadata and see what f-stop and shutter speed you used,” explains photographer Ryan Mills.

Master your photography tools.

Film cameras.

During film photography, a roll of light-sensitive film is placed within the camera. When the shutter of the camera is open, the film is exposed to light and an impression is captured. After the exposure is made, the photographer rolls the film forward so a fresh section of unexposed film is ready for the next photo. In some manual cameras, you can roll the film backward and shoot over the same piece of film multiple times to create a double exposure. When the roll has all been shot, it’s removed from the camera and developed.

 

“One important thing to realize about digital cameras is that the brand of camera, like Nikon or Canon, doesn’t really matter; your image will kind of look the same. And by the time people start editing photos, it’s difficult to tell what kind of camera that came from,” explains Mills. “With film, however, the cameras and the film all give different looks. And they all function a little bit differently.”

 

Many photographers use a Single Lens Reflex (SLR) camera for their film photography, which uses a mirror and prism to create an exposure. The inner workings of these cameras allow photographers to look through the viewfinder and lens to see what will be captured within the frame. SLR cameras come in different formats, including 35mm cameras, medium format, and large format. These formats translate to the size of the physical film that fits in the camera. And the larger the film negative, the better the resolution of your final image. For smaller formats, like 35mm, the film grain will be more noticeable on the printed image.

“You can get analog cameras pretty cheaply, but it’s more expensive to shoot the film,” explains photographer Dillon Jenkins. Digital cameras are more expensive upfront, but there’s no extra cost accumulated for every photo you take. But keep in mind, you can’t shoot 35mm film inside a medium format camera. So before purchasing film or a camera, consider the kind of photos you want to create before investing in the equipment.

 

Photographic film.

When it comes to film, there are a few options to consider. “These days, you can generally buy 35mm film and 120 medium format film. You may have heard the terms 120 and 220 format. They’re essentially the same medium format size film, but at different lengths,” explains Mills. With a longer roll of film, you can take more photos before replacing the roll. “You can get 10 to 12 shots out of 120 film, and 22 to 24 shots out of 220 film,” notes Mills.

 

Film cameras can shoot in either black and white or in color. Black-and-white film is a little easier to develop yourself, but color film gives you room to experiment with tints and shades. Different brands of film, like Fujifilm and Kodak, can give you different color saturation or contrast as well. Try a few different brands and see which works best for your artistic needs.

 

Beyond the color of the film, you also have a choice between film positives and film negatives. Negatives capture an inverted image of your photo, which allows for easier photo printing in a darkroom. Positive film creates positive images on a transparent base. “One of the big differences between color negatives and color positives is exposure latitude, which is the dynamic range of the film itself,” explains Jenkins. Keep in mind that each type of film has different parameters and considerations.

• Color positive film has more color and saturation. Color positive film is often used in analog video cameras, since it’s more easily projected.
  
  
• Color negative film is flexible, but the colors can unintentionally shift if you’re too high or low within your film camera settings.
  
  
• Black-and-white film is less expensive than color film. It’s also the most forgiving medium and is one you can develop at home.
   

Remember, before the film has been developed, it’s still light sensitive, so the artist must be careful while developing to limit the risk of light leaks or overexposure to the film.

 

How to shoot with film.

Understand your camera settings.

The exposure triangle is imperative when it comes to film photography. “I would start with digital photography, so you have a solid understanding of the fundamentals. With film, you’re going to be shooting everything manually.” says Mills. Because everything is manual, you need to clearly understand how shutter speed, aperture, and ISO will affect your photo. And with film cameras, your ISO, or the light sensitivity, is dependent on your physical film.

Plan ahead for the shoot.

With film photography, you have a limited number of exposures at your disposal. If you want to capture landscape photos, you don’t want to run out of film before you make it to the viewpoint, so bring a few extra rolls of film with you just in case. It can also be helpful to keep a journal or log of the camera settings you use while you shoot film. That way, when you look back at your images after they’ve been developed, you can see what you did right and what went wrong.

 

Trial and error happens.

“When it comes to analog photography, expect to make a lot of mistakes. And sometimes, you’ll like your mistakes. I think understanding how you made the mistake helps you appreciate it,” explains Jenkins. “For example, one time my camera had broken, but it was still working. So I shot a roll of film with it. But the camera kept shooting for about 40 exposures, which was very weird. But what had happened was the spool had broken, so I had been taking photos over the same piece of film for two months, so it had about 30 photos on one frame.” Weird mistakes will happen with film photography, but those moments can help you create something truly unique and unexpected.

