Η ΓΝΩΣΗ ΤΗΣ ΣΤΟ ΣΧΟΛΕΙΟ ΚΑΙ ΠΕΡΑ ΑΠΟ ΑΥΤΟ
Since Panasonic relaunched Technics as a luxury brand in 2014, its retro-modern turntables have been on the pricey side – sometimes ludicrously so. Now the hi-fi sub-brand has launched a budget vinyl spinner with Bluetooth baked in.
Category: Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Panasonic, Turntables, Bluetooth
Following on from last year's 34th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize ceremony at MIT, the 35th First Annual Ig Nobel Prize night took place at Boston University on September 18, celebrating real research with delightfully sideways investigative questions – and unexpectedly useful answers.
Category: Science
Tags: Ig Nobel Prize, Ethanol, Animal science, Physics, Teflon, Food technology, Engineering, Chemistry, BioLogic
A common, over-the-counter form of vitamin B3 has emerged as an inexpensive ally in protecting us from skin cancer, lowering the risk by an average of 14% and increasing to a massive 54% for anyone who has previously had a positive diagnosis. This latest study of more than 33,000 patients supports earlier evidence that emerged in a 2015 Australian trial.
Category: Cancer, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind
Tags: Vanderbilt University, Skin Cancer, Melanoma, Tumors, Skin, Age-Related, Vitamins and minerals
By knocking out a protein duo’s “bodyguard” role, researchers have exposed a hidden weakness in pancreatic cancer. It’s a discovery that could lead to smarter, more effective treatments for one of the deadliest cancers.
Category: Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind
Tags: Cancer, Pancreatic cancer, Genetic engineering, Protein, Indiana University
The new Meta Ray-Ban Display smart glasses look like a regular ol' pair of shades, but they show you – and only you – a floating screen with useful content. That's already pretty neat, but I'm honestly more excited about the companion wristband they ship with.
Category: Wearables, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Meta, Augmented Reality, Smart Glasses, Google Glass
Australian defense company Electro Optic Systems (EOS) has unveiled its Apollo High Energy Laser Weapon (HELW) that pumps out up to 150 kW of power yet can take out 200 medium-sized drones running on its own internal power supply.
Category: Military, Technology
Tags: Laser weapon, Weapons
"A Lamborghini supercar of the sea" – you might be surprised to note that such a vessel already exists, a fantastical daydream born in the frustratingly idle days of pandemic. But that doesn't mean there can't be more than one, and the latest is technically more of a "Lamborghini micro-supercar for sea and subsea," a little adventure toy that can be carried aboard the larger sea-bound Lambo. The Italian sports car marque has teamed with German e-PWC specialist Cayago to develop what it calls the "most powerful Seabob ever," a grab-and-go personal jet sled that promises exhilaration on and under the water at speeds that compete with various species of shark and dolphin.
Category: Boats and Watersports, Toys, Outdoors
Tags: Lamborghini, PWC, Water Sports, Electric Boats
Earlier in the year, Bigme launched a doomscrolling smartphone called the HiBreak Pro, which featured an eye-friendly monochrome ePaper display. After much online leaking, the company has now officially added color to the family.
Category: Mobile Technology, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: E-Ink, smartphones, E-Paper, Color
If there's one thing that outdoorsy types like, it's the ability to tote lots of stuff around in the back of their vehicle, while keeping that gear organized at the same time. Well, Subcube is a new magnetic modular system which allows anyone to do so.
Tags: Kickstarter, Modular, Magnetic, Storage, Folding
That was quick. Only a few days after Honda shared its first official visuals of its first-ever electric bike, the Japanese giant has debuted its naked moto on the global stage. It not only sheds the camo that we saw before, but Honda has revealed actual specs, alongside its name and price point.