 

How to process your film.

After a roll of film is shot, it needs to be developed. One approach is to mail the film roll out to a developer. There used to be a multitude of film processing companies, but with the rise of digital photography, it has become more a specialty. With mail-in developers, you can often choose what format you’d like your images in. You can order just the processed film, small or large prints of each photo, or digital images of the film photos. That final approach can save you time, and gives you high-quality images to edit digitally.

Build a darkroom.

Another avenue to consider is at-home developing. For some film, you can order a developing kit with the right chemicals. Alternatively, if you have a dark basement or a windowless room, you could create an at-home darkroom. This gives you the flexibility to develop your film and then create your own photo prints. Keep in mind that black-and-white film is the easiest to develop and print at home, and it requires fewer chemicals.

 

To build a darkroom at home, you’ll need a dark space, a safelight, the right chemicals, distilled water, developer, fixer, trays, and gloves. You can purchase the chemicals and developer at a specialty photography store or online. To develop the film, you’ll need to load the film into the developing tube, mix your chemicals, pour in the developer, wash it, and then dry the negatives.

Print your photos.

When the negatives are dry, you can print the photos. Use an enlarger to project your film negative onto a piece of photo-sensitive paper, and create test strips and prints by turning on the light inside the enlarger for a series of increasing seconds.

 

Set up four trays, and fill them with developer, fixer, stopper, and water. After the photo paper has been exposed to light, place it in a tray of developer. While the paper sits in the developer, you’ll see the contrast and shadows start to emerge. From there, you’ll move it to the fixer, then the stop bath, and then rinse it in the water bath. Keep in mind that your brand of paper and chemicals will impact the amount of time your print stays in each solution. After that, you can hang your photo dry, then frame it and enjoy.

 

Give your photos a digital touch.

The process of physically developing film can be fun and worthwhile, but if you want to create a specific artistic look, it can take a lot of experimentation to get it right. Another way to get the perfect photo is to transform your film shot into a digital image. Use a DSLR camera, a photo scanner, or your smartphone to create a high-quality shot of your film negative or photo print. From there, you can use Adobe Photoshop Lightroom to edit and perfect the image. If you’re not sure how to get started, check out these tutorials:

• Use the Adjustment Brush to dodge and burn an image, similar to traditional tactics used in the darkroom, to adjust the exposure and contrast in certain areas of your photo.
  
  
• Remove distracting objects in the background of your shot with these simple steps.
  
  
• Use selective editing tools in Lightroom, like the Brush tool or Radial Gradients, to edit specific parts of your photo.
  
  
• Learn how to edit out dust and scratches from images in Adobe Photoshop.
   

Film photography takes time and patience, but shooting film can help you connect with your photos — and understand photography — in a new way. Whether you’re a beginner or a professional photographer, analog photography forces you to master the exposure triangle, your camera settings, and your creative vision. If you’re not ready to invest in a darkroom or an SLR camera, consider a Polaroid or instant film camera instead. You’ll still get to experience the physicality of film photography, but with an easier way to access it.  Share this article. 

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Best Camera Settings for Portraits

 

AI Editing Will NOT Ruin Photography

 Tags:  Photography for Beginners, AI, Photography software

 

 by: Michael Comeau

AI is the #1 buzzword in the digital photography world. Skylum, which has ridden the AI photo editing craze better than any company, is about to release Luminar AI. ON1 now offers ON1 Portrait AI. DxO announced DxO DeepPRIME, which it describes as “an artificial intelligence technology dedicated to editing photos in RAW format.”

Adobe just made AI a major centerpiece in the latest version of Photoshop, declaring that Photoshop is “the world’s most advanced AI application for creatives.”

Reactions within the online photography community seem split. It feels like there’s a loud minority proclaiming AI to be pure evil. But there’s another side thinking about the convenience factor of one-click fixes.

So let’s talk about it.

The Photography Software Industry Pulled a Massive Persuasion Trick on You

The AI photo editing boom has created a major discussion over ethics. Is it wrong to use AI to reshape faces, replace skies, and make outright fake images? And will AI change photography as we know it forever?

Questions like this play right into the photography software industry’s hands. Because when you debate the ethics of AI software, you also do 2 things:

1. You are saying this is actually AI technology, and not just a clever angle cooked up by the marketing department

2. You are saying the software works well

The industry got you to “think past the sale,” which is a classic sales and persuasion trick. I’m not yet convinced there’s real AI in any of this software. But we’re acting as if it is.