Category: Motorcycles, Transport
Tags: Honda, Honda Motorcycles, Electric Motorcycles, Electric Vehicles, Eicma
Hasselblad recently announced the X2D II 100C, the latest camera in its medium-format lineup, and the first to be capable of continuous autofocus. That feature makes it a much closer competitor to Fujifilm's medium format cameras, the GFX 100 II and 100S II. Fujifilm's two models have a lot in common, but we'll mainly be comparing the former in this article because of its higher magnification viewfinder, CFexpress storage and price tag that's closer to Hasselblad's.
While both the X2D II and GFX 100 II use very similar 100MP BSI CMOS sensors, they're surprisingly different in several key areas. Let's go over what those are.
DesignThe X2D II is designed to be sleek and minimlaist, and Hasselblad says it makes the bodies out of a single block of machined aluminium. The GFX 100 II, meanwhile, has a very utilitarian design, with a hatched rubber grip that uses a proprietary pattern called Bishamon-Tex. The X2D's grip feels like a rubber version of leather; one of our editors described it as looking a bit like washi, a Japanese paper.
The GFX 100 II isn't substantially larger or heavier than the X2D II, but it still feels like a more substantial piece of equipment, with its grip fully filling your hand. Hasselblad's grip isn't small and we never felt at risk of dropping it, but its sleeker; it's like holding a modern glass sandwich smartphone compared to a Nokia 3310 (though the two cameras are much closer in capabilities than the two phones).
Handling / ControlsThe GFX 100 II's more industrial appearance is helped by the several switches and knobs that you use to control its shooting and autofocus modes and power. While the X2D II has a generous number of programmable buttons, including one under the newly-added joystick, and two customizable top-plate command dials, you'll probably find yourself changing settings via the touchscreen more often than you would with the GFX.
With that said, Hasselblad's UI is very simple and clean. Its Settings screen is limited to the essentials, and the live view UI mainly focuses on the basics of photography. Our only real gripe with the controls is that the autofocus point moves quite slowly in response to the (four-direction) joystick, taking a long time to go from one edge of the screen to the other, which could be frustrating if you're trying to photograph a moving subject.
The GFX's UI is, for better and worse, very similar to what you'll find on Fujifilm's other cameras. You can configure the live view display to show just a few key statistics, but when you dive into the menus, you'll be greeted by several tabs, each with nested pages containing dozens of options. Once you learn the system, it's generally easy to get around, but it certainly isn't minimalist.
EVF and DisplayThe GFX 100 II has a versatile EVF and screen setup. The 9.44M dot EVF can be removed from the camera if you don't need it, or attached to an adapter that lets you tilt and swivel it. You can also choose whether you want it to run at 1x magnification at 60Hz for the highest quality, or at 0.77x and 120Hz for maximum responsiveness. It has a 3.2", two-way tilting rear screen that can move up or down and to the right, which gives you more flexibility when shooting in portrait or at low angles like you would when photographing architecture.
The X2D II's EVF has a lower-resolution 5.76M dot panel, but still provides a 1x magnification. While its rear display can only tilt up and down, it uses a larger 3.6" OLED panel that can get exceptionally bright, up to 1400 nits. That's important because...
HDR stills Ultra HDR JPEG taken with the Hasselblad X2D II. To see the effect, open the photo in a supported browser on a device with an HDR-capable display.One of the X2D II's main features is its "end-to-end" HDR, where it outputs Ultra HDR JPEG or HEIF files, and lets you review them on the camera itself. Viewed on a device with an HDR-capable screen and compatible software, the images' highlights can be rendered with a wider range of brightness, creating a more life-like rendering.
While most other camera manufacturers have varying levels of support for HDR output files, Fujifilm doesn't, outside of video. If you have a Raw-based workflow, you can create comparable HDR images with the Fujifilm using software like Adobe Camera Raw, but the Hasselblad helps you expose correctly for HDR in its auto modes by analyzing the scene to determine how much headroom it needs to capture the highlights correctly. You'll also be able to check its work, as the rear display shows the output images in HDR.
SpeedNeither the X2D II nor the GFX 100 II are sports / action cameras, but if you're trying to capture moving subjects, the Fujifilm will be the better pick. It can shoot at 8fps with its electronic shutter, though doing so will require dropping down to a 12-bit readout. The Hasselblad, meanwhile, tops out at 3fps using 14-bit readout.
Both cameras have relatively snappy user interfaces, though the Hasselblad can sometimes take a beat to start up. That won't be an issue in the studio, but it could be frustrating if you're trying to use it for more documentary or street photography work.
StabilizationWhile both cameras have very good IBIS systems, the X2D II's provides up to 10EV of stabilization compared to the GFX 100 II's 8EV. While Hasselblad tells us that 10EV of stabilization is possible with just the camera, its site says that you'll need to sync it with the company's Phocus app every few hours or whenever you change location to get the most out of the system. This is because the system can compensate for the Earth's rotation, but to do so, it needs your latitude and longitude. Unfortunately, Phocus isn't available for Android; the mobile version only runs on iPhones and iPads.
In practice, without syncing with Phocus, we found it worked well but didn't leave us thinking it was appreciably better than the Fujifilm.
AutofocusBoth the GFX 100 II and X2D II have autofocus systems that would've been unthinkable for a medium format camera just a few years ago, with continuous autofocus augmented by AI-derived subject recognition. The X2D II can recognize humans, pets and vehicles, and the GFX 100 II supports those plus birds, trains, planes and motorcycles/bikes.
Both can track arbitrary subjects as well, though we've found the Hasselblad to be ever so slightly more accurate when doing so, perhaps because of its LiDAR sensors that augment its more traditional phase detect focus points. The fact that it vibrates to confirm when it's locked on is also an excellent touch.
The X2D II's continuous autofocus mode also comes with the critical caveat that it only works with select, faster-focussing lenses and, currently, that list only has seven entries. Fujifilm's, meanwhile, is compatible with most of its lenses.
LensesFujifilm and Hasselblad both have a robust ecosystem of prime and zoom lenses available for their medium format systems, but there are some important differences between the two systems. Hasselblad's lenses use leaf shutters, meaning they can sync with flash up to their maximum shutter speeds (typically around 1/2000 or 1/4000 sec). This mechanism can't always deliver a circular aperture, which can lead to oddly-shaped specular highlights and bokeh in some shooting situations.
The GFX system, meanwhile, uses a focal plane shutter built into the camera, meaning it can only sync flash at 1/125 sec or slower. In most studios, that will be sufficient, but outdoors, it could make it difficult to shoot with flash unless you have powerful strobes with High Speed Sync modes capable of overpowering the sun. However, it means you don't have to rely on the extremely slow electronic shutter for adapted lenses like you would with the Hasselblad, so you can use old or third-party lenses to shoot a wider variety of subjects.
Not requiring a leaf shutter means that Fujifilm's first-party lenses can be faster, cheaper, or both. For example, Fujifilm's 55mm lens is an F1.7 and costs $2599, while Hasselblad's tops out at F2.5 for $3699.
VideoIf you need to shoot video, the X2D II is a non-starter; it doesn't even have a mode for it. The GFX 100 II, meanwhile, is packed with video features to the point where Fujifilm is making a dedicated cinema camera out of it. It can shoot 8K with a 1.53x crop, 4K up to 60p, and has modes for shooting with several types of lenses, including ones made for full-frame cameras and anamorphics. It also has waveforms, vectorscopes, ProRes recording (to an external SSD, if you'd like) and a full-size HDMI port with support for Raw output.
Despite Fujifilm clearly pushing the GFX 100 II as a video camera, its rolling shutter performance is quite poor. In its highest resolution modes, it takes up to a glacial 33.2ms to read out the portion of the sensor it's using. It can achieve much better times – around 15ms – in most of its 4K modes, but to do so, it either has to skip lines or bin pixels, which will lower the amount of detail captured.