And that’s just the first step towards mass acceptance. So let’s admit…

There Is No Turning Back from AI Software

See how effective that “thinking past the sale” stuff is? I’m not convinced AI software actually has any AI in it, yet I’m writing sentences like “there is no turning back from AI software.”

Let me put all my cards on the table. Post-processing is my least favorite part of portrait photography. So if I can clean up skin or knock out a background with a single click, I will slam my credit card down and buy. I value my time more than my ability to push pixels around.

That relates to a major reality of consumer spending: most people gravitate toward the most convenient option.

Why did digital cameras beat film cameras? Because digital is more convenient.

And why are smartphones beating digital cameras? Because smartphones are more convenient.

There will always be a place for serious retouchers and enthusiasts that have exacting demands. But many people will gravitate to the “click and it’s done” model.

But let’s remember…

You Don’t Have to Use Any of This Stuff

If you get enjoyment out of perfecting your images in Photoshop or Affinity Photo or whatever with traditional old school tools, then don’t stop.

No one is forcing you to do use anything new, and you don’t have to buy any AI editing software products if you don’t want to.

One of the biggest weaknesses of software is that it tends to get more bloated over time. Companies like Adobe keep adding features to their products. But they don’t take stuff away.

Odds are you can use your same digital retouching workflow for the next 20 years if you really want to. The clone stamp tool ain’t going anywhere.

Now, you may be thinking “I don’t want to use this stuff, but no one should because it’s bad for society!” Well…

The Damage Is Done

Thanks to reality altering mobile apps, you’re a few clicks away from having bigger eyes, smoother skin, and a slimmer waist. Ironically, these apps are very popular with influencers and celebrities that tell us to love ourselves the way we are.

So by including more face/body altering features in their software, Adobe, Luminar, and their competitors are only following an existing trend.

Photoshelter Chairman Allen Murabayashi argued that “there is something legitimizing about the incorporation of similar technologies into Adobe Photoshop.”

But does legitimizing even matter? These apps have been massively popular for years before Adobe got in on the game. And even if these apps were made illegal, a black market would pop up in about 8 minutes.

Now, let’s get to my final point.

Only You Can Ruin Photography

Landscape photographer and YouTube Thomas Heaton recently said “AI Editing Will Ruin Photography As We Know It:”

I disagree 100%.

If we’re going down this road, we could say that Photoshop should have ended photography. You could even extend that to the analog darkroom! Photographers were retouching skin, swapping heads, manipulating color, and compositing images decades before Photoshop even existed.

The AI editors are simply making things easier. We can still freely choose to nail shots in-camera, or carefully use traditional editing tools if we want.

Let’s also think about why we shoot in the first place.

The great Gregory Heisler once said this about photography:

If your only expectation is the satisfaction of making the picture, it will never let you down.

 

 

 

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 Nikon F6 AF 35mm film SLR camera is officially discontinued

 Tags:  Photography for Beginners, Nikon, F6

by: Pavni Jain

 

 

 

 

HIGHLIGHTS

• Nikon has a dedicated line of film cameras called Nikon F series.
• Nikon F6 film SLR camera is the last camera of Nikon F series.
• Now, Nikon F6 film SLR camera has also been discontinued by the company.

Nikon launches cameras to target both photographers and filmmakers. The Japanese manufacturer has a dedicated line of cinema cameras called the Nikon F series. One of the Nikon F series camera line-up, the Nikon F6 film SLR has now been officially discontinued.

Nikon F6 is a 35mm film single-lens reflex camera which was out in 2004. The F6 film SLR is also the last camera of the Nikon F series line of cameras. According to Nikon Rumors, the Nikon F6 film SLR model has been listed as discontinued on the official Nikon Japan website.

As per reports, the F6 film SLR camera was already discontinued in Europe in the month of October this year. And now, even B&H, which is a Manhattan-based photographic website, also sent out email notifications saying that they have listed the Nikon F6 as discontinued.

"You are receiving this message because you asked to be notified when this item becomes available. We regret to inform you that this item has unfortunately been discontinued," read the email.

The Nikon F6 is compatible with any Nikon F-mount lens with full metering functionality. The camera features four film advance modes, including Single (S), Continuous Low-Speed (CL) for up to 3FPS, Continuous High-Speed (CH) for up to 5.5FPS, Continuous Silent (Cs) for nearly silent operation at approximately 1FPS.