Ports and connectivityThe GFX 100 II is bursting with ports. It has 10Gbps USB-C, dual 3.5mm sockets for headphones and microphones, full-size HDMI, one CFexpress and one SD card slot for storage, Ethernet and a flash sync terminal. There's no internal storage, though, so you'll be using a slower SD card for overflow or backup recording, rather than a fast CFexpress card like with the Hasselblad.
The X2D II's ports, meanwhile, can best be described as "minimal." It has a 10Gbps USB Type-C port for charging and data transfer, a 3.5mm port for Hasselblad's shutter release cable, and a CFexpress Type B slot to augment the built-in 1TB SSD (which should theoretically be lightning-fast, but the camera occasionally took longer than we felt it should to write images in our testing). It also has a hot-shoe mount for connecting Nikon-compatible flashes and triggers.
Both can be shot tethered in a studio, though the Fujifilm gives you more flexibility when it comes to workflow. The X2D II can be tethered to a Mac or Windows computer with a cable, or wirelessly with the Phocus mobile app, though, again, it's iOS/iPadOS only. The Fujifilm can also be tethered to various computer and mobile apps, but it also offers the option to automatically upload your images straight from the camera to Frame.io or an FTP server via Wi-Fi or wired internet. That could make it easier to get your images to an editor or other stakeholders.
BatteryWhile battery life may not be as big of a concern in the studio where power leads and spares are readily at hand, both cameras are viable options for shooting out-and-about. Here, the Fujifilm wins handily, as its battery should last for all but the longest shoots. It's CIPA-rated for around 540 shots, and we've found it can last for several sessions. Even a wedding photographer may be able to scrape by with a single charge, though they also have the option of topping up with a USB-C battery bank.
The X2D II's battery is rated for 327 shots per charge, though you can extend it by turing off HDR. It too can be charged via USB-C. While these ratings aren't usually an indicator of the literal number of shots you'd get, they do work as a common point of comparison between cameras. After a casual day of shooting, we'd almost certainly put the Hasselblad on to charge, but probably wouldn't think about it with the Fujifilm.
PriceThe GFX 100 II is, in general, more expensive than the X2D II. It costs $8500 in the US, £7000 in the UK, and around €7999 in Europe, while the Hasselblad costs $7400, £6400 and €7200, respectively. However, buyers should take the (often substantial) extra cost of Hasselblad's leaf-shutter lenses. It's also worth noting that you can get the same image quality and autofocus as the GFX 100 with the $5699 GFX 100S II, at the cost of a fixed viewfinder with lower resolution and magnification, and fewer video capabilities and ports.
The X2D II is $800 cheaper than the original X2D, which appears to be an explicit bid to compete more with the GFX lineup. It now falls between the two models, rather than coming in above the GFX 100 II's pre-tariff price as its predecessor did.
SummaryBoth the GFX 100 II and the X2D II have outstanding image quality and are extremely capable for studio work and shooting outside. That doesn't make choosing between them easy, but largely the decision will likely come down to your aesthetic preferences and whether you need certain capabilities. If you're looking to produce HDR images straight out of camera or need to be able to sync flash at 1/1000 sec and above, the Hasselblad is the obvious choice. But if you want to shoot the occasional video or high-speed burst, the Fujifilm is likely the better option.
In practice, it's a consideration of the systems as a whole that will win the day, but with the X2D II 100C, Hasselblad has made that decision significantly more difficult.
A study involving more than 1,000 cancer patients has found that a low dose of aspirin halves the risk of colorectal tumors returning after surgery. This readily available and inexpensive treatment could change health outcomes for a significant number of cancer survivors who have problematic gene variants.
Category: Cancer, Illnesses and conditions, Body and Mind
Tags: Karolinska Institutet, Karolinska University Hospital, Colorectal cancer, Tumors, Genetics, Aspirin, Cancer, clinical trials
A daily cocoa extract supplement rich in flavanols appears to reduce age-related inflammation, according to new results from the largest study of its kind to date. The findings add biological support to earlier evidence that cocoa flavanols may help protect the heart, and hint at how the plant compounds influence the aging process by dialing down "inflammaging."
Category: Wellness and Healthy Living, Body and Mind
Tags: Mass General Brigham, Inflammation, anti-aging, Age-Related, Heart Disease, Cardiovascular disease, Antioxidant, Anti-inflammatory
Horse Powertrain wasn't the only automotive supplier showing an efficiently packaged range-extender engine system at this year's IAA Mobility Munich show, which wrapped up over the weekend. German component builder Mahle took a short break from pushing out compact, torque-maximizing ebike motors to reveal a small, high-efficiency multi-fuel engine-generator it says is ready to deliver hybridized driving ranges up to 838 miles (1,350 km), about double that of some of today's longest-range battery electric vehicles.
Category: Automotive, Transport
Tags: Electric Motors, Generator, Mahle, Extended-range, iaa mobility 2025, Electric Vehicles, Hybrid
High-end consumer drone producer DJI has announced the release of its Mini 5 Pro. Not only does it claim to be the world's first palm-sized drone with a one-inch image sensor, but it's got a few other hard-to-resist tricks up its sleeve.
Category: Drones, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: DJI Innovations, Drone photography, Camera drone, Video, Drone cinematography
The National Audubon Society has announced the winners of the 2025 Audubon Photography Awards. And in its 16th year, it has expanded to budding photographers capturing wildlife in Chile and Colombia, and offers new prizes for snappers capturing the subject matter of migratory species, habitats, and conservation.
Category: Photography, Consumer Tech, Technology
Tags: Birds, The Birds of America, Conservation, Climate Crisis, Global, Biodiversity, Art, Photographers
New York-based Looking Glass Factory (LGF) has been narrowly focused on making glasses-free holograms a thing with its innovative displays. For its latest trick, it's devised a screen that can present video and animated content with convincing depth that goes far beyond its slim profile.
Category: Technology
Tags: Display, 3D, Immersion, Holographic
DJI has announced the latest drone in its popular Mini lineup, the Mini 5 Pro. The new offering introduces a Type 1 sensor to the sub-250g series for the first time, promising pro-level imaging with longer battery life.
The Mini 5 Pro is built around a 50-megapixel Type 1 (116mm²) sensor. That's 68% larger than its predecessor, the Mini 4 Pro, which featured a Type 1/1.3 (69mm²) sensor. DJI says that the drone is able to capture 14 stops of dynamic range, making it better in high-contrast scenes such as sunset and sunrise.
DJI also gave a slight bump to battery life in the Mini 5 Pro. It promises 36 minutes of flight time, compared to the 34 minutes from the Mini 4 Pro. Users can also opt for the company's extended battery for 52 minutes of flight time, though that will put the drone over the 250g mark, requiring compliance with laws around heavier drones.
Image: DJIMany of the other improvements in the Mini 5 Pro bring the device closer to the company's Air line. That includes improved low-light obstacle detection with newly added forward-facing LiDAR. DJI says it will make the return-to-home mode safer, and it can even navigate cityscapes at night. DJI also says that in sufficient light, it can memorize flight routes for safe takeoff and return, even if the drone does not have a satellite signal.
The drone features a new "48mm Med-Tele mode" and DJI says it offers a higher digital zoom resolution than previous models. The camera gimbal also gets more movement with 225-degree roll rotation. It also keeps the true vertical shooting found on the Mini 4 Pro.
From a video standpoint, the new drone is capable of 4K 60p HDR video and supports slow-motion recording at 4K 120p. It can record 10-bit video using H.265 encoding with a maximum ISO of 12800 and offers D-Log M and HLG color modes with a maximum ISO of 3200.
Image: DJIThe Mini 5 Pro supports DJI's long list of pre-formatted quick shots, including Rotate, Dronie, Asteroid, various MasterShots and Free Panorama. It also enables quick transfers via Wi-Fi, promising transfer speeds of up to 100MB/s, which is up substantially from the Mini 4 Pro's promised 30 MB/s rate. It also offers 42GB of onboard storage, another notable increase from its predecessor's 2GB.