The autofocus system of the Nikon F6 film SLR camera includes Multi-CAM 2000 AF Sensor Module, with advanced high-speed, high-precision 11-area AF system with 9 cross-type AF sensors. Also packs Four AF Area Modes such as Single Area AF, Dynamic AF with Focus Tracking and Lock-On(TM), Closest Subject Priority Dynamic AF and Group Dynamic AF.

For the shooting modes, the F6 film SLR features: Program, Flexible Program, Shutter Priority, Aperture Priority, Manual. Also allows for exposure compensation, Auto Exposure/Flash Bracketing.

While the specs and features may appeal to some camera users, the truth is that the Nikon F6 film SLR camera is no longer available.

As for the latest releases, Nikon has updated its Z-series of mirrorless cameras. The company has launched the Nikon Z6 II and Nikon Z7 II with features such as 4K/60p video capture, dual EXPEED 6 image processors, dual memory card slots and more.

Other features include improved autofocus with expanded eye-detect and animal-detect, max burst of 14FPS in Nikon Z6 II, and max burst of 10FPS in Nikon Z7 II. The design and look of the Nikon Z6 II and Z7 II are in the nature of Nikon Z6 and Z7 camera models. Both the latest Nikon Z6 II and Z7 II are weather-sealed cameras.  Share this article.

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This Is the Main Reason I Don't Use My Film Camera

Tags: Photography for Beginners, Photography, Analogue Photos

by Jason Parnell-Brookes 

 

 

I love film photography; there's a special quality that analogue photos have that digital could possibly never match. However, I never shoot with my film camera anymore. Why not?
The first camera I ever shot on was film, and I continued to shoot analog until 2006, when I switched to digital. It wasn't long after the move until I exclusively shot digital photos and continue to do so today. However, I still have some film cameras (most recently a Nikon F100) and occasionally pop a little Fuji Velvia in there when going to a special location.

However, despite wanting to shoot with it more, I find it gathering dust on the shelf in my living room. But why is that? Have I fallen out of love with my film camera? Or is it because the quality of the shots is inferior to my digital camera? Well, it's a little more convoluted than that — some obvious reasons and others more obscure. It's likely the same sort of issues that many readers of this article will also have, comprised of convenience and size of living spaces. 

Can't Review Images

It's obvious, I know. But it's important to remember that when shooting film, you literally can't review any images you've taken. In a time where we're all so used to immediately checking the exposure, composition, depth of field, and so much more, we've become much more heavily reliant on this brevity. I think, in part, it's due to the self-edit.

There's no rear screen on a film camera. The fastest possible way to find out what a photo looks like is to have the film developed, which you can only do once you've used the entire roll of film (if shooting a roll of 35mm film, that's 36 exposures later).

Even those with no technical knowledge can now apply a filter, adjust brightness, or increase the sharpening of images before sharing them online. There's very little latency between taking the photo and making adjustments, so a larger gap between "click" and the finished photo as with shooting film can be jarring.

Double Up on Gear

Almost all my photography work nowadays is delivered digitally. So, if I go somewhere to take some great photos with my film camera, I'll want to capture that digitally as well. That's because I don't have a darkroom in my house, nor do I have the time to devote to preparing and developing the negatives or transparencies at home. 

Why wait several days or weeks to get your photos back when you can take your digital camera along as well? The downside is that you're going to be carrying twice as much kit as before, all for the sake of shooting film.

This means waiting for a lab to process the stock before I have my finished result. For this reason, I tend to pack my digital camera too so that I can share my imagery faster. But inevitably, that means doubling up on gear, making my camera bag much heavier.

You're Stuck in One Mode

When shooting film, you have to match the film type to the color temperature and light levels you're expecting to find when you get to your chosen location, as opposed to digital, where you can switch white balance and ISO at will as the conditions and light levels change.

Want to shoot outside on a nice, sunny day? Great, throw the daylight-balanced, ISO 200 film in the camera and head out. But if you plan to stay out all day and shoot into the night, you might want to think again, especially if you plan on going inside at any point. Unfortunately, you can't adjust ISO or white balance at will as you can with digital cameras. So, you're always limited in the scope of what you can and can't capture, and this limit is what puts me off shooting with my film camera. I love the flexibility digital gives me, and if my plans change throughout the day or night, then my camera changes with me. 

Waiting for Prints

After waiting for your prints, there's a realization that you don't have control of how the negatives or transparencies are processed, which is the opposite of the control available when shooting digital.