Unfortunately for US users, as with other recent DJI products, the Mini 5 Pro will not be officially available in the US. There won't even be a product page for it on the DJI US website. As with other recent launches, you may be able to find small numbers at other retailers, though that isn't guaranteed. For those outside the US, the DJI Mini 5 Pro is available as of today for a starting price of €799 / £679.
Press release:
DJI Brings World First to the Sky with Mini 5 Pro1-Inch large CMOS sensor, Nightscape Omnidirectional Sensing, true vertical shooting and 225° flexible gimbal rotation combine for the ultimate all-in-one mini camera drone
September 17th, 2025 - DJI, the global leader in civilian drones and creative camera technology, today introduces the DJI Mini 5 Pro. Featuring the world’s first¹ 1-inch sensor in a mini camera drone, an Intelligent Flight Battery providing up to 36 minutes of flight time1 and upgraded ActiveTrack 360°, the palm-sized, lightweight drone, gives everyone the chance to capture life’s beautiful moments and preserve treasured memories in stunning detail.
Pro-level Imaging in a Compact Body
The Mini 5 Pro debuts a 50MP 1-inch large sensor, preserving even minute details in low-light conditions such as sunsets and nightscapes; and a new 48mm Med-Tele mode with higher digital zoom resolution than previous models, to make subjects stand out with greater texture and adds depth. Furthermore, DJI’s portrait optimization technology enhances portraits’ brightness, contrast and skin tones to make them look naturally radiant with more vivid expressions.
Cinematic Settings as Standard
With 4K/60fps HDR video up to 14 stops of dynamic range¹ are achievable to capture cinematic footage in high-contrast scenes, such as detailed views of cloud textures and other elements during sunrise and sunset.
For those wanting to slow things down with even greater creative flexibility in post-production the Mini 5 Pro supports slow-motion video recording at 4K/120fps.
When it comes to color modes, the Mini 5 Pro can record 10-bit video using H.265 encoding, delivering refined color performance, with the maximum ISO raised to 12800. In D-Log M and HLG color modes, the maximum ISO is raised to 3200, allowing for greater brightness and more details in urban night scenes.
Camera Movement with Greater Possibilities
Mini 5 Pro supports wide-angle 225° roll rotation and true vertical shooting, bringing greater freedom and possibilities to camera movement.
With 225° roll rotation, the gimbal enables flexible and dynamic camera movement. Paired with intelligent modes like QuickShot Rotate, Timelapse, Spotlight, and Waypoint Flight, capturing creative rotating footage is easier than ever before.
Instantly shoot skyscrapers, waterfalls and vibrant city scenes with the camera’s True Vertical Shooting. No cropping is needed and with every photo and video ready for social media.
Confident Flight Even in Low Light
Mini 5 Pro features a forward-facing LiDAR and multiple vision sensors for nightscape omnidirectional obstacle sensing, making return-to-home safer. In city nightscapes, it actively detects and avoids obstacles along flight and return paths for worry-free night flying. With sufficient light, it can memorize flight routes, enabling safe takeoff and return even without a satellite signal¹.
Omnidirectional Vision Sensing System: With forward-facing LiDAR, fisheye lenses on the front and rear; binocular lenses and a 3D infrared sensor on the bottom omnidirectional obstacle sensing is achieved for safer flights¹.
Nightscape Omnidirectional Obstacle Sensing¹: Provides robust safety for night photography, allowing the user to create with confidence and efficiency¹.
Nighttime RTH: With the forward-facing LiDAR, Mini 5 Pro detects obstacles like tall buildings even in low-light conditions and intelligently maneuvers upward, ensuring safer returns during nighttime flights¹.
Non-GNSS RTH: Powered by real-time vision positioning and map construction technologies, Mini 5 Pro memorizes flight paths when adequate lighting is available. This ensures a safe return even when taking off from locations without satellite signals, such as balconies.
Dual-Band GNSS: With L1 + L5 dual-band GNSS, Mini 5 Pro connects to more satellites, for improved signal stability and precise positioning.
Upgraded ActiveTrack 360°
The upgraded ActiveTrack 360° offers customizable tracking for various scenarios, and features more stable and safer tracking performance than previous models. Whether filming a stroll by the beach or a bike ride on a weaving road, the Mini 5 Pro detects sports scenarios and will select the right mode for optimal framing and tracking. Tracking performance has been enhanced to balance speed, agility, and safety.
Capture and Transfer Like a Pro
The Mini 5 Pro offers DJI’s intelligent features which enable users to achieve professional-level results with every flight.
MasterShots: Provides high-level camera movement templates according to portrait, close-up, and long-distance shooting needs.
QuickShots: Supports various modes such as QuickShot Rotate, Dronie, Circle, Helix, Rocket, Boomerang, and Asteroid, allowing the user to easily shoot stylish short films.
Free Panorama: Enables users to create seamless panoramic shots by stitching together multiple images with a manually selected subject or area.
Off-State QuickTransfer: Mini 5 Pro supports remote wake-up via the DJI Fly app within Bluetooth range. Without taking out the drone or remote controller, files can be transferred at up to 100 MB/s via Wi-Fi 61. Even when switching to other apps, the DJI Fly app continues downloading in the background.
Extended Flight Time
With the DJI Intelligent Flight Battery Plus flight time is increased by up to 16 minutes from the up to 36 minutes of the standard Intelligent Flight Battery to up to 52 minutes1.
1 - Always observe local laws and regulations and ensure the aircraft has obtained relevant certifications and airspace authorizations before flying.
- The term "world's first" refers to the fact that, DJI Mini 5 Pro is the market's first 1-inch sensor in a near-250g mini drone, as of September 17th, 2025.
- All data was tested in controlled conditions. Actual experience may vary.
- All named accessories are sold separately
Aluminum production creates a toxic byproduct known as red mud. In an effort to cut down on this waste, researchers have figured out a way to send electric pulses through the mud to purify it and allow it to be reused instead of discarded.
Tags: Aluminum, Rice University, Construction, Steel, Manufacturing
Understanding shutter speed, aperture and ISO can be overwhelming for beginner photographers. Even once you comprehend the terms and settings on their own, knowing when to use specific values for each can be confusing. After all, each of those settings controls something different, and putting it all together is a lot.
It's not feasible to provide specific numbers that you should use for a given situation, since that's dependent on the amount of light in the scene and your gear. However, below you'll find tips on identifying a general ballpark of which shutter speed, aperture and ISO you should use to achieve the visual effect you want.
Shutter speedA fast shutter speed was necessary in this situation to freeze the action of the surfer.
Nikon D800 | Nikon 80-200mm F/2.8D ED IF AF-S | ISO 100 | 1/5000 sec | F3.2
Photo: Abby Ferguson
Shutter speed, which you can learn more about in our video on the topic, is one of the fundamental properties of exposure. A slow shutter speed lets in more light, making your image brighter, while a fast shutter speed lets in less light, making your image darker (assuming the rest of your settings stay the same). It's important to note that shutter speeds are fractions of a second, though some cameras only display the denominator. Smaller denominators (such as 1/20) are slower shutter speeds, while larger denominators (such as 1/2000) are fast shutter speeds.
Beyond controlling how much light your sensor is exposed to, shutter speed also impacts how movement appears in your photographs. As a result, choosing a shutter speed comes down to whether there is movement in your scene and how you want it to look.
Slow shutter speeds will result in blurred movement, which can be useful for conveying a sense of time. You often see slow shutter speeds used when photographing rivers or waterfalls, traffic at night or creative images of people moving. Fast shutter speeds, on the other hand, freeze movement. They are ideal for highlighting action. That's why sports and wildlife photographers typically use fast shutter speeds.
In this image, the slightly blurred movement in the subject's hands helps show more action than a perfectly still image would.