As I've mentioned already, I don't have the time or space to develop my own film at home. I'm in a similar position to many people around the world, where rent is getting higher and living spaces are getting smaller. Whenever I do shoot film, it gets sent off to the lab for processing before receiving the results. If I'm working on a job, this long wait can really hinder me, especially if the client wants the images the same day. I understand there are some places that do rush jobs and expedited processing, but it's more overhead that cuts into my profit margin.

Using Photo Labs

My local labs are great at developing film, but having them do this for me does take a large chunk of artistic input from my photography workflow. If I'm in digital, I import to Lightroom, make my choices, apply edits, and maybe even finish off in Photoshop for some detailed work before having it ready to deliver. I'm in control of every part of the process from setting up the composition to choosing which resolution to output to. Labs are great, but I lack control over my workflow, and as an artist, that just bums me out.

So, What Does This All Add up To?

Basically, the reasons above mean that I'm less inclined to use my film camera, not that I don't want to. I just never get around to dusting it off and popping it in the camera bag. The last few times I've taken it out, I haven't bothered shooting with it, and it's become a bit of a lead balloon (both figuratively and literally when it's weighing me down in my bag). While I understand film's place in the world and still love it to pieces (and I'm aware there are many that shoot film regularly), I just can't justify it as anything more than a fun hobby for me. But perhaps you've found the opposite? Leave me a comment below; I'd love to hear your thoughts on why you do or don't shoot film.  Share this article.

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Review: Does the Canon Rebel T8i DSLR make sense in an increasingly mirrorless world?

  by:| Mike Tomkins

Introduction

The Canon EOS Rebel T8i (also known as the EOS 850D or Kiss X10i in some markets) is a 24MP DSLR camera that is compatible with the company's EF and EF-S mount lenses. It has an optical viewfinder, but it also has a usable and responsive touchscreen interface and live view experience that's a match for the company's mirrorless camera options.

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Jump to:

What's new | Body, handling| Image quality | Autofocus | 

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For much of the world, shifting consumer preferences towards mirrorless cameras have left DSLRs looking like relics of history, though Europe and the Americas remain holdouts. Last year, Europeans still bought about 1.4 DSLRs for every mirrorless camera sold, while in the Americas the ratio was even higher at 1.7:1.

So why might you consider a DSLR in our increasingly mirrorless world? Some photographers still prefer DSLRs for their crisp, lag-free through-the-lens viewfinders, and there's a much wider array of lenses available to DSLR shooters without the need for adapters.

ISO 2500 | 1/100 sec | F5 | Canon EF-S 18-55mm @ 44mm

Yet relatively few manufacturers are left in the consumer DSLR market. Only Canon, Nikon and Ricoh (which makes Pentax-branded DSLRs) remain, making new models few and far between. Among these, Canon's EOS Rebel series are the biggest sellers. The Rebel T8i now sits at the top of that line, replacing 2017's T7i.

Priced at $749.99 body-only or $900 with an EF-S 18-55mm IS STM kit lens, the Canon T8i is available immediately.

Key specifications

• 24-megapixel APS-C image sensor
• EF or EF-S lens compatibility
• ISO 100 to 25,600, extends to 51,200
• 7 fps continuous shooting, or 7.5 fps in live view
• 45 point, all cross-type phase-detect AF
• 0.51x pentamirror viewfinder with 95% coverage
• 3.0" vari-angle touch-screen LCD
• 24p 4K video with 1.6x crop, or full-sensor 1080p60
• 800 shot battery life, or 310 shots with live view

Out-of-camera JPEG. ISO 250 | 1/100 sec | F5.6 | Canon EF-S 18-55mm @ 55mm

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What's new and how it compares

The AF-ON button and rear dial make the T8i a more flexible camera for users to learn and grow with than lesser Rebels.

Externally, the 24-megapixel Canon T8i looks very similar to its predecessor from most angles, although there are some control tweaks to be found on its rear panel including a new rear control dial and AF-On button. While Wi-Fi and Bluetooth connectivity remain, NFC has been dropped as the constant Bluetooth connection speeds up the connection process the way NFC used to. Lastly, the flash must now be raised manually when needed, as it can no longer pop up by itself. As we'll see later on, this is a good thing.

On the inside, while the sensor resolution and sensitivity range are unchanged, a faster image processor allows a modest increase in burst performance. It's now rated at 7 frames per second through the viewfinder, or 7.5 fps in live view mode, up from 6 fps in the T7i. There's also a somewhat finer-grained 384-zone metering sensor in place of the earlier 315-zone sensor.