Sony a7 III | Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS | ISO 1000 | 1/40 sec | F4
Photo: Abby Ferguson
Broadly speaking, shutter speeds slower than 1/60 sec are considered slow, while those higher than that are considered fast. However, what constitutes fast and slow shutter speeds in a given situation depends on multiple factors, the most important of which is the speed of the movement.
Fast movement requires faster shutter speeds to freeze movement. For extremely fast-moving subjects, such as a race car, a shutter speed of 1/2000 sec or more is necessary. Slower movement allows for a slower shutter speed while still stopping movement in the image. For example, a baby crawling across the floor may only need a shutter speed of 1/125 sec to freeze the movement.
It's also important to know that working with slow shutter speeds is likely to cause camera shake or blur across the entire image from the camera's movement during exposure. So, when using slow shutter speeds, it's best to put your camera on a tripod or another sturdy surface to avoid an image that is entirely blurry.
ApertureThe background could have been distracting in this image and wasn't important for adding context, so I chose a shallow depth of field to keep attention on the cat.
Nikon Z6 III | Nikon Z 35mm F1.4 | ISO 400 | 1/125 sec | F3.2
Photo: Abby Ferguson
Aperture is the second fundamental property of exposure, which you can learn more about in our video explainer. It refers to the size of the opening in the lens, which determines how much light enters the camera. A larger opening lets in more light, making the image brighter, while a small opening lets in less light, making the image darker.
Aperture is one factor that impacts depth of field, or how much of a scene is in focus. A wide open aperture, which is named with a small F-stop number such as F1.8, will result in a shallower depth of field, or only a small amount of the scene in focus. A small aperture, which is named with a large F-stop number like F22, will provide a deep depth of field, or most of the scene in focus.
For this landscape, I wanted everything reasonably in focus, so I used small aperture in order to produce a deep depth of field.
Nikon D800 | Tokina AT-X 16-28mm F2.8 Pro FX | ISO 320 | 1/800 sec | F10
Photo: Abby Ferguson
A shallow depth of field is ideal for keeping the focus on your subject and blurring out distracting elements in the background. It is typically used in portraiture and macro photography. Deep depth of field is useful when everything in the scene is important, such as landscapes or architectural photography.
ISOIf you look carefully at the dark sky, you can see a fair amount of noise.
Fujifilm GFX100RF | F4 | 1/60 sec | ISO 12,800 | Processed in Adobe Camera Raw
Photo: Mitchell Clark
Finally, there is the often-misunderstood setting: ISO. This setting determines how much your camera boosts the signal coming from the light hitting its sensor, thereby making the image brighter or darker. Lower ISOs mean its boosting the signal less, adding less lightness, and higher ISOs boost it more, making a low-exposure image appear brighter. A high ISO is helpful in situations where you can't capture a lot of light through your exposure settings, such as at night or in dark interior spaces. A low ISO is best for conditions with lots of light, such as a bright and sunny day.
ISO itself doesn't cause noise, but capturing less light will result in noisy images compared to bright, well-lit situations. So, if image quality is most important, you'll want to prioritize getting enough light so that you can use lower ISOs.
There was enough light in this scene that I could avoid noise.
Sony a7 III | Sony Vario-Tessar T* FE 24-70mm F4 ZA OSS | ISO 1000 | 1/40 sec | F4 | Processed in Adobe Camera Raw
Photo: Abby Ferguson
While all three settings have some sort of visual effect (even if indirectly), they all impact how dark or bright your photographs will be. Choosing your shutter speed, aperture and ISO is a balance of getting a correct exposure and achieving the look you want for motion, depth of field and noise.
When determining which numbers to use, it's important to first decide if motion or depth of field is most important or if you need to balance the two. If motion is the critical feature, select your shutter speed and then dial in your aperture and ISO to obtain an appropriate level of brightness. If depth of field is the priority, set your aperture to whatever gives you the look you want, then use shutter speed and ISO to correct your brightness level. Sometimes you need to find a happy middle ground with those two exposure settings and use ISO to round out how bright the image is.