The Rebel T8i uses a familiar 24MP sensor with Dual Pixel AF that offers solid noise performance and resolution.

Canon has also added support for 4K movie capture, although this comes with several limitations including a significant focal length crop, contrast-detection autofocus (rather than the more reliable Dual Pixel AF you get in lesser Full HD modes) and a fixed 24 fps frame rate. And autofocus algorithms have been refined to add eye detection in live view mode, and face detection when shooting through the viewfinder.

How it compares...

Compared with two of its mirrorless rivals, the Nikon Z50 and Sony a6100, the Canon T8i offers much better battery life, so long as you stick to its optical viewfinder. The T8i is quite a bit bulkier though, despite not offering weather-sealing.

	Canon T8i	Nikon Z50	Sony a6100
MSRP (body)	$749.99	$859.95	$750
Sensor	24.1MP APS-C	20.9MP APS-C	24MP APS-C
Type	DSLR	Mirrorless	Mirrorless
Sensitivity (native)	100-25600	100-51200	100-32000
Lens mount	Canon EF / EF-S	Nikon Z	Sony E
Viewfinder type	Optical pentamirror SLR	2.36M-dot OLED EVF	1.44M-dot EVF
Viewfinder magnif. / coverage	0.51x, 95%	0.68x, 100%	0.71x, 100%
LCD	3” fully articulating	3.2” tilting	3” tilting
Touch-screen	Yes	Yes	Yes
Included flash	Pop-up	Pop-up	Pop-up
Weather-sealing	No	Yes	No
Max. burst	7.0 fps (viewfinder) / 7.5 fps (live view)	5 fps (mechanical) / 11 fps (electronic)	11 fps (mechanical)
Max. shutter	1/4000	1/4000	1/4000
Video	4K/24p, 1080/24-60p	4K/24-30p, 1080/ 24-120p	4K/24-30p, 1080/ 24-120p
4K crop	1.6x	None	1.2x (4K/30p)
Battery life (CIPA)	800 shots (OVF); 310 shots (Live View)	320 shots	420 shots
Dimensions	131 x 103 x 76mm	127 x 94 x 60mm	120 x 67 x 59mm
Weight	515 g	450 g	396 g

One thing that's hard to capture in a table are the differences between the camera's AF systems. In its optical viewfinder, the T8i's 45 autofocus points are centrally clustered, which can get in the way of creative compositions. Switch into live view and you have autofocus points spread across the frame, the same as the other options give you on their rear screens and their electronic viewfinders.

Out-of-camera JPEG. ISO 500 | 1/60 sec | F4 | Canon EF-S 18-55mm @ 18mm

Compared to the smaller and more affordable Canon Rebel SL3, the T8i offers more sophisticated autofocus through its slightly smaller finder, though the SL3 offers you a third more shots per charge. On the mirrorless side of the equation, the T8i bests the Canon EOS M50 Mark II's 235-shot battery life whether you're using the optical viewfinder or live view, but the mirrorless model is lower-priced, significantly more compact / lightweight and offers faster 10 fps burst capture.

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Body, handling and controls

Although its body is plastic, the Canon T8i is very solid in-hand, with no creaks or flexing. It's also pretty light and compact for a DSLR. The main controls are well-placed and easy to locate by touch.

The new AF-On button is ideally situated for quick autofocus adjustments with a slight thumb motion. (And via a custom setting, can be set to AF-Off instead.) The Wi-Fi button and indicator lamp are gone but won't be missed, as you won't need them often. We recommend connecting via Bluetooth, which maintains a constant connection that draws little power, and also makes connecting via Wi-Fi to send images a snap.

Out-of-camera JPEG. ISO 100 | 1/125 sec | F5.6 | Canon EF-S 18-55mm @ 55mm

The new rear control dial is also a nice addition, though since it's integrated with the four-way controller, it can't be reached without adjusting your grip. On the plus side, it's only active when the exposure metering system is brought to life by a half-press of the shutter button or you're in a menu, preventing accidental settings changes.

There will always be some photographers that prefer an optical viewfinder; the T8i's is serviceable, but it's on the small and dim end of the spectrum.

Sadly, the pentamirror viewfinder is dim and tunnel-like compared with the electronic finders of mirrorless rivals and even some rival SLRs, such as the less-expensive Pentax K-70 (which has a larger pentaprism design which is brighter than pentamirror designs).

The rear LCD is crisp and easy to see even under sunlight if you turn up the brightness. Its fully-articulated mechanism allows framing from most angles, even for selfies.

The vari-angle LCD allows selfie-shooting too, but the ergonomics aren't ideal when holding the camera backwards. Out-of-camera JPEG. ISO 2000 | 1/60 sec | F4 | Canon EF-S 18-55mm @ 18mm

The on-screen UI is standard Canon. It's fairly clear and logically laid-out, and can be navigated with buttons, dials or the very precise touchscreen. Your most-used options can be saved in the My Menu section for quick recall.

Battery life is excellent when shooting stills through the viewfinder, and I never needed a second battery even during lengthy day trips. (I passed 500 frames captured without the charge level indicator dropping even a single bar, which impressed me.) If you shoot a lot of video or use live view frequently, the LCD can burn through power fairly quickly, though. For that reason, the T8i goes to sleep by default after ten seconds unless in menus or live view / playback modes.

Top plate controls are fairly typical Canon, and the quick switch over to video mode is a nice touch.

A standalone charger is included in the bundle, so you can leave a second battery charging while using the camera. Unfortunately in-camera charging via USB isn't supported, so you can't share a charger and cable with another device when you want to pack light. As well as USB, there are HDMI, microphone and remote control ports.

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Image quality

With the same sensor resolution and sensitivity range as its predecessor, you might expect similar image quality from the Canon T8i: and you'd be right. As an affordable camera aimed at entry-level photographers, it's good enough but won't win any awards. That's not to say there are no differences, however.

Out-of-camera JPEG. ISO 800 | 1/80 sec | F4.5 | Canon EF-S 18-55mm @ 24mm

Out of camera JPEGs mostly showed pleasing color both outdoors and under artificial light, although I found the latter a little more variable, with some images a tad warm and others a little on the cool side. In both the green fully-automatic mode and program autoexposure, the T8i's metering proved pretty accurate, and at lower sensitivities there was a fair amount of fine detail as well, although I felt the default sharpening was a touch aggressive.

Comparison of ISO 100 and 25,600. See the sample gallery for a full ISO sensitivity series.

ISO sensitivity in auto mode is limited to a maximum ISO of 6400 by default, and that seems like a good cutoff point. Some noise and loss of saturation starts to become noticeable by ISO 3200, but it's not until you reach ISO 6400 that it really begins to intrude. You're best off avoiding ISO 12800 and above as there's a significant loss of fine detail to noise, and colors can look decidedly washed out.

Out-of-camera JPEG. ISO 3200 | 1/80 sec | F4.5 | Canon EF-S 18-55mm @ 18mm

Of course, shooting in Raw format helps somewhat as you can rely on the greater processing power of your computer to help tame noise while still holding onto color and detail. And there's a fair bit of scope to correct exposure within a couple of stops, as well. Raws can also be processed in-camera, which is a nice touch for making quick adjustments on the go.

We're honestly pleased to find that the T8i's flash must be manually raised; previous Canon Rebels would often raise their automatically in situations where it actually has a negative impact on your images.

One notable change is that the Rebel T8i no longer tends to overexpose nearby subjects by raising and firing the flash when it's not really needed, since it can no longer pop up automatically. You need to pay attention to your shutter speeds, though, and either raise the ISO, or lift the flash yourself. Sadly, there's no warning in the viewfinder when shutter speeds stray below the point where exposures can safely be shot hand-held.

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Autofocus

The Canon T8i's autofocus system has two distinct operating modes, depending upon whether you're using the optical viewfinder or live view modes. Both systems are capable of locking focus quickly and accurately in good light. In darker conditions, both take a bit longer to achieve a lock, but if I was capable of seeing the subject through the viewfinder, the camera could usually manage to focus on it within a couple of seconds.

A simplified look at the T8i's optical viewfinder AF system.

When shooting through the viewfinder there are a total of 45 autofocus points, all of which are cross-type. As you can see in the above illustration, they only cover about two thirds of the frame width and a little over a third of the frame height. For live view mode, almost the entire frame is covered vertically, and significantly more of its width as well.

Out-of-camera JPEG. ISO 500 | 1/60 sec | F4 | Canon EF-S 18-55mm @ 18mm

Live view also offers both face and eye detection and lets you select which face or eye to focus on using the four-way controller or touch-screen. Viewfinder shooting only has face detection, and you can't directly control which face to focus on, although if you aim directly at a particular face before half-pressing the shutter button, the camera will then try to follow that face.

Both systems detect faces pretty well, and the tracking implementation is fairly robust. In testing with my son running and riding a bike directly towards me, the T8i was able to accurately track his location and keep the focus locked on his face most of the time until he was very close to the camera. This isn't by any means a sports shooter, but I think it's more than capable of keeping up with amateur photographers' needs in this respect.

Out-of-camera JPEG. ISO 100 | 1/60 sec | F7.1 | Canon EF-S 18-55mm @ 27mm

Really, my only complaint with autofocus is that it can be confusing if you're frequently switching between live view and viewfinder shooting. Each mode is configured separately, so for example switching one mode to continuous servo AF won't affect the other mode's setup. On the other hand, this separation of settings could be useful if you're switching from shooting stills in the viewfinder and video in live view.  Share this article.

 

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Condemnation after photojournalist wounded during Paris protest

Ameer Alhalbi was covering Saturday’s demonstrations opposing police violence and the French govt’s plans to restrict sharing images of officers.

Street medics tend to Syrian freelance photographer Ameer Alhalbi who was injured during clashes in a demonstration against France's 'global security' draft law [Gabrielle Cezard / AFP] 

 

 

News organisations and media rights advocates have denounced and expressed shock at the injuries suffered by award-winning Syrian photojournalist Ameer Alhalbi during a protest in Paris against police brutality.

Alhalbi, a freelance photographer who has worked for Polka magazine and AFP news agency, was covering Saturday’s demonstrations opposing police violence and the French government’s plans to restrict sharing images of officers.

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Dimitri Beck, Polka’s director of photography, said Alhalbi had suffered a broken nose and injured forehead and been taken to hospital. Photos showed Alhalbi’s face bruised, with much of his head covered in bandages.

Christophe Deloire, secretary-general of Reporters Without Borders, tweeted that the 24-year-old had been wounded at Place de la Bastille by “a police baton”.

“Ameer came from Syria to France to take refuge, like several other Syrian journalists. The land of human rights should not threaten them, but protect them,” he said in a second tweet, condemning the “intolerable” violence.

Street 

 medics tend to Syrian freelance photographer Ameer Al Halbi who was 

injured during clashes in a demonstration against the ‘global security’ 

draft law [Gabrielle Cezard/AFP]

“We are shocked by the injuries suffered by our colleague Ameer al-Halbi and condemn the unprovoked violence,” said Phil Chetwynd, AFP’s global news director.

“The injuries were sustained as he exercised his legal rights as a photojournalist documenting protests on the streets of Paris.”

Chetwynd demanded police officials investigate Alhalbi’s beating to ensure “all journalists are allowed to carry out their work without fear or restrictions”.

‘Shocking and reprehensible’

A statement from Polka magazine also condemned the “police aggression” against Alhalbi.

The magazine’s Director of Publication Alain Genestar said the incident was “all the more shocking and reprehensible” because he was clearly identified as a press photographer.

Alhalbi has won several international awards, including second prize in the “Spot News” category for the World Press Photo in 2017, mainly for his coverage of the Syrian conflict in his home city Aleppo for AFP.

Police said on Sunday that two demonstrators had complained of being hurt by officers in protests outside Paris, while no count had yet been made in the capital itself.

Some 62 police officers were injured during the Saturday demonstrations, the interior ministry said, while 81 people were arrested.

Several videos shared online showed marchers beating police officers.

The interior ministry added that 133,000 people had taken part in the demonstrations, 46,000 of them in Paris, while organisers said the figure was 500,000 nationwide and 200,000 in Paris.

People with banners 

and posters attend a demonstration against the “Global Security Bill’ that rights 

groups say would make  it a crime to circulate an image of a police officer’s face 

and would infringe journalists’ freedom in France, in Paris [Christian Hartmann/Reuters]

The protests come as President Emmanuel Macron’s government is trying to push a new bill that restricts the ability to film police, raising concerns it would allow police brutality to go undiscovered and unpunished.

The controversy was intensified by a video showing the beating and racial abuse of a Black man earlier this week.

The case of Michel Zecler shocked France, with celebrities and politicians alike condemning the officers’ actions.

Macron on Friday called the incident an “unacceptable attack” and asked the government to come up with proposals to “fight against discrimination”.

Source : Al Jazeera and News agencies

 

We Should Ban Street Photography? (Picture This! Photography Podcast)